Emoney
Title.
The
terms alien abduction or abduction
phenomenon describe "subjectively real memories of being
taken secretly against one’s will by apparently nonhuman entities and subjected
to complex physical and psychological procedures."[1] People claiming to have been
abducted are usually called "abductees" or "experiencers."
Typical claims involve the experiencer being subjected to a forced medical examination which emphasizes
their reproductive system.[2] Abductees sometimes claim to
have been warned against environmental abuse and the dangers of nuclear
weapons.[3] Consequently, while many of
these purported encounters are described as terrifying, some have been viewed
as pleasurable or transformative.
Mainstream
scientists and mental health professionals overwhelmingly doubt that the
phenomenon occurs literally as reported and instead attribute the experiences
to "[d]eception,suggestibility (fantasy-proneness,
hypnotizability, false-memory syndrome),
personality, sleep phenomena, psychopathology, psychodynamics [and] environmental
factors."[4]. Skeptic Robert Sheaffer also sees
similarity between the aliens depicted in early science fiction films, in
particular, Invaders
From Mars, and those reported to have actually abducted people.[5]The first alien abduction claim to be
widely publicized was the Betty and
Barney Hill abduction in 1961.[6] Reports of the abduction
phenomenon have been made around the world, but are most common in English speaking countries,
especially the United States.[5] The contents of the abduction
narrative often seem to vary with the home culture of the alleged abductee.[5] Alien abductions have been the
subject of conspiracy theories and
of popular Mainstream scientists reject claims that the phenomenon
literally occurs as reported. However, there is little doubt that many
apparently stable persons who report alien abductions are sincere:[8] as reported in the Harvard University Gazette in 1992,
Dr. John Edward Mack investigated
over 800 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." [9] "While psychopathology is
indicated in some isolated alien abduction cases," Stanley Krippner et al. confirmed,
"assessment by both clinical examination and standardized tests has shown
that, as a group, abduction experients are not different from the general
population in term of psychopathology prevalence."[10] Other experts who have argued
that abductees' mental health is no better or worse than average include
psychologists John Wilson and Rima Laibow, and psychotherapist David Gotlib[11].
Some
abduction reports are quite detailed. An entire subculture has developed around the
subject, with support groups and
a detailed mythosexplaining 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 extraterrestrial or
governmental interest in cover-up.
History
As
noted below, the Antonio Villas Boas case
(1957) and the Hill
abduction (1961) were the first cases of UFO abduction to earn
widespread attention.
Though
these two cases are sometimes viewed as the earliest abductions, skeptic Peter
Rogerson[12] notes this assertion is
incorrect: the Hill and Boas abductions, he contends, were only the first
"canonical" abduction cases, establishing a template that later
abductees and researchers would refine, but rarely deviate from. Additionally,
Rogerson notes purported abductions were cited contemporaneously at least as
early as 1954, and that "the growth of the abduction stories is a far more
tangled affair than the 'entirely unpredisposed' official history would have us
believe." (The phrase "entirely unpredisposed" appeared in
folklorist Thomas E. Bullard's
study of alien abduction; he argued that alien abductions as reported in the
1970s and 1980s had little precedent in folklore or fiction.)
Paleo-abductions
While
"alien abduction" did not achieve widespread attention until the
1960s, there were many similar stories circulating decades earlier. These early
abduction-like accounts have been dubbed "paleo-abductions" by UFO
researcher Jerome Clark.[13]
§In a 1897 edition of the Stockton, California Daily
Mail, Colonel H. G. Shaw claimed he and a friend were harassed by three
tall, slender humanoids whose bodies were covered with a fine, downy hair who
tried to kidnap the pair.[13]
§Rogerson writes that the 1955 publication of
Harold T. Wilkins's Flying Saucers Uncensored declared that
Karl Hunrath and Wilbur Wilkinson, who had claimed they were contacted by
aliens, had disappeared under mysterious circumstances; Wilkins reported
speculation that the duo were the victims of "alleged abduction by flying
saucers".[12]
Contactees
Main article: Contactee
The
UFO contactees of the 1950s claimed to have contacted aliens, and the substance
of contactee narratives are often regarded as quite different from alien
abduction accounts.
