Sketches found from a 1956 Australian abduction case

Hi all,

I have been continuing my examination of the electronic files of former US researcher Dr. Michael Swords, who kindly provided me with a copy of these extensive files. There are numerous Australian cases amongst this material, which I have slowly been going through.

This post examines an apparent abduction experience, one of the reported earliest for this country. For a comprehensive catalogue of Australian abduction accounts, take a look here.

The source for this particular early Australian abduction account comes from Sydney researcher Bill Chalker, who included it in a piece he wrote for Australian "Penthouse" magazine of November 1989, page 37.

The account

The event took place near Hughenden in Queensland, see the Google map below.

It involved a then twelve year old girl, given the alias of Miss L. She was crossing a paddock on the family farm when she felt a strange force upon her, and she heard a "humming" sound. She felt as if she was being lifted off the ground and fainted.

She awoke to find herself in a large, strange room. The room was not furnished. She noticed an arched doorway leading into a corridor; that there were porthole-like windows along one wall, and that the room had no joins or seams.

After surveying the room, which featured a coloured galaxy display on one wall, the girl felt enormous pressure and again lost consciousness.

She found herself back on the farm, but in a different paddock, with a huge saucer shaped object j=hovering above her, before it rapidly ascended to the west. The girl believed that two hours had elapsed since she initially lost consciousness.

VUFORS material

It was therefore with some surprise that I found that amongst the Swords' material were three pages of documents related to this case.

Document one was headed "UFO 1956 Cressy Station, Hughenden, Australia" and a signature which looks like "F Jedlicko." This appears to be a plan of the object as seen from above.

Document two is headed "Interior of UFO 1956. Cressy Station, Hughenden, Qld, Australia. 21 deg lat. Travelling West." It is an annotated numbered key to features shown in document three.

It is signed in the same name as document one shows, but provides the address Box 183, Elsternwick, Australia 3185. I assume this is the postal address of the witness, who at this stage, post 1956, lived in Victoria and this is why the Victorian UFO Research Society looked into the report.

Document three is a sketch with numbers, showing the girl and the two entities and various features of the room she was in.

A fascinating insight into this very early Australian abduction account. It is a pity that most of the VUFORS archives were lost with the passing of VUFORS researchers, Paul Norman and Judith Magee. 

Research

1. A search of 163 graziers listed for the Hughenden, area of Queensland, listed in the current Telstra yellow pages failed to locate a current station named "Cressy Station", or any owner whose name was similar to F Jedlicko or F Fedlicko.

2. Hughenden, Queensland is at latitude 20.85 south and longitude 144.2 East.

3. An Internet search for a "Cressy Station" located a 1963 paper concerning a Cressy Station in the Great Artisian Basin, Queensland located at latitude 21.8 deg S; longitude 143.8 deg E. This location is SW of Hughenden. 

4. Further search turned up an R S Blacket, Cressy Station, Corfield, Qld 4733. This is apparently Rob and Roslyn Blacket Corfield is to the SW of Hughenden.

5. This Cressy Station is located near Winton, to the SW of Hughenden

A more detailed map is shown below:

6. In my search for Cressy Station,  I then turned to the National Library of Australia's TROVE digitised newspaper collection . I searched for "Cressy Station" and found:

a. "Telegraph" (Brisbane.) Wednesday 13 September 1939, page 17. Owners of Cressy Station, Corfield are a Mr and Mrs R Logan, and son Alan Beaufort Logan who was then marrying Lucy Beryl Wedgwood.

b. "Queensland Country Life" Thursday 17 November 1949 page 11. Sale of rams to Cressy Pastoral  Company of Cressy Station, Corfield.

c. "The Longreach Leader" Friday 20 July 1951 page 11, records the death of Raymond Hough Logan, aged 76, of Brisbane, former owner of Cressy, Corfield.

7. The My Heritage website records the fact that Alan and Beryl had four children. I had my genealogy expert take a look for details of the four children.

We were only able to establish that one was a Brian Charles Logan; who was born in 1942 and died in 1946. We couldn't find any details on any of the other three children.

8. However, it would seem reasonable to me, that if Alan Logan married Beryl Wedgwood in 1939 then it is possible that they had a daughter who was 12 years old in 1956, a Miss Logan, our "Miss L." of the VUFORS report.

9. The name on the VUFORS held paperwork, F Jedlicko or F Fedlicko, or some similar combination of letters, could potentially be Miss L's married name, at the time she was interviewed by investigators from the VUFORs.

10. Can any blog readers throw any more light on Miss L's identity?

New book alert - "Walking Among Us" - David Jacobs

Hi all,

"I understand that alien integration into human society sounds ridiculous. The idea that alien/human hybrids are living on Earth is inherently preposterous...But as an academic researcher, I must follow the evidence where it leads." (p.1.)

This quote comes from the opening page of "Walking Among Us: The Alien Plan to Control Humanity." 2015. By David M Jacobs. Published by Disinformation Books. San Francisco, CA. ISBN 978-1-938875-14-4.

The central theme of the book is that alien/human hybrids (hubrids) are living on earth, integrating into humanity.

"My research had uncovered a substantial presence of hybrids living on Earth. This book tells how I came to this seemingly ridiculous conclusion." (p.xiv.)

What research did Jacobs undertake?

"The narrative is based on interviews with fourteen abductees." (p.xiv.) Jacobs lists these individuals providing for each, a pseudonym, birth year, birthplace and vocation. Jacobs informs us that these fourteen are from "...1,150 abduction events I have investigated over the years." (p.xiv.)

Jacobs advises (p4.) that "The raw data of abduction research is human memory retrieved through hypnosis, often administered by amateurs."

He goes on to say that "...abduction researchers rarely understand how to elicit accurate descriptions...Becoming competent with abduction hypnosis requires a thorough knowledge of the abduction phenomenon and an awareness of the pitfalls of retrieval memory. There are precious few people who are able to do this..." (pp4-5.)

"When researchers retrieve abductees' memories competently, they can give us a realistic glimpse into the extraordinary world of alien abductions." (p.5.)

He advises that "...confabulation is common in the first few hypnosis sessions and declines in subsequent attempts." (p.5.) Then states that "...inexperienced or highly trusting abduction researchers cannot identify confabulation..." (p.5.)

However, Jacobs sees himself as capable of seeing through this, and it seems he feels that he, and he alone, can cut through the difficulties he outlines. "I ask logical and chronological questions that can hardly be considered leading or suggestive....I often leave my questions open-ended so my own opinions do not influence their answers." (pp6-7.)

"With competent investigation, abductees say what they know and not what they do not know." (p.8.)

One question I have is, do we have full, unedited transcripts of sessions with the fourteen individuals? The answer appears to be "No" as Jacobs writes "In this book, I use edited verbatim transcripts..." (p2.) The non availability of full, unedited transcripts, or full audio recordings of sessions, does not allow us to check Jacobs' methodology.

Jacobs argues that "One of the critical aspects of the abduction phenomenon is that abductees all say the same thing about what is happening to them, even though they do not share knowledge of each other's experiences." (p.11.)

 I have two comments here. Firstly, that if "abductees all say the same thing..." why does he summarise the views of only 14 abductees about this questioning of are hybrids walking among us? Surely his pool of people saying this to draw on, should be 1,150? Secondly, the Internet is full of abductees sharing their experiences in great detail, which  is publicly available. There are websites discussing the question of hybrids, and individuals saying they know of hybrids, or even that their children are hybrids.

The book documents Jacob's exploration of his central hypothesis, presenting case studies from his fourteen individuals, elaborating on his thesis.

Jacobs' assertions

Among Jacobs' assertions are:

1. "While onboard, aliens require abductees to teach young adult hubrids about integration." (p.73.)

2. "Socialization - the ability to mingle among humans undetected - is an extremely important goal of the aliens." (p.93.)

3. "When hubrids move into a house or apartment on Earth, abductees are responsible for continuing to teach them about living in human society." (p.125.)

4. "And, if I had discovered hubrids in my corner of eastern Pennsylvania and in a few other places, it means that it is happening everywhere." (p.235.)

5. "Most people are not aware of the abduction program. It is clandestine. Although there are many reasons for secrecy, the most irrefutable and basic one is that the aliens do not want humans to know what they are doing. If humans knew about the program,. they would try to stop it." (p.245.)

