Alternate Perceptions Magazine, August 2017
An Interview with UFO investigator and experiencer, William Kent Senter
by: Brent Raynes
Brent Raynes: Please share some details about yourself.
William Kent Senter: I was born in 1953 in Durham, North Carolina, and also lived in Roxboro, NC until 1959 when our family moved to Arlington, Virginia which is next to Washington, D.C., and we also lived in Falls Church, Va. My father worked at the American University teaching in data processing as well as with HEW where he ran the National Center for Health Statistics with the federal government. This branch eventually was moved to the Research Triangle Park in NC in the early 70's. Many living there in the DC area were either military or government workers. I graduated high school in NC with some college off and on but having 4 children, had to work and miss out getting a degree. I have held positions in management both in retail and as Director of Operations and two Regional VP positions in property management with large corporations. I am 63 now and retired, disabled fighting an incurable cancer, multiple myeloma.
Brent Raynes: I understand that your serious interest in UFOs arose from firsthand experiences.
William Kent Senter: I had childhood sightings in Roxboro, and Falls Church and numerous other sightings and events elsewhere which spurned my interest that started at an early age. All the events that have happened have longer explanations but I will be as brief here as possible. After a craft sighting in the mid 80's, I felt I had to do more than just research. This is when I searched out George Fawcett, a well known researcher in NC and we started the NC state chapter for MUFON. I became a state section director and field investigator. In 2013, I started the Center for UFO Research NC and hosted our first conference in June that year and then another last October 2016. To this day, I get numerous calls and reports that I will investigate.
Brent Raynes: I had the pleasure of meeting George Fawcett some years back as he was delivering a talk in Massachusetts for the New England UFO Study Group. He certainly seemed like a fine gentleman, very sincere, serious and dedicated to the study of UFOs. You hooked up with good people.
Please share more about your UFO experiences.
William Kent Senter: As a 4 year old in Roxboro, I had some type of sighting during the day of some type of being as I was in my screen porch playing. I have a cloudy memory concerning this one but one thing that stood out after the fact, I had a tooth pulled and had to be put to sleep. When I woke up, I kept talking about the round flying saucers and rambling on. We lived out in the country then with no TV or even radio to have access about "flying saucers," and especially at 4 years old. My parents were "occasional southern baptist" and had never talked about this phenomena nor paid any attention to it. As a matter of fact, when I would mention about the phenomena later growing up, I was ridiculed harshly as the topic was taboo.
When we moved to Falls Church, I had two sightings; one when I was around 9 and another around 14 years old. The first sighting had the most adverse impact on my life. Not because of the sighting, but because it destroyed my youthful innocence. I would never tell my parents what I observed in our backyard due to the fear of ridicule, so I instead chose to tell my best friend's father who I will call RF. I stayed at their house for hundreds of sleepovers and they were my second family. RF was a Major in the Air Force during his military career and flew for Gen. LeMay (which you had to be in the top 10% in the AF to get in his group). In WW2, he was shot down over the jungle around Singapore and survived. At the time I knew him, he was a deputy director of the FAA. Growing up in "Camelot" during the JFK years, everyone was extremely patriotic, especially in the DC area. RF being a pilot, I decided that I would inquire if flying saucers were real and he looked at me with a very shocked expression and thought for a couple minutes before answering. His reply was "you know, a guy in my outfit walked into a hanger accidentally and there was a crashed one there, and do you know what they did to him? They locked him up in a mental hospital.” I was shocked and asked why, and he said "When he got out and talked, who would believe him." At 9 years old, my views on our government changed and I was so terrified I did not ever open my mouth about what I saw. I had an even more shocking sighting at 14 while sleeping outside on our screen porch. I talked my Mom into getting me the Look magazine's 1967 special issue "Flying Saucers" and was so excited, I ran to my screen porch where my father and two friends were sitting. I wanted to show him as I felt it was a validation on the reality of the phenomena. Wrong move, as he ridiculed harshly while his other friend was laughing. All except JB who sat in the corner of the porch looking down and gripping his hands tightly while shaking his head as if in disgust. I was shocked by his reaction as I almost didn't want to look at him because everyone in the neighborhood knew he was military and was recognized for his strictness with his daughters. This stern man, the one I felt would be the loudest with the laughter and the most demeaning, was somehow compassionate. I didn't realize until decades later why. In the 80's and living in NC, my mother divorced my father and later remarried. It was at this wedding reception (which I could only briefly attend due to work) that I ran into JB while leaving. He asked me a strange question as I was walking away and that was "was I still reading those UFO books?" Strange question for someone I had not seen since I was 15 years old. I told him yes I still did and he stated that he was retired and living in Lake Gaston, VA and I needed to come fishing with him. My biggest regret was that I never took him up on his offer. It wasn't until 2009 that I found out that he was at Roswell, NM under Blanchard, also at Wright Patterson in Ohio, and in fact with Blanchard at the Pentagon. He was there when Blanchard was asst Joint Chief of Staff and died of a heart attack at the Pentagon. JB was with the AF/DIA at the start of that agency on Columbia Pike in Arlington and worked in Photo recon at the Pentagon when DIA transferred there. He was the head of that department and a photography expert. JB stated to me Blanchard "loved" to come look at his pictures everyday.
