1 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 1: You're listening to Unexplained Season seven, Episode ten, Into the 2 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: bad Lands, Part two of three. Gwen pulled up to 3 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: the ranch entrance gate and got out of her truck 4 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:34,880 Speaker 1: as a soft orange sun was just beginning to kiss 5 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:39,239 Speaker 1: the horizon. After a long day at work, she was 6 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,559 Speaker 1: looking forward to finally getting home and seeing the family. 7 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: After driving through, she closed the gate behind her and 8 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: jumped back into her truck and is just about to 9 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: switch the engine back on when a shadow falls across 10 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: the dashboard. Turning to look out the window, she is 11 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 1: startled to see a large pair of eyes more black 12 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,759 Speaker 1: than blue, staring right back at her through the glass. 13 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 1: It is a wolf, and it's almost as tall as 14 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: the truck. It had been a few months since the 15 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,759 Speaker 1: Shermans had moved into their new ranch. After their strange 16 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:23,320 Speaker 1: encounter with the wolf on the first day, more wolves 17 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: had since been seen loitering around the place. It was 18 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: almost as if they were stalking the family. Concerned for 19 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: the live stock that is due to arrive in a 20 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: matter of weeks, the family has no choice but to 21 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: bring the matter up with the local tribal office who 22 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 1: oversee the Uinta and Ourey reservation. It was there they 23 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: believed the wolves were coming from. The following day, after 24 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,559 Speaker 1: seeing the wolf by her car, Gwen makes the short 25 00:01:55,600 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: trip to the reservation office in nearby Fort Duchane, but 26 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: when she requests to speak to someone about the wolves 27 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 1: running wild on her land, she has met only with 28 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 1: a bemused silence. An official politely informs Gwen that no 29 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: such animals live on the reservation, As they explain, not 30 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: only would they not be kept as pets, but wolves 31 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: have not been indigenous to the region since the nineteen thirties, 32 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: when they have been slaughtered as part of a national 33 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: extermination campaign. The Sherman's cattle arrives in mid November forty 34 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: odd black cimental heifers, along with four prized bulls. The 35 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: family is also joined by three blue healers, expert cattle 36 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: herding dogs. One evening, Terry is out looking for stray 37 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,919 Speaker 1: cows with his son and his nephew when he spots 38 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: a set of headlights from what appears to be a 39 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: truck parked up about half a mile to the west. 40 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: Assuming it to be trespasses, the three of them set 41 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: off towards the vehicle, but as they draw near it 42 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: starts to move away from them. Terry breaks into a 43 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: jog to keep up with it. But there's something strange 44 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: about what he's chasing. An ordinary truck would be bumping 45 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: up and down over the rugged terrain, while the beams 46 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: of its headlights would also bounce up and down accordingly, 47 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 1: and yet the lights on this vehicle stay perfectly set 48 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 1: in one position. Eventually, with no place to go, the 49 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 1: vehicle comes to a stop opposite a thick clump of 50 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: trees bordering the western edge of the ranch. While Terry, 51 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 1: his son, and his nephew take a moment to catch 52 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: their breath, something extraordinary is said to have happened. The vehicle, 53 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: which they can now see is cuboid in shape and 54 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: no longer than five feet in length, appears to lift 55 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: straight up from the ground. Moments later, it clears the 56 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: tallest of the cottonwoods, flashing red and white lights underneath 57 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 1: as it turned smoothly and silently before flying off into 58 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: the night. When Terry relays this story to Gwen later 59 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: that night, he is surprised to hear that she has 60 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: also been seeing strange things, other flying objects, black and 61 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: triangular in shape, that seemed to follow her truck down 62 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 1: the entrance drive, as well as vehicles