Two landmark cases
An
early alien abduction claim occurred in the mid-1950s with the Antonio Villas Boas case,
which didn't receive much attention until several years later. Widespread
publicity was generated by the Betty and
Barney Hill abduction case of 1961, 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 perhaps the
first in which the claimant described beings that later became widely known as
theGreys, and in which the beings were said to
explicitly identify an extraterrestrial origin.
If
fictional sources such as science fiction movies and pulps are taken into consideration, the
phenomena might be traced back to the 1930s.
Later developments
Dr. R. Leo Sprinkle (a University of Wyoming psychologist)
became interested in the abduction phenomenon in the 1960s. For some years, he
was probably the only academic figure devoting any time to studying or
researching abduction accounts. Sprinkle became convinced of the phenomenon's
actuality, and was perhaps the first to suggest a link between abductions
and cattle mutilation.
Eventually Sprinkle came to believe that he had been abducted by aliens in his
youth; he was forced from his job in 1989. (Bryan, 145fn)
Budd Hopkins—a painter and sculptor by
profession—had been interested in UFOs for some years. In the 1970s he became
interested in abduction reports, and began using hypnosis in order to extract more details
of dimly remembered events. Hopkins
soon became a figurehead of the growing abductee subculture. (Schnabel 1994)
The
1980s brought a major degree of mainstream attention to the subject. Works
by Budd Hopkins, Whitley Strieber, David M. Jacobs and John Mack presented
alien abduction as a genuine phenomenon. (Schnabel 1994)
Also
of note in the 1980s was the publication of folklorist Dr. Thomas E. Bullard's comparative analysis of
nearly 300 alleged abductees. The mid and late 1980s saw the involvement of two
esteemed academic figures: Harvard psychiatrist
John Mack and historian David M. Jacobs.
With
Hopkins, Jacobs and Mack, several shifts occurred in the nature of the
abduction narratives. There had been earlier abduction reports (the Hills being
the best known), but they were believed to be few and far between, and saw
rather little attention from ufology (and even
less attention from mainstream professionals or academics). Jacobs and Hopkins
argued that alien abduction was far more common than earlier suspected; they
estimate that tens of thousands (or more) North Americans had been taken by
unexplained beings. (Schnabel 1994)
Furthermore,
Jacobs and Hopkins argued that there was an elaborate scheme underway, that the
aliens were attempting a program to create human–alien hybrids, though the motives for this scheme
were unknown. There were anecdotal reports of phantom pregnancy related to UFO
encounters at least as early as the 1960s, but Budd Hopkins and especially David M. Jacobs were instrumental in
popularizing the idea of widespread, systematic interbreeding efforts on the
part of the alien intruders. Despite the relative paucity of corroborative
evidence, Jacobs presents this scenario as not only plausible, but
self-evident. Hopkins and Jacobs have also been criticized for selective
citation of abductee interviews, favoring those which support their hypothesis
of extraterrestrial intervention.
The
involvement of Jacobs and Mack marked something of a sea change in
the abduction studies. Their efforts were controversial (both men saw some
degree of damage to their professional reputations), but to other observers,
Jacobs and Mack brought a degree of respectability to the subject.
John Mack
Matheson
writes that "if Jacobs's credentials were impressive," then those
of Harvard psychiatrist John Edward Mack might seem
"impeccable" in comparison. (Matheson, 251) Mack was a well known,
highly esteemed psychiatrist, author of over 150 scientific articles and winner
of the Pulitzer Prize for
his biography of T. E. Lawrence.
Mack became interested in the phenomenon in the late 1980s, interviewing over
800 people, and eventually writing two books on the subject.
