Physical evidence of UFOs and alien abduction seems to support many stories told by people, though some reports may actually be caused by dreams, mental problems, media indoctrination, or misinterpretation of what the person has seen. Interestingly, it doesn’t seem like a cultural thing – most countries have reports of alien abductions. They occur in large cities as well as the rural areas at any time – day or night. A lot of abductions do not get to be reported because there is no one trusted to tell, or the abductee is afraid of being made fun at, especially if they feel they have been sexually assaulted. Those who have been abducted several times keep journals to determine patterns or timetables.

The abduction phenomenon is an umbrella term used to describe a number of hypotheses, claims or assertions stating that non-human creatures kidnap individuals, sometimes called abductees, usually for medical testing or for sexual reproduction procedures. Many such encounters are described as terrifying or humiliating, but others describe them as transformative or even pleasant. Reports of the abduction phenomenon have been made from around the world but have perhaps seen most mainstream attention in the United States.

Most abduction cases show these patterns:

• Capture (Abductees taken from room/area and find themselves in the “ship”)

• Examination (Probes inserted in different areas, etc.)

• Communication (“Aliens” speak with abductees)

• Tour (Not always described but some abductees claim to be shown the ship)

• Missing Time or Loss of Time (Many abductees suffer from periods of time removed from their memory, often coming back to them later)

• Return (Returned, sometimes with environmental changes)

• Aftermath (Sickness, new phobias, ridicule, etc.)

Such alleged abductions are often closely connected to UFO reports and are sometimes supposedly conducted by so-called Greys: Short, grey-skinned humanoids with large, pear-shaped heads and enormous, dark eyes. Sceptics tend to doubt that the phenomenon occurs literally as reported, and a wide variety of alternate explanations have been proposed. Rather, such sceptics often argue that the phenomenon might be characterized as a type of modern-day folk myth (like the historic belief in vampires). The alien abduction phenomenon has been the subject of conspiracy theory and as such has become a staple of popular science fiction works such as ‘ The X-Files.’ While few mainstream scientists believe the phenomenon literally occurs as reported - some experts contend the field is rife with kooks and pseudoscience - there is little doubt that many apparently stable and sincere persons report alien abductions they believe are utterly genuine: as reported in the Harvard University Gazette in 1992, Doctor John Edward Mack investigated over 60 claimed abductees, and “spent countless therapeutic hours with these individuals only to find that what struck him was the ‘ordinariness’ of the population, including a restaurant owner, several secretaries, a prison guard, college students, a university administrator, and several homemakers … ‘The majority of abductees do not appear to be deluded, confabulating, lying, self-dramatizing, or suffering from a clear mental illness,’ he maintained. He has encountered only one person who showed psychotic features.

Some abduction reports are quite detailed. An entire subculture has developed around the subject, with support groups and a detailed mythos explaining the reasons for abductions: The various aliens (Greys, Reptilians, “Nordics” and so on) are said to have specific roles, origins, and motivations. Abduction claimants do not always attempt to explain the phenomenon, but some take independent research interest in it themselves, and explain the lack of greater awareness of Alien Abduction as the result of either extra-terrestrial or governmental interest in cover-up. Others still are intrigued by the entire phenomenon but hesitate in making any definitive conclusions.

The Hills Abduction

Widespread publicity was generated by the Barney and Betty Hill abduction case of 1961 (not widely known until several years afterwards), culminating in a made for television film broadcast in 1975 (starring James Earl Jones and Estelle Parsons) dramatizing the events. The Hill incident was probably the prototypical abduction case and was the first in which the beings explicitly identified an extra-terrestrial origin.

As the story goes … On September 19, 1961 on US Route 3 near the village of Lancaster, Barney and Betty Hill of Portsmouth, New Hampshire were traveling home after a vacation in Canada when they saw a moving light in the sky. Every now and then they would stop and check on the unusual light that seemed to “fly” an erratic course. They drove on towards the White Mountains, noting that the object was now much larger and following a parallel course to their car. Approaching Indian Head, the light appeared directly ahead of them.

