Before Roswell: The Bizarre UFO Wave That Shocked 19th-Century America

Imagine a time before airplanes, before the Wright Brothers made history, and before Roswell became synonymous with UFOs. Now, picture the skies of 1897, where mysterious lights and eerie, cigar-shaped airships haunted the night, captivating the imaginations of thousands. Across America, from California to Chicago, reports flooded in of strange, seemingly impossible flying machines, stirring fear, wonder, and the inevitable question: what on earth—or beyond—were they? In this episode, we unravel the truth behind the bizarre wave of UFO sightings that gripped the nation decades before the world had even heard of flying saucers. Could this be America’s earliest brush with extraterrestrial visitors, or was something else at play? Buckle up, because this is a tale of mystery, imagination, and the power of belief that will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about the history of UFOs.

References:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_airship#The_airship_wave_of_1896-1897
https://daily.jstor.org/phantom-flying-machines/
https://history.nebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/doc_publications_NH1979UFOs.pdf
https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1990/01/22165233/p71.pdf