The Gulf Breeze Sightings 1987-90: Aliens or a Hoax?

Aradhya Maheshwari
11 Min Read

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The Gulf Breeze sightings belong within the pantheon of occurrences attributed to unexplainable and sometimes incomprehensible UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) events that have been reported across different countries, albeit with caution.

From the Roswell incident to the issues around the Trent Photographs to the astonishing Rendlesham Forest Incident; all these alleged UFO sightings have established a framework of debate, criticism, and curiosity about all that we consider extraterrestrial.

the gulf breeze sightings
By: TheDigitalartist/ Pixabay. Copyright 2020

While scientists and experts in the field struggle to find rational answers, civil society and nerds are trying to deconstruct what they know. In the present article, we are going unhash one of the most astonishing alien sightings to have been reported, which are collectively called the Gulf Breeze UFO Sightings in Gulf Breeze, Florida.

1. The Background of the Gulf Breeze Sightings

The sightings pertain to the period of 1987-1988, particularly in the month of November. The Gulf Breeze Sentinel published images provided to them by a local contractor called Ed Walters. These images were photographs that allegedly captured the presence of UFOs.

As is always the case with such sightings and the evidence on which they are based, there were two camps: the believers on the one hand, and the deniers on the other. Individuals like the UFO-logist Bruce Maccabe believed in the evidence that surfaced through the images.

Revisiting The Gulf Breeze UFO Sightings || A YouTube Documentary

The photographs were considered genuine by him. However, in 1990, Ed Walters and his family moved to a new house location from the house where they lived when the alleged sightings happened. The new owner of the house found a styrofoam model of a UFO hidden in the attic. 

This model even had a resemblance to the UFO that was captured in Ed Walters’s photos. Later, Ed Walters spoke up that this styrofoam model was possibly planted in his attic, as a kind of ruse to discredit his testimony and sighting evidence. At the end of it all, the mystery remains as convoluted as ever.

2. The Gulf Breeze Sightings: November 11, 1987 – May 1, 1988

On Wednesday, 11th of November 1987, Ed Walters experienced something shocking. It was a brief blue beam that apparently had affected him out of nowhere. As he tried to locate the source, he took a few polaroids of the object he identified to be the point of origin.

This happened outside his Gulf Breeze home, and he then went on to describe the object as being reminiscent of something out of a fantastical movie. He defined this object as being around 200 feet above ground level for anyone to witness.

Further, Walters claimed certain unusual things happened during these absurd events, such as that he saw and heard a UFO landing on the location of Soundside Drive and saw 5 aliens dropping out of the UFO onto the road.

He also stated that an alien stared into his house through his window and they tried to communicate with him through telepathy with the medium of English and Spanish. Allegedly, the aliens showed him a book of pictures containing pictures of dogs and some type of material identifying each dog.

The Gulf Breeze UFO Locations from Extraterrestrial 1987 Sighting - Inside Florida Spaceship Home

He also said that on December 2, 1987, and February 7, 1988; he saw the blue beam light appear again and he clicked satisfactory photographic evidence of the blue beam light along with his wife.

Over some time, Walters and his friends and family captured the Gulf Breeze sightings overall 19 photos. On May 1st, 1988 Walters claimed that he felt the presence of the UFO at Shoreline Park after midnight and took a picture of it and he is said to have lost consciousness for about an hour in this encounter.

Walters also claimed that the UFO leaked some kind of liquid that nearly boiled for about 19 days after he captured it in photographic evidence.

3. The Model in the Attic

The public interest in the Gulf Breeze sightings, in this case, has largely been based on the claims made by Walters and the photographs that he took. The moment those photographs hit the newspapers the case became sensational.

However, the authenticity of the case came under serious fire when a journalist from the Pensacola News Journal named Craig Meyers, went ahead with a news story about a styrofoam model of a UFO made from foam plates and some paper. The story ran on Jan 10, 1990, in the Pensacola News Journal. 

Meyers claimed that this was found in the attic of Ed Walters’ house and directly undermined and contradicted all the things that Ed Walters had said. However, Walters entirely denied having any information regarding the model that was found in the attic of his old house.

But, once found, the model’s existence could mean entirely different things. That the model found in the attic and the photos of the Gulf Breeze sightings given by Walters had striking similarities is one major takeaway.

The model was found by the new owner of the house. But Walter put out an allegation that this model was kept in the house by someone who wanted to discredit him. He refused to take the lie detector test but signed a sworn statement denying the model theory at the time.

TV SATELLITE FILE NO. 282: UFO

4. The Appearance of the Model

The UFO model found in the attic was reported with exact details. The details pertained to the height of the model around 9 inches across and 5 inches deep. It was said to include a blue-colored gel, plastic film, and a 6 inches orange paper ring.

On the paper around the model, there were carefully drawn and punched-out window circles on two-thirds of the model. On the other side of the same drafting paper, there were some handwritten things most of which were assumed to be written by Ed Walters.

The handwritten words told about the dimensions of a house on Jamestown Drive. It was claimed by the News Journal that Ed Walters had 2 homes on Jamestown Drive.

Finally, as a result of all the publicity around the Gulf Breeze sightings, Ed was offered $450,000 from ABC Television for mini-series rights with an advance payment of $200,000.

5. Response of the MUFON

The reviews on the Gulf Breeze sightings by the MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) came out in 1988 by Gray Watson, who held that the burden of proof to verify whether UFOs really visited Gulf Breeze can’t be solely put on photographs clicked and provided by Walters.

Watson called for background analysis of other people coming out as witnesses of the Gulf Breeze sightings. 

Meanwhile, the director of MUFON contradicted this and instead was of the opinion that Gulf Breeze UFO sightings were one of the best cases they ever had. He believed in their authenticity. 

6. Book Deal on The Gulf Breeze Sightings

Budd Hopkins, an author of some repute when it comes to UFO books, interviewed Ed Walters several times. As a result of these, he ultimately declared the story that Walters was preaching to be true. Budd Hopkins came to this conclusion based on his prior knowledge and experience with interviewing others like Walters who claimed to have seen UFOs. 

Budd Hopkins (UFOs) - The Dusty Wright Show

The fact of the matter is that Budd Hopkins also placed his analysis on a platform of proof. That is firstly verifiable proof that Walters passed a lie detector test with flying colors.

And secondly, the fact that Walters had allegedly rejected a very lucrative deal as his star was on the rise due to the UFO case, made Hopkins see the fidelity to ethical principles that Walters seemingly adhered to. And placed his trust in Walters and believed in the Gulf Breeze sightings. 

6.1. The Book That Created Chaos: The Gulf Breeze Sightings 

Eventually, Ed Walters collated his experiences of the Gulf Breeze sightings and put them together in The Gulf Breeze Sightings The Most Astounding Multiple Sightings of UFOs in U.S. History. This is the book that ultimately came out of the sightings.

Although books, films, and TV series continue to frame the UFO phenomenon in various ways, there had been no satisfactory photographic evidence surfaced to prove the phenomenon. This book strived to change that.

the gulf breeze sightings
By: Hollanddesign/ Pixabay. Copyright 2020

In this book, two main witnesses, Ed, and Frances Walters try to give an honest account of the Gulf Breeze UFO sightings with close to 70 colored photographic evidence to support their claims.

This account is mostly autobiographical in nature and is based on the first-hand experiences of Ed and Frances Walters.

This over 300-page book contains primary information and proof about the Gulf Breeze sightings and is a good place to start for anyone who is curious about the incidents and motivated enough to deconstruct them as we have done in this article.

 

Find out more about extraterrestrial sightings at The Hudson Valley Sightings: 15 Amazing Things you Must Know

 

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