While there have been numerous sightings I have witnessed, two craft sightings occurred in NC. One in Lumberton, NC during the UFO "flap in 75" and the 80's craft sighting in Durham as recreated in my 2013 conference DVD. Many coincidences occurred during my conference in 2013. Having remarried, I told my wife when we met in 2002, that I enjoyed her company but if there was to be a future in our relationship, I needed to tell her about my experiences and interest in this phenomena and if she could accept that, then we could have a great future. I shared the experiences and during and after the conference in 2013, my experiences were validated. Here are some unbelievable facts that occurred. My wife, knowing about my experiences, told me after learning that I had incurable cancer, that I should take care of some bucket list items that I always wanted to do as I was given 3-6 months life expectancy in 2009. One item was to host a "scientific conference", which I accomplished.
While preparing for the conference, Leslie Kean asked me to do an interview with Lee Speigel with the Huffington Post. As I told my wife in 2002, I left Durham to view the UFOs that were buzzing Lumberton, NC in 1975. I drove for hours and coming up a long stretch of highway close to Red Springs, I noticed a police car off the side of the road and men standing in a field and then saw a glowing craft over the treetops across the farmers field. I got out of the car but jumped back in to chase this object that was moving away. When Lee started my interview, he asked what first got my interest in the subject. I told him about my sightings and when I got to the Lumberton one, he interrupted me and said,“Do you know who I am?” Answering that I knew that he was a writer, he stated that he organized the UFO conference held at the UN in the 70's attended by Hynek/Carpenter/Vallee and himself. He then told me he was one of the men standing in the field in Lumberton! He stated he was sent there by Hynek to investigate for CUFOS. Here 38 years later, someone that I saw in the field validated my claim and saw what I saw. My wife was shocked, and needless to say this opened up a friendship with Lee and we have since met and had dinner together.
Another shocking coincidence occurred ( actually two). Sharing my stories with Michael Acosta in preparing a filmed documentation of my stories and the conference DVD's, Patty and I sat with his crew and shared. One is about a MIB encounter that happened in 1993. I was called by Mufon HQ to respond to an Alamance County, NC Sheriff's Department request for possible help in a sighting and cattle mutilation and possible cattle abduction. After responding to the site, I filmed an opening in the forest foliage and branches that were broken upwards that were 40 - 50 ft. high. After my visit, two days later three "MIB's" came to my office/residence and warned me not to go out there again. This visit was very strange and almost paranormal. I explained to my wife in 2002, what occurred and the strangeness involved....from their height..skin color..shape of their faces...reading my mind example/eye contact( to be explained later) and the eyes of one of the MIB's. After the MIB's left, I found that my VHS film was removed from my camera without my knowledge and was gone. Later the discovery of the MIB encounter at Niagara Falls was found on YouTube and the exact same things I told my wife in 2002 was being repeated. Patty as well as Mike were shocked as it was everything I said, almost word for word that I told her in 2002.
