Up next in 10
Skinwalker Ranch did not become famous overnight, and the phenomena did not begin with investigators or cameras. This is the documented history of what happened there before the world was watching, and why the activity never truly stopped.
*Pre-Sherman era activity and early Basin anomalies
*NIDS investigations and the camera sabotage mystery
*Modern encounters beyond the ranch boundary
This presentation examines Skinwalker Ranch as a patterned anomaly zone, not a television set piece. This episode is for listeners who value critical thinking, investigative discipline, and honest uncertainty.
If you have experienced something similar, visit Phantoms and Monsters https://phantomsandmonsters.com and share your story.
👤 I'm Lon Strickler, creator of Phantoms & Monsters, and I’ve been a paranormal researcher and intuitive investigator for over 45 years. My work has been featured on numerous television shows, including Ancient Aliens, Paranormal Witness, Monsters and Mysteries in America, and Unsolved Mysteries, as well as on radio shows such as Coast to Coast AM.
✨ Join Phantoms & Monsters Radio – Only $2.99/Month!
Unlock Insider perks:
💬 Members-only live chat with Lon
🎥 Exclusive videos & early case drops
💬 Priority comment replies
🏅 Member badge & recognition
📚 Members also get access to extended case notes, off-air insights, and early access to upcoming investigations.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:01
Hey folks, welcome to Phantoms and
0:03
Monsters Radio.
0:06
Now, most of the people you're about to
0:09
hear from did not seek an encounter. In
0:12
many cases, the moment that stayed with
0:15
them was not the sighting itself, but
0:18
the realization that whatever they
0:20
encountered had already been present
0:23
long before they noticed it.
0:26
Now, this episode documents firsthand
0:29
eyewitness and experiencer accounts
0:31
connected to Skinw Walker Ranch and the
0:35
surrounding Uenta Basin.
0:38
When examined individually, some of
0:40
these cases appear isolated.
0:44
When placed side by side, consistent
0:46
behaviors, responses, and patterns begin
0:49
to emerge across locations, witnesses,
0:53
and decades.
0:56
Now, if you're new here at the Phantoms
0:57
of Monsters Radio, we focus on witness
1:00
testimony, documented continuity, and
1:03
recurring
1:04
behavioral patterns rather than
1:06
speculation or entertainment narratives.
1:10
Follow the show to track these cases as
1:12
they continue to develop.
1:19
Now, tonight is not about proving
1:21
whether Skinw Walker Ranch exists.
1:24
It's about understanding why this land
1:27
and the Uenta basin have produced a
1:30
continuous record of anomalous
1:32
encounters for nearly a century. Long
1:35
before television, long before
1:37
investigators, and long before the ranch
1:39
had a name,
1:41
Skinwalker Ranch did not become famous
1:44
because of stories.
1:47
It became famous because the activity
1:49
kept repeating and because people with
1:52
nothing to gain kept reporting the same
1:54
kinds of experiences.
1:58
Tonight, we're not rushing.
2:01
We are documenting.
2:07
Now, the Navajo associate the area with
2:10
historic vengeible curse, while Uteth
2:13
Allure portrays the land as dangerous,
2:15
haunted by dark, inhumanly
2:19
fast, and nearly invincible creatures.
2:24
Now, according to Navajo legend, the
2:26
region around Skinwalker Ranch is
2:28
cursed. This curse is often said to have
2:31
originated from a conflict in which the
2:33
Yub tribe, the Ute tribe, allied with
2:36
the US government, sold some Navajo
2:40
people into slavery.
2:43
In retaliation,
2:45
the Navajo placed a curse on the land.
2:49
The Ute people believe that this area,
2:52
particularly the ridge on the property,
2:54
is dangerous and should be avoided.
2:58
Now, a skin walker is described as an
3:00
evil supernatural being that can
3:02
transform into a large, often wolflike
3:06
creature. Sometimes said to be three
3:09
times the size of a normal wolf.
3:12
These beings are thought to be former
3:15
healers or witches who have engaged in
3:18
dark forbidden practices.
3:22
The legends surrounding skin walkers are
3:24
linked to a range of strange
3:27
occurrences, including cattle
3:28
mutilations,
3:30
UFO sightings, and encounters with
3:33
large, menacing, and intelligent
3:35
creatures.