6. "Secrecy must also extend to what bystanders may see. Thus, the craft they came in and the abduction itself are made invisible to nonabductees. Perhaps more than 99 percent of abductions are not witnessed by bystanders, although they may take place in crowded city streets in daytime." (p.246.)

How come abductees can't remember what happened?

"...abductees are under total control by the aliens...This control lasts until they are returned to their normal environment, whereupon they immediately forget the experiences they just had." (p.36.)

"...few abductees consciously recall their abductions." (p.4.)

"Abduction accounts remembered without the benefit of competent hypnosis are most often untrustworthy." (p.5.)

In summary:

"My favourite interview question is no longer: Are aliens walking among us? They are here and I know how insane I sound when I answer that question. I know that hybrids are indeed walking and living among us and they are doing so in great numbers." (p.262.)

"I began my journey in the mid-1960's being thrilled that the UFO phenomenon might signal contact with another species, It did, but not in the way I imagined. The abduction evidence has forced me to evolve into a fearful investigator. I have uncovered the alien reality, as much as I dislike it." (p.269.)

 

More comments

 

The inability to access full unedited interview sessions, or full audio recordings; combined with Jacobs' assertion that he has been able to penetrate through all the inherent difficulties of alien controlled abductees, where others have not, does not sit easy with me. It is also concerning to me, that some of his information has been obtained during dozens of hypnotic sessions with an individual.

 

On the bigger picture, Jacobs offers no evidence that he has ever sought to meet and speak with one of these hybrids, who spend large amounts of time with abductees who live close enough to Jacobs to be able to attend sessions with him several times a week.

 

There is also no mention of Jacobs having a DNA analysis done on any of these hybrids which visit his abductees. All in all, we are simply left with patterns which Jacobs tells us he has found by hypnotically retrieving memories from a very small sample of individuals.

Experiencers and "exploding head syndrome."

Hi all,

Some background:

Over the years, I have interviewed dozens of experiencers. Some of them have mentioned unusual events which occur on the sleep/awake interface. They will be lying in bed, and suddenly hear a tremendously loud sound; or see a flash of light in their darkened room, or occasionally feel a wave of heat pass through their bodies.

These events then become integrated into other unusual events, which happen to them, which they may interpret as being part of their UAP/alien experiences. However, there may just be a conventional explanation for these kind of events.

In the July/August 2015 (vol. 36, no.6) issue of the magazine "Australasian Science," writer Tim Hannon, on page 40, reports on  "Exploding Head Syndrome."

The article:

In part the article reads:

"In recent years the neuropsychological literature has been awash with reports of people describing strange experiences when going to sleep. Many of those have described hearing sudden inexplicable noises; such as unseen bombs exploding nearby, thunderclaps on cloud-free nights, or a gun fired in their bedroom by an invisible intruder. At times these sounds are accompanied by flashes of light, or by physical sensations such as intense heat."

"While some people are convinced that these explosions are real, most others acknowledge that, since they are not heard by others, the sounds must have occurred inside their own heads.

"Some have concluded that these noises must be the work of invisible agents such as aliens or poltergeists, or a government agency testing mind-control weapons...neurological investigation suggest that the episodes are symptoms of a condition labelled exploding head syndrome which may be more common than previously assumed...The neurological mechanisms responsible for exploding head syndrome are not well understood...The dominant theory implicates the reticular formation, a set of connected nuclei distributed through the brainstem, which is one of several neural systems regulating the body's transition between sleep and wakefulness..."

Hannon's article cites the recent work of Brian Sharpless, Department of Psychology, Washington State University as published in J. Sleep Res. (2015 - click here.)

Knowledge researchers need:

I have long maintained, that UAP researchers who work with experiencers need to have a basic knowledge of a number of areas of abnormal psychology (click here) , physiology (click here) and neurology (click here.). These include the topics of hypnagogic and hypnopompic imagery (click here); sleep paralysis (click here;) and fantasy prone personality (click here ); and false awakenings (click here.)

Pauline Wilson's blog posts:

For the background to the possible relationship between UAP experiencers and fantasy-prone personality by Adelaide based researcher, Pauline Wilson, please click here. For citations to seven published scientific studies on the topic, and further discussion click here.

For Pauline's take on hypnagogic imagery click here.

In summary:

I am not saying that these areas explain the totality of experiencer's accounts, but that parts of experiencers' stories are so similar to these areas of existing knowledge, that researchers need to take current scientific research into account, when trying to interpret the accounts of an experiencer.

Experiencers and dermatographia

Hi all,

In the 1990's,when I was actively involved in working with Australian experiencers, I would occasionally come across individuals with unusual body markings, which they attributed to their experiences (click here.)

I recall interviewing a young Indian woman, who had a distinctive, triangular shaped mark on the back of one hand, and who vividly recounted an alien abduction. However, close questioning of the woman, finally revealed that the mark on her hand was in fact a self-inflicted burn mark, made using the pointy end of a hot iron. It was done, as was the made up abduction account, to gain her family's attention.

In other  instances, I was unable to ascertain the exact nature of some of the unusual body markings I came across.

Fortean Times magazine:

Recently, while reading a back issue of this magazine, September 2014, number 317 page 23, I came across the topic of"dermatography." The full text of the article reads:

"Sarah Beal, 43, from Arley, in Warwickshire, has a condition called dermatographia: the slightest scratch can cause her skin to swell. This allows her to create designs and words on her body that vanish within an hour.

'My skin is so sensitive that sometimes even clothes can feel uncomfortable,' she said. 'I can scratch my arm or my back and long lines will come up. But being able to draw on my skin is so cool - it's my party trick." The Etch a Sketch comparison is pretty accurate, although I wish a good shake was enough to get rid of the itching.'

Dermatographia is thought to be caused when cells release histamines under the slightest pressure. This triggers an allergic reaction, causing the skin to swell. Metro 6 Mar 2014.

The Gang of Fort is reminded of the bite and scratch marks appearing on the arms, chest, neck and cheeks of the Romanian "Poltergeist Girl" Elonore  Zugun ( click here) studied by parapsychologists in the 1920's. For this and other examples of 'skin writing" in response to unspoken thoughts and hypnosis  see John Mitchell and Bob Rickard: The Rough Guide to Unexplained Phenomena (2007) pp 86-88, and the entry on "dermatography" in The Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology (1978), edited by Leslie Shepherd ( click here.) For a photograph of unexplained scratches on schoolgirls in Botswana in 1922 see FT69:8."

Abduction experiencers:

 I wonder if some apparent unusual body markings found by experiencers may be subconsciously caused by this process? Is any reader aware of any research in this area?

For further medical information on the condition, click here.

New book alert - Marden and Stoner

Hi all,

Kathleen Marden and Denise Stoner have written a new book titled "The Alien Abduction Files: The Most Startling Cases of Human-Alien Contact Ever Reported," published in 2013 by New Page Books, Pompton Plains, NJ. ISBN 978-1-60-271-5.

Marden, the niece of Betty Hill; and Stoner, an experiencer from Florida, have teamed up to present and discuss some first hand accounts of abduction.

The Stoners:

Denise and Ed Stoner, and daughter Dienna, experienced a period of "missing time" in 1982 while on a trip in Colorado, USA. Other family members confirmed the Stoner's late arrival to a campsite. Their only initial unusual observation, was the sighting of two yellow-white lights in the sky, prior to their period of "missing time."

When Marden moved to Florida in 2009 she met the Stoners, and an investigation began. It ensued that Denise had "...undergone regression hypnosis with a Dr Romack..." (p.48.) Marden then performed hypnotic regression sessions with Denise, in 2011.

Regression:

Marden states "I agreed to assist her, with the reservation that her pre-existing knowledge of alien abduction might color some of her memories." (p.49.)

Marden used forensic hypnosis techniques, well aware "...the hypnotist must safeguard against the possibility that the hypnotized person might construct false memories where no real memories exist." (p.49.)

Denise responded very easily to the hypnotic process, and recalled a craft, with Greys inside. When out of hypnosis Denise sketched the craft. Marden writes "It was unlike any that I had ever received...I had to consider the possibility that she might have been filling in information when a real memory couldn't be accessed. To this day it remains uncertain to me." (p.56.)

More sessions:

Further hypnotic sessions followed with Denise, and additional information unfolded, which included a description of "...a praying mantis or insectoidal being." (p.59.) In addition there was a medical examination.

Marden comments "I wondered if this was in fact an "artifactual" memory of information that had come her way as an abduction researcher." (p.68.)

