Afleveringen
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Former Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet joins Martin Willis to discuss UAP research, undersea anomalies, and reports from submarine personnel of fast-moving unidentified objects detected beneath the ocean. Gallaudet explains his role on the UAP Science Advisory Council reporting to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the challenge of gaining access to relevant data, and why serious scientific investigation is essential. He also shares a brief look at his new leadership memoir, Holding Fast in Heavy Seas, reflecting on his Navy and NOAA career.
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Rony Vernet returns to Podcast UFO to discuss his field investigations into unusual phenomena reported in the Amazon rainforest and other remote regions of Brazil. An electrical engineer and researcher, Vernet shares accounts from indigenous communities involving luminous orbs, humanoid figures, strange lights, apparent equipment interference, and encounters that local residents believe originate from the forest itself. Martin and Rony also discuss the Peru flying humanoid reports, the Varginha case, alleged Brazilian military and police encounters with UAPs and beings, and the difficulty of collecting repeatable scientific data in unpredictable field conditions. Vernet explains his use of cameras, drones, infrared equipment, sensors, and other tools, along with why some of the most striking incidents reportedly involved lost or corrupted recordings. The conversation explores possible physical, spiritual, psychological, and interdimensional interpretations of the phenomenon, as well as Ronyâs upcoming work and documentaries.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Martin Willis is joined by Donna Killeen, UFO Jack, Kelly Hughes, and Sam Milodragovich for UFO Headlines, discussing the latest developments in the UAP and UFO world. Martin and Donna share highlights from the recent Disclosure Forum in Washington, DC, including Martinâs question to Representative Eric Burlison about government file releases, private-sector crash-retrieval claims, and the search for more meaningful transparency. The panel also discusses the latest UAP records release, unusual orb reports, the role of skeptics, government disclosure efforts, archival research, and major historic cases including Roswell, Ariel School, Phoenix Lights, and Rendlesham Forest. They also explore the larger questions: Could there be multiple intelligences behind the phenomenon, and what evidence would it take for the public to truly accept the reality of UAPs?
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Guest Joe Biscotto, founder of the rapidly growing UAP Reporting Center and host of Beyond Top Secret. Joe discusses his background in law enforcement, his lifelong fascination with UFOs and the unexplained, and how he built one of the fastest-growing UAP news platforms online. We also talk about UFO disclosure, investigating sightings, social mediaâs impact on the subject, and his work with The Contact Report.
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Rhys Dalton-Morgan joins me from Contact in the Desert for a fascinating conversation about a remarkable family connection to one of Australiaâs most intriguing UFO cases. Rhysâs grandfather, a decorated RAF fighter pilot and later operations head of the vast Woomera Test Range in South Australia, reportedly witnessed a bright disc-shaped object during the era of Black Knight rocket testing. According to Rhysâs research, the object was seen over the range by multiple personnel, appeared to circle a missile site, and then accelerated away at extraordinary speed. The case has since led Rhys into a deeper investigation of his grandfatherâs military background, including a reported early involvement with a secret U.S.-U.K. UFO inquiry. We also discuss Rhysâs motherâs personal experiences, the role of respected Australian researcher Bill Chalker, the strange history surrounding Woomera, and some of Australiaâs most compelling cases. Later, Rhys gives an excellent overview of the 1966 Westall school UFO incident, including the witnesses, reported landings, unusual aircraft, alleged military response, and some lesser-known details surrounding the event. We also touch on Australian high strangeness, alleged abduction cases, cryptid reports including the Yowie, and why the UFO phenomenon may be far more complex than simply unexplained technology.
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Actor, writer, and technology innovator Sal Amato joins Martin Willis for a fascinating discussion on UFOs, disclosure, media influence, and the inspiration behind his upcoming novel, Hidden Powers: Disclosure From Within. Drawing from decades of interest in unexplained phenomena, technology, and human behavior, Sal shares his thoughts on historical UFO cases, the 1952 Washington, D.C. sightings, information control, and why curiosity is essential when exploring extraordinary claims. The conversation also explores how technology shapes public perception, the challenges of separating fact from fiction, and the themes of disclosure, power, and truth woven throughout his new book. An engaging discussion for anyone interested in UFOs, mysteries, and the bigger questions surrounding what we knowâand what we may not know.
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Martin Willis is joined by Podcast UFO producer Donna Killeen, UFO Jack, Kelly Hughes, and Sam Milodragovich for a lively, spoiler-filled roundtable discussion of one of the most anticipated UFO films in recent memory. The panel shares their honest reactions to the movie, explores its many references to UFO history and lore, and debates whether Spielberg successfully captured the mystery, wonder, and complexity of the UFO phenomenon. Topics include experiencers, screen memories, government secrecy, whistleblowers, historical UFO cases, disclosure, and the film’s surprising ending. Was Disclosure Day a groundbreaking UFO movie, a fun science-fiction adventure, or a missed opportunity? Tune in to hear a range of perspectives from voices deeply involved in the UFO community. Plus, the panel discusses some of the real-world UFO developments making headlines and what the movie may mean for public interest in the UFO topic going forward.
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Martin Willis welcomes Simon Bown, author of Aspects of Alien Abduction: Shocking UFO Encounters, Vol. 1. Simon discusses his own UFO sightings, a possible abduction memory recovered through hypnosis, and the recurring patterns he has found after interviewing hundreds of experiencers. Topics include consciousness, missing time, healing cases, family connections, and the mystery behind alien abduction reports.
