Marley Woods Location Outed!

[Christopher O'Brien]

Any Paracast listeners in south central MO? If so, here's your ticket to the (in)famous "Marley Woods" location!

From the Missouri Investigator's Group Website:

"Where in the world is Marley Woods?

"UFO investigators have asked that question for years. Ted Phillips has made sure over the years that any other serious investigators would never find out by coining the fictitious name, "Marley Woods".

"The area, in Oregon County Missouri, was, maybe still is, an investigators dream; discs, triangles, big hairy creatures, dead animals, who could want more? It is unfortunate that Phillips has managed to keep it a secret. According to other investigators, some very close to him, Phillips has gone so far as to convince local residents that they should not talk to anyone but him thus ensuring that he would be the only one allowed to investigate.

"Sadly, because of his work and his health, Phillips has not been able to investigate the area the way it should have been with serious investigators who had state of the art equipment. I am posting this info with the hope that it will allow more investigators to come into the area.

"So, where is Marley Woods and where have the sightings and events occurred? "Marley Woods" is in in Oregon County, defined by Koshkonong on the West, Thomasville on the North, Thayer and Myrtle on the South, and Bardley (Ripley County) on the East.
Google Maps





"The small map below shows where some of the sightings have occurred. Here is the URL for the report descriptions. Marley Woods Oregon County"

View Marley Woods Oregon County in a larger map

REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE:

 

[DaveM]

The article doesn't mention how the Marley Woods information became available. PS... this Ted Phillips sounds anal retentive, keeping the location all to himself.

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

DON'T jump to conclusions... as w/ Bigelow, investors sometimes require NBAs, etc. Ask politely b4 you assume anything, and a little respect, please! Ted has been an investigator for over 50 years, so chill w/ us on this, OK?

 

[DaveM]

DON'T jump to conclusions... as w/ Bigelow, investors sometimes require NBAs, etc. Ask politely b4 you assume anything, and a little respect, please! Ted has been an investigator for over 50 years, so chill w/ us on this, OK?

Chris, being an investigator for 50 years isn't relevant to the discussion. What investors are you referring to? Mr. Phillips wouldn't share information about Marley Woods with anyone. He wanted to keep it all to himself. Now the situation has changed for whatever reason. Maybe some other investigators can get involved and come up with some conclusions.

It seems to me that you have made assumptions. Ted Phillips didn't want to share nicely with others. Read the article you posted. He went around and told the residents to only talk to him. If that isn't BS, I don't know what is.

 

[PCarr]

The article doesn't mention how the Marley Woods information became available. PS... this Ted Phillips sounds like a real asshole, keeping the location all to himself.

No, I think he was just trying to protect the people who let him on their land from a circus that would ruin their lives.

 

[Wade]

Chris, being an investigator for 50 years isn't relevant to the discussion. What investors are you referring to? Mr. Phillips wouldn't share information about Marley Woods with anyone. He wanted to keep it all to himself. Now the situation has changed for whatever reason. Maybe some other investigators can get involved and come up with some conclusions.

It seems to me that you have made assumptions. Ted Phillips didn't want to share nicely with others. Read the article you posted. He went around and told the residents to only talk to him. If that isn't BS, I don't know what is.

The thing I'm starting to question about this field of UFOlogy is this whole sharing thing when it comes to being expected to give others access to any information one may have happened upon or dug up. This isn't a model that you see to a great extent in other fields. It's almost a right(and to be expected) for one to gain financially first. Amittedly there are feel good stories in the scientific field where some groups share their findings with others but I bet some things are withheld and any information that is shared is usually limited to a select group or groups.

Whether it's right or wrong is one discussion, I just think finder's keepers is the norm and should be expected.

 

[Burnt State]

Ted has a very interesting history and is one of the great pioneers of trace evidence collection. What is unfortunate is that Ted never really broke out into the open to become a major player despite his cataloging of so many evidentiary cases. He seemed to fade away at the dawn of the digital age with a website that never made it past that clunky first phase of geocities styled webpages He was researching large structures in Europe was he not for a period and then Marley Woods was going to be his breakout case?

He was certainly very protective of the people there as heard on that one Paracast episode where he told some very interesting tales about the goings on in the woods. I do not remember any significant or convincing material ever uploaded by him despite some of the spectacular sightings he described.

Sad to hear that his health is failing and that he won't be able to capitalize on this story. I remember his face appearing in many early UFO docs as he literally was the trace evidence guy. I wish more came of it all. I have a soft spot for these early UFO groundbreakers, them and the early contactees. Who can resist those first forays into untried territory?


