The Truth Is Out There

Since the late ’60s, members of the Reed family of Sheffield have claimed they were abducted by aliens. When the Great Barrington Historical Society & Museum inducted their stories earlier this year, it became the first “mainstream” American historical society or museum to recognize an encounter as a historical fact. Below, three additional Massachusetts tales that make you wonder.

Muddy River, 1639
James Everell observed a flaming light in the sky above the Muddy River in what is now the Back Bay. The light stood still, flared up, and then transformed “into the figure of a swine.”

South Ashburnham, 1967
Betty Andreasson says that aliens beamed a red light into her house, then escorted her to their mother craft (communicating telepathically) while the rest of her family stood by in suspended animation.

Billerica, 2004
Robert and Anne (no last name given) say that an ­illuminated flying object ­approached their house, and then emitted a pale blue light beam that formed a square on the deck, levitating Anne as Robert tried to pull her back to Earth.