All language subtitles for Ancient Aliens SP s01e10 Gone without a Trace.eng

NARRATOR:
Entire civilizations

mysteriously vanish
from the face of the Earth.

LINDA MOULTON HOWE:
Cultures, towns, and villages

LINDA MOULTON HOWE: Cultures, towns, and villages
have disappeared in Earth history.

have disappeared
in Earth history.

Nobody has come back.

NARRATOR:
Massive objects

erased without explanation.

NICK REDFERN:
These aircraft and ships

are just gone,

totally vanished.

Possibly they've been sucked

Possibly they've been sucked
into some form of wormhole.

into some form of wormhole.

NARRATOR:
And individuals

who are suddenly gone
without a trace.

GEORGE NOORY:
Hundreds of thousands of people

on planet Earth disappear
every year--

and nobody knows where they are.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible

that unexplained disappearances

are in some way connected
to alien abductions?

WHITLEY STRIEBER:
The room was filled

with these willowy figures
with big black eyes.

Kept trying to wake up,
and I couldn't.

NARRATOR:
There is a doorway

in the universe.

Beyond it
is the promise of truth.

It demands
we question everything

we have ever been taught.

we have ever been taught.
The evidence is all around us.

The evidence is all around us.

The future
is right before our eyes.

The future
is right before our eyes. We are not alone.

We are not alone.

We have never been alone.

Nunavut Territory, Canada.

Located at the northernmost
point of the country

and stretching across
most of the Canadian Arctic,

the Nunavut Territory

is among the most sparsely
populated regions on Earth.

(dogs barking)

Yet Inuit tribes

have continuously inhabited
the region

for at least 4,000 years.

Because of its remoteness,

most people had not heard
of the region until 1930,

when it first made headlines

when it first made headlines
across North American newspapers

across North American newspapers

across North American newspapers
with the report

with the report

of the mysterious disappearance

of an entire Inuit tribe.

A fur trapper
by the name of Joe Labelle,

comes upon a small village,
and it's empty.

There are tents.
There are shelters.

There's a fire.

There's a fire.
There's stew in a pot on the fire.

There's stew
in a pot on the fire.

But there's nobody around.

HOWE:
There were graves

in this village

where every top of every grave
had been lifted off,

and every dead person was gone.

NARRATOR:
There was no sign

of violence or disturbance
in the Anjikuni village

to explain how an estimated
25 men, women, and children

would have vanished.

After the disappearance
was first publicized,

other details began to emerge.

When the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police got to the village

and they went around
and talked with locals,

they were hearing all about
strange things in the sky.

The Mounties themselves
saw blue lights

twinkling and hovering
and moving around on the horizon

as if being watched
by something in the sky.

One thing that makes
the Anjikuni case

really stand out

is the fact that the entire
village was just gone.

And that is something
that we don't see too often,

And that is something
that we don't see too often, but we do see it now and again,

but we do see it now and again,

but we do see it now and again,
and possibly that demonstrates

and possibly that demonstrates

a very disturbing aspect
of the UFO phenomenon.

NARRATOR:
Could it be

that the Anjikuni tribe

actually disappeared
from the face of the Earth?

Some ancient astronaut theorists

claim that accounts
of mass disappearances

can be traced back
thousands of years

to some of our
earliest civilizations.

HOWE:
What is happening

on all
of the mass disappearances?

Nobody knows.

In the mass disappearances where
cultures or towns or villages

have disappeared
in Earth history,

have disappeared
in Earth history, nobody has come back.

nobody has come back.

DAVID CHILDRESS:
Throughout ancient history,

there are various reports

of large amounts of people

just completely disappearing
from the Earth

and going to some unknown place.

We don't know, but it's possible

that this is connected, in fact,
to extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible

that there is a common thread

linking mass disappearances
throughout history?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

and suggest
further clues can be found

by examining the story
of 100,000 people

by examining the story
of 100,000 people who completely vanished.

who completely vanished.

Russian painter,
philosopher, and archaeologist

Nicholas Roerich

embarks
on an unprecedented expedition

into the uncharted territory
of the Tibetan plateau

on a quest to find
the lost kingdom of Shambhala,

a so-called
hidden realm of the gods

that is found in both
Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

Shambhala is a very important
role in the Tibetan culture.

And we believe
it exists in this role.

And we believe it exists in this role.
CHILDRESS: Shambhala is ruled by kings

CHILDRESS:
Shambhala is ruled by kings

who live for hundreds of years.

They are all-knowing,

and they particularly
are guiding the planet,

and they particularly
are guiding the planet, very much as we often think

very much as we often think

that extraterrestrials
are doing.

They have wonderful technology.

There's electricity.
There's airships.

So what is going on
in Shambhala?

Is it some mystical city
of the masters

where extraterrestrials
and humans

are living and working together?

I mean, that's what
many people believe.

NARRATOR:
On August 5, 1927,

Roerich notes a strange object
in the skies

while traveling
through the mountains

along the northeastern
border of Tibet.

Roerich writes that they were
looking up at the sky

watching an eagle fly around

watching an eagle fly around
and then suddenly they saw

and then suddenly they saw

a sort of oval-shaped object
moving from north to south

at very fast speeds
pass over them.

HUGH NEWMAN: At one of
his later lectures in 1935,

Nicholas Roerich
described his sighting

as a spacecraft
or an aerial vehicle

that must have come
from Shambhala itself.

NARRATOR:
Did Nicholas Roerich

witness an alien craft in Tibet

witness an alien craft in Tibet
nearly a century ago,

nearly a century ago,

decades before the era
of modern UFO sightings began?

And if so, is it possible
that the traditions

that have endured here
for centuries

reflect not only
a profound spirituality,

but are tied
to an otherworldly presence?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by examining
an early Buddhist civilization

that suddenly
and mysteriously disappeared.

Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. 2020.

Towering at over 12,000 feet,

these ancient ruins
are all that is left

of the mysterious
Buddhist kingdom of Guge.

Established
in the tenth century,

this civilization
flourished for 700 years.

But then,
according to local legend,

its inhabitants vanished.

The ruins of this early city
are truly amazing.

They're in the southwest corner
of Tibet,

and there are thousands of what
were temples and palaces,

mostly gone now.

This was a kingdom
of great influence in its time.

This magnificent capitol
had artwork over all the walls,

images of the Buddha,
sacred carvings,

images of the Buddha,
sacred carvings, and images of all kind.

and images of all kind.

It had power, it had glory,
and now it is nothing.

WILLIAM HENRY:
Guge was in continuous operation

until it mysteriously
virtually disappeared.

Nobody knows
exactly what happened there

or why people
stopped living there

or why they-- where they went.

NARRATOR:
Guge was brought under the rule

of the central Tibetan
government in 1680

but remained largely isolated
and independent

for more than 200 years.

Then, in the early 20th century,
the Tibetan government decided

to finally start taxing
the residents of Guge,

to finally start taxing the residents of Guge,
but when soldiers arrived to collect,

but when soldiers arrived
to collect,

they were shocked to find
that the entire population,

an estimated 100,000 people,
had disappeared.

Where they went
remains a complete mystery,

and many Tibetans
believe the reason why

is because the people of Guge
traveled deep underground.

CHILDRESS:
The fortress of Guge

had all kinds of tunnels
and hidden staircases

that went underground
and went inside this mountain.

So even though
it was ruins already,

So even though
it was ruins already, when archaeologists went there,

when archaeologists went there,

they were astounded

that this city of Guge
apparently led inside the Earth.

What people seemed to believe

was that if you were
to follow these tunnels

far enough into the Earth,

you would eventually come

to that hidden city
of Shambhala,

an active city
full of light and power.

NARRATOR:
Did the people

NARRATOR:
Did the people of this civilization

of this civilization

flee underground
on an epic pilgrimage

to the mythic city of Shambala?

But if so, why haven't remnants

of the hidden kingdom
or the thousands of people

who allegedly
made the journey there

been discovered?

Some ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

there may be a supernatural

or perhaps even
extraterrestrial element

at play.

