Hair of the Alien: DNA and Other Forensic Evidence of Alien Abductions 1416510249, 9781416510246

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Hair THE of

Alien DNA AND Other Forensic

Evidence of Alien

Abduction

Bill

Chalker

.

STRANGE INTRUDERS

The thing

is

that

when

I

bit her

didn't cry, she didn't react at

a bite out of a plastic

all

.

.

.

she didn't scream, she

in pain. ... It

was

took

as if I

dummy or mannequin that was made of

rubber or something.

The expression on her it's

supposed to be

pen. You've

done

.

.

this

.

was

like

.

this isn't the

way

it's

face

wrong.

.

.

.

.

.

this isn't the

way

supposed to hap-

.

You know when you look sparkle in their eye,

.

at

someone and you

you know they're

alive ...

I

see a

didn't see that

there was something missing. [But] they

a reason.

.

.

knew what they were

doing.

They were

there for

.

HAIR OF THE ALIEN Also available as an eBook

i

HAIR OF THE

ALIEN DNA and Other Forensic Evidence for Alien

BILL

Abductions

CHALKER

PARAVIEW POCKET BOOKS

New York

London Toronto

Sydney

PARAVIEW 191 Seventh Avenue,

New Yor£, NY

10011

POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 Copyright

© 2005

by

Bill

Chalker

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this

book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue

of the Americas,

New York, NY

10020

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Chalker,

Bill.

Hair of the alien

:

DNA and other forensic evidence for alien abductions

Chalker.— 1st Paraview Pocket Books trade pbk.

/ Bill

p.

ed.

cm.

Interview with Peter

Khoury

Includes bibliographical references and index

ISBN-13: 978-0-7434-9286-7 0-7434-9286-2

ISBN-10: 1.

Human-alien encounters— Australia— Case

tion—Australia—Case studies.

3.

studies. 2. Alien abduc-

Evidence, Expert— Australia— Case

studies. 4. Forensic genetics— Australia— Case studies.

I.

Khoury,

Peter.

II.

Title.

BF2050.C46 2005 2005047588

00 1 .942-dc22 First

Paraview Pocket Books trade paperback edition July 2005

10

987654321

POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon

& Schuster, Inc.

Manufactured

in the

United States of America

For information regarding special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact

Simon

& Schuster Special Sales at

[email protected].

1-800-456-6798 or

To

all those

who have been touched by

abduction phenomenon, I hope

anchoryour journey in

this

reality,

reality turns

out to

the alien

work

will help

whatever that be.

Entering "The Land ofIllusion":

Truth becomes fiction when the fiction's true;

Real becomes not-real when the unreaVs

real.

Cao Xueqin

(c.

1760)

The Dream of the Red Chamber

from the translation by David Hawkes published by Penguin Classics, 1973, from The Story of the Stone: Volume

1,

The Golden Days

CONTENTS

Introduction

1

CHAPTER ONE Shattered World

9

CHAPTER TWO Hair of the Alien

22

CHAPTER THREE Seeking Help

39

CHAPTER FOUR Alien Impact

48

CHAPTER FIVE Alien

DNA?

68

CHAPTER SIX

The Nobel Laureate

81

CHAPTER SEVEN

Tape of Lost Memory 86

CONTENTS

Introduction

1

CHAPTER ONE Shattered World

9

CHAPTER TWO Hair of the Alien

22

CHAPTER THREE Seeking Help

39

CHAPTER FOUR Alien Impact

48

CHAPTER FIVE Alien

DNA?

68

CHAPTER SIX

The Nobel Laureate

81

CHAPTER SEVEN

Tape of Lost Memory 86

Contents CHAPTER EIGHT

More Hair 117 CHAPTER NINE

An

Early Abduction Odyssey

CHAPTER TEN

Shaman

Blues

153

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Hidden Evidence

187

CHAPTER TWELVE

The Light

205

Fantastic

CHAPTER THIRTEEN 223

Strange Speculations

Epilogue

245

Appendix 249 Notes

277

Acknowledgments Bibliography

Index

329

311

315

136

INTRODUCTION

The abduction

story that Peter

many of the bizarre

tells is

awash with

features typical of alien abduction stories

from around the world. But in at least

Khoury

one extraordinary

his case

is

spectacularly unique

sense. It features a piece

of evi-

dence unprecedented in the annals of UFO research and vestigation: a very

in-

unusual biological sample, a fragment of

strange hair to be exact, which in a remarkable but paradoxical

way confirmed the

ture of the episode that led to

became the focus of the world's ological evidence implicated in I

and provocative na-

truly controversial its

recovery. This hair

first

sample

DNA investigation of bi-

an alien abduction.

will describe this extraordinary case that

has provided us

with fascinating genetic evidence, which forms the nexus of a

remarkable breakthrough and the cornerstone of this strange odyssey.

With the help of biochemists,

I

have carried out a

Introduction

2

thorough forensic investigation of

coupled with an archaeological-style

profiling,

The

gation.

nothing

results that have

than

less

DNA investi-

emerged from our work

are

startling.

Hair of the alien? This

UFO obsessions.

cure" for

DNA

this case, utilizing

no

is

But

bizarre variant of a "hangover it

may provide

a "cure" for the

lack of physical evidence that has plagued alien abduction re-

search for the past four decades.

here

is

What we

are dealing with

a fundamental refocusing of our perceptions of alien

reality.

There

is

no doubt that the small bald gray alien

ful icon that represents

form.

What

is

our

image of an

society's

not widely understood,

UFO

knowledgeable people in the

image of the bald gray alien

is

is

field, is

to a great

a power-

alien

life-

by many

even

that the

measure an

dominant artifact

of

the popularization of the "gray" through the efforts of some

key researchers, the media, and in particular one prominent

abductee— a term given to an individual who claims to have

had an

alien

impact of

abduction experience. So pervasive has been the

this popularization that the validity

contact with aliens

is

now often judged by how closely it con-

forms to the gray alien stereotype. But efforts, the

like

most stereotyping

media-driven march of "gray" conformity

from the truth and tion

of a claim of

to

some

is

far

extent has misdirected a genera-

and perhaps delayed a more

realistic

understanding of

the situation.

With munion,

its

striking

image of an

Whitley Strieber's

encounters with

alien face

on the

1987 account of

aliens, sold millions

cover,

his

Com-

claimed

of copies and solidified

in public consciousness the perception of the alien as bald

with large dark

eyes.

emerged worldwide

Thousands of accounts describing

aliens

in response to this extraordinary public

Introduction profiling of the alien image.

3

But Strieber had suppressed one

key detail of his alien encounter to see

would be validated

if it

independently in subsequent witness descriptions of alien beings.

That

aliens.

this

detail

According to Whitley

human

matched

Strieber, only

one case emerged

in

of encounters with aliens that strikingly

tide

own

his

in descriptions of

was the presence of hair

experiences with aliens, sharing the key

ment of the presence of hair. That Australia. This largely

case turned out to be

ele-

from

hidden aspect of the alien image may be

a potent argument for a sociological dismissal of the whole alien saga,

on the grounds that

then the majority

on the

alien

however,

when

this

is

found wanting,

suppressed aspect emerges as the central

from Peter Khoury^s encounter, namely the

"alien hair" that

Our

it,

have been delusional or just jumping

bandwagon. Such an argument

piece of evidence

found

may

thousands didn't report

if

was subjected to

DNA testing.

current understanding of the alien image has been

profoundly skewed. The gray alien icon picture. Part

clearly

is

not the

full

of that complex and bizarre picture includes be-

ings that are far closer to us in appearance, featuring

unam-

biguously hirsute elements, than we have ever imagined.

What emerges in this investigation is a picture of a phenomenon that redefines our origins and our place in the universe. This investigation goes further than any other before because for the

first

time the fantastic has been anchored in a

strange and disturbing science

is

now

it,

reality.

After decades of neglect,

colliding head-on with the alien abduction

controversy.

Whatever

is

going on, one thing seems

clear.

These experi-

ences seem to be a form of intrusion— an intrusion

cozy grasp of prosaic reality— and

if

on our

the experiences are real

events, the intrusions are a physical assault

on the

individuals

Introduction

4

who

experience them.

ences are

The assumption

more than imagination,

is

that if such experi-

must be

there

tangible evi-

Knowing what to look for and utilizing the appropriate to reveal the nature and implications of that evidence is

dence. tools

the key to the problem. Ultimately the application of science,

mediated with a forensic focus,

will

hold the key to determin-

ing the reality of alien abduction claims.

Our hunt tures the

for clues

and answers

to this alien mystery fea-

DNA profiling techniques used by law enforcement

organizations such as the FBI and increasingly- by police around the world. Such work was made possible only

through a remarkable breakthrough, the

PCR

chain reaction) procedure. Dr. Kary Mullis the initial concept that led to the that ultimately earned istry.

The technique

opened the way

him

is

(polymerase

credited with

PCR technique,

a discovery

the 1993 Nobel Prize in chem-

rapidly revolutionized biochemistry

for extraordinary

new

and

opportunities for un-

derstanding ourselves as a species. Dr.

Henry

one of the leading forensic

C. Lee,

the United States,

and Frank Tirnady, describe "the new DNA

paradigm" in their book Blood Evidence: tionizing the list

scientists in

Way We

Solve Crimes. Lee

of striking applications of

How DNA

Is

Revolu-

and Tirnady end a long

DNA

evidence by noting

ability to resolve "contentious public debates"

its

and illuminate

"countless other controversies involving biological issues,"

both of which are relevant to the controversial issues in book. The striking

utility

of DNA analysis

cipal fact. "It permits the differentiation

another on a genetic also distinguish other,

level,"

rests

on one

1

this

prin-

of one person from

Lee and Tirnady explain.

"It

can

one plant from another, one animal from an-

and even one

DNA-identification

viral or bacterial strain is

predicated

upon

from another.

the genetic unique-

Introduction

5

ness of each individual (excepting identical twins, triplets, or clones), a

2 uniqueness driven by the engine of sex."

"Forensic

DNA analysis is not a single technique," Lee and

swarm of techniques that have been [Most] coaxed out of the vast expanse of the human genome

Tirnady point out.

"It is

a

of the forensic techniques are generally powered by poly-

merase chain reaction, or PCR, a revolutionary process that permits the faithful reproduction of small, sometimes even vanishingly small,

amounts

large

amounts of DNA. The process produces

vestigators to obtain a fee cups,

of DNA

(identical copies)

and even

of

single hairs."

"[DNA] has passed the

DNA

are solid.

3,4

evidence,

The

test.

.

[and] allows in-

Then, quoting the U.S.

The

Any weaknesses

human

but are in possible

level,

.

DNA profile from postage stamps, cof-

National Institute of Justice review of note:

.

and laboratory

evidence, they

scientific

foundations

are not at the technical

errors, breaks in the

failures."

chain of

5

PCR and

applications of

DNA

the

DNA

analyses to the

phenomenon are really about a potential breakthrough. Certainty will come with time and any possialien abduction

ble replications, but for the if this

moment I would

work helps illuminate

be very pleased

this extraordinary controversy

with the promise that science can light the way through the

dark morass that currently swamps the alien abduction debate.

6

Lee and Tirnady conclude, "The singular contribution

of forensic

DNA analysis

logical a potential clue,

is

and

that this

sion to figuring stuff out."

7

it

has

made

everything bio-

adds an entirely new dimen-

While

DNA

techniques are

indeed an impressive breakthrough, the whole forensic scien-

go a long way to providing understanding

tific

approach

and

certainty in this hotly debated field.

will

The PCR concept

is

not the only indirect contribution

Introduction

6

that controversial scientist Kary Mullis

makes

to the saga told

in this book. Mullis has a further unique claim to fame.

He

is

the only Nobel Prize laureate to admit to a possible alien ab-

duction experience. His bizarre experience, described in this

book, him.

based on his descriptions and

is

my

discussion with

8

One of the

great pioneers of scientific detection, or foren-

Edmond

sic science,

was Dr.

membered

for the basic principle

He

Locard.

science: Every contact leaves a trace.

is

perhaps best

behind

all

While Locard

mind crime committed by human

re-

of forensic

had

in

felons, the application

of

clearly

the principle in the very controversial area of "alien abductions"

is

of critical significance. 9

If alien abductions really occur in the

manner described by

thousands of people around the world, then at the very least a "crime" against the sovereignty of humankind trated.

Most of the claims of alien abduction

is

being perpe-

describe situa-

tions that are clearly against the will of the individuals involved.

proach

Thus

it

the "crime" interpretation and the forensic ap-

inspires are well founded.

biological perspective

is

a

But beyond the striking

much broader and complex dimen-

sion to the forensic approach. As in classic crime scene investigations, the evidence for the reality

of abduction claims can

come from diverse avenues, such as the biological, physical, intuitive, and just plain commonsense. There is also a cautionary element to forensic investigations; they require con-

Even while looking

siderable

care.

"contact,"

we must

tact" that tors,

carefully

traces

of alien

examine the impact of the "con-

comes with the intrusions of researchers,

and other participants

investiga-

into these bizarre situations.

Their involvement can often give a liable

for

less

than satisfactory or

re-

dimension to the more prosaic senses of "contact" with

Introduction possible alien realities.

7

Not every contact leaves a reliable

trace.

Every aspect needs to be carefully considered. Beyond these cautionary elements, the idea of a "contact" resonates powerfully

with the otherworldly implications of alien abduction

experiences.

Here, then,

is

a factual account of a series of strange events

that suggests a convergence of C.S.L: Crime Scene Investigation

and The X-Files. n But

this is

ful case for the forensic

not

and

abduction experience. At

its

fiction. It represents a

scientific

heart

is

10

power-

approach to the alien

an extraordinary event

steeped in the bizarre and the unusual, an investigation an-

chored in a forensic will yield

on what

scientific perspective,

and an odyssey that

some remarkable speculations and new viewpoints

clearly

is

one of the great mysteries of our time.

CHAPTER ONE

Shattered World

PETER KHOURY'S LIFE UNDERWENT A PROFOUND CHANGE ON July 12, 1988. His world was shattered by the intrusion

of something he simply could not comprehend. I couldn't scream. This

is evil.

