The Aurora Incident

There are many different incidents in history that, through a modern lens, seem possibly related to the UFO and alien abduction phenomenon. Ever since the alternative theories of Erich Von Daniken and Zecharia Sitchin became popular, it has captivated American audiences to look back upon ancient and pre-modern history with alternative explanations in mind. Often, this alternative view upon ancient history revolves around the idea that we were somehow visited in the past by extraterrestrials, who helped shape our past and guide us to our present.

However, there are many skeptics of these theories, and certainly, they are so outlandish that it would require a significant amount of evidence for us to regard it any differently. One of the major points of contention is that people of antiquity would disagree with these new found explanations, and hold fast to the idea that their experiences were divinely inspired. Of course, their perception of the Universe was so warped, that they wouldn't be able to actively identify extraterrestrials, or would they?

The case we are about to look at is rather recent, from the late 19th Century. Something certainly happened, as we have a whole town full of witnesses that were present for the event. At this point, the concept of beings from outer space was a relatively unknown phenomenon, and thus the encounter (explained below) would remain something of a mystery to the folk that encountered it.

However, it is clear that they didn't regard it as some deity's influence. They didn't think what happened was the result of any gods or angels. They were unsure of what exactly it was, but remained convinced that it had little to do with what was written in the Bible.

Now this attitude might be due to increasing secularization and rational thinking in the world. Certainly the general consensus is clear; the further back into antiquity we go, the less logical we become. So if the Aurora incident had happened in Ancient Rome, do we think that they would have similar reactions to it?

Keep in mind, the societies of classical antiquity weren't the most illogical, in fact, many of the modern tenets of the Western World are drawn from these places. I think it is entirely possible that if strange phenomenon had happened, they might have been regarded logically/rationally by some cultures, and associated with local color and superstition in others. With that in mind, lets discover more about Aurora.

Aurora is a small town located Northeast of Dallas. Its population is just above 1000, as of the 2010 census, and an economic profile of the town is similar to other small towns in America. The town is not specifically known for anything, with the notable exception of the incident that we will be discussing in this hub. It should be noted, at the time of the incident, Aurora had a population of 3000 people.

On April 17th, 1898, there was supposedly an incident of a crash in Aurora. For a year, in Texas, and other places, mysterious cigar-shaped objects had been spotted occasionally over America. For whatever reason, on this day, one of the objects began to decelerate rapidly near Aurora, where it crashed into a windmill on the property of Judge J.S. Procter. The crash resulted in one fatality of a man described as 'out of this world'.

A detachment from nearby Ft Worth Texas was dispatched, to investigate the crash and the wreckage. The officer could not identify the origin of the body, but some notes suggest he thought it was a 'Martian'. The body was buried in a local cemetery with a strange marker to mark its place.

Over the years, there have been several claims that the story was actually a hoax. Aurora at this time was facing several hardships, and it was claimed that the story was crafted to help keep the town alive. This appears to be the belief of a few modern residents today.

However, investigations found some interesting things in the cemetery that would seem to corroborate the story. Firstly, an unmarked graved with a depiction of a UFO was found in the cemetery. Metal detectors picked up on metal underneath, but the investigators were forbidden to exhume the body. The grave and trace metals later disappeared.

Investigations since the removal of the body have confirmed the existence of a Windmill on Judge Proctor's property. Ground penetrating radar has also revealed a strange metal coffin buried in the 1890s section of the cemetery. Beyond this, no more information has yet come to light.