Growing up in suburban New York, I was accustomed to summers being filled with mosquitoes. I hated it with every fiber of my being. It was made worse by my friends talking about West Nile Virus and talking about how mosquitoes would be the death of me and the rest of us. Thankfully, I didn’t die because of those winged demons, so I can continue to write about the wild mysteries I find.
For today’s Decemystery entry, we’ll be taking a trip over to Greece. Somehow, this country has never been featured in a write-up on this blog until today—despite thousands of years of history being readily available for me to cover. Well, better late than never!
Today, we’ll be headed to one of Greece’s many coastal areas—specifically Missolonghi (or Messolonghi; I’ve seen it spelled both ways, but I’ll be going with the former). It’s here where one Greek citizen’s world would be changed forever; I am not good at setting a dramatic mood, I know. Anyway, come along, dear reader; this is the story of The Giant Golden Mosquito of Missolonghi! Would you believe me if I told you that this was a UFO sighting? Yeah, this is a UFO sighting. Trust me, I’m just as confused as you (possibly) are.
The Annual Intergalactic Blood Drive
I couldn’t think of a good name for the story, so I went with that. I know it’s not exactly silly like most of the others, but let’s not focus on my lack of creativity. No, I’d rather focus on the giant mosquito-shaped UFO.
Like a fair number of UFO stories this month, I found this one while browsing through NUFORC’s archives. This is definitely going to be a regular thing come next year because there are a ton of stories on there that I want to go through, but I digress. Like plenty of NUFORC reports, the individual decided to remain anonymous, so I’ll refer to them as Kostas.
Our story took place on March 7, 2007, in Missolonghi, Greece. Located on the western side of the country, Missolonghi, as a municipality, has a population of around 36,000 nowadays, while the city itself sports a population of around 14,000. I believe this sighting occurred in the city (or “town,” as Kostas referred to it), though I could be wrong. I, honestly, don’t know much about Greece despite being of Greek heritage.
My abominable knowledge of my own ancestral homeland aside, Kostas’ sighting was actually two separate events in rapid succession; the first happened from 7:30 to 7:35 p.m., while the second was from 7:40 to 7:42 p.m. (19:30 to 19:35, and 19:40 to 19:42 for my 24-hour time readers). I have no idea what happened in the five minutes it was gone, as Kostas never elaborated upon it, but we’ll pretend it activated a cloaking device.
As for what happened while it was visible, the sun had set an hour prior. Kostas was on the balcony of his flat (or apartment for us Americans), presumably doing some stargazing, when all of a sudden, he saw a vibrant, golden object that resembled a cigar. I feel obligated to note here that cigar-shaped UFOs are among the most commonly seen UFOs out there; they’re described as resembling cigars. If this surprises you, I wish to also inform you that they are called UFOs because they’re flying objects and are unidentified.
My snarkiness aside, this was no ordinary cigar-shaped aircraft. No, it was also bright (like any good UFO; I guess they forgot to turn their high beams off) and had a “protruding thinner extension” along with a “vertically protruding” one from the upper part of the craft’s main body, which Kostas said was “a little longer” than its extension. As a result of these various protrusions, the UFO resembled a mosquito.
Topping things off, the Midas-touched UFO was also stationary, which begs the question as to how Kostas lost sight of it for five minutes—and it’s not like it stopped being immobile. He outright stated in his report that “It remained immobile at the same spot on the horizon both times it appeared.” My only guesses are that he stopped looking to go find a camera (though that begs the question as to why he didn’t send in a picture), or it disappeared before reappearing. I’ve heard of UFOs having cloaking devices, and I know that some claim interdimensional beings can phase in and out of our reality, but there’s nothing to go off of here, so I’m at a loss.
As for the ship’s size, I don’t know. Kostas said that it was “many miles in the sky” and “was three times bigger than the size” of the stars that were visible. Given how small stars tend to appear, I have to guess that this thing was not only very high up in the sky but also not that big. I could be wrong (I’m abominable at math and measuring things), but I’m doubtful that this was going for the Guinness World Record for Biggest Fort Knox-approved UFO.
There are a few other smaller details, like how some protrusions were aiming toward the sea; these various details honestly make me envision a cricket-shaped UFO more than a mosquito, especially since cigars are relatively thick. I would compare a mosquito’s body to a cigarette more than a cigar, but I digress.
Kostas ended his report by saying that he believed the UFO was “hovering over the Ionian Sea” near the island of Cephalonia. When it disappeared or flew off, I have no idea; Kostas’ report just ends there without any resolution. There is an addendum placed after this, however, but I want to save that for the first theory because it ties into that.