My mind was functioning,

Vm paralyzed. I thought,

had happened crawling up

to

me

my body,

overwhelmed by

is this

the devil?

before. This paralysis,

a rush ofpins and

the thought that I

but 1 couldn't move.

it

was

needles. I

Nothing like

this

physical. I felt

it

was petrified. I was

would never walk again. Then I be-

came aware that I was not alone. There were three or four ugly figures only about three to four feet kled

and shiny dark black

tall

near me. Their faces were very wrin-

in color.

My fear,

already overwhelming

was now soaring out of control. Peter is

Khoury experienced a classic

alien abduction,

but he

not the typical alien abductee. Born in 1964, in Lebanon, he

migrated with his family to Australia in 1973.

He met

his fu-

Bill Chalker

10

ture wife, Vivian, while at school in 1981.

1990 and

now have two

They married

in

children/Stephen (born in 1995) and

Georgia (1998). Peter works in the building trade, where he

own

has had his

business in cement rendering. Peter's

Lebanese relations and his wife's Greek relations form a large

and

close family unit.

Peter

one of the legions of the abducted.

is

number of people from

all

walks of life,

all

A

growing

around the world,

have been confronted by the experience of being taken, over-

whelmed, or assaulted by something that It

intensely strange.

is

seems to them that they may have experienced the unbe-

and the preposterous, because the perpetrators

lievable

seemingly not your usual

human

human, but the circumstances tinctly alien.

Some appear

beings.

which they appear

in

are

are dis-

Others are totally alien in both countenance and

circumstances.

For most people, the alien abduction phenomenon ridiculous subject. else

many

It is

inextricably

is

a

mixed up with something

regard as science fiction, namely the

But some researchers suggest that the

may be

alien

UFO

mystery.

abduction

is

actu-

number of people who have had this experience. Many of them have come forward, reporting this disquieting experience. Most seek understanding and support. Few receive it. More often ally

a hidden epidemic. There

than not, the experience leaves

its

victims without supportive

evidence. Their sense of alienation

Peter

double

is

a very large

is

profound.

one of those people who have been forced to

life.

On

the outside he

is

live

a

an ably functioning person

with extensive and impressive connections to the normal world.

To put

it

succinctly,

typical alien abductee fragile

he has a

whose

life

life.

He

is

not the stereo-

has been strangled into a

form of alien marginalia. Indeed he seems the

last sort

Hair of the Alien

whom

of person

such

who

one would expect to be coming out with

But Peter has been searching

tales.

like

everyone else

He was not one to that come with the

has been affected by such experiences.

give in to the pressures of marginalization

reception that such claims received from the general public,

much of

UFO

the

skeptics. Peter

community, and the more committed

fought to understand what had happened to

him and what was

still

happening to him. He empathized

with others that had apparently had similar experiences, but unlike

most other abductees, he

set

about trying to make a

difference.

The 1988 Encounter Peter

Khoury was twenty-four

and family

his Lebanese parents

been back

home

comfort with his

years old.

about

for life.

in a

He was

Sydney suburb. He had

months, regaining a sense of

six

Peter was like the prodigal son returnis

now

behind, a rough and dangerous

life,

ing to the fold. For about six years he had lived a very

happy that he

living with

left

moving with the wrong crowd of tough and

life

he

belligerent peo-

He grew to see himself as a bit of a "hard head," "a tough guy." He had also been in a difficult relationship. Peter felt ple.

that if he

had stayed

dead, so he ter one.

that

left

in that life

life

he might well have ended up

behind and hoped to establish a

His family welcomed

him back home and he

bet-

reignited

a relationship with his school sweetheart, Vivian. Life was

good and heading Peter

and

at

home

his father were

been in if

was

in the right direction.

Peter's

that quiet night. At about 11 p.m. he

watching

television.

room, sleeping.

His brother

Sam emerged and

Sam had

asked Peter

he wouldn't mind watching the movie in his room so that

Bill Chalker

12

Sam, could watch

he,

Peter didn't mind; he

bed.

What

TV room.

in his favorite chair in the

it

went to

hik

room and

lay

followed occurred immediately, so

some

link the experience with

down on

it is

the

difficult to

sort of sleep-related

phenome-

non, such as sleep paralysis or hypnagogic imagery. While

.

.

lying on

.

my bed, Ifelt something grab my ankles. As Ifelt

a strange numbness, tingling and churning sensation crawled up

this,

my body and right up to my head. I was paralyzed, I could not move any part of my body but for the exception of my eyes, which I

through

could move, open or

My brain

close.

do anything physically. I

was functioning but I could not

tried to call out to

could not force the words out.

At this stage I started to panic thinking I

would not walk again. I thought I was

As the experience unfolded this

family members but I

truly paralyzed.

thought was that

Peter's first

was a form of payback, a punishment

satisfactory

life

he had led for about

turned to the family

fold.

He

thought,

for the less than

six years if he

before he

re-

survived this, that

community would think, God's punishing him, God paid him back. What followed— the encounter with the hooded, his

three- to four-foot-tall creatures with black, wrinkled faces-

changed everything. The fear was so extreme. fied

and paralyzed.

going

to kill

Vm gone! Vm dead! It's real! I was petri-

Irrational fears were crowding

me. I could be

killed.

The fear

level

in.

They were

was extraordinary. I

was stressing out, how could I get out of this? I became aware of some sort of communication, seemingly pathic,

was

no sound made and yet I could hear the message

told not to

moved my

eyes

with two beings tall

worry and I would not be harmed and

and looked

who looked so

with big black eyes

in color.

to the left side

... I

in

my mind. I

to relax.

made

chin.

As I

eye contact

different to the others. These

and a narrow

tele-

were

thin,

They were goldish-yellow

Hair of the Alien Astonishingly the stress was gone immediately. The whole fear thing washed so

away

calm after such a

as quickly as a light switching on. level

offear?

How could I he

My heartbeat was no longer racing.

[A whole different situation was unfolding.] Peter figures

somehow

got the impression that one of these

How

was male, the other female.

he sensed

tall

this

he

doesn't know. Both had an incongruous feature beyond their incredible strangeness.

Each had what looked

like small,

Band-Aid-size "surgical masks." The "female" figure had her

mask

little

had the mask down. The

on, the "male" one

"masks" seemed to convey to Peter that these strange people were "doctors." Both were wearing whitish gowns, which

may

have served to reinforce the idea that these beings were "doctors."

They

their alien

also served to highlight the

anatomy, specifically their

/ was so relieved. The one closest to

me telepathically, Peter, the entity

telling

faces.

my

head communicated with

worry, [then, paradoxically for

conveyed the thought]

The eyes of these

time.

me not to

tall

prominent part of

it

would be

like the last

beings were the source of remarkable feel-

I could feel the emotion through them. It was the eyes that ex-

ings.

pressed these feelings. You could see the smile in the eyes. Strangely

was

like

a mother would look at a

So much

child.

We

love.

it

are not

going to hurt you. It

was at this

stage that I noticed a long needle-like flexible crystal

The being then pointed

tube.

and inserted it. It

the needle to the top left side

A thing on the tip,

was then that I blacked

it's

gone

a flash, I walked into the

how

long

it

and

lost.

had been

As he put

since I

conscious. I jumped out

TV room

(Sam) were. I noticed they were looked dazed

in.

out.

The next thing I remember I was like

of my head

went

to

my dad and brother woke my brother up— he

where

asleep. I it,

he felt switched

my

of bed

room.

He

off.

I asked him

replied

about ten

Chalker

Bill

14

how long I thought it had been. When I left the

minutes, which was

room a film was just starting yet as fspoke that the

TV station

was (apparently)

to

closed

TV

my brother we realized and

at least one to two

hours had passed by.

who

Neither his brother,

is

older than Peter by ten years,

nor his father had any idea what had happened. But Peter did have something to

say.

What he

told

fragments and was very strange. Soon

what Peter was trying parently, of

hoods.

like 2:30

tell

He

him.

something touching

Sam was

deal of time

to

Sam came it

became

told

in confused clear to

Sam

him of floating,

his head,

ap-

of people in dark

but then realized a good

initially skeptical,

had passed— from 10:30 or 11 p.m.

to

something

a.m.— and he began to accept that something very

strange had occurred.

brother had told

him

He grew

to accept

that morning.

what

his

younger

Sam was very puzzled by

the fact that normally he was a very light sleeper. That he, as well as his father,

had seemingly been completely "zonked

out" for so long was very unusual.

He had no way

to explain

it.

The next day

Peter told Vivian, his fiancee, about the

strange event. I explained to her what had happened through the night. As I

touched the spot where the needle was inserted, I discovered some dried blood under

my fingernail.

Vivian took a closer look

puncture hole and blood. I went

to

to explain

hit

noticed a

my family doctor and asked for a

checkup. The doctor spotted the puncture

mented that I must have

and

my head on a

mark

instantly

nail at work.

and com-

When I tried

what had happened, I was laughed at. I had nowhere

for help, no one

to discuss the incident with. It

to

go

was frustrating to expe-

rience something so bizarre, so strange, yet so real.

Hair of the Alien

1

5

Rationalizing the Bizarre Peter was initially anxious

and confused about the July 1988

on

episode. There were physical scars

which he

his body,

thought were connected to the experience. And he had a possible "biopsy"-style

puncture mark on his shin. He was not

aware of the world of alien abductions and struggled for un-

own Lebanese background and

derstanding. His

Vivian's

Greek family origins provided no comfort. Family members even suggested he had encountered first officially

St.

Charbel, Lebanon's

recognized saint, apparently because of the

presence of robes. Such rationalizations provided no explanation for Peter.

Months

later,

while out driving, Vivian and Peter were

shocked to see a gas station billboard poster that featured a tall

creature very similar to the ones he

had

provided no information, just the image.

What was

all this

seen.

The poster

How could this be?

about? Peter thought. The answer came

progressively over the next few days.

on the billboard was the now

The image they had seen

familiar Strieber gray alien face.

The poster was part of an extended promotional campaign for the paperback edition of Whitley Strieber's

Subsequent teaser posters provided more link to the

book was made

Communion.

details until the

explicit. Peter eventually

copy of the book. Vivian read

it first,

bought a

remarking to Peter that

he was not going to believe what he would read. To Vivian

was

startling.

The

reading Strieber's book, Peter found his

own

and strange book

stories in this bizarre

were oddly familiar. Peter had told her it

all

about them! Upon

was

like

bizarre encounter. Their experiences

nificant details in

mon. However,

common— but

as far as Peter

it

a checklist for

had

several sig-

much not in comwas concerned, he now had just as

Bill

16

some

sort of context to

was a

start. It

UFO

the

Chalker

anchor his own strange experience.

appeared that

his*

1988 experience was part of

phenomenon— whatever

or alien abduction

It

that

was.

During

his July

1988 abduction experience Peter Khoury

had the strange mental communication

comment meant. Nothing

"not to worry,

had no idea what

be like the last time. " Initially he

in his

it

would

this cryptic

immediate past bore any

re-

semblance to the bizarre experience that had befallen him.

Then he began to reconsider a strange event that had occurred to him in his native Lebanon as a child of seven during the summer of 1971. He and several other children (a total of six to eight) had gone up onto the flat rooftop of his neighbor's house to play, an everyday activity for them. He recalled that the heavy door leading onto the roof had to be constantly pushed open again as each child

went through. Peter was the

through the door. Then he looked up. Gabby, looking up.

He then saw all his

front of him.

thought

to walk

his cousin,

was

friends "frozen" like statues in

Above them was a big

at the time. It

last

was very

ball,

close. Peter

a helicopter he

thought he could

have been able to reach up and touch this strange helicopter, a silent egg-shaped craft hovering above them. Peter could

make out ject,

the presence of two

tall

thin people inside the ob-

but the light was such that he could not make out

detail.

Apparently,

all

much

the children were just watching or

standing in silence. The children later found themselves on

some time had elapsed, with no apparent memory of coming down off the rooftop. Peter was the the

ground floor

only child

after

who seemed

strange object and Peter

had

its

to have a recollection of seeing the

occupants. At the time, the only context

for the experience, while logically unsatisfactory,

Hair of the Alien was that

it

was an

Israeli

helicopter—a very strange helicopter,

at that.

In fact, like

many

abductees, Peter

Khoury has had many

him (in July 2003) about a strange experience that occurred when he was just twenty- two days old. It was mid-May of 1964 and Peter and strange experiences. Peter's mother told

his

mother were

at

home

in the coastal Lebanese port

town

of Chekka. At about 4 a.m. she was nursing Peter in her arms. She was half asleep

man

at the

when

she observed the figure of a

window. For Lebanon,

this

was a rather unusual

looking man. Rather than a typical dark-haired Lebanese,

what she saw was a blond-haired, very fair-skinned man long-sleeved, black turtleneck top, standing at the

He appeared

to have a long

handsome

long hair parted at the side near his

window.

with his rather

face,

ear.

in a

The man seemed

to

window at them. She had no sense of fear and cannot remember how this strange earlymorning encounter ended. Enquiries were made as to whether the stranger at the window might have been a sailor be just looking through the

from a ship

in port,

vious answer and

it

but ultimately there seemed to be no ob-

remained for

Peter's

mother a puzzling

memory. When he asked her about UFOs over Lebanon, she volunteered that they saw lights

all

and

the time

"flying plates," but everything like that

called

them

was put down to the

Israelis.

Another puzzling experience that involved occurred at the family

home

in Sydney,

1988 episode. She was startled to see an the house walking through a hall

some

Peter's

mother

years before the

unknown man inside

doorway into a room. She

found the room empty. The men of the house were alerted

and a search

for the intruder

was

instigated.

There seemed to

be no conventional way to account for the presence of the

a

1

Bill Chalker

8

man. The incident became the stuff of family legend— "ghost" in the house.

