A comprehensive, research-backed history of UFOs and alleged alien encounters in New Hampshire—from the iconic 1961 Betty & Barney Hill abduction and the 1965 Exeter Incident to modern UAP reports—complete with primary sources, archives, databases, and YouTube videos.
Contents
- Why New Hampshire became a UFO hotspot
- The Hills on Route 3: a night that changed UFO history (1961)
- “Incident at Exeter”: police, a teenager, and a barn-sized light (1965)
- Blue Book, Congress, and the New England wave (1965–69)
- Markers, museums, archives & where to see this history
- Other NH sightings: a timeline sampler (1950s–2000s)
- Modern era: databases, festivals, investigators & fresh reports
- Skeptics vs. proponents: what the best evidence (and counter-evidence) says
- Road-trip it: a self-guided NH UFO heritage tour (with map notes)
- Research toolkit: links, books, and YouTube videos
- FAQ (SEO-friendly)
1) Why New Hampshire became a UFO hotspot
Two of the most cited cases in global ufology occurred in New Hampshire: the Betty & Barney Hill abduction near Lincoln on September 19–20, 1961, and the Exeter Incident in the early hours of September 3, 1965, near Kensington/Exeter. These cases generated national headlines, bestselling books, an NBC movie, and enduring debate among skeptics and believers alike. The state has even marked the Hill encounter with an official highway marker, and the University of New Hampshire (UNH) preserves the Hills’ papers and artifacts in Special Collections—making NH uniquely well-documented in U.S. UFO history. (NHPR)
2) The Hills on Route 3: a night that changed UFO history (1961)
The drive home and the “odd-shaped” craft
On the night of Sept. 19–20, 1961, Portsmouth residents Betty and Barney Hill were driving south through the White Mountains after a vacation when they noticed an unusual light that appeared to pace their car. Betty observed the object through binoculars; Barney later said he saw humanoid figures through windows before the couple heard beeping sounds and experienced “missing time.” The next day, they reported the event, and their case eventually reached Project Blue Book and NICAP investigators. (Wikipedia)
The investigation, hypnosis, and artifacts
Over subsequent months, NICAP’s Walter Webb interviewed the Hills; beginning January 1964, psychiatrist Dr. Benjamin Simon conducted separate hypnosis sessions that became central to the abduction narrative (“medical exams,” memory gaps, and the famous “star map”). UNH’s Milne Special Collections houses the Hills’ letters, journals, audio tapes, photos, clippings, and other materials; UNHInnovation manages licensing requests for media use. (Library | University of New Hampshire)
Listen/watch for yourself: Remastered audio and video excerpts of the Hill hypnosis sessions (Dr. Simon) are available on YouTube; several channels host full or partial sessions and documentary clips. (YouTube)
The cultural impact
Journalist John G. Fuller’s The Interrupted Journey (1966) made the case famous, and NBC’s 1975 film “The UFO Incident” (starring James Earl Jones and Estelle Parsons) cemented it in pop culture. Today, many historical overviews still credit the Hills’ story as the first widely publicized U.S. abduction case—and the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources installed an official roadside marker near Indian Head Resort along Route 3. (Wikipedia)
Where to see their history today
- State Historical Marker #224 (“Betty and Barney Hill Incident”) stands along Route 3 just north of Indian Head Resort in Lincoln—precisely on the route the Hills traveled that night. Travel guides place it as a quick roadside stop; the marker text summarizes the encounter and its significance. (Western White Mountains)
- UNH Milne Special Collections (Durham): Finding aids describe the Hill Papers collection (correspondence, journals, audio, photos, slides). Researchers and media can request access/licensing. (Library | University of New Hampshire)
3) “Incident at Exeter”: police, a teenager, and a barn-sized light (1965)
