On a quiet summer night in 1967, a teenage boy walked outside looking for flying saucers… and found something that would follow him for the rest of his life. What appeared over Brockport wasn’t just a light in the sky—it was a silent, burning object, moving with intention, accompanied by something even stranger trailing behind it. Decades later, that moment still raises a question we’re only beginning to understand: what if UFOs aren’t just craft but something connected to consciousness itself?
In this episode, experiencer Len Filppu and filmmaker Matthew Salton explore a case supported by multiple witnesses—including police officers who reported the sighting—and a story that refuses to stay buried in the past. From ridicule and silence to a lifetime of reflection, this isn’t just about what was seen—it’s about what it meant. Could these encounters be less about invasion… and more about connection? Or something far stranger—something that’s been trying to get our attention all along? Enter at your own risk… this one lingers.
Below is a partial transcript from our interview with Walter Bosley, edited for clarity and readability. For the full interview, click the YouTube link at the top of this page.
West of The Rockies: Len, take us back to that night in 1967. What did you see?
Len Filppu: On the night of August 1, 1967, I left my parents’ house to spend the night with some friends, joking that I was going out to look for flying saucers. Around 2 a.m., I saw a large orange fireball-like object emitting flames over the edge of a garage. It was moving silently, slowly, and completely horizontal to the horizon. It looked about the size of a full moon, but much closer — maybe 200 to 250 feet away, perhaps only 30 yards from where I stood.
I woke everyone up. There was also a small white orb trailing behind it, moving erratically, almost as if it were trying to get back inside the larger object. I immediately felt this was no ordinary sight. It looked solid beneath the orange glow and flames, wider in front and tapering toward the back, almost like an acorn or an egg. The overwhelming feeling was that it did not belong to ordinary reality. I had spent plenty of time looking at the night sky through telescopes, in Boy Scouts, and at planetariums. This was something completely different, and it changed me forever.
WoTRradio: What made you feel this was something not from here?
LF: It wasn’t just a light in the sky. It was an orange sphere with flames, moving very slowly and completely silently. It wasn’t a meteor, and it didn’t behave like anything I had ever seen in nature. It simply didn’t fit my normal understanding of the world.
WoTRradio: Matthew, what struck you most when you first heard Len’s story?
Matthew Salton: When I first heard Len speak at Contact in the Desert, what stood out was that his story sounded straightforward on the surface, but clearly had deeper layers to it. Other people told me there was more to his experience than just the sighting itself. That was what drew me in.
I grew up with The X-Files and Unsolved Mysteries, so I had a basic idea of what I thought UFOs were. But once I started reading more deeply, my view of the subject expanded. What interested me most in Len’s story was the consciousness and spiritual aspect of it — something I felt wasn’t explored enough in UFO documentaries. The fact that there were newspaper clippings and multiple witnesses also gave the case a weight that made it compelling on film.
WoTRradio: Len, you’ve saidit flet like it came from another dimension. What did that mean?
LF: I don’t mean “dimension” in a literal sci-fi sense. I mean it felt like it came from a different reality. I was exhilarated, not frightened. I woke everyone else up so they could see it, and we stood there watching it together. I never felt threatened. If anything, I felt an odd sense of communion with it, though I didn’t speak openly about that for many years.
At the time, though, the atmosphere around UFOs in America was harsh. Anyone who claimed to believe in or see something like this risked being mocked. My friends and I learned quickly that it wasn’t something people wanted to hear about.
WoTRradio: What stayed with you about the white orb following behind the larger object?
LF: That detail stayed with me because it seemed meaningful. At the time I thought it might be some kind of smaller reconnaissance craft that had been left behind and was trying to reconnect with the larger object. When I later found a newspaper clipping mentioning the same white orb, it became an important point for me.
I showed that article to my father, who had been skeptical. After reading it, he looked at me and said, “Now I believe you.” That moment stayed with me almost as much as the sighting itself. The orb’s movement felt purposeful, almost intelligent, and I’ve never been able to explain it.