And for further clues,
they point to evidence

left behind
by a mysterious civilization

that abruptly abandoned
its home on Easter Island.

NARRATOR:
The Southeast Pacific Ocean.

Rapa Nui, or Easter Island,
as it has become known,

is one of the most remote
places on the planet.

The nearest inhabited island
is 1,100 miles to the west,

and its nearest
continental country, Chile,

is over 2,000 miles away.

Scattered around
the perimeter of the island,

most with their backs
to the sea,

stand nearly 300 massive
stone figures known as the moai.

Most are between
15 to 20 feet tall,

but the tallest
stands over 70 feet,

and the heaviest
weighs up to 165 tons.

Why did these people
go to such great effort

Why did these people
go to such great effort to build these giant statues?

to build these giant statues?

No one else in Polynesia
was doing that.

When you talk to the people
of Easter Island today,

the Rapa Nui people, they say
that they were doing them

to honor certain important
ancestral Ariki, or rulers.

These moais are images
of great ancestors.

NARRATOR:
Some ancient astronaut theorists

have suggested that the moai

may have been erected
by a lost race of giants

that once inhabited the island.

Interestingly, C.F. Behrens,

a member
of the Dutch expedition team

that first discovered
the island in 1722,

described some of the priestly
class of inhabitants

as Goliaths.

BARNHART:
C.F. Behrens reported

BARNHART:
C.F. Behrens reported that he saw giant people.

that he saw giant people.

Someone had rowed up
to their boat

that was some 15 foot tall.

He really made a big deal
of these giants on the island.

He really made a big deal of these giants on the island.
CHILDRESS: When the first explorers

CHILDRESS:
When the first explorers

CHILDRESS:
When the first explorers landed on Easter Island,

landed on Easter Island,

what they found
was that there were

what they found
was that there were two types of people there.

two types of people there.

There were the Short Ears
and the Long Ears.

And the Long Ears
were often described as giants,

and they were a different race
from the Short Ears.

Presumably, they had
these very, very long ears

and earlobes.

And they were
the priestly caste.

They were directing
the creation and the movement

of these statues
around the island.

NEWMAN:
They were said to be so tall

that each of the crew could walk
under the legs of these giants.

The sheer size of
the megaliths on Easter Island

The sheer size of the megaliths on Easter Island
do suggest they were made by giants.

do suggest
they were made by giants.

There are legends
all around the world

There are legends
all around the world linked with megalithic sites,

linked with megalithic sites,

which may give some clarity
on who

and how they actually built
these sites.

NARRATOR:
Francis Mazi�re,

a French ethnologist

who conducted research
on the island in 1963,

recorded local legends

that the first men
to live on the island

were of very large stature.

In his book
The Mysteries of Easter Island,

In his book
The Mysteries of Easter Island, Francis Mazi�re talks about

Francis Mazi�re talks about

that the first islanders
of Easter Island

allegedly were
these tall, giant people.

HOWE:
There were inhabitants there

that were eight to ten,

maybe even 12 feet high.

And what do you
automatically think of?

Genesis in the Bible

talks about how something
that was nonhuman,

perhaps angelic,
perhaps extraterrestrial,

saw the fair maidens
of humans, had intercourse,

and from that came the hybrids
known as the giants of old.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible

that the accounts
of giants on Earth

are in fact true

as ancient astronaut
theorists suggest?

Did the remnants
of this lost race

continue to exist
on Easter Island?

And if so, just what happened
to these beings?

Up to 15,000 people
lived on Easter Island

prior to its Western discovery.

But only 52 years later,

explorer James Cook described
a sight of mass devastation...

...with nearly all
of the moai statues toppled over

and only about 700 inhabitants
left on the island

and only about 700 inhabitants
left on the island and no mention of giants.

and no mention of giants.

Something seems to have happened
at Easter Island

that decreased the population
seriously.

And it seems
that a number of people

either died off, left,
or something happened to them.

NARRATOR:
Some ancient astronaut theorists

propose that evidence
left at the site

may point
to a more intriguing theory

regarding their disappearance.

Archaeologists found unfinished
moai left at the quarry

and tools scattered around

as if the work
had been suddenly abandoned.

CHILDRESS:
We don't know why

they would have stopped this

and even what happened exactly

to the priestly caste of giants

who was overseeing
all of this work.

Suddenly these people
just vanished.

All the work stopped.

HOWE:
The issue

that keeps coming up
about Easter Island--

was this a genetic experiment

was this a genetic experiment
where nonhumans would use

where nonhumans would use

islands, high mountains,
peninsulas

so that there would not be
interference with

or contamination
of their experiments?

Maybe that's why
they were transferred out.

NARRATOR:
Could it be

NARRATOR:
Could it be that an entire tribe

that an entire tribe

was physically removed
from Earth

shortly after their discovery
on Easter Sunday?

And if so,
could mass disappearances

be part of an extraterrestrial
experiment on Earth?

Perhaps evidence
of such a connection

can be found in the jungles
of Central America

can be found in the jungles
of Central America with a civilization

with a civilization

that seems to have
strategically abandoned

all of their sacred sites

and vanished without a trace.

NARRATOR:
Tikal National Park, Guatemala.

Here, deep in the northern
jungles of South America,

lie the ruins
of one of the largest cities

lie the ruins
of one of the largest cities of the Classic Maya.

of the Classic Maya.

Starting around 800 AD,

their sacred sites
were abandoned

one after the other.

Palenque...

Cop�n...

Naranjo...

...and then finally Tikal.

Tikal was perhaps
the largest city

of the entire
Classic Maya period.

It really was
the signature city of the Maya.

It was also one of the last
cities to be walked away from.

So you get the impression
that whatever happened

that compelled people
to walk away from the cities,

Tikal was the last one to do it.

NARRATOR:
Scholars believe

that at its height,

the Classic Maya population

may have been
as large as 20 million.

But after the collapse,

up to 95% of the Maya
were unaccounted for.

We still do not know
why they left their cities.

Because all of a sudden,
they disappeared.

And it was not a war

because you find no traces
of a war,

no traces of destruction.

They left. We don't know why
and where they have gone.

The question remains, why?

Where did they go,

and why did they
leave their cities?

Of course, there's a lot
of practical reasons

that have been brought forth--

possibly overpopulation,

quite possibly drought,
deforestation,

a lack of water,
and so forth and so forth.

But nonetheless
it remains quite interesting

to think that so many people
disappeared

all at about the same time.

NARRATOR:
Historians have noted

that the disappearance
of the Classic Maya

seems to correspond with the end
of one of their calendar cycles.

But the priestly class

seemed to have made
a new calendar

called the Long Count.

We're still not really sure
why they created this calendar,

but I do note that its timing

seems to time with major events.

The Maya are leading their lives

based on
this Long Count calendar.

NARRATOR:
The Maya constructed

the Long Count calendar

the Long Count calendar
to count down 5,125 years,

to count down 5,125 years,

or one Great Cycle.

The calendar was further divided
into 13 units

of approximately 400 years each
called baktuns.

At the end of each baktun,

the Maya
held a major celebration.

But curiously,

on the tenth baktun,
they did not.

Their Maya calendar has
this very important juncture

called a baktun.

called a baktun.
It's a 400-year period

It's a 400-year period

that comes up in 830 AD.

And they should have
celebrated it,

but it's odd.

We know at Tikal, for example,

that there was no celebration
of that tenth baktun.

HAWKES:
The Maya were the best

HAWKES:
The Maya were the best timekeepers possibly

timekeepers possibly

of any civilization of all time.

So if they know
so much about time

and they knew when to do things,

was their disappearance
from their cities

really planned
according to their calendar?

Now, the Maya of today
that have survived

talk about
how their ancestors went home.

Where is home?

NARRATOR:
Is it possible

NARRATOR:
Is it possible the Long Count calendar

the Long Count calendar

was actually counting down
to a preordained date

when the Maya
knew they would disappear?

And if so, could further
evidence of this be found

by examining the clues
left behind in Tikal?

