No one knows for sure if aliens exist, but there are plenty of sightings in Middle Tennessee that bolster belief. According to the National UFO Reporting Center, there have been thousands of sightings in Tennessee — and 200+ sightings in Nashville alone.

Eyewitness accounts

They say seeing is believing. Here are several eyewitness accounts of UFO sightings around Nashville from the State Report Index:

Sept. 17, 2020 | “I woke up from a crazy dream and stepped out onto my second floor balcony and looked up into the sky, there were heavy clouds in a section and behind the clouds I seen lights simultaneously fluttering on and off. Then these lights would move in different patterns as though communicating.”
March 19, 2014 | “It was very cold, perfectly blue sky. I watched [a cylinder shape] come from the west, no sound at all. What was odd about it, was it looked like it may have been about 40-50 long [sic], but was covered in mist [...] As it started to come over our parking lot, I started to hear a helicopter coming from the north (probably from Fort Campbell). As soon as the copter was heard, the object made a 90 degree turn, straight up.”
Oct. 1, 1961 | “One of my friends' dads was an amateur astronomer and had set up his telescope for people to see the moon and the planets. At some point, a UFO appeared out of nowhere. [...] Someone placed a call to either the local police or to the Tennessee Air National Guard which was located just a few miles away from the school. Two jets were scrambled [...] As they approached, the UFO took off at a very oblique angle, no sound was made, and the departure was faster than you could blink your eyes.”

Want to file a report? Make like Saturn, and give the National UFO Reporting Center a ring.

What causes the sightings?

Airplanes | One possible reason for the sightings in Nashville could be due to the activity at the Nashville Internationl Airport. Even a commercial plane can create vivid vapor trails that may look like extraterrestrial evidence.
Sprites | A natural phenomenon known as sprites can occur during thunderstorms. Sprites are flashes of light high above the clouds that may resemble flashing spacecraft lights. They can appear as balls of electricity or streaks of light.
Clouds | A hole-punch cloud (a donut-shaped cloud that can look like a flying saucer) can occur when a plane flies through cirrus or cirrostratus clouds.
Optical illusions | Reflections may look like lights in the sky, especially at night. Sightings on I-40 may be headlights refracting off the windshield or rearview mirrors.

Or… maybe the sightings really are visitations from extraterrestrial tourists. The aliens might have heard about the Opry at the Ryman show series and decided to pay us a visit.