Ted back in the day with the main man.

Wade brings up some interesting points about information sharing and restriction of information strategies. I think the latter is the most common for anyone seriously investigating any field of study. Ufology, as a fledgling science & mostly rough sound the edges, has no real formalities and is still open to a high variance in procedures and interpretations.

 

[Wade]

Well one just need look around and see its as much of a business field than a scientific field, arguably more so.

 

[DaveM]

The thing I'm starting to question about this field of UFOlogy is this whole sharing thing when it comes to being expected to give others access to any information one may have happened upon or dug up. This isn't a model that you see to a great extent in other fields. It's almost a right(and to be expected) for one to gain financially first. Amittedly there are feel good stories in the scientific field where some groups share their findings with others but I bet some things are withheld and any information that is shared is usually limited to a select group or groups.

Whether it's right or wrong is one discussion, I just think finder's keepers is the norm and should be expected.

This doesn't seem to be a matter of sharing information per se. This is all about keeping the location all to oneself. I believe Phillips has known where Marley Woods was for many years and he wouldn't allow others to know. Those were years wasted where other researchers could have been investigating the area but weren't able to due to Phillips' selfishness. Those are my feelings on the subject.

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

If you re-listen to Ted's explanations, there were some benefactors that insisted the case location be kept confidential, plus the principles wanted to maintain their privacy. Listen people, I'm not a Philips apologist, but I know all about honoring requests for anonymity and the legal binding nature of non-disclosure agreements. I HATE when these things are trotted out as excuses, but they are extremely difficult to surmount. Anyone in their armchair can call Ted "an asshole" (and risk being banned if they do, btw) or they can look at this new information positively—instead of bitchin, whining and generally sounding like neophytes that need to get off their own lame asses and DO SOMETHING instead of whining about it. And by doing something I mean, become a part of the positive process of solution, rather than being just another lame voice squawking—but accomplishing nothing besides listening to the sound of their own complaining. Think what you want of Ted, but he spent decades (and many thousands of $$$) out in the field/doing the work, investigating the cases, interviewing witnesses and compiling over 5,000 potential trace evidence cases.... What have YOU done lately? Sorry if that came across too strident, but it needed to be said.

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

The article doesn't mention how the Marley Woods information became available. PS... this Ted Phillips sounds like a real asshole, keeping the location all to himself.

If I was a MO investigator held away from the "Marley Woods" case since the late '90s, I would have done the work to find out where it was and began my own investigation. The fact that no one (to my knowledge) ever did this is mind blowing to me! Well, evidently the "show me" state people got fed up not being shown, so they are getting some payback by revealing the location. Now, let's sit back and watch the free-for-all....

 

[Steve-C.]

well said Chris. Ted has always been a stand-up guy and I believed him when he said that Marley Woods had to be kept secret because of the families involved. Ted's investigations have always been lacking in financial support which is why we hardly hear from him or about him. Why someone with his experience wouldn't get a large contribution from a wealthy person to further his investigations is puzzling. I would love to hear from Ted on the Paracast sometime soon before we can't.

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

well said Chris. Ted has always been a stand-up guy and I believed him when he said that Marley Woods had to be kept secret because of the families involved. Ted's investigations have always been lacking in financial support which is why we hardly hear from him or about him. Why someone with his experience wouldn't get a large contribution from a wealthy person to further his investigations is puzzling. I would love to hear from Ted on the Paracast sometime soon before we can't.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Ted say that there was also some benefactor, or funding entity that wanted him to keep the case (and the data collected ?) confidential? I seem to remember that it wasn't only the principle witnesses and their families involved in the secrecy. Wasn't Vallee's name mentioned at some point as having visited the locale? Someone, please correct me if I'm wrong?

 

[Steve-C.]

I haven't heard that. If you find out please let me know. just don't mention Bigelow.

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

I haven't heard that. If you find out please let me know. just don't mention Bigelow.

Re-visit the Ted shows and get back to us!!!

 

[Skymon876]

Having teenagers throwing beer cans on the ground
People trampling around
Crowds of onlookers
Partiers out for a fun night in Marley Woods

All these things can be avoided by keeping a location held secret to keep the paranormal activity from being effected by groups of drunks and potheads trampling all over the place.

 

[Steve-C.]

O.K. Chris, the Paracast Jan.25, 2009 at the 6:00 minute mark, Ted says he has no funding from any entity anywhere. he was talking about the Marley Woods.

