Skeptics and believers alike, nothing gets people talking and debating like a good old urban legend or ghost story.

What’s even better, is when there is no definitive answer as to whether the event happened or not, and why.

Updated 2/11/2020 – Here at Backpackerverse, this is our modus operandi…to bring to you, our beloved reader the most interesting and sometimes ridiculous unexplained phenomena.

So without further ado, here is the first half of our favorite unexplained, mysterious and just plain weird happenings:

Backpackerverse’s Top 10 Unexplained Phenomena – Part 1

10. The Klerksdorp Spheres

Much debate has arisen over the origin of these small, spherical or disc shaped objects found near Ottosdal, South Africa.

Alternative researchers and reporters claim these are “anomalous, out of place artifacts” and had to have been developed by intelligent beings, either human, or of alien origin.

Geologists rebut that these little nuggets of weirdness are a result of natural processes, coming from 3.0 billion year old pyrophyllite deposits.

Whatever the case may be, these grooved spheres are monumentally interesting artifacts.

9. Angel Hair

There are a number of accounts of this fiberous substance observed to have fallen from the sky, often believed to be a result of UFO phenomenon.

An interesting account reported by USA Today and the AP details twenty UFOs seen over Quirindi, New South Wales, Australia, dropping down Angel Hair on the ground as they passed.

It is said that any attempt at collecting it results in the material completely subliming and disappearing.

It should be noted that Angel Hair has also, according to respected psychics, appropriately been associated with sightings of angels.

8. The Dropa Stones

The Dropa, according to legend, are a race of dwarf-like extraterrestrials that purportedly inhabited the Baian-Kara-Ula mountains of China.

A 1938 archeological expedition led by Dr. Chi Pu Tei into this region led to the discovery of a series of artificially carved caves containing the Dropa Stones.

Each stone, or disc rather, is said to be around 12,000 years old, roughly 9 inches in diameter, has a small whole cut in the center and is etched with a spiral pattern of hieroglyphics.

It gets weirder.

The hieroglyphics apparently tell a tale of the Dropa coming from outer space and crash landing in the mountains.

Allegedly, Dr. Chi Pu Tei’s team also found several neat rows of tombs with 4 ft 4 inch skeletons, big classic alien heads and all, buried inside them.

Historical evidence or hoax, the Dropa stones are of great interest to researchers and skeptics alike.

7. The Miracle of the Sun

The Miracle of the Sun is an alleged miraculous event witnessed by 30,000 to 100,000 people in 1917 near Fatima, Portugal.

Many sources attempt to explain the event using known phenomena such as clouds, stratospheric dust, or a “sundog“, but it is most often associated with biblical “endtime” prophecies and UFO lore.

Here is a summary of events from Wikipedia:

“According to many witness statements, after a downfall of rain, the dark clouds broke and the sun appeared as an opaque, spinning disk in the sky. It was said to be significantly less bright than normal, and cast multicolored lights across the landscape, the shadows on the landscape, the people, and the surrounding clouds. The sun was then reported to have careened towards the earth in a zigzag pattern, frightening some of those present who thought it meant the end of the world. Some witnesses reported that their previously wet clothes became “suddenly and completely dry.” Estimates of the number of witnesses range from 30,000-40,000 by Avelino de Almeida, writing for the Portuguese newspaper O Século, to 100,000, estimated by Dr. Joseph Garrett, professor of natural sciences at the University of Coimbra, both of whom were present that day. The miracle was attributed by believers to Our Lady of Fátima, an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three young shepherd children in 1917, as having been predicted by the three children on 13 July, 19 August, and 13 September 1917. The children reported that the Lady had promised them that she would on 13 October reveal her identity to them and provide a miracle “so that all may believe.” According to these reports, the miracle of the sun lasted approximately ten minutes. The three children also reported seeing a panorama of visions, including those of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of Saint Joseph blessing the people.”

6. Morgellons Disease

Morgellons Disease is an infectious condition where reported symptoms include crawling, biting, and stinging sensations; finding multi-colored fibers on or under the skin and persistent skin rashes or open sores.

The scientific community has all but shunned Morgellons sufferers, stating that Morgellons isn’t a new disorder, but instead a combination of known medical conditions, including delusional parasitosis.

Members of the Morgellons Research Foundation and several Morgellons patients have successfully gotten the U.S. government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) to investigate their condition.

According to Wikipedia:

The CDC states that while it is not known at present whether the condition represents a new disease entity, or whether persons who identify themselves as having Morgellons have a common cause for their symptoms, share common risk factors, or are contagious, it has begun an epidemiological investigation of the “Unexplained Dermopathy”.

The CDC’s Morgellons page can be found at: https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/4362

We hope that you’ve enjoyed the first half of our list, “Backpackerverse’s Top 10 Unexplained Phenomena” and make sure to check back next week for the final 5!