WoTRradio: Did the fact that so many people saw it make it easier or harder to process?
LF: Yes, I think it did. The sighting was reported in newspapers right away. Two Brockport police officers saw it and reported it. Two Monroe County sheriffs saw it and reported it. There were also college officials and other witnesses. That matters, because many people who see unusual things never report them, especially trained observers.
There was also another sighting earlier that same night in nearby Churchville involving a man named Sidney Zipkin, who claimed he saw a landed craft and small beings. That story got a lot of attention and overshadowed the Brockport sighting in the press. But investigators at NICAP treated the Brockport case more seriously because it had stronger witness support and clearer documentation.
WoTRradio: Did you ever feel chosen, or do you think you were simply in the right place at the right time?
LF: At the time, I wondered whether whatever intelligence was behind the object somehow knew I was already receptive to the idea of other life in the universe. I thought maybe it was almost a message: a flyby to let me know this was real.
I can’t say that with certainty, of course. But it’s one of the questions that has stayed with me throughout my life. I was 16 at the time, and now I’m far removed from that boy. But the experience never left. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve felt more of a need to speak openly about it.
WoTRradio: Matthew, what made this case different from a typical UFO report?
MS: What made Len’s case different was the honesty and introspection in the way he told it. He wasn’t just describing an object in the sky. He was wrestling with what it meant and whether there was some kind of deeper connection involved. That gave the story emotional and philosophical depth.
That’s also why animation felt like the right medium. It allowed me to explore the inner dimension of the experience, not just the surface facts of what was seen.
WoTRradio: Why did you use animation instead of traditional documentary footage?
MS: Animation gave me a way to express what video alone couldn’t. It let me move between the external event and Len’s internal experience. In moments where he describes being transfixed or sensing something beyond the visible object, animation made it possible to suggest what was happening inside the mind as well as in the sky.
That was important, because this story isn’t just about an object. It’s about perception, memory, and meaning.
WoTRradio: Did working on this film change your worldview?
Yes, it did. I became more open than I had been before. During COVID I spent a lot of time reading UFO literature, especially Jacques Vallée, and the sheer range of stories forced me to think differently about the subject. I can’t say I believe every account, but reading enough of them changes how you see the world.
Working on the film affected not only my ideas about UFOs, but also my spirituality and sense of possibility. It felt like an act of faith in a way — following an intuition that this was the film I needed to make.
WoTRradio: Do you see a connection between UFO encounters and altered states of consciousness?
LF: Yes, I do. The sighting began changing my worldview almost immediately, and later experiences only deepened that sense that consciousness is central to all of this. I’ve come to feel that these events may not be only about objects in the sky, but about changes in awareness.
I’ve even wondered whether, if there is some outside intelligence involved, it may be trying to influence human consciousness rather than simply reveal itself in a physical way. I don’t claim to know that for sure. But for me, the experience absolutely became tied to consciousness, spirituality, and a different understanding of reality.
MS: That idea resonates with me too. Many researchers and experiencers describe a shift in consciousness during or after these encounters. That was part of why the title Psychedelic in the Sky ended up feeling right. It wasn’t about equating UFOs with psychedelics, but about recognizing that both can alter a person’s perception in lasting ways.
WoTRradio: Len, how do you understand the experience as consciousness-expanding without reducing it to psychology alone?
LF: I’m still trying to put that into words. It felt deeply synchronistic, like something arrived at exactly the right moment in my life and demanded my attention. It almost felt as though it had been meant for me, though even then I recognized how strange that sounded.
There was even a moment when I started to go back into the house to find a phone and call someone, and I suddenly felt an inner command to stop, turn around, and simply watch. So I did. I abandoned the impulse to report it and just took it in. That sense of subjective contact — of being addressed in some way — is one of the hardest parts to explain, but also one of the most important.
WoTRradio: Does Jacques Vallée’s view of UFOs as a consciousness phenomenon resonate with you?
