‘An iridescent blob appeared in the sky’: Natalie Pearce, alien investigator I was working as a nurse when I became interested in the paranormal, after seeing full-body apparitions at work. My foray into the paranormal world led me to ufology and I set up a group called UFO Identified with a fellow enthusiast, Ash Ellis. We wanted to demystify some of the myths and take a genuinely scientific approach, as the UFO community is quick to claim anything is a little grey alien or a spaceship. In reality, 99.9% of all the sightings that come through to us are explainable. We cross reference any reports with weather charts, plane data and the planets. Most of the time, it’s an easyJet flight or whatever. But occasionally, we can’t identify it. We had so many people get in contact to share their experiences, we began to map out sightings, create a database and hold meetings across the UK to provide a safe space. I’ve made lifelong friends; we meet for dinner and catch up on life stuff before switching to UFO mode. Two types of aliens are reported – the first is the “greys” – a typical grey alien with a big head and almond eyes that you see in the movies. The ones in charge are taller and the others are stubbier and shorter. They seem to be the workers. Then there are the Nordic-looking beings who appear to be a lot more like humans. Often people describe their experiences as being like a computer simulation with shimmering visuals. Most of the close encounters are traumatic. People report gaps in time, being moved from one place to another or sometimes being experimented on. It’s also difficult dealing with doubters. My family still thinks I’m absolutely crackers. But you learn to get a thick skin. I also work with a group called CE-5, which is about actively communicating with what’s out there. We do that by meditating and following a set of protocols in small groups, playing sounds to the sky. We’ve had some great success stories with lights flashing back to us and images caught on camera. Recently, while we were on the motorway towards a site close to Preston, a humongous rugby-ball-shaped iridescent blob turning on its axis suddenly appeared in the sky. Within five seconds it was gone. When we got to the rest of the group five miles away they were jumping up and down. They had seen the exact same thing. You always have the thought that maybe tonight we will find something to share with the world. I’m 110% sure the aliens are already here and want to communicate with us. What we need is some disclosure from the government. But I can’t see it happening anytime soon as I think it would rock the foundations of religious belief. And, obviously, freak everyone out. ‘Loch Ness is just as magical as the monster’: Alan McKenna, Loch Ness lookout One rainy day when I was seven years old, I was stuck indoors at my grandparents’ house in Edinburgh. I picked up this book with a weird beastie on the front. I thought: “What the hell is that?” I took it down to my papa and he said: “Ah, you believe in the kelpies!” He read it out loud and I kept asking for him to read it again. It was written by Tim Dinsdale and it was called The Story of the Loch Ness Monster. A year or so later, I remember visiting Loch Ness and paddling out. I went too far and plunged under the surface. I was convinced something had dragged me down. I felt cold-water shock for the first time. My old man dived in and got me but, since then, I can’t swim here. I’ve now got something called thalassophobia, a fear of deep and dark bodies of water. My obsession with the Loch Ness monster snowballed from there. I read every book, pored through every blog and watched every documentary. A few years ago, I set up Loch Ness Exploration, inspired by the original Loch Ness Investigation Bureau from the 1960s. I started hosting immersive tours for the Loch Ness Centre, telling stories and using a 60ft hydrophone to hear below the surface. Last year’s annual weekender, the Quest, was mental. We were only expecting the Inverness Courier, but the world’s media turned up and hundreds of people braved the elements. This year’s edition was even more magical. It’s about carrying that torch on to the next generation. The loch is just as magical as the monster lurking beneath it. It’s sublime, but also threatening. You get overwhelmed with this feeling of dread at the jetty next to Loch Ness; your imagination starts running wild. We’ve had divers who believed it was all bullshit who went down there and said they will never do it again. You can’t see more than 4ft in front of you; the loch is so vast, it stretches 23 miles and we’re only scratching the surface with computer data to map it out. There’s something there. I will never tell anyone exactly what I think. There are different theories like the sturgeon or the catfish or the original plesiosaur, which, I’m sorry to say, isn’t possible. I don’t think there’s a clear answer. People try to fish-hook you into having a debate with loaded questions, but I’m a wee bit over that now and prefer hearing other people’s stories and taking them on board. I’ve been bombarded with abuse and cold callers saying I’m wasting my time, but my answer is always that it’s my time. I still love going out there by myself, especially when it’s overcast (Nessie weather, I call it), armed with my binoculars, waterproofs, hydrophone, drones, sandwiches and a can of Irn-Bru. I’ll sit there for hours and hours in silence, at peace. Part of me never wants to find out what’s under the surface. ‘We have a demonic doll called Esther’: Kymmi Jeffrey & the Occult Family, ghost hunters I was always a sceptic when it came to anything paranormal, especially with ghosts. But my husband, JP, who has long been a believer, decided to take me to a haunted sleepover for my birthday in 2022. I captured an image of pink energy that, after enhancing it back at home, revealed a little girl. I was absolutely wowed. It was really moreish; so much so that after going to a few more events, we set up our own company. I never thought I’d be on this journey. I’m a psychotherapist and am putting my name as a professional to this, but only because it’s real. At first, it was just JP and me. But, after a while, we visited the Four Crosses in Cannock, a haunted inn, as a family, with my daughters, Snow and Pebble. On the way home, Snow asked how many people were in the building with us. I told her it was just us, but she described a man with ragged clothes, a soldier staring at her and a lady holding a little girl’s hand. We never Google the buildings before a hunt to avoid the power of suggestion, but we searched it afterwards and her sightings matched