The Atlas Obscura Podcast Aurora Alien Gravesite (Classic)
Oct 3, 2025
A small Texas town boasts America's only alien gravesite, sparked by a bizarre 1897 airship crash. Eyewitness reports describe a strange, disfigured pilot, capturing the imagination of UFO enthusiasts decades later. Investigative journalists uncovered lingering mysteries, including a stolen headstone and local resistance to alien hunters. Was the original story a hoax to revive the town's fortunes? Today, Aurora embraces its quirky legend, complete with memorials and kitschy alien-themed attractions.
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1897 Night Watchman Sighting
- In April 1897 a night watchman near Paris, Texas saw a "200-foot ship" and others reported strange lights across the region.
- The next day Aurora reportedly had a crashing airship with a disfigured pilot, sparking local panic and fascination.
Newspapers Gave The Story Weight
- Contemporary newspapers described an airship collision in Aurora and a badly disfigured nonhuman pilot buried with Christian rites.
- The reports arrived amid a regional wave of UFO accounts, giving the story wider credibility at the time.
1970s Reporters Rediscover Grave
- In the 1970s reporters Bill Case and Jim Mars dug into archives and interviewed locals, finding a small grave with a broken marker and metal detected hits beneath it.
- Their findings renewed interest and prompted UFO investigators to descend on Aurora seeking to exhume the grave.