Weird Los Angeles: When UFO Hysteria Hit LA

In 1947 UFO hysteria swept across the world after Kenneth Arnold's alleged sighting of peculiar disc-like objects in US skies. Reports from Los Angeles are certainly nothing new either, and government intervention or involvement is certainly not just a modern possibility.

In 1956 over Burbank a strange craft was observed in the zenith by two brothers at 2:00 pm as they pottered outside in the garden of their grandparents. A 'shiny dot' appeared in the sky as they watched from a garden at Laurel Canyon Blvd. They stared in amazement for a few seconds before their grandfather emerged into the sunshine with a pair of binoculars and scanned the clear skies.

The mystery object buzzing through the clouds was clearly news as on the radio there were several mentions of the invader and also reports that the government had sent jets up there to intercept whatever it was that roamed the blue. With that, the government planes suddenly appeared, allegedly from Lockheed and scrambled after the object. However, the unidentified flying object simply vanished into thin air and the jets headed off over the mountains, seemingly chasing an invisible object.