Plunge Into The Paranormal World Of The Uintah Basin
October is the season of spookiness which means it’s the perfect season to talk about the paranormal activity centered around the area I’m from, the Uintah Basin.
Merriam-Webster.com defines the paranormal as “not scientifically explainable”.
Just about everyone has heard of the Loch Ness monster and coincidentally the Uintah Basin has its lake creature.
According to Britannica.com “Reports of a monster inhabiting Loch Ness date back to ancient times. Notably, local stone carvings by the Pict depict a mysterious beast with flippers.” “Many of these alleged encounters seemed inspired by Scottish folklore, which abounds with mythical water creatures.”
It’s been speculated that the creature is a plesiosaur, a marine reptile that went extinct around 65.5 million years ago.
So, what creature is swimming in the waters of eastern Utah? That would be Moonie, the Moon Lake monster.
According to Moonlakeresort.com, “If conditions are right, you’ll be able to see Moonie, the Moon Lake Monster. You’ll need to be looking at a calm lake at either dawn or dusk to see a V-shaped ripple moving slowly, but steadily in the center of the lake.”
Also located in the Uintah Basin is Utah’s most famous paranormal hot spot called Skinwalker Ranch.
On a personal note, if you read this and then decide to ask your Native American friend, particularly your Navajo friend about it, please don’t. I promise you that it’s awkward for them and they don’t want to talk about it. With that said, let's get started.
The land Skinwalker Ranch sits on in the Uinta Basin has been traditionally inhabited by the Ute tribe and the term Skinwalker is a Navajo term that translates to “by means of it, it goes on all fours”. In the Navajo culture, Skinwalkers are evil witches with the ability to shapeshift into any animal or human. According to Utah.com, "there have been hundreds of reports of UFOs and unexplained phenomena in the area since the 1950s" and the stories of Skinwalker Ranch began to take off when The Shermans bought the ranch in 1994, which they sold in 1996, and talked about the scary experiences they had on the ranch.
The scary experiences of The Shermans included everything from visits from abnormally large wolves that would disappear into thin air, flashing lights, mysterious objects in the sky, strange circles in their fields, hearing mysterious voices, and cattle mutilations. The Shermans sold the ranch to Robert Bigelow who turned it into a research center for NIDSci or National Institute for Discovery, the group he began in 1995. NIDSci disbanded in 2004 but maintained the property until 2016 when it was sold to Brandon Fugal.
Once Fugal was announced as the property owner, it was also announced that the History Channel would be filming The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch on the property.
The Discovery Channel’s Expedition X also filmed at Skinwalker Ranch.