THE 1897 AIRSHIP MYSTERY: America's First UFO Wave That Predated Roswell Before Planes Even Existed

Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

In 1896-1897, thousands of Americans across 19 states witnessed mysterious airships with strange occupants, bright lights, and impossible technology – decades before the Wright Brothers' first flight and 50 years before Roswell – in what became history's first documented mass UFO sighting.
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IN THIS EPISODE: When students at a Catholic primary school in Uganda began exhibiting mass possession symptoms — crawling on their bellies, barking, and chanting their teacher's name — an enraged mob burned down the accused educator's home and killed his livestock, pointing at him as the cause of the demonic possession. (Uganda’s Demon Possessed Primary School) *** New research suggests that time travelers would return from their journeys with completely wiped memories due to the reversal of entropy, making it impossible to remember or prove they ever traveled through time at all. (Time Travel Memory Loss) *** When Austrian soldiers bought schnapps from local traders one night in 1788, a drunken dispute among the troops escalated into full-scale panic that caused 100,000 soldiers to attack not the enemy, but themselves in history's most absurd friendly fire incident. (The Friendly Fire Defeat of Karansebes) *** In separate South African hospitals, two physically disabled men vanished from their beds only to be discovered dead in inaccessible ceiling spaces days later, leaving investigators with an impossible mystery and families without answers. (Dead Patients In The Ceiling) *** Between 1896 and 1897, thousands of Americans reported seeing mysterious flying machines in the skies – decades before powered flight was supposed to exist. (The 1897 UFO Wave)
ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.
DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Lead-In
00:02:32.628 = Show Open
00:04:48.093 = The 1897 UFO Wave
00:28:07.168 = Uganda’s Demon Possessed Primary School
00:36:47.713 = Time Travel Memory Loss
00:43:41.956 = The Friendly Fire Defeat of Karansebes
00:59:23.253 = Dead Patients In The Ceiling
01:10:24.250 = Show Close
SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
The 1897 UFO Wave: https://weirddarkness.com/americas-first-ufo/
Uganda’s Demon Possessed Primary School: https://weirddarkness.com/mazibaschool/
Time Travel Memory Loss: https://weirddarkness.com/time-travel-memory-loss/
The Friendly Fire Defeat of Karansebes: https://weirddarkness.com/battle-of-karansebes/
Dead Patients In The Ceiling: https://weirddarkness.com/dead-patients-ceiling-mystery/
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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Originally aired: July 07, 2025
NOTE: Some of this content may have been created with assistance from AI tools, but it has been reviewed, edited, narrated, produced, and approved by Darren Marlar, creator and host of Weird Darkness — who, despite popular conspiracy theories, is NOT an AI voice.
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/1897UfoWave