In the summer of 1975, Bob and Laurel Gilkey, a hippie couple on a road trip through Washington, stumbled upon an unusual gathering near Mount Rainier. What began as a curious detour to a UFO convention transformed into a deeply unsettling experience. The couple found themselves trapped in a bizarre ceremony by the convention's attendees, who claimed the Gilkeys had been "chosen" for something significant.

This encounter set the stage for a terrifying nighttime experience when a mysterious glowing object appeared above their campsite hours later. Similarly, in 1987, Maria Rivera accompanied a friend to meet a group in the forests of Puerto Rico, only to witness strange beings with glowing eyes and experience floating orbs of light that seemed to target her specifically. Both incidents left the witnesses shaken and searching for explanations about these unexplained phenomena.

Key Takeaways

Unexpected encounters with unusual groups preceded strange aerial phenomena in both the Gilkeys' and Rivera's experiences.
Both incidents involved glowing objects that appeared to interact specifically with the witnesses.
The witnesses in both cases were left with lingering questions about the connection between the human groups they met and the phenomena they experienced.

Bob and Laurel Gilkey's Wilderness Experience

The Road Trip Adventure

In the summer of 1975, Bob and Laurel Gilkey, a young newlywed couple with a hippie lifestyle, were nearing the end of their three-month road trip. Their journey had taken them up the California coast and into Washington state. Throughout their travels, they had embraced nature, swimming in various bodies of water and camping under starlit skies.

Their adventure was marked by spontaneity and freedom. The couple traveled in their van, creating memories as they explored the scenic Pacific Northwest together.

The Mysterious Gathering

In July 1975, while driving on a remote road near Mount Rainier, Washington, the Gilkeys noticed a crude sign tacked to a post advertising a UFO convention. Curiosity piqued, they decided to check it out, thinking it might provide some entertainment.

Upon arriving at a clearing in the woods, they immediately felt out of place. "We definitely stood out. There was no one else there that looked like hippies," Bob later recalled. The attendees were primarily clean-cut, conservative-looking individuals—a stark contrast to the Gilkeys' appearance.

The convention consisted of various speakers sharing personal UFO encounter stories. Bob and Laurel found these tales rather implausible. "Me and Bob were just sitting there rolling our eyes because we thought that the stories were pretty ridiculous," Laurel remembered.

The Unsettling Ritual

As afternoon turned to evening, the Gilkeys decided it was time to leave. Their plans were unexpectedly halted when the convention leader informed them they couldn't depart. He made a startling declaration: the couple had been "chosen" and a "greater force" had guided them to this location.

What followed was described by Laurel as a "counterfeit religious ceremony." The group's behavior became increasingly alarming:

One man began speaking in tongues, appearing "almost demon-possessed"
The attendees formed a circle around the couple, preventing escape
The leader performed a ritual, applying oil to their foreheads in the shape of a cross

"We started feeling anxious and uncomfortable," Laurel later explained. Just as suddenly as it began, the ceremony ended, with the group simply walking away from the bewildered couple.

The Night Sky Phenomenon

Feeling it was too late to safely drive through the isolated area, Bob and Laurel decided to camp in nearby woods. They set up their tent, planning to depart early the following morning.

That night, as they sat discussing the strange events of the day, they heard an unusual sound—a low, continuous humming from above. "It was pitch black. There was no light in the sky except the stars," Bob recalled. The hum grew progressively louder until they identified it coming from behind the tree line.

Suddenly, a luminous object appeared, hovering directly above them and casting a bright light downward. "It lit up the ground. I could see nothing in it except pure light," Bob described. The experience was terrifying:

Laurel became physically ill and began crying
Both believed the cult ceremony had somehow summoned this object
Laurel shouted that they would not board the craft if it landed
She wiped her forehead in a deliberate act to "denounce" whatever had been placed on them

Eventually, the object moved behind the opposite tree line and vanished. The couple never encountered the cult members again but continued to wonder about the connection between the strange group and the unidentified light. "We can't put the pieces together," Laurel later reflected.

Their story was later featured in the 2013 Travel Channel special "UFOs Crashed My Vacation."

Aftermath of the Gilkeys' Encounter

Night Camp and Strange Phenomena

After the unsettling ceremony at the UFO convention, Bob and Laurel Gilkey decided to camp in nearby woods, feeling it was too late to drive safely through the isolated area. While sitting outside their tent discussing the day's bizarre events, they heard an unusual humming sound. The noise gradually intensified, seeming to originate from behind the tree line.