Archeoastronomers have noted

that the seven most important
pyramids in the Grand Plaza

form the same geometric patterns

as the seven stars comprising
the Pleiades constellation,

a star cluster revered

by many ancient cultures
across the globe.

Many of the Mayan monuments

have undeniable
celestial alignments

with the Pleiades star cluster.

Is it possible that these people

originally came
from the Pleiades

and that's why
they encoded the Pleiades

and that's why
they encoded the Pleiades in their monuments so many times

in their monuments so many times

and then eventually
they returned home?

REDFERN:
Today, in abduction lore,

REDFERN:
Today, in abduction lore, many people report

many people report

that their abductors
come from the Pleiades.

That's what they tell the people
who have been taken away.

So we seem to have
a situation, potentially,

where entities from the Pleiades
have visited the Earth,

have interacted with humans

for literally
thousands of years.

HOWE:
Those Mayans

HOWE:
Those Mayans didn't leave because of drought.

didn't leave because of drought.

They left because
it was some kind of harvest.

It was an experiment.

The Mayans reached some place,

and somebody
took them from here.

It was the end
of a calendar cycle

and the beginning
of another calendar cycle

that means a lot
to some intelligence out there.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that the collapse

of the Classic Maya society

was due to a mass abduction

as some ancient astronaut
theorists suggest?

Was this an event

Was this an event
that the elite priests and rulers

that the elite
priests and rulers

that the elite
priests and rulers were counting down to?

were counting down to?

Perhaps answers can be found
2,300 miles north

with the disappearance
of another tribe

intricately connected
to the Pleiades.

(bird screeches)

(bird screeches)
NARRATOR: Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.

NARRATOR:
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.

2014.

In the desolate high desert
of the American Southwest,

In the desolate high desert of the American Southwest,
mysterious ruins stand as a testament

mysterious ruins
stand as a testament

to a great civilization
that once flourished here...

...the Ancient Pueblo Peoples,
or Anasazi.

With a population
estimated at well over 100,000,

the Anasazi settled
nearly 50,000 square miles

of the Four Corners region

of Arizona, Colorado,
Utah, and New Mexico.

of Arizona, Colorado,
Utah, and New Mexico. The highly sophisticated culture

The highly sophisticated culture

built hundreds of miles
of ancient roads,

many converging
from all directions

to Chaco Canyon,

to Chaco Canyon,
a ceremonial site

a ceremonial site

believed to be
one of their most important.

ROGER MOORE:
People that built this site

somehow came onto
the engineering principles

to be able to build
multistory buildings

such as Pueblo Bonito
behind me here.

They developed a culture here

that integrated
the alignments of the buildings

with celestial objects
and events

such as the rising
of the Pleiades.

The Anasazi were
a very successful civilization

up until about the 12th century,

up until about the 12th century,
and something very strange happened,

and something very strange
happened,

and there's
a great deal of argument

as to what that event
may have been.

NARRATOR:
According to archaeologists,

NARRATOR:
According to archaeologists, sometime around 1130 AD,

sometime around 1130 AD,

all construction ceased
at Chaco.

The buildings were sealed,

and the roofs of the ceremonial
structures, called kivas,

were burned.

It's fair to say

that there were groups
that did move,

migrate to other areas.

Those then became
the Pueblos and the Hopis.

What is confusing
is what happened

to the central part
of the civilization...

the ones
that were the astronomers

the ones
that were the astronomers that built the observatories.

that built the observatories.

Where did they go?

It appears as though
they simply disappeared.

NARRATOR: Some
ancient astronaut theorists,

NARRATOR: Some
ancient astronaut theorists, like author David Childress,

like author David Childress,

like author David Childress,
propose that there is, in fact,

propose that there is, in fact,

more to the disappearance
of the Anasazi elders

than a simple migration.

And they claim
clues can be found

And they claim
clues can be found throughout the ancient site.

throughout the ancient site.

On this cliff behind me
here at Chaco Canyon,

we have about a dozen
unusual spirals

we have about a dozen
unusual spirals carved into the cliff.

carved into the cliff.

Archeologists believe
that they represent the sun.

But some of these spirals
are very unusual.

One even has little spirals
coming off of it.

One even has little spirals
coming off of it. So you have to ask yourself,

So you have to ask yourself,

are these spirals in fact

representations
of some kind of portal,

some door to another dimension?

Both the Hopi
and the Zuni Indians

say they came from the stars...

...that their knowledge
came from the star people,

...that their knowledge
came from the star people, the star ancestors.

the star ancestors.

the star ancestors.
And the Hopi say portals are marked

And the Hopi
say portals are marked

with the spiral petroglyph,

portals
to a different dimension,

portals
to a different dimension, portals to another world.

portals to another world.

There are some that believe

that that may represent
the portals

by which the Anasazi
and other Southwestern cultures

crossed from this world
into their point of origin.

I think there's a possibility
at least

that there is a connection

between the alignments
of certain celestial events

and the opening and closings
of these portals.

Is it possible
that the Anasazi themselves

vanished en masse
from this site,

and did they go
into another dimension?

NARRATOR:
Could it be that the spiral-shaped petroglyphs

left behind by the Anasazi

left behind by the Anasazi
actually represent portals?

actually represent portals?

If so, did the Anasazi
have knowledge

of when and how to access
these other worlds?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

and believe further evidence
of an otherworldly connection

can be found in the oral stories
about this lost civilization

that have survived
through other tribes.

The Anasazi
is actually not a name

The Anasazi
is actually not a name that they gave themselves.

that they gave themselves.

It was a name that was
given to them by the Navajo.

HOWE:
The Anasazi,

the name meant
"stranger from afar"

the name meant
"stranger from afar" or "strange enemy."

or "strange enemy."

Something that was
separate, apart.

It is possible that the Anasazi
are in another dimension,

another timeline,
another planet.

All of these
various disappearances

All of these
various disappearances of people over time,

of people over time,

whether it is the Mayans,

whether it is the Anasazi,

whether it is the Anasazi,
you can look through history,

you can look through history,

and you can begin to see
these rhythms.

Advanced intelligences
that are behind all of this

are using the planet
like a laboratory.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible

that the Anasazi elders

that the Anasazi elders
were an alien hybrid race,

were an alien hybrid race,

were an alien hybrid race,
as their Navajo name would imply?

as their Navajo name
would imply?

And could extraterrestrials
have used ancient portals

to remove entire groups
of people off the planet?

As far-fetched
as the notion may seem,

modern science suggests

that such portals, or wormholes,

may in fact exist.

NARRATOR:
Princeton, New Jersey.

July 1935.

While collaborating

at the Institute
for Advanced Study,

physicists Albert Einstein
and Nathan Rosen

physicists Albert Einstein
and Nathan Rosen publish a groundbreaking idea.

publish a groundbreaking idea.

They come to the conclusion
that the Theory of Relativity

actually allows for shortcuts
across the space-time continuum.

These paths,
called Einstein-Rosen bridges,

more commonly known
as wormholes,

more commonly known
as wormholes, connect two distant locations,

connect two distant locations,

making travel to the most remote
stars in the universe

a possibility.

DENNIN:
What you're talking about

DENNIN:
What you're talking about is a structure in space

is a structure in space

that involves very, very strong
bending of space

and the connecting
of two different parts of space.

So if you think of
a piece of paper curved around

So if you think of
a piece of paper curved around and then punched out

and then punched out

and connected
from one place to the other,

that's your basic wormhole.

REDFERN:
If we look at the distance

from our planet
to the nearest star system,

it's 4.2 light-years away.

That means you would
have to travel for 4.2 years

at the speed of light,
which is 186,000 miles a second,

just to get there.

The only way, really, to do that

would be by something
like a wormhole.

NARRATOR:
While the idea

NARRATOR:
While the idea of wormhole travel

of wormhole travel

offers incredible possibilities,

realizing this technology
poses immense challenges.

Scientists estimate

that creating
a traversable wormhole

would require
a far greater amount of energy

than anything
we can produce today.

