Each year, about a million UFO sightings are reported worldwide. While most can be explained, a small percentage remain a mystery. Such was the case for two different groups—three Brazilian men who lost hours after encountering eerie lights, and a young boy in Quebec, Canada, who was temporarily blinded by a strange object with a powerful searchlight. Here’s a closer look at these spine-chilling experiences.
The Brazilian Fishermen’s Strange Encounter with Lost Time
In a remote part of southeastern Brazil, three friends, two of whom were off-duty police officers, set out on a covert fishing trip. Trespassing on private property, they intended to retrieve fish from nets they’d placed the night before. But the calm night was soon interrupted by an inexplicable light.
At first, the men assumed the glow was from a flashlight, perhaps carried by a security guard. However, as the light drew closer, it defied their expectations. Hovering above the treetops, this intense ball of light moved in a way no human could control. They immediately felt a chilling sense of danger. Local folklore had warned them about “The Mother of Gold,” a terrifying legend of glowing orbs that drain the blood and vitality of their victims.
Their initial response was to hide, but soon, more orbs appeared. Driven by fear, they jumped into the lake, seeking refuge underwater. But the glowing lights grew bolder, moving closer to where they were submerged. The men believed these objects were not of this world and felt their lives were truly at risk.
When the lights finally disappeared, the men tried to start their boat to return to safety. However, the engine wouldn’t start, and they discovered they had no fuel left. Exhausted and terrified, they made their way to town on foot. However, when they arrived, they found themselves in disbelief: what felt like mere minutes of horror had somehow spanned four hours. The men couldn’t explain this missing time, a detail that would haunt them.
In the following days, all three men experienced unsettling physical symptoms. One of them developed severe fevers, breathing difficulties, and even began to lose hair and show discoloration on his skin. Yet, medical checks found no explanation. Theories about their experience circulated, with some locals attributing it to low-flying aircraft, though a nearby pilot confirmed seeing similar lights on numerous occasions.
Blinding Light Strikes a Young Boy in Quebec
Hundreds of miles away in a small town in Quebec, 13-year-old Ivan Gendong had a startling encounter of his own. Left in charge of his younger sisters one evening, he noticed a strange noise outside—a loud buzzing, almost like an electrical surge. As he investigated, Ivan saw an intense light shining from the bathroom window. Peering out, he discovered the light’s source: a strange object hovering about 15 feet above the ground, partially obscured by the trees.
Initially, Ivan thought he was seeing things, but then a blinding light beamed directly into his face, leaving him temporarily sightless and overwhelmed by a piercing headache. Disoriented and terrified, he regained his vision only after several minutes. The object still loomed nearby but appeared surrounded by a strange, transparent dome of light, unlike anything he’d seen before.
The next day, Ivan’s parents returned home to find him visibly shaken. He experienced eye pain and even ringing in his ears for several days after the incident. Investigators later discovered damage to trees near where the object had hovered, adding credence to Ivan’s story. More locals reported similar sightings over the following months, describing mysterious bright lights in the area, lending further mystery to Ivan’s already strange encounter.
Unresolved Mysteries
Both of these experiences are among the 5% of UFO sightings that remain unexplained. They share elements often seen in reports of extraterrestrial encounters: missing time, physical symptoms, and strange lights with behavior defying conventional explanations. The Brazilian fishermen and the young boy in Quebec were left with lingering questions and physical aftereffects that would take time to heal—if they ever did. Whether or not these were genuine encounters with otherworldly beings, they serve as reminders of how little we know about what might be lurking beyond our understanding.
