The Wanaque ufo sighting of 1966
A Mystery in Wanaque
Stories about unidentified flying objects (UFO) and the extraterrestrial have been an ongoing topic throughout the course of history. The popularity of reported alien encounters has intrigued many people around the world, leading to a huge surge in paranormal investigations and extraterrestrial tourism.
Some people believe that UFOs are spaceships of aliens from other planets or galaxies. Others believe that these sightings are related to certain psychological phenomena such as pareidolia, our ability to perceive a specific image in a random visual pattern, like seeing shapes in clouds. These mysterious aerial observations have also been proclaimed as just hoaxes.
However, on January 11, 1966, a mass UFO sighting stirred a commotion in the small town of Wanaque, New Jersey. And they swore—it was not a random visual pattern.
So, what really happened in Wanaque, New Jersey?
The UFO and the Witnesses
The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), a privately-funded research organization, conducted their own investigations on the sightings. According to their records, the Wanaque police and residents first reported a brilliant light source, then later, a bright egg-shaped object that hovered at low altitude and flew in circular patterns over a reservoir, occasionally making abrupt changes in altitude (vertical maneuvers) at around 6:20 p.m. on January 11, 1966. The sightings apparently continued for more than an hour.
NICAP had a recorded interview with some of the witnesses at the Wanaque Police Station on January 15, 1966.
Howard Ball, an editor of Paterson News, recalled his experience on the night of the event, “I was near the junction of Colfax Road and Hamburg Turnpike… I saw a very extremely bright light... The thing that really brought my attention was, as I traveled along, a white starlight seems to come at me… then it stopped and it made a transverse movement to the west.”
When asked about the color of the light, he said “No color, but if I'd give it a color I'd say brilliant blue-white, similar to the ignition of a magnesium and pure oxygen... really bright light.” He added that the weather was “bright and clear” and he was in observation for about 3-4 minutes. He initially thought that it was a helicopter with a bright strobe light, but he couldn’t see any green or red running lights associated with any aircraft, and it traveled a little faster than the speed of an aircraft.
Wanaque Mayor Harry Wolfe said that he received reports from the Wanaque Reservoir Police about the sightings. So instead of going to a scheduled dinner that night with Councilmen Arthur Barton and Warren Hagstrom, they went to the reservoir with his son, Billy. They met
Patrolman Joe Cisco of the Wanaque Police and then they went up on top of the reservoir to
the dam itself to check if they could see anything.
That was when he saw “a brilliance, a little brighter than a star.” He added, “It did seem to emit
a reddish or pale green light or yellowish light… Then it seemed to move towards south or
southwest or something like that.” Mayor Wolfe disclosed that according to reports, the UFO
apparently moved up and down too but they didn't see it move that way. It appeared to move
steadily, pretty close to the horizon.
Chief John Casazza of the Wanaque Reservoir Police shared his description of the strange light
as well, in a published interview with Lloyd Mallan of Science & Mechanics. Chief Casazza said,
“It was a bright white light. As I said: just like on a locomotive. It was funnel-shaped. It seemed
to come out of some object, like a funnel. In other words, it spread out as if it were focused
through a telescope. It was narrow at one end in the sky and spread out into a very wide beam
as it approached our upper gatehouse at the dam."
Possible Government Cover-up
One of the most intriguing reports linked to this mass UFO sighting in Wanaque on January 11 is
the alleged involvement of a uniformed official who claimed to be associated with the US Air
Force. He apparently ordered the people to stay in silence and tried to gather all photographs
or evidence of the sightings.
There were also statements from Reservoir Police officers Charles Theodora and Sergeant Ben
Thompson, who convened with the said official. As revealed in another article by Mallan, Sgt.
Thompson said, “They sent an investigator to Lakeland High School where he interviewed us. He
came right out and said we were 'seeing things’. Swamp gas, a star—things like that. He as
much as told us that we didn't know what we were seeing. So we figured it would be a waste of
breath to talk to anybody, official or not, from then on."
However, there were no records of any military or civilian department of the government
deployed in the area to investigate the sightings. According to a statement made by Lt. Col.
George Freeman, Pentagon spokesperson for Project Blue Book, "We keep hearing about those
Wanaque sightings and people keep writing to us about them—but we never received any
report on them here in the Pentagon." Project Blue Book is one of the series of systematic
investigations of the UFOs conducted by the US Air Force, following Projects Sign and Grudge.
What happened to the evidence?
A few images of the alleged UFO have circulated in the media. It included an image of what
appeared to be a floating object casting a downward light beam, like a large and dense
searchlight. Little is known about the real origin of the photo or if it was fabricated. Other
independent researchers declared it as fake, after applying photo analysis to the source
material.
Cameras, like the Polaroid, were already available in the 1960s. With such a number of
witnesses, why is there only a little evidence of this mass UFO sighting? Were traces of
evidence or photographs really confiscated and hidden from the public? Was the government
covering up the case? Was it an actual extraterrestrial event or just a natural phenomenon
playing tricks with the bare human eye?
Questions were left unanswered. In light of these recorded statements and published reports,
the mystery surrounding the mass UFO sighting in Wanaque, New Jersey on January 11, 1966,
still lingers.
Graveyard Shift TV creator Giuseppe DiMarco, who was born and raised in Wanaque, New
Jersey, is one of those people drawn to the mysterious UFO. He is currently working on a
documentary that explores the famous incident from his very own hometown.
Giuseppe had a lot of paranormal encounters since his formative years and has since learned
how to love the strange. He writes these experiences down and publishes them on his website
to share them with other people.
To know more about Giuseppe’s paranormal adventures, visit Graveyard Shift TV or contact
him through this link.
