Being an alien abduction and Ufo researcher, I hear a lot of bizarre accounts of contact with non-human entities and high strangeness. A case came across my desk that would prove to be a bit different for me. If you are at all familiar with this phenomenon, you have heard of how people often relate cryptozoology with the Ufo phenomenon. Bigfoot, shape-shifting dire wolves, raptors, Yeti, fairies, elves, predator-like translucent beings, and even demons- they have all been associated with Ufos and the phenomenon. I have always been skeptical of these types of accounts while keeping an open mind. When I began to research the history and what has been going on at the Skinwalker Ranch, it changed my perspective. This piece is not about the Skinwalker Ranch, but I think there is a parallel here, between this sighting and the phenomenon seen at the ranch. These bizarre creatures may all be crossing over through a thin veil from another reality or dimension. There are other hotspots across the globe where the phenomenon seems to be crossing over with regularity. Does it have a connection with electromagnetic anomalies or areas of high gravity concentrations? These are common theories.
The witness, in this case, is a level headed, intelligent, and a former military man. I was able to interview him by phone. We have since kept in touch and shared research ideas. He was living in Globe, AZ. at the time of his sighting. Arizona has certainly had its share of paranormal activity and Ufo sightings. Travis was standing in the Globe library parking lot checking his phone. The lot is overlooked by an alleyway between a church and the library. As he walked up the hill toward his friends' house, he caught a glimpse of a creature suspended next to the wall of the alley. He described the creature as a rabbit type of being that was wearing thick, wool-like pants and black boots. He could not make out ears but said that it may have had small horns. Whether they were horns, ears, or just small protrusions of the skull, they angled toward the back of the head. From his position, it was difficult to make out exactly what was on the being's head. This was no ordinary rabbit, it had a humanoid statue, stood upright between 5-6 feet tall, and probably weighed anywhere from 130-150 pounds. It appeared to have a snout and very large, black eyes. He described a strong mental connection with the being while looking into its eyes. He experienced a serious case of “otherness” that many people describe as they encounter otherworldly beings or even just Ufo sightings. The phenomenon has been known to have an accompanying effect of unpleasantness as well as a spiritually uplifting emotional response. It can include elements of fear, awe, a distortion of time and space, and detachment from reality. It often includes physical effects of nausea, dizziness, trembling, and difficulty breathing, among other abnormalities. Travis described this feeling of intense fear as he had never felt before while looking into the eyes of this being. He described how their eyes were locked, there was recognition on both of their behalf's that they were encountering “different” types of beings. They seemed to repeal each other, and the creature took off in a blur at a high rate of speed, out of sight. Other than the mutual recognition, Travis said that there was no real telepathic message or communication. He sort of came to or back to reality, and was completely baffled as to what just happened. That’s the gist of the experience. Let's take a look at what this could be or what this means.
Now here you have this former military guy, a fighter all of his life, he sees this rabbit jackalope type creature with large, wet eyes. He is seeing something that intrigues him, he wants to hunt it, it entices him and runs off. Many of the most confident, fearless military personnel that took on the Skinwalker Ranch were quickly humbled, often having the most frightening and intense experiences. Some ended up in the hospital with serious injuries. This creature was not a Skinwalker or Navajo as reported at the ranch, but the connection with other cryptid sightings can be examined. So what was it that Travis saw on that paradigm-changing night? It was so bizarre that it was no doubt a unique being unto itself. It may have been tailored especially for Travis himself. Perhaps the intelligence showed him what it wanted to represent as that would resonate with Travis. It could very likely be a form of a disguise, different masks the phenomenon wears. In Jacques Vallee’s classic book “Passport To Magonia”, he hypothesized that whatever this advanced intelligence behind the phenomenon was, it was very possible that it manifested itself as some aspect of folklore that was synonymous with the culture of the witness. In mythology and folklore across the globe "wonder beasts" can be found representing the powers of good and evil, the virtues and vices of human nature, and the temptations into which human beings fall. Often incorporated into stories for children, "fairy tales" and the like, these creatures were more realistic in what they represented than in their physical form. According to Vallee, these beings are crossing over from another reality or dimension. Examples would include the Chupacabra seen in the Latin Americas, but sometimes in other parts of the world such as Russia and the Philippines. It is purportedly a heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail. Many accounts include large black eyes. Sound familiar? Gnomes, elves, fairies, are more examples of creatures that the phenomenon may have been masquerading as in our reality. I don’t particularly believe that the phenomenon is accounting for all of these creatures, but maybe there is some truth in the theory. So what can we most closely relate to what Travis saw? From his description, it sort of resembled what folklore or cryptozoologists label a Jackalope. It is rumored to be a cross between a now extinct pygmy deer and a species of killer rabbit. Witnesses have described them as three to five pounds, brownish in color, and able to move with lightning speed up to ninety miles per hour. They are most commonly reported in the American West. Again, this incident occurred in Arizona. This smacks of a sentient intelligence that is able to manifest in our reality from some other dimension. The large black eyes sound hauntingly familiar to the Grey alien accounts that are so often recounted in alien contact scenarios. Travis specifically commented on the eyes, and how they were probably made to function in a very dark environment. Beings in different dimensions would likely have very different DNA or mutations than us. Adam Rutherford is a geneticist who worked as a consultant on the sci-fi movie “Annihilation”, in which an off-world source generated a biodome where all life was drastically mutated. The film focused heavily on the eyes of the altered creatures. Rutherford earned his Ph.D. tracking the gene CHX10 in retinal development, studying how mutations in this gene could lead to eye disorders. These mutations that are viewed as mistakes to us, maybe dominant or commonplace in another dimension. The being would be naturally evolved to thrive in its environment, which would be certainly different than ours, maybe even unfathomable to us. The late Budd Hopkins had cases that he investigated of alien abduction, where the abductee initially saw a familiar creature such as an owl or deer with large, engaging, black eyes. He referred to this as a screen image. The alien or phenomenon would project itself as something familiar to the witness and draw them into the hypnotic state or “otherness”, which would escalate into the abduction. In Travis’ case, this may have been an “alien” entity crossing over giving him a glimpse of this other reality. It was possibly a chance meeting as if he just happened upon it by accident. He did not experience missing time or feel like he was taken, he only claimed that he saw it, was repelled by it, and wanted to hunt it. Travis believes that it was not a chance encounter, that the being would have seen and felt his presence. Perhaps this was the trickster element, giving him a glimpse, an invitation to play the game. To this day, he is researching, putting together an effort to find out what this creature was, and understanding the reality of the phenomenon. I can tell you in my correspondence with him since the experience, he has gone well down the rabbit hole. It’s not the easiest path, but for those who want the truth, it is the only path.