The house was the

*

#

location of Peter Khoury's striking

1988 experience. That experience was preceded by a strange events. For a two-week period leading paralysis" incident, the residence

currences of loud footsteps brothers,

it

seemed

driveway.

of heavy-booted

To

of

to the "alien

was plagued by repeated

on the

like a lot

up

series

Peter

and

ochis

men were enter-

ing the property night after night, usually in the early hours

of the morning, and were coming down the driveway and seemingly passing through the closed garage area. The

men

of the family tried repeatedly to find the source of these heavy footsteps, but their searches always

no

culprits apprehended.

The

ended

in frustration, with

footsteps seemed to defy logi-

cal explanation.

These episodes ended with a striking event. Peter heard the footsteps again, but this time he was prevented from get-

He seemed to be paralyzed on his bed, which faced the window to the driveway. He became aware that at the window was the silhouette of a man, but for someting out to investigate.

one to be in that position seemed impossible because the driveway was about eight feet lower than the window. There

was no sense of fear, just concern, mainly regarding the

feel-

ing of paralysis. Peter couldn't understand what was stopping

him. Suddenly the silhouette was gone and the paralysis was

gone as sis

well.

About a week

of the July

later the

12, 1988, "alien

much more severe paraly-

abduction" occurred.

Sleep Paralysis?

Could Peter Khoury's July 1988 ple of the well-established

alien encounter be

phenomenon known

an examas "sleep

Hair of the Alien paralysis'? John O'Neill, a

gued that sleep

member of Australian

Skeptics, ar-

paralysis could explain the paralysis Peter

Khoury experienced, hallucination could explain

his experi-

ence with extraterrestrials, falling asleep could explain his

wound and

missing time, and "the puncture

from anything— a pimple, an

scab could be

insect bite or anything else in

approximately the right location." O'Neill accepted that Peter's experience

was genuine,

paralysis episode.

But

most tity

he himself had had a sleep

as

was

his experience

typically vague, like

sleep paralysis episodes— "the feeling of some other en-

being in the room, but

what."

12

did not

[I]

That vague description

and ordered description

know and could not see

falls far

short of the detailed

Khoury offers of his

Peter

experience.

Several aspects of Peter's encounter actually defy this simplistic categorization. First

of all, he was not asleep, nor had

he reached the state that precedes

sleep, the

hypnagogic

state,

that often yields fleeting imagery of a hallucinatory nature.

Furthermore, his experience has an ordered sequence of events that were recollected consciously; they were not vague

sensory experiences of fragmented sleep. physical marks,

namely the injury

the strange needle being stuck

mark on

his leg,

sleep

classic

in,

which certainly

paralysis

episode

Then

to his head,

there are the

where he

felt

along with the biopsy-like

can't be

or

accounted for as a a

as

product of the

sleep/awake interface that spawns hypnagogic imagery.

Of

course, night terrors, sleep paralysis,

(presleep)

rich range

and hypnopompic

areas

Siegel has

and

(postsleep) visions

do provide a

of sleep phenomena that might account for some

abduction experiences.

Ronald

and hypnagogic

describes

has had his

own

Hallucination

specialist

Professor

undertaken extensive research into these

some of it

in his

book

sleep paralysis experience,

Fire in the Brain.

He

which involved the

Bill Chalker

20 classic

elements of a weight on his chest and a "murky pres-

ence/' with a "dusty odor," that

approached

his bed. It

commu-

him in a strange way, "almost like English spoken backward." The "presence" then straddled his body, "folding itnicated with

self along the curve

of my back

and

ual intoxication

There was a texture of sex-

terror in the room." Siegel

began to

and he had

into unconsciousness, but then the voice stopped

the sense that the "presence" slowly

left

slip

the room. Siegel con-

cluded that this episode was the product of two striking and often

alarming

sleep

phenomena— sleep

and

paralysis

hypnopompic hallucination— which was mediated by

his

own

A

very

"images, thoughts, fantasies, memories, and dreams."

broad cross section of the population experiences these phe-

nomena. These experiences

due to psychological prob-

are not

lems, but their broad resonances with alien abduction lore require us to consider

them

as possible explanations.

13

During 2002 and 2003 research conducted at Harvard University reignited the idea

of psychological mechanisms as a

possible explanation for alien abduction reports. ers in the

The key play-

debate were psychologists Susan Clancy and Richard

McNally. "False

memory creation was examined in people who

reported having recovered memories of traumatic events that are unlikely to have occurred: abduction states the abstract to their paper,

Journal of Abnormal Psychology. recall

and

by space

aliens,"

which was published in the

The

researchers

false recognition in three

examined

false

groups: "people reporting

recovered memories of alien abduction, people

who

believe

they were abducted by aliens but have no memories, and people

who deny

having been abducted by

cluded: "Those reporting recovered alien

aliens."

They con-

and repressed memories of

abduction were more prone than control participants to

exhibit false recall

and

recognition.

The groups did not

differ

Hair of the Alien Hypnotic

in correct recall or recognition.

pressive

suggestibility, de-

symptoms, and schizotypic features were significant

predictors of false recall

This research tions.

The sample

11, 9,

and 13

false recognition."

interesting but has

sizes

14

some

severe limita-

used in each group were very small—

respectively.

the "recovered

"None of the

is

and

Even more

memory" group

critically,

flawed.

is

the profile of

The paper

states,

participants interviewed reported continuous

memories of alien abduction

memories of alien abduc-

(i.e.,

tion that were never forgotten).

.

.

.

Memories were recovered

both in therapy with the help of certain therapeutic techniques

(e.g.,

hypnosis) and spontaneously, after reading

books, watching movies, or seeing television shows depicting

such episodes." 15 In

fact,

there are a significant

people reporting abductions

number of

who do not rely on hypnosis and

other therapeutic techniques. Their memories are based on clearly recollected incidents for

which they have no memory

loss or delayed recall.

The

fact that apparently hallucinatory

phenomena can

occur in states and situations similar to those occurring in

al-

leged abduction experiences begs the question that the details

of such experiences need to be considered

carefully, rather

than superficially rationalized away via token categorization.

Could these experiences

also be the product of psychological

phenomena springing from encounters with an alien intrusion that may even be manipulated by the entities responsible for those encounters? We must exercise caution against either the simplistic acceptance of alien causation or skeptical dismissal.

Such uncertainties make

it all

the

more important

to

concentrate on a broad forensic approach to abduction experiences,

but physical evidence, wherever possible, needs to be

at the heart

of these investigations.

CHAPTER TWO

Hair of the Alien

I

AM NO STRANGER TO EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS world of alien abduction

stories,

IN

THE BIZARRE

having quietly

gated abduction claims since the seventies.

16

1

investi-

first

heard

of Peter Khoury in 1991, and in the years that followed, he

re-

vealed his story to me, but only gradually, in fragments here

and

there.

1993.

He

I

first

told

interviewed

me about

his

him

at length

on November

1,

1988 abduction experience in

Sydney, the rooftop experience during his childhood in

Lebanon, and a

UFO

sighting he

had witnessed with

his

fi-

ancee, Vivian, in February of 1988. This latter event took

place near the

Cooks

River, in

Hurlstone Park, a suburb of

Sydney. For about twenty minutes, Vivian and Peter had

watched a strange There would be a

light

jump around

flash, or

erratically in the sky.

a shot of a light beam, and then the

Hair of the Alien would suddenly be

light

Vivian called

firing.

Eventually

location. It

was

was being somewhat

cir-

me

his

he did not reveal to

his story. In fact,

until four years later.

my presence on July

13, 1996,

ducers

The

though

ordinary significance would not be revealed for the time,

a laser

like

"a war with stars."

it

landmark 1992 experience slipped out in

new

realized that Peter

I

cumspect with

in a

23

its

some

story extra-

time.

we were meeting with some independent film

who were

own experiences.

interested in Peter

my UFO

research

and

At

pro-

Peter's

was opening up more than usual. Sud-

denly Peter came out with an abduction story replete with

most unusual

physical evidence of a I

made

a record of it in

kind.

my journal

at the time: "Peter de-

scribed a highly personal experience he

had

at

home about

two to three years ago— sexual— being forced onto a strange male being— onto force

breast.

its

He

resisted;

then a very strong

pushed him against the breast— he

something

like

still

fine wispy hair

under

his fore-

has one small strand, which he keeps in a small

He showed this

plastic bag.

nipple— felt

bit a

a piece of rubber caught in his throat for

days— he discovered some very skin—he

fe-

to the

two media people and me."

The following account of Peter's 1992 experience on a number of interviews that followed.

I

I

conducted with him

is

based

in the years

have edited and reorganized the account to

eliminate repetition

and

to adhere to the original flow of

events. It begins with a discussion

on the job on May

of some

injuries

he received

13, 1992.

BC: Peter, can you

tell

me, in your

own

words, what hap-

pened? PK:

Well, basically

was on a

BC:

lot

it

was at a time I had had head

of medication, and I was pretty

What were

sick.

the head injuries about?

injuries

and I

Bill Chalker

No Hallucination

,

t

PK: I got attacked at a job the head; trowels

by three guys. I was

was on a

from home

away by car. IfI didn

lot

on

injuries.

I

of medication. Because of that I

know

constantly, particularly in the morning. I

was one time I vomited about ten ing Vivian

hit with shovels

were thrown at me. So I had pretty bad

suffered a lot ofpain. I

would vomit

site

times,

and that was just while driv-

which

to the station,

there

is

about three minutes

I had to pull up about ten times. I would just get sick.

y

t

have what I have as prooffor me, I would say that I was

on enough drugs, pain

killers, et cetera, to

hallucinate maybe.

What sort of things were you on?

BC:

PK: Panadeine Forte [paracetamol and codeine phosphate, a

pain

reliever].

BC: Not generally known for their hallucinogenic properties. PK: I was put on Prozac, but I only took one

and I didn

y

t like

tablet.

I read up on

it

what I read.

BC: Were you suffering from fevers?

No just a lot ofheadaches, pain, severe migraines,

PK: iting

a

lot

of dizziness. But no, I wasn't hallucinating.

on medication

all

around that time tions, so

.

.

cally started taking

three

that.

.

I was being given too

many it

.

When I had extreme that's really

lot

of vom-

I had been I felt

after.

different medica-

down and just basi-

Panadeine Forte and Voltarin

Panadeine Forte and

We

.

along up until the experience and even

I approached the doctors and narrowed

months after

.

a

.

.

.

for six

to

seven

headaches I would take up to it.

can be reasonably certain about the date the strange

intrusion into Peter Khoury's Sydney suburban home.

recorded a brief note in his diary as follows:

Thursday July 23, 1992:

Had

a very weird experience

this

morning with two

fe-

He

Hair of the Alien males.

7.

00 a. m.

25

after dropping Viv offat station got really sick

a few times went straight

to bed. All

appeared from nowhere.

A

of a sudden two females

blonde and a Chinese

Very

girl.

weird looking eyes and color of blond. Both were naked.

Blonde push

and

me

her breast a few times then I bit her nipple

to

She showed no emotion, blood or

started coughing.

screamed in pain. I went

to toilet

and found two

hairs

under

my foreskin. I put them in plastic bag. It is in my filing cabinet. These few words do not convey the striking nature of Peter Khoury's strange experience, as

my

him

interviews with

re-

vealed.

PK: Vd had a shower drove

my

Got up

the night before.

wife to the station. I did pull

came back home. Ifelt really ill,

so I

in the

morning

up a few times and get sick. I

went straight back

to

bed at about

7:05 a.m. I was clothed.

BC: Can you just describe what sort of clothing you were in at the time?

PK: Tracksuit pants and a sloppy joe

.

.

.

and just jocks

.

.

.

my un-

derwear was on It took

a couple of minutes. Ifell asleep. At about 7:30 1 sat up

upright in bed. I don It

y

t

bolt

know why. There was no reason for it.

was a feeling ofsomething more so

like ifsomething light stepped

onto the bed.

BC: Well,

let's

get back to your sense of awareness of lying

on the bed, and then suddenly tioned to

me

Yes.

thing. Yes,

I

think you men-

before there was this sense of either something

going onto the bed, PK:

upright.

Maybe,

you're

that's

.

.

what woke me up.

It

was a feeling ofsome-

There was something more so

right.

thing light stepped

a cat jumping on the bed.

like

.

[it is]

ensemble, with a mattress

like if some-

a normal, conventional

and bed head

.

.

.

a very firm

bed, base

bed. If some-

Bill Chalker one sat on the bed, you would notice they sat on the bed

maybe

that's

what made me

sit

bolt upright— the

.

.

.

and

movement, feeling

something on the bed.

My eyes opened. butfor two too

I noticed that there were two females on the bed,

women to be on the bed it was too light,

the

movement was

light.

What is going on? What's happening here? I knew I was looking at something that didn't belong in

my room

or in

my

house, but there

How the hell did they get there? Had the front door been locked?

they were.

BC:

PK: Oh yes,

the front

door would have been locked.

A Strange Viewpoint PK: At the time I was still sort of waking up. In that state of trying to

wake

up, trying to

more shocked and

put

my

senses together, I

confused, but there

was bewildered a

was no fear. I was trying

bit,

to get

my bearings. I was looking at a transparent image. I'm looking at myself. Then I

caught up! This only lasted a few seconds.

The way I was looking at back of my head,

like

through

it,

was

my eyes,

like I

was looking through

sitting

the

back behind me, watch-

ing myself, like I could see myself in front. Like I could see the back

view of me [as

if]

It

is

really

hard to explain, but I was virtually looking

standing back, looking through

my image in front of me.

I was

watching this and I could see myself as well as the two women. Then I caught up— my physical body. I

very

was now myself looking at the strange scene before me. real.

[Ultimately

it

would be

all

too

Although I had been involved in the across

a

lot

It

seemed

real!]

UFO field and

I had

come

ofcases, I don 't think I had come across a case where an ab-

duction experience had occurred during the day or morning hours—

Hair of the Alien seven o'clock in the morning. It has always been nighttime or early

hours such as

three,

never during the daylight.

Strange Intruders PK: As far as

the description

of these women, one of them was blond

and the other was dark-haired and oriental-looking. It

would be very hard for me

these ones, especially the

to find

women who

two

looked like

blond one.

