During the night of December 2nd, 1985, a handful of witnesses from varying states, countries, and providences would report a celestial event undocumented by most astronomers at the time, including those of the IAU (International Astronomy Union).
Many who reported on the event falsely claimed it to be a sighting of Halley’s comet, which was predicted to pass the Earth in 1986. While sightings of Halley’s comet did occur some two months later, that particular meteor would not be in its perihelion stage (the stage where the comet is closest to the sun) until February, making the event highly unlikely to be Halley’s.
Furthermore, sighted reports suggested that the celestial body dove toward the Earth at a steep angle, with an estimated trajectory directed at somewhere in Northern Canada; something that Halley’s comet has never done, given its documentation dating back to 240 BC, and an upcoming visit in 2062.
While many cite the 1758 apparition of Halley’s comet on Christmas Day as a logical explanation as to the December 1985 sighting, others have concluded these claims to be inaccurate, citing the logic as “misleading”.
Other theories as to the celestial being’s identity cite anything from meteorites to UFOs, with some explanations being logical, and others down-right science fiction.
According to an obscure, regionally-based newspaper from the territory of Nunavut, Canada, one eye-witness offered a rather unorthodox explanation.
Upon entering a clearing in the middle of the Boreal Forest in north Canada, fifty-eight-year-old Nunavut resident and local hunter Arthur Christy noticed a crater in the Earth, which he claimed was created by the formerly overhead celestial object, which he assumed to be Halley’s Comet. After approaching the crater, the hunter noticed a “rather large deer” amidst the smoldering hole. The deer, with “large antlers” and “wide, glassy eyes”, was seemingly unharmed despite the surrounding crater.
After a short deliberation, Christy decided to mercifully shoot the animal, both to collect a bounty, and also to avoid any painful injury it might’ve sustained while attempting to flee the steep crater.
Rather than using the beast for venison, or skinning it for buckskin, Christy chose to taxidermy the animal, mounting its head on the wall in his basement.
The hunter remarked that the deer was "unlike any critter (he had) ever seen, and (he had) seen a lot of them." According to Christy, the deer was extremely difficult to gut, as "its skin was like rubber." Unlike most of the deer he had killed in the past, this deer, which he nicknamed "Halley", felt "inorganic" to the touch, as if it wasn't an actual deer at all. The animal, despite the bullet wound directly through the skull and cranial cavity appeared to “never stop breathing or blinking” despite its clinical death. Yet, regardless of the strangeness of the animal's biology, Christy noted that, upon opening up the buck, its features were "normal-looking", as if anatomically correct.
Two hours after mounting the animal’s head on the wall in his basement, Christy reported a low, whirring sound emitting from the static head. The sound, which perpetually lasted for “weeks” according to Christy, sounded like a “high-pitched microwave”. Despite routinely checking the head, Christy never found a source of the sound, resorting to constantly shutting the basement door in order to sleep, both to dampen the sound and to close off the still-blinking head, which he claimed was “watching (him).”
Many rumors began circulating regarding the strange phenomenon as word around the Nunavut area, and the greater parts of northern Canada took credence. In the face of all the attention the mysterious head was garnering, Christy refused to publicly show off the deer, being the private and isolated man that he was. Many assume that, due to his media resistance, Christy was likely a fraud. However, the hunter offered a different explanation:
“It might be a satellite,” Christy claimed, “it’s been watching us, I think, and I don’t want it to hurt anybody.”
Christy reportedly locked the basement to his home in Iqaluit. When asked about where he supposed the deer-shaped satellite originated, Christy shrugged, "I think someone or something, smarter than us, made Halley. Why? Hell, I wish I knew.”
Many who heard about it at the time began relating the story of the space-bound deer to the Christmas celebration, given the convenient timing of the incident. Using the 1823 book The Night Before Christmas as a source of inspiration, the rather off-color comparison sparked the nickname “Comet” to be exchanged for “Halley”, alluding to a name given to one of Santa’s legendary reindeer.
Though the interest in “Comet” only grew in the small town of Iqaluit and the greater Nunavut area, the story would take one final sharp, and unexpected, turn.
Arthur Christy was reported missing on December 25th, 1985. The local Iqaluit police commented that foul play was an unlikely possibility, as there was no evidence of a break-in. No theft was reported from Christy’s residence, except for the disappearance of the “Comet” head, which was never discovered.
Some claim that Christy fled with the taxidermized animal, fearful to be discovered as a scam artist. Others believe Christy was abducted, having been targeted by “Comet’s” creator(s).
Who, or what might’ve taken Christy remains a mystery to this day, as Arthur Christy was never seen again.
Moreover, many who believe in the more fantastical theories surrounding the celestial deer, such as its ties to the legend of Santa Claus, believe “Comet” was not the only one in existence.
Written by MakRalston
Content is available under CC BY-SA