parked up in 63 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: the fields that suddenly disappear. After seeing one vehicle vanish 64 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,159 Speaker 1: in front of her eyes, she trekked out to the 65 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:58,279 Speaker 1: spot where she believed it had been parked. At first, 66 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 1: she saw no evidence of anything having been there at all, 67 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: until she spotted what looked like footprints in the dirt, 68 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: only they were twice the size of any foot she'd 69 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: ever seen. A few weeks later, one night, Terry spots 70 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:19,359 Speaker 1: a weird golden orb in the sky just above the 71 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: trees to the western end of the branch. When it's 72 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: still there a few days later, Terry once again finds 73 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: himself staring up at it in amusement. When it suddenly 74 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: expanded in size, Terry could not believe what he was seeing. 75 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 1: With the orb now much bigger, there appeared to be 76 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:48,080 Speaker 1: something inside it, or rather through it. As Terry later said, 77 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:50,479 Speaker 1: it was as if he could see a whole other 78 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:55,160 Speaker 1: landscape bathed in sunlight, as if he were looking through 79 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:59,040 Speaker 1: a window in the sky to another world where it 80 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:04,920 Speaker 1: was currently time. Then a black object seemed to fly 81 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,599 Speaker 1: out of it, but he lost sight of it shortly after, 82 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: though undoubtedly strange. The family are reluctant to draw any 83 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:24,800 Speaker 1: wild conclusions from the peculiar events. They speculate that the 84 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: most likely explanation is that some kind of military experiments 85 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:33,920 Speaker 1: are going on. In any case, these oddities are soon 86 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: forgotten when a bitter winter draws in that by the 87 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,159 Speaker 1: turn of the new year has claimed the lives of 88 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 1: two of their herd. By the time spring arrives, three 89 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: more of the sherman's cattle succumb to the harsh conditions, 90 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 1: and all memory of strange flying objects and gigantic wolves 91 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 1: has long been forgotten. But all that is about to change. 92 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: Terry is rounding up cattle when he hears his son 93 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 1: Tease cries. He arrives to find him wretching by the 94 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: banks of the canal behind the ranch and pointing to 95 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: a spot for Terry to go and investigate. Moments later, 96 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: as a torrential rain starts to lash down, Terry is 97 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: waist deep in the canal, tying a thick rope around 98 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: a dead heifer's back legs. Together with Terry's horse, he 99 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 1: and his son are the animal from the water. Terry 100 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: sinks to the ground, exhausted as the rain streams down 101 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 1: his face. On the ground before him lies the heifer 102 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: minus its rear end, which appears to have been completely 103 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: removed with surgical precision. The cow's insides are also gone, 104 00:07:55,920 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: but there is no sign of blood anywhere. Perhaps one 105 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: of the wolves says tea. But Terry isn't so sure. No, 106 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:11,480 Speaker 1: he thinks this is something else, entirely something he has 107 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: never seen before. It'll prove to be only the first 108 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: of many bizarre cattle mutilations that will plague Terry and 109 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: Gwen over the next few months. Towards the end of 110 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: April nineteen ninety six, Terry is sitting outside the ranch 111 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: one evening after another grueling day, basking in a warm sunset, 112 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 1: with his three trusted blue Healers by his side. At 113 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 1: some point, one of the dogs begins to growl, causing 114 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 1: him to sit up in his chair. It must have 115 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: been several hundred yards away and roughly about the size 116 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: of a tennis ball. It looks as if it were 117 00:08:54,920 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 1: made entirely from blue electrical sparks. Dogs barking manically, Terry 118 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 1: gives them a nod, at which point they tear off 119 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:11,080 Speaker 1: instantly in pursuit of the strange blue orb. Terry soon 120 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 1: grows concerned, however, when the dogs chase the thing to 121 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,240 Speaker 1: the edge of a copse before following it into the 122 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: trees and disappearing into the undergrowth. When Terry heads back 123 