LF: It does. I believe these experiences may involve consciousness in a very real way. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing physical there, but I think the phenomenon may be operating on more than one level at once. All I can really do is tell the truth about what happened to me and how it changed me.
MS: Vallée’s work is useful because it makes room for the incredible range of experiences people report across cultures and history. Not every encounter looks the same. Some accounts are strange to the point of absurdity, yet there may still be some underlying intelligence or pattern behind them. That idea makes the subject more interesting, not less.
WoTRradio: Do films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind get closer to the emotional truth of UFO encounters than the usual nuts-and-bolts narrative?
MS: I think they do. Movies like Close Encounters, Contact, and Arrival touch something deeper than the usual invasion story. They suggest that contact could be mysterious, emotional, and transformative rather than simply destructive.
LF: I agree. I think Spielberg’s work, especially Close Encounters, comes closer than most films to the emotional truth of these experiences. That said, movies can also shape expectations in misleading ways. Real experiences don’t always look or feel like Hollywood versions of the phenomenon, which is why listening to actual witnesses matters.
WoTRradio: Len, have you ever regretted telling your story publicly?
LF: Only once, and mainly because I wasn’t used to public attention. For many years I avoided talking about it because the ridicule wasn’t worth it. Then, much later, I was at a UFO conference and casually mentioned my sighting to one person. Suddenly a camera was on me and I was being surrounded with questions. I pulled back because I wasn’t prepared for that kind of response.
What struck me most was how different the reaction was from earlier decades. Back then people recoiled. Now some people are genuinely interested.
WoTRradio: Are there more witnesses to the Brockport case who may still come forward?
LF: I think so. In fact, I’ve heard from people whose memories were jogged by hearing the story discussed publicly. There’s also a related case in Holley, New York, not far from Brockport, involving an orange sphere seen later that same year. A friend of mine came forward only recently about it. These conversations can shake loose memories, and I think more people may eventually step forward with details.
WoTRradio: Matthew, were you concerned people would dismiss the film just becuase it deals with UFOs?
MS: Yes, definitely. That was one of my hesitations from the start. A lot of people dismiss the topic automatically. But to me the subject is fascinating precisely because it is filled with unanswered questions and so many credible people have wrestled with it over time. I wanted to contribute something meaningful to that record.
WoTRradio: Why do people seem willing to take military UAP footage seriously while still dismissing personal witness accounts?
LF: I think people still want instrument-based proof. We live in a materialist culture, so military footage and pilot reports are easier for the public to accept. But I think anomalous personal experiences deserve serious attention too. Journalists, scientists, and researchers should be willing to look at them without automatically discarding them because they don’t fit familiar categories.
MS: It may simply take time. A lot of people need institutional permission before they’ll listen. Maybe once that barrier breaks, more attention will be paid to experiencers and first-hand accounts, which have a lot to teach us.
WoTRradio: What would you say to someone who has had an experience but is afraid to talk about it?
LF: You don’t have to go public right away. There are experiencer groups where people can remain anonymous, talk quietly, and begin to process what happened without exposing themselves. Sometimes just finding like-minded people is enough to begin working through it.
MS: I’d say find people you can talk to — whether that’s through a conference, a support group, or online. The important thing is not to feel completely alone with it.
WoTRradio: What do people misundertand the most about UFO experiences:
LF: People often assume there should be one standard pattern to all experiences, but that isn’t what I’ve found. There is a wide variety of encounters, and that diversity may be part of the phenomenon itself.
MS: I’d agree. Even when people do speak openly, they often don’t tell the full story at first. There’s usually more there, and there may be connections between different kinds of anomalous experiences that we still don’t understand.
WoTRradio: Where can people watch Psychedelic in the Sky and learn more?
MS: The film is on YouTube, Vimeo, and my website, MatthewSalton.com. People can also find me on Instagram at @MatthewRSalton.
LF: For those interested in reading more about my experiences, I recommend the final chapters of Diana Pasulka’s book Encounters. I’m also working on my own book.