But there is a theory

But there is a theory
that so-called exotic matter

that so-called exotic matter

may provide the key
to unlocking wormhole travel.

DENNIN:
What you need is matter with negative mass,

and we're only aware
of matter with positive mass,

so we call this exotic matter.

Not that it couldn't exist.
We're just not aware of it yet.

Not that it couldn't exist.
We're just not aware of it yet. The bottom line is it takes

The bottom line is it takes

huge amounts of energy
to create these.

Imagine taking
all of Jupiter now,

its entire mass,

and converting that to energy.

You know, you're talking

millions and millions of times
more energy

than you have in a nuclear bomb.

NARRATOR:
Although most scientists say

that we're a long way
from developing the technology

that we're a long way
from developing the technology to create wormholes,

to create wormholes,

if such a thing
is even possible at all,

there are those who believe

these celestial shortcuts
already exist.

In 1991,

scientists
at Vanderbilt University

proposed that
the chaos of the Big Bang

not only created the universe,

but also may have caused
the formation of mini wormholes

billions of years ago.

ROBERT H. FRISBEE:
During the Big Bang,

space-time itself
was being mashed together,

expanded, contracted.

And one theory
says that if you had something

like the size
of the Himalayan mountains,

the space-time around it

the space-time around it
could have been so badly stressed

could have been
so badly stressed

that it would mash this matter
inside its own event horizon.

In the same way,

you can imagine space-time
being mashed together

and forming a mini wormhole.

NARRATOR:
The possible result,

NARRATOR:
The possible result, according to researchers,

according to researchers,

would be a wormhole
about the size of an atom.

Once located,

these mini wormholes
could possibly be stretched

to create
a traversable wormhole.

DENNIN:
One of the things we know

is that since the Big Bang,

the universe has been expanding,

which means space-time overall
has been stretching.

So if when the universe
is quite small

you make a teeny,
little wormhole,

as that whole structure
stretches,

that whole wormhole stretches
and grows big as well.

So you could end up
with a very large wormhole now.

NARRATOR:
If wormholes were created

in the earliest stages
of the universe,

is it possible, as some ancient
astronaut theorists suggest,

that celestial beings
have already used them

to travel to Earth
in the distant past?

JASON MARTELL:
It's very possible that wormholes

or stargates opening

and beings coming through them

are a way to explain
how man was interacting

are a way to explain
how man was interacting with ancient gods.

with ancient gods.

NARRATOR:
Chihuahua, Mexico.

Just 125 miles
from the Texas border.

This vast archaeological site

This vast archaeological site
situated near the base

situated near the base

of the Sierra Madre
Occidental Mountain range

dates back to 1200 A.D.

Known as both
Paquim� and Casas Grandes,

only part
of the extensive remains,

estimated to contain
more than 2,000 clay rooms,

have been excavated,

revealing a well-planned city

containing plazas,
stores, workshops,

and multistory
residential buildings

with an advanced
water and sewage system.

BARNHART:
Paquim�, or Casas Grandes,

is larger than any other site

for hundreds of miles
in any direction.

And there's an interesting
melding of different cultures.

In some aspects, it's a very
Mesoamerican or Aztec city.

In other regards,

it's a very Pueblo
or Southwest-culture city.

NARRATOR:
At its height,

Paquim� is believed to have had
a population

of more than 10,000.

But this thriving pre-Columbian
civilization declined

and mysteriously disappeared
by the 16th century.

While no one knows exactly

who the inhabitants
of Paquim� were,

it is believed
that their descendants

may be the indigenous people
of the region,

known as the Tarahumara.

The Tarahumara now live

high up in the canyons
of the Sierra Madre,

high up in the canyons
of the Sierra Madre, and much of what is known

and much of what is known

about the ancient city
of Paquim�

comes from the stories
passed down to them

from their ancestors.

According to their legends,

Paquim� is a sacred place

where star people
have appeared for centuries.

Described as light,
tall, and blond,

the Tarahumara
say these mysterious beings

emerged from doorways
in the ruins.

HAWKES:
The Tarahumara truly believe

that the star people
exist, still, today

in the Chihuahuan Desert.

They believe
that these tall, blond people

represent, maybe, the heirs
of the star people

that first brought them
to this world.

They believe that
there is a portal

and that these star people
use this portal today

to transport to various places

on the Earth
and off-world as well.

NARRATOR:
Throughout the architecture

NARRATOR:
Throughout the architecture of Paquim� are hundreds

of Paquim� are hundreds

of uniquely T-shaped openings,

openings that closely resemble
an ancient doorway

more than 4,000 miles away
in southern Peru.

Here, perched high
in the Andes Mountains,

this shallow T-shaped opening

called the Doorway of Amaru Muru

is surrounded by many legends

describing it
as an active portal

that transports beings
both into and out of this world.

ANDREW COLLINS:
This could be a coincidence

if it weren't for the fact

that at Paquim�
there are strange stories

of the appearance
of these Caucasian-like beings.

And there are
very similar stories

to do with
this gate of the gods in Peru.

It's possible that this does
represent a stargate location

in which extraterrestrial humans

are seen as coming and going

during certain
opportune points in the year

when the stargate
becomes active.

NARRATOR:
Considering the similar doorways

and legends
of otherworldly beings

at Paquim� and Amaru Muru,

is it possible
that extraterrestrials

once accessed
these ancient sites

through stargates?

Some ancient astronaut theorists

say that not only
were stargates present

at places like Paquim�
and Amaru Muru

in the distant past,

but that there may be
functioning stargates

here on Earth even today.

NARRATOR:
The Sargasso Sea.

Stretching 700 miles wide
and 2,000 miles long,

this strange body of water

is completely isolated

in the middle
of the North Atlantic Ocean.

It is a sea without shores

surrounded by some

of the strongest currents
in the world,

of the strongest currents in the world,
and due to a number of unexplained incidents

and due to a number
of unexplained incidents

that have occurred here,

it has earned the nicknames
Sea of Lost Ships,

The Calms of Death,

and The Sea of Fear.

And curiously,

although the waters around it
are violent,

although the waters around it
are violent, the Sargasso Sea itself is calm.

the Sargasso Sea itself is calm.

The water is unusually blue,

mysterious, as if the currents
don't affect this one area.

As if the winds stop
or as if time stands still.

Back in the time
of sailing ships,

if sailing ships
went into this area,

they could not
necessarily get out,

and they were seen
as sort of being trapped

by the Sargasso Sea.

TSOUKALOS:
Boats will be found

perfectly intact there,

but the crew
will have disappeared

without a trace.

without a trace.
Now, why would that be?

Now, why would that be?

Because it's strange

since the Sargasso Sea
is known for its calm waters.

NARRATOR:
Perhaps the oldest known

and most famous disappearance

reported from the Sargasso Sea

occurred in August 1840

when a merchant ship
called the Rosalie

was traveling
from Germany to Cuba.

According to the London Times,

when it was discovered
drifting aimlessly,

the vessel
was completely abandoned

although perfectly intact
with the sails still set.

What happened to the Rosalie
remains a mystery,

but similar occurrences

have continued to plague
the Sargasso Sea

for centuries.

BARA:
In 1881,

a ship by the name
of the Ellen Austin

found a derelict schooner
in the Sargasso Sea.

They put a crew aboard it

and sailed in tandem
back towards London

for several days.

About two days later,

the schooner was found
to be sailing erratically,

and when it was boarded again,

that crew had also disappeared
absolutely into thin air.

It was as if the people
were simply beamed out of it.

It is also interesting
to note that the Sargasso Sea

is directly in contact
with the area

we call the Bermuda Triangle.

There may be some type

of stargate or portal activation
in this area.

NARRATOR:
Could the reports

NARRATOR:
Could the reports of strange disappearances

of strange disappearances

occurring in the Sargasso Sea

and also in the Bermuda Triangle
that overlaps this body of water

be explained
by the presence of a stargate?

Ancient astronaut theorists

believe further evidence
can be found

deep within one of
North America's largest lakes.

Lake Michigan.