3:37
The legend provides a cultural context
3:40
for numerous modern reports of UFOs,
3:43
cattle mutilations, and unusual
3:45
creatures at the ranch.
3:48
Researchers often note the irony that
3:51
Skinwalker Ranch is named after a Navajo
3:54
legend, even though it's located
3:57
hundreds of miles away from the
3:59
traditional Navajo territory deep within
4:02
Ute lands.
4:06
Now, in approximately 1944,
4:09
during World War II, a woman employed by
4:12
the US Indian Service was living near
4:15
Fort Dane, Utah. Her husband had
4:19
relocated there after being deemed unfit
4:22
for military service due to a childhood
4:25
injury.
4:27
She herself had previously been a nurse
4:29
with the Indian service.
4:33
One day, while pushing her infant in a
4:35
stroller, she stopped near a small
4:38
meadow near the school and sat down for
4:41
a quiet picnic.
4:43
Without warning, a shiny object flew in
4:46
from the west.
4:49
It did not race across the sky. It
4:51
entered deliberately, made a complete
4:54
circuit around the meadow, hovered
4:56
briefly, and departed to the east.
5:00
Years later, when her adult child asked
5:03
her to draw what she had seen, she drew
5:05
a circular globe.
5:08
She struggled most to describe the
5:11
movement. It was not smooth. It was
5:13
jittery and unstable, as though the
5:16
object were adjusting itself in midair.
5:20
There was no strong wind that day.
5:24
But decades later, she considered
5:26
whether the object might have been a
5:27
Japanese fugu balloon or hydrogen filled
5:31
incendiary device launched during the
5:33
war.
5:34
She couldn't be certain.
5:38
But one thing stayed with her.
5:41
The object did not drift. It circled.
5:45
That meadow lies within two or three
5:47
miles of what later would be known as
5:49
Skinw Walker Ranch.
5:53
Now, decades later, a retired Fort
5:55
Dukane police officer described an
5:57
encounter that carried a very different
6:00
emotional weight.
6:02
One evening, he and his family were
6:04
outside their home relaxing, talking,
6:07
drinking coffee. Without warning, a
6:10
shiny object passed directly over the
6:12
house.
6:15
It did not comm continue on. It stopped.
6:19
For a moment, it hung motionless above
6:21
them. close enough to feel intrusive.
6:26
Then, without an any visible transition,
6:30
a shot straight upward, accelerating
6:32
rapidly until it disappeared.
6:36
There was no arc, no banking turn, and
6:39
no sound described.
6:42
The family immediately went indoors.
6:45
What stayed with the officer was not
6:47
curiosity. It was a sudden realization
6:50
that whatever this was had complete
6:53
control over its movements and that
6:55
control was unsettling enough to change
6:59
their behavior for months afterwards.
7:05
So in 1994, Terry and Gwen Sherman
7:08
purchased a 480 acre ranch south of Fort
7:13
Dukane.
7:15
Within days, the activity began.
7:19
Now, Terry Sherman described a large
7:22
wolf-like animal attempting to attack a
7:24
calf shortly after moving in.
7:28
He fired multiple shots at close range,
7:31
but the animal did not react. It did not
7:34
bleed. It did not flinch. It simply
7:37
turned and walked away.
7:41
That moment set the tone for everything
7:43
that followed.
7:47
Repeated cattle mutilations. Dogs found
7:50
dead. Some appearing incinerated.
7:54
Large aerial objects hovering over the
7:56
property.
7:58
Balls of light moving over the land.
8:01
Large impressions pressed into grass.
8:05
Poltergeistike activity inside the home.
8:09
Sounds of heavy machinery beneath the
8:12
ground.
8:13
The family also reported multiple
8:16
entities, not one.
8:19
Bigfoot-like beings,
8:22
semi-transparent humanoids,
8:24
intelligent wolflike animals.
8:28
After nearly two years, the family fled
8:31
the property.
8:36
On July 19th, 1998, three cameras
8:40
mounted on telephone pole number one
8:43
lost power exactly 8:30 p.m.
8:49
The inspection revealed wiring was
8:52
forcibly ripped out,
8:54
duct tape was completely removed, PVC
8:58
tubing twisted and torn free,
9:01
Uclamps missing.