The second strange coincidence happened when I wanted to get in contact with the three deputies that were with me that day to see if they had any encounters after that incident. This happened 20 years earlier but it might have been beneficial for the documentation. I have a friend WP who is my age and grew up on the street behind me in Falls Church and this is how he relates. WP was a playmate since the 3rd grade, though we lost contact meeting only 3 or 4 times since the 70's. Also remember I said I never shared my two childhood UFO sightings growing up. Patty and I were living in Pittsburgh from 2007 to 2013 due to my job. We decided to move back to NC to Burlington and also host the conference.
WP, after a term in the Army, became a policeman and after stints in Colorado, moved to NC and became a policeman and eventually a detective in Alamance Co. with the Burlington City Police Dept. While discussing getting the contacts, Patty asked why don't I give WP a call and see if he could help with the Sheriff's Dept request for contact info. I explained that I wasn't comfortable as I had lost touch with WP and the fact that he was a policeman/detective and probably would think it a silly request. I humbled myself and called and invited him over to break the ice and get the courage to ask. After a bit of chit chat, I finally told Wayne that I wanted to share that I had been interested in UFOs and involved in UFO research, and before I could make my request, he interrupted and stated "Yeah, do you remember that time we slept outside on your porch and saw that huge rectangular UFO?" Patty look at me in shock and I was in shock as well. To this day, I don't remember a sighting with him or anyone else growing up. It was shocking but he was vivid with the details. I just don't remember this one.
Another coincidence occurred possibly validating my sighting when I was 9. About a year after our conference in 2013, Mufon Journal highlighted their monthly issue with a story about an encounter/sighting by a boy in 1962. This occurred at the same time as my sighting and in Vienna, Va., 1 mile from my house! My elementary school was in Vienna, Va. I was shocked again as everyone heard my story by the time of the conference and here is the same thing happening as reported by Norman Gagnon from Mufon, Va. I was so shocked that I had Ben Moss and Norman and Tony from Va. come down to my Oct. Conference in 2016. I have other stories also including ones from cases I investigate and something I witnessed with Randall Nickerson that relates to an Area 51 pilot case etc.
Brent Raynes: Wow, truly a fascinating review of extraordinary and, to borrow from the late Dr. Carl Jung, synchronistic events. I am chomping at the bits with questions.
Where do I begin? Well, I'll just leap into it. Let me begin by asking you about that "very strange and almost paranormal" MIB visitation. You stated it was like they were "reading my mind". Please explain what happened, along with details on their physical appearances, their behavior...anything that stood out as noteworthy or unusual. Was the camera with the VHS film in the same room as your visitors? Do you remember any of them ever being near it?
Out of personal curiosity, did you happen to notice if they were right or left handed?
William Kent Senter: It is strange that you mentioned this one first as it probably "upset "me the most. As a state section director and field investigator for Mufon, I received a call by Mufon HQ to the State Dir. to respond to the Alamance Co. Sheriff's Dept. request for possible help. I was to investigate a sighting and a cattle mutilation and abduction of an elderly farmer's prized cow. I met three deputy sheriff's and the farmer, who was highly upset, at his farm. Two days later, I got a visit from three MIB.
Before running the property management company, I operated a mobile home community as well as an apartment community out of a mobile home/office that was my residence. I was familiar with having police come out occasionally to check on certain occupants. When the 3 MIBs were approaching the door, which was open to a glass storm door, my peripheral vision of them led me to think that the police were coming in again. I immediately swiveled around in my office chair to unlock the occupant files to my right, before turning to look at them as they entered. I am attaching a diagram of the office, so this will make sense to you.
