Pine Bush is a very special place. It’s known around the world as a notorious hot spot for UFO’s and paranormal activity. Ask any long-time resident, and they are likely to share, in a half-whispered voice or with a chuckle, stories about backyard lights and hovering spacecraft. And now, there’s a museum celebrating that extraterrestrial fame.

The Pine Bush UFO & Paranormal Museum opened to much fanfare on June 4, and took attendees on a guided tour highlighting different displays, reenactments, archival footage, timelines, photos and artifacts — some cataloguing the science, some built for fun, but all leading you to say, “I Want to Believe.”

Indeed, there does seem to be some science behind the theories surrounding our area’s extraterrestrial draw. For one, Pine Bush exists in a very “low gravity” area, which is ideal for a flying craft of any kind. (Less energy would be needed to launch or land.) Also, it is believed by some that “ley lines,” which are drawn between and connect key historical landmarks, are where some earth energies, like magnetic anomalies, are concentrated. It is theorized that these are lines of power, especially at an intersection, and Pine Bush is reportedly smack-dab at an intersection of not two lines, but three.

“You try to explain with science as much as possible,” said Linda Zimmerman, research chemist turned award-winning author of 30 books on science, history, and the paranormal, who contributed her expertise (and some artifacts) to the museum, and was on-hand for the tour. “Then something like this (she motions to a model craft) is at treetop level, for 10 minutes, completely silently hovering over your head. Then maybe you say something else is going on here… That kind of thing makes an impression on you for your entire life.”

There is seemingly no end to the documented stories of UFO entanglements. The museum is chock-full of well-done and engaging displays and replicas — some never before seen. They collaborated with residents, county and state government, the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), aerospace experts, and many more folks, to craft a truly engrossing experience. (Please note that while the museum is family friendly, some of it may be a bit scary to some younger kids.)

There are three-minute documentaries about different sightings, including “The Silent Rectangle of Pine Bush,” which was seen by resident Carlos Torres. With that display is a finely crafted replica of Pine Bush.

Also included in the museum are some of the clearest images captured of an unidentified craft. The photos were captured by Zimmerman herself, last August, in a Crawford cornfield. “The craft was displaying non-FAA regulation lights, not green and red, but simply white. It descended and made a sharp 90-degree turn,” she said. “I was trying to rationalize, was this a drone, until it flared up so bright, like a lighthouse beacon… I can’t say it’s extra-terrestrial, but it is certainly unconventional.” She noted that not every unidentified craft is in the skies — ground anomalies are actually very common in these parts, and accounts range from orbs piercing through the woods, to floating red beams or spinning fire wheels that shoot up from the ground. And that’s not even talking about unidentified submerged objects.

Lance Hallowell, director of the museum, co-guided the tour with Zimmerman, and spoke about the Brooklyn abduction of Linda Cortile, which is one of the most well-documented and well-witnessed unexplained events ever seen. Hallowell contacted Cortile, and she drew what she remembered from the experience — going under water.

Another moving exhibit is a recreation of Betty and Barney Hill’s abduction experience, from the early 60s, in New Hampshire. The display includes haunting audio from them, recorded under regression hypnosis. Betty at one point asked her alien captors where they were being taken; she drew out their response, and ended up mapping a star system that would not be discovered by government astronomers for another 10 years.

There’s the story of Butch the Barber, from a long line of local Crawford barbers, who was with his friends crossing over the Red Mills Bridge, and saw a craft — he claimed that there were beings in the windows looking at them. Another story recalls a Pine Bush police officer in the 70s who saw a glowing craft in his backyard. And the list goes on and on.

Beyond the paranormal, there are also Sasquatch and mysterious stone chamber displays, plus a very creepy “haunted things” exhibit, which had in it a painting of a young boy from Napanoch, who one day inexplicably drove his bicycle off a cliff.

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus attended the opening, and loved the museum. “I think this is great,” he said. “It’s been long talked about — this area has deep connections to paranormal and UFO activity and to capitalize on it is just a win-win… I was in the military for almost 20 years, so I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff, and they leave you with a big question mark in your head, so I definitely am open-minded to all of it.”

Crawford Town Supervisor Charlie Carnes was also on hand and excited for the opening, and said he hopes the museum will help put Pine Push on the map as a tourism destination, along with nearby draws like Legoland, in Goshen. “It’s what we’re known for,” he said. “We talked to the state about it, and they said, ‘Go ahead and embrace it and do it.’” He talked candidly about his own experience with unidentified craft, about 15 years ago, in the Searsville area of Crawford. “I saw a spaceship in the yard, landing, with bright lights, I swear I did,” he said, noting that other people in town also had stories about it. “It was so strange, it went down, flashing, and then disappeared.”

We may never really know, but, as they say, the truth is out there.

The Pine Bush UFO & Paranormal Museum is located at 86 Main Street in Pine Bush. The guided tour lasts roughly and hour and 15 minutes, and no photography is allowed in the museum (we wouldn’t want to spoil the fun anyway). For more info visit pinebushmuseum.com.