Stretching across

this 22,300 square mile
body of water

from Manitowoc, Wisconsin,

to Ludington and Benton Harbor,
Michigan,

is another mysterious area
known as the Michigan Triangle.

Like the Sargasso Sea,

this portion
of the massive freshwater lake

has been associated with bizarre
and puzzling disappearances.

BARA:
In 1937, there was a freighter named the McFarland,

which passed through
the Michigan Triangle.

The captain of the ship

went to his cabin
to get some sleep,

told his second mate
to come and awaken him

at a specific time.

When the second mate
knocked on the door,

there was no answer.

The door was locked
from the inside.

They broke in, and the captain
had simply disappeared.

None of the portholes were open.
None of the windows were open.

There was no way for the captain
to have gotten out of the ship.

NOORY:
They never could find the guy.

Did he jump off the ship?
Who knows?

But the ship
was exactly in this triangle

But the ship
was exactly in this triangle in Lake Michigan.

in Lake Michigan.

NARRATOR:
But ships aren't the only crafts

affected by this area
of Lake Michigan.

There are accounts
of as many as 40 planes

that have disappeared
in the Michigan Triangle.

In 1950,

13 years after the captain
of the McFarland went missing,

13 years after the captain
of the McFarland went missing, Northwest Airlines Flight 2501,

Northwest Airlines Flight 2501,

carrying 55 passengers
and three crew,

disappeared as it passed over
the Michigan Triangle.

The wreckage
has never been discovered,

The wreckage has never been discovered,
and investigations continue to this day.

and investigations continue
to this day.

BARA:
No wreckage was ever found.

The families have been
despondent over it.

They continue to look
for the wreckage.

There's a monument to them
on the shores of Lake Michigan,

but not a trace--

not a belt buckle, not a wallet,
not a chair,

nothing from the aircraft
has ever been found,

and the area was searched
for six days afterwards.

It's been searched extensively
by salvagers

in the decades since,

and no one
has ever found a thing.

Ships have been there.
They've disappeared.

Airplanes have flown
into the region.

Airplanes have flown
into the region. They've disappeared.

They've disappeared.

They've disappeared.
REDFERN: These aircraft and ships

REDFERN:
These aircraft and ships

are just gone.

Now, for me,

the very fact that
they are totally vanished,

that makes me think
that possibly

they've been sucked
into some form of wormhole

and unfortunately get trapped
on the other side.

NARRATOR:
Could the murky waters

of Lake Michigan

actually be hiding
the entrance to a wormhole

as some researchers suggest?

Might that explain
why there has been

such peculiar phenomenon here,

including countless sightings

of strange
unidentified flying objects

both overhead

and coming from
below the surface?

BARA:
There have been witnesses

that have actually seen
green glowing disks

fly up out of the lake.

They've seen
blue spherical objects

fly into the lake.

Gateways through space and time
will have a luminous quality.

They will appear as
spherical formations of plasma.

It seems that certain areas

are often where these portals
are naturally forming.

It's possible
that extraterrestrials

may have been
accessing that area,

and, in fact,
it may still be active today,

thus accounting
for these UFO sightings

and all the bizarre
disappearances.

HENRY:
It's possible that there's

HENRY:
It's possible that there's a network of portals

a network of portals

spread throughout the world.

These portals could be accessed

by extraterrestrial beings

who use them
to come and go from the stars.

NARRATOR:
Could there be portals

to other worlds
that exist on Earth,

ones that continue to function
even today?

If so, might they not only serve

as gateways
for extraterrestrial visitors

but also help explain
cases of missing people

that have vanished
without a trace?

Perhaps further clues can be
found by exploring the mystery

of the Brown Mountain lights
and disappearances.

NARRATOR:
Burke County, North Carolina.

For at least a century,

a strange phenomenon
has been witnessed regularly

by thousands of people

in the foothills
of the Brown Mountains.

Unidentified lights

moving erratically
just below the horizon

have been photographed

and even recorded on video.

and even recorded on video.
MAN: There it is. There it is. Ooh!

MAN:
There it is. There it is. Ooh!

Ooh, look at that! Look at that!

Brown Mountain in North Carolina

is an area that has
for centuries been associated

with mysterious lights
and disappearances.

And for decades,
these lights have been studied,

and no one is sure exactly
what causes these lights.

There are many theories
about them.

There are tales of people

who have gone out
into those foothills

or onto the mountain

or onto the mountain
and never come back.

and never come back.

WILCOCK:
There is a long-standing tradition

of disappearances
that happened in this area.

In 1850, we have a case
of a plantation owner

who wanders off
into the mountains

who wanders off
into the mountains and disappears completely.

and disappears completely.

And then a whole group of his
slaves, carrying lanterns,

go out trying to find him,
and they cannot find him,

go out trying to find him,
and they cannot find him, and then they also disappeared.

and then they also disappeared.

In another case,

In another case,
a woman went missing on Brown Mountain

a woman went missing
on Brown Mountain

a woman went missing
on Brown Mountain and a whole team of people

and a whole team of people

who were dispatched
to search for her

who were dispatched
to search for her did not return.

did not return.

There have been
mysterious disappearances

of people who have gone
up on the mountain

and never come back.

And in each instance,

there's always this reference
to mysterious lights,

there's always this reference to mysterious lights,
as if these lights somehow function

as if these lights
somehow function

as perhaps a portal or a gateway

though which these people
disappear into.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that there are

NARRATOR:
Could it be that there are actually places on Earth

actually places on Earth

where entire groups of people
could disappear

where entire groups of people
could disappear through some sort of portal?

through some sort of portal?

If so, is it possible

that the Brown Mountain
lights and disappearances

are part of a larger agenda?

In the United States alone,

over 600,000 people
are reported missing each year,

and up to one percent
are never located.

And paranormal researchers
have noticed a disturbing trend

of unexplainable disappearances
associated with remote areas.

Hundreds of thousands of people
on planet Earth

disappear every year--
every year--

disappear every year--
every year-- and nobody knows where they are.

and nobody knows where they are.

National forests, parks.

There have been
stories of people

talking to other people.

They turn around
and they're gone.

NARRATOR:
Holland, Michigan.

February 18, 1978.

Steven Kubacki,
a student at Hope College,

tells his roommates he's
going out cross-country skiing.

When Steven
doesn't return by nightfall,

his roommates
contact the police,

and a massive search and rescue
operation is launched.

DAVID PAULIDES:
Two days later,

they find Steven's backpack
and his skis

sitting on the beach
to the Great Lakes,

and they walk out
and they search the area

and they walk out
and they search the area and they find tracks in the snow

and they find tracks in the snow

leading out onto the ice
towards the lake.

The tracks appeared to stop
in the middle of the lake.

There was no hole.
There was nothing.

That was just
where they stopped.

He completely disappeared.

NARRATOR:
A little over a year later,

Steven Kubacki
awakens in a field

some 700 miles
from where he disappeared,

certain it was the same day
as the one when he went missing.

He had no memory
of where he had been

or how he had traveled
across the country.

PAULIDES:
Where he was for that one year and two months

is a complete black hole.

NARRATOR:
After months of investigation,

there was no credible evidence
that Steven Kubacki

had staged or faked
his disappearance.

So how was it
that a 23-year-old skier

suddenly vanished
without a trace

only to return
just over a year later

and with no memory
of where he had gone

or for how long?

These are the questions
currently being answered

These are the questions
currently being answered by former police detective

by former police detective

turned missing persons
investigator

Dave Paulides.

(phone rings)

This is Dave.

NARRATOR:
For the past nine years,

he has been investigating

the world's most baffling
missing persons cases

and has concluded that there are
certain places on Earth

where unexplained
disappearances occur

in astonishingly high numbers.

I know a lot of people
throughout the world

have heard
of the Bermuda Triangle,

missing ships and planes
over water.

I don't think
many people have heard

about the disappearances
of people on land

that fit this exact profile
that we've established.

Certain profile points
replicate themselves

time after time after time.

When they bring in search dogs,
bloodhounds,

When they bring in search dogs,
bloodhounds, they can't pick up a scent.

they can't pick up a scent.

