The Night the Lights Came Down
It was just after midnight on September 3, 1965, in the quiet town of Exeter, New Hampshire. Eighteen-year-old Norman Muscarello was hitchhiking home from Amesbury, Massachusetts. He had spent the evening visiting friends and was walking along a dark country road near the power lines on Route 107.
The night was clear and still. No moon, no traffic. Just the soft hum of crickets and the occasional bark of a distant dog. Norman was tired, thinking about bed, when he noticed a strange glow in the distance over a field.
At first, he thought it was a house on fire. The light was bright orange-red, pulsing slowly. But as he walked closer, the glow moved and it was much nearer than he realised. It was not a house. It was something in the sky.
The First Close Encounter
Norman stopped dead. The object was enormous, larger than a house, hovering silently just above the power lines. It was shaped like an elongated football or blimp, perhaps 80 to 90 feet long. Around its rim were five brilliant red lights, each about the size of a car, pulsing in sequence like a slow heartbeat: one, two, three, four, five, then back again.
The lights were so intense they cast a red glow across the field and road, illuminating the grass and trees like daylight. Norman could feel heat radiating from the object. It made no sound at all, no engine noise, no wind, not even slight hum. Just silence.
Animals in nearby fields went berserk. Horses reared and whinnied in panic. Dogs howled. Birds exploded from the trees in a frenzy. Cars on the road ahead stalled or swerved as drivers lost control.
Norman stood paralysed for what felt like minutes. The object tilted slightly, the lights pulsing faster. Then it began to drift slowly toward the woods, still silent, still massive. He later said the sight was so overwhelming he thought he was going to die.
Terrified, he turned and ran to the nearest house, the home of the Dining family and pounded on the door. Mrs. Dining opened it to find him pale, shaking, and barely able to speak.
"My God, I thought it was going to get me. It was right over the power lines. It was huge and silent, and those red lights were blinding. I thought I was going to die."
– Norman Muscarello
Mrs. Dining called the police. Muscarello told her: "I just saw something that scared the hell out of me."
Police Corroboration
Exeter police officer Reginald "Scratch" Toland was the first to respond. He drove Muscarello back to the site in his cruiser. As they approached the field, Toland saw the same object hovering low over the power lines.
Toland later described it as "like a house floating in the air." The red lights were so bright they lit up the entire area. The object was massive, silent, and moved slowly toward the woods.
Toland radioed for backup. Officer David Hunt arrived within minutes. Both officers stepped out of their cars and watched as the object drifted closer. Hunt said it was "bigger than anything I've ever seen in the sky."
"We got out of the car and watched it for about five minutes. It was bigger than a house. The red lights were so bright they hurt your eyes. It moved toward the woods, then just vanished."
– Officer Reginald Toland
The officers stood in the road, staring up. The object hovered for several minutes, its lights pulsing in sequence. Then it began to move away, still silent, still massive. It drifted over the trees and vanished.
"It was definitely something solid. It wasn't a star or a planet. It was close enough that I could have hit it with a rock. And it made no sound at all."
– Officer David Hunt
Both officers filed official reports that night. Their accounts matched Muscarello's exactly: size, shape, silence, red pulsing lights, low altitude, and slow movement.
Additional Witnesses
Multiple other witnesses corroborated the sighting that night:
- A woman in Kensington, 10 miles away, saw a similar object hovering low over fields.
- Two police officers in Hampton reported seeing a large object with red lights moving toward Exeter.
- Residents across the area reported animals behaving strangely — dogs howling, livestock panicking, birds flying erratically.
Project Blue Book Investigation
The U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book investigated the case. Major Hector Quintanilla, head of Blue Book, interviewed Muscarello and the officers. Their stories remained consistent.
Blue Book initially suggested the object was Jupiter or a high-altitude balloon. Both explanations were rejected due to the object's size, low altitude, silent movement, and interaction with witnesses.
The final Blue Book classification: **Unidentified**.
Location / Anomalies:
- Primary site: Route 107 near Exeter, New Hampshire, USA (Coords: approx 42.9815° N, 70.9473° W)
- Secondary reports: Kensington and Hampton, New Hampshire
- Anomalies: Massive silent football-shaped object with pulsing red lights, low hover over power lines, extreme brightness illuminating ground, animal panic and car stalls, pursuit of witnesses, multiple police corroboration, Project Blue Book final ruling of 'unidentified'.
Sources / Balance:
Norman Muscarello original testimony and interviews
Exeter Police Department reports (Officers Toland and Hunt)
Project Blue Book case file (USAF)
Contemporary newspaper coverage (New Hampshire Union Leader, Boston Globe)
John G. Fuller's book 'Incident at Exeter' (1966)
NICAP and MUFON investigations
Final Verdict
An 18-year-old hitchhiker and multiple police officers stood frozen as a massive, silent craft with pulsing red lights hovered over power lines, illuminating the countryside like daylight. Animals panicked, cars stalled, and the object moved slowly toward the woods before vanishing. Project Blue Book, after exhaustive investigation, could only classify it as unidentified.
The Exeter Incident is one of the most credible close encounters in UFO history, not because of exotic technology or beings, but because of the sober, consistent testimony of ordinary people who had no reason to lie. When the lights descended on that quiet New Hampshire road, something very real came close. The question that lingers is simple: If it wasn't a secret project, a hoax, or a hallucination... what was it, and why did it choose that night in Exeter?