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: inside later that evening, he reassures the children that the 124 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: dogs will find their way back home. The following morning, 125 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: the heelers have not returned, so Terry heads out to 126 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:44,960 Speaker 1: find them. Stepping through the trees where he'd seen them last, 127 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: he detects a distinct smell of burnt flesh mingling with 128 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:54,080 Speaker 1: the morning dew and sage brush. Pushing through to a 129 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 1: clearing beyond, Terry soon discovers, to his horror the source 130 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:04,080 Speaker 1: of the smell three circles of dried grass, each with 131 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: their own gooey mess piled up on top the remains 132 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 1: of his dogs. The loss of the much loved dogs 133 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:23,840 Speaker 1: is devastating for Terry and the rest of the family, 134 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 1: who are beginning to feel increasingly terrorized by the weird events. 135 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: For the first time, Terry is thoroughly rattled and worried 136 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:37,680 Speaker 1: for his family's safety. With no one else to talk to, 137 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 1: he seeks help from local resident Junior Hicks, who introduced 138 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:46,040 Speaker 1: himself to the family a few months previously after first 139 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: hearing about the strange events taking place on their ranch. 140 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 1: Hicks is a retired high school science teacher from the 141 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:59,959 Speaker 1: nearby town of Roosevelt. Hicks has spent a lifetime trying 142 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:04,080 Speaker 1: to convince people that there's something peculiar happening around the 143 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:08,440 Speaker 1: Uinta Basin, but even he isn't sure what to make 144 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:12,600 Speaker 1: of the recent happenings at what is now the Sherman Ranch. 145 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:18,560 Speaker 1: IX's fascination with the area stems mostly from a number 146 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,439 Speaker 1: of local sightings of UFOs in the early nineteen fifties. 147 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 1: In particular, a sighting recorded in nineteen fifty two by 148 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:31,400 Speaker 1: a Navy warrant officer named Delbert new House that took 149 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:34,840 Speaker 1: place near Tremont and Utah, just to the north of 150 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:40,200 Speaker 1: Salt Lake City. While driving through Utah on their way 151 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 1: to vacation in Portland, Oregon, new House and his wife Norma, 152 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:49,080 Speaker 1: along with their son Delbert, and daughter Anne, spotted twelve 153 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:54,080 Speaker 1: saucer shaped objects identical in size flying in the air 154 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:59,160 Speaker 1: above their car. New House estimated the objects to be 155 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:03,080 Speaker 1: similar in size to B twenty nine bomber planes if 156 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:07,600 Speaker 1: they'd been flying at ten thousand feet. After watching them 157 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: for a short time, new House grabbed his film camera 158 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: from the boot of his car and proceeded to record 159 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 1: the objects for a number of minutes. The footage he 160 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: captured remains to this day one of the most compelling 161 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:26,560 Speaker 1: in the animals of eupology. For Terry, being able to 162 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:30,679 Speaker 1: talk openly with Hicks without any fear of judgment was 163 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:34,440 Speaker 1: a welcome relief, But what Hicks would later tell him 164 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:38,560 Speaker 1: after they'd inspected the remains of the dogs together, was 165 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: far from reassuring. Hicks had documented over four hundred cases 166 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:50,320 Speaker 1: of strange sightings within the Uinta region alone, ranging from 167 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:55,960 Speaker 1: balls of electricity to black triangular objects flying overhead just 168 00:12:56,160 --> 00:13:00,319 Speaker 1: like what Gwen had seen, and this isn't the first 169 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: time that strange things had occurred on the ranch. According 170 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:10,680 Speaker 1: to Hicks, the former owner, Edith Myers, spoke regularly of 171 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:15,079 Speaker 1: bizarre goings on at the homestead whenever she ventured into town. 172 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:19,160 Speaker 1: Hicks himself, who claimed to have worked at the ranch 173 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: carrying out small jobs for Edith, had also noticed little 174 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 1: oddities occurring there, such as compasses behaving irregularly. Hicks has 175 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 1: a number of theories for what might be going on, 176 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 1: but there is one in particular that proves especially unsettling 177 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: to the Shermans. One afternoon, Junior Hicks brings round a 178 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: map of the local region to the Sherman's home. After 179 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:58,320 Speaker 1: spreading it out in front of Terry, he picks out 180 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:02,280 Speaker 1: the position of the Sherman Rah, noting how it seems 181 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:07,199 Speaker 1: unnaturally snipped out of the surrounding Uinta and Ouay reservation. 