In
June 1992, Mack co-organized a five-day conference at MIT to
discuss and debate the abduction phenomenon.[14] The conference attracted a
wide range of professionals, representing a variety of perspectives. (In
response to this conference, Mack and Jacobs were awarded an Ig Nobel Prize in 1993).
Writer C. D. Bryan attended the conference,
initially intending to gather information for a short humorous article
for The New Yorker.
While attending the conference, however, Bryan's
view of the subject changed, and he wrote a serious, open-minded book on the
phenomenon, additionally interviewing many abductees, skeptics, and proponents.
Abductors
Main article: Abduction
phenomenon entities
Many abductees describe
aliens as greyhumanoids, known as greys.
A
variety of types of abductors are proposed, including Greys,
Nordic aliens almost indistinguishable from humans, humanoid reptiles, energy beings and more.
Motivations
A
variety of motivations are attributed to alleged abductors. These include:
§Numerous reports that form a loose narrative
around long-term surveillance and interaction with humans. The entities state
that the abductee has a unique characteristic, resulting in repeated
abductions, implanting information subconsciously for later
"activation". Sometimes this is related to major changes affecting
the Earth and the entities' desire to help.[15]
§When abductees ask why they are being studied or
undergoing surgery, the entity may answer with a statement like "We have
the right to do this."[2]
Abductees
Main article: Abduction claimants
The
precise number of abductees is uncertain. One of the earliest studies of
abductions found 1,700 claimants, while contested surveys argued
that 5-6% of the general population might have been abducted.[4]
As
a category, some studies show that abductees have psychological characteristics
that render their testimony suspect.[5] Dr. Elizabeth Slater conducted
a blind study of nine abduction claimants
and found them to be prone to "mildly paranoid thinking," nightmares
and having a weak sexual identity.[5]
According
to Yvonne Smith, some alleged abductees test positive for lupus,
despite not showing any symptoms.[16]
Paranormal
Alleged
abductees are seen by many pro-abduction researchers to have a higher incidence
of non-abduction related paranormal events and abilities.[17] Following an abduction
experience, these paranormal abilities and occurrences sometimes seem to become
more pronounced.[17] According to investigator
Benton Jamison, abduction experiencers who report UFO sightings that should
have been, but are not, reported by independent corroborating witnesses often
seem to "be 'psychic personalities' in the sense of Jan Ehrenwald."[17]
Demographics
In
a study investigating the motivations of the alleged abductors, Jenny Randles found that in each of the 4
cases out of 50 total where the experiencer was over 40 years of age or more,
they were rejected by the aliens for "what they (the experiencers) usually
inferred to be a medical reason."[15] Randles concludes "[T]he
abduction is essentially a young person's experience."[15] Given the reproductive focus
of the alleged abductions it is not surprising that one man reported being
rejected because he had undergone a vasectomy.[18] It could also be partially
because people over the age of 40 are less likely to have "hormonic"
or reproductive activity going on.
Although
abduction and other UFO-related reports are usually made by adults, sometimes
young children report similar experiences.[19] These child-reports often
feature very specific details in common with reports of abduction made by
adults, including the cirumstances, narrative, entities and aftermaths of the
alleged occurrences.[19] Often these young abductees
have family members who have reported having abduction experiences.[19] Family involvement in the
military, or a residence near a military base is also common amongst child
abduction claimants.[19]
The abduction narrative
Main article: Narrative
of the abduction phenomenon
Although
different cases vary in detail (sometimes significantly), some UFO researchers,
such as folklorist Thomas E. Bullard[20] argue that there is a broad,
fairly consistent sequence and description of events which make up the typical
"close encounter of
the fourth kind" (a popular but unofficial designation building on
Dr. J. Allen Hynek's
classifying terminology). Though the features outlined below are often
reported, there is some disagreement as to exactly how often they actually
occur. Some researchers (especially Budd Hopkins and David Michael Jacobs)
have been accused of excluding, minimising or suppressing testimony or data
which do not fit a certain paradigm for the
phenomenon.[citation needed]
Bullard
argues most abduction accounts feature the following events. They generally
follow the sequence noted below, though not all abductions feature all the
events:
1.Capture. The abductee is forcibly taken from
terrestrial surroundings to an apparent alien space craft.
