The Summer Night on the Dock
It was the evening of 7 August 1968 at Buff Ledge, an all-girls summer camp on the shores of Lake Champlain in Vermont. Most campers had left for a swim meet, leaving only a skeleton staff.
Sixteen-year-old maintenance worker Michael Lapp and nineteen-year-old waterfront director Janet Cornell (pseudonyms used initially) finished duties and sat together on the dock around 8 pm, enjoying the quiet and watching the sunset.
The lake was calm. Few lights dotted the opposite New York shore. They chatted casually when Michael noticed a bright object high in the sky. It shone brighter than any star, then it started moving towards them...
The Light Becomes a Craft
The object grew larger and closer, resolving into a cigar-shaped structure with brilliant multicoloured lights. It descended silently toward the lake.
Three smaller glowing orbs detached from the main craft and performed acrobatic maneuvers. They dived, zig-zagged, and circled at incredible speeds.
One orb approached the dock, hovering just above the water. It morphed into a classic disc shape with a domed top. The other two orbs rejoined the larger craft, which remained distant.
The Beam and the Beings
A brilliant white beam shot from the disc toward the dock. Michael and Janet felt paralyzed. Two small beings with large heads, grey skin, and big wrap-around eyes appeared in the light.
Telepathic communication began immediately. The taller leader conveyed reassurance and curiosity without spoken words.
Separate Onboard Experiences
Inside the bright round room, Michael and Janet were examined separately on curved tables. Beings used instruments on their skin and reproductive areas.
The leader showed Michael star maps and visions of other worlds.
Both received clear telepathic messages during the procedure.
The Telepathic Messages
The communication was wordless but complete. Full concepts arrived instantly in their minds. The tone was calm, benevolent, and educational.
The leader repeatedly assured them: "Do not be afraid. We will not harm you. We only wish to study you."
Michael received the strongest statement about their purpose: They were here to "make life like ours in other places." This has been interpreted as seeding or spreading intelligent life across planets.
Janet focused on warnings about Earth's future. The beings expressed deep concern over humanity's mistreatment of the planet, ecological destruction, and poor stewardship of resources.
Both recalled hints of energy collection. This might involve biological or reproductive material as part of a long-term mission.
The leader conveyed that Earth was one of many visited worlds and that contact would continue. They were told: "You will not remember everything now, but the knowledge will return when the time is right."
"They were worried about what we were doing to the planet. It felt like a parent talking to a child who was misbehaving."
– Janet Cornell (under hypnosis)
Michael described the leader mimicking his gestures (slapping knee) to build trust before deeper messages flowed.
Return and Missing Time
They awoke on the dock hours later, the craft gone. Only distant lights remained. The night felt wrong. It was too quiet and too late. The estimated the missing time be at least 2-4 hours.
Other staff and remaining campers independently reported seeing strange lights over the lake that evening.
The Years of Silence and Emerging Memories
Michael and Janet parted ways at the end of camp season. Neither spoke of the event openly for years.
Michael suffered recurring nightmares of bright lights and floating sensations. Janet experienced an unexplained aversion to intimate relationships and occasional flashbacks of a bright room.
They lost contact completely until investigators tracked them down decades later.
The Hypnosis Sessions and Astonishing Match
In the early 1980s, Michael contacted Boston astronomer and UFO investigator Walter N. Webb after reading about similar cases. Webb conducted initial interviews but suggested hypnosis.
Michael underwent several sessions with a qualified hypnotherapist. The memories emerged vividly: the beam, floating upward, the examination table, star maps, and telepathic messages about life-seeding and Earth's ecology.
In 1992, Webb located Janet living under her married name. She had never publicly discussed the incident but agreed to hypnosis with a different therapist in a separate location.
Her sessions produced nearly identical details: The cigar craft releasing three orbs The disc hovering close with dome Small grey beings with large eyes Separate examinations (hers focusing on reproductive system) Telepathic warnings about environmental damage The promise of future memory return
Key corroborations included exact descriptions of the beings' movements, the bright white room with curved walls, and the leader's reassuring presence.
"The degree of correlation between the two independent hypnotic regressions is remarkable and unprecedented in my experience."
– Walter N. Webb, investigator
Webb noted no opportunity for the two witnesses to compare notes beforehand. The independent match across different therapists and years apart convinced him this was "one of the most compelling abduction cases ever documented."
Location / Anomalies:
- Primary site: Dock at Buff Ledge Camp, Lake Champlain, Vermont, USA (Coords: approx 44.5833° N, 73.2833° W)
- Secondary reports: Other camp staff saw distant lights over lake
- Anomalies: Cigar-shaped mother craft releasing three manoeuvring orbs, disc with dome hovering close, white beam causing paralysis, small grey beings with large eyes and telepathic communication (reassurance, life-seeding mission, ecological warnings, future contact), separate onboard examinations, hours of missing time, independent hypnosis memories matching perfectly decades later.
Sources / Balance:
Michael Lapp and Janet Cornell independent hypnosis transcripts
Walter N. Webb full investigation report and interviews
Other Buff Ledge staff witness statements
MUFON case files
Contemporary camp records confirming quiet night and swim meet absence
Investigator notes on matching details across separate sessions
Final Verdict
THE DOCK WHERE TIME STOPPED. Two young camp counsellors sat watching stars on a quiet Vermont lake when a craft descended and changed their lives forever. Taken separately aboard, examined, and given telepathic messages about Earth's future. Warnings of ecological harm, hints of life-seeding across worlds, and promises of return contact. They remembered nothing consciously for years. Yet when hypnosis finally unlocked the memories decades apart, every detail aligned perfectly.
From the beings' appearance to the craft's interior to the shared benevolent concern. Other staff reported seeing unexplained lights over the lake that night as well. The Buff Ledge abduction stands as one of ufology's strongest dual-witness cases, not for terror or drama, but for the quiet precision of two independent people telling the same impossible story. I know some people give hypnosis a bad rap but I find it almost remarkable that all the details matched so exactly. What about you, do you believe them?