The sighting
At about 2:00–3:00 a.m. on Sept. 3, 1965, 18-year-old Norman Muscarello encountered a brilliant red-lighted object hovering near trees south of Exeter, in Kensington. Exeter police officer Eugene Bertrand Jr. responded, later joined by officer David Hunt. The men described a huge, silent object—“as big as a barn”—rocking at treetop height, pulsing red lights sequentially, and bathing the field in red. Muscarello and the officers filed separate reports immediately afterward. Major David Griffin from Pease AFB interviewed the witnesses and could not identify the object. (Wikipedia)
Primary materials—press clippings, police correspondence, and later letters to Project Blue Book—capture the back-and-forth with the Air Force, including witness frustration at official explanations. (NICAP)
A bestseller and enduring debate
Fuller’s Incident at Exeter (1966) chronicled the case and helped it become a New York Times bestseller; the Exeter Area Kiwanis now hosts an annual Exeter UFO Festival downtown to commemorate it (proceeds benefit Seacoast children’s charities). (Wikipedia)
Skeptical re-analysis
In 2011, Skeptical Inquirer authors Joe Nickell and James McGaha argued that the witnesses had likely seen KC-97 aerial refueling tankers from Pease AFB, citing a red-light “1-to-5-to-1” sequence on the KC-97 belly and the appearance of a “floating” refueling boom. Proponents counter that timing, behavior, and proximity still pose problems for a tanker hypothesis. Read the analysis yourself here: “‘Exeter Incident’ Solved!” (Center for Inquiry)
Watch: Exeter TV and local creators have posted short explainers and full festival talks about the case and its legacy, including pieces marking major anniversaries. (YouTube)
4) Blue Book, Congress, and the New England wave (1965–69)
Mid-1960s New England sightings—including Exeter—helped catalyze public pressure and a 1966 House Armed Services Committee hearing on UFOs. The U.S. Air Force ultimately closed Project Blue Book on Dec. 17, 1969, after logging 12,618 reports, of which 701 remained “unidentified.” Those baseline numbers remain useful for historical comparison in today’s UAP discussions. (U.S. Air Force)
For primary-source flavor, you can read the digitized Congressional hearing materials and witness/official letters that circulated during this period. (GovInfo)
5) Markers, museums, archives & where to see this history
- NH State Historical Marker #224 — Betty & Barney Hill Incident — along Route 3 (Indian Head Resort area). Multiple travel and local outlets document the exact placement and text. (NHPR)
- UNH Milne Special Collections — Betty & Barney Hill Papers (1961–2006): journals, essays, clippings, photos, slides, DVDs, and audio tapes; contact UNHInnovation for licensing. (Library | University of New Hampshire)
- Exeter UFO Festival — annual Labor Day-weekend event in downtown Exeter with speakers, trolley rides, and family programming. Official details via Kiwanis. (Exeter UFO Festival)
- Press & public history — NHPR’s pieces explain why the marker matters to state heritage and recap how the Hills’ story shaped popular culture. (NHPR)
6) Other NH sightings: a timeline sampler (1950s–2000s)
New Hampshire has steady entries in NUFORC and MUFON logs. A brief sampler to show breadth (note: civilian databases contain raw witness reports; treat as leads, not adjudicated facts):
- 1965–66 (statewide): NUFORC/MUFON and contemporary press record a regional “wave” in step with the Exeter case and other New England sightings. Fuller and Raymond Fowler documented spillover reports around Seacoast towns toward the Pease AFB corridor. (Wikipedia)
- 1966, Weare (Hillsborough Co.) — Multiple-witness sighting described decades later: “as the lights rose we realized the stars behind had blacked out” (large oval). (NUFORC)
- 2003, New Ipswich — Disk reportedly landing behind a church (one witness; short duration). (NUFORC)