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Recorded at Contact in the Desert, Martin Willis sits down with explorer Dennis Ă sberg, discoverer of the Baltic Sea Anomaly, and astronomer Dr. Beatriz Villarroel of the VASCO Project. Dennis discusses new developments surrounding the anomaly, repeated equipment failures during expeditions, and the discovery of the lost Russian submarine Som, while Dr. Villarroel shares her groundbreaking research into unexplained transient objects, vanishing stars, and evidence suggesting highly reflective objects in Earth orbit. Together they explore the intersection of ocean exploration, astronomy, UFOs, scientific inquiry, and some of the most intriguing mysteries of our time.
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Preston Dennett returns to Podcast UFO to discuss his latest book, Humanoids & High Strangeness: 20 True UFO Encounters. In this fascinating conversation, Preston shares remarkable cases involving face-to-face encounters with mysterious beings, missing time, telepathic communication, giant owls, elf-like entities, and other bizarre experiences that challenge our understanding of the UFO phenomenon. Martin and Preston also explore schoolyard UFO encounters, witness credibility, differing memories among eyewitnesses, the famous Ariel School case, and the possible connection between UFO contact and consciousness. A thought-provoking discussion with one of ufology’s most prolific researchers that ventures far beyond lights in the sky.
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In this special live episode, Martin Willis reviews the June 9 Capitol Hill UAP Disclosure Press Conference featuring David Grusch, James Fox, Leslie Kean, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, Rep. Tim Burchett, Rep. Eric Burlison, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, and others. The speakers called for increased transparency, declassification of government records, stronger whistleblower protections, and further investigation into claims involving recovered craft and non-human biologics. Grusch discussed ongoing oversight concerns, alleged obstruction of congressional inquiries, and the need for greater accountability. After the event, Martin was joined by Matt Ford of The Good Trouble Show, along with Krys Devine and Kelly Hughes, for an in-depth discussion of the key statements, potential implications, and what may come next in the ongoing disclosure effort.
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At Contact in the Desert, Martin Willis sits down with entrepreneur, AI researcher, and quantum computing expert Deep Prasad for a wide-ranging discussion that explores the intersection of artificial intelligence, consciousness, advanced physics, and the UFO phenomenon. Deep shares details of an extraordinary experience he had in 2019 that profoundly changed his understanding of reality and led him to explore questions surrounding non-human intelligence and consciousness. He also discusses the rapid advancement of AI, the promise and challenges of quantum computing, and how future technologies may help unlock some of the deepest mysteries surrounding UAP.
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Tonight on UFO Headlines, we’re joined by UFO Jack, Kelly Hughes, and Sam Milodragovich to discuss the latest developments in the UAP world. We’ll cover the recent release of more than 160 government UAP files, the upcoming June 9 Capitol Hill press conference involving David Grusch and congressional transparency advocates, the controversy surrounding Aliens.gov, and some of the most talked-about cases emerging from the newly released documents. We’ll also share our experiences from Contact in the Desert 2026, including standout presentations, behind-the-scenes conversations, and the overall mood of the UFO community regarding disclosure and the future of UAP investigations. Join us live and bring your questions and comments as we discuss the latest UFO headlines and what may be coming next.
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Whitley Strieber returns to Podcast UFO for a thought-provoking discussion on UFOs, non-human intelligence, Roswell, consciousness, AI, and the enduring mystery of contact. Best known for his groundbreaking book Communion, Strieber shares personal experiences, reflects on the impact of disclosure, discusses the possibility that UFO intelligences originate from another reality, and explains why he believes humanity may have lost abilities once possessed long ago. From the Allagash Abduction case and Roswell to artificial intelligence and the future of human consciousness, this conversation explores some of the deepest questions surrounding the UFO phenomenon and our place in the universe. Whether you’re a longtime follower of Strieber’s work or new to these topics, this is an engaging and wide-ranging interview you won’t want to miss.
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by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear
By the time Project Blue Book was terminated, most UFO researchers, especially in the United States, were of the opinion that UFOs were nuts and bolts craft piloted by flesh and blood creatures from other planets. This is what has become known as the extraterrestrial hypothesis or ETH. At around the same time, as the 1960s gave way to the 1970s, Jacques Vallée had one book published and John Keel had two published, that challenged the ETH, and caused many in the UFO community to consider other options.
VallĂ©e had his first UFO book, Anatomy of a Phenomenon, published in 1965 and his second, Challenge to Science, co-written with his wife, Janine, published in 1966. Both books make the argument that the UFO mystery is worthy of scientific study and present the elements of the problem in an organized manner in an effort to facilitate such study. In what would become characteristic in VallĂ©eâs books, he presents accounts going back to antiquity, and he presents a lot of them. The books are lengthy and dry and hold little appeal for the average UFO enthusiast looking for sensational accounts of sightings and encounters.
Jacques Valee at CITDOn October 1, 1969 (according to the Kirkus review), Vallée had his book Passport to Magonia published, and it was quite a departure from the first two books. His central thesis in the book is that there is a link between UFOs and tales told in religious texts, legends of old, fairy lore, and folk lore. The full title of the first edition is Passport to Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers.