182 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:10,760 Speaker 1: It wouldn't be the first time a piece of land 183 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 1: had been confiscated from indigenous communities and sold off, but 184 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:21,040 Speaker 1: the Sherman ranch is a decidedly different proposition, since the 185 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 1: local Native American Noutche community, as Hicks explains, had never 186 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 1: wanted anything to do with it in the first place. 187 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:35,000 Speaker 1: While the Noutche were being pressed on each side by 188 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:39,400 Speaker 1: newcomers hungry for the land they occupied, they were forced 189 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: to enter into a series of strategic alliances in the 190 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,680 Speaker 1: last bid for survival. One such alliance came at a 191 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 1: bloody cost for the neighboring Dinae people later named Navajo 192 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:57,240 Speaker 1: by settlers from Spain in retaliation, So the story goes, 193 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:01,680 Speaker 1: one night, the Dnae medicine men gathered under the cover 194 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:06,680 Speaker 1: of darkness, and, while illuminated by the flickering flames of 195 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:10,920 Speaker 1: a ritual fire, danced and chanted a curse upon the 196 00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:15,920 Speaker 1: Nutche and their land. Ever since, the tribe have considered 197 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: themselves haunted by the embodiment of this curse. Terrifying shape 198 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 1: shifting witches they call ye now de Luchi, otherwise known 199 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 1: as skin walkers. The skin walker of Dnay folklore exists 200 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:38,400 Speaker 1: only to bring death or ill harm to any who 201 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:42,880 Speaker 1: come across it. They like to take a non human form, 202 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:48,600 Speaker 1: most often as a coyote or a wolf. Once changed, 203 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 1: it will start to seek out its prey, stalking them 204 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:57,640 Speaker 1: at night and occasionally sprinkling the dust of ground children's 205 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:03,720 Speaker 1: bones into their victims' homes to cause sickness. According to 206 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: Junior Hicks, the local Noutche considered the entirety of the 207 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 1: table top ridge at the north end of the Sherman's 208 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 1: Ranch to be part of the skin walker's domain, and 209 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:21,120 Speaker 1: as such were terrified to go anywhere near it. In fact, 210 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 1: the ridge is even known locally as Skinwalker Ridge. There 211 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: is one place, in particular, according to Hicks, that is 212 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: especially feared, a place called Dark Canyon, located just over 213 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:41,160 Speaker 1: thirty miles to the north of the ranch. It is 214 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:46,000 Speaker 1: thought that many of the ancient petroglyphs prehistoric rock drawings 215 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 1: found within the canyon are in fact depictions of these 216 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 1: terrifying creatures. It is also there that some belief new 217 00:16:56,280 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 1: skin walkers are created, where tribal which dressed in masks 218 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 1: and beads, gather in caves lined with human heads, singing 219 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:12,240 Speaker 1: discordant songs around rising fires as they draw pictures in 220 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:17,120 Speaker 1: the dirt, before spitting and defecating on their markings as 221 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:29,359 Speaker 1: they summon another skin walker into existence. Junior Hicks also 222 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:33,440 Speaker 1: explained to the Shermans that to the Noute, the sighting 223 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: of a wolf or a dog in strange circumstances was 224 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 1: evidence enough that they had seen a skin walker, and 225 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:46,440 Speaker 1: any such sighting was deemed a portent of immediate danger 226 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:51,800 Speaker 1: to their families. Terry thought back uneasily to that early 227 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:55,639 Speaker 1: encounter with the wolf that would not be killed, and 228 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: the time a huge wolf like creature had approached Gwen's trial. 