Stories about unidentified flying objects (UFO) and the extraterrestrial have been an ongoing topic throughout the course of history. The popularity of reported alien encounters has intrigued many people around the world, leading to a huge surge in paranormal investigations and extraterrestrial tourism.
Some people believe that UFOs are spaceships of aliens from other planets or galaxies. Others believe that these sightings are related to certain psychological phenomena such as pareidolia, our ability to perceive a specific image in a random visual pattern, like seeing shapes in clouds. These mysterious aerial observations have also been proclaimed as just hoaxes.
However, on January 11, 1966, a mass UFO sighting stirred a commotion in the small town of Wanaque, New Jersey. And they swore—it was not a random visual pattern.
So, what really happened in Wanaque, New Jersey?
The UFO and the Witnesses
The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), a privately-funded research organization, conducted their own investigations on the sightings. According to their records, the Wanaque police and residents first reported a brilliant light source, then later, a bright egg-shaped object that hovered at low altitude and flew in circular patterns over a reservoir, occasionally making abrupt changes in altitude (vertical maneuvers) at around 6:20 p.m. on January 11, 1966. The sightings apparently continued for more than an hour.
NICAP had a recorded interview with some of the witnesses at the Wanaque Police Station on January 15, 1966.
Howard Ball, an editor of Paterson News, recalled his experience on the night of the event, “I was near the junction of Colfax Road and Hamburg Turnpike… I saw a very extremely bright light... The thing that really brought my attention was, as I traveled along, a white starlight seems to come at me… then it stopped and it made a transverse movement to the west.”
When asked about the color of the light, he said “No color, but if I'd give it a color I'd say brilliant blue-white, similar to the ignition of a magnesium and pure oxygen... really bright light.” He added that the weather was “bright and clear” and he was in observation for about 3-4 minutes. He initially thought that it was a helicopter with a bright strobe light, but he couldn’t see any green or red running lights associated with any aircraft, and it traveled a little faster than the speed of an aircraft.
Wanaque Mayor Harry Wolfe said that he received reports from the Wanaque Reservoir Police about the sightings. So instead of going to a scheduled dinner that night with Councilmen Arthur Barton and Warren Hagstrom, they went to the reservoir with his son, Billy. They met
Patrolman Joe Cisco of the Wanaque Police and then they went up on top of the reservoir to
the dam itself to check if they could see anything.
That was when he saw “a brilliance, a little brighter than a star.” He added, “It did seem to emit
a reddish or pale green light or yellowish light… Then it seemed to move towards south or
southwest or something like that.” Mayor Wolfe disclosed that according to reports, the UFO
apparently moved up and down too but they didn't see it move that way. It appeared to move
steadily, pretty close to the horizon.
Chief John Casazza of the Wanaque Reservoir Police shared his description of the strange light
as well, in a published interview with Lloyd Mallan of Science & Mechanics. Chief Casazza said,
“It was a bright white light. As I said: just like on a locomotive. It was funnel-shaped. It seemed
to come out of some object, like a funnel. In other words, it spread out as if it were focused
through a telescope. It was narrow at one end in the sky and spread out into a very wide beam
as it approached our upper gatehouse at the dam."
Possible Government Cover-up
One of the most intriguing reports linked to this mass UFO sighting in Wanaque on January 11 is
the alleged involvement of a uniformed official who claimed to be associated with the US Air
Force. He apparently ordered the people to stay in silence and tried to gather all photographs
or evidence of the sightings.
There were also statements from Reservoir Police officers Charles Theodora and Sergeant Ben
Thompson, who convened with the said official. As revealed in another article by Mallan, Sgt.
Thompson said, “They sent an investigator to Lakeland High School where he interviewed us. He
came right out and said we were 'seeing things’. Swamp gas, a star—things like that. He as
much as told us that we didn't know what we were seeing. So we figured it would be a waste of
breath to talk to anybody, official or not, from then on."
However, there were no records of any military or civilian department of the government
deployed in the area to investigate the sightings. According to a statement made by Lt. Col.
George Freeman, Pentagon spokesperson for Project Blue Book, "We keep hearing about those
Wanaque sightings and people keep writing to us about them—but we never received any
report on them here in the Pentagon." Project Blue Book is one of the series of systematic
investigations of the UFOs conducted by the US Air Force, following Projects Sign and Grudge.
What happened to the evidence?
A few images of the alleged UFO have circulated in the media. It included an image of what
appeared to be a floating object casting a downward light beam, like a large and dense
searchlight. Little is known about the real origin of the photo or if it was fabricated. Other
independent researchers declared it as fake, after applying photo analysis to the source
material.
Cameras, like the Polaroid, were already available in the 1960s. With such a number of
witnesses, why is there only a little evidence of this mass UFO sighting? Were traces of
evidence or photographs really confiscated and hidden from the public? Was the government
covering up the case? Was it an actual extraterrestrial event or just a natural phenomenon
playing tricks with the bare human eye?
Questions were left unanswered. In light of these recorded statements and published reports,
the mystery surrounding the mass UFO sighting in Wanaque, New Jersey on January 11, 1966,
still lingers.
Graveyard Shift TV creator Giuseppe DiMarco, who was born and raised in Wanaque, New
Jersey, is one of those people drawn to the mysterious UFO. He is currently working on a
documentary that explores the famous incident from his very own hometown.
Giuseppe had a lot of paranormal encounters since his formative years and has since learned
how to love the strange. He writes these experiences down and publishes them on his website
to share them with other people.
To know more about Giuseppe’s paranormal adventures, visit Graveyard Shift TV or contact
him through this link.
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