The Varginha incident explained (?)

I came across this article last week on Forgetomori and just knew I had to place it in the queue for blogging.

First, I probably should provide a bit of background for the layman (men, women) who might be in the audience.

In 1996, three young girls in the city of Varginha, Brazil caused quite a stir when they insisted they saw an alien near their home.  The thing was allegedly bipedal with large eyes and bumpy skin.  The girls found it crouching near a stone wall, apparently hurt or sick.  It was said to exude a foul odor (important later on.)

Time went by and UFO investigators developed a full-fledged mythos for the incident.  First, Varginha was said to have experienced a number of UFO sightings in the days leading up to the alien encounter.  Then NORAD supposedly tracked the crash of a giant UFO in the area of Varginha.  There were reports of Brazilian military forces mobilized in the streets of the city, tracking down survivors of the crash and carrying off the dead for dissection in the U.S.

This all caused quite furor back in the 1990s.  It's nothing I can prove, but I'm willing to bet it was the inspiration for the "Mexican birthday party" scene in M. Night Shyamalan's landmark film, Signs.  So there was indeed buzz around this case and with good reason.  If solid evidence could be found, it would have been the biggest UFO event since Roswell.  However, this turned out not to be the case.

While Brazil does tend to be a hotspot for UFO sightings, it was investigator Kevin Randle who was the first to find that there was nothing to suggest UFOs were even involved in the incident.  Far more crucial, however, is the logical explanation for the sighting of the "alien."

It was well known amongst many citizens of Varginha that there was a homeless man with disabilities named "Little Luis" who frequented the streets.  Given the recent heavy rainfall at the time of the girls' sighting, they could very well have seen Luis covered in dirt and mud.  His malformed features would only have added to his "alien appearance."  They were surprised and startled by his appearance, thereby causing his alienness to become even more exaggerated through heightened emotion.  What is more, the foul odor could easily be attributed to his indigent condition.  There are also photographs of Luis crouching next to similar walls in a similar manner to the "alien" the girls claimed that they saw. 

So it appears Occam's Razor has sliced down yet another supposed incident of alien contact like it was stubble on Whitley Streiber's chin.  But don't worry.  While this does make for a tidy explanation, it is not necessarily conclusive evidence that alien contact did not occur in Varginha.

But I wouldn't hold your breath.


Follow me on Twitter: @Jntweets