Barney Hill left the engine running and got out of the car to observe the strange object with a pair of binoculars. He observed what he described as “5 to 11 figures moving behind a double row of windows”. Betty Hill, who was observing her husband from her side of the car, heard her husband repeating, “I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it! This is ridiculous!” She, however, was unable to see the figures or the descent of the UFO. The object was now approximately 70-feet overhead and about 100-feet distant when Barney Hill ran back to the car exclaiming, “They are going to capture us!”. He got back in the car and drove away at a ‘break-neck’ speed. During this time Betty Hill was still unable to see the object but her husband thought that it was directly over the car. They heard a loud beeping noise, similar to the sound of a “tuning fork”, and then they felt very drowsy.

When they awoke, they found themselves driving near Ashland, two hours later. Ashland is 35 miles south of Indian Head, a twenty or thirty minute drive. They continued their drive home, feeling somewhat uneasy and confused about their missing two hours. The next day they reported their experience to officials at Pease Air Force Base. A few days later, an investigator from the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) documented both of their stories. Their experience was far from over.

Within ten days of the incident, Betty Hill began having recurring nightmares in which 8 to 11 “men” would stand in the middle of the road and stop the Hills’ car. They would then be led into a disk-shaped craft and examined. Samples of hair and skin would be taken. Continued anxiety led both of the Hills to seek the help of Dr. Benjamin Simon, a Boston psychiatrist who specialized in treating personality disorders and amnesia through hypnotherapy, which was becoming popular. Their treatment lasted for six months. With time regression hypnosis, many details of their encounter were revealed. The detail in which both Hills described their abductors and the subsequent examination matched closely to each other as well as to Betty Hill’s nightmares. Betty Hill, under posthypnotic suggestion, was able to draw a “star map” detailing the origin of the alien abductors. The amazing configuration of Betty’s map was not to be realized for some years. An astronomical investigation, based on information that was not available in 1961, produced a controversial match between Betty’s “star map” and a cluster of previously unknown stars near two stars called Zeta Reticuli. Dr. Simon later stated that his professional opinion of the Hill’s abduction account was that it was mere fantasy. As a prominent Boston psychiatrist, it would be particularly damaging to his reputation to ‘believe’ that the Hill’s story was anything but a product of their collective imaginations. His reasoning for his conclusion was that “people do not necessarily tell the factual truth while they are under hypnosis - all they tell is what they believe to be the truth.

The Pascagoula Abduction

The Pascagoula Abduction is, after the Hill Abduction, perhaps the best-known reported Abduction Phenomenon, where the victims report being kidnapped by aliens. On the evening of October 11, 1973, 42-year-old Charles Hickson and 19-year-old Calvin Parker - coworkers at a shipyard - were fishing in the Pascagoula River in Mississippi, USA. While fishing off a pier at an abandoned shipyard, they heard a whirring or whizzing sound, saw flashing blue lights, and reported that a domed, football-shaped aircraft some 100 feet across suddenly appeared near them. The ship seemed to levitate about 14 inches above the ground.

A door opened on the ship, they said, and three five-foot-tall creatures emerged and seized the men and floated or levitated them into the craft. Both men reported being paralyzed and numb. Parker fainted due to fright. On the ship, Hickson claimed he was examined by a mechanical eye that seemed to scan his body. Parker could not recall what had happened to him inside the craft, although later, during sessions of hypnotic regression he offered some hazy details. The men were released after about 20 minutes and the creatures levitated them back to their original position on the riverbank. Both men were shaken and terrified by what had happened. They claimed to have sat in a car for about 45 minutes, trying to calm themselves. Hickson drank some whiskey. After some discussion, they tried to report their story to officials at Kessler Air Force Base, but personnel told them the United States Air Force had nothing to do with UFO reports, and suggested the men notify police. At about 10:30pm, Hickson and Parker arrived at the Jackson County, Mississippi Sheriff’s office. Sheriff Fred Diamond thought the men seemed sincere, and genuinely frightened and thought Parker was especially shaken, but harboured some doubt about the fantastic story, due to Hickson’s admitted whiskey consumption. Diamond interviewed the men, who related their story.

