More than 200 years ago, the first recorded UFO sighting in Britain was made.
A man named James Cracker in Dorset claimed to have seen a silver disk flying over him in broad daylight: "The colour of this phenomenon was like burnished, or new washed silver. It shot with speed like a star falling in the night. But it had a body much larger and a trail longer than any shooting star I have seen"
This bizarre encounter would become the first of many, in what has become a phenomenon in both fictional media and serious investigations across the world. But despite its global appeal, the North East has had more than its fair share of supposed alien visitations.
The Chronicle reported that the self-described 'World class UFO organisation’ named MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) logged a total of 18 incidents in the region since January last year and the results were nothing short of bizarre.
Throughout the years reported incidents in the North East have ranged from harmless lights in the sky to far more disturbing and sinister claims.
One of the more famous examples reportedly happened to a young man in Bensham, Gateshead, named Robert Hall in the 1940s in what has been dubbed by some as the story of the 'Gateshead Grey'.
Robert told the Chronicle many years later that he spotted a ship that looked like: "a big egg-shaped thing surround by bright light".
He then claimed that he was visited by strange looking creatures resembling men with heights ranging from 2ft to 4ft who asked, in perfect English, if they could "examine" him before they took blood samples from his neck.
Just a few days later Robert was again accosted, this time by a different being, one which resembled the more typical alien with a overly large head and eyes. However, this time events would take a far more dramatic turn and his would-be abductor was spotted and set upon by Robert's uncle who supposedly killed it with a spade before its body was taken away by the authorities.
While not all of the North East's visitations have been so up close and personal, they are all intriguing and we have gathered some of our favourites through the years for you in the interactive map below...
And these sightings aren't all just a thing of the past, the North East's resident 'UFO Investigative Researcher' Glen Richardson states that the numbers of reported UFO sightings are "definitely on the increase".
Glen Richardson, who advertises in magazines and on social media, has gathered reports of UFO activity for more than 20 years.
"I first determine whether I need to speak face to face or over phone, if it's a sighting then I'll probably do it over phone. I'll get as much information as possible: size, shape, colours, sounds, movement, date, time and location.
I would then get in touch with local press, radio and police to see if anymore witnesses have come forward and even check with the police and airport to see if any planes were on the flight path of the sighting."
However, despite describing a large amount of reports coming in from the region he believes that there would be far more if people were not afraid to come forward due to the potential for facing ridicule.
The lines are also beginning to blur between the supernatural and the extra-terrestrial. David Shotten, who runs ghost walks in Durham, has suggested that many now believe that the "glowing balls of light, often called orbs" which are typically associated with spirits and ghosts may in fact be alien in nature.
David himself receives around 10 reports per year of UFO activity, often involving "orbs" of light.
Using data from UK-UFO.CO.UK, a website which collates and publishes reports of UFO sightings, we made this chart to show the areas in the North East which were most commonly visited since 2010.
Do you live in one of the UFO hotspots?