9:04
Another camera on pole number two was
9:07
aimed directly at the damaged equipment
9:09
and recorded continuously,
9:13
but the footage showed nothing.
9:15
Frame by frame enhancement revealed the
9:18
cameras lost power while under direct
9:20
surveillance.
9:23
Now, Colonel John B. Alexander later
9:25
confirmed that each camera captured a
9:28
frame every 1.3 seconds.
9:32
The extent of damage could not have
9:34
occurred between frames.
9:36
Nearby cattle showed no agitation.
9:40
The event made no physical sense.
9:47
A native native you ute witness
9:50
described a story told by his
9:52
grandfather who had gone to what he
9:54
called skinwalker valley to prove the
9:57
stories were not real.
10:00
He described black and grass,
10:03
deadlooking trees, animal skeletons, a
10:06
ruined house.
10:08
He heard the voice of his deceased
10:10
grandmother calling to him. He was
10:13
chased. Later in life, the grandfather
10:16
showed deep claw marks across his back.
10:21
Before his death, the witness saw a
10:24
large black dog with white eyes watching
10:26
him from across the field.
10:30
But before we continue, if you're
10:32
enjoying tonight's presentation and want
10:34
to hear more stories like this, don't
10:35
forget to hit the like button and
10:36
subscribe to Phantoms of Monsters Radio.
10:39
It really helps us to reach more people
10:41
who's searching for answers about the
10:43
unexplained and make sure to click the
10:45
notification bell so you won't miss any
10:47
of our live shows.
10:51
[clears throat]
10:53
Now, in 1959
10:55
near Bottle Hollow,
11:00
I received an email from a witness later
11:04
on.
11:06
Hi, Lon. I listened to an older
11:09
interview you gave about Skinw Walker
11:11
Ranch and the strange occurrences
11:13
reported there.
11:16
I had been familiar with the general
11:18
area for quite a long time.
11:20
I lived near Roosevelt, Utah when I was
11:24
a boy. My family owned land south of
11:27
town about 3 to four miles from the
11:30
current Skin Walker Ranch and Bottle
11:33
Hollow.
11:35
This was in the 1950s before the
11:37
reservoir was built in the hollow.
11:41
Sometimes we would look east at night
11:43
and see unusual lights coming from the
11:46
hollow area.
11:48
One night I remember seeing a ball of
11:50
light ball of bright white light with a
11:53
long tail moving along the eastern
11:55
horizon before it suddenly reversed
11:58
direction and went back the other way.
12:01
My father called it spirit light and
12:03
mentioned that he had seen many in one
12:05
night when he was a boy.
12:09
Now the most shocking and memorable in
12:11
memorable incident I experienced
12:13
happened on my 12th birthday in
12:16
September 1959.
12:19
Our family was sitting outside behind
12:21
the house enjoying the evening. We had a
12:24
small party earlier and the last guest
12:27
had just left.
12:29
I had received a refracting telescope as
12:32
a gift from my parents and I was eager
12:35
to try it out.
12:37
The sky was clear and full stars at
12:40
night. As I scanned the sky, I heard
12:43
what sounded like men talking.
12:46
The sound was coming from the gully on
12:48
the east end of our land. As I listened,
12:52
I noticed my father walking toward me
12:54
with a fearful expression as if he had
12:57
seen a ghost.
12:59
Suddenly, there was a loud whoop sound
13:02
followed by another.
13:04
I looked back toward the gully and was
13:07
shocked to see three tall humanlike
13:09
figures.
13:12
The only description I can provide is
13:14
that they were very thin with long arms
13:16
and legs.
13:18
Their heads appeared human, but as we
13:21
watched, they looked more animallike.
13:26
They stood still, staring directly at my
13:28
father and me with shining black eyes.
13:32
Then the one on the right raised its
13:34
left arm and pointed toward the hollow,
13:36
the area near the current skinw walker
13:38
ranch.
13:40
My father shouted, "Let us be." And the
13:43
figures crouched to the ground and then
13:45
disappeared.
13:48
Now when we got into the house, my
13:50
father and mother sat me down at the
13:52
kitchen table and explained that these
13:54
were the spirits of dead you ute
13:56
warriors who had been killed by the
13:58
Spanish and buried in the hollow.
