Alien Encounters Gives Oldest Roswell Bar New Claim to Fame

Do you remember the 1995 short documentary The Alien Autopsy? It purported to be found footage of an autopsy of one of the aliens from the Roswell incident.

It created quite a stir at the time, largely influenced by the FOX Network, which aired Alien Autopsy: (Fact or Fiction?), a special that “dissected” the footage. People wanted so badly to believe it was real. FOX was happy to oblige, except there was one crucial problem: the autopsy was a total hoax.

I don’t know if the alien autopsy hoax will come up, but Alien Encounters: Fact or Fiction, a new series from Discovery Channel, reminded me of the FOX Network special. It sounds like a similar concept, except with a broader scope. (It’s also reminiscent of Fact or Faked.)

One thing’s for sure, Alien Encounters will shine a spotlight on Roswell and its UFO incident. Because what better place to base a new series about extraterrestrial activity?

Except, Alien Encounters won’t focus on examining the Roswell crash. UFO experts Mitch Horowitz and Chrissy Newton will listen to real-life extraterrestrial encounters from all over, investigate the claims, and determine if they’re real or not.

The Bar in Alien Encounters

A certain part of the press release caught my eye in particular. It stated, “Posting up at a local watering hole in Roswell, New Mexico, a town infamous for its UFO past, Horowitz and Newton meet with individuals who have experienced strange and unexplainable encounters.”

The set-jetter in me couldn’t help but think of two things. The first was, “A bar! Perfect place for swapping stories.” The second was to wonder, “Which bar?”

Thanks to the trailer, solving that mystery didn’t take long. It shows Horowitz and Newton walking into Variety Pool Hall & Sports Bar, which advertises itself as “the oldest tavern in Chaves County.”

People have a knack for searching out places they’ve seen on TV. If history proves correct, Alien Encounters should result in healthy publicity for Variety Pool Hall. Unless, of course, the show is a total stinker. Even then, the bar will always have the “as seen in” claim to fame.

But I think it has a shot, especially because interest in the subject of UFOs never wanes. In fact, reports about UFOs, or UAPs as the government insists on calling them, are more prevalent than ever. It’s not the taboo or laughable subject it once was, so people feel more comfortable sharing their experiences.

Speaking of, let’s take a look at what kind of encounters Horowitz and Newton will investigate in the new series.

Alien Encounters Episode Overview

In the series premiere, Horowitz and Newton meet with a farming couple from California. They believe they’ve captured video evidence proving the afterlife is real. They also meet with a geologist who believes he may have unearthed the most important piece of evidence to ever come from a UFO crash site. It even leaves the experts speechless. Finally, they speak with a mom struggling to make sense of a harrowing UFO encounter. She believes it caused her neurological damage and left radiation burns on her body.

Other stories they’ll look into this season include:

• A woman seeking to understand her childhood abduction experience, which yields shocking results.
• A husband-and-wife bigfoot hunting team shares physical evidence they believe is proof of an alien presence on Earth.
• While miles apart from each other, a couple experiences the same UFO encounter.
• A Maine lobsterman who had a harrowing experience while camping is finally ready to relive the story.
• Two friends who believe they were abducted by an otherworldly force on a drive through the California desert.
• A woman traveling to Machu Picchu in Peru captures what might be the most critical photo of a UFO ever taken.
• Brothers uncover a piece of metal that they believe came from a crashed UFO.

Check-In

Which alien encounter(s) are you most curious to see if they’re deemed fact or fiction?

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.