Think Anomalous

Welcome!

Think Anomalous is a video series and online publisher devoted to communicating vital information on anomalous phenomena to a broad audience. We survey the most credible research in anomalistics and make it accessible in the new media environment. More about us.

Detail on Olaus Magnus’s Carta marina, 1572 edition. National Library of Sweden, shelfmark KoB 1 ab

We produce three streams of content:

Think Anomalous videos and articles are written and edited by site founder, Jason Charbonneau. Jason lives in Toronto, Canada.

Think Anomalous Videos

Short documentaries on all kinds of anomalous phenomena.

UFO Case Review Videos

Short documentaries on the subject of UFOs only.

Articles

Featured Articles:

Brief writings on anomalies and anomalistics.

The Myth of "Mass Hallucinations"

Discovery, Not Disclosure

What is "Woo"?

Bending Spoons and the Limits of Intellectual Tolerance

What's New?

In the spring of 1561, many people in and around the German city of Nuremberg witnessed a swarm of strange, flying objects appear to do battle in the sky. A local publisher printed a broadsheet that recorded the event and depicted it in a striking woodcut illustration. This brief but intriguing account reminds us that UFOs have taken many forms throughout history, and were not always attributed to extraterrestrials. Like many UFO events, the sightings over Nuremberg were rich in symbolism, and played upon people’s hopes and fears in a way that raises interesting questions about the nature of the UFO phenomenon. (continue reading)

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The Secret Commonwealth: Real Fairies in History

When we think of fairies today, we often envision tiny, winged, pixie girls, and few believe that such things exist. But this image is largely a 19th-century invention, not based on fairy lore: those who actually saw the things typically described human-looking beings with little resemblance to the way that they’re portrayed in children’s books. In the late 17th century, a Scottish minister wrote a manuscript on the “secret commonwealth” of fairies that shared the Earth with humans. His book is a rare example of a formal exposition on the “invisible people,” as he called them, and offers a more evidence-based description of their kind. (continue reading)

Ariel School UFO Landing - Zimbabwe, 1994

In September of 1994, more than 60 children at the Ariel primary school in Zimbabwe witnessed a strange silver object land outside the playground, and were approached by small, black beings with large, entrancing eyes. The children’s stories alarmed their teachers, and aroused the curiosity of the BBC, and the esteemed Harvard Psychiatrist, John E. Mack. While the common elements in the children’s stories suggest that the object and the beings were physically real, the many divergent details, and the kids’ highly personal reactions, suggest that there are many subjective elements to UFO and entity encounters that we don’t yet understand. (continue reading)

Harriet Tubman - Psychic, Seer

Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in the fall of 1849, and returned to Maryland to free at least 70 more slaves before the Civil War. Tubman believed that she had a number of God-given powers that allowed her to free so many people, but many of her most remarkable abilities can be reproduced by those trained in remote viewing, for example, or lucid dreaming. A review of the anomalous events in Tubman’s life suggests that she may have exercised a number of psychic, or “psi,” abilities to sense danger, scout terrain, and even see the future. (continue reading)

Jackie Hernandez Poltergeist Case, 1989 - 1990

After moving to San Pedro, California, Jackie Hernandez began experiencing a wave of anomalous phenomena that persisted after multiple relocations. Researchers collected an abundance of documentation - including photos, video, and physical evidence - over two years of activity, and the story attracted some significant media attention. The case involves elements of both hauntings and poltergeists, and exhibits the wide variety of activity that are common to both phenomena. It also compels researchers to question their categorization of different anomalies, and seek a more comprehensive explanation for anomalous phenomena. (continue reading)

The Hudson Valley UFO Sightings, 1982 - 86

It’s often claimed that ufology is not a science because UFO sightings don’t follow any patterns, or obey any “rules” that could be tested scientifically. But a string of sightings in the suburbs north of New York City demonstrate that UFOs are also far from random: over several years in the early 1980s, thousands of people saw V-shaped and circular formations of lights over the Hudson Valley, many as large as football fields. The sightings came in waves, often recurring in the same few areas, and frequently on the same few days of the week. Though these patterns are difficult to explain, they suggest that there is some logic to UFO activity that may one day be explained by science. (continue reading)