14:02
They said that these spirits protected
14:03
the sacred native lands and used magic
14:06
from the heavens to scare away their
14:08
enemies.
14:11
My parents were very aware of these
14:13
traditions even though they were not
14:15
Native American.
14:17
Now, as I grew older, I began to realize
14:20
that we know very little about the
14:22
spiritual world and even less about the
14:25
people who lived before us.
14:34
This account demonstrates a behavior
14:36
seen repeatedly around the region and
14:39
across the region, but psychological
14:40
engagement.
14:42
Two men noticed a figure moving among
14:45
brush and trees near the trailer. It did
14:49
not charge. It did not reveal itself
14:51
fully. It watched.
14:54
When they moved, it moved closer.
14:58
The most disturbing feature was its
15:00
unnaturally long neck, which caused his
15:03
head to bob slightly as it shifted
15:05
position.
15:08
After retreating to another trailer,
15:10
they believed the situation was over,
15:13
but it wasn't.
15:16
They later observed its silhouette
15:18
standing directly in front of a window,
15:20
motionless, blocking moonlight. Then it
15:23
vanished without sound.
15:26
Now what followed was not physical.
15:30
It was a mockery.
15:33
They heard pig sounds followed by a
15:36
clearly human voice saying oink
15:40
delivered deliberately as though meant
15:42
to confirm awareness and fear.
15:47
This was not hunting behavior. This was
15:50
engagement.
15:54
Now, this encounter stands out because
15:56
of an proximity and corroboration.
16:01
A truck driver stopped along a dark
16:04
stretch of I 191 and illuminated what he
16:08
thought was an animal.
16:10
Instead, he saw a pale, hairless
16:13
humanoid crouched over a dead coyote
16:16
feeding.
16:20
When light struck it, the creature
16:22
stood, revealing long limbs and a thin
16:25
frame and large eyes.
16:28
It did not flee. It advanced slowly.
16:32
Only after the driver fled did it stop,
16:35
standing upright in the road, watching
16:38
him leave.
16:40
At the next rest stop, two other drivers
16:43
independently reporting seeing the same
16:45
entity.
16:47
This was not a fleeting glimpse.
16:51
This was a shared encounter.
16:59
Now, this next account is disturbing
17:00
because it involves transformation.
17:05
I was told by the witness, I have an
17:09
unbelievable story to share with you.
17:12
I don't know if you're familiar with
17:14
Skinw Walker Ranch in Utah,
17:17
but I have a close relative who
17:19
well-known UFO enthusiast in that area.
17:24
He has been telling me stories about it
17:26
since I was a kid. [clears throat]
17:30
I visited the ranch several times,
17:33
including a trip in the spring of 2013
17:38
when nothing unusual occurred. However,
17:42
something did happen one Saturday night,
17:44
and I later learned more about it
17:46
through my UFO relative.
17:50
Some Ute Native kids were driving a tall
17:53
truck about 8 ft high when they arrived
17:56
at the UFO ranch gate.
18:00
They reported seeing an orb of light
18:02
appearing in the window above the gate.
18:06
Scared, they turned on their headlights
18:08
and started their engine.
18:10
The orb then intensified in brightness
18:13
and moved directly over their truck.
18:17
Suddenly, something hit their vehicle,
18:20
prompting the kids to drive down the
18:22
road to safety, which was about 3/4 of a
18:25
mile away.
18:28
Once they stopped to inspect the damage,
18:31
the driver inly
18:34
switch places with the passenger.
18:38
and there were some girls with them in
18:40
the truck.
18:42
When they got back inside, things took a
18:44
bizarre turn.
18:46
A creature grabbed the kid who had been
18:49
driving and yanked him out of the truck,
18:51
throwing him around like a ragd doll,
18:54
biting him on the backside several times
18:57
and clawing at him.
19:00
Incredibly, this kid managed to get back
19:02
into the truck and one of the other kids
19:05
took a picture of the creature.
19:08
terrified, they drove away and reported
19:10
the incident to the Ute Indian police,
19:13
who were aware of the ranch's reputation
19:15
for strong occurrences or strange
19:17
occurrences
19:19
and said they couldn't do anything about
19:21
it.
19:23
The next day on Sunday, these kids
19:26
contacted my UFO researcher relative who
19:29
then investigated.
