By Bill Knell
A clerk at the Tern Hill Hall Hotel told UK newspapers that the
launch of Chinese lanterns for a wedding reception was behind
the mass sighting of UFOs by soldiers and civilians on June 7,
2008. However, some experts disagree. Even if the lanterns were
released as claimed, they would have been too small to account
for the objects that were witnessed, photographed and filmed.
Mark Hanley, a British UFO Researcher says that he has
investigated many cases involving the release of Chinese
lanterns.
"These objects are easily identified." Hanley says. "The size,
colors and shape of the objects from the Tern Hill Hotel do not
match what people described or photographed… Lanterns burn up
after a short time and do not behave in the manner described by
witnesses of the UFOs observed on June 7th… The hotel told me
that they announce the release of lanterns in advance to avoid
complaints from residents and local businesses that say they are
a distraction and may cause fires." Hanley claims that the hotel
has been cited by local fire authorities on previous occasions.
Hanley's statements are at odds with those of Stuart Willett,
the manager of the Tern Hill Hall Hotel. Willett says, "We've
had inquiries from residents before, but it's the first time
it's been classed as a UFO." He claims that the hotel has not
previously announced the release of Chinese lanterns, but Anna
Musgrave disagrees. She is a local resident and owner of a
business that is near the hotel. According to several UK
newspapers, Anna says: "I had one of those lanterns land on my
property (prior to this incident) and the ____ thing caused
damage. The hotel staff told us that they would be launching
those ______ things, but there was still damage. I complained to
the authorities…"
Whether or not the hotel was responsible for the June 7, 2008
sightings is a question that literally remains up in the air.
However, that's not the only sighting that some people are
trying to debunk. The sighting of what the Shropshire Star
newspaper called "a huge unidentified object rising from the
ground towards a police helicopter in Cardiff at 12.40am on
Sunday June 8..." is now also being blamed on the Chinese
lanterns, despite the fact that they would have all burned up
long before that encounter.
David Clarke, a self-described "UFO expert" that helped the
British government prepare the MOD files on UFOs for public
release told the BBC: "Call me cynical, but what are the chances
that a flying saucer would come down from outer space in exactly
the same place where lanterns have been released?" He fails to
notice the time discrepancy or perhaps doesn't care. Since most
UFO researchers believe that many of the MOD files were
whitewashed before being released, his opinion should not be
seriously considered.
The helicopter crew involved in the UFO incident made it clear
that the object they saw with their eyes could not be seen with
night vision goggles. Marshall Clayton, an employee of Night Owl
Tactical (maker of night vision goggles) says that would not be
the case if what came at the helicopter was a Chinese lantern.
"Any object that is self-illuminating would easily be seen with
the goggles. Especially if it has an active flame… a candle or
battery powered light would stand out."
It's important to understand that other objects were seen and
photographed on the dates of June 7-8, 2008. Shaun Williams, 12,
was taking some daytime photos with a digital camera near his
house. When he got home and reviewed the photos, a classic
disc-shaped UFO appeared on one of them along with an aircraft
he was trying to photograph against a clear blue sky. Shaun
said, "I couldn't believe it when I looked back at my pictures
and this strange object was there." The object did not resemble
a Chinese lantern in any way, shape or form.
It's been over thirty years since Steven Spielberg shocked audiences
with his ground-breaking film, Close Encounters of the Third
Kind. The film was fact-based with fictional characters. It's sad to see
that, so many years after its release, the news media is still obsessed with
a need to provide skeptical explanations for each and every UFO sighting or
encounter. They still believe that the burden of proof is on us,
but do not hold other news stories to that same standard.
About Today's Guest Writer::
Bill Knell is a popular paranormal author, speaker and consultant.