To say that the ending to this is anticlimactic would be an understatement. I desperately wish there was more to this than was given, but unfortunately, there is none. I’m also not familiar with any other UFOs that resemble mosquitoes; cigar-shaped ones, absolutely, those are innumerable. But ones shaped like everyone’s least-favorite blood-sucking insect, no. Nevertheless, that is where our case ends, so let’s dig into the theories because there are quite a few for us to go over!
Theories
1. Misidentification
Our first theory is one that I’m sure many ardent UFO believers have come to resent; I can’t say I blame them since I sometimes find myself frustrated by how people will label even the most unexplainable UFO reports as cases of misidentification. With this one, however, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a possibility. Why, you may ask? Well, in the report, it’s stated that there’s a military airbase located “a few miles” southwest of Missolonghi. Sadly, I’m not sure which airbase this is (unless it was relocated at some point), but I want to go off of the assumption that there was one for the sake of argument here, nonetheless.
It’s by absolutely no means unheard of for people to mistake military aircraft, especially ones doing training exercises, for UFOs. This is especially apparent if one creates a sonic boom; I recall one instance where people heard a sonic boom from a test flight, and they thought the world was ending. Indeed, some folks can be easily frightened by unfamiliar sights in the sky, even if they’re of earthly origin.
In the case of this particular UFO, I’m unfamiliar with any aircraft that resembles a mosquito. The first thing that springs to mind is an Osprey, which some might recognize due to a very recent crash that led to the grounding of an entire air fleet. That particular model, the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, had its first flight in 1989 and was formally introduced on June 13, 2007; it’s also apparently capable of remaining stationary—no word on if it can disappear for five minutes at a time before suddenly appearing.
Now, the date of its formal introduction does make me think this might have been one of them, and Kostas didn’t recognize it, but an Osprey looks nothing like a mosquito; here’s an image of an Osprey to go along with the image of a mosquito from earlier.
Now, granted, this does have two vertical protrusions that do point toward the sea, and Ospreys can fly quite high (then again, it’s an aircraft, so that isn’t a surprise). However, these protrusions come out from the sides of the main body and not from where the head would be. Kostas also described the UFOs as being “thin,” which, as you can plainly see, there’s nothing “thin” about an Osprey. Well, except for the wheels.
The most important thing to note, though, is that Kostas noted the UFO was “golden.” Now, I genuinely don’t know how well-known this is, but gold is very heavy—heavier than iron, steel, and many other types of metal. It’s also one of the densest metals on Earth. That makes me incredibly inefficient for just about anything, aside from pretty jewelry and having the most ostentatious-looking rims on your car.
Of course, it’s possible that this wasn’t actually made out of gold but rather painted a gold color for some reason. Maybe it was a test craft, or it served some special purpose. I would say either is acceptable, though I don’t know of any Osprey that has been painted such a color, nor do I know if Greece has any (or if the supposed air base had any at the time).
Now, if this wasn’t a military aircraft that Kostas mistook for some sort of mosquito-shaped spacecraft, there are some other explanations. It could have been a balloon, a cloud that looked vaguely resembled a mosquito, or some kind of straight-up hallucination brought about by sleep deprivation or stress. All three are, in my eyes, very plausible and have been known to happen; the latter would explain why nobody else apparently noticed this thing and why it didn’t move.
Unfortunately, there’s no information to go off of in the way of Kostas’ own mental state, so that’s all speculation. Though, I will say that I could easily see it being the case if he were sleep-deprived or highly stressed. I can speak from experience that sleep deprivation can make a lot of things appear all sorts of weird; couple that with stress, and I’m certain I could mistake a hot air balloon for a flying quarter or nickel. But I digress; we still have quite a few theories to go over, so let’s continue.
2. A top-secret government aircraft
This theory, by and large, has the exact same issues as the previous one—namely, when it comes to the weight of gold. If this were indeed an experimental aircraft, it would require some serious power for it to stay airborne.
Unlike the previous theory, that issue is largely irrelevant because we’re doing nothing more than speculating here—in this case, about hypothetical technology that we may or may not have. So, let’s put on our ever-so-fun tinfoil hats and speculate!
It’s believed by some that we’ve had the capabilities of things like antigravity and many other things you see in science-fiction media. Light speed travel, teleportation, cloaking devices, power armor, and so many other awesome gizmos. I’m also pretty sure there are claims about how to live for an incredibly long time, but that’s likely in a different camp.
The reasons for these things not being made readily available vary from person to person. Some think the funding scientists receive is simply too great to let go of. Others think it’s being withheld because it would shatter our understanding of science and reality as a whole. Then, of course, you have those who doubt such things exist at all. I’m sure there are other explanations, but those three are the ones we’ll be going with for this theory.
