1973 was a year of walking contradictions. It was also one of the greatest years ever for UFO encounters. It’s said the events between the spring and fall of 1973 would eventually reach the big screen in the form of the film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
It all began in April when a small town known as Milan in Indiana encountered beings of a type unlike anything that had been seen before. Two strange creatures entered an auto-parts shop much to the amazement of those nearby. The creatures had almost skin-colored suits and were wearing gloves of the same hue. Their faces were covered by what looked like plastic. After the guard dog started growling and barking it suddenly fled from the room. In a robotic voice the creatures (or perhaps creature impersonators) demanded photos that the owner of the auto-parts store had taken of a UFO just six years prior. The incident left a mark on those involved for years afterward, and to this day several of them are certain that the creatures they saw that night were from another world.
As the months wore on, a series of strange sightings in the sky gripped the nation. By early fall several incidents had occurred, leaving in their wake a slew of terrified witnesses. Congressmen were called in to speak about the incidents as the nation was quickly plunged into a state of terror by the mysterious objects. It was during this time that the Parker and Hickson incident took place. Later, during an interrogation by police they would continue their conversation, but were unaware that police were still listening in. It was five minutes that would earn Parker and Hickson a great deal of credibility as they continued, terrified, to recount the harrowing abduction they had suffered. And as the days progressed, several reports of a craft similar to the one they described came pouring in.
Before October would end, however, there would be one last push by an unknown force to get people to believe there was something more to the UFO phenomenon. As a mysterious object hovered over the town of Reading Ohio, brownouts rippled through the city in waves. The power system would be later investigated and no definite problem could be determined. By Halloween there would be not only ghosts spotted in graveyards, but mysterious alien craft as well. Years later investigators would determine that it was one of the most prolific months in the history of the United States for spotting UFOs.
Why do UFO sightings seem to happen in waves? Is it simply because people tell one another of the incidents and they inspire more to take place? If this is the case, why do they often come out years later between complete strangers? The answer seems clear enough. They don’t seem to be simply stories told to scare us. It seems that somewhere in the sky in 1973 several strange objects were actually hovering in the sky. And the incredible number of reports of strange beings on the ground suggests there may have been more than just craft.