Marden then conducted a regression hypnotic session with Ed Stoner. Ed recalled being in a strange environment.

Florida:

In 1991, after a day when both Stoners went cave diving, "...when in the middle of the night, Denise rose from her bed, feeling compelled to leave the motel and drive to a remote location." (p.73.) She had vague conscious recollections of the event, but Marden regressed her and  a story emerged of her encountering a craft and entities, and going on-board. Next day, another period of "missing time" occurred to both Ed and Denise. Regression of Ed provided additional information to the conscious memories.

Further chapters document Denise's growing interest in the topic of abductions following the 1982 event. In the 1980's she came across a Dr. Robert Romack who was also interested in the subject, and underwent hypnosis with him. Marden notes "During the next several weeks, they began to learn some of Denise's suppressed memories." (pp91-92.)

At this point "I asked her to search her memory for possibly youthful visitations with extra-terrestrials." (p.92.) One merged from age 2 1/2 years with further events following.

An evaluation of the evidence:

The authors argue that the Stoners "...are credible people of excellent character. Neither has a history of substance abuse or psychiatric illness...there is no reason to believe their lost time experiences were fabricated or has a valid psychological explanation..." (p.120.) However, this is followed by "Although often accurate, when a hypnotized individual is pushed for information that doesn't exist in one's biographical memory, there is a propensity to fill in missing details from one's imagination. For this reason, the information that Denise revealed in hypnosis comes with no guarantee that it is objectively real." (p.121.)

Jennie:

The authors then move on to the story of "Jennie", a woman who "...is a long-term, multigenerational experiencer, and her alien abduction events are currently ongoing." (p.137.) The authors note "It is undeniable that Jennie exhibits nearly all of the characteristics that are common among UFO abduction experiencers." (p.200.) They note that there is widespread reporting of "paranormal activity" by experiencers.

Final section and explanations:

Finally, the authors report briefly on the accounts of a number of other experiencers. They then go on to say that along the way, several hypotheses to explain these events were examined by them. "...it has been necessary for us to examine several alternative hypotheses, including psychological states (already discussed throughout this book), demonic possession, and astral entity attachment." (p.224.)

"As we move toward the end of the book, we consider it imperative to state that Denise and I have carefully weighed each of the above hypotheses and believe that each might pertain to a particular type of experience. However, one alone should not be considered an all encompassing explanation for alien abduction." (p.228.)

Their final words are "All of this supports the extra-terrestrial hypothesis of alien visitation and the abduction of humans." (p.229.)

Alien implants - when was the first case?

Hi all,

In 2003 I was fortunate to be able to publish a detailed study  titled "The Implant Motif in UFO Abduction Literature," in volume 8 (new series) of the Journal of UFO Studies.

One of the questions which I posed in this article was, when was the first case reported in the literature? I found that three cases vied for the title of the earliest published case. All three were published in 1979.

The three:

They were:

1. The Betty Andreasson case.
2. An unknown experiencer reported by Raymond Fowler.
3. Dona Clelia T.R.

I wrote:

"The third case is a little-known Brazilian event, also first published in 1979 (Portuguese translation in Gevaerd & Stevens, 1987.) In this instance, during a May 2 1976, hypnotic regression session recalling an abduction, a woman (Dona Clelia T. R. ) responded to  a question by replying 'I put a hand to my ear and he said no, that I would keep the device [inside] now; that I could not take it out by hand, that this was surgery.'" (Gevaerd & Stevens, 1987, p.143.)

Email:

Recently, I received an email from researcher Luis R Gonzalez, with some new information about Dona Clelia T. R.

Luis stated that the case was definitely not an implant one. The revised English translation of the particular questions are sourced from SBEDV Bulletin # 129-131, July-Dec 1979.

Question # 88 (DSL) "What is your impression?"

Answer # 88 (Clelia) "I think it is strange, because the pain has passed. I have put my hand to my ear and he replies that no, no, that I'm gonna have a little scar now. I should not have touched it, that it was surgery."

Question # 89. (DSL) "Surgery? What for?"

Answer # 89 (Clelia) "Because my eardrums have been ruptured. The pain was so strong."

Question # 90 (DSL) "And he gave you some stitches?"

Answer # 90 (Clelia) "The impression I had was that I had my eardrums blown apart, understood? when he spoke of surgery I ...he spoke of surgery and said..it is surgery but not like yours.

Question # 91 (DSL) "Maybe they did not know that such a noise could break your eardrums? It, they were blown up, weren't they?"

Answer # 91 (Clelia) "I do not know."

No implant:

Luis then writes to me:

"Thus, there was no "implant," just a small scar to be left because she had touched her ear, following surgery to repair her broken eardrum ( a somewhat extreme measure because usually eardrums repair  themselves in a few weeks.) Surprisingly, (or not) the investigations apparently did not check if there were really was any scar (there should have been two of them...)"

Alien abductions - the answer?

Hi all,

Introduction:

One of the pleasures in life is re-reading a book which you last read years ago. I have just had an opportunity to re-read "The Abduction Enigma: The truth behind the mass alien abductions of the late twentieth century." Authored by Kevin D Randle; Russ Estes, and William P Cone. Published in 1999 by Forge. New York. ISBN 0-312-87270-4.

Dr William P Cone is a psychologist who had some unusual childhood dreams; recurrent childhood nosebleeds, and a paralysis event. On coming across Whitley Strieber's book "Communion" he questioned whether or not he might be an abductee? Later, he went on to work in the area of satanic ritual abuse and multiple personality disorders. Between 1988 and 1998 he studied the abduction phenomenon.

Russ Estes had some paranormal experiences, including a near-death experience which led him to documentary film making and recording the stories of abductees. (For more on Estes click here.)

Kevin D Randle is a UAP researcher, with a string of books on this topic to his credit, who believes that we have been visited. (For more on Randle click here.)

Contents:

The authors start by reviewing the history of abduction claims, reaching back to the 1896 airship wave; through the 1957 Villas-Boas case (click here) , to Betty and Barney Hill's 1961 event (click here,)  and the 1973 abduction wave in the USA. One interesting insight they noted was:

" UFO researchers tended to accept these tales because of the use of hypnosis. Researchers also noticed the emotions displayed by the victims under hypnosis. To many, they underscored the validity of the memories and the research being conducted." (p.43.)

Folklore:

One chapter of the book explores the role that folklore may have played. "For those who accept the idea that alien abductions are real, there is a major stumbling block. Similar tales of abduction, though not of alien, meaning extra-terrestrial, abductions, exist throughout all of human history." (p.105.)  "Abduction tales, do not conform to the folklore tradition. However, alien abductions do mimic much of the traditional folklore. This cannot be denied." (p.115.) (Click here for more on this topic.)

Pop culture:

A later chapter examines whether or not "...these tales of alien abduction are influenced by our pop culture including science fiction books and movies...?" (p.116.) Their answer is that " Pop culture from the beginning of the twentieth century is filled with examples of alien beings and alien spacecraft that match, to an astonishing degree, the beings and craft being reported today by the abductees." (p.119.) (More here.)

Dreams:

A third mechanism or element of the creation of an abduction scenarios is to be found, according to the authors, in dreams. They discuss dreams recollected by Betty Hill; Jim Weiner (the Allagash abduction); Leah Haley; Karla Turner and others. The authors note "There are those who remember their abduction without the use of hypnosis, but many of those "conscious" memories first surfaced as dreams. These witnesses are later convinced that the dreams are real and not fantasy..." (p.142.)

The researchers:

The lengthy part three of the book looks at a number of US abduction researchers including Dr Richard Boylan (click here); John Carpenter (click here) ; Dr James Harder (click here) ; Budd Hopkins (click here) ; David Jacobs (click here); and Dr John Mack (click here). It examines their methodologies and beliefs.

The authors state that researchers in general:

* "...prime them with books and magazine articles on abduction." (p.62 re Boylan.)

* "...the consequences for some of his subjects is extreme. The damage to Leah Haley's life can't be underestimated." (p.177 re Carpenter.)

* "This case reveals how easily a subject who wishes to learn about a "forgotten" experience can be subtly led." (p191 re Harder.)

* "What this demonstrates for us is that Hopkins, like so many other investigators, leads the witness to the point he wishes to reach." (p.266 re Hopkins.)

* "Jacobs believes that you must be a good hypnotist, and if you are then you can get accurate information. He has again stumbled on a truth about the whole of the abduction phenomenon but he doesn't understand the overall ramifications of it." (p.273 re Jacobs.)