- 2002, Fremont — Noted in NUFORC’s NH index as part of a cluster of early-2000s reports (color-shifting lights). The statewide NUFORC index shows hundreds of NH entries across decades; browsing by location or state quickly surfaces patterns. (NUFORC)
To explore comprehensively, start with NUFORC’s New Hampshire page and MUFON’s CMS (membership unlocks deeper case files). (NUFORC)
7) Modern era: databases, festivals, investigators & fresh reports
Where the data lives
- NUFORC — public, searchable report index by state and town; also posts periodic data summaries and shape-type stats. NH currently has 1,200+ logged sightings in its location index. (NUFORC)
- MUFON — investigator-curated Case Management System (CMS), plus local/state chapters and research tools; CMS full access requires membership. (MUFON)
- Open datasets — third parties have compiled NUFORC’s historical data into machine-readable formats for research/storytelling. (Hugging Face)
Exeter UFO Festival: a living tradition
Run by Exeter Area Kiwanis, the festival uses talks, tours, and kids’ programming to keep the Exeter story alive while supporting local charities. Dates, speaker lineups, and maps are updated on the official site and socials; local TV uploads talks and recaps to YouTube. (Exeter UFO Festival)
Yes, very recent NH reports exist
NUFORC’s feed includes 2025 entries from NH—e.g., Ossipee/Wolfeboro (Jan. 27, 2025)—showing the topic is ongoing well beyond the classic 1960s headlines. (NUFORC)
8) Skeptics vs. proponents: what the best evidence (and counter-evidence) says
Why the Hill case endures:
- Extensive primary sources (letters, journals, tapes) preserved at UNH; independent NICAP interviews; and hypnosis sessions with Dr. Simon that can be consulted (and critiqued) today. (Library | University of New Hampshire)
- Cultural impact & prompt reporting: The Hills’ case set narrative motifs (missing time; medical exams) and was promptly documented, giving it unusual archival depth for 1961. (Wikipedia)
- Counter-arguments: Skeptical scholars have proposed astronomical or aviation misperceptions compounded by fatigue and suggestibility; some analyses focus on Cannon Mountain warning beacon lines-of-sight and hypnosis reliability. (See summaries cited in general overviews.) (Wikipedia)
Why Exeter is still taught:
- Multiple trained witnesses (two police officers) observing at relatively close range; immediate official reporting; and Air Force interviews that did not yield a positive ID at the time. (Wikipedia)
- Counter-explanation to consider: The KC-97 tanker hypothesis aligns with the sequential red-light pattern and a seemingly “floating” boom; critics argue details of the object’s behavior, timing vs. Operation Big Blast, and low-altitude hovering in a rural field remain problematic. Read the skeptical case and weigh it yourself. (Center for Inquiry)
Where Blue Book fits:
The Air Force closed Project Blue Book in 1969, citing no national-security threat and 701 “unidentified” cases out of 12,618—figures that both sides still cite (either as “small residual unknowns” or “hundreds of unexplaineds”). (U.S. Air Force)
9) Road-trip it: a self-guided NH UFO heritage tour (with map notes)
Stop 1 — Lincoln: Betty & Barney Hill Marker (State Marker #224)
- What you’ll see: The official green NH highway marker summarizing the 1961 encounter.
- Where: Route 3 just north of Indian Head Resort (addressable point: 664 US-3, Lincoln, NH 03251). Guides and map listings confirm the exact location. (Visit White Mountains)
- Bonus reading/viewing: UNH Hill Papers overview; clips from the 1975 NBC film dramatization. (Library | University of New Hampshire)
Stop 2 — Durham: UNH Milne Special Collections
- What you’ll do: Arrange access in advance to view finding aids and selected materials from the Hill Papers (letters, photos, audio). For licensing, contact UNHInnovation. (Library | University of New Hampshire)
Stop 3 — Exeter/Kensington: “Incident at Exeter” sites + Festival
- What you’ll see: Drive NH-150 south of Exeter into Kensington to get a sense of the terrain where witnesses described the hovering, red-pulsing object.
