GREENSBORO, NC -- Do you believe in aliens? More than half of Americans do and one third say they've seen a UFO.
A group of people who say they've had alien encounters met in the Triad to share their stories.
Thom Reed says he and his family were abducted in 1969. They were driving over a bridge in Great Barrington, Massachusetts when the saw a bright light. Reed says everything went silent and the next thing he knew they were in what seemed to be an airplane hangar.
"And I remember being on a cart and I slid off of it and I saw an individual maybe from here to that wall," Reed said. "And I started walking toward it he started walking toward me and he grabbed my left arm, hard, walked me down a hallway to another section and I heard my mother’s voices and yelling."
Reed's story has since been recognized as historically significant and true by the Great Barrington Historical Society and the State of Massachusetts. There is even a monument near the bridge where he says the abduction happened.
Another experience came from Travis Walton. The movie "Fire In The Sky" was based off of his story.
"I was working in the woods with six other men and when we left to go home that night we encountered a UFO hovering near the road," he said. "I got out and went up to get a closer look and was hit by a blast of energy from this craft and was taken aboard."
Walton said the push back against him has been frustrating but he believes America is coming around to the idea of extraterrestrial life and UFO's.
The conference, "Night Siege: An Unwanted Visit," was dreamed up by a Burlington man, Kent Senter. He says he's had encounters his entire life. He want people to know this isn't just something they believe.
"This is not a joke, it’s a true, it’s a reality that we keep making fun of and I just think it’s an important issue," Senter said.