Picture by Peter Turosq
Last week we introduced you to Skinwalker Ranch, a 480 acre ranch in Utah that has become synonymous with strange happenings. With the name comes an almost embarrassing number of theories on the cause, everything from Bigfoot enthusiasts to many-world theorists have laid claim to the phenomenon. But there are three theories that seem to carry the majority of the public.
The first theory is the one from which the ranch gets its name. It stems from the fact that, according to local strange phenomenon historian Junior Hicks, although the ranch lies adjacent to Ute tribal lands the property itself is off limits to tribal members. It is described as accursed land that lies “in the path of the skinwalker.”
For those not accustomed to reading Tony Hillerman, skinwalkers occur throughout the tradition of various southwestern tribes but most prominently in that of the Navajo. They are evil creatures, witches who have given up their humanity and are capable of transforming into a number of different animals. The Navajo themselves rarely speak openly about these witches, its considered bad luck and likely to draw their attention.
The theory is that the Ute’s were cursed by the Navajos for helping the US Military in their war against them. Supporters of this theory point to the unnaturally large wolves and animal-like creatures that were spotted on the ranch as apparently transformed skinwalkers usually appear to be larger and stranger than the animals they are trying to transform into, with unusual gait and eyes. They are also, much like the wolf the Sherman’s encountered on their first day, unable to shot by normal bullets. Unless the bullets are dipped in white ash the guns jam or freeze or simply have no effect on the target. Skinwalkers are also known to be able to be enter locked houses and to enjoy toying with their victims.
One of the problems with this idea is that the Navajo aren’t in the habit of working with skinwalkers. The creatures are known to be self-serving, evil things, and it is much more likely that the Navajo would have killed off anyone they knew to be a witch rather than use them against an enemy. This is compounded by the fact that the Ute’s don’t actually believe that a skinwalker lives on the ranch itself. The skinwalker supposedly lives in a canyon a bit of a walk from the ranch itself. Why, then, does all the strange activity happen on the ranch itself?
Of course, if the phenomenon is indeed genuine then it’s possible that the Ute’s were simply looking for an explanation and settled on the idea that they had been cursed by an enemy tribe. But if the idea of the curse doesn’t quite make sense, what is the explanation?
Another popular theory is that aliens have been visiting the area for some time and that they particularly like this section of land. This is the reason given for the strange orbs seen by the people on the ranch as well as the cattle mutilations that regularly occur.
The strangest part about this story may well be the cattle mutilations. Often times these mutilations at the ranch occur within a matter of minutes after the animal was last seen alive and are often accompanied by either a “musky” or “chemical” smell depending on the witness (and whether the witness thinks the phenomenon occurs because of magic or aliens). These mutilations are strangely clean and specific, usually with things like the eyes or sex organs removed with near surgical precision.
One cow was found dead with a crisp hole cut in one of its eyes, with no tracks around it and, even stranger, no blood. Another cow was found with a hole cut six inches wide and 18 inches deep in the animal’s rectum just five minutes after they spotted it alive, again without any blood on the cow or the area around it. A just-tagged calf was found with its body cavity empty of organs. Another cow disappeared entirely from a snow covered field. Its tracks were visible until a point, where they stopped as if the animal had been taken up into the sky.
Cattle mutilations have long been included in the providence of alien researchers because they tend to occur in the same areas that report UFO’s and phenomenon like crop circles, much like Skinwalker Ranch. The only problem with this idea is one of logic, what the heck do advanced life forms want with pieces of cows? While it might be accepted that these things are delicacies why not just take the entire cow? Or slaughter them in larger amounts? Perhaps said aliens are running a psychological study to see how humans react to things that don’t seem logical?
And while alien technology could possibly explain the lack of video and photographic footage it also seems strange that aliens would engage in the kind of trickster type of activities that plagued the rest of the ranch, like the bulls being stuffed into the trailer or the groceries being taken back out after being put away. And why is the ranch itself then seen as such a hotbed of activity? It wouldn’t make a lot of sense for aliens to attack one area so adamantly and not the rest of the area.
One of the last theories is that the ranch is a naturally occurring sipapu, an opening to another dimension. This is the reason given for why such strange creatures and things appear here, but not in the surrounding area. Support for this theory supposedly lies in the strange circles that have appeared all over the property, from holes dug mysteriously into the ground or carved precariously into the ice of a frozen pond.
Stories from the both the NIDS and the Shermans support such a theory. It’s been reported that an entire team of researchers watched a humanoid creature crawl out of a bright portal and then disappear and that a bright blue sky has been seen through a large orange portal in the sky, or that strange vehicles enter and leave through it.
When it comes down to it, there are tons of stories about the area but very little proof. As I mentioned before, despite the years of research the NIDS didn’t really come out with any definitive reports and the organization itself is now defunct, with Bigelow moving on to other projects (including Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies, which collects UFO sightings). The sheer amount of phenomenon reported make it easy for any particular theorist to cherry-pick ideas that fit their pet idea while coincidentally making it harder for researchers to prove their case one way or another.
A physicist with NIDS explained it like this, “It’s a very messy affair. Nothing is clear cut. It isn’t as simple as saying that E.T.s or flying saucers are doing it. It’s some kind of consciousness, but it’s always something new and different, something non-repeatable.”
With so many confusing reports and so little physical proof, it’s hard to come to any sort of pat conclusion. The logical side argues that without proof we have to assume that nothing is happening at all beyond hysteria and the power of suggestion, but the sheer amount of reports argue that something is going on in the dark reaches of Utah.
The answer, I suppose, will have to wait for another day.