As I turned left to look at them, the first MIB came in and went to the corner chair(blue star). I immediately felt physically stunned as if I was being paralyzed with a strong sensation like an electric current running through my stomach. I was confused like being hit unexpectedly but extremely alert and conscious that something wasn't right. The first MIB was not normal in appearance as he must have been close to 7'- 8' tall and with the typical Sinatra/Fedora hat, had to bend his head down to come in the door. His body and face shocked me as it was abnormal in the fact that his face was extremely thin and skin that looked "milky white and almost translucent" Very tall and lanky. Then the red star MIB that I will call "Shorty"came in and asked "are you William Senter", then followed by the third, who took all of my attention at once as he was "Identical" to the first, and I cannot express enough how alarmingly identical they were! I immediately knew something strange was happening as I couldn't move. Sitting, I looked up to the tall MIB at the door. When he entered, he turned toward me with his back facing the opened door, almost like a robot and standing at attention. As they all had dark sunglasses on, I wanted to see their eyes as I knew they were not normal. I was shocked as the millisecond that I thought I wanted to see his eyes from under his glasses (as I was sitting and he was standing) he immediately dropped his head toward the floor so I could not look under his lenses and see them. I felt and I "knew" that he was reading my thoughts. I kept saying over and over in my head, "I know you hear me and I want to see your eyes" Over and over and over again. I could not take my eyes off of him for what seemed like minutes, then I could hear "Shorty" as he had been talking but I did not hear anything but background mumbling, as I was focused on the MIB at the door. I couldn't even speak! It seemed like my focus broke as I turned to Shorty who was screaming at me by now and saying"you are not to go back out there, do you understand?" As I turned my head to him, peripherally I could see the first MIB was now crouched to my left right behind me. I could not move or turn around but noticed his hands were cupped over as if you were trying to touch your wrist with your fingers. He was also next to my left shoulder now. As my eyes looked up at Shorty, it was if he was also reading my thoughts as he angrily ripped off his glasses as if to honor my thoughts, exposing the bluest and strangest eyes I have ever personally seen. They were bigger than silver dollars and perfectly round with almost all of the eye the brightest blue and hardly any white surrounding and with a large black pupil. I will also attach my attempt to show you his eyes. Another strange point is that none of them had any facial hair including Shorty who did not even have eyebrows. No hair around their hats etc. Shorty was also the only one who talked and he was short and stocky, not too much taller than me sitting in my chair. At this point they just left as I was turned facing the front wall, which I do not remember doing. I remember that I thought to get up and see the license plates on their car, but I couldn't move. I was able to get up as they drove away and it was a older model sedan with G/S government plates but I could not see the numbers as they turned to leave. With what seemed like 5 minutes had passed, I noticed that it was 25 minutes later and when I went to the VHS camera that was in the kitchen, the tape door was opened and the tape was gone. I immediately sat down knowing that they were not normal and that I just had a physical encounter. Another strange thing is that my wife bought me a copy of Nick Redfern's book "The Real MIB" in 2012, and Shorty looks like the MIB pictured on page 65 except shorter. Keep in mind that I had this encounter at the end of May 1993 and told my wife in 2002. This event caused me to back off investigations for years. I never noticed their hands except the cuffed over one who was crouching by my left shoulder, and it seemed Shorty pulled his glasses off with his left hand. The electric stunning sensation lasted until they were out the door. If I saw these beings in the middle of Times Square on New Years Eve, I would know them instantly. Their appearance is permanently etched in my memory. Another strange item is that I just introduced myself to the deputies as Kent with Mufon. I just gave them my middle name and no first or last name and no address when I contacted them by phone. The MIB's showed up at my home/work office and asked me if I was William Senter. George Fawcett once told me about an MIB encounter he had in the 60's while speaking in Chicago. They threatened him to stop talking about UFOs and when he arrived back in NC, he found out they had shown up at his daughter's college harassing her. He was shocked that they knew where he was in Chicago and also where his daughter went to college out of state.
Brent Raynes: Briefly, what was it you saw and experienced at ages 9 and 14?
