Within 1973 Wave
What Really Happened at Anthony Hill?
The Anthony Hill encounter combined a reported egg-shaped craft, ground marks and a strange figure, but the surviving evidence is thin.
On this page
- The teenagers' account and reported landing
- What the ground marks actually prove
- Why the occupant description remains uncertain
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Introduction
The Anthony Hill incident is one of the most unusual reports from Tennessee’s 1973 UFO wave because it combined three elements that rarely appear together: a claimed landed object, alleged physical traces on the ground and the reported sighting of a strange humanoid figure. According to contemporary accounts, three teenage boys near the Anthony Hill community in Giles County said they watched an egg-shaped craft descend on 1 October 1973 and later found marks where it had apparently landed. They also described seeing a large, hairy figure walking stiffly near the site. Despite these striking claims, the surviving evidence is sparse, largely limited to newspaper reports and later UFO catalogues, making the case difficult to investigate today. Rather than standing as proof of an extraordinary event, Anthony Hill illustrates both why the 1973 Tennessee wave attracted attention and why many of its most dramatic reports remain impossible to verify.[nashvillescene.com]nashvillescene.comNashville SceneThe Great UFO Wave of 1973 brought an 'Autumn of Aliens' to Middle Tennessee | News | nashvillescene.comOctober 31, 2013…
What the teenagers said they witnessed
On the evening of 1 October 1973, three teenage boys were reportedly in the Anthony Hill area of Giles County when they claimed to see an egg-shaped object descend behind nearby trees. According to reports published in The Pulaski Citizen and later reproduced by UFO researchers, the boys approached the area after the object disappeared from view.
They reported finding what they believed were signs that something had landed. At roughly the same time, they claimed to see an unusual figure described as:
- large and heavily built;
- covered in hair;
- possessing an unusually large head; and
- moving with a stiff or awkward gait.
Unlike many later UFO stories, the witness descriptions do not include extended interaction with the figure or detailed communication. The reported encounter was brief and observational rather than an alleged abduction or prolonged close contact. Later summaries have repeated essentially the same core description without adding significant new evidence, suggesting that little additional testimony entered the public record after the initial reports.[nashvillescene.com]nashvillescene.comNashville SceneThe Great UFO Wave of 1973 brought an 'Autumn of Aliens' to Middle Tennessee | News | nashvillescene.comOctober 31, 2013…
The timing also mattered. The Anthony Hill report appeared during the opening phase of the autumn 1973 UFO flap, before the nationally publicised Pascagoula encounter dominated headlines later that month. As a result, it became one of Tennessee’s earliest reports involving both an alleged landing and an apparent occupant.[Nashville Scene]nashvillescene.comNashville SceneThe Great UFO Wave of 1973 brought an 'Autumn of Aliens' to Middle Tennessee | News | nashvillescene.comOctober 31, 2013…
What the ground marks actually prove
The reported landing traces are often cited as supporting evidence, but the surviving documentation does not show that they were examined using any formal investigative procedure.
Contemporary and later accounts refer to marks or impressions at the alleged landing location, yet there is no surviving record of:
- measured dimensions;
- professionally documented photographs;
- soil sampling;
- laboratory analysis; or
- independent forensic examination.
Without that information, it is impossible to determine whether the marks were unusual or even directly connected with the reported sighting. Ground impressions can result from many ordinary causes, including vehicle tyres, livestock, farm equipment or natural disturbances. Because the physical evidence was neither preserved nor systematically documented, it cannot now distinguish between those possibilities.
This places Anthony Hill in a category common to many 1973 reports: a claim of physical traces exists, but the traces themselves no longer provide independently testable evidence. Investigators today therefore rely almost entirely on witness testimony rather than surviving physical data.[nicap.org]nicap.orgUFO ChronologyUFO Chronology…
Why the occupant description remains uncertain
The reported “hairy figure” has become one of the most memorable aspects of the Anthony Hill case, but it is also one of its weakest pieces of evidence.