 

[Steve-C.]

Also, the last paracast that had George Knapp on it talking about skinwalker ranch also had him say Ted Phillips has some of the same activities going on at Marley Woods but he is investigating it on a shoe string budget, and that is a quote.

 

[ChrisJohnsen]

I remember listening to that Ted Phillips episode of The Paracast. I also remember being a bit peeved, at the time, that he was making all of these claims about high strange activity, yet was keeping the location secret, especially when I tried to follow up and visit his "website" to read about the events he discussed with the hope of viewing some of the actual physical evidence he claimed to have captured. What a complete and utter disappointment his "website" turned out to be, lacking any substance (and function) whatsoever. However, since he had no funds for in-depth research or for supporting a comprehensive website, nothing of any importance seems to have ever come out supporting his claims, at least that I'm aware of. From that perspective, the "secret location" would have surely benefited by being explored by other researchers with deeper pockets, as well as greater technically savvy in relation to the interwebs. Let's be honest, a decent website is just not that hard to pull together and not that expensive to host.

My thinking has evolved over the years and I understand now why a researcher would potentially choose to keep a "hotspot" of paranormal activity secret. Primarily, in my thinking, residents of the area deserve an element of privacy and if word got out there would, no doubt, be a parade of curiosity-seekers constantly traipsing through private property and disturbing the locals, especially at night (see Sherman Ranch). On a related note, residents might be reluctant to share their experiences if they thought the events would be attached to them and made public against their wishes, drawing unwanted attention to a phenomena that many small-minded people still ridicule. In addition, I'm sure some don't want the klieg light of publicity decending on their town. There are so many half-assed investigative UFO shows (cough, Hangar 1, Uncovering Aliens, Chasing UFOs, cough) it would be annoying to have them swinging through town year after year, asking the same questions.

That said, I'm less convinced of the financial reasons, especially when so little has ultimately been done to highlight the alleged activity. I get that researchers need, at the very least, to recover their costs, if not make some money to support ongoing research and to help keep one's lights on and belly full. However, Ted had enough of a head start to write a book on the subject, as well as put up a website, years ago. The fact that, to my knowledge, he's done next to nothing with any of his years of research and physical evidence he's collected means that his choke hold on the location denied the field some potential ground-breaking discoveries that would have been beneficial, had they been widely shared, to the paranormal community, as well as the public at-large. Frankly, I'm of the "use it, or lose it" mentality. I also feel that in this field of Ufology and the paranormal, the community, in my humble opinion, is best served by operating with integrity (not that Ted wasn't) and full transparency. When things get wrapped up in NDAs, secrecy and elaborate money-making schemes, we get atrocious bullshit like the latest embarrassment in Mexico City, Steven Greer's nonsense - CSETI, Stan Romanek, etc. which only serves to stain everybody legitimate who is working hard to uncover the truth about these events and phenomena.

Finally, and most importantly, I'm sorry Ted Phillips is experiencing bad health. That is truly unfortunate, because whether I agree with his secretive approach towards researching events in "Marley Woods," he seemed like a genuinely sincere and nice man. I respect his dedication to the work and his loyalty to the locals around Marley Woods. Get well soon, Mr. Phillips.

 

[Han]

Lake Vostock springs to mind:
In order to investigate it, it must be "contaminated". As in: as soon as you drill through the ice and introduce the drill to the water below, some contaminants will inevitably be carried by the drill rig.

Maybe part of Mr Phillips reason for keeping the location secret was to prevent "contamination": that is to say Paranormal experiences seem to be contagious and there are often copycat/hoaxes that follow such events, maybe it was an attempt to prevent such things happening there?

The other situation it reminds me of is that of Charles Darwin, who was eventually forced to publish his work for fear of someone else getting there first. If he had not been aware of his competitors proximity to publishing a similar theory, he would have probably waited longer before going ahead and publicly sharing his theory.

Ideas and theories are precious things to those that discover them, the concept of being the first person to discover or realise something is a very powerful emotion and can lead to fears about being given credit for the "new" ideas. However with most good ideas it is very rare that one person has them, it is usually the person who can realise or publish them first that gets the credit, this nearly happened to the Wright brothers.

One thing that I am personally aware of is that: sometimes good ideas can be used for bad things, a good knowledge of peoples weak points or desires means that you can manipulate them, and what they see/believe/accept e.g slidegate.

Yet another possibility is that: he is looking for one final yet essential piece to his puzzle, and wants to locate it before going public.