Well, I looked at the

blond one. I was trying

to

analyze how they

got there first. Like, someone's broken into the house. It was just such a

me to wake up to see that.

shock to

BC:

How are these two woman seated on the bed?

PK:

Well, the

on a double

one that was opposite me,

bed, so there

was a

lot

directly opposite me. It

of room. The one opposite

woman and she was sitting with

blond-looking

was

me was a

her legs tucked under

her backside. She was virtually sitting on her calves. You could imagine her kneeling other side

down

with her legs folded, sitting down. The one on the

was kneeling halfway. She wasn't actually

her calves. She was sitting upright a

sitting

down on

bit.

The Blonde PK:

I'll

describe the blond one first. She

had good skin; don't see a

was pretty

.

.

weird, for the

was

was done up different. I

like the

had never seen a

looked really exotic in a way. .

long; I

.

.

morning anyway. You

wind was hitting it,

she

had protruding

.

.

.

It

like it

was

an extreme. blond.

Her

cheeks, very high cheeks.

This

was blown

hairstyle like that;

curled something like Farrah Fawcett, but to

tures

in her mid-thirties; she

.

woman get up with makeup and her hair all done up.

one, her hair

back. It

the hair

was

.

.

.

it

was

It just

facial fea-

The nose was

wouldn't say too long such as a big nose; but long as in

28

Chalker

Bill

stretched, with the face, because it

was accustomed to

was a long face; a longer face than I

in females I know.

Her eyes were two

and I knew I wasn't looking

bigger than our eyes. I looked at the eyes

at a

human female.

ences

.

.

.

I connected

.

.

it

Not forgetting

.

and human

looked humanoid,

away,

straight

to three times

to

that I

had previous

experi-

something of that kind. She

Her mouth,

in features.

her

lips

were

normal in size.

What about the shape of the

BC:

face?

PK: The shape of the face was longer than

somehow ours.

.

.

than a

human

.

.

.

.

being for example.

She was naked .

.

thing that looked different to

were two

was pointier the ears

.

.

.

like

was longer and narrower

Her body

me was the face,

to three

.

.

.

had normal female

in that it

to

.

.

.

it

.

.

The chin

about halfway down her back, and

was sitting up. The hair looked it

.

The hair covered

a witch's long chin in movies

was frail in a way

The only

was longer than

times bigger than ours.

looked wispy in a way; although like it

right. It

breasts, well proportioned.

Her hair came down

like really high up, it

was

if it

J didn't notice anything different about her

She had average-size

ours, the eyes

was as

just longer, longer than ours, pointier than

The head just didn't look

.

breasts.

body.

stretched

usual. It

really exotic

looked nicely done,

was flimsy

.

.

it

—

looked to

It

me

wasn't very strong hair.

.it

The "Asian" Woman PK: The dark-haired would be average

cheeks by

looked Asian.

.

height, five feet eight inches

weren't completely

women, but

woman

human— the

too extreme,

it

.

or

The Asian one, she

.

so.

Her features

cheekbones reminded

was as

Mike Tyson or something

if she .

.

.

eyes were too big once again, about the

me

of Asian

had been punched

the cheeks

same

also

in the

were too puffy; the

size as the other one['s];

her eyes were dark, almost black; I don 't remember seeing white in the eyes

.

Hair of the Alien You get Asians, and they would say seem

to look alike.

in the lineup, I

same about us, but they

say, yes, I

about her.

.

.

.

would pick her

all

and she was

If I had a lineup of ten Asian women,

would

distinctive features

the

because she had

out,

The eyes and the cheeks

.

.

The blond one was directly opposite me, and when I sat upright she

was probably two feet away from me. The other one was

and

on

sitting

the side

of the bed

.

.

.

facing us from the

to the right

When

side.

I

looked at her I got the impression that she was watching the blond one

and learning how like look.

.

.

to interact.

She was looking at both of us

.

and at the reactions, my

What about

BC:

She was just there with .

.

at

.

concentrated-

this

what she was doing

woman.

reactions basically to the blond

Were they thin boned

the musculature?

or were they muscular?

PK:

she

blond one that she was very

When

because from the waist up she was taller than me.

tall

up

Well, I got the impression from the

.

.

.

when

had

.

.

.

she cradled

me and brought me to

a head and a half higher than me.

timeters, or approximately six feet, taller

tall]

she sat

her breast, I would say .

.

.

[Peter

182 cen-

is

I would say she was a

lot

than me, that's for sure. The blonde had light-colored eyes, maybe

bluish.

.

.

.

She had normal human-looking eyes except for the

the other one,

BC:

it

was

like

What about

looking at a

TV screen,

size.

But

that tone ofdark.

skin tone?

PK: One was light [the blonde]. She was like a normal westerner; the tone

of the skin was very

light.

The other one had darker

darker than an Asian woman, maybe

like

tone of color. She had straight black hair straight

was

/ didn 't see her hair move;

sitting there

stiff.

like it didn't fit there.

It .

.

looked like a .

Her skin

blond one and looking at

you knew you weren't

her,

.

.

skin,

.from India, that darker

down

to

her shoulders, super

when she would look at us

veil, like

a headset.

.

.

.

It

.

.

.

it

looked

tone was very dark. Looking at the

and looking

looking at a

at these

human female.

woman's face looked more human than

differences,

little

.

.

.

The Asian

the other one, except for the

.

30

Chalker

Bill

eyes

and cheekbones

a deformed human. seen a

.

.

.

they just sat

.

.

.

too high.

The blonde* very

human looking like that.

He

up

.

They just looked

(definitely

.

.

.

like

I have never

.

did not notice any underarm hair, nor did he have the

opportunity to see

if there

woman's nipples were woman's were quite

was pubic

hair.

The blond

and the "Asian"

quite prominent

small.

Extraordinary Reactions PK: [The blonde] just basically reached out and grabbed me from

the

back of the head with both her hands. She cupped the back of my head

and forced me towards her

breast,

towards her

left breast.

I resisted

and she forced me again. I resisted and a third time that she forced me, pulled

me

towards

her.

She was pretty strong

.

.

.

when Vd

resist,

she

would pull me straight back with ease She was strong but she was so gentle the first time, almost motioning

me towards her. I pushed her away. Then she used a bit more force.

I used a bit more force to push her away, then the third time she used a y

lot

more force. At first I couldn t push her away.

She had a strength that belied her appearance. In Peter

felt

she was stronger than him. Peter

working in the building

trade,

is

in

was a

She was strong.

surprise that

She pulled

BC:

someone

well built and,

is

no sense a weakling.

PK: You know, I didn't feel any weight on me. trolled strength.

It

seemed

to

be con-

My reaction was, don'tfight, be calm. It

so frail-looking—a

me over and my mouth was

.

.

.

woman— was so strong. on her nipple and I bit.

Why did you do that?

PK: I don't know.

I've asked myself

many

times. I

much it would hurt a woman ifyou did bite her nipple. I took a chunk, a in

fact,

little

bit off, because

my throat for three days.

I swallowed

it

know how

I did that,

and

it

and

was stuck

Hair of the Alien I don't

know why

I did

I don't

it.

know whether it was

like

a

de-

fense thing for me, to get away from her. I know there might be a lot of

who

people

will say this

a sexual fantasy or whatever. Vve been

is

around. I had been with two women. It wasn't a cosmic experience for me. It was normal. I haven't done great. It's just

normal, nothing

it

again. I didn't think

to write

home

about.

.

.

it

was that

I think that

.

my biting her nipple was the only way I could say that I didn 't want to do

this.

The thing

is

that

when I

bit

her nipple

didn't cry, she didn't react at all in pain.

pain associated with what I

mark on what was going on

That

did.

.

.

.

she didn't scream, she

No way at all was there any

really, like,

put a big question

with me. Like, what the hell was going on?

There was no blood, there was nothing no trace whatsoever. ifI took

a

bit

out of a plastic

It

was as

dummy or mannequin that was made of

rubber or something.

me push her away

I suppose when I bit, that helped

on her face was

sion

the way. In

like, this isn't

confusion. Like, this isn't the

a way,

way it's supposed to

be.

.

it

.

.

the expres-

was shock or

She looked at the

Asian one, I remember, her looking over. They looked straight at each other's face

and looked at me

happen. You've done

this

way

like this isn't the

be done or

tion

.

.

.

how

I don't

to interact

or

.

.

.

whether

it

it's

supposed

was a sexual

women on

the bed, you said

the dark-haired one was looking as if she was being to do,

interac-

know what sort of interaction we had

BC: Getting back to the two

what

to

wrong.

The blond one was showing the dark-haired one how to

supposed

it's

what was the

right thing to do.

shown

What happened

then? PK: The expression on her face was blank. there

.

.

.you know when you look at someone and you

their eye, you It

was

It

know they're alive

.

.

.

see

if she

was

a sparkle in

I didn't see that in both their eyes.

was just like looking at someone with glass eyes

There was some-

Chalker

Bill

3 2

thing missing.

.

.

straight at us, just

.

The Asian one

in particular, her stare

was just

watching analyzing what's going on. The other one,

her actions, as far as I was concerned, were clinical

.

.

no emotion

.

whatsoever.

They knew what they were reason.

.

.

.

doing.

The first thing that came

may have been due to know

.

.

was

thing]

to fall pregnant,

[Peter also suggested that her

.

belly could have It

my mind was babies. That woman having a little bit ofa

into

the Asian-looking

pot belly. They were there for a reason, don't

They were there for a

I thought.

was a reason behind

it,

.

.

I

more prominent

been accentuated by the way she was

so controlled. There

.

sitting.]

[someone or some-

made it happen.

A Vanishing Act PK:

Vm

swallowing and there

started coughing

and I

and as soon as I started having this coughingfit,

that's

when everything stopped, BC:

my

throat

is

this

thing stuck in

they weren't there anymore. I got out of bed.

How do you mean?

PK: They just vanished. One second they were there. When I bit the nipple,

it felt to

me as ifI had bitten a

little

bit

of elastic band, for ex-

ample, rubbery substance. As soon as I did that I saw the expressions

and I started to cough, got this coughingfit, and I might have taken my eyes off them for a split second, I think, then I've looked

up and they

weren 't there anymore.

BC: Were you aware, between the time of coughing and being aware that they weren't there, like,

if there

was any sense

of,

continuity of time?

PK: Oh yes, I don't believe I blacked out. I don 't think

BC:

What about

this sense

you described

earlier

so.

of having

viewed most of this through the sense of being behind yourself and seeing

through you?

Hair of the Alien PK:

what I mean. Soon as I had

Well, that's

looked up

this

coughing fit, Vve

and they were gone and I was looking through my own

There was nothing there.

when

this

It

was just me on

was happening I had

through the back of my

But the whole time

the bed.

the feeling as if I

own head and

was

my own

through

eyes.

.

.

looking

.

eyes

.

.

.

as a

second person looking through. It was really weird. It was like looking through binoculars, but through the back of

watching myself.

understand

it

.

.

having

myself

it's

this experience.

pretty weird.

.

.

.

.

.

my own .

I don't

It gets

.

.

head. I

was

know how

to

.you know, being

involved in the field you would think you would have some answers. It's ridiculous. I

got the impression that this sense of transparent viewing

lasted the

whole experience until Peter started coughing. But

Peter said this

was not

correct, that the duration

of the trans-

parency effect was very short-lived, only lasting from

awoke

until he rose

ing the blond

When

from the bed.

woman

when he

he was upright,

fac-

straddled across his upper legs, his

viewpoint returned to normal. PK: I got out of bed coughing. All ing.

this

time I had really bad cough-

I had something stuck in the back of my throat that I was trying to

cough

out. I

remember getting a glass of water, having a drink. Didn't

do anything. [I] walked straight to the bathroom

BC:

Why did you go and drink some water?

PK:

Well, to

thing stuck in

wash

this

drink.

thing down.

.

.

.

There was definitely some-

my throat.

While I was home on

the

to use the toilet.

my

own, I was coughing. I was trying

But after the first glass of water I went into

the

bathroom

to

to use

toilet.

BC:

Why was that?

PK: J had to go

to the toilet.

BC: Would that have been normal at that time? PK: Not really

It didn 't seem

odd to

me

J had a strong urge

Bill Chalker

34 to

go

to the toilet.

I had a glass of water and that even

that I needed to go. I went to the the night before.

Then I went

toifet.

made it more so

As {said before, I had a shower

and I just fell

straight to bed. Vivian

Nothing happened.

asleep.

Bizarre Discoveries

PK: Basically I was

my penis

thought

and

it

in that

was

much pain when

I tried to use the

virtually like slashed. It felt like

was just burning.

was just

It

was wrapped

was another hurt.

.

to cut

that

.

It

too painful. I pulled the foreskin

I untangled

cut me, though.

because I size

It

like

was

it felt

it off,

bag put it in

knew

was

It

it.

But

I eventually took

plastic sachet

really tightly wrapped,

it,

hair that was also intertwined.

little

was so painful.

me

it

When

.

around

right

it,

bizarre had just happened

it

was going

Not

really, really

my

painful to take office

it off.

and grabbed a

[and] sealed it. The reason I did that was

it

and

was, should have been there,

my

throat, the hair,

something

and Vm glad now I actually kept the sam-

know I've kept itfor quite a few years.

The hair was about ten .

there

It really, really

.

a nylon string and

I came into

and wrapped around the way

eight centimeters.

.

and

hair

was no way, no way at all, that a hair that

that there

because as you

.

this

really painful to untangle

thinking of these women, the thing in

ple,

I

was cut up

it

back and wrapped around the head and part of my penis was that

toilet.

.

than black or blond

.

It

to twelve centimeters, the other about six to

was very frail looking whitish It

reminded

in color, rather

me ofa very thin fishing line

.

.

.it

wasn't thick. I took a sample of my wife's hair to look at and a sample

of my

hair.

ence.

[When

I had the sample in the bag

whitish hair,

.

.

.

it

was a major differ-

I first unraveled the hair] I noticed it

didn't even look like

straightaway to the blond

came from

and

her.

my

wife's hair.

woman. There

is

was

it

.