Suddenly, a luminous object appeared over the trees and hovered directly above them. It projected a bright light downward, illuminating the ground where they sat. Bob described seeing "nothing in it except pure light." Laurel became physically ill and began crying as they clung to each other in fear.

The couple became convinced that the strange cult ceremony had somehow summoned this object. In a desperate attempt to reject whatever connection had been established, Laurel wiped her forehead to symbolically remove the oil the cult leader had applied earlier.

Fear Response and Vocal Refusal

The Gilkeys firmly decided they would not board the craft if it landed. Laurel even shouted directly at the object, declaring, "We will not get on your UFO." Their fear was palpable as they confronted what they believed might be an attempted abduction.

Bob specifically referred to the object as a "machine" rather than a spacecraft. Their immediate concern was avoiding any interaction with whatever entity controlled the mysterious light. After Laurel's vocal rejection, the object moved away behind the opposite tree line and disappeared from view.

The couple experienced immense relief once the object departed. Throughout this terrifying encounter, they remained convinced there was a connection between the cult's ceremony and the appearance of the hovering craft.

Morning Departure and Unresolved Questions

The Gilkeys never encountered the cult members again after that night. In the years following the incident, they've repeatedly questioned the identity of the strange group and whether they had deliberately summoned the light object.

"We can't put the pieces together," Laurel later commented when reflecting on the experience. The connection between the cult's ritual and the UFO sighting remains unexplained. The couple's story eventually reached a wider audience when it was dramatized for the Travel Channel special "UFOs Crashed My Vacation" in 2013.

Bob and Laurel's experience represents one of many unexplained encounters that occurred during the heightened UFO interest of the 1970s. Their testimony stands as a peculiar intersection between cult activity and unexplained aerial phenomena that continues to defy conventional explanation.

Maria Rivera's Wilderness Encounter in Puerto Rico

Before the Forest Meeting

In 1987, Maria Rivera received an unusual invitation from a close friend. Rather than a typical evening out, her friend proposed joining a group that claimed to communicate with extraterrestrial beings. The meeting was scheduled for late that night in the wooded area of La Cascada La Mina and Al Yankee in Puerto Rico. Curious about the experience, Maria agreed to attend.

Around 1:00 AM, Maria and her friend met the group and hiked into the forest area near the Cascade. They carried flashlights to navigate the dark woodland terrain. The night was calm as they arrived at the designated meeting spot.

Mysterious Sounds and Kneeling Ritual

Shortly after reaching the location, the group began hearing peculiar noises. Strange whistling sounds emerged from both sides of the forest. Maria initially thought these might be signals from other group members who had arrived earlier, but the reactions from others suggested otherwise.

The sounds evolved into what Maria described as rapid gibberish-like noises, similar to mice but with varying speeds and intensities. These unusual communications rose and fell in volume, creating an increasingly unsettling atmosphere in the dark forest.

Without warning, the group that had invited Maria and her friend suddenly knelt on the ground. Confused and frightened, Maria and her friend remained standing while everyone else maintained their kneeling positions for approximately 25 minutes. During this time, Maria noted that the forest fell into complete silence - no birds or natural sounds could be heard, creating what she described as a vacuum-like environment.

The Luminous Beings Emerge

As Maria and her friend stood watching in fear, they noticed a glow emanating from the forest. Within this illumination, Maria discerned several strange entities with large, glowing eyes. These beings were clearly not human, with slanted eyes that Maria compared to "light bulbs."

The entities displayed these distinctive features:

Extremely thin, almost skeletal bodies
Skin that emitted a soft phosphorescent glow
Sinuous muscle structure
Thin, dangling arms
Stealthy, ghost-like movements

Following the period of silence, several white spheres of light appeared, moving through the air in side-to-side motions. Though they appeared small from a distance, Maria noted they were quite large when nearby. The two standing women embraced each other in fear as these spheres seemed to focus specifically on them, ignoring the kneeling group members.

One bright sphere even flew between Maria's legs, causing a strange paralyzing sensation. The lights circled their bodies and flew around their heads before suddenly shooting upward and vanishing. Immediately after the lights disappeared, the rest of the group stood up and normal forest sounds returned.

Deeply disturbed by the experience, Maria approached the group leader, José, demanding explanations about the lights and figures they had witnessed. His only response was a warning not to tell anyone about what they had seen that night.

