Folklore in Colorado: Aliens

February 19, 2020

Folklore in Colorado: Aliens

So this is my first look at the folklore of Colorado since folklore has helped to shape geek culture. An Out There Colorado article popped up in my news feed and I found it interesting that last year there was 117 UFO sightings reported in Colorado (McKee 2019). This is kind of interesting when you take in the recent drone scare. People were reporting that they were seeing drones up to 6 feet in size. This is a very specific size for them to be ruled out as stars or other forms of misidentification. I’m not saying that the ‘drones’ people were seeing were actually aliens, but there is something weird going on in our state. We do have drone clubs, but we also have a massive military presence here including the newish Space Force. Odd things in our skies could easily be blamed on the military and you know for the post part they will always deny it or blame it on weather balloons.

As a geek I would love for aliens to be real. Just imagine living in the Star Wars or Star Trek worlds. Aliens have invaded our pop culture (pun intended) in things from movies to video games. They come in all shapes and sizes and some designers have even tried to use science when creating their alien creatures. At the same time you then have Ancient Aliens on the History Channel…I will admit that I love watching this show mostly to laugh at. They love twisting things around and as someone who has formally studied both history and anthropology they are wrong on so many points.

I decided to go to the National UFO Reporting Center referenced in the article and was kind of amazed by the massive number of reports that went all the way back to the 50s and the spread of them all over the state.

Colorado even made it into the famous Project Blue Book files during the time frame of 1947-1969 (the Denver Channel).

•Mr. Funk sees a fireball 1946

•Pikes Peak 1947

•Peterson AFB 1949

•Flying Disk over SW Denver 1949

•Four Corners 1951

•Drive-in UFOs 1954

•Senator sees UFO 1955

•Cigarette-shaped UFO near Pueblo 1956

Are there aliens visiting Colorado? Don’t know, but watching the skies is always a fun activity.

Works Cited:

https://www.outtherecolorado.com/117-ufo-sightings-reported-in-colorado/

Additional Reading: