INTERVIEW: History Channel uncovers mysteries of ‘Skinwalker Ranch’
Photo: The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch sends a group of scientists into the heart of a mysterious Utah ranch. Photo courtesy of History / Provided by press site with permission.
There are so many mysterious places in the world, places that are far off the map and yet still resident to unexplained phenomena that keep inquiring minds guessing with a host of theories and questions. Some of these places even induce fears and terror — places perhaps to stay away from, places that keep one up at night.
The so-called Skinwalker Ranch is just such a place, and it’s now the subject of a new series on History. The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch premieres Tuesday, March 31 at 10 p.m. on the network.
The ranch, according to the network, is one of the “most infamous and secretive hotspots of paranormal and UFO-related activities on earth.” Located in Utah’s Uinta Basin, the 512-acre ranch provided History the chance to start asking serious questions about the area’s many accounts of mysterious sightings — sightings that have included everything from crop circles to UFOs to large mammals to unexplained mutilation of cattle.
Skinwalker, apparently receiving its name from a shape-shifting character in Navajo folklore, is part of what’s known as “UFO Alley,” a stretch of Utah and the surrounding area that has fed the imagination of many mystery-seekers. In 1996, the ranch was bought by billionaire UFO enthusiast Robert Bigelow, the network states on its official website. Studies were conducted while Bigelow owned the property, but the results were never released to the public. Three years ago, another owner purchased the property, and the questions about the many things that go bump in the nighttime sky continue to this day.
Each week, viewers will journey with a team of scientists and experts as they investigate the ranch and try to turn up evidence of its purported paranormal activity. One of those experts is Dr. Travis Taylor, an astrophysicist and data scientist. He spent many months on the ranch, collecting evidence and trying to unearth the truth.
Taylor is a licensed professional engineer, according to his official biography, and he has worked on a number of projects for the Department of Defense and NASA. Some of his work has been focused on advanced propulsion concepts, quantum teleportation and space telescopes. Currently, he’s working for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command as principal investigator for quantum entanglement and space technology. History fans will know him from appearances on such shows as The Tesla Files, The UnXplained and Ancient Aliens.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox joined with other journalism outlets to ask Taylor some questions about his experiences on the Skinwalker Ranch. Here’s what he had to say …
I’m curious when you joined the investigation, what were you most interested in finding out before you even began?
Well, when the invitation came to me to become a part of the investigation team and to lead the experiment portion of the research, at first I was very skeptical of the phenomena on the ranch being real or being some natural phenomena that maybe causes hallucinations, or unnatural phenomena that causes actual phenomena like lights in the sky, or maybe there was a classified defense project.
And at no time did I think that I was going to find strange unexplainable physical phenomena — at least from the start. That was my philosophy or my thought going into it. But I did have an open mind that, hey, what if I find something that is unexplainable?
I’m curious before your investigation began, and you read some of the reports … what were you most skeptical about? I mean … it includes obviously so much more than just … UFO sightings up in the sky, but also a lot of the different creatures. What were you most skeptical about?
Yes, the most skeptical thing I had was the poltergeist type stuff and the portals opening up [and] monsters crawling out of them. That kind of stuff there was no precedent for in anything other than like supernatural folklore and mythology, so I was extremely skeptical. … I mean, it sounds like, you know, the story that the guy that can’t ever tell the truth, always tells around the campfire after a few beers.
And so I wasn’t sure what to think about it going in, and I went in with an open mind assuming that these people believe they saw what they saw. So something caused them to think they saw what they saw; whether it was real or not was the thing I was hoping to find out.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, featuring Dr. Travis Taylor, will premiere Tuesday, March 31 at 10 p.m. on History. Click here for more information.
