Skinwalker Ranch
Skinwalker RanchRanch, also known as Sherman Ranch, is a property inlocated on approximately 488 acres (2.072 km²) southeast of Ballard, Utah that is reputed to be the site of paranormal and UFO-related activities. TheIts name is taken from the skin-walker of Navajo legend.legend Theconcerning propertyvengeful hasShaman.
Colm Kelleher and co-author George Knapp subsequently authored a legendary history that dates back to the 18th century, when the Dominguez and Escalante Expedition traveled through Myton along Skinwalker Ridge. In the 1970s, UFO reportsbook in thewhich Uintahthey Basin were publicized. Claims aboutdescribe the ranch firstbeing appeared in 1996 in the Salt Lake City, Utah, Deseret News, and later in the alternative weekly Las Vegas Mercury as a series of articlesacquired by investigative journalist George Knapp. The property was sold to Las Vegas real estate magnate and UFO enthusiast Robert Bigelow in 1996, who set up round-the-clock surveillance of the ranch under the name the National Institute for Discovery Science.Science (NIDSci) to study sightings of UFOs, bigfoot-like creatures, crop circles, glowing orbs and poltergeist activity reported by its former owners.
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. Knapp and Kelleher cite the 1974 book The Utah UFO Display: A Scientist’s Report by Frank Salisbury and Joseph “Junior” Hicks, which details an earlier investigation into alleged UFO sightings in the Uintah County region, as partial confirmation of their account. 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”. 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 resoldreportedly the result of his being 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.
In 2016, Bigelow sold Skinwalker Ranch for $4.5 million to “Adamantium RealHoldings”, Estate,a whichshell hascorporation sinceof appliedunknown origin. After this purchase, all roads leading to trademarkthe 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. In 2017, the name "“Skinwalker Ranch".Ranch” was filed for trademark through Justia Trademarks. The trademark was issued in 2018.
In March 2020, Brandon Fugal, 46, a Utahn real estate tycoon, publicly came out as the owner of the ranch.