.

.

blondish,

I connected

it

no doubt that that hair

How it got there, I don't know. I've got no idea

Vi-

..

Hair of the Alien vian's hair

was thicker and way darker in on

the lightest hair, even white hair

her.

color. .

.

.

We even tried to find

It

wasn't anything

to

match hers

How did it get there? happening.

memory of anything who But having a woman on your bed who is naked .

.

Because I had no

.

.

pulls you over to her breast, trying to instigate something

was a fool to

bite the breast.

.

.

.

You handle situations on

moment. Maybe I should have done

way of dealing with clinical.

.

.

it,

put a stop

to

it

to it there

and

maybe I

.

.

.

the spur

But

differently.

.

.

then.

that .

.

my

was

was so

It

.

of the

They had no feelings, no emotion

With regard

placement of the hair on his uncircum-

to the

cised penis, Peter said:

The only way

it

could have got there was ifsomebody had actually

pulled the foreskin back,

way

.

.

.

and

I can't see

wrapped

anybody doing that when

wished I had a recollection of how just twisted

.

.

.it

it

places, not just

straight

.

.

like

Peter felt

He

one

was so flimsy.

curl up. It

got there.

.

.

.

Vm

asleep.

spot.

It

.

[The

.

hair,

had a spring to

a piece ofstring.

no pain

.

.

.

it,

.

.

.

I

wasn't knotted,

It

wrapped around.

that

it

left

was wrapped around it in a coil. That's why

painful. It wasn't on just one area,

a few

on there and

it

It

was so

it

was hurting in

when taken

off] didn't It

wasn't

went to the

toilet.

but not curled.

.

in his penis until he

estimated the experience lasted about five minutes,

perhaps a

little

longer. There

was no verbal communication

throughout the experience. There seemed to be no telepathic

communication

either,

women

but he knew that the

communicating between themselves, sense that the interaction that

were

particularly conveying a

had gone on between Peter and

the blonde "was wrong, don't learn this."

There was no sound during the curtain was drawn.

Though

The bedroom

room was dark, there was sufmake out things in the room.

the

ficient illumination to clearly

incident..

Bill Chalker

36 Peter did not

remember

if

there was any reflection

wardrobe mirror. He did not

rfotice.

from the

'His attention

cused on the two women, particularly the blonde,

was

fo-

who was

very close to him. Peter does not

remember

feeling sexually excited during

this episode.

There have been innuendos that there must have

been a more

explicit sexual event to

wrapped around might get

his penis.

account for the hair being

He can understand where

this idea, or that

people

he might have had the biggest

erection, or the best sex of his

life,

but he stresses there was

none of that. He doesn't remember an

overtly sexual aspect to

the bizarre experience. In hindsight, he feels he handled the situation inappropriately, but he in part attributes his reac-

tion to the shock of the episode. Peter was unaware of any similar encounter in the wider stressed that he

phenomenon

was

relatively

UFO

experience, although he

unaware of the extent of the

or the literature.

Fractured Continuity? BC: Given the

how do you

set

of circumstances that you actually

recollect,

connect this with the women, because you have

described the sense that there was no sort of break in continuity, they were there, then

gone.

Then

there was this sense of this hair there.

PK: I don't know Vivian

you looked up, and they were

ifsomething

to the station it

happened

before,

and when I drove

[then] continued [when I got hack]. I don't

know if it happened as soon as I went to sleep. BC:

two

When you had

ladies, after

it

this awareness, this

encounter with

ended and you were coughing, were you

aware of your clothing being messed about or was

you were dressed the same way as you went

to bed?

it

just as if

.

.

Hair of the Alien PK: No, is

I

was dressed

the coughing didn

stop.

't

BC:

Had you gone

PK:

Yes.

the .

to

.

same way

went

I

The only thing

to bed.

.

bed under the sheets?

BC: Were you aware whether you were under the sheets

when you

.

.

.

PK: When I sat

bolt upright, actually, no, I wasn't. I

on top of the bed.

bed,

.

.

My legs were exposed.

was on

the

I could see myself.

BC: Where were the sheets at that time? PK: Under me.

.

.

.

That's interesting actually. I never thought of

that.

While

this

might suggest some

sort of discontinuity in the

progression of events— it began with the sheets over his lower body, and ends with

how

them under him. with no awareness of

took place— Peter has no

this

memory

of anything

else

happening.

Immediate Aftermath

What

BC:

did vou do about

it

at the time?

PK: Virtually nothing. I was more concerned about this thing stuck in

my

throat for three days.

wished I could have spat

and

it

was gone.

I

it

knew

.

out.

.

.

.

.

It .

was

On

so

annoying.

the third

that something

.

.

.

Somehow

I

day I stopped coughing

happened that wasn't

ordi-

nary. I

had a coughing fit that went for hours, for three

bread.

days. I tried

My mum called a couple of times during the day and heard me

coughing over the phone. Just eat some bread and wash that I told her

what

it

it

down. Not

was. I spoke to Vivian on the phone.

BC:

When did you speak to

PK:

It

BC:

What

her?

would have been half an hour after it happened. did you say to her?

.

.

1

38

Chalker

Bill

PK: She would have just gotten spoke to

her.

stuck in

my

.

.

.

She heard

throat.

annoying. I said

to

Probably about 8:30

in to work.

me coughing and I said Vve got this thing

Vve been trying

to

her when you come

wash

down.

it

It

won't go.

home Ijust want to

It's

talk to you

about something and left it at that. I waited until she

I recall

came home.

when Vivian came home,

I said to her something happened,

Vm not ready to talk about ityet, but when I mention to you about the coughing fits Vm having now, if I tell you in a week, a month, whenever I

tell you,

had that coughing fit said,

.

.

.

no problem. And,

Peter's

When

connect the two.

own

relate [it to]

it

I say to you

remember when I

what Vm talking about.

Yes, she

me two weeks.

took

diary entry indicates that he actually delayed

three weeks, namely: August 13: 'females experience— talked to

Vi-

vian about the coughing fit I had for three days. I told her what happened. "

He showed her the BC: Why?

hair.

PK: / don't know. In a way I felt guilty, then I felt I have no control

over what happened.

was Vivian going

to deal

And

with this? I

didn't have kids at the time.

her?

then at the

.

.

.

Like,

mean

.

.

.

thought,

we were

how am I going to

how

married,

we

explain

to

it

How is she going to feel? How is she going to deal with it? Is she threatened? She surprised

going

to feel

down

the track I said to her, look,

fit.

same time I

She said yes. I said,

like, this is

females on the bed, the think about it? She said, like you 're inviting a

me

actually. [Three]

remember when I had

the coughing

what happened and there were these

hair, etc., the coughing. it's

weeks

I said,

what do you

not like somethingyou can control,

woman over while Vm

not here.

it's

not

What can we do

about it? I was shocked. She accepted it better than I did.

\

CHAPTER THREE

Seeking Help

PETER KHOURY FOUND THAT GETTING ASSISTANCE TO UNDERstand his bizarre experiences, beginning with the 1988 episode, was difficult at best. Professional help was not

forthcoming.

He even contemplated

hypnosis, but the costs

were daunting; besides, as soon as he mentioned what about, the hypnotherapists didn't want to see him.

November

1991, he heard about a local

UFO

it

was

Then

in

group called

UFO Research New South Wales, which was about to have its inaugural meeting. Peter was seeking to understand what had

happened

to

him

in

1988 and joined the group. The puzzling

encounter with the two females that would yield the hair

sample was

still

some months

away. Peter

had entered the

surreal world of ufology.

The

who

UFO

group

is

a beacon for people in

are attracted to the mystery of

all

UFOs and

walks of life aliens.

Some

Bill Chalker

40

groups are well organized, highly focused, and serious, while others are downright bizarre arid irrational. Often,

UFO

groups are a mixture of these two competing factions.

Many

try to attract public

prefer

a

research,

membership and approach

low-profile

and

infighting

is

investigation.

attention, while others

that

Wild speculation and

political

often rampant.

UFOR (NSW)

was not immune to these

lems. Driven by the need to understand his Peter

networking,

favors

issues

own

and prob-

experiences,

found himself the group's de facto "abduction coordi-

nator" and tentatively developing their abductee support sub-

group. But what he found was a group that was not really ready to

come

to grips with the alien abduction subject.

in the fledgling

group saw

Many

alien abduction reports as a can

of

worms. One of the coordinators of the group described abductions as "just too sexy, too sensational, and 'not

One can perhaps understand sponse from a newly formed

UFOs and

this sort

civilian

struggling to achieve

nice.'

of conservative

"

re-

group trying to focus on

and maintain

respectability

in the eyes of the general public. Alien abductions were sim-

ply too controversial. Peter's support group was a "bastard child."

This was the formative period of Peter's missionary zeal for the cause of accepting peoples' claims of alien abduction

experiences.

Although

Peter's traumatic

clear resonances with the experiences Strieber,

1988 experience had

of people

like

Whitley

whose written accounts had been read by millions

of people around the world, Peter began to was, at best, a limited tolerance

realize that there

and a narrow understanding

of his experience, and that in general people regarded the issue with skepticism, rejection.

and sometimes with

hostility

and

Hair of the Alien

An Implant? Peter

Khoury

clearly

remembered that a

had inserted something into counter and had

his

head during

1988 en-

his

behind a "puncture mark." He believed

left

now he had an implant

that perhaps

needle-like device

in his head. Nearly four

lump at the site of the puncture mark. The doughnut-shaped lump seemed to grow

years later there

was

a noticeable

still

and then

intermittently to about half the size of a marble, shrink, but

it

worried that

would never

it

might be a tumor, but

so did his concerns.

on the job

as

it

He

occasionally

diminished in

size,

17

CAT scan

Three days before his ceived

entirely disappear.

May

in

for the

head injury he

re-

1992, Peter was scratching the site

of his puncture mark as he sat with Vivian in the evening. He

had come

seemed

to note that there

sticking out

from the

they couldn't see

it.

spot. Peter

Now

continued to scratch the

to be a very thin "wire"

and Vivian could

had begun

it

area.

it,

but

to irritate him.

He

Then suddenly he

feel

felt

some-

thing pop out of the spot and he caught a glimpse of something

fall

between him and Vivian. She didn't see

it

fibers

of the shag carpet. Peter thought

and was about the

may have

size

but both

and apparently bounce into the

heard

hit the coffee table

it,

it

looked dark brown

of a match head. Realizing that he

dislodged something that had been there since

vacuum cleaner and, with a tissue covering the inlet, began to vacuum the area. But he found nothing, and eventually they gave up looking for it. In the wake of that episode the transient lump on his 1988, Peter quickly got a small portable

head was now gone, and the job

site assault

mark.

18

CAT

scan that followed for the

revealed nothing in the area of the puncture

Bill Chalker

Confronting Abductions

*

f

Dealing with his abduction experience of 1988 was hard

enough on

more

Peter Khoury; the situation merely got worse

difficult after his July

reflect his frustrations

and

1992 experience. His diary entries

and concerns. An entry on August

almost two weeks after he had told Vivian about "lack of help from committee. "

The very next day

"do not discuss experience/' referring to the July

it,

26,

notes a

Peter records,

1992 event, be-

cause of the lack of positive feedback or interest. It

took the

Budd Hopkins the

UFO

visit

in

of American alien abduction researcher

October 1992 to shake the conservatism of

group. Hopkins's public lecture and

helped legitimize or popularize the the

UFO

reality

its

impact

of abductions and

group's negative attitude toward the subject began

to change.

The group now wanted

to take over the abduction

support group that had been nurtured principally by Peter Khoury.

At a public meeting of the 1992, which ate

I

attended, Peter

UFO

group on December

Khoury and

his

6,

primary associ-

Jamie Leonarder formally introduced the support group

concept. Leonarder had joined the group early in 1992.

He

was a welfare worker with a Sydney welfare agency that provided support for

down and out street people. These included

those with drug and other dependency problems, destitute individuals,

and other people on the

surprisingly, Leonarder

fringe of society.

Not

was attracted to the issues and con-

Khoury— the legion of the abducted. empathy for these people, who often had an

cerns of people like Peter

He had a natural

intense sense of alienation both with mainstream society

and

the alien realm they seemed to have intersected with.

The support group had

its first

meeting on January 31,

Hair of the Alien 1993. Peter mentioned the blond

woman and the hair sample

subsequent support group meeting, on February 28,

at a

1993, but because of the earlier lack of positive feedback, he

show

did not

the hair sample at the meeting. Instead, he fo-

cused on his 1988 experience, which conformed to the then accepted general form of alien abductions.

But problems quickly escalated for the fledgling support group. Leonarder was concerned about the involvement of

nonprofessionals in the group and the dubious dynamics that emerged. Peter stayed with the group for about a year, until the pressures

and petty

He had received no

help in understanding his

and the

politics

began to take

their toll.

own experience

members were not sensitive enough to complex needs of those who had gone through such

felt

that the group

episodes.

A New Support Group Peter

Khoury resigned from

March

1993.

Many

UFOR (NSW)

in the support

group

at the

left

end of

with him,

own

cluding Leonarder, and together they formed their group, the

UFO

in-

Experience Support Association (UFOESA),

which was formalized on April

14, 1993.

UFOESA, based

in

Sydney, went on to become one of the most notable manifestations of the support

group concept in Australia.

It

was an

impressive beginning, emerging out of frustrations with the

formal profit,

UFO

group structure and describing

itself as "a

non-

voluntary organization dedicated to helping witnesses

and experiencers of

UFO

events cope with

and understand

their encounters."

Khoury remarks, tion abductees are

"I

in.

ask you

all

What

you became a victim of the

if

to think

about the

situa-

Bill Chalker

44

same circumstances? Wouldn't you want someone to listen to you and feel confident in the fact that 'the people you are reporting your experience to understand and support you?

I

ask you once again to be open-minded to the fact that there

many

are

individuals

experiencing

this

phenomenon

throughout the world." It

like

takes a lot of courage to

"come out" and describe events

1988 and 1992 experiences.