Depending on which camp you fall into will dictate if this theory is plausible or not. I, personally, like to think humanity is a lot more advanced than we actually are, though the idea of antigravity is one that’s always made my head hurt—mainly because physics and anything like it confuse me. Despite that confusion, I do think if we had the capabilities to reverse gravity, it would stand to reason that a hefty metal such as gold wouldn’t be a burden to any sort of aircraft.
Of course, that would require such technology to exist, and as it stands, we don’t publicly know of it. I also doubt the military, be it the Greek military or any other nation, would boast about having such technology. Well, unless it’s North Korea, I could see them bragging about it. Anyway, on to the next theory—and it’s a really fun one!
3. An alien spacecraft
I’ll get one thing out of the way right off the bat because it’s a staple of extraterrestrial lore. A lot of people claim that the Anunnaki—the gods whom the Sumerians worshiped—used us as slaves to mine for gold. Why, exactly, they wanted gold of all things, I cannot imagine; I would much prefer emeralds, but that’s just me.
Anyway, the point I want to make is that if you want to play the UFO lore game, you could say that this was an Anunnaki ship, and they evidently made use of the gold we gave them. Against all odds, it didn’t weigh down their spacecraft to the point they LARPed as Chicxulub. Is this possible? Well, given how advanced UFOs tend to appear, I would say yes. While I’m extremely skeptical of the claims surrounding the Anunnaki for a multitude of reasons (reasons I’ll briefly touch upon when we get to my take), it’d be silly to doubt that aliens couldn’t make good not to weigh down their spacecraft.
Additionally, alien ships are nothing if not oddly shaped, and the design of this thing is unlike anything I’ve ever heard of. Replicating the body of a mosquito for your spacecraft would be on-brand for extraterrestrials. Whether or not it’d be efficient in the way of traversal, I don’t know, but I have to imagine that whatever alien race this was, it performed quite well since they managed to hover in place over Earth (not to mention how they got to us).
On the downside, that unfamiliar ship design does make me a bit skeptical of this all. Generally, when there’s a UFO sighting, I always look to see what it looks like, be it saucer-shaped, a bright light, triangle-shaped, cigar-shaped, or really any other iconic UFO look. Although this was apparently a cigar-shaped aircraft, the protrusions are baffling and leave me wondering what practical purpose they would serve. I’ve heard of putting decals and whatnot on cars, boats, and planes, but having things sticking out of your spacecraft sounds really silly.
Despite all of that, I will say that if this were any kind of aircraft, I think it being of alien origin would make the most sense. While it’s not impossible for it to have been some sort of human craft, I don’t think there’s anything that resembles it—even an Osprey has too many differences for my liking. I also doubt we’d make something this needlessly complex; humans typically strive for the most efficient design possible, and this doesn’t sound efficient at all. But, hey, I’m not an engineer, so I won’t pretend I’m an expert. That’s just my two cents in a section of this write-up where my two cents aren’t meant to be. Anyway, on to the next theory!
4. A giant insect
I hope you didn’t think we were done with giant insects this morning! No, like any good infestation, the idea returns with a vengeance with this theory. In this case, the theory originates from the mind of your trulys. Indeed, I’m putting this one forward myself because I’m not about to let my hatred for all things insect-related go without being discussed. Why would I do that? That’s easy: I wanted to mention, once again, just how much I absolutely despise anything that can be deemed a creepy crawler. That includes mosquitoes, which I believe I’ve made quite apparent by now are near the top of my insect hate list!
Now that I’m done telling you all for the ten-thousandth time just how much I hate bugs, it’s time to get to the theory. Suffice it to say, this is deeply unlikely. Aside from Hoverflies, which can hover in one spot for 5–10 seconds (I only learned about this when writing this; it’s quite a fascinating read), there aren’t any insects out there that can float in the air for minutes on end. This thing also lacked any wings from the sound of it, so I doubt it was a giant mosquito.
Now, granted, if you want to put on your tinfoil hat and get all sorts of conspiratorial, you could say that this was some kind of gigantic interdimensional mosquito that can fly on its own without the use of wings and briefly appeared in our world, albeit in some type of stasis. However, not only would that be a monumental stretch, but it would also be truly dumbfounding that it was only noticed by one person. It’s also worth noting that this thing, based on Kostas’ description, lacked any legs. So unless these interdimensional mosquitoes evolved not to need legs (which would be quite odd), I doubt this was a big ol’ bug.
Though, hey, maybe I’m wrong, and this was a prelude to a real-life version of the video game series Earth Defense Force. Everyone better suit up because before long, we’re gonna have giant ants and robots invading! Man, those games are cheesy; I ought to play them again one of these days.