VallĂ©e doesnât dismiss the UFO mystery as a modern myth, but rather, suggests that it might stem from somethings or someones interacting with humanity that have been doing so since antiquity. He also suggests there might be a trickster element involved, saying in the section at the end of the main body of the book titled âConjecturesâ (Fact 4), âThe behavior of the entities is consistently absurd…â and âtheir assertions have been systematically misleading.â
After the main body, in the appendix, VallĂ©e presents âA Century of UFO Landings (1868-1968.) In his introduction he says âThe study of UFOs is more than a descriptive analysis of folklore, but it has not developed into a scientific field.â He argues that what is lacking is âa proper definition of the phenomenon to be studied.â
As for the bookâs reception, VallĂ©e wrote in the foreword to the 2014 edition that the hardcover edition only sold 5000 copies. However, he explains that while it âwas ignored or rejected in the U.S., it was well received in Europe, where audiences have a greater appreciation of history and the importance of folklore in defining a culture.â
Just after Passport was published, Keelâs book, Strange Creatures From Time and Space, came out on January 1, 1970, and it is definitely the sort of book that would appeal to the average UFO enthusiast as well as lovers of what we now call cryptids. It has a fantastic cover by Frank Frazetta and is chock full cases involving what the title promises. However, what sets it apart from the usual UFO books of that era is Keelâs commentary. It was here that Keel introduced his idea that there were âwidowâ areas where UFOs and strange creatures appeared in the midst of other oddities repeatedly throughout history.
Like Vallée, Keel was considering alternatives to the ETH, but his thinking was much more evolved, most likely due to his field investigation work that began 1966. It was mostly centered around the events in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, involving UFO encounters and the cryptid known as the Mothman.
Keel had another book, Operation Trojan Horse, in which he took a more scholarly approach to presenting his ideas, published on the same date. An ad for both books in the Vol. 16, No. 3, May/June 1970 Flying Saucer Review explains that Keelâs original manuscript covering his UFO study was so big that it was âdivided into two 90,000-word books.â
John KeelStrange Creatures is described as âa casebook recounting hundreds of bizarre incidents involving unknown animals and humanoids, demonstrating the surprising correlations hidden in the testimonial evidence.â As for Keelâs commentary, âThe seeming hostility of the central phenomenon is defined and graphically explained.â
Operation Trojan Horse is described as âa hardcover containing hundreds of carefully documented cases, and revealing for the first time the authorâs personal contact experiences in 1967 which turned him from a âbelieverâ into a sceptic.â As for its impact on the UFO community, âAdvance reviewers have declared: âIt is certain to become the greatest classic on the subject… It will undoubtedly alter the course of all future UFO research.ââ
Keelâs UFO study actually started off as an assignment. In his 2002 interview with Art Bell, Keel says he was on assignment for Playboy magazine to âget to the bottom of the UFO mystery.â According to Doug Skinner in his February 11, 2015, post on johnkeel.com, Keelâs article was to be called Operation Trojan Horse, but it was rejected. He explains: âJohn decided to write the definitive article, and it grew longer and longer, as the correspondence grew more acrimonious. Eventually, the piece was rejected.â Playboy, instead, went with Dr. J. Allen Hynek who wrote an article headlined, âThe UFO Gap,â that was published in the December 1967 issue.
While Passport to Magonia and Operation Trojan Horse have become classics, are still in print, and continue to influence paranormal enthusiasts to this day, the struggle for serious scientific study of the UFO mystery wasnât going to be helped along at that point by the ideas in those books. As can be seen in their publications, groups such as APRO in the U.S., and the British UFO Research Association in Europe, stuck to the ETH.
However, FSR was open to the ideas of Vallée and Keel, as the publishers had formed very similar ideas themselves. Started in 1954, FSR was published in England, and both Vallée and Keel were frequent contributors. They maintained an audience and a presence and the idea that UFOs and their associated occupants might be from a realm other that outer space continues to be entertained by researcher/investigators to this day.
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In this episode of Podcast UFO, Martin Willis and UFO Jack welcome Jordan Flowers of the Disclosure Foundation for a discussion on UFO disclosure, government transparency, classified file releases, and the growing momentum surrounding the UAP topic in Washington, D.C. Jordan discusses the impact of the 2017 The New York Times UFO article by Leslie Kean, the Disclosure Foundationâs work with FOIA requests and congressional briefings, recent NSA and military UAP releases, and the upcoming Disclosure Forum taking place June 25th in the historic Kennedy Caucus Room inside the U.S. Senate. Topics include national security, declassified documents, whistleblowers, public stigma, media coverage, and the future of UFO transparency and disclosure.SHOW NOTES
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Jerome Clark
by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear
Among the many possible explanations for UFOs is that some UFOs might be creatures that live in the sky. The person who became best known for this idea was Trevor James Constable who presented it, along with infrared photos of what he claimed were bioforms invisible to the naked eye, in his 1958 book (as Trevor James) They Live in the Sky. James wasnât alone in his belief, and the concept of sky creatures goes back farther than 1958 in both speculative literature and science fiction.