William Kent Senter: I had a personal private round table discussion that I documented, the first evening of my conference in 2013, for my children. This was with Dr. Westrum, Dr. Haines, Xavier Passot (Geipan -CNES/ France), and Col. Halt. I went over all my experiences to solicit feedback as I somehow feel targeted due to the encounters/experiences. I don't know why I have had so many experiences and at times questioned my own sanity, but was very comforted by my discussion with these gentlemen. I was made aware of facts that they discussed privately and I am definitely at ease and not alone. Some of these experiences is because I put myself in the situations by investigating but the childhood sightings and the Durham sighting in the 80's came to my homes that I lived in. When I was 9 in Falls Church Va. I woke up in my upstairs bedroom that I shared with my brother, around 3 am, to my room being brightly lit from outside. Looking out, I saw a bright white globe over our backyard maybe 30 ft. across, almost a perfect circle shape about 40-50 ft. up in the air. I remember shaking my brother violently to get up but he wouldn't wake up and I ran downstairs to look at it out of our patio sliding doors. I remember watching it while trying to shade my eyes as it was so bright. I remember going back up to try to get my brother again, but the room was dark and when I looked out the window, it was gone. I remember wondering why my parents didn't get up since I was yelling at my brother. I went back to sleep after wondering what I saw. This is why I asked RF if flying saucers were real. The next encounter happened when I was 14. I was sleeping outside on our screen porch as the DC area is very humid. It was in the summer and I remember waking up and sitting up I noticed a light coming down in the shape of a cone. The light was like a spotlight except it had a pointed end and was slowly coming down. I knew this was strange as light would immediately hit the ground but this was coming down slowly and was cone shaped. I got up to go outside from the porch and opening the door looked up at a football shaped disk that was a solid bright orange with the white beam of light that came down to about 3 feet off the ground. I looked at this but it seemed as soon as I came out, the light started rising back up to the disk. Once it reached the disk, the craft floated away very slowly and made no sound whatsoever. It disappeared over the trees and I ran down the street trying to see it but it flew off out of sight before I could reach the end of the street and an opening to view the open sky. Another item of note, my sighting when I was 9, which I told to my wife in 2002 and in my conference documentation in 2013 may have received validation in Aug 2015. The Mufon Journal #568 Aug 2015 highlights a young boy's encounter at the same time as mine in Vienna, Va., which is 1 mile from my home in Falls Church. There is a very high chance that we were seeing the same craft that night. That investigator is Norman Gagnon and we are meeting in the future to discuss the case. The fantastic sighting that I had re-created professionally for our 2013 conference DVD's, in Durham, NC in the 80's is very similar to the Illinois 2000 police sightings/late 80's Hudson Valley sightings. Dr. Haines was very interested in this case as I was the 44th case of his that had a response/ action from my flashlight signals.
Brent Raynes: What did the craft at Lumberton look like and do?
William Kent Senter: What I saw in Lumberton in 75 was a pinkish reddish glowing line like a thin cigar shape. It was sitting over the trees, but what got my attention was the police car pulled off then seeing men in the field and looking up, saw the object. I quickly got out and saw it was moving away, jumped back in my car and chased it. It went out of sight. When discussing with Lee Speigel who happened to be in the field with the policeman, he said I had just missed the craft coming over top of them and shining a spotlight down on them before floating back over the trees and leaving. It was a V shaped object and I will attach a copy of a painting, an artist did for Lee, based on what he saw. Also his own illustration.
Brent Raynes: Naturally, I'm indeed a little more than curious about what you and Randall Nickerson witnessed that related to, of all things, an Area 51 pilot case.
William Kent Senter: I hope I am not sharing private info on this question as Randall is in the process of making a documentary and I think this is part of it. I asked if I could show a small part of what he had filmed for my conference in 2016 and he politely denied which I completely understood as it will be a part of his documentary. He is a very kind and caring person who has committed so much time and funds researching the Ruwa Ariel School Encounter. He is trying to complete the great work of the late Dr. Mack and pulling together the witnesses from that event in 1994. As for what he showed me,(I was not there to witness it), he was close to area 51 on public land and showed me a great piece of film of a night time sighting and being buzzed during the day by an f-18 and being watched. What I found strangely familiar was his relating that the military came out to guard at night while he was filming and he felt like he was being stunned or "microwaved" in his stomach when he was out there. I often wonder did he have the same stomach feeling I had during my MIB encounter.
Randall wanted to do a filmed interview of me after our conference in 2013 and during set-up, he asked me if i wanted to see what he had filmed visiting Area 51. When discussing it, I asked if it was filmed around Dogbone Lake. He immediately got paranoid and asked if I was with the government and what did I know about Dogbone Lake. Laughing, I looked at my wife and then told him that I was familiar with Dogbone Lake through the books of and with communicating with Charles Hall. I was told to look at those books by someone at a meeting after talking about my MIB encounter. The Tall Whites in his books reminded them and also myself, after reading his books, of 2 of my MIB's. I have given some thought to these being Tall Whites, and Shorty a possible hybrid, now.