19:31
[clears throat]
19:32
Meanwhile, the shaman's wife and the
19:35
shaman were there to bless the
19:37
frightened kids.
19:40
My relative later saw the picture of the
19:42
creature on his cell phone along with
19:45
the damage to the truck.
19:48
There was even a scratch on the truck
19:49
that spelled die.
19:53
And he observed the injuries from the
19:54
kid, including the bite marks.
19:58
Hearing
19:59
this was truly shocking to me.
20:03
A few months ago, while working at a
20:05
hospital, one of my patients turned out
20:08
to be the shaman's wife, who was also
20:11
present when my relative investigated.
20:15
She confirmed everything my relative had
20:18
said, but provided even more detail.
20:22
Both she and Mauralda described the
20:24
creature as tall enough to reach into
20:26
the cab of the 8-foot truck.
20:30
It had horns, red hair, a human-like
20:33
face, and a distorted wolflike mouth,
20:36
claws, and wings.
20:39
I asked my relative if this was a skinw
20:42
walker, and he insisted with something
20:45
entirely different.
20:47
The shaman's wife agreed, saying it was
20:49
also a different entity.
20:53
That distinction is critical.
20:59
Now, skinwalker ranch is not a single
21:02
phenomenon.
21:04
It is a persistent converg.
21:09
The same behavior appears.
21:12
observation,
21:14
mimicry,
21:16
physical interaction,
21:18
avoidance of documentation,
21:22
awareness of attention.
21:26
What matters most about the accounts you
21:29
have heard tonight is not how strange
21:32
they sound when taken individually.
21:36
It is familiar they become when It is
21:40
how familiar they become when placed
21:42
side by side.
21:44
Different decades, different witnesses,
21:48
different levels of attention, different
21:50
explanations are offered after the fact
21:54
and yet the same behaviors surface again
21:56
and again.
21:59
observation before interaction,
22:02
awareness without announcement,
22:05
moments of mimicry or testing rather
22:07
than outright attack.
22:10
In a recurring sense shared by many
22:13
witnesses that whatever they encountered
22:15
was not surprised to see them.
22:20
Now, in several of these cases, the most
22:21
unsettling realization did not come
22:24
during the event itself. It came later.
22:29
It came when the witness understood that
22:32
the encounter did not begin when they
22:34
noticed something unusual.
22:37
It began earlier, quietly, invisibly,
22:42
already in motion.
22:45
That realization changes how people
22:47
remember what happened.
22:50
It also changes how we should
22:51
investigate it. Because when a
22:54
phenomenon appears repeatedly across
22:57
time and geography, adapts to attention,
23:01
avoids documentation,
23:03
and presents itself differently
23:05
depending on who is watching. The
23:07
question is no longer whether something
23:09
happened.
23:11
The question becomes, how long is it
23:14
been happening, and why does it choose
23:17
certain moments to reveal itself?
23:22
Skinwalker Ranch is often discussed as
23:24
if it were an anomaly in isolation, but
23:28
it's not. It's a focal point, a place
23:32
where behaviors that occur somewhere or
23:35
elsewhere become compressed,
23:37
layered, and difficult to ignore.
23:41
Now, the branch did not create this
23:43
phenomena. It attracted attention to
23:46
them.
23:48
and attention as we have seen may be
23:50
part of the interaction itself.
23:55
Now, some of the witnesses you heard
23:56
tonight were ranchers, some were
23:58
children, some were law enforcement, and
24:01
some were simply passing through.
24:06
Some were simply passing through
24:09
and did not speak publicly for years,
24:12
not because they lacked conviction, but
24:14
because they understood how these
24:17
stories are received. And yet they came
24:20
forward anyway. Because silence does not
24:24
erase experience.
24:26
It only delays understanding.
24:29
This is not a belief. It's a pattern.
24:34
And the pattern says this did not begin
24:36
with the Shermans.
24:39
It did not end with the NIDS
24:44
and it did not stop when cameras
24:46
arrived.
24:48
They kept coming back
24:51
and they still do.
24:56
Now, if you have experienced anything
24:57
like this or has had an unexplained
24:59
encounter or sighting, you can send your
25:02
report to Phantoms and Monsters. And as
25:04
always, thank you for listening.
#Occult & Paranormal