Back in the late 1970s, agricultural science students at Emerson Valley University were performing tests on the soil from the nearby farmland when one of them noticed something strange. He was also interested in astronomy, so when he saw how much magnesium and nickel was in the soil, he sent it to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California for further examination. The lab confirmed that the soil did come from an asteroid. They determined the elements to be around 3-4 millions of years old.

When scientists swarmed Emerson Valley shortly after to perform all sorts of tests and digs, the town caught space fever. The rest of the world had already caught it thanks to movies like Star Wars and Star Trek, but it took knowing we had a bit of the cosmos in our own backyard for us to get on board. That was when Emerson Valley High School changed their mascot to commemorate the findings. They went from “The Rangers” to “The Martians.” Apparently, the name was chosen due to a misunderstanding that “Martian” referred to all forms of alien life, rather than just those from the planet Mars.

After the fervor died down and most of the scientists departed our town, the only vestige of that period was the high school mascot. However, rumors began spreading in the 1980s and 1990s that there might be more than just asteroid material hiding beneath the earth. A conspiracy theory developed that the asteroid carried extraterrestrial life, and that the alien microorganisms evolved just like humans into an alien life form. They called these beings the Seeders.

The Seeders are alleged to dwell within the cave systems of Blackwood Forest. Conspiracy theorists claim that the government knows about the Seeders, and have been keeping them hidden from the public for decades. However, they’re split when it comes to what they believe the Seeders want. One camp believes they are simply searching for a way to leave Earth to settle on a planet where they can life free. Another camp insists the Seeders have been secretly abducting people in the forest to experiment on them and find a way to take over our minds.

So far, neither camp has been able to produce any evidence of the Seeders’ existence. A few grainy photos of a dark figure in the forest is about as compelling as Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. Still, it makes for an interesting local legend, as very few have their origins in the stars. If it turns out the Seeders are real, then let’s just hope they come in peace.

-Sarah Donovan, Local Legends, Emerson Valley Gazette