Mysterious Force In The Washington Woods
On January 27, 2018, in Olympic National Park, an immensely powerful force knocked down over 100 trees. Experts immediately assumed that strong winds or another meteorological phenomenon was responsible. However, no weather data suggested that anything out of the ordinary had occurred.
The evening before, park visitors had reported hearing a huge rumbling sound. This led officials to believe that some kind of landslide or minor earthquake had taken place, but there was no evidence pointing to that, either.
In some areas, trees were knocked all the way down. In others, the trees were just broken and leaning severely. It is still unknown what caused so many trees to fall, but many people turn to more “out-there” explanations. Although we can safely say that it wasn’t Bigfoot out on an evening rampage, we cannot draw a final conclusion as to what happened in the Washington woods.[6]
The Yosemite UFO
On the evening of September 19, 2002, a strange disk appeared in the sky over Yosemite National Park. A number of people captured the supposedly alien craft on video, and it is now widely regarded as some of the best UFO footage to date.
Moments after this strange object was seen in the sky, air force jets arrived and circled the area. But the pilots were unable to find anything. This incident is one of many that have occurred in Yosemite National Park, with numerous visitors claiming to have seen strange lights in the sky.
However, many experts have dismissed the sightings as meteors or simply optical illusions. As far as the public knows, this claim has never been properly investigated, so we still don’t know what was seen over Yosemite that evening.[7]
The Missing Germans
Death Valley National Park is a vast area of barren land, sprawling over three million acres from California to Nevada. On a day that was 49 degrees Celsius (120 °F) in July 1996, four German tourists went missing without a trace. Their last known location was a small ghost town where they had written in a visitors’ book, “We are going through the pass.” Rangers assume that means the Mengel Pass.
When the family wasn’t on their flight home, Interpol was alerted. On August 14, they were officially reported missing. Their rental van was found abandoned on October 23 with three flat tires. No wallets or passports were ever found, leading many to believe that the group had been kidnapped.
However, in 2009, human bones were discovered in Death Valley. Authorities claimed that they were “fairly certain” that the bones belonged to the missing Germans. However, no one has heard any update on the case since.[8]
Smoky Mountains Mystery
The Smoky Mountains sit along the Tennessee and North Carolina border, with the national park covering over 187,000 acres of land. The site has been known for many disappearances over the years. Perhaps the strangest was the case of Dennis Martin in 1969.
The six-year-old boy and his family were on a hiking trip in the Smoky Mountains. Dennis and his three brothers decided to jump out at their parents when they walked past. The three brothers went one way, while Dennis went in the other direction because his bright red top made him more obvious.[9]
When the time came, the three brothers jumped out at their parents, but Dennis did not. They presumed that he had missed his cue and called his name while waiting for him to come out. Still, he did not.
They went looking for Dennis and found no trace of him. So they called for the search-and-rescue unit to assist in finding him. Dennis was not found by nighttime or in the many weeks of searching that followed. Some people reported seeing a small boy walking through the woods, while others reported finding various small items of clothing. But Dennis was never found.
Many speculate that he was kidnapped or dragged off by a wild animal, but there is no evidence to support these theories. He left absolutely no trace. To this day, no one knows what exactly happened to Dennis, but he is presumed dead by authorities. Unfortunately, his case was only one of many to happen in the Smoky Mountains.
Hawaiian Fireballs
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park sits on Hawaii Island (aka the Big Island). While this is a place of immense wonder and beauty, it is also an area of superstition and mystery.
On March 27, 1998, a blue explosion of light lit the night sky along with a huge roaring sound. Hundreds of locals called it in as well as a pilot who was in the air at the time. He claimed that the object came within 3 kilometers (2 mi) of his plane and increased the temperature dramatically. This statement was supported by others in the cabin.
Authorities later announced that the explosion was a meteor. But some Hawaiian locals were not convinced, claiming that it was an awakened Hawaiian god who was angry with what humanity was doing to the world.[10]
This is only one of many mysterious occurrences on the island of Hawaii. Numerous visitors have taken rocks from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and then mailed them back due to odd events happening when they arrived home. This led them to believe that the rocks were cursed.
Others have reported encountering spirits while walking around late at night as well as seeing strange hazes in the distance. We don’t know whether these reports have a rational explanation. But one thing is sure: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is certainly the place to go if you want a good mystery.
