Although they are considerably variable, they can be classified as primary, secondary, and residues effects. According to Ted Phillips the following description applies:

“Primary Effects: 1. Rings – circular traces, burned, depressed, or dehydrated. The outer perimeter shows damage or change while the central area is unchanged. 2. Nests – oval traces, generally depressed, swirling effect noted. 3. Circular sites – circular traces with damage over the entire area – burned, depressed, or dehydrated. 4. Irregular sites – burned, depressed, or dehydrated areas with no particular pattern.”

The secondary effects include: imprints, damage to trees and other flora, craters, footprints and plants or soil removed, while the residues might be solids, powder, liquids and occasionally artifacts. Here is an example given by Phillips:

“June 25, 1974, St, Cyrille, Canada: Three witnesses saw occupants and a disc with a dome, red and white lights at the top of the dome. An orange rim with oval white lights around it. Yellow beams of light were seen beneath the object. Mr. and Mrs. Langlois saw the object and humanoids after their dog barked. At the site, three rings, each 19 feet in diameter with a ring width of 2 feet were found. The grass at the center of the rings was not disturbed.”

As we have discussed elsewhere, Fairyland is a place with very peculiar and extraordinary characteristics. One can access this realm through caves, rocks and underground passages, lakes and even mist. More interesting to our present discussion is the fact that it is also possible to enter the abode of fairies through fairy circles or rings. The following testimony was given in 1970 by Gretta Jones from Wales, UK to Folklorist Robin Gwyndaf:

“Where there any fairy circles [rings] in the district?-Yes, there were circles here and there in the district. Where exactly do you remember seeing these rings?-Well, I remember seeing a circle on Ty Du’s land… It was marshland, but round. It was very strange. A round circle. What was the size of the circle?–Well, I would say about ten yards… Was it of a particular color?–It was more green than the rest. No rushes or anything grew on it, only moss or fine grass…Would you go to this circle to play?–Goodness me! No! We would be too afraid in case the fairies would find us and take us away to their place…

“You never saw the fairies in the circle?–Well, no, I didn’t see them, but I heard about a boy who entered the circle … He had gone some distance from the house and he entered into this circle. And, indeed! The fairies came to dance and the boy stood in the center looking at them. He wasn’t realizing that time was passing, but one of the fairies came to him.

“Would you like to come with us to our country?”

“Dear me, yes,” the boy replied.

“Well, come down these steps here this way.”

“And he hadn’t noticed before that there were any steps there. But he goes down these steps, down and down. After walking for a while he came to a certain country, the most beautiful he had ever seen…He was taken to a large room and was given a feast. He had been like that for a while and the boy thought:”I haven’t been here long.” And one of them said: “you may sleep here tonight, if you like” “Oh no, it’s no use, my father and mother won’t know where I am.” “Oh, we’ll escort you,” they said, “we’ll take you to the top of the steps, you’ll be able to find your way then. And they took him. And after he returned to the circle he makes way for home.” But, as we already know, the boy had been in Fairyland for over one hundred years.

So, regarding an apparent similitude between fairy circles and certain types of UFO physical traces, Vallee says “that fairy “rings” and saucer nests… deserve more than passing attention and should be considered in the light of specific traditional beliefs about the meaning of the “magic circles” that for centuries farmers have found in their fields.”

References:

- Phillips, Ted, “UFOs: The Emerging Evidence”, MUFON Proceedings, 1975.

- Gwyndaf, Robin, “Fairylore: Memorates and Legends from Welsh Oral Tradition” in Narváez, Peter (Ed.), The Good People, Lexington, University Press of Kentucky, 1997.

- Vallee, Jacques, Passport to Magonia: on UFOs, Folklore and Parallel Worlds, Chicago, Contemporary Books, 1993

- Caligari2000, UFOs and Fairy Abductions, socyberty.com/paranormal/ufos-and-fairy-abductions/.

Regarding this particular topic Hartland recorded the following curious story:

“A peasant going with corn to market at Nordhausen, drove by the Kyffhauser, where he was met by a little grey man, who asked him whither he was going, and offered to reward him if he would accompany him instead. The little grey man led him through a great gateway into the mountain till they came at last to a castle. There he took from the peasant his wagon and horses, and led him into a hall gorgeously illuminated and filled with people, where he was well entertained. At last the little grey man told him it was now time he went home, and rewarding him bountifully he led him forth. His wagon and horses were given to him again, and he trudged homeward well pleased. Arrived there, however, his wife opened her eyes wide to see him, for he had been absent a year, and she had long accounted him dead.”

However, there are cases of humans that have gone in and out of Fairyland with no alteration of time. In the 17th century several people claimed visitations to Fairyland. J. F. Campbell gives this account in “Popular Tales of the West Highlands”:

“Another story was about a boy of the name of Williamson… The boy disappeared often for two and three, and often ten days at a time, and no one knew where he went, as he never told when he returned, though it was understood the fairies took him away. Upon one occasion the Laird of Barmagachan, was getting his peats cast, and all the neighbours round were assisting. At this time the boy had been away for ten days, and they were all wondering where he could be, when lo and behold, the boy is sitting in the midst of them. “Johnny”, said one of the company, who were all seated in a ring, eating their dinner, “where did ye come from?” ”I came with our folks,” said the boy (meaning the fairies). “Your folks; who are they?” “Do you see yon barrow of peats a couping into yon hole? there’s where I came from.”