Several factors limit confidence in the description.
First, the observation appears to have been brief and made under evening conditions, reducing the opportunity to judge size, distance and detail accurately.
Second, the descriptions remained fairly general. Accounts consistently mention a large, hairy being with a stiff walk, but provide relatively little detail about facial features, clothing or behaviour. This makes comparison with known animals, people or later humanoid reports difficult.
Third, there are no corroborating photographs, audio recordings or independent witness statements from observers outside the original group. The entire occupant narrative depends upon the recollections of the three teenagers.
It is also worth noting that “hairy humanoid” reports were not unique to Tennessee during the early 1970s. Across the United States, some UFO reports blended with regional folklore about ape-like creatures or unidentified humanoids. That broader cultural backdrop does not disprove the Anthony Hill account, but it does mean investigators must consider whether witness expectations or contemporary media narratives influenced how an ambiguous sight was interpreted.[nicap.org]nicap.orgUFO ChronologyUFO Chronology…
How investigators have viewed the case
Anthony Hill has appeared in later UFO chronologies and catalogues, including compilations by the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) and later reference works on 1973 humanoid reports. These publications generally preserve the original outline of the event rather than presenting new investigative findings.[NICAP]nicap.orgUFO ChronologyUFO Chronology…
The absence of detailed investigative records has prevented the case from reaching the status of better-documented incidents. There is no publicly available evidence of radar data, police scene documentation, extensive witness interviews or scientific examination of the reported landing site.
As a result, later writers have tended to classify Anthony Hill as an intriguing but poorly documented close-encounter report rather than a well-established UFO case. The story has survived largely because it formed part of Tennessee’s unusually active 1973 wave rather than because subsequent evidence strengthened its original claims.[nashvillescene.com]nashvillescene.comNashville SceneThe Great UFO Wave of 1973 brought an 'Autumn of Aliens' to Middle Tennessee | News | nashvillescene.comOctober 31, 2013…
Why Anthony Hill still matters in Tennessee’s 1973 UFO wave
Although the evidence remains limited, the Anthony Hill report occupies an important place within Tennessee’s UFO history because it demonstrates how quickly the state’s 1973 sightings expanded beyond distant lights in the sky.
The incident introduced several features that captured public attention:
- a reported landing rather than an aerial observation;
- alleged physical traces at the scene;
- a claimed humanoid occupant; and
- local newspaper coverage that helped spread awareness of the developing wave.
At the same time, the case illustrates a recurring problem in historical UFO research. Dramatic claims can become well known even when the supporting evidence is fragmentary. In Anthony Hill’s case, the original witness accounts remain the primary source of information, while the reported ground marks and humanoid sighting cannot now be independently tested.
For that reason, the incident is best understood as an unresolved historical claim rather than confirmed evidence of an extraordinary event. Within the wider story of Tennessee’s 1973 UFO wave, it remains noteworthy because it shows how witness testimony, physical-trace claims and media attention combined to produce one of the state’s most enduring local UFO stories, even though the available evidence has not materially improved over time.[nashvillescene.com]nashvillescene.comNashville SceneThe Great UFO Wave of 1973 brought an 'Autumn of Aliens' to Middle Tennessee | News | nashvillescene.comOctober 31, 2013…
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Further Reading
Books and field guides related to What Really Happened at Anthony Hill?. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.
The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects
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UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Re...
Contrasts better-documented official cases with anecdotal reports.
The Demon-Haunted World
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Relevant to understanding mass attention and extraordinary claims.
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
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Useful for evaluating extraordinary landing and occupant claims.
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Endnotes
1.
Source: nicap.org
Title: UFO Chronology
Link:https://www.nicap.org/chronos/1973fullrep.htm
Source snippet
UFO Chronology...
2.