They bring in
professional trackers.

They bring in
professional trackers. They can't track point to point.

They can't track point to point.

Many, many times,
there's a weather event

in relationship
to the disappearance.

Other times, the person
disappears near a body of water

Other times, the person disappears near a body of water
or is found near a body of water.

or is found
near a body of water.

Other instances,
if the person is found,

they're found in a location

that has been previously
searched not just once,

that has been previously
searched not just once, maybe dozens of times.

maybe dozens of times.

They leave the searchers
scratching their head.

NARRATOR:
After examining

thousands
of missing persons incidents,

Dave Paulides has identified
59 so-called hot spots

Dave Paulides has identified
59 so-called hot spots in the United States alone,

in the United States alone,

places where more people
appear to vanish,

and without any signs
of foul play,

than anywhere else
in the country.

than anywhere else in the country.
PAULIDES: In the work we do,

PAULIDES:
In the work we do,

it's a rare event

that you find somebody
who's alive,

but in those instances,

the vast, vast majority
of times,

the victim doesn't remember
what happened.

They don't know
why they got lost.

They don't know where they went.

They don't know
where they've been.

I've been very fortunate

I've been very fortunate
to meet some of the smartest people

to meet
some of the smartest people

in the world
of theoretical physicists,

and during those conversations,

many times
it's gone towards portals.

And the response coming back
from the physicists was,

"These portals
can be directed and targeted."

Is it possible
that when people go

Is it possible that when people go
through these time-tunnel portals

through these
time-tunnel portals

and they have no memory
of what went on,

it's because there's nothing
for them to have a memory of

because for them it was
just an instantaneous thing?

because for them it was just an instantaneous thing?
PAULIDES: So, I'm one of these people,

PAULIDES:
So, I'm one of these people,

as an investigator,

that lives
in the world of facts.

I don't hypothesize,
I don't theorize,

and I'm very careful
about where I tread

and who I talk to
about these things.

And when you hear from
a scientist who's credible

saying these things
could be occurring,

saying these things
could be occurring, it makes you uncomfortable,

it makes you uncomfortable,

and it makes you wonder, really,
what might be going on.

NARRATOR:
After years of conducting

hundreds of missing person
investigations,

Paulides has become convinced

that some disappearances

are the result
of strange phenomena

tied to the locations
at which they occur.

And for him,
nowhere is this more evident

than at northern California's
most mysterious site:

Mt. Shasta.

NARRATOR:
Rising to an elevation

of 14,179 feet,

of 14,179 feet,
Mt. Shasta in northern California

Mt. Shasta
in northern California

lies at an intriguing crossroads

of folklore, geology
and the paranormal.

This majestic peak,

which is also a dormant volcano,

features
breathtaking waterfalls,

pristine lakes,
and spectacular alpine vistas

that attract more than
26,000 visitors each year.

But the Native Americans
who are indigenous to this area

warn that Mt. Shasta

is as dangerous
as it is beautiful

and for very unnatural reasons.

For centuries,
the mountain has been known

as a place where people report
strange events in the sky,

encounter terrifying creatures,

and sometimes have even
vanished without a trace.

NICK POPE:
Mt. Shasta is a location

where there are multiple
strange events taking place.

UFO sightings,

paranormal events,

paranormal events,
strange disappearances...

strange disappearances...

strange disappearances...
that go back throughout history,

that go back throughout history,

and indeed one can look

to certain Native American
legends, for example,

to certain Native American
legends, for example, to say that Mt. Shasta

to say that Mt. Shasta

has always been associated
with strange goings-on.

There's things around
in this mountain here

that people
are really unaware of.

Some people don't even
want to believe it.

But I believe it
'cause I've seen it.

I've witnessed it.

NARRATOR:
Local Native American tribes

such as the Shasta,
Wintu, Modoc and Karuk

have inhabited the area

have inhabited the area
dating back as much as 12 centuries.

dating back
as much as 12 centuries.

Each revere Mt. Shasta

as a place that possesses
mystical powers.

I was told by
my grandmother and grandfather

that, you know, that we didn't
go above the tree line,

that that belongs
to Grandfather up there.

So I try to stay
as far away as I can.

Yeah, Siskiyou County
is the location

that Carl disappeared in.

NARRATOR:
Since 2009,

former police detective
Dave Paulides

has been applying

his professional
investigative training,

attempting to solve
mysterious missing persons cases

attempting to solve
mysterious missing persons cases all around the country.

all around the country.

In ten-plus years,

I've looked at over 5,000
search and rescue cases,

and in those,
1,200 are unexplained.

And I mean that cases
of possible animal predation

have been vetted out.

Incidents of mental health,
suicide, were vetted out.

And what you're left with

is a complete void
of rational explanation.

The area around Mt. Shasta
has many unusual disappearances.

NARRATOR:
One of the most

baffling disappearances

that Dave has been focusing on

was reported on Mt. Shasta
in 1999.

On May 25,
three experienced hikers--

Carl Landers, Milt Gaines
and Barry Gilmore--

set off from Mt. Shasta's
Bunny Flat trailhead

towards the summit.

The guys got up to a place
called 50/50.

It was a place where hikers
that wanted to summit

would either camp there
or at the next stop,

called Lake Helen,
for the night.

The next morning, they get up.
The wind's howling.

The guys were putting
the tent together

and were stashing it
for their climb,

and they saw
that Carl was looking cold.

And so they said, "Hey,
why don't you go to Lake Helen

and we'll meet you there."

And Carl took off walking.

NARRATOR:
Shortly after Carl left

the 50/50 campsite,

Milt and Barry followed.

But when they arrived
at Lake Helen,

just 650 feet away,

Carl was nowhere to be found.

PAULIDES:
Milt Gaines, Carl's partner,

got there,
and he didn't see Carl.

And now he's confused.

Because there's no place

between 50/50 and Lake Helen
to disappear.

There's no obstructions.
You're above timberline.

There's no big, huge boulders

that are gonna get in your way,

and it's a solid snow field
with no crevasses.

That started
a week-long search and rescue

that would rival any
anyone knew about.

Now, one of the things that was
done on the Landers case

is that they checked
with U.S. Geological Survey

for seismic activity
on the mountain.

for seismic activity
on the mountain. The reason they did that

The reason they did that

is that sometimes
there's an avalanche of rock

and maybe the climber
was covered by the rock

and maybe the climber
was covered by the rock and you wouldn't find him.

and you wouldn't find him.

And during the time
that Carl was gone,

there was no seismic activity,

so they know that Carl
wasn't covered by rocks.

NARRATOR:
Remarkably,

in the more than 20 years

since Carl's disappearance,

since Carl's disappearance,
no one has found any clues

no one has found any clues

that could explain
what happened to him.

MILT GAINES:
I don't know how many people

have been up Avalanche Gulch,

but, uh, nothing has been found.

No metal ice axe.
No metal crampons.

No colorful nylon pack or coat

or black pants or plastic boots.

Nothing.

PAULIDES:
The search and rescue

coordinator on this event

was an individual
named Grizz Adams.

Grizz had been doing this
for 30-plus years.

Grizz said, "Dave, I guarantee
Carl isn't on that mountain.

He either went up or he went in,
but he isn't on."

Those were his words.

I think that the comment
tells you

that there were few options
for a rational explanation.

NARRATOR:
Another very unusual disappearance

that Dave Paulides
investigated near Mt. Shasta

occurred on September 2, 2011.

PAULIDES:
A three-year-old boy

disappeared on a camping trip.

And he was later found
by search and rescue

at one of the first places
they would have looked.

Right next to a trail.

One of the first things
search and rescue people do is,

as they're walking
down a trail,

they're calling the boy's name.

- MAN: Tommy!
- MAN 2: Hey, Tommy.

Hey, Tommy, where are you?

Now, if he was near the trail
and he heard that,

chances are
he's gonna come and get help.

'Cause he'd been out there
overnight.

So, to think that he was next to
that trail the whole time

is really hard to understand.