After repeated questioning, Diamond left the two men alone in a room that was, unknown to Hickson or Parker, rigged with a hidden microphone. Diamond expected that if the pair had invented a story, they would change their attitude and conversation when alone. Hickson and Parker, however continued discussing the abduction and its effects upon them. This so-called “secret tape” is held on file at the Jackson County Sheriff’s department and is available for researchers to listen to.

The next day, Parker and Hickson returned to their normal lives. Rumours of the abduction had spread. A company lawyer at the Shipyard where Parker and Hickson worked suspected the story might be worth a small fortune and discussed the story widely. By October 13, reporters from a number of news agencies arrived to write accounts of the event, which received international attention. Dr J. Allen Hynek was among those who arrived to investigate. Excitement and controversy continued for several weeks.

Parker experienced a nervous collapse or breakdown, and recovered at a Jones County, Mississippi community hospital. Parker has avoided most public attention since the event. Hickson appeared on Dick Cavett’s talk show in January 1974 and speaks at occasional UFO conferences; he has co-written a book about the event with William Mendez titled UFO contact at Pascagoula (1983, reprinted 1987).

Possible Signs That You Have Been Abducted

• Feeling you are Special or Chosen or have an important task to perform;

• Have a memory of having a special place with spiritual significance, when you were a youngster;

• Fear or anxiety over the subject of aliens or UFOs;

• Sensitivity to issues affecting the Earth, its environment and all life forms than other people;

• Fear of being kidnapped or abnormal constantly monitoring of your surroundings;

• Insomnia or sleep disorders which are puzzling to you;

• Must sleep against the wall or must sleep with your bed against a wall;

• Paralyzed in bed with a being in your room;

• Dreams of flying or being outside your body;

• Dreams of passing through a closed window or solid wall;

• Dreams about seeing UFOs, being inside UFOs, or interacting with UFO occupants;

• Dreams of doctors or medical procedures;

• Dreams of destruction or catastrophe;

• Dreams wherein superior beings, angels, or aliens are educating you about mankind, the universe, global changes or future events;

• A waking memory of being inside a UFO or interacting with its occupants;

• Feeling of being watched much of the time, especially at night;

• Seeing unexplained balls of lights or beings when in bed;

• Beams of light outside your home, or come into your room through a window;

• Hearing unexplained physical noises;

• Unexplained nosebleeds especially when you wake-up;

• Awakened to discover unexplainable marks or bruises on your body;

• Awoken with soreness in your genitals which cannot be explained;

• X-rays or other procedures reveal unexplainable foreign objects lodged in your body;

• Sinus trouble or migraine headaches;

• Frequent or sporadic ringing in your ears, especially in one ear;

• Unusual scars or marks with no possible explanation on how you received them - small scoop indentation, straight line scar, triangular marks, scars in roof of mouth, in nose, behind or in ears;

• Unusual fear of doctors or tend to avoid medical treatment;

• Missing or lost time;

• Compelled to drive or walk to an out of the way or unknown area;

• A strange fog or haze that should not be there;

• Strange humming or pulsing sounds, and you could not identify the source;

• Seeing one or more UFO’s up close within short walking or driving distance;

• One or more sighting experiences;

• A strong “marker memory” that will not go away (i.e.: an alien face, an examination, a needle, a table, a strange skinny baby);

• DNA genetic encodings activated - increased psychic abilities;

• Channelled telepathic messages from extra-terrestrials;

• Recall your children or parents speaking of similar experiences on occasion.