The prospect of life in outer space and alien creatures has always fascinated much of the population of planet Earth. Countless Sci-Fi movies and TV shows are evidence of this.
Recent Congressional testimony has re-ignited this interest and speculation. In response to increased UFO sightings and reports by military pilots, and public pressure, Congress has begun to act. The House Oversight Committee recently held public UFO hearings. In jaw-dropping testimony, we heard that the military has had a multi-decade UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena – that is what they now call UFOs) crash retrieval and reverse engineering program in place.
We were also informed that the military has “biologics of non-human origin.” In other words, they claim to have the bodies of alien pilots! It’s amazing that this isn’t front page news worldwide. Maybe we are all just too glued to our phones to notice.
With UFOs on my mind this week, I thought it might be a good opportunity to re-visit the case of Betty and Barney Hill. The Hill's story was the first widely publicized report of alien abduction in history. The story is a doozy.
On the night of September 1920, 1961, Betty and Barney Hill were returning home from a belated honeymoon trip to Montreal and Niagara Falls.
After stopping at a diner in Vermont, and learning of an approaching hurricane, they decided to drive through the night in order to reach their home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire before the storm hit. Their estimated time of arrival was 3 a.m.
Well into their drive, on a remote road in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, a strange light appeared. At first, they thought it was a falling star, or perhaps a satellite, but it grew brighter. The light appeared to be tracking and following their car.
As the light descended, it appeared as a spinning disk, hovering above them. Betty and Barney, along with their dog Delsey, were bewildered and terrified.
Hours later, they found themselves on the road again and finished their drive. Now at home, much later than expected, they were disoriented and dazed. They found strange circular marks on the trunk of their car. Barney’s shoes were scuffed. Betty’s dress had been torn, and she found an unusual powder residue on it.
Their watches had stopped working. They felt dirty and immediately showered. They realized something was wrong, but couldn’t remember the past few hours. Exhausted, they went to bed.
They next day, with no recall of their recent past events, they decided to keep quiet. As an interracial couple in 1961, they hoped to avoid scrutiny as well. But recurring nightmares and continued anxiety after the incident prompted them to seek professional help.
Under the care of Dr. Benjamin Simon, a psychiatrist and neurologist, over several months they were placed under hypnosis in an effort to uncover suppressed traumatic memories.
In separate sessions, Betty and Barney’s stories were revealed to be remarkably similar.
They remembered being taken aboard a large flying saucer type craft by gray beings with large eyes.
In separate rooms they were examined, with hair, nail, and skin samples taken. Betty screamed uncontrollably in pain under hypnosis remembering a needle being stuck in her naval. Betty also recalled being shown a star map which she re-drew later.
The map was verified as an authentic rendering identified as the star system Zeta Reticuli, which is 39 light-years from Earth.
She claimed that the aliens had described this as their home planet.
After a time, their story was picked up by a Boston newspaper, and fame followed.
In 1975 a made-for-TV movie starring James Earl Jones and Estelle Parsons was made.
Barney died in 1969 at the age of 47. Betty in later life dove further into UFO interests and alien theories.
As we ponder the possibility of life outside of our own, it's fitting to remember the story and struggles of this average couple, thrust onto the world stage over 60 years ago. typewriterweekly. com