up. I was absolutely ecstatic. I also apologised to her as I realised the imaginary friends she saw as a child, that I had long dismissed, were actually real. That’s when we started to come together as a family and travel across the country. The kids love it. They do it of their own free will and I want to embrace Snow’s gift. We recently converted our garage to turn it into the Occult Room, a miniature museum of paranormal curios. We have 13 items now, including a demonic doll called Esther. We had all sorts of strange occurrences in our house for a few days before we had a Perspex box made for her. We live the work we do 24/7 and have a very active house with numerous spirits. It’s a normal day to hear bangs, voices, doors move and the girls waving at people we can not see. We love working with like-minded people, but our mission is to educate the mainstream that the paranormal is very real. Humans used to be so spiritual, but the busy world we’re programmed into has taken that away. I’ve learned so much in this hidden world. ‘People want reassurance that they’re not mad’: Deborah Hatswell, Bigfoot tracker It was May 1982, I was 15 and bunking off school with a friend. We were playing in Buile Hill Park in Salford and I saw this movement in the corner of my eye. This thing leant out from the bushes. It was like an ape and a man had been pushed together. It had thick brows, looked Neanderthal and it was awful. I ran. I began to collect clippings and put ads in papers across the UK to try to find other witnesses. I uncovered old articles reporting on Bigfoot in Britain; since the second century people have reported a hairy man in the woods. I started to look for evidence myself. For years, I worked in the shadows. Then, in 2006, I had an accident that left me disabled. I set up Being Believed Research to hear other people’s stories, but also to help with investigations. When a report comes in, we liaise with local researchers across the UK, who meet witnesses and gather information. Sometimes, we look for footprints and hair samples. My work is word of mouth. Often, people think: “Right, I’m going to phone Deb. She’ll know something.” We have thousands of witness testimonies. People forget about the human behind the sighting. Some people, like me, have trauma attached to the creature they saw. You can try to run away from the experience, but it will follow you for your entire life until you sit down and speak about it. What Bigfoot actually is remains to be seen. Theories range from an escaped zoo animal to some sort of wild hominid. I’ve started mapping out the reports because if this is a flesh-and-blood creature, then there has to be a pattern of movement. There’s definitely more than one due to the number of sightings and different appearances. They seem to be intelligent beings; they can smell you coming from miles away, use distraction techniques and easily hide. The community we have is massively growing. As well as those who want to offload, others just really enjoy it. They want to go out and investigate and know about all the equipment you can get. For years, people pooh-poohed the paranormal, but now everyone’s running around with an EMF metre [an instrument for measuring electromagnetic fields]. I’ve got a queue of stories that is 18 months long for my weekly podcast. So many people want reassurance that they’re not mad. It’s important to remember that all lore has an element of truth. But most evidence, even some of the most famous photos, haven’t cleared anything up. I don’t think we will get an answer in my lifetime, I personally have seen some incredible private videos of Bigfoot that have never been released due to fear of backlash. I always say I want to “Jane Goodall” it. I want to know everything about the creature. They’re living on wild food and wild medicines; there’s a lot us humans could learn. I’m trying to teach people how to collect evidence, so that we can be taken seriously. For now, I still see that face every day. ‘You can feel eyes watching you’: Gary Ridley, panther pursuer When I’m not working as a builder, I’m an independent big-cat researcher. I don’t claim to be an expert, but I’m active in the field. For the past 15 years, I’ve been corroborating eyewitness sightings and laying camera traps as part of a nationwide, online, alien-big-cat network. The press likes to call us “the camouflage brigade”, but I think I’m just a normal guy. I do look good in camo, though! I’ve always been fascinated by big cats. I’ve had dreams about them since my childhood. I now believe it’s a distant, instinctive memory of when we were hominids and were preyed on by leopards. I first learned that there may be big cats in the wild in the UK back in the early 1970s. My dad told me that the army was out trying to shoot a mountain lion that had been seen in our area. Then, following a sighting that my father-in-law had in Guildford in the early 2000s, I took an interest and joined the Big Cats in Britain group online. I was their Surrey rep until the original platform was closed down due to infighting. I then started my own website: Surrey Panther Watch. I’ve met a few like-minded souls in the camo brigade and I’m in contact daily with some of them on the big-cat forums. But I’m mostly a lone wolf. When I’m out in the fields, or in the woods, or sitting among the brambles, I can become at one with the wildlife. I’ll find a place that overlooks a meadow, or a stream and just sit for what seems like hours, watching and listening for any sign that a predator might be in the area, like hunters of the past. I don’t feel in any real danger as I’m sure we’re not on the menu. So far, I haven’t had any unsettling moments when the forest goes deadly quiet and you can feel eyes are watching you. I’ve personally never seen a big cat in the UK, caught one on camera or witnessed any direct proof of their presence. The closest I’ve got is deer carcasses. But I’ve received hundreds of eyewitness reports and pieces of evidence, and I do believe that leopards and pumas roam out there somewhere. The most convincing are from Freedom of Information requests made to the police. People don’t generally phone up and lie as it’s a criminal offence, so I tend to believe them. Some suggest there is a supernatural element to these sightings, but that doesn’t hold sway with me. I guess I do all of this out of a sense of morbid fascination. I’d be truly terrified to come face-to-face with one while I’m out looking. I’m calling for a national survey to establish exactly what people are seeing. People have a right to know that they may encounter a leopard when going for a walk in the countryside.