2.Examination. Invasive medical or scientific procedures are
performed on the abductee.
3.Conference. The abductors speak to the abductee.
4.Tour. The abductees are given a tour of their
captors' vessel.
5.Loss
of Time. Abductees rapidly
forget the majority of their experience.
6.Return. The abductees are returned to earth.
Occasionally in a different location from where they were allegedly taken or
with new injuries or disheveled clothing.
7.Theophany. The abductee has a profound mystical experience, accompanied by
a feeling of oneness with God or the universe.
8.Aftermath. The abductee must cope with the psychological,
physical, and social effects of the experience.
When
describing the "abduction scenario", David M. Jacobs says:
The entire abduction event is precisely
orchestrated. All the procedures are predetermined. There is no standing around
and deciding what to do next. The beings are task-oriented and there is no
indication whatsoever that we have been able to find of any aspect of their
lives outside of performing the abduction procedures.[21]
Capture
Abduction
claimants report unusual feelings preceding the onset of an abduction
experience.[22] These feelings manifest as
a compulsive desire to be at a certain
place at a certain time or as expectations that something "familiar yet
unknown," will soon occur.[22] Abductees also report feeling
severe, undirected anxiety at this point
even though nothing unusual has actually occurred yet.[22] This period of foreboding can
last for up to several days before the abduction actually takes place or be
completely absent.[22]
Eventually,
the experiencer will undergo an apparent "shift" into an altered
state of consciousness.[22] British abduction researchers
have called this change in consciousness "the Oz Factor." External
sounds cease to have any significance to the experiencer and fall out of
perception.[22] They report feeling introspective
and unusually calm.[22] This stage marks a transition
from normal activity to a state of "limited self-willed mobility."[22] As consciousness shifts one or
more lights are alleged to appear, occasionally accompanied by a strange mist.[22] The source and nature of the
lights differ by report, sometimes the light emanates from a source outside the
house (presumably the abductors' UFO), sometimes the lights are
in the bedroom with the experiencer and transform into alien figures.[22]
As
the alleged abduction proceeds, claimants say they will walk or be levitated
into an alien craft, often through solid objects like walls or a window.[22] Alternatively, they may
experience rising through a tunnel with or without the abductors accompanying
them into the awaiting craft.[22]
Most
abductees report being taken from their bedroom prior to falling asleep.[citation needed] Typically,
at the onset of the abduction experience, the abductee will report paralysis,
sighting a bright light, and the appearance of humanoid figures.
In
many abduction reports, the individual(s) concerned are traveling by automobile
at the time of the incident, usually at night or in the early morning hours,
and usually in a rural or sparsely populated area. A UFO will be seen ahead,
(sometimes on the road) and the driver will either deliberately stop to
investigate, or the car will stop due to apparent mechanical failure. Other
forms of mechanical failure and interference are also common, such as a car
radio producing static or behaving abnormally. In the occasions when they have
been present, animals such as dogs usually also display a heightened fear
response.[citation needed]
Upon
getting out of the vehicle, the driver and passenger(s) often will experience a
blank period and amnesia (see missing time), after which they will find
themselves again standing in front of, or driving their car. While they
frequently will not consciously remember the experience, either
subsequent nightmares or hypnosis will reveal events interpreted
as having occurred during the period lacking explicit memory.
