-- by Lynn Taylor

Few topics evoke the level of controversy that surrounds the alien abduction phenomenon. Skeptics dismiss alien abductions as fantasy, while proponents point to credible victim accounts, abduction eyewitnesses, and an ever-increasing body of physical evidence. The debate rages on, while individuals continue to come forward with claims of being abducted from homes, automobiles, and out of the way locations. Abductees steadfastly insist that they have been taken aboard UFOs against their will and forced to submit to a variety of frightening medical procedures that focus on human genetics and alien-human hybridization. Their contentions are supported by a 1991 Roper poll of 5,947 adults that indicated, as many as, 3.7 million individuals may have been abducted by aliens in the United States, alone (Hopkins, Jacobs, and Westrum).

Just as predators single out the stragglers and the weak in a herd of animals, aliens often single out individuals who are separated from the protection of civilization. This is referred to as an “abduction of opportunity.” Consequently, there are few, if any, places on Earth that are truly safe from alien abduction. An intrepid Portsmouth, New Hampshire couple also discovered that the risks are even greater, when you are alone at night and miles from home. Betty and Barney Hill were driving home on the evening of September 19, 1961, when they happened onto someone standing in the middle of the roadway. Barney hit the brakes and as soon as their car rolled to a stop, the figure approached. Before they could react, the Hills found themselves face to face with a strange-looking being with huge dark eyes. The last image they could recall before blacking out was of a small disk-shaped UFO sitting next to the road. Their next conscious memory was watching the alien craft as it flew off into the night. Later, through hypnotic regression, Betty and Barney were able to recover memories of a terrifying abduction ordeal that garnered national attention. Phillip Klass, UFO debunker and senior editor for Aviation Week, issued a strong criticism against hypnotic regression, charging that, while the practice is successful in extracting more memories it renders the subject less able to distinguish fact from fantasy. Betty, however, remains steadfast in the belief that her shared experience with Barney was very real (Klass 1).

Staying at home provides no guarantee of safety from abduction, either. In fact, most reported alien abductions occur right in the bedroom, something that John Tosti, a Smithville, Indiana resident and fellow researcher, will attest to. On the evening of January 18, 1994, John was alone on the living room couch, watching a late-night movie and tending to his most recent bout of insomnia. It was just after midnight, when a blinding flash of blue light flooded the room. Almost immediately, John blacked out. After regaining consciousness, sometime later, he was still sitting in the same spot, but standing before him was a small gray being. John’s mind filled with rage as he recognized the creature. It belonged to a group called the “Grays,” the same ones that were responsible for kidnapping him from his car, along side a country road, a few months earlier. John tried to lunge forward toward the creature, but his lower body was paralyzed. Startled, the creature stepped backward and then disappeared into another bright flash of light. (Tosti).

In the NOVA documentary Kidnapped by UFOs, Canadian neuroscientist Michael Persinger stated his belief that the experiences of abductees such as John and Susan may be the result of Temporal Lobe Displacement, an electrical anomaly in the brain that produces many of the same images and sensations reported by abductees. However, his hypothesis does not explain the bruises and other body marks, which are characteristic of an abduction encounter (“Kidnapped”).

There was a time when the only evidence researchers had to rely on, was the testimony of victims like John. But in recent years, corroborating reports from independent eyewitnesses have surfaced. The landmark 1989 Cortile case, investigated by researcher Budd Hopkins, is a prime example of multiple eyewitness abduction. It was around 3:00 a.m. on the morning of November 30 when Linda Cortile was abducted from her twelfth story New York City apartment window, while scores of eyewitnesses watched in horror from the street and nearby Brooklyn Bridge. Most of the witnesses were motorists passing through the area, when their automobiles stalled and came to a halt in the middle of the street and on the bridge. Outside their vehicles, the witnesses looked up to see Linda and three smaller figures as they floated up into a beam of blue light, emanating from the underside of a large orange glowing object. The onlookers continued to watch as the object flew over the bridge and out of sight (Hopkins 152).

Abductee experiences such as Linda’s and the others, share many common elements and key details. These similarities add greater credence to their stories. As examples, the Roper survey also revealed that 14.8 million people in the United States have seen balls of light in their bedrooms, 33.3 million have experienced paralysis and strangers in their bedrooms, 24 million experienced missing time, 18.5 million reported floating or flying, and 14.8 million were left with unexplained marks or scars on their bodies (Hopkins, Jacobs, and Westrum).

But why do aliens abduct humans in the first place? The answer to that question, according to some abductees, may reside onboard the UFO, itself. On their ships, aliens have demonstrated a keen interest in human biology, especially in the area of human reproduction. Abductees have been forced to undergo painful and humiliating medical procedures, involving strange-looking metallic probes. Female abductees have routinely undergone gynecological procedures involving the implantation of fertilized embryos, the removal of hybridized fetuses, and the extraction of their own eggs. Using a long probing instrument, aliens have forcefully extracted sperm samples from the male abductees. According to Dr. David M. Jacobs, Professor of psychology at Temple University, some abductees described seeing alien-human hybrid children onboard UFOs. He indicated that some abductees have held and nursed hybrid babies, at the insistence of the aliens. Jacobs asserted his belief that this is done for bonding purposes (Jacobs 167).

