Mysterious "Drones" over New Jersey Spark Speculation in Paranormal Circles

A still image taken from a motion picture of a reported mystery drone captured on December 8th over Long Hill, New Jersey. *(I_Love_Lamps / Reddit)*

By now, you’ve almost certainly heard of the mysterious drones being reported over New Jersey, which have since prompted similar sightings in several other states, including Wisconsin, Texas, Ohio, and Illinois.

The reports in New Jersey began last November 18th with a social media post by N. Jerzy Fire Alert.

Unusual activity reported over Morris County,NJ: multiple large drones spotted flying from the Somerset County border northward and back. Law enforcement has been advised to notify their communications centers of any sightings. Photo taken in Morristown (📸 Josh Wolfson) pic.twitter.com/pSqe6KnwQj
— N. Jerzy Fire Alert (@NJerzyFireAlert) November 19, 2024

That post, viewed over 125,000 times, was followed by a deluge of similar reports to a variety of social media platforms. Reddit has proven to be a popular repository for sighting reports, its many subreddits devoted to various aspects of the UFO phenomenon overtaken by those who say they’ve seen unusually large (described as at least six feet in diameter), quiet drones flying overhead and the people who love to speculate about them. The drones have even inspired their own subreddit, r/NJDrones, created exclusively to cover the sightings. So far, r/NJDrones has attracted approximately 13,000 members.

The speculative hypotheses discussed across social media are about what you’d expect; a mix of extraterrestrials, government coverups, and conspiracy theories.

Some speculate that this is the beginning of Project Blue Beam—a conspiracy theory that posits a secret worldwide cabal of elites will fake an alien invasion to dissolve religion and enslave humanity—while others think that the unidentified flying objects, which show no otherworldly qualities (and even come equipped with standard FAA-compliant safety lights), are alien craft simply disguised as earthly drones. Perhaps the most grounded hypothesis picking up steam lately states that the drones are operated by our own government and being used to search for a weapon of mass destruction recently smuggled into the country. That and the idea these mystery aircraft might belong to an enemy state who sent them to spy on us are among the most prosaic explanations currently circulating with UFO enthusiasts.

And, of course, there are plenty of people who think it’s all much ado about nothing. Those folks point to the number of “drone” photographs proven to be perfectly normal airplanes and helicopters as proof that this could all just be mass hysteria.

But this phenomenon isn’t confined to the paranormal corners of the internet. It’s broken through to mainstream media, and even prompted government action.

Earlier this month, the FBI began an investigation into the sightings. Officials from that agency ultimately concluded that they had seen "no evidence" that the drone sightings "pose a national security or public safety threat."

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shared a similar sentiment following a meeting with New Jersey state lawmakers last week.

"At this point, we have not identified any basis for believing that there's any criminal activity involved, that there's any national security threat, that there's any particular public safety threat or that there's a malicious foreign actor involved in these drones," a DHS official said.

Both the FBI and DHS are said to have deployed infrared cameras and drone detection technology to ensure that whatever is being reported isn’t harmful.

Finally, the White House issued the most dismissive statement yet last Monday.

"We assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and even stars that were mistakenly reported as drones," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. "We have not identified anything anomalous or any national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast.”

"The work continues,” he added.

But these statements have done little to curb public concern over the phenomenon.

Recently, a number of pilots have been "hit in the eyes with lasers because people on the ground think they see Unmanned Aircraft Systems," the FBI in Newark and New Jersey State Police said.

"We're also concerned people will take matters into their own hands and fire a weapon at an aircraft," FBI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson Delgado said in a video message. "Not only is this act against the law, but it poses an incredible danger to the pilots and passengers on those aircraft."

Dozens of agencies have now reportedly turned their attention to what those on the ground are doing, rather than what might be flying overhead.

"However, there could be dangerous and possibly deadly consequences if manned aircraft are targeted mistakenly as UAS [Unmanned Aerial Systems]," the Newark FBI office warned.

The public aren’t the only ones concerned, New Jersey lawmakers have also spoken up about the sightings.

“The elusive maneuvering of these drones suggests a major military power sophistication that begs the question whether they have been deployed to test our defense capabilities—or worse—by violent dictatorships, perhaps maybe Russia, or China, or Iran, or North Korea,” Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-R) said.

Meanwhile, New Jersey state officials have instructed first responders to use caution if they should arrive on the scene of a downed drone.

An Intelligence Bulletin circulated by the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety Fire Threat Task Force.

While there have been several reports of fallen drones since the flap began last month, so far, no information has been forthcoming from the responding officials.

When one firefighter was asked by a reporter last week if he had found anything at the site of a reported drone landing, he responded that he “was not at liberty to say.”

For now, these “drones,” whatever they are, remain a mystery.