Curse of Skinwalker Ranch: Who is Thomas Winterton?
Skinwalker Ranch is reputed as a hive of spooky activity. One man said to have noticed much of it first-hand is the ranch’s superintendent Thomas Winterton.
Image: Thomas Winterton | Curse of Skinwalker Ranch
Are we alone in the universe? If you’re fascinated by this question, you might have considered visiting extraterrestrial-themed sites like Roswell and Area 51.
Yet another US place long associated with UFO sightings is Skinwalker Ranch, a 512-acre property in the Utah desert. However, as the ranch is off-limits to tourists, the best way to visit it is to watch Sky HISTORY’s Curse of Skinwalker Ranch.
The series follows investigators trying to figure out why aliens supposedly can’t keep away from the place. The ranch’s superintendent Thomas Winterton has become one of the show’s big stars, but his recent ascendency to TV fame was far from planned. Allow us at Sky HISTORY to tell the story of how it all happened…
Thomas Winterton’s background
Stories of inexplicable occurrences at Skinwalker Ranch have circulated for decades. Many of these seemingly tall tales reached the young Thomas Winterton, who grew up in the Uinta Basin.
They also reached businessman Brandon Fugal — who, in 2016, bought the ranch in the hope of finally solving the various mysteries surrounding it. Were there really wolf-like creatures called ‘skinwalkers’ roaming the area? How had cattle at the ranch supposedly been mutilated? Was the property actually haunted?
Fugal was convinced that there must be a rational explanation — and that science would find it. The research team he put together included physicists Travis Taylor and Erik Bard — but Winterton’s own background is in real estate.
How Thomas joined the Skinwalker Ranch team
Thomas studied Construction Management at Southern Utah University and Utah Valley University. In May 2005, he founded Thomas Winterton Construction, where he specialised in building high-end custom homes and light commercial properties.
On the UAP Studies Podcast, Thomas revealed that he built two small boutique hotels in the Uinta Basin, including one in Roosevelt. He was running this particular hotel with his wife when Jim Morse — a close friend of Fugal’s — checked in.
Jim learned about Winterton’s construction background and asked him if he would like to carry out a property inspection at the ranch.
As Thomas recalled on the podcast, he 'gladly accepted', but found the ranch 'in a pretty sad state of disrepair'
. After Thomas helped resolve some urgent issues with the property, Brandon asked him if he would like to stay on and run the ranch.
Thomas Winterton’s role on the show
As Skinwalker Ranch’s superintendent, Thomas oversees day-to-day maintenance and security of the property. Thomas further detailed these responsibilities in an interview on the Paranormal UK Radio Show.
They include keeping cattle on the ranch 'to help us keep it grazed down so it doesn’t turn into a fire hazard'. He also oversees the irrigation system, as 'Utah is a dry state [and] if we want anything to grow here, we have to water it'.
Thomas works with security staff to ensure they have all the assets they need. Thomas also helps Bard to bring science assets — like cameras and sensors - online. Thomas told the Paranormal UK Radio Show that he has 'personally run miles and miles of network lines and power cables'.
Thomas Winterton’s biggest moments on the show
Not all of Winterton’s strange experiences with the ranch have been captured on film. However, here are several of the most notable events referenced on the show.
Thomas suffers a bizarre, life-threatening condition
One of Winterton’s early duties was to dig roads to help members of the team get around the site more easily.
'The legend here on Skinwalker Ranch is don’t dig', Winterton explained to KSL-TV. Shortly after he started digging, a mysterious bump formed on his head. Thomas recalled that 'over the course of a few days, my scalp completely separated from my skull'.
Thomas recovered, but the issue began to re-emerge in the show’s first season - unsurprisingly making his teammates extra-eager to safeguard his welfare.
Thomas comes to the rescue of an disoriented calf
In the fifth season, the team were drilling into the ranch’s rocky Mesa when they noticed a nearby calf behaving erratically. The young cow was mysteriously spinning in circles, leading Thomas to inspect it.
He noticed that the cow’s eyes were 'pure white', something Travis pointed out can be caused by microwave radiation. Thomas swiftly arranged for the calf to be seen by a veterinarian.
The vet herself, Dr Haleigh Lundgreen, remarked that both eyes had ruptured on the inside — and suggested that microwaves could indeed have been responsible.
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