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By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily

A recent episode of a podcast detailed a Wyoming man’s claim he was abducted by aliens in the 1970s. But the story of Carl Higdon was not the only weird story from the state to be shared on the podcast “State of Fear.”

State of Fear, a podcast that covers strange tales from different states with each episode, dropped its Wyoming-centric season finale this week.

The main focus of the episode was the alleged alien abduction of Carl Higdon, a 41-year-old Rawlins oil driller who was supposedly captured by extraterrestrial creatures in 1974.

“By all accounts…Carl Higdon was not a man prone to flights of fancy,” the narrator said. “But on the crisp autumn afternoon of Oct. 25, 1974, he had a close encounter with a bizarre being who would not only test the limits of his imagination, but quite literally take him on the ride of his life.”

The podcast said Higdon took the day off from work and decided to use the free time to go elk hunting.

While on his way into Carbon County to go hunting, Higdon spotted a pair of stranded motorists, so he pulled over to help them. As he was working on their vehicle, they told him they were also hunters and knew of a better spot for game than where Higdon was heading.

He headed toward Medicine Bow National National Forest, where he had lunch and ran into a friend.

Five minutes into his hunting expedition, Higdon came across a herd of elk. He fired his gun, but then things started to turn strange.

“He was astounded…there was no kickback from the rifle,” the host said. “What was even more perplexing…the detonation was totally silent. According to Higdon, it was as if the entire world had fallen still.”

Higdon also claimed he saw the bullet leave the gun and move slowly forward, as if it were “traveling through an invisible wall of Jell-O.” He said the bullet glided forward about 50 feet and then hit the ground.

Next, Higdon saw a figure next to him. He described it as a humanoid figure in a skin-tight black one-piece outfit that looked “like straw was growing out of his head.”

The being reportedly asked Higdon how he was doing, to which he responded that he was trying to stay calm. The being then gave Higdon four pills and told him to take one, which he did (although he said he felt he had no control over his movements).

The strange being introduced himself as “Ausso One” and then took Higdon aboard some type of space ship. The hunter recalled seeing a colossal tower on an alien world not unlike the Space Needle in Seattle, although this one was covered in bright lights.

The hosts also delved into some “weird” Wyoming facts, which included naming some of the celebrities who own homes in Jackson, focusing on Harrison Ford and his habit of using his helicopter helping with local search and rescue missions. The show also reported on an ordinance in Newcastle that prohibits people from having sex in a store’s walk-in meat freezer (although the show didn’t specify if any other freezers were fair game).

One of the hosts noted that Devils Tower is on his father’s headstone due to their shared love of the film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

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