The Blue Ridge Beacons

On May 24, 2023, numerous Virginia residents reported seeing strange lights in the night sky. They all claimed to see three lights arranged in a triangle pattern, hovering over the Blue Ridge Mountains for several hours.

Videos of the phenomenon spread online. Many started reporting recurring dreams of the lights as well, claiming that deceased loved ones were telling them to “seek out the beacons.”

Soon, the hashtag #BlueRidgeBeacons was trending all over social media.

Then, people started disappearing.

In the coming weeks, over twenty individuals were reported missing. Then, without warning, the phenomenon stopped. Authorities searched for weeks across the Blue Ridge Parkway and surrounding area. The story eventually faded from the public eye.

One year later, all the missing people returned. Numerous journalists and investigators tried to tell their stories, but only one person managed to secure an interview with all four leaders of the group, who now referred to themselves as the Order of the Trinitarians.

Peter Carswell was granted full access to their private compound outside Boones Mill, Virginia. What follows are the unedited transcripts of his interviews:

Interview #1: Douglas Kent

PC: This is Peter Carswell. I am with Douglas Kent, one of the four Messengers of the Trinitarians. Tell me a little about yourself, Doug. Can I call you Doug?

DK: Sure, that's fine. My name is Douglas Kent, I'm forty-five years old, and I know what happens when we die.

PC: You mentioned that, but let's back up. Can you tell me about your dreams and how they relate to the mysterious sightings in the Blue Ridge area?

DK: Sorry, I just get so excited about what's coming. It all started when I spotted the lights hovering over the mountains in my backyard.

PC: When was this approximately?

DK: Around May of 2023?

PC: Can you describe the lights?

DK: They were soft; they glowed like tiny moons in the night sky. There were three of them, arranged like a triangle.

PC: Did you dream about them that night?

DK: I did. I remember seeing them again outside my bedroom window. My wife told me I needed to go with them, which was odd.

PC: Why is that?

DK: My wife died three years ago.

PC: What else happened in your dream?

DK: She told me that they had chosen me. That I was to be tested. If I passed, I could see her again. We could be together forever.

PC: You disappeared two weeks later, only to reappear after a year. Do you have any memory of what happened while you were gone?

DK: We were each given access to one of our senses—a piece of the puzzle. Mine was sound. I have memories of singing winds, babbling brooks, and voices that spoke in a strange language.

PC: If you were each given a sense, then why aren’t there five of you?

DK: I thought the same thing. A voice told me the fifth one would be chosen later. When the time is right.

PC: I see. What did the language sound like? Was it like anything you’ve heard before?

DK: It wasn't made of up words, at least not anything that sounded like words. It came in different frequencies that conveyed a specific emotion.

PC: What kind of emotions did they convey?

DK: Sadness, regret, but also hope.

PC: When you returned, did you help form the Order of the Trinitarians?

DK: That's right, I helped by offering up my land—forty acres, just outside Boones Mill, Virginia.

PC: And how many people are living on the land now?

DK: There are roughly seventy of us.

PC: It looks like we're out of time for today. Thank you.

Interview #2 - Mary-Ann Roberts

PC: Thank you for sitting down with me today.

MR: Of course, I'm always happy to share our story.

PC: Could you tell me about your dreams leading up to your disappearance?

MR: I started seeing my grandfather every night before my departure.

PC: When did your grandfather pass?

MR: Oh, it's been about twenty years now.

PC: Were you close?

MR: He was the only one who understood me. Back then, my name was Michael. I felt trapped in the wrong body, but no one ever understood what I meant.

PC: Did you tell him how you felt?

MR: I did. He never once questioned it. He just listened and supported me. It was more than my parents ever did.

PC: What did he tell you in your dream?

MR: He told me to follow the lights. That I would understand everything once I got there.

PC: Was this before or after the first sightings over the Blue Ridge Mountains?

MR: This was about a week before.

PC: When the phenomenon started, did you know those were the lights he was referring to?

MR: I had a feeling, but I asked him about it in my dream the next night.

PC: And what did he say?

MR: He nodded and said, "That's my girl."

PC: How did you find the lights?

MR: My grandfather told me to go to the Great Valley Outlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, so I did.

PC: Were the others there when you arrived?

MR: They were! We had all been given the same instructions by our loved ones.

PC: What happened next?

MR: The lights appeared above us, locked in that triangle shape. They started spinning around so fast that they became a blur. I felt my feet lift off the ground.

PC: Do you remember anything from the time you were gone?

MR: I was given the gift of sight. I saw things you wouldn't believe. Things I could barely comprehend. Things I still need to explain.

PC: Try to explain anything you remember.

MR: Our solar system flew by in a flash. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, we zoomed right by them.

PC: Where did you go once you left our solar system?

MR: We kept traveling through the stars until I could look back and see our galaxy fading from view.

PC: Did they take you to another planet?

MR: Sort of? It's hard to describe. We eventually reached a black hole. It was beautiful but terrifying. When we went inside it, everything started to stretch and twist.

