Travis Taylor: “The Pentagon might not allow us to make this Public.”
Travis Taylor: "The Pentagon might not allow us to make this Public."
Did you know that one of the most enigmatic places on Earth is right here in Utah? For decades, rumors of UFO sightings and encounters with extraterrestrial beings have surrounded this area. Yet, no definitive proof has surfaced to confirm what’s truly going on.
Despite extensive investigations, no hard evidence has been released to explain the strange phenomena. Perhaps the full story will remain hidden forever. But let’s leave behind the giant You2 Claw at Loveland Aquarium and dive into the second most mysterious location: Skinwalker Ranch.
Located in the remote U Basin, this sprawling 512-acre property has long been considered one of the world’s most notorious paranormal hotspots. Reports from the ranch have included everything from glowing orbs and mysterious aircraft to inexplicable illnesses and terrifying encounters with shape-shifting entities. It’s a place where the unexplainable seems to happen with startling regularity.
Over the years, Skinwalker Ranch has gained international fame, inspiring countless books, documentaries, and research projects. Its dark reputation for strange occurrences has attracted the attention of government scientists and private researchers alike, with some even suggesting that the ranch may be a focal point for interdimensional activity or otherworldly portals.
The site’s history is so compelling that it’s become the subject of a History Channel series, further fueling speculation about what could be lurking in the shadows of the Uint Basin. Whether it’s UFOs, cryptids, or unexplained electromagnetic disturbances, Skinwalker Ranch continues to baffle those who visit, leading many to wonder whether its secrets will ever be fully uncovered.
But how exactly did this remote patch of land in eastern Utah rise to global fame, and how many of its bizarre tales should we actually believe? The first question has a clear answer, rooted in history and investigation, but when it comes to the second, we’ll leave that up to you to decide.
History of Skinwalker Ranch: The Utes and the Navajo
The ominous reputation of Skinwalker Ranch is deeply rooted in the history and folklore of its earliest inhabitants. While the land lies within Ute territory, the name Skinwalker has its origins in Navajo tradition, derived from the phrase yal Lui, which translates to “by means of it.” In Navajo culture, Skinwalkers are feared beings—witches who have mastered dark magic, allowing them to transform into any animal or human.
These shape-shifters are believed to possess supernatural abilities, such as the power to control minds, inflict curses, and bring harm to those they target. Navajo lore about Skinwalkers is shrouded in secrecy, as discussing these beings is taboo even among Navajo people. This has only added to their mystique in popular culture, with tales of Skinwalkers inspiring countless horror stories, movies, and urban legends.
The Skinwalker legend gained particular prominence in connection with Skinwalker Ranch due to a specific story involving the Ute tribe. According to tribal accounts, during the 19th century, relations between the Ute and Navajo peoples turned hostile. Some say this conflict escalated during the forced removal of the Navajo from their homelands, known as The Long Walk of 1864. When Navajo shamans, in a final act of vengeance, cursed the land, the legend suggests that they unleashed Skinwalkers to haunt the Ute tribe, who had allied with the U.S. military during the conflict.
These Skinwalkers, it is said, still stalk the land today, carrying out the curse and sowing fear among those who venture too close to the ranch. Supporting these legends are numerous reports from both the Ute and Navajo who claim to have witnessed strange and terrifying occurrences in the Uint Basin over the years.
Stories of eerie animal sightings, such as large wolves that cannot be killed, cattle mutilations, and unexplained howls, have all been attributed to the presence of Skinwalkers. In some accounts, residents describe encounters with creatures that appear human but move in unnatural ways or display eerie glowing eyes, reinforcing the belief that Skinwalkers still roam the area.
Adding to this mystique is the Ute belief that the ranch sits on forbidden land. The tribe avoids the area, believing it to be a place of malevolent forces. This long-standing cultural taboo has only strengthened the notion that there is something otherworldly about Skinwalker Ranch—something that goes beyond what meets the eye.
The Shermans
The idea of shape-shifting witches roaming the U Basin might sound far-fetched to some, but not to the Sherman family. In 1994, they purchased Skinwalker Ranch, hoping to enjoy the quiet life in their new country home. Unfortunately, what followed could easily be the plot of a horror movie.
From the very beginning, the Shermans experienced bizarre and unsettling events on the ranch, the most terrifying of which involved something that closely resembled a Skinwalker. One evening, Terry Sherman heard a noise outside and stepped out to investigate. To his shock, he encountered an unusually large wolf, far bigger than any he had ever seen. Alarmed, he grabbed his gun and shot the wolf multiple times, but the bullets appeared to have no effect.