If creation of a new hybrid race of beings is truly the impetus for alien abductions, then what is the end game? Are hybrids a means for alien adaptation to Earth’s environment, or are they our replacements? These are sobering questions that have no answers; still, they beg to be asked.

Skeptics, on the other hand, are not concerned, charging that, despite all of the alien abduction claims, not one shred of supporting physical evidence has been presented. Phillip Klass has gone a step further by posting a standing offer of $10,000 to any UFO-abductee whose story can be verified as the result of an FBI investigation (Klass 162).

Klass’s money is relatively safe, but it is not for the lack of credible witness testimony or physical evidence. The FBI does not conduct official investigations into claims of alien abduction. If there were serious interest on the agency’s part, then the Linda Cortile abduction would have been an excellent case to weigh in on. Further, there is a general fear and mistrust that is prevalent among abductees, and particularly, toward the government. Their situation is similar to a rape victim who refuses to report being physically violated. Abductees share the same fear of being victimized a second time by a system that would call their own credibility into question. Finally, Klass is wrong in his basic assertion that no physical proof exists.

At first, physical evidence of alien abductions was slow coming to light. Gradually, however, members of the medical profession began to discover foreign objects embedded in the bodies of abductees. The objects known as “implants,” have turned up in x-rays, and have been found in sinus cavities, deep within the brain, the inner ear, at the base of the neck, and in the fingers and toes. According to Marilyn Ruben, of Alien Abduction Experience and Research, a Canadian man contacted her, claiming that aliens abducted him and indicated that they were going to give him a gift. The gift turned out to be an implant, which they inserted under the skin of his nose, before returning him to his home. The next day, after digging the object from under his skin, he sent it to Ruben for analysis. Ruben, in turn, sent the implant to a laboratory, where it was found to be composed primarily of sulfur, oxygen, and carbon, with trace amounts of sodium, chlorine, and potassium (Ruben).

The exact function of implants remains in the realm of conjecture, but the consensus among abduction researchers is that they are used for tracking and monitoring. The comparison is often made between alien implants and electronic homing devices placed on animals to track their movements in the wild. The idea of our being placed in the role of test animals by other intelligent beings is a bit unsettling, to say the least.

Another type of physical evidence has recently been identified in household dust. Marilyn Ruben has been working closely with world-renowned physicist, Dr. William Levengood, a retired professor from the University of Michigan. Dr. Levengood has discovered, what could be called, the fingerprints of alien abduction. Under powerful magnification, he identified small hollow spheres, and another elongated crystalline form that he refers to as “pseudo-crystals.” Ruben indicated that these microscopic forms are not a part of our natural environment, and have only been found in homes where alien visitations have occurred. At Marilyn's request, I provided dust samples from my own home for Levengood’s analysis. When the results came back, I was shocked to learn that the samples were laden with pseudo-crystals and hollow spheres!

In addition to implanted and microscopic objects, aliens have left behind other calling cards. Large burned spots have been found in the grass outside abductees’ homes and in nearby fields. Earth samples tested from these areas are many times greater in magnetic material content than surrounding unaffected soil. Also, microscopic beads of glass have been discovered, which usually indicates exposure to very high temperatures.

The magnitude of energy forces associated with this kind of evidence is enormous. For example, John Tosti and his wife, Susan, described an encounter involving a huge orange sphere that hovered over their home, shooting balls of fire into the snow-covered ground, below. At the time, John thought a utility transformer had shorted out. After the fireworks subsided, John called the power company asking them to come down and check their equipment out. Thinking there might be a live power line down on top of the house, he stayed indoors until the utility crew arrived. After looking everything over, the repairmen assured John that there was no problem with the electricity. After they left, John went outside to assess the situation. All over the snow were blackened spots where the fireballs came down. Only later did Susan’s mother telephone to inform them that she had witnessed the object and the whole bizarre scene from her nearby house (Tosti).

By employing sound scientific methods, new physical evidence has come to light, giving new focus to alien abduction investigations. Research by individuals with the credentials of Doctors Mack and Jacobs has yielded volumes of information about the alien abduction process. Hopefully, the results of their work will provide some measure of emotional healing for those unfortunate victims of alien abduction. It is helpful to remember that abductees are ordinary people, struggling desperately to hold on to their humanity. And if their stories are true, there is a race of alien beings out there, equally bent on taking it away.

Works Cited:

Hopkins, Budd. Witnessed: The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge Abductions.
New York: Pocket Books, 1996

Hopkins, Budd, David Michael Jacobs, and Ron Westrum. “The Roper Poll.” Online posting, 4 Jun. 1994. Spirit Web. 11 Nov. 2000 <http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/
abduction-roper-poll.html>

Jacobs, David M. Secret Life: Firsthand Accounts of Human Abductions.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992

Kidnapped by UFOs. Nova. PBS, 1996

Klass, Philip J. UFO-Abductions: A Dangerous Game. Buffalo: Prometheus, 1988

Mack, John E. Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens.
New York: Scribner’s Sons, 1994

Ruben, Marylyn. Personal interview. 22 Jul. 2000

Tosti, John. Personal interview. 30 Sep. 2000
 

Home

Unexplained Body Marks and Scars

E-mail: