The Uninvited : An exposé of the alien abduction phenomenon

by Nick Pope

One of the most common and enduring themes running throughout folklore is that of encounters between humans and non-human intelligences. So at the beginning of our quest for the truth about alien abductions, we need to return to the folklore, and especially to accounts of the little people, who have always been key players in folkloric history.

Much of the research into the links between folkloric encounters with the little people and modern encounters with aliens has been carried out by the French astrophysicist Jacques Vallée, whose book Dimensions draws together a wealth of historical reports from cultures all over the world.

Have humans been participants – sometimes willing, sometimes not – in an age-old but still continuing programme to unite two intelligent races?

Much of our rich legacy of folklore has been hijacked by the Church. Early Christian authorities feared competition from pagan religions and mythologies, but were sophisticated enough to realise that the best way to deal with this competition was not to attempt to suppress the folklore but to incorporate it into their own religious structures.

I believe that all these varied accounts stem not from some mass hysteria, but from the simple fact that people really have been interacting with otherworldly beings since the dawn of time.

The aliens are almost always described as humanoid in appearance, very attractive, often with long, flowing, blond hair. This type of entity is commonly known as a Nordic.

A curious point is that the contactees seem almost exclusively to be American.

Notwithstanding the Villas-Boas encounter, the modern abduction mystery really starts with a case that occurred in 1961, and was made public in 1966.

Every now and then an individual comes forward and revolutionises a particular field of knowledge. In the field of alien abductions, Budd Hopkins is such an individual and his contribution has probably been the single most important factor in bringing the subject to a wider audience.

Budd was by now fairly sure that the explanation for the entire abduction phenomenon was that extraterrestrials were carrying out a long-term genetic breeding programme, using humans to provide the material, and perhaps combining it with their own genetic stock to produce hybrids.

Between 1981 and 1992 Ken Phillips had run an in-depth analysis of over one hundred close encounter witnesses. This study, known as the Anamnesis Project, was aimed at seeing whether there were any common features in the background and lives of the abductees that might have a bearing on their experiences. The study had been drawn up in consultation with Dr Alex Keul from the University of Salzburg in Austria. There were some interesting findings, including a high incidence of claimed psychic abilities among abductees, together with the fact that they generally held less prestigious jobs than might have been expected, given their intelligence and ability.

It transpired that many of the abductees had developed interests in psychic matters, and had discovered talents in this area. Others had suddenly become creative, and had started writing songs and poetry. But the most important benefit to emerge from the group’s meetings was the simple realisation that its members were not, after all, alone in having had their strange experiences.

Another attempt to bring some scientific methodology to abduction research was an experiment to see whether there were any psychological differences between abductees and non-abductees. Conceived by Budd Hopkins and carried out by Dr Elizabeth Slater in 1983, it involved nine abductees, and crucially, Slater was not told that the group she was asked to assess had been abducted. Slater administered a full range of standard psychological tests used to measure intelligence and assess personality, such as the Rorschach test and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Revised. She then drew up a detailed report on the group, which concluded that they were generally of above average intelligence, had rich inner lives (i.e. they were more likely to daydream or fantasise), and generally seemed to be a little strange. Other characteristics that Slater noted included a tendency towards low self-esteem, lack of emotional maturity and mild paranoia.

The five indicator questions drew on scenarios from the abduction cases that were known about by researchers, and picked up common themes. The five scenarios were as follows: Waking up paralysed with a sense of a strange person or presence or something else in your room. Feeling that you were actually flying through the air although you didn’t know why or how. Experiencing a period of time of an hour or more in which you were apparently lost, but you could not remember why, or where you had been. Seeing unusual lights or balls of light in a room without knowing what was causing them, or where they came from. Finding puzzling scars on your body and neither you nor anyone else remembering how you received them or where you got them.

even the great psychiatrist Carl Jung formulated some theories about UFOs which might also be applied to alien abductions.

It had been suggested that some ‘memories’ of abductions might in fact be distorted memories of childhood sexual abuse.

on several occasions investigation of someone who believed they had been the victim of childhood sexual abuse had turned up evidence of an alien abduction.

subject. It was a tall order, but from 13–17 June 1992 the world’s first scientific conference on alien abductions took place at MIT,

The proceedings of the conference were written up and published under the title Alien Discussions. This heavyweight tome – details of which can be found in the bibliography – is essential reading for all those with a serious, academic interest in the alien abduction phenomenon.

On 6 August 1996, NASA made an announcement that changed the world of science for ever. Fossilised traces of what seemed to be primitive bacteria were found within a meteorite that had originated on Mars. Although still the subject of some controversy and debate, the announcement seemed to be nothing less than official confirmation of the existence (at least at some stage in the past) of extraterrestrial life.

Many abductees find personal relationships difficult,

I believe that the abduction phenomenon could be a response to our behaviour, and that it might represent a gradual attempt to effect subtle changes in humans. It is possible that the extraterrestrials are attempting to civilise us.