229 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:05,280 Speaker 1: Although Terry tried to ignore Hick's warnings, there was no 230 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 1: ignoring the number of dead and mutilated cattle that continued 231 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:12,320 Speaker 1: to mount up and the effect it was all having 232 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:17,639 Speaker 1: on the family's mental health, not to mention finances. The 233 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:22,199 Speaker 1: final straw comes late one evening in July. After the 234 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 1: family settles down for the night, Terry notices the lights 235 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 1: in the yard are flickering on and off. Then the 236 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:37,200 Speaker 1: inside lights start to dim and flicker too. Seconds later, 237 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:41,960 Speaker 1: Gwen lets out a horrifying scream when she catches sight 238 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 1: of another orb gently hovering around the homestead, lingering by 239 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:51,639 Speaker 1: the window as if it's watching them. Moments later it 240 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:56,720 Speaker 1: has gone, but the Shermans have had enough. By the 241 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 1: end of that summer in nineteen ninety six, they have 242 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:03,959 Speaker 1: lost a total of fourteen cattle in two years, and 243 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:06,919 Speaker 1: the stress of it all was exerting a heavy toll. 244 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,159 Speaker 1: Gwen is on the verge of losing her job at 245 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:13,199 Speaker 1: the local bank due to all the sleepless nights and 246 00:19:13,359 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 1: missed hours, and the children's grades at school are suffering too. 247 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:23,200 Speaker 1: In the end, the Shermans decide it is time to sell. 248 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 1: They are just in the process of putting the ranch 249 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:30,160 Speaker 1: up for sale when they receive a phone call from 250 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:33,880 Speaker 1: someone in Las Vegas calling on behalf of a man 251 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:39,840 Speaker 1: named Robert Bigelow. As the caller explains. A few days earlier, 252 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:44,120 Speaker 1: Bigelow had been alerted to an article in Utah's Desert 253 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:49,240 Speaker 1: News about the weird happenings at the Sherman Ranch. Without 254 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:52,800 Speaker 1: even wishing to view the property, Bigelow is willing to 255 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 1: make an immediate offer of two hundred thousand dollars to 256 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:01,359 Speaker 1: take the ranch off their hands. The sh Germans don't 257 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:15,399 Speaker 1: think twice. When Robert Bigelow was a young boy, he 258 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:19,879 Speaker 1: listened with astonishment as his grandparents recounted a story in 259 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 1: matter of fact terms about the time an alien spacecraft 260 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:27,840 Speaker 1: had onced buzzed their car as they made their way 261 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:32,879 Speaker 1: down a country road just outside of Las Vegas. The 262 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,199 Speaker 1: craft had apparently shot off at an acute angle and 263 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 1: disappeared into the distance before they were able to get 264 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:44,080 Speaker 1: a proper look at it. Later, Bigelow became a multi 265 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:49,800 Speaker 1: millionaire through his hospitality company Budget Suites of America, but 266 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:53,920 Speaker 1: the wonder of hearing his grandparents' story had never left him. 267 00:20:55,440 --> 00:21:00,800 Speaker 1: In the early nineteen nineties, with significant financial means, Bigelow 268 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: began funding a series of fringe science projects through the 269 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:10,240 Speaker 1: University of Nevada in Las Vegas. The programs were designed 270 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:15,159 Speaker 1: to cover a wide area of study, investigating various phenomena 271 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:20,439 Speaker 1: such as near death experiences, altered states of consciousness, and 272 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:26,399 Speaker 1: extrasensory perception. By nineteen ninety six, he was ready to 273 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:31,919 Speaker 1: take his fascination to another level. Colin Kelleher was a 274 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:36,520 Speaker 1: bright young biochemist working at the National Jewish Center for 275 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:40,800 Speaker 1: Immunology in Denver when he came across a job recruitment 276 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 1: ad in science placed by something calling itself the National 277 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:52,960 Speaker 1: Institute for Discovery Science, or NIDS. The institute, set up 278 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:58,480 Speaker 1: by Robert Bigelow, sought to bring together PhD level scientists 279 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:05,359 Speaker 1: from across the scienceic spectrum to investigate paranormal phenomena. It 280 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:09,679 Speaker 1: listed as its remit the modest intention to study the 281 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:15,919 Speaker 1: origin and evolution of consciousness in the universe. Kellerher was 282 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:21,199 Speaker 1: instantly hooked and without hesitation, applied for the job. A 283 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 1: few weeks later, he is on a plane to Las 284 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:27,160 Speaker 1: Vegas to take up his new role as an NIDS 285 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:33,560 Speaker 1: research manager. On his arrival in Vegas, Kelleher finds Bigelow 286 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 1: to be an engaging, intelligent, and ambitious character who is 287 00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:43,840 Speaker 1: genuinely and deeply committed to the organization's goals. This commitment 288 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:48,000 Speaker 1: is echoed loudly by the team of personnel so far 289 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:52,200 Speaker 1: brought to the table, including two of the only twelve 290 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:56,440 