It would be so easy to call them crazy. The likes of Betty and Barney Hill, Travis Walton, and Whitley Schreiber. In fact, there are many who have said they are just that for decades. That these people are out of their minds for simply being fearful of the night sky. Of course, their astrophobia isn't as unfounded as the skeptics make it out to be. Instead, it's a natural response to a traumatic and seemingly impossible incident. What's crazy isn't that it shouldn't have happened, it's the fact
that it did. So, really, it's hard to blame them for the supposedly impossible nature of their stories. By now, you guys are well aware of my own skepticism. And I like to think that I'm always trying to apply logic and reason, to what others might call illogical or unreasonable. Which is why, in the cases of Betty and Barney and the rest, I'm always coming back to the idea of sheer probability. I mean, what are the chances that we alone are flying through the cosmos
on nothing more than a little blue dot? I'd say slim to none. Sure. That might be a tough pill to swallow. But that doesn't mean the believers are crazy. Because whether you're as logical as Agent Scully, or as spooky as Fox Mulder, we should all be able to admit that the truth is out there. I'm Courtney Hayes, and you're listening to haunts. Stay tuned. If we really want to uncover the truth behind extraterrestrial life, then it only makes sense for us to analyze
reported encounters of the 4th kind. So is that spirit, let's travel back to August 13, 1982. The night that would haunt the Stoner family for decades to come. Together, Denise Stoner, her husband Ed, and their teenage daughter were headed to a retreat at the Grace Acre Ranch outside of
Denver. They were planning to meet Denise's parents, as well as some family friends, for some much needed R and R. Now, most of their party had driven out to the ranch ahead of the stoners, and they were expecting the family to arrive around 8:30 that evening. By all accounts, the Stoner family was on course for that ETA. But at some point along their journey, they were delayed by something that quite literally shouldn't have been possible.
They had left their home in Denver at approximately 5 PM, opting to use the back roads out of the city to avoid rush hour traffic. By 6:30, the Stoners were summiting Kenosha Pass, roughly 65 miles southwest of Denver. It was there that the family pulled over at one of those scenic overlook turnouts. Together the Stoners looked out over the South Park Valley, in blissful ignorance of what was waiting for them, just a few miles down the road.
By the time they were passing through Jefferson, a small town on the other side of the pass, Denise noticed a set of yellow lights floating up in the sky. These lights were moving quickly towards them, coming to an abrupt stop directly above the stoner's vehicle. That's when the car was pulled sideways off the road. The next thing the stoners knew, they were once again driving toward the retreat. Only now their surroundings were quite different.
In fact, they were no longer in Jefferson at all. Instead, they were approaching Trout Creek Pass, roughly 40 miles away, from where Denise first spotted the lights in the sky. Of course, this was a frightening revelation for the Stoner family. I mean, from their perspective, only seconds had passed since they were in Jefferson. And yet, it was dark out, with the clock stating that it was nearly 11 PM. They had
lost a total of 4 hours. And what's even more chilling, is that their car's odometer hadn't registered the miles they had traveled. By the time they were pulling into the retreat, it was already a quarter to midnight. They were met on the roadside by Denise's parents and their friends, who were frantically asking why they had been so late to arrive. They looked back at their companions with an equally concerned expression.
As much as they wanted to tell them what happened, they couldn't. They didn't even know themselves. In the decades that followed, Denise Stoner would be haunted by the events of that night in August of 1982. She would spend night after night dwelling on the incident, never coming to a clear conclusion as to what may have happened. Still, nearly 30 years passed before Denise finally
spoke of the event out loud. She had met a woman named Kathleen Martin, a dedicated public educator and social worker, who just so happened to be the niece of Betty and Barney Hill. Now I'm sure that most of us know The Hills and their story. But in case you need a quick refresher, I should mention that The Hills claimed to have been abducted on the way back from their honeymoon in 1961, with their abductors being the non human pilots of a UFO.
These accounts are chilling, to say the least, which is likely why they're credited is being the first widely publicized alien abduction story in history. Not unlike the Stoner family, Betty and Barney Hill's close encounter was marked by a few troubling side effects. Specifically, the couple was missing a huge gap in time. Roughly 2 hours for which they had no memory. At least, not at first.