Examination
The
examination phase of the so-called "abduction narrative" is
characterized by the performance of medical procedures and examinations by apparently alien beings against
or irrespective to the will of the experiencer. Such procedures often focus
on sex and reproductive biology. However, the literature holds reports
of a wide variety of procedures allegedly performed by the beings. The entity
that appears to be in charge of the operation is often taller than the others
involved.[2][23]
Miller
notes different areas of emphasis between human medicine and what is allegedly
being practiced by the abductors.[2] The abductors' areas of
interest appear to be the cranium(see below), nervous system, skin, reproductive system,
and to a lesser degree, the joints.[2] Systems given less attention
than a human doctor would, or omitted entirely includecardiovascular system,
the respiratory system below
the pharynx and the lymphatic system.[2] The abductors also appear to
ignore the upper region of the abdomen in favor of the lower one.[2]
There
are also differences in procedure as well as emphasis between human medicine
and that claimed to be practiced by the entities. The abductors don't appear to
wear gloves during the "examination." [2] Other constants of terrestrial
medicine like pills and tablets are missing from abduction narratives although
sometimes abductees are asked to drink liquids.[2]Injections also seem to be rare
and IVs are
almost completely absent.[2] Dr. Miller says he's never
heard an abductee claim to have a tongue depressor used on them.[2]
Subsequent abduction
procedures
After
the so-called medical exam, the alleged abductees often report other procedures
being performed with the entities.[21] Common among these
post-examination procedures are what abduction researchers refer to as imaging,
envisioning, staging, and testing.[21]
"Imaging"
procedures consist of an abductee being made to view screens displaying images
and scenes that appear to be specially chosen with the intent to provoke certain
emotional responses in the abductee.[21] "Envisioning" is a
similar procedure, with the primary difference being that the images being
viewed, rather than being on a screen, actually seem to be projected into the
experiencer's mind.[21] "Staging" procedures
have the abductee playing a more active role, according to reports containing
this element.[21] It shares vivid
hallucination-like mental visualization with the envisioning procedures, but
during staging the abductee interacts with the illusionary scenario like a role
player or an actor.[21]
"Testing"
marks something of a departure from the above procedures in that it lacks the
emotional analysis feature.[21] During testing the experiencer
is placed in front of a complicated electronic device and is instructed to
operate it.[21] The experiencer is often
confused, saying that they don't know how to operate it.[21] However, when they actually
set about performing the task, the abductee will find that they do, in fact,
know how to operate the machine.[21]
Child presentation
Abductees
of all ages and genders sometimes report being subjected to a "child
presentation."[21] As its name implies, the child
presentation involves the abduction claimant being shown a "child."[21] Often the children appear to
be neither human, nor the same species as the abductors.[21] Instead, the child will almost
always share characteristics of bothspecies.[21] These children are labeled by
experiencers as hybrids between
humans and their abductors, usually Greys.
Unlike
Budd Hopkins and David Jacobs, folklorist Thomas E. Bullard could not identify a
child presentation phase in the abduction narrative, even after undertaking a
study of 300 abduction reports.[18] Bullard says that the child
presentation "seems to be an innovation in the story."[18] And that "no clear
antecedents" to descriptions of the child presentation phase exists prior
to its popularization by Hopkins and Jacobs.[18]
Less common elements
Folklorist
Dr. Thomas E. Bullard conducted a study of 300 reports of alien abduction in an
attempt to observe the less prominent aspects of the claims.[3] He notes the emergence of four
general categories of events which recur regularly, although not as frequently
as stereotypical happenings like the medical examination.[3] These four types of events are:
1.The conference.[3]
2.The tour.[3]
3.The journey.[3]
4.Theophany.[3]
Chronologically
within abduction reports these rarer episodes tend to happen in the order
listed, between the medical examination and the return.[3]
After
allegedly displaying cold callous disregard towards the abduction experiencers,
sometimes the entities will change drastically in behavior once the initial
medical exam is completed.[3] They become more relaxed and
hospitable towards their captive and lead him or her away from the site of the