A good starting point for the history of the sky-creatures hypothesis is the 1997 paper by Jerome Clark, Spacemen, Demons and Conspiracies, published by the Fund for UFO Research. Clark explores the many explanations for UFOs put forward throughout the years and looks at the SCH in the section âSecret Weapons and Space Animals.â After going into the speculation by people such as James Moseley, Leon Davidson, and Jacques VallĂ©e that flying saucers/UFOs can be explained as classified secret weapons, Clark delves into the history of the sky-creature concept.
According to Clark, sky creatures originally appeared in fictional form, possibly for the first time, in the story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, âThe Horror in the Heights,â published in the November 1913 issue of The Strand Magazine. The first person to offer the speculation that our skies might truly be full of living creatures was Charles Fort in his 1923 book, New Lands, in what Clark calls âa casual aside.â Fort wrote, “It seems no more incredible that up in the seemingly unoccupied sky there should be hosts of living things than that the seeming blank of the ocean should swarm with life.” In his 1931 Book, Lo!, he wrote, âUnknown, luminous things, or beings, have often been seen, sometimes close to this earth, and sometimes high in the sky. It may be that some of them were living things that occasionally come from somewhere else.â
After Kenneth Arnoldâs June 24, 1947, sighting, on July 7, John Phillip Bessor wrote the Army Air Forces giving his opinion that what Arnold and the many others that followed him had seen were âa form of space animal, or creature, of a highly attenuated (ectoplasmic?) substance, capable of materialization and dematerialization, whose propellent is a form of telekinetic energy.â Bessor posited that their presence might explain blood and meat falls reported throughout history (Fort wrote about such events), and in the assumption that they were hostile predators with a taste for human flesh, might explain missing persons.
As silly as Bessorâs theory might seem, according to Clark, an Air Force spokesman replied to Bessor saying it was âone of the most intelligent theories we have received.â In a 1949 summary of Project Signâs investigations it was noted, âAlthough the objects as described act more like animals than anything else, there are few reliable reports on extraterrestrial animals.â Clark adds that aerospace engineer Alfred Loedding who worked with Project Sign as a civilian (he was a core member when it was established), is quoted in the October 10, 1954, Trenton Times-Advertiser as saying, âI suspect that [UFOs] may be a kind of space animal.â
Much of Clarkâs paper seems to have been sourced from the December 15, 1957, Civilian Saucer Intelligence of New York newsletter. CSI-NY was a science-minded organization founded in 1954 by Isabel Davis, Ted Bloecher, and Lex Mebane. On page 31 of the news letter is the article (page 33 of the pdf) headlined âWho âDiscoveredâ Space Animals?â which has most of the same information provided by Clark. Clark references another CSI article on the subject that appeared in the September 1957 issue of Fantastic Universe.
The newsletter article begins with a reference to the Fantastic Universe article: âAfter weâd written an article for the September Fantastic Universe suggesting that âangel hairâ might be interpreted as organic tissues cast off by stratospheric creatures, we began to wonder who was the first to think of UFOs as animals.â
Ivan T. Sanderson is the first person mentioned as possibly being the âmost eminent advocateâ of the idea at the time and is said to have been âprincipally influencedâ by an article by Countess ZoĂ« Wassilko-Serecki published in the September 1955 American Astrology. Clark provides an excerpt and says her article was the most influential of all articles written on the subject because it âgave the theory concrete shape.â Itâs summed up in the CSI newsletter this way: âThis theory postulated ionospheric, energy-feeding, quasi-electrical entities.â
According to the CSI article, others came up with their own sky creature theories at about the same time. French engineer Rene FouĂ©rĂ© published his theory in the summer 1954 Paris-Montparnesse that UFOs were âdisc beings,â Commander Walter Kerig suggested that UFOs behaved more like âpuppiesâ than spaceships, and Desmond Leslie suggested in Flying Saucers Have Landed that, in the CSI reporterâs words, âthe cylindrical UFO of Oloron-Gaillac might have been a huge living thing.â
The CSI article brings up the same early post-1947 theorists as Clark and adds Arnold to the list: âSometime during this period, too (we donât have definite references), the idea was first publicly advanced by pioneer saucer investigator Kenneth Arnold.â A search on our part came up with a quote from Arnold in the article by Fred Schneiter headlined âEerie Blue Light Said Live âThingââ in the January 29, 1955 issue of The Observer out of La Grande, Oregon: âI believe that whatever they are, they are living organisms, and not controlled by any type of Man from Mars.â Going back farther in time, the CSI article, like Clarkâs, ultimately attributes Charles Fort with the origin of the SCH and includes the same quote from New Lands at the end.
The Civilian Saucer Intelligence article on the subject that appeared in the September 1957 issue of Fantastic Universe is mostly about the angel hair phenomenon. The first part of a series headlined âShapes in the Sky,â it begins with a description of an investigation by CSI of an angel hair report begun after the witness had contacted Ivan T. Sanderson. Other contemporary cases are described with the source provided for each of them, and then there are several more cases presented going back to 1741. The reader is told that the latter cases were âmostly taken from Fort, but we quote in all cases from the original reference.â This all leads to the speculation that angel hair might come from âlive large flocks of spherical entities or creatures, about six feet in diameter,â which the authors admit âis un-questionably in conflict with present scientific view of what is possible.â The two possibilities offered are that these âjellybirdsâ shed their appendages after mating, or âburst openâ after death leaving behind their âcobwebbyâ remains.