What's worse is that when they finally came to, the hills discovered that they had traveled approximately 35 miles with no explanation as to how they had gotten there. Being present during the aftermath, Kathleen Martin bore witness to the stress and anxiety that this incident had caused her aunt and uncle. And eventually, she began to spend her spare time investigating claims of alien abductions.
In fact, by the time she had relocated to Florida in 2009, Martin was actively attending meetings with a civilian run organization called MUFON, or rather, the Mutual UFO Network. It was there where she had met Denise Stoner, who at that point was the organization's chief investigator. For obvious reasons, the events of Stoner's past had led her on a quest for answers. And as we'll see throughout the remainder of this episode, Kathleen Martin would play an instrumental
role in that search. You see, given its similarity to the Hills abduction story, Denise Stoner asked Martin to help investigate the incident that occurred back in August of 82. Because if anyone could help Denise find the answers she was looking for, it would be the woman, who already found those answers for herself. Now, before we go any further, I'd like to address another key element that connects the story of Betty and Barney Hill to that of Denise Stoner.
It was 1964, when Barney Hill, somewhat reluctantly, agreed to undergo a hypnotic regression. During which he was ultimately faced with the chilling reality, that he and his wife had been abducted and examined by extraterrestrial beings. I can only imagine that Martin had warned Stoner of the ramifications that might come along with hypnotic regression. After all, she had seen firsthand how affected her uncle Barney had been after hypnosis.
Even still, Stoner and Martin forged on with their investigation. And on July 7th, 2011, Denise Stoner underwent the first of several of her own hypnotic sessions. Throughout the course of the regression, she took Martin on a journey through the repressed memories of that night in August of 82. She recounted the events, explaining how she watched in terror, as the lights cut through the darkness in approach of their vehicle. That's when Martin asked Stoner to describe the lights in more
detail. To which she responded, saying that they were attached to another object. Something that Stoner described as a giant plate. Now is the session progressed, Stoner told Martin that she eventually found herself outside of the car. And what's worse is that she felt this strange compulsion. To walk directly into the beam of light, that was now cast across the road. That's when Stoner realized that the lights weren't coming from some sort of large floating plate. Because of course
that wouldn't make sense in the slightest. No, instead is was obvious that this plate was actually a craft. Oh, and to Denise's horror, there was now this gelatinous substance floating towards her. It was a startling realization. I mean, Denise Stoner even admitted, at this point in the session, that she had been scared and yet she felt compelled to approach the substance, to enter the craft that was now before her in the street.
Despite her fear, she told Martin, Denise eventually gave into that pull, climbing aboard the craft of her own free will. There she found a dimly lit room with slick metal walls. And to her surprise, Denise discovered that she was not alone. The following is Stoner's description of her abductors. Quote. They are gray, small. They have huge, black, misty eyes. They have no clothes on. They're in a perfect line, shoulder to shoulder, staring straight ahead and not moving. Something
tells me they are soldiers of some kind. End quote. Now that alone would have been hard enough for Denise to take in. So I'm sure you can imagine the heart stopping fear that overcame Denise, when another somewhat more imposing creature came into view. At this point in her regression, Denise told Martin that this entity had been much taller than the others. With a slender body and eyes that blinked vertically. But what Denise found most disturbing about this being
was the fact that it had spoken to her. Not verbally, but in her mind. Denise pleaded with the being, begging it to let her leave. But is spite of these pleas, Denise was told that she couldn't return to her family until the creature had done what it needed to do. That's when Stoner began to display an overwhelming amount of anxiety. So Kathleen Martin decided to end the session there. Opting to pick up again a few months later, once Stoner had a chance to
recover. But little did they know, this first session had already opened the floodgates into Denise Stoner's mind. By the time October rolled around, another session was scheduled to further explore Denise Stoner's repressed memories. Although, in the weeks leading up to that second session, Denise began to recall these disturbing incidents all on her own. For instance, she began to remember more about that tall
slender being from her first hypnotic regression. Later telling Martin that, while terrifying, this creature was highly intelligent. Another memory that began to take shape brought Denise back to the moment that the stoner's car was forced off the road. Only now is was quite obvious to Denise that the car hadn't been dragged or pulled to the roadside. It had actually floated there. Is the wake of these recollections, Denise and Kathleen used hypnosis to dig deeper into the events of August 13th,
1982. The second hypnotic regression picked up exactly where the first one left off. Allegedly, Stoner was guided further back into the craft, where she was examined by several of these tall, slender beings. She told Martin that she was poked and prodded by strange devices that left behind foreign objects in her eyes and legs. These creatures also conducted a series of tests on her abdomen. Right at the spot where her uterus should be.