- When to go: Labor Day weekend for the Exeter UFO Festival (talks, trolley tours, family activities). (Exeter Area Kiwanis)
- Background: Fuller’s Incident at Exeter; read the police letters and Pease AFB material via NICAP’s document scans. (Wikipedia)
Optional side trips
- Fremont (early-2000s reports in NUFORC; local lore); Weare (1966 multi-witness account). Use NUFORC by town for self-guided digging. (NUFORC)
10) Research toolkit: books, archives, case databases & videos
Primary & archival sources
- UNH Milne Special Collections — Betty & Barney Hill Papers (1961–2006): finding aids and licensing info (UNHInnovation). (Library | University of New Hampshire)
- Project Blue Book — official Air Force & National Archives summaries and statistics. (U.S. Air Force)
- Congressional hearing (1966) — House Armed Services Committee documents covering the New England wave context. (GovInfo)
- NICAP document scans — Exeter police/USAF correspondence collections. (NICAP)
Databases
- NUFORC New Hampshire index — browse or search sightings statewide by date/town. (NUFORC)
- NUFORC by location index — view state-by-state counts (NH 1,200+ entries listed). (NUFORC)
- MUFON CMS & NH chapter info — membership unlocks deep case files and investigator tools. (MUFON)
- Open data mirror — NUFORC dataset (Jan 2024 scrape) for analysis/visualizations. (Hugging Face)
Essential books & long-form reading
- John G. Fuller — The Interrupted Journey (Hills) and Incident at Exeter (often published together). (Wikipedia)
YouTube videos & playlists (embed-friendly)
- Hill hypnosis sessions (Dr. Benjamin Simon) — long-form uploads/remasters. (YouTube)
- “The UFO Incident” (1975) — dramatization starring James Earl Jones & Estelle Parsons; several uploads and clips exist. (YouTube)
- Exeter UFO Festival playlists — recorded talks & recaps by Exeter TV and others. (YouTube)
- Exeter history short — brief backgrounder from Exeter TV. (YouTube)
- Project Blue Book film records/episodes — for historical context and public-domain film records connected to Blue Book. (YouTube)
11) FAQ
Q: Was the first widely publicized alien abduction in the U.S. really in New Hampshire?
A: Yes—most historians and popular accounts point to the Betty & Barney Hill encounter (Sept. 19–20, 1961) as the first widely publicized U.S. abduction case. New Hampshire officially installed State Historical Marker #224 to commemorate it along Route 3 near Indian Head Resort. (NHPR)
Q: What exactly happened during the Exeter Incident (1965)?
A: A teenager and two Exeter police officers observed a huge, silent object with pulsing red lights at treetop height near Kensington. Pease AFB interviewed the men; no definitive official explanation satisfied the witnesses. A prominent skeptical paper later proposed KC-97 tankers as the likely source of the lights. (Wikipedia)
Q: Where can I see original documents and artifacts from the Hill case?
A: UNH Milne Special Collections maintains the Hill Papers (correspondence, journals, clippings, photos, audio), and UNHInnovation manages licensing. The Lincoln roadside marker offers a concise on-site summary. (Library | University of New Hampshire)
Q: Is there an annual UFO festival in New Hampshire?
A: Yes—the Exeter UFO Festival (Labor Day weekend) celebrates the 1965 case and channels proceeds to local charities. Details live on the festival site and Exeter Kiwanis pages. (Exeter UFO Festival)
Q: How many Blue Book cases were truly “unidentified”?
A: 701 out of 12,618 reports (1947–1969) remained “unidentified” when Project Blue Book closed in 1969, per Air Force and National Archives summaries. (U.S. Air Force)
Closing thoughts
New Hampshire’s UFO history is archivally rich, culturally influential, and still evolving. The Hills’ 1961 account created the template for modern abduction narratives; the Exeter case remains one of the classic multi-witness encounters involving law enforcement. Whether you lean skeptical or sympathetic, NH offers something rare in this subject: primary sources you can actually visit—a roadside marker, a university archive, and a civic festival that turns folklore into living public history. From Blue Book’s 1960s datasets to NUFORC’s 2020s reports, the Granite State’s UFO story is a uniquely traceable thread through America’s long, complicated conversation about what we’re seeing in the skies. (NHPR)
Quick link list (mix of reading & video)
- UNH Milne Special Collections — Betty & Barney Hill Papers (finding aids & licensing). (Library | University of New Hampshire)
- Project Blue Book — Air Force fact sheet (12,618 / 701 stats). (U.S. Air Force)
- National Archives — Project Blue Book portal (research page). (National Archives)
- Exeter UFO Festival official site (Kiwanis). (Exeter UFO Festival)
- NICAP — Exeter police/USAF documents (PDF scans). (NICAP)
- NHPR — marker & Hills backgrounders (context pieces). (NHPR)
- NUFORC — New Hampshire sightings index (browse by town/date). (NUFORC)
- MUFON — CMS & chapters (investigator-curated cases). (MUFON)
- YouTube — Hill hypnosis sessions (long-form uploads). (YouTube)
- YouTube — “The UFO Incident” (1975) clips/uploads. (YouTube)
- YouTube — Exeter TV festival talks/recaps. (YouTube)
- Skeptical Inquirer — KC-97 tanker hypothesis for Exeter. (Center for Inquiry)