A 1950 case in Philadelphia is referenced that is said to have been described in the 2nd of the âShapes in the Skyâ series published in the May 1957 issue of Fantastic Universe. Clark also described this case in his article and its source is the September 27, 1950, Philadelphia Inquirer. According to the article âFlying âSaucerâ Just Dissolves,â at around 10 p.m. the night before, Patrolmen John Collins and Joseph Keenan spotted what seemed to be a parachute and watched through their patrol-car windshield as it settled into a field near 26th Street and Vare Boulevard.
They called in Street Sergeant Joseph Cook and Patrolman James Casper, and the four of them went to investigate. According to them, when the object was hit by the light of their flashlights, âit gave off a purplish glow, almost a mist, that looked as though it contained crystals. Collins went to pick it up and the area where he made contact dissolved and left a sticky, odorless residue. Within 25 minutes the entire object, which was so light it didnât even bend the reeds it sat on, dissolved. Cook notified the FBI, but there was nothing to show but âa magic circle on the ground where something purple, and quite evanescent, once had been.â According to many sources, including the Classic Movie Hub blog, the case was the inspiration for the 1958 movie, The Blob.
As for sky creatures appearing as movie monsters, it wasnât until 2022 that such a creature was featured in a major film. This creature has the un-monster-like name of âJean Jacketâ and is the nemesis of Earth-bound humans in Nope.
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by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear
In the early years of the flying saucer/UFO mystery, magazines played a significant part in the public perception of the phenomenon. One of the most popular magazines in that era was LIFE, which started covering saucer/UFO news at the very beginning during the 1947 summer of the saucers. For anyone interested in the early history of the phenomenon, Archives for the Unexplained has a collection of related magazine articles which includes LIFE articles from 1947 t0 1966.
In the article published in the July 1947 issue headlined âSpeaking of Pictures… a Rash of Flying Disks Breaks Out Over the U.S.,â it is lamented that none of the many saucers seen that summer paused long enough to get its picture taken. There are pictures, however, of two fake saucers: one an obvious saw blade with what looks to be a capacitor attached to it held up by Reverend Joseph Brasky who claimed it hit the lightning rod of his church with an explosion, and the other an aluminum disk with what looks to be spent fireworks attached held up by a man from Shreveport, Louisiana, who said it flew out from behind a signboard.
In 1950, a saucer in McMinnville, Oregon, seemingly did pause long enough for not only one, but two photos, and the article headlined âFarmer Trentâs Flying Saucerâ published in the June 6, 1950, issue presents two photos taken by Paul Trent of what he said was a saucer flying over his farm. Trent is described as frugal, and it is noted that after he took the two saucer pics on May 11, he used up the last of the roll taking three pictures at a family picnic on Motherâs Day. LIFE had this to say about Trent and his photos: âHerewith LIFE prints Farmer Trentâs pictures. No more can be said for them than the man that took them is an honest individual and that the negatives show no sign of having been tampered with, although there are people who would say that the object looks like the lid of a garbage can.â
The next issue in the collection is the May 5, 1951, issue which has the article headlined âThrough the Interstellar Looking Glass.â The article is about the rise in popularity of science fiction, described as âthe fastest-growing folklore of the machine age,â which had been a genre with a small dedicated fandom since the 1930s. The article covers the recent spate of movies featuring space travel and aliens such as Man From Planet X, and The Day the Earth Stood Still, and then gets deep into the culture of science fiction fandom. Significantly, the Shaver mystery (called the âShaver hoaxâ) is discussed, which set a precedent for the flying saucer mystery.
There are three issues from 1952, which was a big year due to a major flap throughout the country and the fact that the Air Force had resurrected its neglected saucer investigation, Project Grudge, under the new name, Project Blue Book. The director was Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt, who wrote about his time as director throughout 1952 in his 1956 book The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects. In it, he mentions reporters from LIFE contacting and visiting the office of Blue Book, but describes personnel other than himself interacting with them. Throughout the 1952 LIFE articles, Blue Book and Ruppelt are not mentioned by name.
The April 7, 1952, issue has Marilyn Monroe on the cover next to the teaser, âThere is a Case for Interplanetary Saucers,â for the article by H. B. Darrach and Robert Ginna headlined âHave We Visitors From Outer Space?â The article is based on the fact, as the reader is told, that the Air Force had, âfor the first timeâ opened up its files on UFOs âfor study.â
At the top of the article is a center page spread of an illustration of a green fireball done by the wife of Dr. Lincoln La Paz. Dr. La Paz was head of the Department of Mathematics and Astronomy at the University of New Mexico and had investigated a series of such sightings (and claimed to have had one himself along with his wife) for the Air Force. The article is then introduced with this: âThe Air Force is now ready to concede that many saucer and fireball sightings still defy explanation; here LIFE offers some scientific evidence that there is a real case for interplanetary flying saucers.â
The article begins with a list of âfactsâ reported to LIFE by the Air Force, which includes statements that the Air Force is maintaining an active investigation with a âpositive policyâ in its efforts to discover the source of UFO reports. Significant is the news that the Air Force was now welcoming civilian reports and guaranteeing confidentiality and freedom from ridicule.
