Strange Lights in the Sky over Ohio Accompanied by "Vibrating" and "Humming Noise"

A still image from Walker’s video that shows the eerie lights. (Tim Walker / Facebook) — A still image from Walker’s video that shows the eerie lights. *(Tim Walker / Facebook)*

Bethel, Ohio, resident Tim Walker posted a video to Facebook at around 7 pm last January 12th that shows a series of strange lights flashing in the sky.

The lights, recorded by Walker’s Ring doorbell camera, flash several times, increasing in intensity. They appear white at first, before becoming a pinkish purple hue.

“Anybody else see this tonight,” asked Walker in the video’s caption. “The sky was flashing pink and purple—super bright. Thought it might be lightning, but it’s fairly cold (40 degrees), and there was no thunder.”

Weather data shows that the sky was cloudy when the flashes occurred, and although humidity was at 79%, no precipitation was recorded.

Walker wasn’t the only local to experience the eerie light show.

"So many people are posting about it in Bethel and Amelia. I wonder what it was," April Pierce commented on the video. "Some people said their power even flickered on and off."

According to Kat Carmosino, who said she saw the lights between Amelia and New Richmond, "when the power went out there was the light show, the floor was vibrating and there was a humming noise. It was really odd."

Walker confirmed in a comment to someone else that he thought the lights he witnessed were in the direction of New Richmond.

He further speculated that perhaps an electrical transformer or substation had blown up in that area, although no such event has been confirmed. Others added that they thought the lights were caused by everything from fireworks to the “Annunaki”—a pantheon of Mesopotamian gods who some in the UFO community believe to be advanced extraterrestrials who have been in contact with humanity for eons and live on a planet hidden in our solar system, named Nibiru.

Williamsburg resident Bob Wolfe was driving with his son when they saw the lights.

"We were on our way home and had just turned south on Dela Palma Road off of Ohio 32 in the Williamsburg area," he said. "What we saw was like a big ball of fire behind some cloud cover. It didn't light up the horizon from our vantage point but my 11-year-old son and I both commented on how bright and unusual it was. It did linger longer than a normal bolt of lightning would, however it had no real motion to it other than the momentary flash."

Walker was contacted by Mark Price of McClatchy News on January 20th, who asked if he’d “gotten a good explanation yet to explain the flashing lights.”

Walker replied that he had not.

"It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen," Walker said. "I’m glad the video caught it and got such good video out of it. It really matches what we saw. It was very crazy how it started very light flashes and then built up until it was filling the entire sky."

Price seemed equally impressed by Walker’s video.

"I've done a lot of reporting on UFOs and other strange phenomenon, and this is really the strangest light show I've ever seen caught on video," he said.

A similar flash of light was filmed over Dallas, Texas, last June, although that light was a brilliant blue.

Neither that light nor those recorded by Walker were reportedly accompanied by any loud booms, but they are still reminiscent of the flashes that are sometimes seen alongside the frequently reported mystery booms.

Reports of mysterious booms—sometimes accompanied by flashes of light and/or minor tremors—have been on the rise worldwide since 2017, continuing throughout 2018 and even into 2019. The booms have been reported across the United States in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, North and South Carolina, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin; as well as in the countries of Russia, Denmark, England, and Australia.

Meteors and other natural events—such as frost quakes—remain popular explanations for the booms, and bolide meteors were blamed for mystery booms in California, Michigan, and Washington in 2018. However, no blanket explanation covers every occurrence of a mystery boom and many cases go unexplained entirely.

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