PC: What was on the other side?

MR: Solid ground as far as the eye can see. Beautiful, lush grass. Mountains so high they pierced the clouds.

PC: Did you see them? The ones who brought you there?

MR: No, but my grandfather was there.

PC: But you couldn't speak with him?

MR: I was only given sight—nothing else. He pointed to the sky, though, and I saw a story play out against the clouds like a projector in a movie theater.

PC: What did it tell you?

MR: It showed our galaxy flickering like a bad lightbulb. It went dark. I saw others, too, and they went dark as well. It was like someone was shutting off the lights.

PC: What do you think it means?

MR: Our universe is dying.

PC: How much time do we have?

MR: I don't know, but in the story, I saw more lights, shaped like triangles, leaving the universe and coming back to that place where I stood. They brought all kinds of strange creatures with them. To keep them safe.

PC: They were rescuing them?

MR: Yes, I think so.

PC: And you believe they'll come back for us?

MR: I do, with all my heart.

PC: That's all the time we have for today. Thank you.

Interview #3 - Bruce Hafford

PC: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.

BH: You look tired.

PC: I haven't been sleeping well.

BH: Who are you seeing?

PC: What are you talking about?

BH: In your dreams, who are you seeing?

PC: How do you know I'm seeing someone in my dreams?

BH: Your eyes gave it away. Is it a daughter, a son, or maybe a wife?

PC: Daughter. She died about ten years ago. Car accident.

BH: I'm sorry. What is she telling you in your dreams?

PC: It doesn't matter.

BH: Why not?

PC: Because it's not real.

BH: I don't think you believe that.

PC: I'm starting to wonder who is interviewing who here.

BH: My apologies. Please, ask away.

PC: When you were gone. What sense did they give you?

BH: I was gifted the sense of smell.

PC: Describe what you experienced.

BH: You know that scent when something is burning?

PC: Smoke?

BH: No, not that. It's more subtle. It's a coppery smell, like hot metal.

PC: I'm not sure I follow.

BH: It smelled like entropy and decay but not rot. More like destruction.

PC: What about your loved one? Are any scents related to them?

BH: Yes, I remember smelling his cologne.

PC: Your husband?

BH: We were never married. We didn't make it that far before I lost him.

PC: Now that you've shared your experience with the others, what do you think happens next?

BH: We wait until they return.

PC: How long?

BH: You tell me. You're the one having dreams about them.

PC: It's just my subconscious latching on to these stories. It's not real.

BH: Once you start listening, you'll have your answer.

PC: I think I've got everything I need here. Thank you.

Interview #4 - Clarissa Wintry

PC: Sorry I was late today. I had some other things come up.

CW: It's okay. Are you sure you're alright? You look flustered.

PC: What? Yeah, I'm fine. We can get started.

CW: You've been having the same dreams we did, haven't you?

PC: We're not here to talk about that.

CW: When are they coming back for us?

PC: I don't know.

CW: Yes, you do!

PC: No, I don't. Tell me about what sense they gave you.

CW: It was taste, but I don't want to discuss that.

PC: Then I suppose we can end the interview here then.

CW: Tell me what they told you!

PC: I'm not having the same dream that you all did. Just drop it.

CW: What did your daughter tell you?

PC: You spoke to the others?

CW: Of course I did. It's real, Peter. All of it. You need to believe if you want to be saved like us.

PC: Why does belief matter?

CW: Faith is what sets us apart from the rest. It's why they instilled it into us when they brought us here.

PC: What are you talking about?

CW: I tasted ash, but I could also taste the air, plants, fruit, then meals that defied description.

PC: What does that have to do with anything?

CW: We all were gifted a piece of the puzzle. Together, we could piece together the true history of our species. They planted us here like seeds and instilled faith within us. We used it to create entire religions, but that's not what it's for.

PC: So you're saying that whatever took you is also responsible for humanity's belief in a higher power like God?

CW: Whatever "God" is supposed to be doesn't matter. We created that. You need to look past our small-minded concepts. You need to believe.

PC: Why do I have to believe to be accepted by them?

CW: Because they know that believers will follow their instructions. They will listen to their commandments and prosper in the new world.

PC: How do you explain seeing our loved ones then?

CW: These bodies we inhabit are not our true forms, Peter.

PC: What are our true forms, then?

CW: I don't know; our senses cannot experience them as they are. Once we leave, our body and soul will be separated, and then we will open our eyes for the first time.

PC: Fine. She told me they will be back in seven days.

CW: Yes! Yes! Thank you, oh thank you! I must tell everyone.

PC: Why are you so relaxed about all this?

CW: I have faith. Do you?

PC: I don't know what to believe.

Approximately one week later, all seventy members of the Order of Trinitarians disappeared without a trace. An investigation into the disappearance yielded no results.

Shortly thereafter, a package arrived at the address for the Boones Mill police department. It contained audio recordings, which were transcribed for this report, and a handwritten note. I have to know the truth, it read.

Peter Carswell was never seen again.