A series of strange lights that turned the night skies red in Bethel, Ohio is grabbing headlines across the world as people scramble to find an explanation behind the mysterious phenomenon, fueling conspiracy theories.
Captured on video
The incident took place more than a week ago and so far, nobody seems to have the slightest clue about what could have possibly caused the flashes of light. Fortunately, a security camera belonging to local resident Tim Walker captured the whole thing on tape.
The video footage, shared by Walker on his Facebook profile, reveals a series of rapid reddish-orange flashes of light that go on for about 20 seconds and become more prominent with every strike. The video clip was recorded on Jan. 12, just before 7 p.m., as Walker was disposing the trash outside his residence.
"Anybody else see this tonight? The sky was flashing pink and purple - super bright," he captioned the post. "Thought it might be lightning, but it's fairly cold (40 degrees), and there was no thunder."
Local publication McClatchy News recently caught up with Walker, who revealed that they have not yet figured out what caused the mysterious event. He later told Fox News 19 that he and his daughter, Carolyn, were frightened by the flashes of lights. "I was scared," Carolyn Walker told the TV station. "I thought it was an explosion when I first saw it, so it made me really nervous."
A couple of days before the bizarre incident, Ohio resident Dia Willwerth saw a similar red and orange spark of light in the sky outside her home and recorded the same with her cellphone camera.
Residents experience power outages, vibrations, and strange sounds
Shortly after Walker posted the video, many other local residents commented on the post saying they witnessed the same flashes of light, with some experiencing power outages and vibrations as well. "So many people are posting about it in Bethel and Amelia," April Pierce wrote. "Some people said their power even flickered on and off."
"We were in between Amelia and New Richmond, when the power went out there was the light show," Kat Carmosino pointed out. "The floor was vibrating and there was a humming noise. It was really odd." Duke Energy, a local power company, also confirmed that 584 customers lost power for a duration of about 2 minutes around the time of the incident but found no issues with the power line.
Alien invasion, lightning strike or meteor?
As local authorities continue to investigate the incident, people have taken it upon themselves to discuss the possibility of an alien invasion in the region. "This is how every alien world domination movie starts!!," a user named Kendra Fox commented on Walker's post.
While one of the user's pointed out that the strange event could have been a "sprite" lightning strike, which are essentially large scale electrical discharges that are red in color and occur high above thunderstorm clouds causing flickering lights to appear in the sky.
However, others were quick to dismiss this theory as well as the possibility of a meteor shower as these natural phenomenons take place high above the clouds and the lights that were witnessed in Bethel were seen below the cloud cover. Another user who also saw what appeared to be "a big ball of fire" with his own eyes while driving added that the lights lingered longer than a normal bolt of lightning.