examination.[3] The entities then hold a conference with
the experiencer, wherein they discuss things relevant to the abduction
phenomenon.[3] Bullard notes five general
categories of discussion that occur during the conference "phase" of
reported abduction narratives: An interrogation session, explanatory segment,
task assignment, warnings, and prophecies.[3]
Tours of the abductors'
craft are a rare but recurring feature of the abduction narrative.[3] The tour seems to be given by
the alleged abductors as a courtesy in response to the harshness and physical
rigors of the forced medical examination.[3] Sometimes the abductee report
traveling on a "journey" to orbit around Earth or to what
appear to be other planets.[3] While some abductees find that
the experience is terrifying, particularly if the aliens are of a more fearsome
species, or if the abductee was subjected to extensive probing and medical
testing, other abductees experience "theophany" — a
sense of oneness with the universe or with God.[citation needed]
Return
Main article: Missing time
Eventually
the abductors will return the abductees to terra firma, usually to
exactly the same location and circumstances they were in prior to being taken.[24] Usually, explicit memories of
the abduction experience will not be present, and the abductee will realize
they've experienced "missing time" upon checking a timepiece.[24]
Sometimes
the alleged abductors appear to make mistakes when returning their captives.[24] Famed UFO researcher Budd
Hopkins has joked about "the cosmic application of Murphy's Law" in
response to this observation.[24] Hopkins has estimated that these
"errors" accompany 4-5% of abduction reports.[24] One type of common apparent
mistake made by the abductors is failing to return the experiencer to the same
spot that they were taken from initially.[24] This can be as simple as a
different room in the same house, or abductees can even find themselves outside
and all the doors of the house are locked from the inside.[24]
Realization event
Physician
and abduction researcher John G. Miller sees significance in the reason a
person would come to see themselves as being a victim of the abduction
phenomenon.[25] He terms the insight or
development leading to this shift in identity from non-abductee to abductee the
"realization event."[25] The realization event is often
a single, memorable experience, but Miller reports that not all abductees
experience it as a distinct episode.[25] Either way, the realization
event can be thought of as the "clinical
horizon" of the abduction experience.[25]
[edit]Trauma
and recovery
Most
people alleging alien abductions report invasive examinations of their bodies[26] and some ascribe psychological trauma to
their experiences.[27] Alleged abductees claim their
memories of the abduction events have caused posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD).[citation needed] "Post
abduction syndrome" is a term used by abductees to describe the effects of
abduction, though it is not recognized by any professional treatment
organizations.[27] The difference between PAS and
PTSD is described as the recurrence of the phenomenon and the inability to
identify when the disorder started[28]; furthermore, the medical community
considers PTSD to be a severe and debilitating ailment whereas "PAS"
has been promoted only by fringe researchers.
Support groups
Support
groups for people who believed they were abducted began appearing in the
mid-1980s. These groups appear throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. Their members are primarily white married females with some college
education.[29]
Therapeutical Hypnosis
Most
alien abductees recall their abduction(s) through hypnosis.[30] Because of this, the vast
majority of evidence for alien abduction is based on memories 'recovered'
through hypnosis. Due to the extensive use of hypnosis, the abduction
narratives are frequently explained by skeptics as false memories and suggestions by the
hypnotherapist.[31] Alleged abductees seek out
hypnotherapists to try to resolve issues such as missing time or unexplained physical
symptoms such as muscle pain or
headaches. This usually involves two phases, an information gathering stage, in
which the hypnotherapist asks about unexplained illnesses or unusual phenomena
during the patients lives (which are defined as caused by or distortions of the
alleged abduction), followed by hypnosis and guided imagery to facilitate
recall. The information gathering enhances the likelihood that the events
discussed will be incorporated into later abduction "memories".[32] Seven steps are hypothesized
to lead to the development of false memories:[31]
1.A person is predisposed
to accept the idea that certain puzzling or inexplicable experiences might be
telltale signs of UFO abduction.