And when she asked what the reason for these tests were, she was told telepathically that it wasn't for her to know, and that she was a part of something they called the Host. After the examination, Stoner was shown a series of holographic like images, depicting earth and other far off planets. Then, at some point, before she came to back in the car, Denise was told that this wasn't the first time she had been abducted.
As the months passed, Kathleen Martin continued to shed light on the darkest corners of Denise Stoner's mind. And in doing so, she discovered that the night is August of 82 wasn't Stoner's only battle with missing time. During one session, for instance, Martin allegedly discovered that Stoner had a similar experience to the Colorado incident, nearly 10 years later, in 1991. On the occasion in question, Denise and Ed were on a dive trip down in
Florida. They were staying in this little motel, the steamboat dive is, where is the middle of the night, Denise awoke from a deep sleep. For one reason or another, she found herself behind the wheel of the family's car, driving to a remote location. Once she arrived at her destination, though she was unable to say where exactly that destination was. Stoner was once again abducted by those tall beings from her previous
regression. It was during this abduction that Stoner endured strange experimentation. During which, her abductors supposedly stapled something into her temple. Upon further investigation, Martin found that there was, in fact, a scar on the side of Stoner's head. And, by the looks of it, the scar itself appeared to be the result of some sort of staple gun. What's even more chilling is that further hypnosis revealed
yet another abduction the following day. During which, the tall beings once again examined the side of Stoner's head. And by the time that all was said and done, both Denise and her husband were missing long spans of time. Now, it's probably worth mentioning that Ed Stoner wasn't the only member of Denise's family to have been affected by these
nighttime encounters. In fact, by the time they had concluded their investigation through Stoner's repressed memories, The pair had discovered that these incidents had spanned across Denise's lifetime, with her grandfather and sister also being subjected to similar circumstances. The first of these incidents occurred when Denise was just 2 and a half years old. It was the night of her younger sister's
birth, and she was at home with her grandfather. Just before she went to bed that night, Denise saw something strange out the window. For lack of better terminology, she asked her grandfather why Humpty Dumpty was floating in the sky. That's when her grandfather looked out the window, with a mixture of fear and recognition on his face. At least according to her hypnotic regressions, Stoner was visited for the first time later that night, by a being who was dressed
like a monk. She explained that she wasn't afraid of the being and that she left with it willingly. Following it into a craft that was housing other children. In the months following that first abduction, Denise recalled nights where her sister had been taken from her crib. The girl's parents, of course, were petrified over the idea that their infant daughter was finding her way out of bed. So they opted to build a baby gate around her crib as a safety precaution.
Later, Denise would tell Martin that she knew the baby gates were a moot point, and that her sister hadn't been escaping the crib all on her own. Instead, it had been the beings who had abducted Denise on the night of her sister's birth. That said, Denise never ended up telling her parents of this reality, as her sister was always returned to her crib unharmed. Okay. If you're as skeptical of hypnosis as I am, you're probably thinking that the core of this story
is lacking any sort of substance. I mean, even I had trouble throughout the course of my research. Connecting Stoner's waking memories to those that were allegedly discovered during hypnotic regression. So it's hard not to think that the lines is Stoner's imagination might be blurred. That said, I should probably mention that Kathleen Martin didn't end the investigation at
hypnosis. In fact, she interviewed dozens of alleged abductees, each of whom claimed to have similar experiences to that of Denise Stoner. For example, these abductees reported having multiple close encounters throughout their lives. Many even claimed that these interactions sort of ran in the family. More often than not, spanning across multiple generations.
