Enigma: Area 51

Area 51 has long been a hub of mystery for anyone interested in aliens, Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) and paranormal activity. It is located about 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas, somewhere between mile markers 29 and 30 along Nevada’s “Extraterrestrial Highway” lead by an unmarked dirt road. Buildings are not visible even from the asphalt road and this track leads to Groom Lake or Homey Airport and that is indicated on the civilian aviation maps. This is also considered to be  a military base referred by many unofficial names: Paradise Ranch; Watertown; Dreamland Resort; Red Square; The Box; and The Ranch; Nevada Test and Training Range; Detachment 3, Air Force Flight Test Center and most commonly as Area 51. The site gained the name Area 51, after being designated on maps of Atomic Energy Commission.

The government of the United States declared Area 51 officially as a Nevada Test and Training Range in 2013. Until then the topic was a total mystery regularly updated by rumors of aliens and Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO). But yet the area is entirely a “Forbidden Paradise”. Thus, the narrative of ‘Area 51′ being haunted by “extra-terrestrials” was born. As a result of the propagation of these rumors, Area 51 is still a world-famous place of mystery. This public curiosity as to what the place could actually be has escalated to its peak through the way in which the government of the United States wants to keep the actual story of the location away from the locals as well as the rest of the world. The more hidden the secrets, the more people become curious to investigate them. Project Blue Book initiated by America contains documentation of all these UFO and Alien related scenarios. According to it’s reports mysterious lights, flying saucers and alien abduction had been at its peak during the cold war. X- Files is one of the most famous TV series that filmed some of the scenarios connected to alien and UFO mythology.

In addition, since the 1950s, various incidents are reported from Nevada to prove this myth about UFOs. Ely which is a small mountainous area of Nevada is recognized as one of the most active areas of witnessing UFOs. Jeremy Meador, a resident of Las Vegas says this due to the abundance of noticing UFOs and related incidents, Ely is like a hotspot for UFOs. Meador is so enthusiastic over these incidents and writes a book reporting said incidents. One of the more surprising incidents reported in the book is a UFO landing crash killing 6 aliens in the incident. The crash has taken place in 1952 in Ruth, an area close to Ely. Although the exact day isn’t certain, it is said to be the 12^th of August. A number of mine employees who had been working in the Robinson Copper mine had seen a giant purple shaped object lying on the embankment and the object had not broken up.

Another horrific tale is heard from North Eastern Utah in the United States which concerns crop circles and animal mutilations. The area has also been considered as a haunted place because of these unbelievable stories. Terry Sherman and his wife Gwen reported to a local reporter in 1996, that they had witnessed that the cattle owned by him had been oddly mutilated without shedding a single drop of blood. In addition, his 512 acres of farmland traces of cropped circles. This incident is reported as the famous “Skinwalker Ranch”. The land has later been sold to Adamantium Real State.

Besides, an incident of witnessing several aliens was reported from Kentucky by a group of 11, an extended family called Suttons, who had been on a summer vacation in the area. According to the reports they had given to the Hopskiville Police Station, they had seen nearly a dozen of “Little Green Men” from a few feet away at about 7.00 p.m. These creatures they had seen according to their description was small and humanoid. The height of a creature had been about three and a half feet tall with an oversized head with compared to the actual body size. The arms of the creature had been very long almost reaching the ground. Also, the heads had oversized talons and the eyes had glowed in yellow. The body had reflected a shimmer of moon light that their bodies could have been made of silver metal.

Another stand of substantial proof which substantiated the argument that Area 51 is a site which conducts experiments in cooperated with aliens was the revelation made by Bob Lazar. On 15 May of 1989 he had participated in a media interview with George Knapp telecast on the channel, KLAS in name called “Dennis”. Even though there are plentiful arguments against the information given out by him, yet I feel that it is important to mention him here since some of the facts presented presented by him can still be justified according to a set of data released by America in 2019. He had been working there in the base S4 which had worked on the mini-sized flying soccer. According to him, the entire process of recruitment to Area 51 which was very strange. He had been ordered not to reveal anything about his working place as well. The most surprising of all is his lengthy description of how a flying saucer operates. But yet, it is difficult to believe the details he provided as he participated in the media interview while hiding his identity from the world, which further reduces his credibility.

While the myths and confusions about this region still stand, The National Security Archive published by the George Washington University reports that the Area 51 project has been started in the pre-drone era after the end of the Cold War under the government of President Eisenhower. The motive of the project had been to build a high altitude, long range, manned aircrafts to be used for military purposes.

While there have been an ample amount of facts that disprove the myths, the assumptions over the purpose and function of Area 51 as a UFO experimenting site are not willingly rejected by everyone in the world. In fact, they have become far more inquisitive whenever the new updates regarding the matter roll out.

– Rtr Hasanjalee Adikari