* "Mack should know that emotion in telling a story is not an indication of the truth, or a validation of the tale..." (p.274 re Mack.)

Psychological parallels:

"There is another psychological phenomenon closely linked to that of alien abduction...And just like alien abduction, the existence of it is predicated on, almost exclusively, testimony that has been recovered  through hypnotic regression, visualisation and other memory enhancement techniques. And like an alien abduction there is virtually no physical or corroborative evidence that the phenomenon exists at all." (p.265.)

The topic, the subject of chapter 18, is "Satanic Ritual Abuse." There have been hundreds of individuals who have claimed to have suffered abuse at the hands of other individuals, in a satanic setting.

What do the authors conclude, after examining details of these claims. "And it all relates to the tales of alien abduction because we can see the same thing when we study these cases. These are troubled people who find their way to a therapist. Using what he or she believes to be standard techniques, the therapist or abduction researcher, attempts to fill in blocks of missing time. Over a number of sessions, a picture begins to emerge that suggests to the researcher that an abduction has taken place." (p.284.)

Recovered memories:

The authors then discuss the nature of human memory. They point out that memory for most of us is "...patchy and episodic." (p.287.)

It is possible to confabulate. Memory is inaccurate. "...people with a poor sense of self repeatedly report that they cannot remember their childhoods. " (p.290.) Memories of false events can be implanted by researchers.

Sleep paralysis:

An exploration of the topic of sleep paralysis and associated hypnagogic and hypnopompic imagery leads the authors to state "...that 50 per cent of UFO abduction reports are the result of sleep paralysis." (p. 299.)

Evidence:

Scars, implants and missing fetuses have been put forward by abduction researchers as evidence that alien abductions are a reality. However, after reviewing the evidence, the authors find nothing of value in the lines of evidence put forward.

Hypnosis:

The authors review what we know of hypnosis and its value in retrieving abduction memories. They conclude that "Clearly, regression hypnosis is a poor tool for recovering memory, and yet, abduction researchers swear by it." (.357.) They note that the American Psychiatric Association and the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis issued a formal statement that hypnosis should not be used to enhance recall" (p.336) and "In the UK in October 1997 the Royal College of Psychiatrists issued a ban on using recovered memories in cases of child abuse." (p.332.)

Conclusions:

After reviewing all aspects of abduction research, what did the authors conclude?

* The belief of abduction research that the emotions of abductees is very real, hence the event is real, is incorrect. "There is, of course, no clinical or experimental evidence that such a claim, that is, the "realness" of the emotion, means anything relevant to this study." (p.345.)

* The statement by some abduction researchers that no one would make up such a story, is wrong "You only have to watch a few of the daytime television talk shows to realize that people would, in fact, subject themselves to ridicule and embarrassment just for the opportunity to be on national TV." (p.345.)

* The statement by researchers that there is a high degrees of internal consistency in abduction accounts, results from the sharing of this level of detail by abduction researchers themselves. "The key to understanding how so many abductees can tell stories that are so consistent when they have never met each other is because of those who conduct the research." (p.348.)

* On the origins of abduction accounts. "What we have learnt is that sleep paralysis, which is not a psychiatric illness, can account for a large number of the tales of alien abduction." (p.350.)

* Many of those who later describe abduction events remember those events with no hypnosis. They are, however exposed to researchers who believe that abductions are real. "...the investigative environment is conducive to the creation of "memories" rather than the retrieval of memory." (p.351.)

* "Many of the conscious memories of abduction come from dreams...These are not conscious memories of events but dreams that have been translated into conscious memories with a belief that they somehow reflect reality." (p.352.)

* "Human culture and folklore are filled with such tales." (p.352.)

* "Here's exactly where the evidence, all the evidence takes us. A Large number of abduction cases can be explained as sleep paralysis...some of the cases of alien abduction are the result of poor investigative techniques by the abduction researchers themselves...Hypnosis...is a poor tool for investigating abduction...The researchers contribute to the similarity of tales." (pp360-361.)

The Australian scene:

I must admit that it has been several years now since I have personally interviewed an Australian abduction experiencer. However, between the mid 1980's and 2000 I interviewed dozens of such individuals; published a couple of dozen articles in various UAP journals and newsletters, and ran an Australian Centre for abduction research. It has not been for want of trying over the last few years. Alien abductions appear to have gone away in this country. I have spoken to colleagues here, and they tell me that they still occasionally are contacted by someone with the classic abduction experience, however this is a rare thing.

Why is this a rare event? In the 1980's and 1990's dozens of experiencers came forward, either on their own accord, or in response to calls made by Australian researchers. I have spent endless hours in dialogue with such individuals listening to their stories. There was hearty debate, among Australian UAP researchers, about the nature of such experiences.

The number of such individuals coming forward decreased around 2000 and by 2013 it is down to a very low number per year.

So, why is it so? Perhaps the aliens have gone away - their task completed. Perhaps the social setting has changed and society as a whole has no need to sustain a myth about alien interaction? The main scientific reaction to such claims has been to declare them to originate in sleep paralysis episodes and associated hallucinatory states. However, people haven't stopped sleeping since 2000, and there is no reason to believe that the incidence of sleep paralysis has changed since then, so why would people stop reporting abductions if they were simply episodes of sleep paralysis?

The short answer, is that we don't know why claims of abductions have decreased in recent times.

To read my Australian abduction catalogue click here.

Over to blog readers for your thoughts and comments.

Sleep paralysis and alien abductions - a new idea

Hi all,

Every now and then a book comes along which challenges your personal viewpoint. This post is about such a book. The subject is sleep paralysis, which some researchers say is the definitive answer for the cause of alien abductions. I have only had one episode which falls into the definition of sleep paralysis. I awoke paralysed, with an "evil" presence in the room. The event was extremely real to me at the time, and years later I can still vividly recall it.

This post looks at the now four year old book by Australian,Louis Proud titled "Dark Intrusions:An Investigation into the Paranormal Nature of Sleep Paralysis Experiences. Published by Anomalist Books. San Antonio. ISBN 1933 66 5440.

I came across the book some time ago but have not made time to thoroughly read it and make notes. Now, I have.

The starting point:

"This book is an attempt to make sense of the SP phenomenon from an alternative, non-mechanistic perspective. Those of a skeptical disposition, who have little or no time for the occult or the paranormal, will find nothing of value in this book...My hope is that SP sufferers like myself, who are fed up with the official explanations of SP, will find context within these pages and hopefully, some answers too.." (pp20-21.)

"I have to admit that much of what I've written herein has been coloured - though not dogmatically so - by my interest in spiritism, an offshoot of spiritualism..." (p. 21.)

"It would be accurate to say that this book, rather than being about SP, is essentially about the nature of incorporal beings and the interactions that take place between them and us."  (p.21.)

Experiences:

Louis' SP experiences began in 2001, when he was 17. In 2003 he noted that "Whenever I felt nervous, stressed or depressed, my SP experiences would become more frequent and more intense." (p.25.)

In 2007 he "...fully recognised the fact that I suffered from SP." (p.25.)

He writes "Instead of describing any single episode - of which there is only a handful that I remember with total clarity - I will attempt to shed light on what a typical episode involves." (p.26.)

His typical episode finds him trying to get to sleep, which he finds difficult. Finally he goes to sleep. He wakes up, but not fully. "I can't move a single muscle in my body...I can't even open my eyes...this thing attaches to my forehead with delicate, loving strokes...It then moves over to the left side of my body and proceeds to lie down beside me...it puts its arms around me...fear is what it feeds upon...I force myself to wake up by fighting the paralysis...When I open my eyes and gaze around the pitch black room I see the shadow swirling over me...I jump out of bed...it's nowhere to be found." (pp26-27.)

Research:

"My research seems to indicate that the majority of SP attacks occur on an astral level and that the SP state involves a partial dislocation of the astral body from the physical body." (p.29.)

"The entity responsible for SP episodes are, by the way, able to invade one's dreams, turning them into nightmares." (p.31.)

In 2003 some of his experiences "...were of a highly sexual nature. Unbelievable though this sounds, I had sexual intercourse with female spirits who visited me in the middle of the night. This happened on several occasions. These sexual encounters were generally very intense, in many ways more so than the real thing...These encounters would always take place in a quasi-SP state, slightly different from the normal SP state." (p.32.)