2.The person seeks out a
therapist, whom he or she views as an authority and who is, at the very least,
receptive to this explanation and has some prior familiarity with UFO abduction
reports.
3.Alternately, the
therapist frames the puzzling experiences in terms of an abduction narrative.
4.Alternative explanations
of the experiences are not explored.
5.There is increasing
commitment to the abduction explanation and increasing anxiety reduction
associated with ambiguity reduction.
6.The therapist
legitimates or ratifies the abductee’s experience, which constitutes additional
positive reinforcement.
7.The client adopts the
role of the "victim" or abductee, which becomes integrated into the
psychotherapy and the client’s view of self.
Perspectives
Main article: Perspectives
on the abduction phenomenon
There
have been a variety of explanations offered for abduction phenomena, ranging
from sharply skeptical appraisals to uncritical acceptance of all abductee
claims.
Some
have elected not to try explaining things, instead noting similarities to other
phenomena, or simply documenting the development of the alien abduction
phenomenon.
Others
are intrigued by the entire phenomenon, but hesitate in making any definitive
conclusions. The late Harvard psychiatrist John Mack concluded, "The furthest
you can go at this point is to say there's an authentic mystery here. And
that is, I think, as far as anyone ought to go."
(emphasis as in original) (Bryan,
269)
Putting
aside the question of whether abduction reports are literally and objectively
"real", literature professor Terry Matheson argues that their
popularity and their intriguing appeal are easily understood. Tales of
abduction "are intrinsically absorbing; it is hard to imagine a more vivid
description of human powerlessness." After experiencing the frisson of delightful
terror one may feel from reading ghost stories or watching horror movies, Matheson notes that people
"can return to the safe world of their homes, secure in the knowledge that
the phenomenon in question cannot follow. But as the abduction myth has stated
almost from the outset, there is no avoiding alien abductors." (Matheson,
297)
Matheson
writes that when compared to the earlier contactee reports, abduction accounts are
distinguished by their "relative sophistication and subtlety, which
enabled them to enjoy an immediately more favorable reception from the
public."
Skeptical perspectives
Skeptical perspectives on the abduction phenomenon are those opinions which assert that
reports of people being kidnapped and subjected to forced medical examinations
by non-human creatures do not occur literally as reported. Although being only
one of many competing explanations for the phenomenon, it is the only one that
is widely accepted by mainstream scientists and historians. Alternative explanations, such as
the extraterrestrial
hypothesis, are largely dismissed by academics as being pseudoscientific.[citation needed]
Various
hypotheses have been proposed by skeptics to explain reports without the
need to invoke non-parsimonious concepts
such as intelligent extraterrestrial life forms.
These hypotheses usually center on known psychological processes that can
produce subjective experiences similar to those reported in abduction claims.
Skeptics are also likely to critically examine abduction claims for evidence
of hoaxing or influence from popular culture
sources such as science fiction.
One example of a comprehensive, skeptical analysis that focuses on the effects
of mass marketing is art historian John F. Moffitt's 2003 book Picturing
Extraterrestrials: Alien Images in Modern Mass Culture [33]
Examples
§Proposed psychological alternative explanations
of the abduction phenomenon have included hallucination, temporary schizophrenia, epileptic seizures and parasomnia—near-sleep mental states (hypnogogic states, night terrors and sleep paralysis). Sleep paralysis in particular is often
accompanied by hallucinations and peculiar sensation of malevolent or neutral
presence of "something," though usually people experiencing it do not
interpret that "something" as aliens. Occasionally the abduction
phenomenon is also theorized to be a confused memory of past events (such
as sexual abuse).[citation needed]
§It is possible that some alleged abductees may
be mentally unstable or under the influence of recreational drugs.