Then, after a review of what are now classic cases in UFO history up to that point, starting with Kenneth Arnoldâs June 24, 1947, sighting and including the Thomas Mantell incident, the sighting reported by pilots Clarence S. Chiles and John B. Whitehead, and the âGorman dogfight,â ten cases from the Air Force files are presented in detail along with three cases uncovered by LIFE investigators and âreported for the first time.â The most notable of these is the first case presented known as âThe Lubbock Lightsâ which involved photos taken on August 30, 1951, by 18-year-old Texas Tech student Carl Hart Jr. of lights in formation over Lubbock, Texas. The photos are printed under the fireball illustration, and copies can be seen in the Blue Book files.
The June 9, 1952, issue has the article by Ginna headlined âSaucer Reactionsâ which describes âunprecedentedâ reader responses to the former article: âSome have been non-sensical, some philosophical, some have contained provocative and plausible theories.â It is noted that the Air Force is âenlargingâ its investigation and that LIFE has offered its news resources to Air Force intelligence for âthe gathering of pertinent data.â Readers are encouraged to report their sightings to the Air Force and instructions are given on what information to include and how use a coin to judge elevation.
The August 4, 1952, issue has an article headlined âWashingtonâs Blipsâ covering the two consecutive weekends in July starting July 19th when multiple UFOs in restricted Washington, D.C., airspace were spotted visually and on radar. Jets were scrambled and the blips on radar disappeared when the jets arrived. Ruppelt mentions in his book that Blue Book hadnât been alerted and that he found out about the events when Ginna asked him for a statement. Afterwards, the largest press conference since WWII was held by the Air Force and the explanation was offered that the radar returns might have been caused by a temperature inversion. Notably, the coverage in the LIFE article is cursory, and the main source is the chief of radar at Washingtonâs CAA control center, Harry Barnes. The Air Force is said to have denied sending in jets and then to have later admitted doing so with no explanation for the denial. The press conference isnât mentioned.
After 1952, coverage is scant. There is a short article on plans to build a practical flying saucer in the May 31, 1954, issue and a short article in the November 29, 1954, issue covering three Italian cases. The first of these is the famous case of Rosa Dainelli who claimed that two small humanoids took one her stockings along with some flowers. A picture of her with her husband and children is presented over the well-known illustration of the reported incident from the cover of La Domenica del Corriere.
There is another short article in the December 5, 1955, issue on the various shapes of craft reported to the Air Force and an article in the May 27, 1957, issue covering contactees and George Van Tasselâs Interplanetary Spacecraft Convention at Giant Rock Airport near Yucca Valley, California.
The April 1, 1966, issue is the last in the collection and it makes up for the lean years with three articles. In spite of it being April Foolâs Day, the articles are a mostly serious look at the phenomenon up to that point with a major focus on the flap in March around Dexter, Michigan. Several pictures of strange lights in the sky are presented under the headline, âA Well-witnessed âInvasionâ by Something,â and the Dexter flap is covered under the headline ââIt wasnât no hullabillusion,â said the farmer, and 52 agreed.â The quote is from the main witness, Frank Mannor as he was complaining about the crowds of people around his property in the aftermath. His wife, Leona is quoted at the end of the article saying, âWe ain’t Martians- they act like you’re not human or something because you seen it. I’m about to get a gun and shoot some of these smart alecks if they don’t stay to hell away.â
Blue Bookâs director at the time was Hector Quintanilla (spelled Quintanella in the LIFE articles), and he sent consultant Dr. J. Allen Hynek to investigate. Hynek is quoted as saying, âI believe the people who made these sightings are entirely honest and sincere, but I am not willing to guess what they saw.â Unfortunately, Hynek did guess, and at a press conference given after the article was written he suggested that some of the sightings in the area were of flaming marsh gas, which became âswamp gasâ in the press. This led to the Air Force representatives being brought before Congress at the behest of outraged Michigan State Representative Gerald Ford.
The last article is headlined âOf 10,147 flying saucer sightings there are rational explanations for all but 646.â Hynek and âQuintanellaâ are featured giving their thoughts on the phenomenon. Hynek expresses his feeling that there is an obligation to try and provide an explanation to âsolid citizensâ who report âsomething puzzling,â and Quintanilla says, in spite of his belief that there has been no evidence that saucers are of interplanetary origin, that âit is impossible to prove that flying saucers do not exist.
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by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear
Ted Bloecher, who passed away not too long ago at the age of 94, was a researcher/investigator who started out in the days of flying saucers as a founding member of Civilian Saucer Intelligence of New York and was active until the mid-1980s. He was an early researcher of humanoid reports starting in 1955, just after the 1954 French humanoid wave and the 1955 Kelly-Hopkinsville incident, and was the author of numerous publications on the subject. Tucked away in the United Kingdom file of the downloads section of the Archives for the Unexplained website is a report he wrote titled Close Encounters of the Third Kind that was published in 1977 by the British UFO Research Association. According to the introduction, the paper was prepared for a talk he gave at the BUFORA National UFO Conference at the Centre Hotel in Birmingham, England, in November 1976. The subtitle describes the paper as âThe preliminary presentation of extensive study into UFO cases involving the reported sightings of humanoids and other alien beings.â In this blog, weâll look at some of the highlights.
The publication starts off with a biography of Bloecher which includes his saucer/UFO involvement as a founding member of CSI-NY, a staff member of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, a member of the Mutual UFO Network (since 1972), and some of his publications. At the time, he was MUFONâs state section director for New York City and co-chairman with David Webb of MUFONâs Humanoid Study Group founded in 1974.