Peter Khoury's

takes

It

strength of character to go a step further in trying to help others in similar circumstances. Peter

hoped that the team of

professionals— including scientists, doctors, psychologists,

and therapists— that became part of

would be

his

able to respond to the abduction

UFOESA problem

group

in a

way

the former group never could. Despite the best of intentions,

however, the professionals, with their caution mediated by

and commonsense, questioned the more

science

claims and used validity

them

as criteria for accepting or rejecting the

of an experience.

For Peter Khoury ingly

bizarre

this issue

become a potent and

had suddenly and overwhelm-

critical

problem. His

own

bizarre

experience ofJuly 1992 with the two strange females told Peter that the strangeness of a claim should not be a reason for au-

tomatically rejecting someone's credibility. Early in 1993, he

used his

own

experience to inform the professionals within

the group of this lesson, but he was less than convinced that his

group of professionals had embraced Peter told

them

the basic details of his strange

vasion" by two "alien" followed,

women,

it

"home

in-

the bizarre interactions that

Though they seemed mere tokenism. From that mo-

and the hair sample he had

listened, to Peter

his suggestion.

recovered.

ment on he learned to be more circumspect about sharing the more bizarre episodes of his unfolding alien abduction expe-

Hair of the Alien rience. If

UFOESA's own

45

come

professionals could not

to

terms with the stranger dimensions of the abduction experience, Peter realized there

would be

little

hope

for help

from

outsiders. Peter's 1992 experience

became a suppressed but

important "sleeper" case biding

time.

its

An Outsider Enters Given

Peter's experiences

with his

own group,

it

hardly seems

surprising that he initially chose not to share details of his

1992 experience with me.

startling

I

should note that since

know Peter Khoury since 1993, 1 have found him to a friendly and reliable person. He has at times become pas-

getting to

be

sionate

and

volatile

about his cause and does not tolerate

who genuinely feel they have experienced an alien abduction. He remains open to whatever these experiences may turn out to be, but those he

insists

feels

on the

dishonor the integrity of people

serious

and

ethical research

and support of ab-

ductees.

Because of the significance of the hair evidence, |

II

I

needed

some degree of certainty that the hair was indeed procured in the way Peter described during his July to establish with

1992 experience. After he revealed the story of the

me

in 1996,

women

to

he said that he had made mention of the experi-

ence in his diaries, but because of renovations and building at his

house

years.

He

at the time, finally

he was unable to find them for several

found them

in April 1999.

The

diaries con-

firmed that the incident had indeed occurred in July 1992.

Both Peter and Vivian were certain that the incident had curred after his severe job

Both

site

head injury of May

recalled that the incident with the

had occurred

at a

time

when

Peter was

13, 1992.

women and

still

oc-

the hair

affected by the in-

Bill Chalker

46 jury, particularly

was a very

The

with nausea, headaches, and vomiting.

difficult

It

time for them, as Peter could not work.

diary confirmed that the hair incident actually oc-

curred on July 23, 1992.

It

shows that he

also

the experience to Vivian three weeks

later,

finally reveals

on August

13. Peter

pointed out that while he was reasonably certain of the diary

1992 was a turbulent year for him and his family, and

date,

therefore he couldn't be absolutely certain that he

July 23 entry

on the

about the diary tries

entry, as in his

He made

his

this qualification

normal building job diary en-

he had occasionally found himself making entries on the

wrong page. out,

right date.

made

make

If he

picked these errors up, he would cross them

a note, and enter the material

So, while not absolutely certain, Peter

on the is

correct date.

pretty confident

about the date of the episode.

Other than Vivian, Jamie Leonarder

is

the person

most

fa-

miliar with Peter's 1992 experience. Jamie's association with

Peter

was established by the middle of 1992, and given the

empathy they had,

it

was only natural that Peter would

Jamie about the experience and showed him the Leonarder recollects that

this

was soon

after Peter

tell

hair.

had

re-

vealed his experience to Vivian. Again this anchors the experi-

ence around the middle of 1992 and

is

thus consistent with

the July 23 date.

Though

a

rift

would eventually develop between them,

was surprised how much Jamie supported the Peter's July

1992 episode.

lected Peter's telling

He

told

him about

me

validity

I

of

that he certainly recol-

the episode

and being shown

the hair. Jamie was certain that the details of the

women and

the hair were there from the very beginning and he

felt

the ac-

count was consistent with the story Peter has told many times since.

Given the bizarre and implied sexual nature of the

inci-

Hair of the Alien dent, Jamie

had suggested that perhaps

Peter to be careful about

who he

it

would be wiser

told this story to, but to en-

sure that the sample was kept in a safe place, as

was important.

Peter's

for

it

probably

subsequent experiences with his

own

support group committee would confirm to him the soundness of this advice. fessionals,

I

talked to a

and most had some

them about

number of these group

pro-

recollection of Peter's telling

the experience.

Given these various points of confirmation, both direct

and

indirect,

I

could be pretty certain about the July 1992

date of Peter's experience,

women and

and that

his story

about the strange

the recovery of the strange hair sample

had

in-

deed occurred at that time. This very strange episode seemed to have a solid foundation.

CHAPTER FOUR

Alien Impact

WHILE

THE EXTRAORDINARY POTENTIAL OF PETER

Khoury's 1992 experience would not emerge until

the

DNA

analysis took place

on the found

sample, another very striking case came to

same year I began researching two cases would provide points

I

me

my

hair

notice the

Peter's alien experiences.

These

with the kind of reality anchor

was seeking as a scientist— tangible physical evidence

that alien abductions might actually be happening.

my own research into Australian abduction events, from my earliest work in the seventies until the early nineties, In

I

basically

came

to hold the position that

cases probably told us

they did about

UFOs

more about themselves.

the I

most abduction

human condition than

found the majority of ab-

duction cases conspicuously devoid of compelling physical evidence.

My

science

background always made me aware of

Hair of the Alien the fundamental position that extraordinary claims require

extraordinary evidence. However, such evidence also often quires extraordinary investigation

and research

Compelling evidence for the physical

comes from physical

EM

traces in

UFO

re-

to obtain

of

reality

it.

UFOs

landing events, so-called

(electromagnetic) effects in close encounter incidents,

particularly car stalling type cases, radar sightings, physical

on

effects

dence.

19

witnesses,

and

to a lesser extent photographic evi-

But similar evidence to support the

tion events has been lacking or

And

yet such events have

scene. Indeed,

it

seems as

come if

the

is

to

reality

relatively

of abduc-

unconvincing.

dominate the

entire

UFO phenomenon

UFO

itself

has

been abducted by the alien abduction phenomenon.

One of

the few compelling exceptions to the ambiguity

and uncertainty that pervade the is

the 1993 Kelly Cahill case.

case because

it

It

alien abduction experience

proved to be a groundbreaking

involved an abduction that was observed by

three groups of apparently independent witnesses-

and was

supported by an intriguing array of physical evidence. This event represented a turning point for me.

dence makes

came a siren

it

physical evi-

difficult to dismiss this case. Actually

call for

me to

reevaluate

and misunderstood prosaic as explanations for alien this episode

The

vagaries

it

be-

my preference for exotic of the human condition

abduction experiences. Ultimately,

was not without

its

frustrations,

20

but along with

Khour/s 1992 experience, it would help arrest my drift away from accepting the possible reality of alien abduction Peter

stories.

Each of these two cases were powerful touchstones for

the argument that

maybe

alien

abduction stories should not

be dismissed as aberrations of an

all

too

human kind.

.

.

50

Bill

Chalker

Kelly Cahill's Encounter

,

Kelly Cahill first contacted

me back on October 4,

1993, seek-

ing assistance in understanding a bizarre experience she had

near the outer Melbourne suburban housing development of

Narre Warren North, in the foothills of the Dandenongs, Victoria,

between Belgrave and Fountain Gate, during the

hours of August tion,

I

8,

1993.

To conduct

Phenomena Research Australia Kelly's will

account

is

the follow-up investiga-

John Auchettl and

referred Kelly Cahill to

Tilley,

extraordinarily potent

on March

his

group

(PRA).

and compelling.

quote here from an interview Kelly gave to

Robb

early

I

my associate,

21, 1994, as the details of the incident

that emerged during that interview are consistent with those

she initially and later related to me, with what she told John

Auchettl of PRA, and with her

own written account of the

ex-

perience.

The Incident Prelude

My

husband and I were driving

mountains. It was her daughter's It

my

to .

.

girlfriend's place

It takes us

in the

birthday.

was just after dark and we were nearly

from her place.

up

about halfan hour

there,

about an hour and a halffrom our place.

It

was just after seven. [The area has]

little bits

major shopping center

My

husband

window.

It's

.

offield

.

.

.

and then you run

right into

a

.

drives really fast.

.

.

.

Vm just busy

turned dark and I look over towards

going past and I see a ring of orange

lights. It

was

looking out the

this field

as

we are

the first time I ever

thought I had seen something that wasn't normal,

you know what I

mean. I was going to shut my mouth. I thought, "No,

he's just going to

Hair of the Alien 33

have a go at me.

But a couple of minutes up

33

saw a UFO. He said, "Don 3

3

t

the

he stupid! It was probably a helicopter.

making any

was just sitting on

I said, "It

wasn

Anyway,

after a few jibes at me, he forgot all

t

road I said, "I swear I

noise. It

the ground.

33

33

about it, and we arrived

at [my girlfriend's place].

When we were there, my friends bring up this conversation, about what I thought I had seen. Her father says, "You think you've seen tle

men

green

or something Kelly?

33

and

all this sort

lit-

It

was

bit

of a

of stuff.

turned into a joke, and I just totally forgot about it.

We went out and played Bingo. We came problem about what time we

at one o'clock.

left

As far

as

my

But

that night, I think

we

We had a

husband was conit

means we must

left

at a quarter to

we got home at 2:30 in the morning

cerned, because

have

left.

back.

We got back from Bingo at about eleven, and we didn't stay for

twelve.

very long because [my friend's] daughter's boyfriend had just

up with her and had gone home with

what I mean

.

.

.

and

she

was

the

really upset

.

.

.

split

new girlfriend, you know and crying and we

didn't

want to stay. So we weren 't there for that long at all.

The Encounter Begins Anyway, we were driving back down Both of

you

.

.

.

us,

just

in front

sitting there.

.

.

.

me and my husband I couldn't it it

tell

what it was.

was sort of.

or what looked like windows

was dark, you couldn't

was no

my

.

.

we

.

.

both It

saw

stretch.

this,

mind

was just something

We were at first far away,

well, it

wasn 't like

was a round shape with some

light in the field, it

Even

.

of us, hovering above the road.

but as you got closer to

closer, there

road in the same

the

the orange

sort ofglass around,

and lights around the bottom. Because it

really tell at first.

But as we got

closer

and

noise or anything.

husband's going "You're right! That's something that's

very, very strange.

33

And I swear we saw people in

there

and then just

.

.

.

Bill Chalker as I said to him, "I swear there's people in there, " left

as fast as

ond,

it

could go. I

mean

We

disappeared. Within a split sec-

itjrist

kept driving

and about a kilometer ahead,

there's this really, really bright light in front

up above

up,

but I can

bright,

my brow to look out the

until

to .

.

.

t see

seen

I'm

it

once

.

.

we had

window, because

From

there, that

see

is

the last

so excited. All

seen, I'd seen

of a sudden I'm

Tm

c

we remembered

it

twice in one night the heart

sitting in the car,

be-

and he had

is

thumping

and I'm saying to

my husband, "What happened?" And he says to me, We must have gone around a corner or something " By

that

it's

a UFO, you know, I just knew,

and the adrenaline is pumping

.

my

of us, and I've got

"What are you going to do ? " He said,

knew I was going to

cause of what

of a sudden,

anything.

keep driving. " I

all

y

I said to [my husband],

going

shot off to the

had gone.

it

hand

it just

"I don't

know.

we got home he was definite of everything but at that time he didn 't know what happened either. I said to him, "I swear I've the time

had a blackout second like

den

.

.

.

." because

I

that.

adrenaline just doesn 't disappear in a split

mean your

heart

is

going mad!

And

all

of a sud-

.

One

thing that really

annoyed me was that I could smell vomit. I

couldn't figure out where the smell of vomit was coming from.

I argue about this half the lous,

way home until it started getting ridicu-

and I ended up just shutting up

going dogs.

to

come out of it, you know, because we

from where we

live (there

to

and

our home, about twenty minutes away

was no one on

standing on the side of the road—a couple ofseconds, all.

fight like cats

was

.

As we were getting close

at

to stop all the fighting that

me

dark figure.

It

saw a figure

was only for a

and I didn 't relate it to anything until much later on

But it made me turn

reminded

tall,

the road), I

my head.

I kept

it

in

my

of a story I was told when I was a

mind, because

little

girl

it

about the

.

Hair of the Alien headless

horseman on

of the road.

saw

it for

It

the side

of the road

.

.

.

because

wasn't headless or anything, just

only a couple of seconds

but I thought I saw

and then

it

was on

this tall

the side

black figure. I

I couldn't see

anymore,

it

it.

Post-Encounter Fallout I get home. That night I actually had a off that something happened

.

.

dream about UFOs to

but a whole

lot

top

it all

of it went out of my

head.

Kelly

and her husband argued about what happened

way home. Both agree they saw a UFO, but cannot

part of the agree

for

on the

had of experiencing a blackout or

feeling Kelly

missing time and seeing people. They also could both smell

vomit and were each experiencing unexplained stomach pain. For Kelly

it

was

like

pain from severe muscle fatigue that radi-

abdomen to home at about

ated from her lower

They they had

arrived

left their friends'

band refused insisted they

had

left later,

2:30 a.m. Kelly was certain

place before midnight.

acknowledge

to

the upper shoulders.

Kelly's

more

likely

Her hus-

growing concerns and

around

1

a.m.

Kelly experienced unexplained menstrual bleeding

came extremely

ill.

and be-

She had had her period the week before.