Relevance to Alien abductions:

Louis writes on page 33 "During one encounter, I manged to open my eyes ever so slightly...I was rather taken aback to discover that the female being on top of me had the appearance of a half human, half alien grey."

By 2004 Louis "...began to experience auditory hallucinations...during the SP state...generally experienced  in such a fashion as to give one the impression that the sound is coming from outside oneself..." (p.34.)

"In my case...I will usually hear voices and sounds during the final moment of an SP episode, never at the beginning, and rarely during the middle..." (p.36.)

"Most of the voices speak in such a way that it seems they're trying to tell me something of great importance, something that requires my full attention." (p.38.)

"I should mention at this point that elementary sounds, and sensations of vibration and the like, do not feature strongly in my SP episodes." (p.39.)

"The sound of footsteps - which is something I've heard during many an SP episode..." (p/40/)

"A search for answers"

In 2007 Louis found an article which mentioned SP and spirits. "Bower's article makes the mistake of implying that these experiences have a physiological basis and nothing more..." (p.50.)

Louis started to research SP and chapters 4 through 17 of the book document his findings and thoughts.

His report on his investigations start with the work of David Hufford, author of "The Terror That Comes In the Night" who had an SP experience himself, then went onto conduct indepth investigations. Louis explains Hufford's work and relates some interesting observations.

One individual in Hufford's book, Jack, had SP attacks in front of his brother. The brother "...would notice that Jack's eyes were open, just staring straight out into space," and that his breathing sounded heavy and unusual. During these occasions, Jack's brother noticed nothing of a paranormal nature. (p.65.) (For Hufford's book, click here.)

"It would appear that the mind of the SP sufferer plays a role in giving shape to the entities you see," (p.66.)

Chapters 5-8:

Through chapter 5 "The Ghost of Bowling Green;" chapter 6 "The Poltergeist according to spiritism;" and chapter 7 "The Enfield Poltergeist" Louis describes his hypothesis that the poltergeist is "...an energy vampire," "as are most of the spirits responsible for SP attacks." (p.100.)

Exploring the story of Joe Fisher, a Canadian journalist and best selling author, in chapter 8, Louis states "That Fisher's death was caused by a group of malevolent disincarnate entities - who perhaps influenced his mind - might sound far-fetched and sensational..." (p.104.) (Click here for more on Fisher.)

Stan Gooch:

Stan Gooch was an English psychologist who penned a book "Creatures From Inner Space" and told, among other things, about the SP experiences of others and  himself, involving episodes of a sexual nature. (Click here for more on Gooch.)

Chapters 10, "Chico Xavier: The Pope of Spiritism" and 11, "Dion Fortune On Psychic Attacks," develops the relationship between humans and spirits.

As the SP phenomenon is inherently tied up with sleep, Louis looks at what is currently known about this topic, in chapter 14. He reports on the work of Kazuhiko Fukuda who showed that in an SP attack the brain indicated activity typical of REM sleep. There is also an explanation of the work of Persinger and Budden.

Robert Monroe:

Monroe and his work are closely examined in chapter 15. "What we have here is a definite link between the SP phenomenon and the realm of the paranormal - more specifically, contact and communication with spirits." (p.225.) (Click here for more on Monroe's work.)

"It should be clear by now that SP episode occur on an astral level, including in some cases, a partial dislocation of the astral body from the physical body..." (p.228.)

"Assuming that the astral body leaves the physical body every time we fall asleep, and that the SP state involves little more than being awake and aware during REM sleep, it would not be unreasonable to state that the only difference between an SP sufferer and a non-SP sufferer is that the former has some awareness of these astral experiences..." (p226.)

The UAP connection:

Louis explains the UAP connection in chapter 16 "Whitley Strieber and the Visitors." "...it would not be a stretch to classify him as a kind of shaman, and intermediary between this world and the world of the gods..." (p.229.) (For more on Strieber, click here.)

Louis's perspective is that "SP attacks occur on an astral level...on the other hand, alien abduction episodes occur on a physical level, or quasi-physical level." (p.240.)

"These experiences seem to suggest that the so called hallucinations experienced by SP sufferers are, in fact "astral perceptions" and therefore possess a high degree of objectivity." (p.246.)

"We have found yet more evidence to support the central hypothesis of this book - that some SP attacks are caused by, and involve contact with discarnate entities." (p.246.)

The penultimate chapter concerns Trevor James Constable, who "...claims to have photographed etheric organisms of many different varieties..." (p.254.) (Click here.)

After examining the works of Constable, Boccone and Gheorghita, Louis writes "No doubt the reader will have recognised by now that an explicit overlap exists between the UFO phenomenon and what one might term the "discarnate entity phenomenon." (p.258.)

Finally, in chapter 18 "Postscript" Louis relates his successful experiment to induce SP and experience an out of body experience or a lucid dream.

"I remain convinced that these particular SP attacks are an attempt at possession by malevolent discarnate entities and could possibly lead to other types of paranormal phenomena..." (p.265.)

"The same rule applies to SP attacks. Some of them could be caused by thought-forms, others by malicious earth-bound spirits, while others may result from a consciousness  split "between our astral and physical bodies..." (p.266.)

Conclusion:

"The findings in this book demonstrate that there exists another reality -  a 'spirit realm'- impinging upon our own, whose inhabitants influence us profoundly and play a much larger role in our lives than we come to imagine - or are able to comprehend." (p.268.)

Comments:

Of relevance here to the UAP abduction phenomenon is a note on page 32 by Louis that "According to folklore, when a succubus or incubus wishes to seduce someone, they alter their appearance in such a way as to appear more sexually appealing and more human." I recall reading a number of references in the UAP abduction literature in which someone believes that they had sex with a human being, only to realise that the being is in fact more reptilian than human.

Could it be that a constant core phenomenon, over hundreds of years, is at work here using cultural expectations and a particular periods in time, to provide a convenient explanation? I recall here, a note in  post by my former co-blogger, Pauline Wilson, (29 Dec 2010) when writing about Vallee and Aubeck's book "Wonders in the Sky." (Click here.) In that book Vallee "...recognised the difference between the core phenomenology of reports and the local language and interpretation that clothes that core in traditional accounts." (p.2.)

If you haven't read Louis' book I would recommend you track down a copy and study it.

UFO abductions - a change of tactics?

Hi all,

My co-blogger, Pauline Wilson, recently drew our attention to the precognitive sentient phenomena (click here for her post) hypothesis of John B Alexander. In one statement, Alexander, said "Every time researchers get close to an understanding of the situation, the parameters are altered or new variables are entered into the equation." (pp227-228 of Alexander's book.)

When I read Pauline's post, at this point I was transported back to the late 1980's and early 1990's. Here in Australia, we were inundated with accounts of UFO abductions. I recall spending day after day, sitting listening to Australian men and women giving me detailed descriptions of their encounters with a variety of strange entities. Many of these visitations took place in the bedroom.

My fellow researchers were also spending their time interviewing and working with these intriguing accounts. There were strong similarities in the data we were all gathering. Our discussions were all about this one type of UFO event. Overseas researchers spoke of abductions being the end of UFOs in the skies; and close encounters of other kinds. They said that abductions proved the ETH. Abductions would reveal all. The UFO phenomenon was about to be explained. Full disclosure was at hand. The aliens were here to create hybrid beings which would take over the Earth.

It seems to me that the UFO phenomenon has altered. Abductions haven't ended our research. The UFO phenomenon hasn't been fully explained. Despite what some elements of the field say, full disclosure has not happened. In fact, it seems to me, that it is the abductions which have gone away.

Close encounters:

The same may be said about close encounter reports. Colleagues I have spoken to, report a decrease in the numbers of close encounters as a percentage of total incoming reports. Back in the 1970's it seemed that every fourth or fifth incoming report was a close encounter. People reported UFOs near the ground, on the ground and UFOs chasing cars at close range. Today, just about every UFO report I read about is a vague light in the sky, often a video clip; a cluster of lights which could be balloons, or maybe an odd small angular diameter object seen in the day time. A look at the websites of Australian UFO groups UFOR(Qld); TUFOIC and UFOR(NSW) confirmed this view.

The phenomenon has altered again. Gone are the days of numerous close encounters; and gone are the large numbers of abduction reports.

What does this mean? Were we in some way getting close to some kind of understanding? If so, what? More importantly, what comes next?

"A time to remember"

Dear readers,

The English magazine "Fortean Times" is always a source of articles which make me think. Another fascinating article appears in the March 2012 issue (pp56-57) penned (or typed) by one Rob Gandy.