§In The Demon-Haunted
World astronomer Carl Sagan points out that the alien
abduction experience is remarkably similar to tales of demon abduction
common throughout history. "There is no spaceship in these stories. But
most of the central elements of the alien abduction account are present,
including sexually obsessive non-humans who live in the sky, walk through
walls, communicate telepathically, and
perform breeding experiments
on the human species. Unless we believe that demons really
exist, how can we understand so strange a belief system, embraced by the whole
Western world (including those considered the wisest among us), reinforced by
personal experience in every generation, and taught by Church and State? Is
there any real alternative besides a shared delusion based on common brain
wiring and chemistry?" (Sagan 1996 124)
§It has also been noted that Terence McKenna described seeing "Machine Elves" while experimenting
with Dimethyltryptamine (also
known as DMT). In a 1988 study conducted atUNM,
psychiatrist Rick Strassman found
that approximately 20% of volunteers injected with high doses of DMT had
experiences identical to purported Alien Abductions.[34]
Paranormal and
conspiratorial
§Some have argued that alien abduction is a
literal phenomenon: extraterrestrials kidnap
humans in order to conduct studies or experiments. This is a well-known popular
explanation, but has seen very little support from most mainstream scientists.
§Various authors, including Jacques Vallée and John Mack, have
suggested that the dichotomy 'real' versus 'imaginary' may be too simplistic;
that a proper understanding of this complex phenomenon may require a
reevaluation of our concept of the nature of reality.
Testimonials
Abduction
researcher Brian Thompson claims
that a nurse acquaintance of his reported that during 1957 in Cincinnati she encountered a 3 foot tall
praying mantis-like entity two days after a V-shaped UFO sighting.[23] This mantis-like creature is
reminiscent of the insectoid-type entity reported in some abduction accounts.[23] He related this report to
fellow researcherLeo
Stringfield.[23] Stringfield told him of two
cases he had in his files where separate witnesses reported identical
circumstances in the same place and year.[23]
While
some corroborated accounts seem to support the literal reality of the abduction
experience, others seem to support a psychological explanation for the
phenomenon's origins. Jenny Randles and Keith Basterfield both noted at the
1992 MIT alien abduction conference that of the five cases they knew of where
an abduction researcher was present at the onset of an abduction experience,
the experiencer "didn't physically go anywhere."[35]
Brazilian
researcher Gilda Moura reported on a similar case, the Sueli case, from her
home country. When psychologist and UFO researcher Don Donderi said that these
cases were "evidence of psychological processes" that didn't
"have anything to do with a physical alien abduction," Moura replied
"If the Sueli case is not an abduction, I don't know what is an abduction
any more."[35] Gilda Moura noted that in the
Brazilian Sueli case during the abduction UFOs were observed.[35] Later, she claims the
experiencer had eye burns, saw lights and there seemed to be residual
poltergeist activity.[35]
Attempts at confirmation
If
actual "flesh and blood" aliens are abducting humans, there should be
some hard evidence that this is occurring.[5] Proponents of the physical
reality of the abduction experience have suggested ways that could conceivably
confirm abduction reports.
One
procedure reported occurring during the alleged exam phase
of the experience is the insertion of a long needle-like contraption into a
woman's navel.[2] Some have speculated that this
could be a form of laparoscopy.[2] If this is true, after the
abduction there should be free gas in the female's
abdomen, which could be seen on an x-ray.[2] The presence of free gas would
be extremely abnormal, and would help substantiate the claim of some sort of
procedure being done to her.[2]
Notable abduction claims
§1956: Elizabeth Klarer (South Africa)
§1957: Antonio Villas Boas (Brazil)
§1961: Betty and
Barney Hill abduction (USA) [6]
§1967: Schirmer Abduction (USA)
§1973: Pascagoula Abduction (USA)
§1975: Travis Walton (USA)
§1976: Allagash Abductions (USA)
§1978: Valentich
disappearance (Australia)
§1979: Robert Taylor
incident (Scotland)
§1970s-1980s: Whitley Strieber (USA)