What's even more interesting is that these abductions regularly coincided with what I can only describe as instances of paranormal activity. In the days following an abduction, for instance, Stoner and other alleged abductees reported malfunctions with electronic devices. Some even claimed to have had encounters with shadow figures, while others reported that their personal effects had disappeared at random shortly
after an abduction. I don't know about you, but that sounds a whole lot like poltergeist activity to me. Now, of course, it's hard to say is there's any legitimacy to these claims, but what I do feel sure of is that if the search continues, investigators like Kathleen Martin, Denise Stoner, or maybe even one of you, might just find the truth hiding somewhere out in the cosmos. This episode of Haunts was written and produced by me, Courtney Hayes. If you've been enjoying the show so far, I would
greatly appreciate it if you could leave us a 5 star review. A lot of work goes into each episode, and reviewing the show really helps us reach more listeners each week. Also, if you're interested in learning more about this week's topic, I greatly encourage you to check out the show note section at hauntscast.com. This is the location where I share my sources and provide any visual aid that may be referenced during the show. While you're there, make sure to
follow us on social media at Haunts. And don't forget to stick around to the end of the episode for this week's podcast recommendations. Thank you again for listening, and until next time. Happy haunting. Is the moonlight pierces through the dark, paranormal enthusiast and best friends, Farrah and Courtney venture deep into the woods armed with flashlights and a sense of adventure. Farrah, are you sure this is a good idea? Sure. I'm sure. We're paranormal investigators.
We're not scared of any ghosts. What was that? Probably some animals. My god. My flashlight is going out. Following the chilling sounds, the 2 stumble upon an abandoned and haunted building, is dark silhouette looming over them. Look. There it is. The abandoned radio station it's supposed to be, mad haunted. Let's be careful. We don't know what's inside. Wow. Look at this place. A long growl is heard coming from
behind the girls. They turn around slowly, and to their surprise, a zombie is standing in front of them dressed to the nines, wearing a 70s bell bottom hot pink and purple leisure suit. Who are you pasty looking females and what the heck are you doing in here? Who are you calling pasty? Nice suit. Did you reign Barry Manilow's wardrobe or did John Travolta have a yard sale? Sorry about that. We didn't mean any harm. We're just curious about this
place. Curious, Well, come with me. I got something to show you. And as they wander deeper into the building, they uncover vintage studio equipment covered in dust and decay. Farrah, you were looking for a new place to set up your podcast. Right? And this is it? Woah. Woah there, sweet cheeks. No. No. No. Don't worry. We'll make it worth your while. We love the strange and unexplained phenomena, true crime, macabre, and the sinister. And, hey, you'd be a great touch to the show. Maybe be an
announcer for us as well. That does sound stellar. I'm in. A few minutes later. 12 seconds later. 3 weeks later. Many months later. Okay. We're rolling. Welcome to Studio is. Where we explore stories that haunt us all. And then we'll go make a fresh kill to celebrate. Dawn. Just kidding. Join Pharah, Courtney, and Dawn the zombie on the first, 10th, 20th of every month for some rad chilling stories. And if you piss your
pants, that's your problem. Come embrace the hard. See you soon sinister seekers. In a world where true crime meets the supernatural and the unexplained. Where true crime and chills go hand in hand. Welcome to Total Conundrum. The podcast that explores the dark, the eerie, and the downright mysterious. Join us as we embark on a spine tingling journey through the mysteries that keep you up at night. We're diving deep into true crime stories, uncovering the most baffling cases, and exploring the
twisted minds behind them. But we don't stop there. We're also exploring the paranormal. From haunted houses to cryptids and all the creepy things that go bump in the night. Get ready for some supernatural thrills. And what sets us apart? Prepare for a dose of dark humor as we navigate through the creepy and bizarre. We've got it all. Bone chilling tales, banter, and mind boggling conundrums. You won't know whether to scream or laugh.
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