Speaker 1: humans ever to have walked on the Moon, doctor Harrison 291 00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:02,560 Speaker 1: Schmidt and doctor Edgar Mitchell. Alongside them is retired US 292 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 1: Army Colonel John Alexander, a Special Forces eighteen commander during 293 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:14,359 Speaker 1: the American Vietnamese War. Alexander had become a controversial figure 294 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,959 Speaker 1: due to his interest in non lethal defense and the 295 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:24,719 Speaker 1: potential of mind control in warfare. With the newly assembled 296 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:29,000 Speaker 1: NIDS team eager to get out into the field to 297 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:34,080 Speaker 1: put their investigative skills to the test, Bigelow suggests the 298 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:39,120 Speaker 1: Sherman Ranch as their first case study, and in September 299 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:51,480 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety six they move onto their new homestead. A 300 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:55,879 Speaker 1: huge observation trailer is installed opposite the ranch house and 301 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,720 Speaker 1: loaded with all the latters tech to conduct their investigations, 302 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:06,080 Speaker 1: including spectrum and frequency analyzers and recording equipment utilizing the 303 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:11,080 Speaker 1: latest in seedy rome based storage. A bank of monitors 304 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:16,680 Speaker 1: is assembled, piled up alongside boxes of magnetometers and Geiger counters, 305 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:22,080 Speaker 1: useful for recording any radioactive discharges that might be taking place. 306 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:27,160 Speaker 1: Despite their eagerness to leave the property, Terry and Gwen 307 00:24:27,359 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 1: had not been entirely ready to give in. They'd taken 308 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,440 Speaker 1: it as a personal affront that the family was effectively 309 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:37,800 Speaker 1: run off their land and arranged a deal with Bigelow 310 00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:41,000 Speaker 1: to not only keep cattle on the ranch, but also 311 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,040 Speaker 1: to assist the n I d. S Team as property 312 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 1: managers of what would henceforth be known as Bigelow Ranch. 313 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:53,760 Speaker 1: When the team arrives, Terry takes Column, Kelleher and the 314 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:56,800 Speaker 1: others on a tour of the property to get a 315 00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:00,800 Speaker 1: sense of what exactly they are up against. As they walk, 316 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:04,960 Speaker 1: the team listens enrapt as Terry recounts the events of 317 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:09,720 Speaker 1: the past few years. On that bright September day, As 318 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:13,120 Speaker 1: the chirrup of crickets mixes with the lowing of distant 319 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:17,399 Speaker 1: cattle and a warm breeze drifts over the pastures, it 320 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:20,879 Speaker 1: isn't hard to see why the Shermans had resisted leaving 321 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:27,040 Speaker 1: for so long. Moments later, Terry, Kelleher and another colleague 322 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 1: are staring down at the putrid carcass of a cow, 323 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:34,440 Speaker 1: one of two from the farm next door that had 324 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:39,919 Speaker 1: died in the last few days from mysterious circumstances. The 325 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:45,120 Speaker 1: next day, Bigelow's team begin by compiling witness testimonies from 326 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:49,560 Speaker 1: the neighboring ranch families and reservation residents, which, over the 327 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:54,560 Speaker 1: following months reveal a startling number of bizarre and inexplicable 328 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: experiences that have occurred over the years. In tandem with 329 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:04,399 Speaker 1: these reports, in the day, the team take electromagnetic readings 330 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:08,680 Speaker 1: and test the land for levels of radiation. Come the night, 331 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:12,120 Speaker 1: they take it in turns to sit under the stars 332 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:15,159 Speaker 1: and gaze up at the sky in the hope of 333 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:21,400 Speaker 1: spotting anything unusual. By December, the snows arrive, and as 334 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 1: the temperature continues to drop, Terry moves most of the 335 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:29,000 Speaker 1: cattle to the family's new ranch, located twenty or so 336 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:33,680 Speaker 1: miles away. Column Kelliher and the rest of the NIDS 337 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: team bring the first age of their investigations to a 338 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: close and return back to their Las Vegas headquarters. In February, 339 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:54,359 Speaker 1: the cattle return to the Bigelow ranch two weeks later, 340 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:59,240 Speaker 1: Terry is tagging some of the new arrivals. Having singled 341 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: one out, he quickly grabs it by the head and 342 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:07,800 Speaker 1: wrestles it to the ground. Its mother watches nervously as 343 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: Terry punches the first tag quickly through its ear. Terry 344 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:16,560 