Source: gralienreport.com
Title: the coyne ufo incident of 1973
Link:https://www.gralienreport.com/ufos/the-coyne-ufo-incident-of-1973/
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The Gralien Report...
3.
Source: history.com
Title: first alien abduction account barney betty hill
Link:https://www.history.com/articles/first-alien-abduction-account-barney-betty-hill
4.
Source: nicap.org
Title: UF O Report
Link:https://www.nicap.org/reports/521021gloucestershire_rep.htm
5.
Source: nicap.org
Link:https://www.nicap.org/Occupant.htm
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Source: nicap.org
Link:https://www.nicap.org/reports/hillradarweak.htm
7.
Source: nicap.org
Title: UF O Report
Link:https://www.nicap.org/reports/heflinhall.htm
8.
Source: nashvillescene.com
Link:https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/the-great-ufo-wave-of-1973-brought-an-autumn-of-aliens-to-middle-tennessee/article_1aedcb58-7b62-512d-9dc1-77bebdecb87a.html
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Nashville SceneThe Great UFO Wave of 1973 brought an 'Autumn of Aliens' to Middle Tennessee | News | nashvillescene.comOctober 31, 2013...
Published: October 31, 2013
9.
Source: cufos.org
Title: Center for UFO Studies REPORT N0.4
Link:https://cufos.org/PDFs/books/1973-Year_of_the_Humanoids.pdf
Additional References
10.
Source: thecoldfile.com
Title: They are laid out so the reader can weigh them, not so the most dramatic one can
Link:https://www.thecoldfile.com/articles/1966-lead-masks/
Source snippet
The Masks on Vintém Hill: The Lead Masks Case, 1966 | The Cold FileMay 26, 2026 — THE THEORIES Everything in this section is a hypothesis...
Published: May 26, 2026
11.
Source: appalachianhistorian.org
Title: The Falkville Metal Man: Jeff Greenhaw and Alabama’s Silver-Suited Mystery
Link:https://appalachianhistorian.org/the-falkville-metal-man-jeff-greenhaw-and-alabamas-silver-suited-mystery/
Source snippet
24, 2026 — THE FALKVILLE METAL MAN: JEFF GREENHAW AND ALABAMA’S SILVER-SUITED MYSTERY By Alex Hall / June 24, 2026 Appalachian Folklore &...
Published: June 24, 2026
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Source: legalclarity.org
Title: Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena,” which
Link:https://legalclarity.org/uap-crash-retrieval-hearings-whistleblowers-and-legislation/
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UAP Crash Retrieval: Hearings, Whistleblowers, and Legislation - LegalClarityJuly 1, 2026 — AARO’S HISTORICAL RECORD REPORT In February 2...
Published: July 1, 2026
13.
Source: news.virginia.edu
Title: are we alone ufo files spark questions about bias and belief
Link:https://www.news.virginia.edu/content/are-we-alone-ufo-files-spark-questions-about-bias-and-belief
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UFO files spark questions about bias and beliefMay 20, 2026 — ARE WE ALONE? UFO FILES SPARK QUESTIONS ABOUT BIAS AND BELIEF * By * Matt K...
Published: May 20, 2026
14.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=127_zN40nIM
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Pascagoula UFO Abduction: Philip Mantle on New Evidence, Witnesses & the 1973 Mississippi Encounter...
15.
Source: roadsidethoughts.com
Title: Anthony Hill (Giles County, TN)
Link:https://roadsidethoughts.com/tn/anthony-hill-xx-giles-genealogy.htm
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An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digita...
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Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKqKBVFIoPU
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UFOs/UAP/USOs, Nukes & Mind Control: Dr. Irena Scott...
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Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8v2WKsf1KA
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Pascagoula UFO Abduction (1973, Calvin Parker, Charles Hickson) - Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World...
18.
Source: zfilesuap.com
Link:https://zfilesuap.com/en/cases/pascagoula-1973
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Source: theblackarchive.net
Link:https://theblackarchive.net/en/case/011