Kelly recalled:

But when I got home that night,

mark below my cut,

navel, with

that is

when Ifound the triangular

what I thought was a

little

laparoscopy

and I also started bleeding that night. Three and a half weeks later

I ended up in hospital with

an

infection in the

womb. I hadn't stopped

bleeding The doctor said to me, "You must have been pregnant, "

I said I was not pregnant. I only

way you can get an

nant or

it's

and

know I wasn't pregnant. He said that the

infection in the

womb is ifyou've been pregme on a drip and

been caused by an operation. They put

Bill Chalker

54

me

fixed

up. I felt pretty crook [an

sion for feeling sick].

Australian colloquial expres*

[The hospital] actually did a laparoscopy, another laparoscopy. This

was not when I first went

weeks after

wanted

to

that,

have

in.

I went back in

later,

another six

my stomach, and just And I still had the trian-

because I had a lot ofpains in

it

checked to see what

it

was.

gular mark there

They just did a blooming laparoscopy cut was] no comment whatsoever. that she

.

.

.

right next to

it.

[There

I have a letter from a friend saying

saw [the triangular mark].

Conscious Recollections Kelly's recollections did

not emerge from hypnosis. Indeed,

she had only one session well after the main investigation of

her encounter had been completed, and

anything of significance. Kelly lightly

it

failed to reveal

she was at best only

felt

under and generally thought the session was of little

value.

Kelly elaborated

We went down and

later,

to

the subject

on how she came

to recall the experience:

a girlfriend's place a

little

ofUFOs came up and

"Oh, I don't think they really

exist.

" It

was

bit later,

a few weeks

her husband was saying

my husband that said,

"If

you had seen what Kelly and I saw you might change your mind!" I said,

"What are you

talking about?" You know, ifVd seen something

Vd have remembered

it.

I didn

3

t

even remember that I had seen

it

hov-

ering in the middle of the road. It had been totally blanked out of my

And I search my head for days, because I knew he wouldn 't say He was telling me, "Remember on the something if he didn't mean mind.

it.

way home from [your girlfriend's], remember, noise ... ?" And I

And a few

it

wasn't making any

was just sitting there. I couldn 't remember it.

days

later, all

of a sudden I remembered

it!

It hit

me!

.

Hair of the Alien "Oh. " Then I remembered going into the light and then

And I thought, I couldn

}

t

remember anything else.

A couple of weeks after that, remembered

that

home, but it was I

went up

to

all the

way

I did remember.

[my girlfriend's] house again

her other daughter's

.

.

way home from Bingo we passed a

bug me, because I

and I remember arguing with him

light,

all

this started to really

birthday,

.

that night,

in October, this time for

and again we went to Bingo. On

the

we went along the same road, and as

certain spot I just got this incredible feeling of terror go

through me, I

mean

absolute terror. All of a sudden I just started re-

membering, and by the next morning I had remembered just about everything that happened, except there's

still

missing time that I can't

[remember].

What we had the

road curved and the

tually to .

.

actually done,

size

.

into the light, but

side. It

was

in the field,

and

it

was massive.

UFO

of a house" or perhaps close to 50 meters.] So

it

at "the

was very

Why I knew it was very big was because we could have driven for

five minutes.

The road sort of wound around

driven for five minutes

craft

of enormous

bottom of a J asked

him

leaning back

was much larger than the

size. It

in,

it

was

at

ground

level in

the field at

to stop the

actually

on

car

and we

both got out. I

remembered

the floor to pick

anywhere without my handbag.

was

telling myself,

pening! This

is

UFO seen

gully area.

things that triggered off a lot of these

thing

You could have

and not had it out ofyour sight the whole time.

a few minutes earlier and

didn't go

this part.

and her husband had a clear, uninterrupted view of a

Kelly

the

.

[Estimates put the possible diameter of the

.

big.

.

we had thought was in front ofus was ac-

light

our right-hand

we had driven

real!

.

up

my handbag

because I

And that's one of the sort of

memories doing

"You are conscious. This

is

that.

The other

real! This

is

hap-

.

I was just listening to myselfgetting all excited,

and I thought I bet-

"

Bill Chalker ter

calm down. ... 7 get

solutely terrifying but

whacky, I

We

mean

you

can't help

car—pulled

up.

it's

%

because

supposed

we jumped

crossed over the road,

I looked down the road

up

way

not the

this is

For a while

really excited.

to

it

it

was just ab-

sounds really

happen at all.

from

Some people got out, and went across

When you've

the road. I only

road

got something like that in front ofyou,

and

.

.

what was in front of me than them,

well,

.

I was

so I didn't get

I'm standing there and we are looking at of a sudden there

about seven foot [sic]

/

tall

For Kelly this was quite to see a

much atthe

you've got people down the road

thirty seconds]. All

.

and there was another car— a light blue

They must have been at least a hundred meters down

us.

.

and we walked

the gutter

thought it was two, but it was actually three, but I didn 't pay tention.

.

is

more

interested in

any detail

this

thing [for about

a black figure on the field.

It's

knew it was really tall at the time. startling.

Somehow

she expected

human being, but this was not human. Its shape was all

wrong. Kelly tried to use thought as a

means

She was immediately overwhelmed with to turn to a red

fire.

communicate.

to

fear. Its eyes

seemed

At the distance of about 150 meters, they

possessed an extraordinary luminosity. It started It

coming towards

sounds stupid, but

eyes,

it

us,

only slowly,

had great

big

and they were red like, not like a

ingred, like.

.

.

fluorescent stop

and

round red reflection

it

had big red

eyes, like

eyes.

huge fly's

of red, but like burn-

I suppose, that sort of real burn-

lights,

ing red. All of a sudden I started screaming out [to this

has really got

doesn 't know

this,

me

my husband]

baffled because of the fact that

so I don 't even

and then

I started screaming

"THEY'VE GOT NO SOULS. " Then all ofa sudden started

field,

a human being

know how I came out with this, but I

started saying "They've got no souls, "

of them in the

Now

there were heaps

not just one, a whole heap of them, and they

coming towards

us,

I

mean

.

.

.

faster than a

man

could run,

"

.

Hair of the Alien

57

and they were gliding offthe ground. They got halfway across the field. They

some of them went towards

split up,

the other people

[two or

three people, Kelly thought] and some of them [the rest, Kelly

thought] came towards

found herself screaming out to the other group of

Kelly

people

us.

down

the road, "They're

evil!

They're going to

The next thing I know Ifelt this Umphl here like I

was winded, but I was thrown

back on the ground. I sat up, with

Vm

my stomach,

right

see.

My

eyes.

y

t see

.

.

.

It

was

all

"I

main

fence line,

may have been

However, this

electric fence at the site.

at the time.

knees. Here,

.

electric

would probably not have

been sufficiently strong to have "winded"

was not on

.

my

.

Kelly speculated that her being "winded"

fence was inside the

right across

Vm screaming out to [my husband],

black. I couldn 't see anything.

caused by an

us!"

back and I was on

my head between my

trying to stay conscious. I couldn't

can 't see anything! I can

in

kill

her,

and most

likely

But because of this possible prosaic

explanation for her being "winded," she was confused over

whether the apparent forces involved were "good" or

She

is still

"evil."

uncertain of this and appears open-minded as to

what was involved. But

the next thing I heard

him saying "Let go of me. " His

voice

was all sort of cracked up with fear, and Vd never heard that from husband. He's not frightened or afraid ofanything.

Then

this

then he said,

.

male voice said, "We [don't] mean you any harm. "And

"Why

did you hit Kelly then?" That's the last I heard of

[my husband]. No one

else

talked except me. I heard the male voice.

Then I heard myself saying "Oh, God, I'm going

my

.

my

head between

my

knees,

and I just felt

Then I must have blacked out for a

little

to

be

sick. " I've

got

like violently nauseous.

while. I don't

remember

being sick. Then I remember hearing talk about being "a peaceful people, "

and I started screaming out,

I said,

"Don 't believe them,

they're

"

"

Bill Chalker going

to steal your souls. "

was hysterically

the time I

never felt terror

like

terror like that.

And

I

know

sounds so ridiculous now, but at

it

terrified.'I

was

that— not even in it

was

like

.

.

.

I had

really, really terrified.

my worst nightmares had I felt

oh, there's

one thing I remember

my daughter. " Now when I on the way up to [my girlfriend's] in the field, first saw the [ UFO] the first thing I did was pray. And I took it as sarcasm straight away. And it sounded like sarcasm. It didn 't sound, you know what I mean, that he said: "I wouldn't .

.

it

harm

her. She's

.

sounded like there was even a small laugh after that. I don 't know,

it

just wasn't good to me.

God

allowed her to get answers to

situations, albeit

sometimes in the most subtle

Kelly's strong faith in

many of life's

and unlikely ways. For

UFO

ble

on the way

Kelly the brief observation of a possi-

to her girlfriend's place

1993, was perhaps a glimpse at one of

life's

for

me

.

I'll

.

.

be back

down

this

silent prayer,

moment,

"Wait

way in a few hours.

had long been on a

Kelly

for a

7,

mysteries— per-

haps even a "lesson" from God. So she made a

which began with "Father." She thought

on August

spiritual quest,

which was an-

chored in a religious journey and a desire to understand the great mysteries. While she gion, she

had a deep

had

little

time for organized

interest in the great religious

reli-

works and

the Bible in particular. Therefore, given her brief prayer for clarification

her friend's on August she

8,

saying,

7,

event on the

and the use of the word

"mocked" when during the

felt

gust

UFO

of the nature of the

way

to

"Father,"

close encounter of

Au-

on the way back from her friend's, she heard a voice "She is my daughter. " To Kelly there was no way this

was her

"father,"

and she

said as

much

before losing con-

sciousness.

Anyway, I started screaming and going on about demons trying to steal people's souls. That's

what I

did.

I

know

it

sounds stupid, but I

Hair of the Alien I like not to admit that

did.

came from my mouth, but

it

know what I mean. But Vm going to Next

thing I hear

the

quite gentle. That's

.

when

ground and I couldn't

way it is.

.

.

touch

my shoulder.

I absolutely cracked!

It

wasn

Vm

still

y

sitting

a thing but I made sure that

see

Before that I was crying. All ofa sudden something snapped in

I got so angry. Then I started screaming out, these innocent people, " like it

and

spiritual search,

I thought,

there

was a fight for me. Like

Anyway, I

my

my fault.

was

involve other people? it

.

it

on

eyes

in me.

me and

"How dare you do this to Because I was on a big

I really got the impression that

And

why

hard,

t

know what I mean. Something snapped

were just fierce, you

you

him saying "Would somebody do something

about her. " And I felt a hand

was

the

tell it

it did,

.

.

I felt

it

was

like,

my fault.

almost

like

was something I had to do them

to

go

was invoking God, and screaming

at

started screaming out stupid things; told

back where they came from. All the while Kelly

them

to

go back where they came from.

Next thing I remember I was sitting in

Vve still got missing

the car.

time.

Her

memory was of driving into

last

the light.

The "Dream" of August 8, 1993 Once home and "dream"

is

of interest because

actual event

and

had a

asleep, Kelly

it

bizarre dream. This

emerged within hours of the

it

places Kelly back in the encounter. Subse-

quent "dreamings" do not have In the August 8 dream, she

this quality

is

on the

about them.

side of the road with

her head between her knees. She becomes aware that she can see again.

onto the

A

being

is

leading her husband

i

the slope

field.

Throughout the dream she

If

down

is

unable to see the beings

Bill Chalker

60 above the

of their elbows. Their limbs seem long and

level

thin.

Somehow band

is

she

convinced that the being with her hus-

is

female. She tackles

dream she once again

on the extreme the field to the

and then blacks

right of the field, with the left.

out. In the

regains consciousness to find herself

Before her

nonhuman, changing

first

it

to

middle-aged, standing farther

UFO

farther

down

on the ground is a still body,

at

human. A woman, apparently

down

at her, "Murderess, murderess!"

the field, was screaming

She

is

overcome with grief

with no awareness of having killed anyone. Still in

the dream, a

hand on her shoulder

leads her to fol-

low obediently. Eventually, Kelly becomes aware that she

is

in

a small room, with only a small table and a being standing before her.

The being

tells

they had to use her Kelly has a

fear.

table

behind

her she did not

own

anyone, and that

kill

sense of morality to overcome her

profound sense of knowing

this

being

is

this being.

On a

a Bible, one of hers, which had dis-

appeared a few weeks before. The being offers Kelly a strange choice that heightens her suspicions of the motives involved.

She

is

told she can

come but

that she

would have

to leave the

Bible behind. In the "dream" the being gives her this Bible.

The "dream" ends at that point. A few days counter her husband found the Bible in the car.

after the en-

The First "Dreaming" The

first

of Kelly's strange "dreamings" occurred before she

regained a

full recollection

of the events of August

8,

1993.

It

started with a sense of a presence warning her to be calm, fol-

lowed by a frightening "sucking" sensation;

it

was

as if some-

thing was being taken from her. She came out of the dream

Hair of the Alien only to be confronted by a

terrified,

hooded

floor-length

glowing red peared.

To

eyes.

cloak.

tall

was about seven

It

She screamed

in terror

memories had not resurfaced

In the dream, and .

.

.

all

it

to explain

at the time.

of a sudden I felt like something was being sucked out

of it came back

hard

UFO context at the

must have only been within a week or two of

of my chest and the pressure bit

with

Kelly the being resembled a "soul vampire" or the

time, as her

event

feet tall,

and the being disap-

"grim reaper." The being did not have any

this

black figure in a

in.

.

.

.

and I got scared and it was like a

little

And then it was like a violent sucking again. It's

because

it

wasn't

.

.

.

I don't

know what it is

like for

And I got that scared in my dream that I woke up and standing beside me and only thatfar away from me (between five inches to a foot at the most) was a black figure about seven feet tall (because he just reached the top of my energy to leave the body, but

mirror) with a hood on

it,

it

was something like

with big red eyes. I was

My husband slept on the couch that night. bed,

come

to bed! "

encounter], so

it

that.

...

But at that stage I didn

y

t

literally terrified.

I woke him up,

"Come to

remember [the August 8

didn't click.