The creature eventually retreated, but as Terry followed its tracks, they mysteriously vanished, as if the wolf had dissolved into thin air. Was it an ancient Skinwalker that startled the family that night? While we may never know, this was just the beginning of the Shermans’ disturbing encounters at the ranch.
Over the next two years, they reported a litany of strange phenomena, including flashing lights and mysterious objects in the sky, strange circles that appeared in their fields overnight, disembodied voices floating through the air, and a series of gruesome cattle mutilations that left no clear explanation.
The experiences were so terrifying that, unlike families in horror films who stubbornly stay in haunted houses, the Shermans decided to sell the property before things got worse. By 1996, just two years after moving in, they had had enough.
Robert Bigalow and NIDS
Who would be bold—or perhaps foolish—enough to buy a haunted ranch? Someone with deep pockets and a passion for the paranormal, of course. Enter Robert Bigalow, a millionaire with a serious interest in the unknown.
In 1995, just a year before buying Skinwalker Ranch, Bigalow had founded the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) to fund research into UFOs and paranormal phenomena. For Bigalow, Skinwalker Ranch was the ultimate playground.
In 1996, he bought the 500-acre property from the Shermans and turned it into a research hub for his newly created NIDS. Skeptics, however, often point out that much of the evidence for paranormal activity on the ranch comes from the Shermans themselves, who sold the property to a millionaire known for his fascination with UFOs.
Some question whether the Shermans might have fabricated stories of mutilated cattle and shape-shifting wolves to lure in Bigalow or another buyer. While that theory has sparked debate, it doesn’t hold much weight when you consider the facts: the Shermans sold the ranch for around $200,000, a modest sum for a property of that size, even in the ’90s, suggesting they weren’t out to profit but were instead eager to leave behind what they believed was a haunted nightmare.
So what did Bigalow and his team at NIDS uncover? If they found definitive proof of UFOs or alien life, they certainly kept it under wraps. What has been revealed aligns eerily with the Shermans’ original reports.
NIDS researchers recounted seeing strange creatures with glowing, unnatural eyes and more mutilated cattle, including one case that occurred in broad daylight, within an hour of the cow being seen alive. What was most unsettling about these mutilations wasn’t just the precision with which the animals had been disemboweled, but the complete absence of blood—as though the animals’ innards had been removed without leaving a trace.
While these stories add to the ranch’s already eerie reputation, many wonder why, after years of research and millions of dollars, no groundbreaking evidence ever surfaced. One explanation, ironically, is that the technology itself became part of the mystery. On multiple occasions, expensive audio and visual equipment mysteriously failed to record what eyewitnesses had clearly seen. Whether it was large, unidentifiable animals or glowing orbs in the sky, the lack of physical evidence, despite so many reported encounters, only deepened the enigma.
NIDS was disbanded in 2004, but Bigalow held on to the ranch until 2016, when it was sold to another group eager to investigate its strange phenomena. Like NIDS before them, the new owners experienced many of the same unexplained anomalies and faced the same frustrations. Despite all the research and equipment, Skinwalker Ranch remains as much a mystery today as it was when the Shermans first fled.
Brandon Fugal and the History Channel
In 2016, Robert Bigalow sold Skinwalker Ranch to a buyer who, for a time, chose to remain anonymous. That changed in 2020, when Brandon Fugal, a Utah real estate mogul, revealed himself as the mysterious new owner.
With his announcement came the launch of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, a History Channel reality TV show documenting Fugal’s efforts to approach the ranch’s bizarre phenomena from a scientific perspective. Fugal assembled a team of experts across multiple disciplines to investigate the ranch’s mysteries. The team includes astrophysicists, engineers, and even a man named Dragon—an unusual figure who adds a quirky element to the investigations.
Like NIDS before them, Fugal’s team seeks answers to questions that have puzzled researchers for decades. Why does electronic equipment malfunction so frequently on the ranch? What’s behind the wave of unexplained illnesses experienced by so many who visit? Why do people report feeling an overwhelming sense of strangeness that seems to follow them even after they leave?
And, of course, there’s the pressing question: why is there a grown man named Dragon? Did he choose that name himself, and does he insist that everyone calls him by it?
Though the team employs advanced scientific methods, like so many investigators before them, they seem to uncover more questions than answers. Whether it’s paranormal forces at work or something else entirely, the search for explanations continues, and Skinwalker Ranch remains a place where the unexplainable thrives.
Other Local Tales
The stories from Skinwalker Ranch may vary, but they all share a striking commonality: the unshakable belief that what’s happening is real.