With UFO abductees a break in the continuity of time also occurs; what sometimes appears to be a relatively short period of time, turns out to be quite a few unexplained hours that somehow remain lost from their conscious life. However, this loss of memory doesn’t seem to be a characteristic of folklore narratives, and in Fairyland the time distortion is measured in years rather then hours. Another interesting feature of some UFO abductions is the “time compression” distortion. In these cases a UFO encounter which seemingly last for hours actually occurs in the space of a few minutes. UFO expert Mark Moravec reports the following incident:

“A young American contactee living in Adelphi, Maryland, claimed a number of UFO contacts. In February 1968, a UFO entity allegedly guided him to an isolated farm area where a large, egg-shaped object on tripod legs was waiting. He went inside and was sealed alone in a compartment containing a contour chair and a large “TV screen”. The percipient went on a trip which lasted four to five hours. When he returned to his apartment and was confronted by his room-mates, the percipient was amazed to discover that little more than an hour had actually passed since the beginning of his experience.”

Moravec concludes suggesting a link between UFO experiences of this kind (and this conclusion can also largely apply to fairy encounters) and altered states of consciousness. Research has shown that in these states the alteration of the sense of time and chronology is a frequent feature of such conditions.

References:

- Hartland, Edwin S., The Science of Fairy Tales, London, Walter Scott, 1891.

- Campbell, J.F., Popular Tales of the West Highlands, Vol. 1, Edinburgh, Berlinn, 1994.

- Moravec, Mark, “The Psychology of Close Encounters”, in Evans, Hilary (Ed.), Frontiers of Reality, London, Guild Publishing, 1989.

- Vallee, Jacques, Passport to Magonia: on UFOs, Folklore and Parallel Worlds, Chicago, Contemporary Books, 1993.

Everyone is aware of the now classic 1977 film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is about one man’s (Richard Dreyfuss) obsession after seeing a UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) and determine to meet the extraterrestrials despite the government’s efforts to hide the fact that a landing is going to take place, making this the “first contact” encounter with peaceful beings.

But the public views on aliens have shifted over the years due to the recent reports coming in since 1980. UFO’s sightings are frequently reported worldwide. But reported encounters with aliens have turned into a much more darker and sinister tone. Either abduction cases have increased over the years or more people are simply reporting them, less fearful of ridicule than they were before. The newest film to address the issue is “The Fourth Kind”. Starring Milla Jovovich in a fact-based thriller about a psychologist investigating why an entire Alaskan town is besieged by strange alien-like visitors and unexplained disappearances. The real psychologist, Dr. Abigail Tyler, when dealing with traumatized patients would videotape the sessions, and the disturbing footage is integrated into the film revealing good evidence that something supernatural is happening here.

Weather one wants to believe in alien abduction as a real phenomenon or simply people having mass hysterics, the fact still remains that people are missing and survivors report the same terrifying M.O. ( modus operandi or method of operating) when encountering these aliens even breaking into their own homes and walking through walls. These type of creatures seem to be a common theme dating back thousands of years of similar reported cases.

Another compelling fact is that the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) has reported that recently over the years that over 800,000 missing cases of people exist and that the number is steadily increasing each year. The FBI claims that up to 60% can be explained away by crime activity, but that the remainder is totally unsolved. The FBI has been at least impartially involved in UFO investigations since the 1940’s and animal mutilations (this phenomenon is associated with UFO’s and is still happening today) which were first reported during the late 1970’s, but the FBI’s early inquiry into the subject of UFO’s was stalled by the CIA and US military, to this day the FBI will not openly emit that the alien abduction phenomenon is real.

The United States government was very interested in UFO’s, especially the military and intelligence gathering agencies. Dr. J. Allen Hynek was an American astronomer and UFO researcher. He was working with the US Air Force involving UFO investigation starting back in 1948 on “Project Sign”. Other study groups like “Project Grudge” and “Project Blue Book”, all had Hynek as a leading investigator. Dr. Hynek is credited for developing in 1972 the classification term we use today for encountering UFO’s.

1. Close Encounter of the First Kind, a ground or aerial sighting, seeing objects in the sky, either odd lights or metallic objects flying beyond human technology.

2. Close Encounter of the Second Kind, physical evidence, deep impression in ground or soil, crop circles, radio signals blocked, and anything resembling physical damage to people or land due to exposure to high doses of radiation.

3. Close Encounter of the Third Kind, actually observing alien entities within or outside their craft and meeting them. The Steven Spielberg film is an entertaining and admirable attempt to show what happens when the government and local citizens encounter UFO occupants up close, making “first contact” in a friendly way.

4. Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind, this was added in later by other Ufologist who soon realized the growing rate of this type of encounter. Numerous case studies involving alien abduction where people encountered UFO’s and their occupants would be taken aboard the alien craft and forced medical examinations.