Speaker 1: waits for the calf to settle down again, then takes 345 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,240 Speaker 1: the other ear and swiftly punches in a second tag. 346 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:25,120 Speaker 1: The calf is released in a flurry of jerking movements, 347 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:28,240 Speaker 1: trying to shake off the pain as it stumbles back 348 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,920 Speaker 1: to the safety of its mother. A short time later, 349 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,520 Speaker 1: Terry and Gwen are inspecting the rest of their animals 350 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:40,520 Speaker 1: when an anxious barking catches their attention. One of their 351 00:27:40,560 --> 00:27:43,760 Speaker 1: heelers appears to have spotted something on the edge of 352 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:48,360 Speaker 1: the field. It wanders off to investigate and is soon 353 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:53,280 Speaker 1: yapping at something in the undergrowth. Then, without warning, she 354 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:59,119 Speaker 1: sprints off into the scrub. Moments later, a strange cry 355 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:06,520 Speaker 1: comes within the herd. It is happening again. Terry runs 356 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:10,120 Speaker 1: to the mother whose calf he'd just tagged, but there 357 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:13,879 Speaker 1: is no sign of the younger animal until he notices 358 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:18,280 Speaker 1: the small leg bone, freshly shorn of meat, lying on 359 00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:23,119 Speaker 1: the ground before him. Taking a few more steps, Terry 360 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:27,320 Speaker 1: comes across the rest of the butchered carcass. It is 361 00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:31,240 Speaker 1: laid out on the grass with its legs splayed, its 362 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:35,120 Speaker 1: organs have been ripped from the inside and its hide 363 00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:41,560 Speaker 1: almost completely removed, exposing the ribs underneath. One of its 364 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:45,600 Speaker 1: ears has also been sliced off, but there isn't a 365 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 1: speck of blood in sight. Terry steps back in shock, 366 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:56,480 Speaker 1: then calls out for Gwen. Five hours later, having flown 367 00:28:56,560 --> 00:29:00,520 Speaker 1: straight up from Vegas, doctor Colin Kelleher, along with the 368 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:05,360 Speaker 1: physicist and veterinarian from the NIDS team, are standing over 369 00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:10,240 Speaker 1: the remains. The three men swiftly get to work fishing 370 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 1: for magnetic and radioactive anomalies, anxiously eyeing the edges of 371 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:19,360 Speaker 1: the pasture as the machines bleep and hiss. It is 372 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:22,640 Speaker 1: clear from the way the animals are huddled together that 373 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:26,960 Speaker 1: something out there is watching them, and it's making the 374 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:32,720 Speaker 1: men nervous. Looking closely at the calf's ear, the vet 375 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:36,479 Speaker 1: remarks on the precision of the cut, and when the 376 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:39,960 Speaker 1: autopsy is finished, it is clear that if the culprit 377 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 1: is an animal, it isn't something that any of them 378 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 1: have ever seen before. On the edge of the herd, 379 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 1: the calf's mother lowers her head and sniffs at the 380 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:56,280 Speaker 1: ground as she waits for the child that will never return. 381 00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:00,800 Speaker 1: For Gwen and Terry. It is yet an another animal 382 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:05,640 Speaker 1: loss to the high strangeness, and despite all the combined 383 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:11,720 Speaker 1: credentials of Bigelow's investigative team, no one can explain it 384 00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:20,480 Speaker 1: and things are about to get even more terrifying. You've 385 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:26,160 Speaker 1: been listening to Unexplained Season seven, episode ten, Into the Badlands, 386 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:31,000 Speaker 1: Part two of three. Part three will be released next Friday, 387 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:39,840 Speaker 1: November twenty fourth. This episode was written by Richard McLain Smith. Unexplained. 388 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:43,200 Speaker 1: The book and audiobook, with stories never before featured on 389 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:46,920 Speaker 1: the show, is now available to buy worldwide. You can 390 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:51,560 Speaker 1: purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, and other bookstores. 391 00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:55,320 Speaker 1: Please subscribe to and rate the show wherever you get 392 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:58,120 Speaker 1: your podcasts, and feel free to get in touch with 393 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:01,560 Speaker 1: any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on 394 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:04,320 Speaker 1: the show. Perhaps you have an explanation of your own 395 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:07,080 Speaker 1: you'd like to share. You can find out more at 396 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:11,240 Speaker 1: Unexplained podcast dot com and reach us online through Twitter 397 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:16,000 Speaker 1: at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at Facebook dot com, Forward 398 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,000 Speaker 1: slash Unexplained Podcast