Ufos, Skinwalker und sensorische Anomalien Die Skinwalker Ranch als epistemisch-ästhetisches Reallabor non-faktischer Narrative
Von Lars C. Grabbe | In recent years, the phenomenon of Skinwalker Ranch has attracted increasing media attention, particularly through the television series The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch (im folgenden abgekürzt als TSOSR), which has aired four seasons since 2020. The series documents a wide array of unexplained phenomena occurring on a remote site in northeastern Utah, blending observational elements typical of reality TV with features of scientific documentary filmmaking. This paper argues that TSOSR functions not merely as entertainment, but as a complex mode of epistemic-aesthetic knowledge production. It intertwines scientific communication, narrative mythopoetics, and sensory-visual aesthetics in a way that challenges conventional distinctions between fact and fiction, science and myth, objective observation and subjective experience. Through its carefully crafted storytelling and visual presentation, TSOSR creates a unique epistemological space where paranormal phenomena are both investigated and mythologized, producing a tension between skepticism and belief in the audience. This study examines how the series negotiates these boundaries and utilizes media strategies to shape perceptions of reality and knowledge. Ultimately, TSOSR emerges as a cultural phenomenon that merges scientific inquiry with mythic narrative structures, offering a novel approach to understanding and engaging with the mysterious and unexplained in contemporary media.