Bloecher begins his report saying that there had been âa number of unusual events that involved strange humanoid beingsâ reported throughout North America during the fall of 1975. He describes them as being the source of a great deal of âdisbelief, confusion, and controversy,â and posits they may be the result of alien visitation or âas some researchers are suggesting, poorly understood manifestations of the human psyche about which there is much to discover.â According to him, CE III reports (from a classification system developed by J. Allen Hynek) had not only escalated, but their level of strangeness had as well.
Bloecher then summarizes specific cases, which are all footnoted with references. The first is a mother and daughter from Birmingham, Alabama, who, in November, reportedly saw two eight-foot-tall humanoids wearing tight-fitting silver suits, silver ankle-high shoes, and helmets that reflected their carâs headlights as they drove towards them. One of the figures held one arm over its head. The women were âstartledâ by the creaturesâ appearance and swerved around them without stopping to investigate.
Next, a woman driving near Peers, Alberta (Canada), at 5:30 p.m. on October 14, reportedly saw what she first thought was a cattle truck parked with its lights on. It turned out to be some sort of object with two men, each holding a staff and wearing a helmet, standing motionless on top. The woman went to get two witnesses, but when they returned, the object and the men were gone.
A highly strange case involved an elderly couple in Wauwatosa near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. According to Bloecher, they were at home on the evening of November 10th. The doorbell rang, the wife answered it, and was confronted with a âmanâ wearing a narrow-brimmed hat. He had a brown face âlike smoked meat,â with vertical grey lines, a narrow chin, a small opening for a mouth less than a quarter inch wide, and he was holding a white, five-foot-long rod.
He didnât respond to âher queries,â and she called her husband over. When he saw the man, he said, âWhat the hell is this, something left over from trick or treat?â He went to grab the man, and the man hit the ground with the rod, which made an audible click, and he then glided backwards out of the husbandâs reach. As he drifted across the lawn, he raised his arm and presented a bent hand to the witnesses. In spite of having seen the man up close, the husband was unable to recall the details of his face other than the small mouth.
The couple saw at least four other similar creatures on their lawn and in the street. They were all moving âlike the astronauts on the Moonâ in long, slow jumps. They all had rods and hit them on the ground and would then float a few inches above the lawn. The creatures are described as looking deformed âlike gnomesâ with bowed legs and claw-like hands. Bloecher notes there were no UFOs reported in the area.
The next case from Poland Springs, Maine, does involve a UFO. According to Bloecher, on October 27, at 2:30 a.m., âtwo youthsâ were driving and found themselves no longer controlling the car. The car proceeded down a back road near a lake, and they saw a UFO, described as a âlarge, cylindrical object,â as it rose up over a field.
A ânumber of strange eventsâ are said to have occurred, which included a fog or mist enveloping the car. They were able to drive away, but later returned due to an âirresistible impulse,â and this time, they saw the original object as well as another one.
When they got home, there was a period of time they couldnât account for, and one of them, identified as a young man, began to suffer âsome odd physical effects.â The young man underwent hypnotic regression âweeks laterâ and recounted being taken from the car and then finding himself looking down at his car and companion through a porthole. According to him, he was confronted by a four-and-a-half-foot-tall creature that communicated telepathically and told him not to be afraid. He was led into a room, told to undress, and then underwent a physical exam which included blood being taken and him being scanned by a âmachine with dials.â He was told to get dressed, that theyâd see him again, and he then found himself back in the car where his companion seemed unaware that heâd been gone.
According to Bloecher, the young man and his family reported seeing UFOs afterwards âon numerous occasions.â He says they also reported other events of a strange nature that were âtoo complex and involved to be included in this summary…â and that everything had occurred during a âspate of reported UFO sightings in the area.â
The last case Bloecher summarizes is the Travis Walton incident. He notes that it was âwidely publicized here and abroadâ and out of all the cases summarized, âthe most highly controversialâ with too many âcomplicationsâ to include in the summary.
After his summaries, Bloecher explains that due to the enormous number of UFO reports, for instance, the 90,000 case entries in the computerized UFO Catalogue (UFOCAT) set up by David Saunders, researchers are âobligedâ to focus on the phenomenon âin microcosm,â and that this is what he is doing with humanoid reports.
Bloecher then makes note of the benefits of research into CE-III reports in terms of the amount of data they provide as compared to a light in the sky report. He introduces the term âentityâ and goes on at length about the reports of their appearance, behavior, activities, association with vehicles, and communication with witnesses. He provides a chart of the yearly distribution of reports and a statistical breakdown, and introduces the Humanoid Study Group and Humanoid Catalogue (HUMCAT).
Bloecher was a pioneer in humanoid study at a time when most researchers, in his words, âdealt only gingerly with the subject.â After the Travis Walton incident and the Pascagoula incident just over three years before, at the time of his talk, Bloecherâs fringe research was on its way to becoming mainstream.
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by UFO History Buff & Author, Charles Lear
Itâs always a plus when UFO cases come along with physical evidence to back them up. Sometimes this evidence is in the form of physiological effects on the witnesses, and cases involving these are numerous enough that investigators have been able to focus on them as a specific area of study. Conjunctivitis (burning red eyes), nausea, hair loss, numbness, paralysis, and burns are some of the symptoms commonly described, but a very unusual effect was reported in the following 1976 case from Bolton, England.