Another unusual aspect
to that story

is that this boy told a story
of, after going missing,

he was down in some kind
of underground cave...

...and a woman--
but he thought was a robot--

was there asking him
if he was okay and comfortable.

Was all a very strange story,

Was all a very strange story,
something I've never heard before.

something I've never
heard before.

NARRATOR:
While the story may sound

like the product
of a child's imagination,

the search and rescue team
could provide no explanation

for how the boy went missing
for five hours

only to suddenly turn up
right next to the trail.

Many people
say these disappearances

Many people
say these disappearances are just accidents,

are just accidents,

but the idea
that somebody disappears

in a location
where there are UFO sightings

and sometimes
reports of entities

mirrors the idea, perhaps,
of the alien abduction.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible

that in some cases

there's an extraterrestrial
connection

to mysterious disappearances?

Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest evidence of such a link

can be found
in the firsthand accounts

of people who have vanished
and then returned.

NARRATOR:
New York's Hudson Valley.

December 26, 1985.

Author Whitley Strieber
has an experience

that becomes the basis of his
blockbuster book Communion.

STRIEBER:
My wife and I had bought a cabin,

and in October of 1985,

strange experiences
began to happen there

that were memorable
but not understandable.

And then on December the 26,

I felt myself in motion

and woke up
in the middle of the night,

and the room was filled

with these willowy figures
with big black eyes

and dark blue short figures
moving around.

and dark blue short figures
moving around. I assumed it was a nightmare,

I assumed it was a nightmare,

and I kept trying
to wake up from the dream,

and I couldn't.

Then I began to hear
a voice repeating--

Then I began to hear
a voice repeating-- very gentle voice

very gentle voice

but it was
like a mechanical voice--

"What can we do
to help you stop screaming?"

And I thought, "I'm screaming?"
And I was screaming.

That was the beginning of it,

and that's when
the rest of my life began.

COLLINS:
And to this day,

he still doesn't know
exactly who they were,

where they came from.

Were they aliens?

Were they
interdimensional visitors?

He cannot say.

NARRATOR:
Unbeknownst to him at the time,

Strieber's abduction

was actually witnessed
by a neighbor.

STRIEBER:
After I published Communion,

one neighbor shamefully admitted

that he had seen
what happened to me that night.

He and his wife
had been driving home

from a party
at about 2:00 in the morning,

and they had seen

what they thought
was the Goodyear blimp

landed in a field
near our houses.

And suddenly
lights came on all over it.

He heard someone
screaming inside.

He heard someone screaming inside.
His wife panicked and he drove away.

His wife panicked
and he drove away.

And a year later he said to me,

And a year later he said to me,
"Whitley, I'm so ashamed to tell you.

"Whitley, I'm so ashamed
to tell you.

"I know it was you in there.

It was a man screaming.
It had to have been you."

NARRATOR:
Communion became a massive bestseller

and ignited a cultural shift

in people's attitudes towards
the subject of alien abduction.

STRIEBER:
When I published it,

I thought there were, like,
maybe 30 or 40 people

who had had the experience,
not millions.

who had had the experience,
not millions. But it was millions.

But it was millions.

NARRATOR:
But for UFO researchers

and ancient astronaut
theorists alike,

and ancient astronaut
theorists alike, of particular significance

of particular significance

is where Strieber's
encounter occurred.

The Hudson Valley
stretches northward 150 miles

The Hudson Valley
stretches northward 150 miles from New York City up to Albany.

from New York City up to Albany.

STRIEBER:
This occurred

right at the western border
of the Hudson Valley.

The area is full
of this type of thing,

and after I published Communion,

people from the neighborhood
would come forward,

one after another,
to tell me their own stories.

NARRATOR:
Kent, New York.

New Year's Eve, 1982.

New Year's Eve, 1982.
(noisemaker blaring)

(noisemaker blaring)

Just a few miles
from the Hudson River,

New Year's Eve revelers
spot a gigantic V-shaped craft

throbbing with red,
white and green lights.

As they watch in amazement,
the colors vanish,

replaced by white lights
so bright

replaced by white lights
so bright they illuminate the ground.

they illuminate the ground.

Over the next months,

authorities are bombarded

with hundreds
of similar reports.

PHILIP IMBROGNO:
Usually, UFOs just appear

to a small number of people

and they disappear.

In this case,

people were stopped
on the highways.

People were running
out of their houses

watching this enormous object
pass over

the size of a football field.

BILL BIRNES:
They were so large

that people
standing between trees

couldn't see
the ends of the flying triangles

'cause they were so big.

That's how large they were.

NARRATOR:
The sightings continued

NARRATOR:
The sightings continued for more than six years

for more than six years

and became the most widely
reported in American history.

CHILDRESS:
The Hudson Valley UFO sightings

continued well up to 1988.

It's estimated that as many
as 5,000 people

called in and made reports

called in and made reports
of this very large, lit-up UFO.

of this very large, lit-up UFO.

NEWMAN:
Other accounts, uh,

of people seeing
these strange balls of light,

which move around
in erratic and unusual ways.

IMBROGNO:
UFOs were being seen

all over the place.

Pilots were seeing them.

Police officers
were chasing them.

It was like
something out of a movie.

NARRATOR:
But why were so many

NARRATOR:
But why were so many UFO sightings reported

UFO sightings reported

in this one particular area?

Could there be a connection

to Whitley Strieber's
abduction experience?

The thinking
is that when you have

The thinking is that when you have
so much UFO activity in one place,

so much UFO activity
in one place,

that place
is going to be significant.

There's something
about that area, it seems,

There's something
about that area, it seems, that is attracting the UFOs.

that is attracting the UFOs.

They want something
in that location.

There is a connection
with something in that location.

Some have suggested
the reason why these sightings

have happened
at the Hudson Valley

is because they are
on top of a vortex.

Now, what's a vortex?

Well, there are varying
opinions of what that is.

Some have suggested
that they are magnetic points

that are part
of the Earth's magnetic grid.

Others have suggested

that vortexes
are sort of these portals.

COLLINS:
What we call portals

are locations
where paranormal phenomena

and supernatural events occur

on an extremely regular basis

and have done for many decades,

if not hundreds of years.

NARRATOR:
Some argue

that New York's Hudson Valley

and the adjoining region
of New England--

America's northeast--

America's northeast--
may be just such a vortex.

may be just such a vortex.

STRIEBER:
It is definitely

STRIEBER:
It is definitely an extraordinary place of power,

an extraordinary place of power,

the Hudson Valley.

the Hudson Valley.
If you want to call it a vortex,

If you want to call it a vortex,

then sure, it's a vortex.

I'd have to be completely nuts
to say anything else,

because I experienced it
directly for years there.

NARRATOR:
Whitley Strieber's

NARRATOR:
Whitley Strieber's alien abduction case

alien abduction case

is considered
among the most compelling

in the history
of the modern phenomenon.

in the history
of the modern phenomenon. But according to researchers,

But according to researchers,

But according to researchers,
his is just one of hundreds of cases

his is just one
of hundreds of cases

reported every year.

Harvard University.
Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1991.

Dr. John E. Mack,

a Harvard professor
and renowned psychiatrist

a Harvard professor
and renowned psychiatrist working with trauma patients,

working with trauma patients,

is convinced by a colleague

to examine those
who claim to have been abducted

by extraterrestrials.

He started, according to him,

He started, according to him,
having his clients tell him

having his clients tell him

having his clients tell him
these very, very detailed

these very, very detailed

and traumatizing,
in many cases, accounts

of beings coming and taking them

of beings coming and taking them
and doing experimentation,

and doing experimentation,

and even this discussion
of alien hybrids

that were produced
from experimentation.

And in the beginning,

he talks about
how he had a lot of trouble

considering this
to be even close to being

in the realm of possibility.

You know?
He's an ardent academic.

And his job is to find
the rational approach

to what's really going on here,

and of course,
he started trying to analyze

what's the state of mind
of these people.

Are there any connections
between the type of people

that are recounting
these stories?