The Culmination of the Puerto Rico Forest Incident

Mysterious Glowing Orbs

In 1987, Maria Rivera and her friend experienced something extraordinary in the forests of Puerto Rico. After hiking to the Cascade area around 1 AM with a group led by a man named Jose, they began to hear unusual whistling sounds emanating from the surrounding woods. These strange noises resembled rapid gibberish that varied in speed and intensity, creating an unsettling atmosphere.

As the group stood in the darkness, they noticed an eerie glow emerging from the forest. Within this luminous area, Rivera could make out several non-human entities with large, slanted glowing eyes that resembled "light bulbs." These thin, almost skeletal creatures moved with ghostlike stealth among the trees.

The beings had an unusual appearance with phosphorescent skin and sinuous muscle tone. Their extremely thin arms dangled as they moved, though Rivera couldn't make out their hands in the darkness. The creatures continued jumping and running through the trees, creating a deeply unsettling scene.

The Paralyzing Light and Standing Alone

The forest suddenly fell silent, creating an atmosphere Rivera described as vacuum-like - no birds or natural sounds could be heard. The group that had invited Rivera and her friend unexpectedly knelt on the ground, while the two women remained standing, confused and frightened.

This strange tableau continued for approximately 25 minutes. The kneeling group members and the complete silence created a surreal environment that left Rivera and her friend too frightened to flee, despite not understanding what was happening.

Several white spheres of light suddenly appeared, moving through the air in side-to-side motions. Though they appeared small from a distance, Rivera noted they were quite large when closer. These orbs seemed particularly interested in the two women who remained standing, circling their bodies and flying around their heads.

At one point, one of the bright spheres flew between Rivera's legs, causing her to experience a strange paralyzing sensation. The orbs completely ignored the kneeling group members, focusing their attention entirely on Rivera and her friend as they clung to each other in fear.

Abrupt Conclusion to the Strange Encounter

As suddenly as they had appeared, the glowing spheres shot upward into the air and vanished from sight. Almost immediately after their disappearance, the forest sounds returned and the kneeling group members stood up, as if on cue.

Rivera, thoroughly shaken by the experience, approached Jose, the group's leader. She desperately asked a series of questions, demanding explanations about the lights and the strange figures they had encountered in the forest.

Jose's response was minimal and concerning - he simply instructed Rivera not to speak to anyone about what they had witnessed that night. This cryptic warning only added to the mysterious nature of the encounter, leaving Rivera with more questions than answers about the extraordinary events she had experienced in the Puerto Rican forest.

Reflective Understandings

Thoughts After the Encounter

Bob and Laurel Gilkey, a young hippie couple traveling along the West Coast in 1975, found themselves contemplating the bizarre chain of events they experienced near Mount Rainier. After attending what they thought would be an amusing UFO convention, they became unwilling participants in what Laurel described as a "counterfeit religious ceremony." The couple couldn't shake the feeling that the strange ritual performed on them—including oil being placed on their foreheads in the shape of a cross—somehow connected to the glowing object that appeared over their campsite later that night.

"We can't put the pieces together," Laurel admitted, wondering about the relationship between the cult-like group and the hovering craft. The couple firmly believed the unusual congregation had somehow summoned or attracted the object that terrified them that evening. Their instinctive reaction to wipe away the oil from their foreheads seemed to reflect their desperate attempt to reject whatever connection had been established.

Similarly, Maria Rivera's 1987 encounter in Puerto Rico's La Cascada woods left her with profound questions. After witnessing strange beings with glowing eyes and experiencing mysterious orbs of light that produced a paralyzing sensation, she demanded answers from the group leader. His only response was a warning to remain silent about the events, leaving her confused and disturbed about what had transpired.

Media Portrayal of the Events

The Gilkeys' extraordinary experience eventually received media attention when their story was featured on the Travel Channel's 2013 special, "UFOs Crashed My Vacation." This program presented a dramatic recreation of their encounter with both the unusual UFO convention participants and the subsequent hovering craft that appeared above their camping spot.

The television portrayal brought wider attention to what had previously been a private, puzzling experience for the couple. Their account represented a unique case where apparent human intervention—in the form of the convention group's ritual—seemed potentially connected to a UFO sighting.

Maria Rivera's Puerto Rico encounter, unlike the Gilkeys' experience, remained largely undocumented in mainstream media. The participants were explicitly warned against discussing what they had witnessed, contributing to the limited public awareness of this incident. This pattern of secrecy and minimal media coverage is common in cases where witnesses report interactions with both apparent extraterrestrial entities and human groups claiming special knowledge of such beings.

Unexplained UFO Encounters: Bizarre Human Interactions That Defy Explanation