A management consultant, Gandy, had an unusual experience in December 2006, which he shares with us. After working on bicycle repairs, then talking to his wife, he lost a portion of his memory for recent events. At first, his wife thought he had experienced a stroke. However, the diagnosis was Transient Global Amnesia (for more click here.) His memory slowly returned.

Gandy points out that a FT contributor, Gail-Nina Anderson, who also had a TGA episode, joked that "...if she had been on a dark lonely road when she experienced TGA, she would have been able to attribute the time lapse to aliens."

Gandy then writes "A stereotypical; event in ufology is that someone is driving through the countryside at night when their car enters a luminous cloud, or similar; then the driver finds himself miles down the road with half an hour missing."

"A number of commentators have argued that many, if not all, perceived UFOs are actually forms of a rare meteorological phenomena. Therefore, my speculative interpretation of these events is that they do involve rare meteorological phenomena and these phenomena can induce TGA in humans who get too close to them."

What is the frequency of TGA?

"Estimates...varies from a minimum of 2.9 cases per  100,000 population (Spain) and 5.2 per 100,000 (USA); but among people aged over 50, the rate of TGA incidence is reported to range from approximately 23 per 1000,000 (in a US population) to 32 per 100,000 (in a population in Scandinavia.)"

Gandy argues that some people who have a TGA episode, might arrive at an interpretation of an alien abduction, in their world view.

Lost time:

"I surmise that most, if not all, reported episodes of lost time are not, "lost time: but "lost memory," and suggest that there are rare meteorological phenomena that can induce memory loss on a temporary basis."

Comments:

I find the meteorological part of Gandy's hypothesis a bit of a stretch. Why do we need a rare meteorological phenomena to cause a TGA? TGA's happen to some people, in a variety of circumstances.

I do however, think that TGAs may have an involvement in some UFO encounters. Just as hypnagogic and hypnopompic imagery; (click here);  fantasy proneness; (click here) sleep paralysis (click here for a detailed article by Keith Basterfield) ; migraines (click here); false awakenings (click here)  and other conditions seem to be involved in some encounters. TGAs may account for element of some such events. Perhaps, many abduction accounts may involve one, or a combination of these triggers?

"Ultraterrestrial contact" part two

Dear readers

My apologies for the last post which mysteriously ended at "Portals." Somehow, even after showing the whole post in "Preview;" when published the last section disappeared! Here it is.

Portals:

"There are several places on Earth that seem to serve as portals to other dimensions adjacent to our own." (p.179.) Imbrogno includes the Hudson River Valley in New York, in this list. "The locations I've mentioned above are not randomly placed; they are in fact located on nodes or twisting points in our planet's magnetic field." (p.179.)

Cover-up?

"Since the 1950's, people with great interest in the UFO phenomenon have thought the US government knows more than it is willing to admit, concealing and suppressing the spread of information." (p.245.)

"I believe that a small part of the government attached to our intelligence agencies does in fact have information about UFOs, hidden from the public, congress, and the military." (p.246.)

Mystery:

Among the 1983 Hudson River Valley UFO observations, came sightings of "mystery aircraft." Imbrogno and others tracked a group of aircraft to Stewart International Airport and a supposedly closed section.

Conclusion:

"The contact phenomenon is very real...The contact phenomenon affects people from all walks of life, from every culture around the world. No particular race, religion, or level of education is immune." (p.287.)

"Ultraterrestrial contact"

Dear readers

Welcome to another cold, wet, cloudy winter's day here in Adelaide, South Australia. Today's post is about a book I missed out reading, when it came out last year. It is titled "Ultraterrestrial Contact: A Paranormal Investigator's Explorations into the Hidden Abduction Epidemic" by Philip J Imbrogno, published by Llewellyn Publications, Woodbury, Minnesota. ISBN 978-0-7387-1959-7.

I like to read the work of longterm UFO researchers to learn what views they have formed over time. Imbrogno is an American who has looked into UFOs and the paranormal, for thirty plus years.

Hudson Valley:

Imbrogno was in the right place to study the mystery of the large, black, triangular UFOs which were observed by hundreds of people in the Hudson River Valley in the USA, in the 1980's and 1990's. Chapter 2 of the book provides example after example of these sightings.

Contact:

Hidden behind the observations of triangles Imbrogno found numerous accounts of contact. "Evidence also indicates the intelligence behind contact phenomena has established communication with thousands of individuals on our tiny planet." (p.61.)

"I believe evidence indicates that in many cases, we are not dealing with a physical phenomenion, per se. It is my belief that many UFO sightings and claims of contact are the product of psychic (and on occasion, physical) communication with an incorporal life form." (p.62.)

"...I believe every close encounter is purposeful, not accidental. My analysis has me convinced that many cases of this type are types of pre-contact experience." (p.65.)

Chapter three:

"The Contact Phenomenon" contains a variety of encounter cases. A typical case was that of "Jane" who on 20 Jun 1992, retired to bed at 11pm. At 3.35am a beam of light shone on her bed. Now awake, she found her body paralyzed. Her husband lay in bed on his back and unresponsive. A figure materialized at the foot of the bed. The being spoke to Jane and told her she would be receiving messages. "...that would help the human race throughout the very hard times approaching in the future." (p.79.)

Abductions:

Chapter four moves into the area of abduction cases. A typical example is "Maria" and "George" in 1992, from, Newburgh, New York.

From childhood, Maria saw "ghosts" and George had unusual dreams and UFO sightings. Once married other things happened. "George feels he has been chosen by an alien intelligence to perform some function in the future." (p.123.) Gray aliens abducted them. Electromagnetic disturbances occurred in their home. Interestingly, "Maria generally has more of a recollection of seeing the beings than George..." (p.125.)

Nocturnal visits:

"My research has shown that the strangest, most bizarre occurrences take place at around three in the morning." (p.139.)

Legends:

Deviating from stories of close encounters, and abductions, chapter six takes a look at fairies, and spirits. Imbrogno relates accounts of sightings of these types of beings in US pre-colonial times.

Portals:

"There are several

Memories of abductions - only a dream?

Some abductees recall having experiences during the night, but find difficulty in being able to say whether their recollections are dreams or real events. Some recent scientific research may be able to assist.

How memories of dreams are made:

In the 7 May 2011 issue of the "New Scientist" magazine (page 16) there is an article titled "How memory of dreams are made," by Andy Coghlan. The article reads:

"Why do we remember some dreams but not others? It's because the brain mechanism that controls whether we remember or forget things when we are awake is involved.

"So says Luigi De Gennaro at the University of Rome, Italy, and his team, who used an electroencephalogram (EEG) to monitor the brain activity of students as they slept. The team monitored 65 students; 30 who habitually wake up while in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and 35 who usually wake up in stage 2 non-REM sleep. About two thirds of both groups recalled dreams during the study.

"Those who wake during REM sleep and successfully recalled their dreams were more likely to demonstrate a pattern of EEG oscillations called theta waves in frontal and prefrontal cortex areas-the parts of the brain where our most advanced thinking occurs. "The kind of EEG oscillations and the cortical region involved are the same as those important for recalling memory in awake subjects," says De Gennaro.

"In non-REM wakers, those who remembered their dreams had patterns of alpha wave activity in the right temporal lobe - involved in recognising emotional events - that resembled activity known to be key for recall while awake. (Journal of Neuroscience, DOI:10.1523/jneurosci.0412-11-2011.)

"The upshot is that even when we are asleep, the same parts of the brain are on the alert for things to remember. These are often events that are emotionally charged, and that the brain deems important, whether we are awake or not.

"De Gennaro says the results are the first evidence that the physiology by which memories are stored is the same whether we are awake or asleep. "These findings are similar to known EEG patterns in wakeful memory recollection, suggesting a continuum of cerebral processes throughout the sleep-wake cycle," says Michael Czisch, who studies sleep at the Max Planck Institute of psychiatry in Munich, Germany.

My comments:

This is a very interesting article.

In my own work with Australian experiencers who report nocturnal abductions, I like to ask them these couple of questions. One is, what time did you fall asleep the night of the abduction? Do you know what time the abduction event occurred? With the latter question, some people did check their bedside clock, others do not know.

If they do know both times, then I do a calculation to determine the time interval between going to bed (rough time of falling asleep) and the event. We know that we cycle through the stages of sleep at roughly ninety minute intervals. So if we fall asleep at say 11pm and the event happens at 2am, then the time interval is 3 hours or roughly two sleep cycles, and we are likely to be in REM (rapid eye movement) or dream sleep at 2am.

