MYSTERY

Everything Wild in the FBI’s UFO Files, Including ‘Human-Like’ Beings, Flying Discs, and One Extremely Weird Memo

May 8th, 2026

The FBI released even more UFO files today, May 8, and they are filled with the exact kind of juicy details that make you want to play the X-Files theme on loop.

The files are available through the FBI’s public Vault. They cover the bureau’s findings and investigations on UFO reports from 1947 and 1954. That’s a time period where UFO reports were extremely popular in the United States, so there’s a lot of stuff to read here. The archive is split into 16 parts and includes memos, letters, clippings, and field office reports.

So, let’s answer the question that you probably have right now: what’s the wildest thing found in the report? It’s actually a memo from July 8, 1947, titled “A Memorandum of Importance.” Note that it was not written as an official FBI conclusion, which is important to remember. Still, the claims are so crazy that everyone keeps talking about them online.

The memo was supposedly obtained by “so-called supernatural means,” so keep that in mind when you’re reading this, too.

The FBI’s UFO Files Include Claims About Giant Human-Like Beings, Flying Saucers, and Interdimensional Visitors
The memo says that flying discs allegedly carried crews, while others were controlled remotely.

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It also claims that visitors were “human-like but much larger in size” and that they did not come from another planet in the normal sense. It describes them as coming from an “etheric planet” that allegedly overlaps with ours, but it is not something that we can see. The beings from said planet supposedly “materialize” when they enter our “dense matter,” and the discs they arrive on can disintegrate ships here on earth.

There are also more reports that, while a little more believable, are still quite strange. One memo from August 1947 describes a school-aged boy from Norfolk, Virginia named Billy Turnetine who allegedly photographed a large black object moving “rapidly” through the sky. Turnetine claimed that the object was much higher than planes and moved faster than any aircraft he’d ever seen.

The famous Guy Hottel memo from 1950 is also here. That is a recount of a third-party claim that states three “flying saucers” were recovered in New Mexico. The FBI has clarified that the memo is not proof of a UFO crash, but simply a memo the FBI received. Still, it’s fun to pretend.

So, is there proof of aliens in the files? Not really, no. But they do prove that we, as a society, have been fascinated by aliens for a long, long time. And even crazier, we’ve believed so passionately that we’ve seen them with our own eyes that we reported our findings to the FBI… like, a lot.

Curated By

Alistair Finch
Science Journalist/Editor | Research Analyst for Aerospace/Oceanographic Institutions
Alistair Finch approaches journalism through a cosmic lens, focusing on the profound mysteries that unite rather than divide us. While political discourse often centers on terrestrial divisions, Alistair's editorial vision emphasizes humanity's shared journey aboard Spaceship Earth. His curated content explores unexplained aerial phenomena, deep-ocean revelations, and celestial wonders that remind us of our small but significant place in the universe. When political debates heat up, Alistair gently redirects attention to the bigger picture—our pale blue dot suspended in the vast cosmos. Alongside his colleague Julian, whose empathic investigative work champions humanitarian causes, Alistair provides readers with perspective that transcends conventional narratives. Together, they offer journalism that illuminates both the microscopic compassion within human hearts and the macroscopic marvels beyond our atmosphere. Their combined approach recognizes that understanding our world requires examining everything from the depths of our oceans to the furthest reaches of space, all while never losing sight of the human stories that connect us across every boundary.
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