The Pine Bush Anomaly Archive
A Phenomenon/Folklore Project
Exploring the extraordinary experience in the Orange/Ulster area of the Hudson Valley
Intro and Background
Launched in 2008 and re-booted in 2017, The Pine Bush Anomaly Archive is an effort to thoroughly compile and study the accounts of unusual experiences in the Orange/Ulster area of upstate New York. The gathering of data will be done in such a manner to allow analysis from the viewpoint of a variety of hypothesis on anomalous experiences, as well as to serve as a folkloric history of the area.
A Brief History
Since at least the 1920s the township of Crawford and the surrounding area in upstate New York has been host to stories and rumors of unusual experiences, centered around sightings of strange objects and lights in the sky and fields. These stories initially were passed quietly amongst friends and family, rarely to go beyond the local community. Although there is a reason to believe a small group took an active interest in pursuing the alleged objects and lights, the stories never grew beyond being a bed of local modern folklore. All that was to change in 1991 with the publication of Ellen Crystall’s Silent Invasion, a book that chronicled her accounts of chasing and interacting with the alleged phenomenon in Pine Bush and the fields of Montgomery. After being introduced to Pine Bush in 1980 through Omni Magazine writer Harry Lebelson (who himself was contacted by scared residents near the fields of Montgomery reporting odd luminous objects in the surrounding fields) she began a multi-year adventure observing what she described as a sentient, technology-oriented phenomenon that made the undeveloped areas of Pine Bush and Montgomery its playground. The larger sub-community of anomaly buffs took notice of Silent Invasion, and soon Pine Bush found itself visited by a steady stream of those hoping to witness the activity described in Ellen’s book. The local residents had a variety of reactions to Pine Bush’s newfound notoriety. Some regarded it with good-natured indifference, others felt distaste that their town would be associated with a subject like that described in Silent Invasion. A smaller group took an active interest in Ellen’s accounts, devoting time to finding out whether there was any substance to the tales now circulating around the Orange/Ulster area. It was this group ultimately who continued the Pine Bush anomaly story, forming a new body of accounts and organizing a local open discussion group (U.F.O.S.) on the subject that enabled timely reporting of new experiences and a place for people to discuss a socially controversial subject. The stream of reports and subsequent interest in the subject continued until about 1996, which marked the start of a decline in new accounts which culminated in 1998 with the development of the fields of Montgomery. Symbolically the loss of the fields was strong as they previously hosted the alleged phenomenon’s regular appearances as well as the skywatchers’ sitting area. The discussion group continued but with dwindling attendance, and after the start of the new century it seemed few but the local core were carrying on the interest in the reported unusual events.
A renaissance
Then in 2003 a telling revival of interest in the Pine Bush anomaly story occurred with the emergence of two sources of information on both past and current accounts. Long-time skywatcher Vincent Polise decided to tell his story of chasing the phenomenon during the 1990s by creating the website www.pinebushufo.com, which featured several of his accounts and scans of his photographs from the era. Shortly thereafter the Times-Herald Record published a new article about the discussion group that found its way around the world via the internet. Suddenly attendance of the group’s monthly meetings grew dramatically, and both Mr. Polise and the organizers of U.F.O.S. began to receive a steady amount of email and phone calls from people wanting to know more. Most remarkable was the amount of communications from people who reported that they had experiences with the local phenomenon, many of whom had since moved to other areas of the United States.
In 2011 the Township of Crawford hosted the first annual Pine Bush UFO Festival, celebrating its unique local history. Long-time skywatchers worried that the Festival would be an occasion of ridicule towards the subject, but in fact the opposite proved true. A new dialog on the subject, including a surge of new accounts, emerged from the spirit of fun the festival created. Around this time scientist and writer Linda Zimmermann turned her efforts towards researching the greater Hudson Valley UFO mystery, completely revitalizing the documentation of accounts from the area. Presently the Pine Bush area is still host to a steady number of reports of unusual aerial and ground phenomena each year, proving that whatever the impetus behind these reports is in nature, is still active.
purpose and methods
The purpose of the Archive’s efforts is twofold: first, the archive hopes to record for posterity any and all accounts, stories and folklore of unusual experiences from the Orange/Ulster area of Upstate New York. When appropriate these accounts will be researched to gather any additional data that might benefit the understanding of the account, such as meteorological, geological and social data. Second, the body of accounts will be allocated to several groups, and statistical analysis will be applied to discern any possible patterns in regard to the physical and social aspects of the accounts.
The main vehicle to achieve the collection of accounts is a user-friendly but thorough report form, which can be downloaded through a link at the bottom of this webpage. As the Archive is designed to accommodate many theories on anomalous experiences, the questionnaire will contain a variety of questions not commonly associated with studies of anomalies. This form could be filled out in printed form and returned by ground mail, filled out electronically and returned by email, or completed verbally to a person representing the Archive. The completion of a report form may be followed up by brief additional questions designed to append the information already in the initial report. Please see the Archive’s assurance of anonymity for participants if desired, described in a separate section below.