If you are in REM sleep at the time of the event then it is possible that the event is a dream.

Childhood abductions and false memories

Hi all

Introduction:

During the 1980's and 1990's I undertook a large amount of research into UFO abduction accounts, reported by individuals, both in Australia, and elsewhere in the world. I was the only Australian abduction researcher to present at the global 1992 abduction conference held at MIT.

Like every other abduction researcher I was confronted by adults who recalled childhood abductions, and by children who told of personal encounters.

A Melbourne six year old boy told of little men entering his bedroom; Wayne, aged 35 from Tasmania spoke of recalling events from age 4; a Sydney man related memories of an encounter at age 3 or 4 while in England.

I wondered as to the reliability of adults remembering things from a young age,and I wondered as to the reliability of children's' accounts.

The Grand Delusion:

Recently, I was reading New Scientist magazine (number 2812, p38 dated 14 May 2011)and noted an article by Graham Lawton, titled "The Grand Delusion." Part of it seemed relevant to my wonderings.

"We've known since the 1960's that memory isn't like a video recording - it's reconstructive," says psychologist David Gallo of the University of Chicago." Memory is fallible and suggestible.

"It is probably true that all autobiographical memories are suspect" Kimberley Wade, University of Warwick. Research has shown some of our memories of specific events are false."

The last comment about specific event memories, made me question whether anyone had undertaken research into the possibilities of inducing false memories into children?
I went to the net and found that, not only had someone looked at this very topic, they had done it using a false memory of a UFO abduction! How specific could you get?

Abducted by a UFO:

The article was titled "Abducted by a UFO: Prevalence Information Affects Young Children's False Memories of an Implausible Event."

Authored by Henry Otgaar; Ingrid Candel; Harald Merckelbach and Kimberley Wade it appeared in the Journal "Applied Cognitive Psychology" 2009. 23:115-125.

The article summary reads:

"This study examines whether prevalence information promotes children's false memories for an implausible event. Forty-four 7-8 and forty-seven 11-12 year old children heard a true narrative about their first school day and a false narration about either an implausible event (abducted by a UFO)or a plausible event (almost chocking on a candy.) Moreover, half of the children in each condition received prevalence information in the form of a false newspaper article while listening to the narratives.

Across two interviews, children were asked to report everything they remembered about the event. In both age groups, plausible and implausible events were equally likely to give rise to false memories.

Prevalance information increased the number of false memories in 7-8 year olds, but not in 11-12 year olds at interview 1.

Our findings demonstrate that young children can easily develop false memories of a highly implausible event."

The true narratives were such things as the child's first day at school, verified by their parents.

One false narrative was:

"Abducted by a UFO: Your mother told me that when you were 4 years old, you were abducted by a UFO. This happened when you were alone outside. Your mother was inside the house. The she suddenly saw through the window that a UFO took you."

Findings:

Among the study findings was "A substantial number of children (over 70%) falsely remembered that they were abducted by a UFO. Although previous studies have looked at the cognitive characteristics of individuals who report UFO abductions (Clancy, McNally, Schacter, Lenzenweger & Pitman, 2002; McNally,Lasko, Clancy, Macklin, Pitman and Orr, 2004) this is the first study that succeeded to implant false memories of UFO abductions."

My comments:

While appreciating that this is an academic study, there are some clear implications for UFO abduction research. If it is possible in an academic setting to implant a false memory of a UFO abduction, could UFO researchers either inadvertently or deliberately implant such memories in children, or adults during their investigations?

I encourage readers to add their thoughts.

A mystical experience

Many years ago I interviewed a young woman here in Adelaide, South Australia, who had a range of unusual experiences, including a near-death experience; a UFO abduction-like experience and what can only be called, a mystical experience (click here.)

The latter occurred while she was sitting, stationary, in her car, in broad daylight. In the sky she saw what appeared to be a bright light in the sky which was approaching her vehicle. She then experienced a "oneness with the universe." This fitted neatly in with other descriptions I came across which have been labelled "mystical experiences."

The issue of the "Scientific American" magazine dated December 2010, volume 303 number 6, carried an article "Hallucinogens as medicine" by Roland R Griffiths (click here) and Charles S Grob (click here) (pp53-55.)

The "in brief" abstract of the article reads:

"Hundreds of research reports on hallucinogens appeared during the 1950s and 1960s. Illicit use resulted in outlawing of the drugs. Restrictions on research, moreover brought study to a halt.

"Hints from the early set of studies suggesting that these chemicals might help treat patients with various psychiatric disorders were not pursued because of strictures on research.

"A new wave of studies of hallucinogens, primarily psilocybin, ( click here for more) has begun to address whether the drugs can effectively treat the anxiety of cancer patients or help addicts kick their habit.

"Early results from new trials point to the promise of these therapies, with some patients reporting profound spiritual experiences, and hence the ability to make important life changes."

From the article:

"Sandy Lundahl, a 50 year old health educator...swallowed two blue capsules...a high dose of psilocybin...producing changes in mood and perception yet only very rarely active hallucinations...Her response indicated that during the time spent in the session room she had gone through a profound mystical-like experience similar to those reported by spiritual seekers in many cultures and across the ages - one characterised by a sense of interconnectedness with all people and things, accompanied by the feelings of transcending time and space, and of the sacredness and joy."

One line of research "...delves into whether hallucinogens - induced states of altered consciousness - and in particular mystical-like experiences - might ease various psychiatric and behavioral disorders..."

My comment:

It is interesting that we are now, again studying these mystical experiences in the laboratory, where previously we only encountered them in spontaneous settings like the Adelaide woman I mentioned above.

Near-death experiencers also report a decreased on the fear of death; and a spiritual factor features quite heavily in these experiences.

For my own catalogue of Australian UFO abduction abstracts click here.

As real as real

Good morning from Adelaide, South Australia

This post picks up one of the points my co-blogger, Keith Basterfield, made in a previous post (click here to read it.)

One of the objections which some UFO researchers make about the abduction accounts of UFO experiencers, is that the experiencer describes the reality level of the abduction as "as real as real." By this they mean that their recollections of the experience did not have, say the quality of an ordinary dream, and was equal to that of any waking experience they would have.

Experiencers and some UFO researchers state that only waking reality could explain the quality of the abduction. That dreams and hallucinatory experiences do not have this level of reality to them. However, I beg to differ.

As real as real

People do report dreams which are "as real as real." I myself, have had dreams that were continuous scenes, where all my senses were active and giving me feedback, i.e. touch, smell, sight, taste and hearing. It was real to me at the time. There was no doubt about it, until I woke up and in retrospect knew that it had been a dream. However, that recognition that it was a dream in no way diminished my conviction that it had been real at the time.

Hypnagogic and hypnopompic imagery can also have this reality level on occasions. I recall reading a piece by my co-blogger Keith Basterfield, in which he described his own encounter with sleep paralysis. He awoke paralysed, in bed, with a sense that there was something "evil" behind him. He describes this experience as "totally real." So much so, that after the paralysis had gone, he had to get out of bed and search the room for the "presence" which had been there. There was no one, or no thing, physically present in the room.

I have been reading a book published in 1984 titled "Visions * Apparitions * Alien visitors" by Hilary Evans. Published by Book Club. London (I couldn't see an ISBN number in my copy.)

The book is a comparative study of "entities" described not only in UFO cases, but in hypnagogic imagery; hallucinatory states; hauntings, and in folklore. It is a very fascinating read, but the one chapter which stands out is titled "Hallucination Under Control." This clearly demonstrates that for some people, hallucinations can be "as real as real."

The story of Ruth

Ruth was a 25 year old, marries woman, who visited psychiatrist Morton Schatzman (click here for more) "... for help with personality problems, which were accompanied by...recurrent sightings of apparitions of her father..." (Evans p189.)

What was unusual about these particular hallucinatory apparitions was that:

* The hallucinated father perfectly resembled the actual still living parent (who was in the USA at the time)
* The apparition fitted the environment. It sat in a chair if there was one present. It moved around real objects in a room. It left the room by opening and closing a door.
* The apparition conducted coherent (to Ruth) conversations with Ruth
* Under the guidance of Schatzman, Ruth learnt to control the apparition. However, and this is a very important point, although she was creating the hallucination, it behaved autonomously, i.e. beyond her conscious control.

