Skinwalker Ranch

UFO reports in the Uintah Basin were publicized during the 1970s.[2] Claims about the ranch first appeared in 1996 in the Salt Lake City, Utah Deseret News,[3] and later in the alternative weekly Las Vegas Mercury as a series of articles by investigative journalist George Knapp. These early stories detailed the claims of a family that allegedly experienced inexplicable and frightening events after they purchased and occupied the property.

Colm Kelleher and co-author George Knapp subsequently authored a book[4] in which they describe the ranch being acquired by the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDSci) to study anecdotal sightings of UFOs, bigfoot-like creatures, crop circles, glowing orbs and poltergeist activity reported by its former owners.[5]

The ranch, located in west Uintah County bordering the Ute Indian Reservation, was popularly dubbed the UFO ranch due to its ostensible 50-year history of odd events said to have taken place there. According to Kelleher and Knapp, they saw or investigated evidence of close to 100 incidents that include vanishing and mutilated cattle, sightings of unidentified flying objects or orbs, large animals with piercing red eyes that they say were unscathed when struck by bullets, and invisible objects emitting destructive magnetic fields. Among those involved were retired US Army Colonel John B. Alexander who characterized the NIDSci effort as an attempt to get hard data using a "standard scientific approach".[6] However, the investigators admitted to "difficulty obtaining evidence consistent with scientific publication."

Cattle mutilations have been part of the folklore of the surrounding area for decades. When NIDSci founder billionaire Robert Bigelow purchased the ranch for $200,000, this was reportedly the result of his having been convinced by the stories of mutilations that included tales of strange lights and unusual impressions made in grass and soil told by the family of former ranch owner Terry Sherman.[7]

In 1996, skeptic James Randi awarded Bigelow a Pigasus Award for funding the purchase of the ranch and for supporting John E. Mack's and Budd Hopkins' investigations. Randi called the effort a "useless study of a [sic] supernatural, paranormal or occult".[8]

• 1934–1994 – Kenneth and Edith Myers
• 1994–1996 – Terry and Gwen Sherman[9]
• 1996–2016 – Robert Bigelow[9]
• 2016–Present – Brandon Fugal, via Adamantium Holdings.

In 2016, Bigelow sold Skinwalker Ranch for $4.5 million to Adamantium Holdings, a shell corporation of unknown origin. After this purchase, all roads leading to the ranch have been blocked, the perimeter secured and guarded by cameras and barbed wire, and surrounded by signs that aim to prevent people from approaching the ranch.[10] In 2017, the name "Skinwalker Ranch" was filed for trademark through Justia Trademarks. The trademark was issued in 2018.[11] In March 2020, Brandon Fugal, 46, a Utah real estate tycoon, announced publicly that he is the owner of the ranch.[9]

• SkinwalkerRanch.org – Property maps and updates from local researchers investigating the ranch
• RealityUncovered.com – Article comparing claimed phenomenon to the region's Native American Ancestral heritage and religious practices
• Dunning, Brian (July 31, 2012). "Skeptoid #321: Skinwalkers". Skeptoid.