The primary end result of the Archive’s efforts will be a database of accounts with corresponding research. This database will initially be given to a handful of investigators who are also involved in researching locations of alleged repeat anomalous activity as they would benefit the most from the Archive’s efforts, as well as as the Crawford Historical Society for those interested in the folkloric history of the area. Again it should be stressed that this database will not be made available online. It is also planned that the Archive's results will be presented in a layman-friendly book and corresponding documentary with the working title "The Pine Bush UFO History" containing an accurate history of the area's reports of aerial anomalies, as well as a discussion of what these reports may represent. In addition two book projects centric to the efforts of Archive contributor Vincent Polise titled The Pine Bush Phenomenon and The Pine Bush Chronicles will use material gathered during the Archive's efforts. This Archive website will only occasionally update with progress reports and essays on anomaly research, but regular discussion and news from the Pine Bush UFO community can be found on Facebook pages United Friends Observers Society, and The Pine Bush Phenomenon as well as the Archive's Twitter feed.
Philosophy
The Archive recognizes that there exists a broad range of views, outlooks and theories concerning topics that would fall under the category of “anomalies”. These range from a skeptical stance on the existence of a true anomaly, to a decision that a true unknown does exist, and further efforts should be made to learn the nature of the anomaly. It is the hope of the Archive that the manner in which the accounts and subsequent data are collected will lend itself to analysis from any viewpoint or hypothesis concerning the reported experiences. Because of this philosophy, the Archive starts with somewhat of a blank slate, putting aside as much as possible the beliefs and opinions of the people compiling the Archive’s materials. We hope the final products of the Archive will be of equal value to those interested in the possibility of an unknown physical phenomenon as it is to those interested in examining the body of accounts in a folkloric context.
What the archive is Looking For
In short the Archive would be interested in anything and everything dealing with anomalous experiences in the Orange/Ulster area of upstate New York. This would include first, second and third-person accounts, folklore and urban myths about the area. Corresponding photographs, video and/or audio to the accounts are of great interest to the Archive. Although the body of reports is dominated by sightings of unusual objects and lights in the sky and on the ground, there are a small collection of reports of a cryptozoological nature featuring sightings of unusual or out-of-place animals or reports of animal vocalizations. Similarly there are reports that could be categorized as “haunting” experiences, both interior and exterior. Still other reports can be described as consciousness anomalies, such as missing time or periods of unusual perceptions. The Archive is interested in all these types of reports.
In addition the Archive is looking for any newspaper articles, locally-published books, television or radio shows, or public displays dealing with the alleged anomalous events in and around Pine Bush or the people who have taken an interest in them. This would include anything from regional or community newspapers from years past, local cable news or talk shows, and nationally-broadcast shows.
Of interest are also the opinions of local residents on the subject of the alleged anomalies in the Pine Bush area, in particular the idea that Pine Bush is host to the UFO phenomenon. Opinions of any leaning that can be corresponded with information about the area’s natural, social and industrial aspects would be considered valuable.
Anonymity
The Archive feels it is a privilege to have the opportunity to hear the accounts of people who feel they have experienced something unconventional, and thus wants to assure participants a forum free of ridicule. The Archive also wants to assure the anonymity of participants if desired, and the report form includes a section where the participant can state their choice of anonymity in both the database and any subsequent report. If anonymity is desired, the person reported will be simply be represented by a “witness number”. Any questions or concerns about anonymity can be directed anytime through this website.
Who We Are
Linda Zimmermann
After forging a successful career as a research scientist in the area of chemistry, Linda pursued her love of writing concentrating on science, history and the paranormal. She is now the author of over 30 fiction and non-fiction works, most concentrating on the Hudson Valley. After repeated inquiries from local lecture attendees about the Hudson Valley's history of UFO sightings, she began research into the topic which resulted in a reassessment and case expansion of the classic 1980s Hudson Valley UFO wave. Her initial research produced the book and documentary In The Night Sky, now a classic in the field, followed by two subsequent volumes of Hudson Valley cases. Linda presently continues her writing and busy lecture schedule, and her appearances and activities are updated at www.gotozim.com.
Vincent Polise
First visiting Pine Bush in 1991, Vincent quickly became part of the growing second-generation of area-skywatchers. Baffled and impressed with the phenomena he was witnessing and experiencing, he began a rigorous multi-year practice of tracking the phenomenon, becoming part of the small group who were out almost every night who are now referred to as “the Core”. Adapting the protocol of getting as close to the source of the luminous displays he and others were observing, he started discerning patterns to the behavior of the phenomenon, which yielded experiences afforded to only a select few researchers in the past. His observations and thoughts on the phenomenon were published in 2005 as The Pine Bush Phenomenon. His webpages on the Pine Bush story include www.pinebushufo.com, https://www.facebook.com/nyufos/, and https://www.facebook.com/PineBushny/
C. Burns
Also part of the Core skywatching group in the 1990s, C. started gathering accounts of unusual activity upon his becoming familiar with the Pine Bush area, eventually accumulating a noteworthy record of reported anomalous phenomena. Comparing this to other areas with similar reported phenomena, as well as other types of experiences such as hauntings, he started the Archive effort to produce a body of information that would be useful to both the anomaly researcher and those interested in local folklore. C. works in a technology-centric aspect of the creative industries. He can be reached at pbmysteries@gmail.com
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All images are copyright C.Burns, with the exception of "Drexel Drive" copyright Vincent Polise.