Expert asks: UFOs in Michigan?

By Jessie Ellis
STAFF WRITER

Do you believe in UFOs and aliens? Have you ever seen unexplained objects or lights in the sky? If you have, you may be interested in the "Aliens in Michigan" lecture at the Salem-South Lyon District Library on Monday, July 16 at 7 p.m.

John E.L. Tenney of Royal Oak has been researching extraterrestrial phenomena since he was a teenager. He's appeared on the Discovery Channel and History Channel. Tenney lectures on subjects from UFOs to ghosts, from monsters to conspiracy theories.

Sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects in Michigan began in the late 1890s with reports of airships with flashing lights, Tenney said. Some people reported meeting human-like beings who told them they came from different worlds. In the 1960s one of the most well-documented sightings in the nation occurred in Hillsdale and Dexter.

"It was one of the largest sightings and it went on for two or three days," Tenney said. "It was in 'Look' and 'Life' magazines. Then-U.S. Rep. Gerald Ford demanded that the government investigate UFOs."

The government investigators claimed it was swamp gas that caused the lights. Tenney said that, after he left the government the investigator changed his story.

"He took back what he said," Tenney explained.

Tenney will be present other reports of UFO's in Michigan. In 1999 six Traverse City police officers chased an UFO across the sky. Because the police are trained to be good witnesses, the officers are extremely credible, Tenney said. After the incident all dispatch recordings were erased by a sergeant with the Traverse City Police.

Before it disappeared forever, Tenney ended up with a copy of that police dispatch recording. He'll play it at the lecture.

When Tenney is asked if UFOs (or ghosts, or Bigfoot) exist he'll answer with a healthy dose of skepticism.

"It's not something I believe in wholeheartedly," Tenney said. "When you do form a belief system all of your research and data is skewed. If you're convinced UFOs exist, you'll find them everywhere."

When Tenney is asked if he's seen a UFO or a ghost, he'll answer that he's seen "something." When Tenney was 16 a friend mentioned there was "something" in her house and asked him to investigate. While in the house he saw what appeared to be an unusual fog. Terrified, he ran from the house.

"Was it a ghost?" he asked. "I don't know. But it was something that I can't explain."

In 1997 in Birmingham, Tenney was on the midnight shift and he stepped outside at about 2:30 in the morning. An unusual object in the sky caught his eye. It looked like a bird, he said.

"Then it moved very silently and very quickly away," Tenney said. "It didn't act like a plane. Plus there was no sound. The funny thing is, the last thing I thought was 'This is a UFO.' It was almost like I was being blocked from thinking that."

When Tenney called the Birmingham police the dispatcher immediately said it was "just a weather balloon."

"That's like the stock answer that the government gives for these things. Interestingly weather balloons are rarely seen. They fly very high in the atmosphere," Tenney said.

The lecture Tenney will be giving at Salem-South Lyon Library is aimed at 6th to 12th graders, but anyone is welcome to attend. Tenney said he particularly likes that age group.

"They ask questions and discuss without the fear of being thought of as crazy," Tenney said. "There's a stigma attached to the paranormal and they don't understand that yet."

Is Tenney crazy?

"Crazy is relative," he said. "People are crazy for not investigating some of these things. People are crazy for not challenging their belief systems."

Tenney said he encourages an interactive environment during his lectures. People are encouraged to ask questions.

"I don't want them to lose that spark of an idea," Tenney said. "This is a collaborative conversation on something larger than just one person."