Various people around the globe have spotted unidentified flying objects for thousands of years. Some of these mysterious objects were meteors, illusions of light, and even space crafts of extraterrestrial origin. Many of these sightings were recorded throughout history, but a lot of the encounters were lost or never recorded. Even though many UFO encounters often go unsolved, a large group of people in the United States believe in extraterrestrials.
A survey on the ipsos website concluded that 57 percent of people in the United States believe in the existence of beings that originate from other planets. Even in the 21 century, UFO sightings have been reported. The existence of UFOs has been a debate in the United States so long that it has become a part of pop culture. There are dozens of movies, books, and merchandise that are based on extraterrestrials. Even though extraterrestrial space crafts were spotted for thousands of years, they didn’t become part of mainstream America until the second half of the 20th century. It was UFO encounters such as the Roswell incident and the Betty and Barney Hill abduction that brought national attention to extraterrestrials. Another famous UFO encounter that contributed to the national attention of UFOs was the Val Johnson incident.
Val Johnson worked for the Marshall County Sheriff’s department in Minnesota. Patrolling at night was part of his schedule, and it was rare for something out of the ordinary to happen. Johnson usually cruised on the same streets and occasionally handed out a speeding ticket. In 1979, his daily routine was interrupted when he saw a ball of light that appeared to have a diameter of 12 inches. The ball of light had a bright white glow and hovered between 3 and 4 feet above the road. The light hovered towards him. When his car became surrounded by the light, he heard glass shatter before he fell unconscious.
Around 45 minutes later, he awoke to find his car on the side of the road. When he observed his car, he noticed the windshield was shattered. One headlight no longer worked. The radio antennas were bent and when he turned on the radio, they didn’t pick up a signal. Later, he noticed that his watch was 14 minutes behind, even though he always made sure that his watch had the correct time.
It wasn’t only the car that was affected by this light. Johnson had bruises and scratches that covered multiple areas of his body. His eyes were red and irritated, and it looked like a hazardous chemical infected his eyes. This encounter became known as the Val Johnson incident, and it quickly gained national attention. Ufologists around the country were trying to interview him. The police investigated the incident, but they came up with no conclusion.
Evidence of the Val Johnson Incident
Even though the police couldn’t conclude the case, many people believe a spacecraft of extraterrestrial origin attacked Johnson. There are critics that believe that Johnson is lying to get publicity because he refused to take the lie detector test. Johnson claimed he wasn’t scared of taking the lie detector test. When an interviewer asked why he didn’t take the lie detector test, Johnson stated, “It would only satisfy people’s morbid curiosity”.
A few ufologists claimed Johnson damaged his car to support his hoax for media attention. Years after the encounter, it became clear that Johnson’s goal wasn’t to receive national media attention. Johnson informed the public that his family members couldn’t handle the national attention, and it caused a lot of drama. According to the decades after the encounter, it doesn’t seem like Johnson made a significant amount of money off of the incident. His employment ended because of a dispute with the police department. After that, he worked a series of odd jobs. In recent years, Johnson stayed away from the media and lived a normal life. Sometimes someone will talk to him about his encounter, but he closed that chapter of his life and moved on.
Do you think that Johnson was attacked by an extraterrestrial spacecraft, or do you think it was a hoax? If it was a hoax, what do you think he wanted to gain? What do you think that the ball of light was? If you have an answer, let me know in the comments below.
Clark, Jerome (1998). The UFO encyclopedia: the phenomenon from the beginning, Volume 1. Omnigraphics. ISBN 978-0-7808-0097-7.
Enger, John. “What Happened to the Marshall Co. Cop Who Hit a UFO?” MPR News, MPR News, 27 Aug. 2015, www.mprnews.org/story/2015/08/26/minnesota-deputy-squad-car-ufo-mystery.