This conviction isn’t limited to the ranch itself. Many in the surrounding Uint Basin have reported experiencing similarly strange phenomena. Since the 1950s, hundreds of UFO sightings and other unexplained events have been recorded in the area, suggesting that Skinwalker Ranch is just one piece of a larger puzzle.
Neighbors of the ranch frequently report seeing bright, mysterious lights in the sky. Some describe these lights as resembling doorways or portals, while others speak of massive flying objects hovering silently overhead. Cattle mutilations, a persistent theme in Skinwalker lore, also extend beyond the ranch’s borders. Several ranchers in the area have discovered cattle seemingly struck by lightning without any signs of scorched earth nearby, making the injuries even more puzzling.
One group of locals even recounted a chilling experience where, after spending a night watching for UFOs, they returned to find their car had mysteriously moved, with no tire tracks left in the sand to explain how it got there.
Such tales, whether fantastical or real, add to the growing sense of unease and intrigue in the region. And then there are the small yet strange modern-day stories, like that of the History Channel production assistants who, according to rumor, must deliver coffee to Dragon every day. While perhaps not as terrifying as UFOs or shape-shifters, it’s another quirky detail that adds to the legend of Skinwalker Ranch and its unique inhabitants.
Theories about Skinwalker Ranch
So what’s really going on? When it comes to explaining the mysteries of Skinwalker Ranch, there’s no shortage of theories, and some are certainly more outlandish than others.
Theory 1: People are lying to get money
This theory suggests that the strange reports from Skinwalker Ranch are a deliberate ploy for financial gain. Proponents argue that the Shermans and other witnesses might have exaggerated or fabricated their experiences to attract attention and drive up the value of the property.
While this theory may not be particularly exciting or imaginative, it’s worth noting that the Shermans sold the ranch for a relatively modest sum of $200,000, which might argue against the idea of a money-making scheme. Nonetheless, it’s always possible that some embellishment could be at play.
Theory 2: Extraterrestrial visitors
The idea that extraterrestrials are behind the anomalies at Skinwalker Ranch is one of the most popular theories. It suggests that the bright lights, mysterious flying objects, unexplained voices, and precise cattle mutilations could all be linked to alien activity.
This theory would explain the high level of secrecy and the strange behavior of the phenomena. Perhaps these extraterrestrials are conducting experiments or observing us, but choose to remain hidden from direct contact. Maybe they’re even filming their own docuseries, documenting human reactions to their presence.
These theories only scratch the surface of the speculation surrounding Skinwalker Ranch. Whether you lean towards the more grounded explanations or the far-fetched ones, the ranch continues to captivate and intrigue with its blend of mystery and the unknown.
Theory 3: Interdimensional visitors
Here’s a twist on the extraterrestrial hypothesis: what if the phenomena at Skinwalker Ranch are not the result of visitors from another planet, but from a parallel dimension or alternate universe?
Proponents of this theory argue that the mysterious lights and portals observed could be gateways or windows into these other realms. The idea is that these interdimensional beings might be slipping through these rifts, causing the anomalies reported by witnesses.
This theory adds a layer of complexity to the enigma, suggesting that what we perceive as UFOs or shape-shifters might actually be entities from dimensions that exist alongside our own.
Theory 4: Geophysical processes causing hallucinations
Prepare for a mind-bending theory: what if the strange experiences reported at Skinwalker Ranch are not the result of paranormal or extraterrestrial activity, but rather the effects of geophysical processes on the human brain?
Neuroscientist Michael Persinger proposed that certain environmental factors, such as tectonic shifts, seismic activity, and geomagnetic fields, could influence the brain in ways that induce hallucinations. According to this theory, the anomalies at the ranch could be a result of these forces altering our perception, making us see things like shape-shifters, UFOs, or portals.
While this theory might seem far-fetched, it presents a scientifically grounded explanation that suggests environmental changes might be impacting our sensory experiences.
Can you visit Skinwalker Ranch?
If you’re itching to explore Skinwalker Ranch yourself, you’re out of luck—unless you have an invitation from the owners. The ranch is private property, and trespassing is strongly discouraged, especially since the head of security is known to be exceptionally vigilant. Rumor has it their name rhymes with Dragon.
However, you can still get close to the action by visiting nearby areas. There’s a campground just outside the ranch offering UFO-themed ATV tours, claiming to be the closest you can legally get to the ranch. Alternatively, try your luck at UFO spotting from one of the state parks in the Uint Basin, such as Steinaker, Starvation Reservoir, or Red Fleet State Parks.
Whether you spot a flying saucer or just enjoy the stunning scenery and star-filled skies, a trip to the Uint Basin promises breathtaking views and friendly locals.
Our theory? Utah isn’t just the best tourist destination in our world—it might be the best in any world.