You know, so that way
he can develop

You know, so that way
he can develop a psychological profile.

a psychological profile.

But what he found
was that that's not the case.

These stories were coming from
a wide demographic of people,

people from all over the world.

TSOUKALOS:
John Mack was a skeptic.

At first, he didn't believe
a single thing,

but after five or six encounters
with experiencers,

but after five or six encounters
with experiencers, he changed his tune.

he changed his tune.

he changed his tune.
So for a skeptic to all of a sudden

So for a skeptic
to all of a sudden

change 180 degrees,

that's amazing,

that's amazing,
because John Mack applied

because John Mack applied

all of his clinical knowledge
on those experiencers,

all of his clinical knowledge on those experiencers,
and due to that, because it is a science,

and due to that,
because it is a science,

and due to that,
because it is a science, he had to conclude

he had to conclude

that
extraterrestrial visitations

are not a likelihood
but a certainty.

He also said
the abduction phenomenon

is not a modern-day
occurrence only.

NOORY:
He was convinced

beyond a shadow of a doubt

that people were being
abducted by extraterrestrials.

He was ridiculed,
scorned by his colleagues,

laughed at,

but he did not stop.

He continued
to try to get these answers

as to what was happening
to these people.

REDFERN:
During the course

of his research,

of his research,
Dr. John Mack came to realize

Dr. John Mack came to realize

that the alien abduction
phenomenon

that the alien abduction
phenomenon wasn't one of scarcity.

wasn't one of scarcity.

wasn't one of scarcity.
It was essentially an epidemic.

It was essentially an epidemic.

Reports were coming
from all across the planet.

But more importantly,
there were people who had

had vague dreams and memories
of something going on

but clearly didn't realize
they'd been abducted,

but clearly didn't realize
they'd been abducted, and this suggested to John Mack

and this suggested to John Mack

that there were what we could
call silent abductees.

NOORY:
Most people

who are being abducted
don't even know it.

They don't think about it.
They don't dream about it.

They're unaware of it

because, I believe,
the extraterrestrials

have somehow
washed their memory.

However, in hypnosis,
when you regress somebody,

you may be able
to pick up things

where they do recollect
what has happened.

It happened in the original
case of Barney and Betty Hill,

where the psychiatrist
Dr. Benjamin Simon

put them under via hypnosis,

and that's when
they started talking

about the things
that had happened.

about the things that had happened.
You cannot erase the mind permanently,

You cannot erase the mind
permanently,

and the E.T.s know that,

but in terms
of just full consciousness,

they're able to knock it out.

There are people
who are going to bed tonight

who have no idea

that they may be abducted
by extraterrestrials.

They won't remember it
and they won't recall it

They won't remember it
and they won't recall it and they won't even know.

and they won't even know.

The big question is why?

We can only speculate

about why the intelligence
behind UFO abduction

behaves the way that it does,

but it certainly
stands to reason

that if they need
to operate clandestinely,

if they're trying to keep
what they're doing hidden away,

that might not be possible
in our culture today.

It's possible
that what we're seeing here

is the same phenomenon

but the means
have changed over time.

That long ago,
entire cultures would vanish

That long ago,
entire cultures would vanish and now, for whatever reason,

and now, for whatever reason,

it's happening
on a much, much smaller scale.

NARRATOR:
Are modern-day disappearances

a continuation
of a much older phenomenon?

But if entire groups of people
are being taken off the planet,

could it be part
of a larger agenda?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe answers may be found

by exploring clues seen
on board an alien spaceship.

NARRATOR:
1999.

The International Community
for Alien Research

begins conducting the largest
and most in-depth study

into the specific
characteristics of abductees.

JOE MONTALDO:
The International Community for Alien Research

was founded by about
a half a dozen ufologists

was founded by about
a half a dozen ufologists who were not satisfied

who were not satisfied

what was going on
in the field at the time.

There wasn't new legitimate
abduction research being done.

There wasn't new legitimate
abduction research being done. Started with the questionnaire,

Started with the questionnaire,

which is now going on
about 13 years now.

I believe about 18,000
contactees have taken the study.

What this has told us
is it's showed us similarities

in all of these abductions.

We've learned that abductions
start pre-birth

and it starts in family lines.

NARRATOR:
The findings of the study

also showed a greater percentage

of individuals
with hazel or green eyes

are being abducted,

as well as those
having Rh negative blood types.

The Rh factor
refers to the presence

of specific proteins
or antigens in the blood.

Most humans have these antigens
and are considered Rh positive.

MONTALDO:
About 25 to 35,000 years ago,

out of the blue-- no scientist
today understands why--

Rh negative
emerged on the scene.

Most people don't realize,

but man was just positive blood
until then.

There was no Rh negative.

Really what's funny
about this is,

is why would Mother Nature
create Rh negative?

What's odd about
both the Rh negative

and the green eyes
is they're mutations.

They're both rare.

They're both rare.
Rh negative is only 15% of world population.

Rh negative is only
15% of world population.

Green-eyed people, I think,
make up two or three percent

of the world's population,

but almost 50% of contactees

have hazel or green eyes.

We don't think the color,
per se,

has anything to do with it.

It's the fact
that it's a mutation,

and for some reason,
the extraterrestrials

either created it
or if they didn't create it,

they seem to have
an extreme interest in it.

NARRATOR:
Could there really be

a genetic component at play

in the alien abduction
phenomenon?

And might these lineages
trace back

to the ancient accounts
of otherworldly encounters?

If so, does this provide insight
into strange disappearances

of entire groups of people
throughout history?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by exploring a curious encounter

that took place aboard
an extraterrestrial craft.

Houston, Texas. December 1992.

Eight members
of the Houston UFO Network

separately report being abducted

in one of the strangest
mass abduction cases in history.

Derrel Sims, a former
U.S. intelligence operative,

conducts
the preliminary investigation.

All these people
independent of each other,

and to my shock and amazement,

they all came back
with the exact same story.

The same craft.
The same entities.

They identified each other
in great detail.

Some of them didn't even
know each other very well.

All of these people
described being taken

by a small craft
and a small entity,

and the entity took them
to a much larger craft.

NARRATOR:
After researching

numerous UFO sightings

that were reported
the night of the incident,

Sims makes a shocking discovery.

Someone in Japan had filmed
the moon during this time

Someone in Japan had filmed
the moon during this time and filmed a massive craft

and filmed a massive craft

that left a shadow
across the moon

as it crossed the moon's surface

during the same time
as the mass abduction.

So there was the corroboration
that we needed.

NARRATOR:
UFO researchers following the case

believe collective details
gathered from the event

may shed new light
on the abduction phenomena

may shed new light
on the abduction phenomena and perhaps clues

and perhaps clues

to understanding
the extraterrestrial agenda.

One of the people taken saw
a map-like thing on the wall.

The map that this individual saw
that was on the wall

indicated approximately
6,000 years

of the aliens
involvement with mankind.

We were down to the last
small section of that map,

which was about 100 years left.

What we deduced
from the information

from the abductee

was simply that this experiment,
whatever it is,

is almost over.

NARRATOR:
After viewing the map, one of the abductees

was led through
a massive hallway

to another part of the craft.

SIMS:
It was a huge room of enormous size.

I said, "What did you see?"

He said, "It looked
like a collection, like--

almost like a museum of things
that had been collected.

They seem to have collected
species, animals, people,

They seem to have collected
species, animals, people, all kinds of things."

all kinds of things."

And I said,

"And what was significant
about that?"

And he said,
"I don't think they were dead.

I think they were all
suspended animation."

This may explain the reason
why some people disappear

and don't come back
from an abduction event.

NARRATOR:
Could there be cases of missing persons,

whether it be
entire vanished civilizations

or individuals,

that have
an extraterrestrial connection?

Have these people been abducted
off the planet

or perhaps unwittingly stepped

into other worlds,
dimensions or points in time?

If so, in our search

to find out
just where they have gone,

might we not only
discover the answer

but also find ourselves reunited

with our alien ancestors?

with our alien ancestors?
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