After the interview, my wife and I witnessed the segment showing 2 glowing objects that came into the picture, traveled around 20 miles in less than a second and stopped on a dime and went directly up and down to a mountaintop that seemed to be where Charles Hall mentioned in his book. I would also like to point out that Mufon Journal #551 March 2014, highlights a remarkable case where a retired TWA Airlines pilot cites that while flying from St Louis to San Francisco, being diverted away from area 51 in Nevada and was told to head 40 to 50 miles north. Looking back, they saw a 5 mile high blueish cone shaped hologram come up with a lavender cross-hair in the middle a 1/2 of a mile wide, and moments after that, 10 -20 glowing "fireflies" came zooming down and traveled to the center of the hologram. These might be the same glowing objects that I viewed. The speed and description seemed to be the same.
Brent Raynes: Besides your own impressive and memorable experiences, as an investigator you've covered a number of noteworthy case histories involving others. Any that stand out that you'd care to share as well?
William Kent Senter: I have had many, many cases including police sightings that I have investigated in NC. One that got my attention was the wife of a mayor of a large city. This woman was very affected and also wanted this kept so confidential, even her husband didn't know. I also had a policeman's wife file a similar report that she also did not want anyone to know. These encounters allegedly with intelligent beings. The people that want total anonymity and don't want exposure seem to be more sincere and are just trying to understand what they experienced. A case that I have done a small documentary on, is probably the 1st mass school sighting known, and it occurred 2 miles from my house here in Burlington, NC, in the town of Whitsett. This occurred in 1955 complete with Angel Hair dropping down. I did an interview with a Dr. Lambeth who was the principal at the time. 120 students and teachers witnessed the crafts and angel hair. The story made national news on the AP wire. This same type of sighting occurred over a soccer stadium, witnessed by the teams and 10,000 spectators, in Italy, 1 year to the same day. These craft zipped off and flew around, contrary to a television documentary, stating that they were ballooning spiders. The Italian witnesses were agitated with that explanation. I am now working on the background of a story that I was told last November 2016. An older gentleman (HR) called me numerous times in 2013 after seeing the press coverage about the conference I was holding. Sadly I was so busy that I did not return his messages and forgot as time passed. I regret this to this day. This same gentleman(HR) called the hotel of my conference in 2016, after seeing the news story on television. The hotel manager relayed his number and I immediately called him. HR stated that he had something to tell me and wanted me to come meet him as he was very old and disabled. He said he was an ex- F B I special agent in Las Vegas in the 50's and 60's and was bothered by something all his life. I took WP, whom I mentioned earlier, who was going to bring equipment to film our talk, and was also accompanied by my wife. After meeting this gentleman, who was in a nursing home, he struggled but told me that when he was younger and an agent, he was visiting his partner (LA) and was going to stay the night at (LA)'s house. On arriving, his partner (LA) was running out the door as he got a call from the office and wanted to know if he wanted to come. HR said he would stay there and rest until he got back. He stated that LA came in late and very disheveled and shook up. He said LA told them he had just watched a flying saucer that had landed and was off the highway in the desert. He said that small beings were walking and "dancing" around the craft. He calmed him down and the next afternoon HR met LA again at work and started asking LA questions about the previous night. He said LA's reaction was that he didn't want it mentioned ever again and seemed very agitated. They were very close and he said it was as if his personality had changed and that someone was shutting him up. I will never forget HR's eyes when he said how much he regretted not going and how his close friend would never talk about it. HR said it haunted him to this day and his entire life. HR fell asleep as I started asking him some questions, and while preparing to leave, he woke up long enough to ask us to come back. I told him to try and think of dates etc. so I could research and try to help answer some questions he had. Sadly, after weeks of calling him(much like his calls to me) they went unanswered. I then found out that HR passed away 2 weeks after I met him. One fantastic fact I have discovered, was that HR rose to the rank of Supervisor of Special Agents in the HQ in Wash. DC before he retired.
