Episode 11: The Incident At Exeter
It was around 2am on September 3rd, 1965, when 18-year-old Norman Muscarello was hitchhiking his way home from a visit with his girlfriend. He had walked most of the distance, but found himself sticking his thumb up as he walked along the road in Kensington, NH. Suddenly, an array of flashing lights descended upon him, and when he looked up, there were bright red lights beaming down from a very large, unidentified flying object. In a panic and horrifyingly confused, Norman jumped into a ditch on the side of the road, terrified for his life. He watched the object send light all across the farm houses before it eerily disappeared along the trees.
Norman managed to flag down the next car that passed (well, more like forced it to stop) and was driven to the closest police station in the neighboring town of Exeter. There, he explained what he saw to an officer Toland, who was impressed with Norman’s fright and vivid detail. A little skeptical but also confused, an officer named Eugene Bertrand Jr. drove Norman back to Kensington to investigate the scene. It was then that the two men witnessed the ginormous and spooky flying object swaying and brightening up the sky. A second police officer, David Hunt, arrived only to witness the crazy scene himself.
After a few moments, the mysterious object disappeared. Dazed and concerned, all three men were suddenly believers in the extraterrestrial, as this was a sight that was sure to have little explanation but that. To commemorate the event, the town of Exeter celebrates this bizarre happening yearly on the weekend of Labor Day. Every storefront and sidewalk is decorated with blow-up aliens, posters, and more. People from all over come to the UFO Festival, dressed in silly glasses, shirts, and smiles.
Image sources:
nhmagazine.com - “New Hampshire’s UFO History”
exeterpatch.com - “6th Annual Exeter UFO Festival”