5. A hoax
There isn’t a whole lot to say about this theory that hasn’t been said a plethora of times this month. People make stuff up all the time for an array of reasons, be it clout, attention, or just for a laugh. With this story, it’s certainly possible and even plausible. Especially since nobody else apparently noticed this thing—aside from Kostas. It also apparently vanished for five minutes, but we weren’t told how it did so, which bothers me a lot.
However, there doesn’t appear to be any major gain from fabricating this story; unless Kostas wished to make a point by making the case up, it’s one of the many instances of this theory being here out of pure obligation. I personally wouldn’t put much stock in it, but it’s far from the most preposterous idea in the world. I mean, you could go with the previous one.
6. Ares
Aside from being the Greek god of war, he’s also known as the god of bloodshed. Given mosquitoes drink blood, I feel it’s possible that this was Ares masquerading as a giant, golden mosquito as he looked for some blood to shed—and perhaps causing an untold amount of property damage and jacking up the property value of Missolonghi. Just Greek deity things, am I right?
My Take
I have to admit that I don’t know where I stand when it comes to this case. I’ve devoted way more time than I care to admit to drawing up a conclusion, but none of them resonated with me in any capacity. I doubt this was a hoax, as it doesn’t really strike me as elaborate enough, but I wouldn’t rule it out. I also doubt this was some experimental aircraft; if it was, then its design is incredibly goofy.
The only two theories that struck me as plausible were that Kostas mistook something for this mosquito-shaped UFO or an actual alien spacecraft. However, in the case of the latter, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of a UFO like this one. Cigar-shaped ones, yes, but never ones that resemble a mosquito. If there are other cases like it, I would love to know, but as it stands, this is one-of-a-kind.
If I had to pick between one of those two, I’d say that the misidentification theory strikes me as the most likely. Given how the UFO apparently vanished for 5 minutes yet never moved, I wouldn’t be shocked if Kostas mistook something in the sky for a UFO. I wish I had more to say, but I genuinely spent far too long trying to decide what theory sat best with me. Of all the UFO cases this month, this one ranks as one of the most difficult—if not the most difficult. I wish that weren’t the case, but this was one where I basically threw my hands up and conceded to the story. I know that’s really pathetic, but I couldn’t come to a concrete conclusion.
On one final note, I want to circle back to the Anunnaki. I’ve debated on if I want to give them their own write-up for a while and I don’t know if I will. There are days I feel I should and days where I think it’d require way too much work to cover everything there is to the case. Heck, I don’t even know that much about them; I’ve never been that interested in Sumerian civilization. However, given I said I’m skeptical of the Anunnaki being aliens, I feel I should touch upon that now. After all, they are one of the most infamous aspects of the ancient aliens theory; I would be remiss if I didn’t address my stance on them.
The Anunnaki have been thought of by some as humanity’s creators; they came to Earth and bred with our ancestors, and we were the offspring. This, in my honest opinion, sounds like absolute nonsense, though I think Ridley Scott took a liking to it because a very similar event was showcased at the start of his 2012 film Prometheus, where an Engineer drinks a liquid and dies; his DNA going on to I believe create humanity. I have no idea if Scott knows of the Anunnaki stories or not, but they’re somewhat similar.
I will concede that I haven’t read much into it, and I’m someone who’d much rather give a theory the benefit of the doubt before I dismiss it, but I always thought the idea of humans being the offspring of aliens was absurd. There’s something about it that strikes me as so outlandish that it’s hard to take seriously. I think it’s the idea of aliens visiting Earth and, for some reason, deciding to mate with a primitive species of sapient creatures. As far as I know, there’s no real explanation for such an action, but I could be wrong. If I am, do let me know in the comments!
There’s much, much more to this theory than that, and while I was tempted to go on about other aspects, I don’t want to draw this out for another several thousand words. My point is that I doubt the Anunnaki exist in the way some believe them to, but I may still write about them since it’s a fascinating case nonetheless. If you’re into extraterrestrials, ancient civilizations, or both and want a rabbit hole to go down, the Anunnaki are seriously worth your time.
Conclusion
I have to say, I feel quite bad that I couldn’t draw up a real take for this case, but I was left utterly lost with this one. So, I shall instead resort to you guys; what do you make of this oddball UFO sighting? Leave a comment and all that hoopla that people put at the end of their content. I, honestly, can’t be asked to do that because I’m writing this after I got a flu shot, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I might have gotten a slight reaction to it. Call it a hunch because I feel a bit stuffy. Anyway, until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, and thank you for reading!
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