1973: Kent Connecticut Sighting

THINK ABOUTIT UFO|ENTITY SIGHTING REPORT

Date:  September 12 1973

Sighting Time:  2230

Day/Night:  Night

Location:  Kent (Litchfield) Connecticut

Urban or Rural: – Rural

No. of Entity(‘s):  15 to 20 “hikers”

Entity Type:  Humanoid 

Entity Description:  15 to 20 “hikers” came jogging down Schaghticoke Road from the same direction the young people had just driven (they had not seen anyone on the road). Each “hiker” had a lighted hat like a miner’s hat on his head and they all carried poles or “rods.” They were mumbling or “chanting” and approached in a double column. They did not answer the boy’s questions as they passed on either side of them, when asked where they’d come from. According to the young people, the “hikers” apparently turned right at Rte 341 and headed towards Kent.

Hynek Classification:  NL (Nocturnal Light) Point or extended luminous source observed at night.

Duration: 2 hours (Missing Time)

No. of Object(s):  Multiple

Height & Speed: Hovering stationary over ridge

Size of Object(s):  Large (comparative to ridge)

Distance to Object(s): Several miles (initial) to close proximity (Mt. Algo)

Shape of Object(s):  oval

Color/Description of Object(s):  large oval object with flashing colored lights, a dozen or so smaller whitish lights maneuvering in a circular pattern

Number of Witnesses:  Multiple

Source:  Budd Hopkins, Ted Bloecher Dr. Aphrodite Clamar, Dr. Robert Naiman

Summary/Description:  Two 17-year old boys, driving north on Rte 7 from Westchester County, saw a large oval object with flashing colored lights when they were several miles south of town. The object hovered just over the ridge on the west side of the Housatonic River, and they stopped and got out for a better look and were joined by another couple, a boy and girl also driving back from Westchester. Meanwhile on Spooner Hill, to the east, a witness on his way to visit his friends, a young married couple, saw the same object and when he arrived at his friend’s house, he called them outside. By this time the object had dropped behind the ridge, although they could still see its lights shining over the crest of the hill. They got into the witness car and drove down the hill to Route 7, where they met the four younger people. All seven then drove north into town to bring back two additional witnesses.

The large object was no longer visible, but they now saw a dozen or so smaller whitish lights maneuvering in a circular pattern just this side of the ridge. These lights then separated into a single line and proceeded north toward Mt. Algo, just southwest of the main section of town. The witnesses got into their cars and followed the lights toward Kent. The two additional witnesses were dropped off in town while the other seven turned west on Rte. 341 and crossed the bridge over the river, heading toward Mt. Algo. There they turned south on Schaghticoke Road, which runs along the base of the mountain, to Bonu’s Field, an open spot about a mile south. The group assembled there briefly but was unable to see anything. Meanwhile, at about the same time, a separate group of three teenage girls, camping out in one of their backyards along the Housatonic, observed a line of lights descending Mt. Algo on its steep north side. The witnesses at Bonu’s field had gotten back in their cars and drove north again to the junction of Rte 341, where they discovered a small white car parked, which had not been there a few minutes earlier.

They parked their cars and the two younger boys got out and asked the occupants of the white car (two unidentified girls) if they had seen anything unusual. They said that they were waiting for a group of hikers who had told them an hour earlier that they were “hiking over the mountain” and that the girls should meet them there. Just then a group of 15 to 20 “hikers” came jogging down Schaghticoke Road from the same direction the young people had just driven (they had not seen anyone on the road). Each “hiker” had a lighted hat like a miner’s hat on his head and they all carried poles or “rods.” They were mumbling or “chanting” and approached in a double column. They did not answer the boy’s questions as they passed on either side of them, when asked where they’d come from. According to the young people, the “hikers” apparently turned right at Rte 341 and headed towards Kent. However, when they all got back in their cars and drove after them, the “hikers” were nowhere to be seen-as though they had disappeared into thin air.

According to the two young men and the younger couple, there were at least two hours they could not account for. The three older people could not recall what they did or where they went after the “hikers’ passed. Hypnotic regression was apparently attempted, but the results are not described.

Researcher’s Notes

• High Strangeness and Humanoids: This case is distinctive due to the “hikers” encountered on Schaghticoke Road. The 15 to 20 individuals, moving in a double column and chanting while wearing miner-style lighted hats, suggest a highly coordinated, possibly non-human presence associated with the primary craft.

• Corroborative Testimony: The sighting is bolstered by three separate groups of witnesses: the young men driving on Route 7, the group on Spooner Hill, and the three girls camping along the river. All groups observed consistent light patterns on or near Mt. Algo.

• Missing Time and Amnesia: A significant element of this case is the two-hour gap reported by the younger witnesses. Additionally, the older witnesses experienced a total lack of recall regarding the events immediately following the passage of the “hikers,” a common indicator of a potential CE-IV experience.

• Expert Investigation: The involvement of renowned researchers Budd Hopkins and Ted Bloecher underscores the case’s historical importance within the 1973 UFO wave.

The 1973 Kent Connecticut Sighting stands as one of the more bizarre incidents from the Litchfield County archives. While the “hikers” could be viewed as a mundane occurrence, their rhythmic chanting, refusal to communicate, and sudden disappearance suggest a direct link to the large oval object maneuvering over the Housatonic River.

The fact that multiple independent witness groups tracked the same lights from different vantage points provides a high degree of triangulation for the object’s position. When combined with the subsequent reports of missing time, this case transitions from a simple Nocturnal Light sighting to a complex encounter with profound psychological implications for those involved.