While the incident was said to have occurred in 1976, it didnât show up in major media until 1987. In the March 1987 issue (page 19 of the pdf) of She magazine, there is an article by Peter Hough headlined âThe UFO in Armadale Road.â According to Hough, at 5:15 p.m. on January 23, 1976, 17-year-old Shelley McLenaghan had just gotten off a bus and was 100 yards from home when she saw a UFO. She is quoted as saying, âBefore that, I would have thought anybody who said theyâd seen a UFO was crazy.â She added, âI think the government know far more than they let on.â
McLenaghan is then quoted describing her encounter:
Peter HoughI saw a red and green light in the sky, thought ‘what’s that?’- it was a bit weird. The lights were about four or five times the size of a star. Then, as if they’d said, âwe’ll catch your eye with the space ship,â the lights merged and the semblance of a real nuts-and-bolts craft zoomed in. It was the size of a small house, flat on top, with sloping sides and sloping underneath, with a trap door, tripod legs. It was spinning on an axis, then righted itself, I could see portholes with light shining through.
Suddenly, it tilted towards me, then there was a terrible pressure on my head and shoulders, an off taste in my mouth. My teeth seemed to vibrate. When I tried to run it was like being in a nightmare. My arms and legs moved, but in slow motion. I tried to scream, nothing came out. Then everything went hazy until I remember bursting through the side door at home.
Mother was cooking tea. She gave one look at me, then said ‘What on earth’s happened?’ She thought Iâd been raped. I grabbed her arm, dragged her outside and pointed at the sky, but whatever it was had gone. We went back into the kitchen and I started to calm down. Then I noticed the time â ten minutes past six. A ten-minute walk had taken me 45 minutes.
According to Hough, when McLenaghanâs father got home that night, the family called the Bolton Police, who didnât believe Shelleyâs story and suggested she had misidentified a low-flying plane.
Over the weekend, McLanaghan developed a rash that covered her upper body from the neck down. Along with this, her eyes hurt, her joints ached and âshe had problems with her mouth.â She went to a doctor who told her mother that the symptoms were due to hysteria and a means to get attention. However, a dentist she went to thought otherwise and was puzzled by the condition of her teeth: her top fillings had come out, and her bottom fillings had turned to powder. Hough describes this as being what would come from a serious head injury like one might get from a car accident.
According to Hough, the family was visited by two men eleven days later at 7:00 p.m. in the midst of a downpour. They were âan odd couple,â and one of them said he was an RAF commander. Hough points out that that rank only exists in the Navy. The âcommanderâ was around 40, had fair hair, only one arm, and âdid most of the talking,â while the other man was dark-skinned, small, and sat silently with âa black box on his knee.â This man said it was a tape recorder, but reportedly never changed a tape in the course of a four-hour discussion.
McLenaghan said the âcommanderâ gave her a âgrillingâ calling her a liar, âstupid enough to wrongly identify a weather balloon,â and just looking for publicity. She told him that the Bolton Evening News and Granada TV must have heard about her sighting from the police and that she hadnât cooperated with them, and âhe seemed placated.â He said this was good and insisted that she, in her words, ânot mention it to anyone â especially UFO organizations.â
McLenaghan describes being pushed to the point of breaking down, at which point the âcommanderâ would talk to her parents âabout something trivial.â She says the men âhad a strange effect on all of us,â and that her father, who was normally protective, âsat by while this man was tearing me to pieces.â She says the man seemed to know about her rash even though the family hadnât said anything about it. Hough adds that when her father asked for identification, the men evaded the issue and then said âWe investigate these sort of things.â They then drove off in a black car.
According to Hough, McLenaghan agreed to help him and Jenny Randles âreopen the case,â and he recounts McLenaghanâs experiences under hypnosis. She described herself lying on a table in a strange room with, in Houghâs words, âa figure with long blond hairâ examining her feet. She then found herself running home.
Hough says that during a second session, McLenaghan said she was talked to by the âcommanderâ twice. She is quoted as saying, âBut I canât say anything about the hypnosis because I wasnât conscious. Maybe it was something like a nightmare.â
What is noteworthy here is that Randles was the director of investigations for the British UFO Research Association from 1981 until 1993 and instrumental in getting a moratorium put into place starting in 1988 on the use of hypnosis in investigations by BUFORA members. She and Hough wrote several books together covering UFOs and the paranormal.
The article ends with a final quote from McLenaghan: âIf anyone has an experience they canât put in a box, file away and take out as a normal memory, theyâre bound to ask just what happened. Why did they choose me?â
In a box below the article, Randles is quoted explaining why McLenaghanâs case was re-investigated: âBecause the information is verifiable via other people, for example Shelley’s parents, and also because of the associated effects of the sighting – Shelley’s rash and crumbled fillings. One odd aspect is the medical silence over these; we have asked in vain to look at Shelley’s medical records of the time.â
This case is included in A Catalogue of UFO-Related Human Physiological Effects (page 69 of pdf) published in 1996 by John Schuessler, and in Jacques VallĂ©eâs 1990 book, Confrontations. Accounts can also be found in the March 22, 1988, Weekly World News, and the July 30, 1987, Australasian Post.
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