Ever since the Betty and Barney Hill abduction case psychologist have tried to understand this disturbing experience when encountering UFO’s. Ufologist like Budd Hopkins (who wrote “Intruders” in 1987) and Dr. Leo Sprinkle have done extensive research in UFO contactee and abductee cases. The difference is a contactee is meeting benign aliens who seem to have a spiritual message to give and an abductee is more a victim, taken against their will, and deeply traumatized. Well known author, Whitney Schreiber, wrote about his personal experiences involving alien abduction in his book “Communion“ which was made into a film starring Christopher Walken.

Many abduction cases also involve the victims suffering from mysterious bruises, needle marks, scars, nightmares, frequent nose bleeds, missing time, a memory of looking at something that is really a different object, and deterioration of health. This is very real and fully documented. Who believes in this type of phenomenon? Psychotherapist, Ufologist, hypnotherapist, medical doctors, scientist, and of course the victims do. But the simple question is why? What purpose does it serve? Why is it happening? Who benefits? The Alaskan case which “The Fourth Kind” film is based on has since the 1960’s unexplained disappearances of people in that area. One should be open-minded to unheard of possibilities and ask the question: has this been going on throughout human history?

T.S.Garp © Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved.

This strange and frightening phenomenon is associated with people encountering UFO’s. Accounts from every country and culture around the globe have reported similar cases of people abducted by alien beings. Many skeptics would say all these reports are nothing more than mass hysteria. That the people reporting these encounters are merely hallucinating and suffering from some unknown, mental instability. But this particular phenomenon even goes back to Biblical times, involving angels and demon-like creatures capturing unsuspecting inhabitance. Even further in history shows them to be more “God-like” in nature, visiting peacefully and imparting wisdom to cultures dating back nearly 10,000 years ago.

What was the earliest reported case of alien abduction in out time? One of the very first known cases was Villas Boas, a Brazilian farmer, who reported being abducted in 1957. He claimed in quite detail that the aliens took him, performed medical examination, and made him have sex with a female humanoid creature. This type of abduction would later be more common in our time involving women reporting that they were abducted, forced to have sex, their eggs taken, and that medical test were done by aliens for some kind of cross-breeding purposes.

Before alien abduction became mainstream in our present society as a sort of running joke associated with UFO’s and aliens, the media and non-believers, have accepted the fact that numerous eyewitnesses are simply mistaken about what they actually saw. The second most compelling abduction case soon came to light a few years after the Boas’ case. During the 1960’s the term “alien abduction” really gain attention with the famous Betty and Barney Hill case in 1961. The Hills were returning home late at night when they encountered a UFO that was following their car. The Hills remembered stopping their car, they observed the UFO landing, they notice aliens from afar outside the saucer shape craft, they tried to get away, and than suffered a memory loss as they came home that evening.

The Hills lived in New Hampshire and days later felt their memories of that night were fragmented and incomplete. Betty complained of strange dreams and both were tormented by buzzing sounds associated with their memories of encountering the UFO. They sought counseling by several psychotherapist like Dr. Benjamin Simon. After hypnotizing the Hills to recall that night, Dr. Simon noted that Barney suffered a much more traumatic experience than Betty. The Hills remembered being taken inside the alien craft, separated for medical examination, and then released. In 1975 an excellent TV movie starring James Earl Jones and Estelle Parson, retold the story of the Hills Abduction case.

 The Travis Walton case on November 5, 1975 was more alarming. Walton and six other American loggers encountered a UFO in the forest region of Arizona. Walton went in for a closer look at the hovering disc-shape craft and was struck down by a light-beam. Panic stricken, the others fled and reported Walton missing to the police. A massive man-hunt ensued by the police and found nothing. Six days later Walton returned suffering memory loss. A psychiatrist using hypnosis discovered that Walton recalls the aliens took him aboard their space craft. Small grey aliens tried to examined him and feeling threaten, Walton resisted, the film “Fire in the Sky”, made in 1993, illustrates Walton’s fear up to that point, but fails to tell the rest of his story about encountering human-like people also on the alien craft.

Dr. Carl Sagan, astronomer and author, consultant and adviser to NASA, his award-winning 1980 TV series “Cosmos” helped popularized planetary exploration, life in the cosmos, astrophysics, science education, and government regulation of science and the environment. Sagan was known as a skeptic of UFO sightings for lack of definitive proof. He had heard the Hills abduction case and seen the Betty Hill star map she drew from memory of Zeta Reticuli as being a “random chance” of star points.

 But he did propose a theory that the notion of ancient “demon abductions” reported throughout history was very similar to modern day alien abductions, walking through walls, sexual abuse, and medical experiments on hapless humans. Before his death in 1996, a colleague of Sagan asked him to rethink his skeptic views on UFO’s and close encounters. Sagan agreed, he researched and didn’t realize that the amount of data regarding UFO’s and alien abduction cases were not only prevalent today, but not entirely unpersuasive, that there might be some truth about UFO’s, and alien beings visiting our planet.

T.S.Garp © Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved.