Skinwalker Ranch – The Experiences Part One
This week we’ll focus on the experiences that happened up until Bigelow bought the property in 1996. Up to this time the property was owned by the Myer family and The Sherman family.
Important notes before we start:
While I don’t include all the details of every story, I do include a lot of fun examples of these experiences. Many of these come from the book “The Hunt for the Skinwalker” by Colm A Kelleher and George Napp. If you would rather read the book yourself, go for it! If you don’t have time to do so, you’ll get the idea by reading below!
I feel I should give a warning that the information from the above mentioned book has been brought into question since it came out. While I’m listing the stories as they are told in the book because they are often considered fact, Mr. Sherman has claimed the writer did not actually consult the family while writing the book. He based his stories off ones told to him while they worked together on Bigelow’s paranormal team. Sherman claims the stories are “Mostly based on accounts he had” but he has never clarified what is true and what is not. So I am adding them all for fun and effect.
Feel free to decide for yourself which you choose to believe.
The Myers
The Myers themselves never admitted to having any kind of strange experiences on the farm and at this point have both passed. A close relative swears they never spoke of any weird events. However, neighbors and people who worked on the ranch while it belonged to the Myers claim that they did experience strange lights in the sky and cattle mutilations on that land before the Shermans arrived.
The Shermans
At Purchase
When the Shermans first purchased the land it is said to have come with a very strange clause in the purchase agreement. The Shermans were required to get approval from the Myers before doing any digging on the land. This is significant as other owners and workers on the land have concluded that digging on the land always increases the unexplainable activity in the area.
The Fort
Once they moved into the land things became even stranger. The Shermans found their new home was basically a fortress. The doors had heavy locks on both sides. There were also big rings with chains on the outside walls of the house where it seemed the previous owners might have chained their dogs for extra protection. But from what?
Unexplainable Creatures
The first unexplainable creature the Shermans met on the ranch was a gigantic dog creature that resembled a wolf. It is said this creature was over 5 feet tall and seen on the ranch more than once.
The most startling event that happened with this creature was the day it first showed up. They noticed it from a distance and thought it was just a wolf. But the family become concerned as it approached and they realized the full magnitude of its size. It came right up to the family in a curious and friendly manner and was even letting the braver member of the family pet it. But then all at once its personality changed. It darted over to the bullpen, grabbed an interested cow by the nose and started trying to pull it through the bars.
As you can imagine chaos ensued. Over the next five or ten minutes, the adults did everything they could to try and stop the animal’s attack. It ignored their yells, kicking and hitting. When they started shooting at it, it let go of the calf and moved back about 10 feet away but didn’t leave. It just watched them curiously. They shot at it again, what seemed to be direct hits. It did not flinch. It did not bleed. It moved back more but continued to watch them. Seemingly trying to decide if it should try for the calf again. They went inside the house to get a bigger gun they had previously used to take out Elk. They shot the creature at close range. Closer than they had been when they killed the Elk. It should have been dead. But all it did was slowly back off a bit. Another shot. They could see that it hit. The creature stared at them a bit longer and then slowly and carelessly turned and walked off.
Terry and his son took off after the creature to see if they could figure out where it came from and make sure the threat was truly gone. The creature still wasn’t bleeding. Even after all the times it had been hit. They followed its pawprints and trampled brush instead. But even that turned into a dead end. After losing sight of the creature for only a short time, they came to a clearing that led to a large creek. They could see the pawprints continue from the tree line towards the creek. The prints were heavily sunk into the sticky mud. But Halfway there, the prints vanished mid stride. The creature was gone. But how?
Along with the wolf creature, other dog like creatures were seen. They seemed to always be distorted though, with oversized heads. Human ape like creatures were seen too. Some of the strange animals noticed on the ranch were normal but out of place for Utah. Like flocks of tropical birds or spiders not native to the area showing up on the ranch for a few weeks at a time and then leaving all at once.
Strange Holes
It is claimed that the Sherman’s found strange holes dug out of the ground on the ranch. They were circular and precise, like a cookie cutter had been used to make the shape in the dirt and the dirt inside it removed. The dirt that had been in the area of the hold was nowhere to be found.
Cattle Mutilations
On multiple occasions the Sherman’s cattle was found mutilated in unnatural ways. This mutilation happened in as little as 20 minutes, in the time it took Mr. Sherman to walk to the other side of the pasture and return. With no sound or indication that anything was happening. The cows were always found with no blood at the scene. Often missing internal organs, parts of their flesh and sometimes missing things like eyes or ears. Entire body parts were cut cleanly off. The corpses of these animals always seemed to take longer to decompose than normal and scavengers never touched the bodies while they did.
Disappearing Objects
The Shermans often experienced objects disappearing on them while they performed their daily tasks. This happened in the house and out on the ranch. Groceries would be put away only to have them back on the table the next time the room was entered. Some wooden posts that were put out into the field suddenly reappeared back at the homestead where they had originally been stored. Items the Sherman’s were cooking with or working with would be there one minute and gone when they turned around. One such object was a 70 pound post digger that was in Mr. Sherman’s eyesight until he turned to his truck to get something and turned back. Then the post digger was gone. They later found it about up in a tree.
UFOs
Multiple UFOs were seen on the property. Mr. Sherman had his favorite places where he would hide and watch them while they did…whatever it is UFO’s do. They seemed to like scanning the area but would always move away or leave if they noticed him approaching. They were different shapes and had varying colors of light on them.
Orbs
Colorful orbs of light were another frequent occasion Reds, blues and yellows seemed to be common. They would sometimes interact with the animals and the humans on the area. Always seeming to be aware of them but not caring that they were seen. Some even went out of their way to pester, scare, and in one case kill, the animals.
Pets Disappearing or Being Killed
The Shermans lost quite a few pets while living on the ranch. Animals would chase the strange creatures and never return. Three dogs went after an orb that had been messing with them and followed it into the nearby trees. Mr. Sherman had the unfortunate experience of hearing their pained cries as they died. When he found their bodies they appeared to be burned with scorch marks in the form of a circle around each of them.
Paranormal Activity
Doors in the home would open and close on their own. Faces would be seen in the windows of an abandoned homestead. Disembodied voices were heard on multiple occasions both telepathically and physically.
That just about covers all of the claims during the time that the Shermans lived on the ranch. In 1996 Robert Bigelow bought the land from them and they were more than happy to let it go. Most of them, at least. Mr. Sherman continued to work with Bigelow’s investigation team and stayed on at the ranch, serving as his ranch hand. The family no longer lived on the land though. Mr. Bigelow also continued to keep his cattle on the ranch into the time that Bigelow owned it. Occasionally other members of the family would help him take care of the animals, so the Sherman’s experiences did not stop in 1996.
The rest, however, will be included in next week’s post since they fall under the time that the ranch was under the supervision of Bigelow’s team.
photo credit to wikicommons and history.com
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