An aside

I recall reading that the writer Enid Blyton wrote some of her stories simply by watching her book's characters autonomously playing out scenes in front of her eyes. (Click here for more on this.)

Back to Ruth

Shatzman conducted scientific tests which demonstrated brain wave changes when Ruth said that the apparition was present, which seemed to correlate yo what would happen if a real person was present.

All in all, this comes as close as possible to being able to demonstrate that Ruth's mind was generating an hallucinatory apparition, and was fooled into thinking that her father was actually present (even though at the time he was physically in the USA when Ruth was in London.

So, yes, it does indeed seem that you can get "real as real" hallucinatory entities. By logical extension, it would seem possible to perceive a "real as real" alien entity in your bedroom.

"Abduction:Human Encounters With Aliens"

Hi

Long time readers of this blog will be aware of Pauline's observations on potential psychological explanations for some UFO abductions. Readers who have looked at my recent postings on abductions will know that this is also an area of interest to me. I must emphasise that neither of us are suggesting that all abductions can be explained in this way. However, if we eliminate some cases, but there remain cases which cannot be accounted for in these ways, then we learn something about the remaining cases.

In this post I want to present some data after examining some detailed abductee/experiencer case histories as presented by John Mack in his book "Abduction:Human Encounters with Aliens." Published in 1994 by Simon and Schuster. London. ISBN 0 671 85194 2. In reviewing these 13 case histories I was looking for indicators which might relate to migraines, and/or sleep paralysis.

Migraine:

Pauline's post of 28 August (click here) 2010 mentioned that Richard Grossinger's book "Migraine Auras:When the Visual World Fails" speaks of migraine prodrome. "Migraines are often augured by incipient sensations, an undefined prodrome that may occur days, hours or just minutes beforehand." These prodromes may include "...strong tingling or a sensation of vibrating wires (paresthesias) in the feet, hands, face and/or tongue area." (p69.(

Taking a look at possible migraine related occurrences in Mack's case histories I note:

Experiencer Scott (Chapter five) - Abduction experiences since age 3

"Beginning when he was eight, Scott was taken repeatedly to physicians, especially neurologists, for the evaluation and treatment of frequent throbbing headaches that had begun when he was six...the headaches were diagnosed as "atypical migraine."" (p94.)

Experiencer Jerry (Chapter six) - Abductions before age 7

"Jerry...realized she was "paralysed kind of up to the waist"...Jerry described the paralysis as being like a painful vibration. Then "a tremendous vibration" extended into her hand...The powerful vibrations seemed to shake Jerry's whole body." (p122.)

Experiencer Eva (Chapter eleven) - Abductions since early childhood

"Following this session, Eva again experienced an intense headache and was extremely thirsty for a day or two." (p255.)

Experiencer Dave (Chapter twelve) -Abductions from age 3

"He also remembers having the same feelings, "a vibration of some kind, a tingling," that he had in association with later abductions." (p268.)

"The vibration, "then went from below my naval and out through my chest, and then it was real tingly..." (p273.)

Experiencer Peter (Chapter thirteen) - Various abductions

"I remember my whole body vibrated and shook maybe for a second, two seconds, three seconds." (p295.)

"Once more he felt the vibrations in his body..." (p322.)

Sleep paralysis:

The name given to the experience of waking from sleep to find that you are unable to move is "sleep paralysis." It is a relatively common phenomenon which happens to many people at least once in their lifetime. Some people regularly experience it. It is when you awake from the "dreaming" or "rapid eye movement" phase of sleep, where your muscle tone is low - hence you feel you are paralysed and cannot move. However, almost inevitably you can move your eyes. Hypnopompic imagery (click here for more details) can accompany sleep paralysis. These hallucinations can generate images of figures, unusual noises and can appear "as real as real."

Are there any indicators of episodes of sleep paralysis in Mack's experiencer case histories? Yes there are.

Jerry

"She woke up terrified...she could not move." (p118.)

"In the years following, Jerry had a number of 'nightmares' in which she would awake paralyzed, hear 'buzzing and ringing and whirring' noises in her head and see humanoid beings in her room." (p119.)

Catherine

"She recalled a dream from age nine in which she was paralyzed and terrified as 'some kind of creature' with long fingers...grabbed her." (p143.)

Paul

"No longer at home in his cellar, Paul now was lying on his back in his bed at night and experienced 'things'...he could not move at all." (p232.)

Eva

"...she recalled waking in the night and seeing 'three midgets'...she felt helpless and could not move." (p243.)

"I was frozen again...totally frozen..." (p244.)

Peter

"It is not clear to Peter whether he fell asleep or not...Now he was paralyzed..." (p302.)

Other comments:

Two general comments which Mack makes are of interest to me:

(1) "One of the more difficult phenomena that Catherine and many other abduction experiencers have to deal with is a virtually constant flow of sensory experience, especially light flashes...intrusions of patterned color images..." (p168.)

Could these be migraine related?

(2) "During his childhood Arthur tended, like many abductees, to get significant throat and sinus infections." (p371.) I don't think I have ever come across anyone who has made this observation before.

Final comment:

I know that I am taking selective quotes from case studies, but I am looking to draw attention to the fact that there may be relationships to migraines and sleep paralysis, which were not looked into at the time.

I would urge anyone investigating a new account to take a detailed medical history as part of the data gathering.

For an article on sleep paralysis which I wrote several years ago, click here then scroll down.

For one of the best websites for information on sleep paralysis click here

I welcome comments from readers.

"Life with the aliens"

Hi readers

My rainy day Fortean Times reading continued with the segment titled "the UFO files." In this issue, Jenny Randles commences a two part article headed "Life with the Aliens."

After revealing that a United Kingdom soap opera plans to feature one of its stars in a relationship with an "alien," Jenny delves into her casebook of encounter events.

In 1978 a woman, living near Lymm, Cheshire saw a silver glowing entity looking into her window.

Next, in 1942, during the Second World War, a woman living near Halifax in the UK, saw a blue sphere appear outside her window. Three, 1.5 metre tall figures emerged, wearing silver overalls and "gold fish bowls" on their heads. An unusual absence of sound was noted. Finally, the figures left though the wall.

These cases seemed to be isolated instances in the lives of the witnesses, but in other cases, the events are lifelong. Jenny's third example involved "Georgina" from South Wales.

In her early childhood, she saw "Strange people who entered and passed through my bedroom or stood there just watching me in the night."

She also found "...herself inexplicably outside, staring into the sky with a puzzling sense of longing." There were also episodes which could be sleep paralysis. Later in life, she had several 'time lapses.' Doctors diagnosed temporal lobe epilepsy.

Jenny closes part one of the article with "...I'll develop the theme of ongoing alien contact and find intriguing links with epilepsy, migraine and out-of-body experiences that offer fascinating clues about UFO reality."

Comment:

Note Jenny's comment about migraine, and then recall my previous post (28 August 2010) where I took a look at the possible relevance of migraine auras and prodromes to the UFO abduction phenomenon. I feel this is an unexplored area of research.

If you'd like to read the entire article by Jenny, then click here.

Staying sane 2

Continuing a series of posts about how I have managed to retain a long term, 40 year, interest in the UFO phenomenon.

2. Tackle diverse research projects.

The range of research projects which I have conducted over the years, has included:

* An in depth examination of the possible application of the fantasy-prone personality (FPP) (Click here for one of my articles.) ; and hypnagogic imagery, to UFO abductions. I had thought that support for the FPP hypothesis had declined, but three out of seven studies conducted, have provided support for the idea.

* I asked the question "Could reports of 'angel hair' falls be simply spiders' web?" The research I conducted and published supports the strong possibility that almost all cases looked at by UFO researchers may be explained in just this way. (For my report click here.)

* I conducted the only comprehensive literature review ever undertaken into the subject of alien implants. This revealed that very little peer review research had been conducted into this topic. (Click here for a catalogue I developed.)

* I worked with academics at two Australian universities studying the personality characteristics of Australian abductees.

*I took a long hard look at the possible application of sleep paralysis to UFO abductions, and concluded that most UFO researchers have underestimated its relevance. (For an article by Susan Blackmore on this topic, click here.)

* After examining hundreds of raw UFO reports, I believe that 95% have mundane explanations; whereas many UFO researchers tell us 95% are UFOs!

All of these research projects developed my knowledge in many areas; made me question various approached undertaken by other people, and ended up with me publishing my results in the global UFO literature, for others to debate and discuss.