The Second "Dreaming" When,

after I did

remember it,

seemed very physical. I know

I had another dream

and these dreams

Vm dreaming and I've got to wake up

out of them

In bed,

this

particular one, I felt as if my legs were being pulled off the

and it was like I was paralyzed from my

were being pulled over body.

him

Then

Vm grabbing a pillow,

up, because he

going

was

to let this thing

and saw

it

to the side, yet

waist down,

and my legs

I could almost use the top of my

trying to hit

my

husband, to wake

beside

me that night.

Vm fighting this. Vm not

me

off the bed by

my

drag

legs.

Then I woke up

standing there again! This time the hood covered the

eyes,

Bill Chalker

62 and

it

didn't scare me.

.

.

.

I was

quite as much, because each time like Ifelt

but

still terrified,

it

feared me,

it

the ground

it

my

was that same power

was like something almost like

a frequency or a sound vibration or something.

my

me

didn't scare

out in the field that night.

When I was sitting on into

it

And I couldn't get it together.

head!

logical thoughts together,

not

And

it's

getting right

Like I was trying to get

almost conscious thoughts,

logical,

and I was fighting it the whole time; which is probably why I seemed to remember more than my husband or even

the other people.

The Third "Dreaming" The

third "dreaming" occurred at a friend's place

23, 1993. tions.

on October

By then Kelly had experienced the flood of recollec-

The two

earlier

"dreamings" took on an added

cance, since the beings

seemed

signifi-

to "manifest" after Kelly

awoke from them. This time upon waking from a strange "dream" that seemed to take the form of a "peak experience" (in the sense

of psychologist Abraham Maslow's term), she

saw what appeared

to be the

same

creature,

time and leaning over her, looking as her navel.

It

was

tall,

with a head

very long and thin arms, and an to

its

if it

much

but naked

this

were about to kiss

larger

than normal,

abdomen out of proportion

thin frame, like the stomach of a child suffering from

malnutrition.

Its

skin resembled gray-black plasticine. Kelly

woke up with a scream. Then from her mouth came "an uninterrupted stream of hysteria." With morning she insisted that her husband check under the car; she had heard a distinct voice

during the night urging her do

so.

He ignored

her

request and their car subsequently suffered a problem.

Numerous other strange events occurred around Kelly. Some were of a "psychic" nature; others seemed to involve

Hair of the Alien

63

For instance, their car would

"electrical disturbances."

fre-

when no one was in it, even though the vehicle had a kill switch that made such events even more startling and curious. These events seemed to come to an end by January 1994, when the fourth and final "dreaming" ocquently start up

curred.

The Fourth "Dreaming" In the dream, the there

bathroom

light

had blown

out.

Once again

was a sense of a presence. Something was trying to grab

Kelly's right

hand. Eventually she

let

her hand be taken. She

immediately woke up. Once again the creature in the black robe was standing at her bedside. that the light

It

went away.

It

turned out

had indeed blown and the diamond and

phire rings she wore

on her

right

hand had gone. To

sapdate,

they have not been found.

The Other Witnesses If the

August

8,

1993, encounter

had involved only

could be argued that the experience

Kelly,

may have been some

it

sort

of psychological episode. However, the presence of the other witnesses argues that a real event took place. Actually, the investigation carried out by gests that the focus

Phenomena Research Australia sug-

of the whole encounter was not

two other women who were

The PRA's 1993-1994

in a

Kelly,

but

second vehicle.

investigations disclosed that, other

than Kelly and her husband, a married couple and their female friend also appear to have witnessed

the event.

Bill,

and become involved

the male witness in the

trio, like Kelly's

in

hus-

band, appears to have had only limited involvement. The two

Bill Chalker

64

women, on the other hand, had a conscious recollection up to and including their onboard encounters. They recollected the

UFO and the tall black beings, though their description of the beings did not feature the red eyes Kelly saw.

The Kelly's

and approaching the

three were also in a car

encounter when their

own

experience started.

heard a strange noise and started to started to lose control over the car

feel

ill.

Then another Throughout,

Bill's

vision

is

They

all

and ran off the

He

road, striking

and within

high beams on passed them.

its

They then came

car passed them.

which was followed by a sharp

of

Bill felt faint.

a pole. After checking for damage, they drove off

minutes a speeding car with

site

to a bridge,

turn. Farther along they stopped.

impaired.

He

does not remember

UFO; he seems to have been isolated from the central experience in some unexplained manner. He only recalls smells seeing the

and sounds and the

He

fact that

a lot of activity was taking place.

subsequently underwent hypnosis, which expanded his ap-

parent recollections to being onboard the object as

well,

but

once again these recollections involved smell and hearing only.

The two women with Bill had a conscious recollection of the UFO, the beings, and their onboard experiences. Their description of the UFO matches Kelly's closely. The primary ele-

ment of

their

onboard experiences seemed

to be a

form of

examination. They did not visually remember being abducted. Neither of the two

women saw

each other or any of

the others while in the alien environment (ostensibly

on

board the UFO). They were, however, each somehow aware of

what was happening

some of the

physical

to the other.

symptoms

The women

also shared

that Kelly Cahill experienced,

such as body markings. One of them also had severe ligature indentations on the skin of her ankle.

A

third independent witness

came forward

via

an anony-

Hair of the Alien

mous

letter sent to

tralian publication,

65

Who magazine, a popular weekly Ausduring October 1996. The wife of the

supposed witness wrote the

letter.

She indicated that her

husband, apparently an employee of the Victorian govern-

ment Law Department, was ever,

the

letter

reluctant to be identified.

How-

some unique and unusual a red dragon logo on the spare

described

information— specifically

wheel cover on the back of his vehicle, which one of the

women in the second car (not Kelly) had mentioned seeing— that confirmed that the man was indeed present at the scene of the encounter. This witness also claims to have had ankle ligature marks

by one of the

similar to those reported car.

The presence of this man's

Kelly Cahill

women

in the

second

car perhaps also explains

was able to notice a second party and

why

their car. It

appeared that this third witness had his headlights, which

luminated the second Perhaps for the

il-

car.

first

time independent witnesses have been

able to provide information that enabled researchers by cross-

checking to reveal a striking degree of similar information, therefore offering a compelling case for the reality of the

strange events described. cal traces also

in the

A range of apparently related physi-

strengthens the ontological status of the events

Dandenongs on August

compelling evidence for a

8,

reality

1993,

and may represent

behind abduction events.

Phenomena Research Australia (PRA) claim they had two laboratories confirm a number of unusual anomalies and magnetic variations at the apparent site of the

UFO

landing.

There appeared to be some interesting changes or differences in soil

chemistry— an above-average sulfur content, the pres-

ence of pyrene (which occurs in coal tar and

by the destructive hydrogenation of hard

is

also obtained

coal),

and tannic

Bill Chalker

66

acid— in a crescent-shaped indentation. Also found

at the site

was a triangular patch of dead grass on the ground. Unfortunately, other than a few tantalizing fragments

they have doled out, none of these findings have been comprehensively reported by

of what

spite a passage

Phenomena Research

is

now

Australia, de-

ten years. Sadly, even the key

who took the brave step of coming fornot been made privy to the full data that PRA rehave on the incident. Given my own inability to

witness, Kelly Cahill,

ward, has port they gain

full access to their

data on the case, particularly to what

seemed provocative physical to involve

PRA

data,

I

in the first place.

promising case has not realized

grew to regret

my decision

As a consequence, a very

its full

potential.

But further developments, independent of PRA's own vestigations

and

still

not

in-

fully elaborated, suggest that per-

haps the focus of this extraordinary encounter had not been Kelly or the second (or indeed the third) party

that night.

Someone

else totally

the road

had apparently

fact, this

person's whole family

on the road

unrelated to the parties on

also experienced

an abduction. In

had been subjected

to

an on-

going alien intrusion. The parties in the cars on the road were,

it

seems, in the

much

place at the

wrong

time, innocent

The people inhitherto hidden aspect of the Narre Warren

bystanders in a volved in this

wrong

larger alien tableau.

North experience have asked that

their involvement in this re-

markable incident remain undisclosed for the time being. 21 In this case, possibly the first time, independent witnesses

were instrumental in providing compelling physical and other evidence for the reality of UFO abductions.

The

case could be

a striking example of the importance of physical evidence

needed to prove the

reality

of extraordinary

UFO events.

22

Hair of the Alien

6 7

Forbidden Science Over the years tists

on

lege,"

I

have been fortunate to work with other scien-

this controversial

problem

an informal network of

phenomenon

as

been done in the

in a sort

of "invisible

who

scientists

col-

UFO

view the

worthy of serious attention. Our work has spirit

of the movement that preceded the

mation of the English Royal Society in the

early 1660s,

for-

when it

could be dangerous to be interested in "natural philosophy," or, as

we

call it today, science.

Many

of my colleagues in

invisible college prefer to contribute

work on "the

UFO

problem"

is

anonymously because

seen as "forbidden science."

What's most frustrating about the situation scientists are skeptical

this

is

not that

many

about UFOs, but that they ignore the

compelling evidence that's readily available.

As a

scientist myself,

I

how

have seen time and time again

rarely high-quality science has

been brought to bear on the

UFO problem. Too often there is a knee-jerk rejection of even the

possibility

that there might be something to

UFOs. The

true enquiring spirit of science has not touched the issue.

void I

Consequently, popular culture has rushed to

left

by the inattention of science.

UFO

fill

the

23

have been working with this group of invisible college spe-

cialists to

bring hard science to the controversial field of alien

abductions.

The

bizarre events that focused

on

Peter

Khoury

provided an extraordinary opportunity to assess the reality of

abduction experiences.

It

was time that forensic science con-

fronted the alien abduction controversy.

The

difficulties

and

frustrations in gaining full disclosure to the research con-

ducted in Kelly CahilPs case made

me more

determined than

ever to try to extract the full potential of the physical evidence in Peter Khoury^s extraordinary abduction encounter.

CHAPTER FIVE

Alien

DNA?

BEEN MANY IMPRESSIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE THERE HAVE new science of astrobiology, the scientific

relatively

study of extraterrestrial

Planetary Dreams: The

life.

Quest to Discover Life Beyond Earth, published in 1999

ten by Robert Shapiro, an expert in sor of chemistry at

New York

Shapiro

rejects stories

credit,

he at

field.

24

is

an excellent and

Like

most

scientists,

of UFOs and alien abductions as

ble evidence for extraterrestrial

writ-

DNA research and profes-

University,

entertaining contribution to the

and

life,

credi-

although, to his great

least considers the subject in passing.

He

rightly

highlights the scientific rule, "extraordinary claims require

extraordinary confirmation," and argues that "no quantity of

personal accounts, photographs of objects in the sky, or sketches of

humanoids can

aliens are here, as too

ever establish the claim that

much hangs upon

it."

Shapiro then

of-

"

.

Hair of the Alien some suggestions on the

fers

sort of evidence "not yet forth-

coming, [which] would do quite Robert Shapiro

of which "I.

quite

is

ours.

germane

.

however.

three kinds of real evidence, the third

The recovery of an yond

2.

lists

nicely,

to this book: artifact

of a technology well be-

.

The prediction of a

totally

unexpected astronomical

or geological feature, taken from the aliens' maps. 3.

The return of an

A

extraterrestrial biological specimen.

cutting taken from one of the potted plants that

the aliens brought from

home would

serve well

enough, though a hair or flake of skin from a hu-

manoid would be even

better."

While Shapiro presents these examples somewhat tongue in cheek, he goes

UFO

on

to suggest that the preoccupation

advocates with extraterrestrials

He suggests

is

of

perhaps misdirected.

come from Earth rather "It seems far more likely

that the "aliens" perhaps

than "out there," and speculates, that a race of

humanoids would have developed

branch on our family

on

tree

this planet

as

an extra

and then sequestered

themselves out of sight to avoid conflict. This would explain their appearance

our

own

(somewhat

future evolution)

as well as the scarcity

compared

would

of

their interest in crossbreeding,

of sightings of huge mother ships as

to smaller saucers." Thus, a biological sample

Neanderthals, or

and thus a

tical

and

reveal if the "aliens" are

like the

gin

like the science fiction visions

if

DNA-based and

related to us,

they have an entirely separate ori-

totally alien biochemistry. In the end, the skep-

Shapiro concludes that these

"UFO

aliens"

most

likely

don't exist and therefore no such biological sample will ever

be acquired. 25

Shapiro was obviously not aware of Peter Khoury's "alien

70

Bill

which might go some way

hair" sample,

somewhat whimsical

my view,

is

Chalker

speculations. But

respond to his

to

more importantly,

in

that our handling of the analysis of "alien hair"

on

points to the proper path for science to take rather than

its

a priori rejection of the

this subject

UFO

Khoury's 1992 experience with the two strange

Peter

field.

women and

the unusual hair sample provided us with a remarkable opportunity. But initially investigations,

my

focus was

and there was

little I

on more conventional could do

when

I

first

heard about the sample in 1996.

However, by early 1998

had expanded

leagues

biochemical

field.

my circle of "invisible college" colsome

to include

They were cautiously

scientists

from the

interested in

UFOs,

but mindful of the subject's stature as "forbidden science," they insisted that their involvement would need to be con-

ducted well

strictly

on an anonymous

established in

their

field,

basis.

The biochemists were

with well-regarded peer-

reviewed publications and research. But job security and peer respect are powerful inhibitors of open declarations of interest,

particularly given the long

the

UFO controversy. Because

I

had an

and sorry history of science

existing

and reasonable public

and strong and established connections with key worldwide, our group, which called cal

in

26

Evidence Group (APEG),

27

itself the

decided that

profile

researchers

Anomaly PhysiI would be the

public face of this biochemical variant of the

UFO

"invisible

college."

And

so

ates were

it

was that in 1998,

as

my new biochemical associ-

lamenting the general absence of credible

dence pertinent to their

field, specifically biological

UFO

evi-

samples,

I

pointed out that maybe there was a credible sample that

might be worth

their attention.

I

outlined the experience

Hair of the Alien Peter

Khoury had

in 1992

and mentioned that a

had been recovered. Rather than

recoiling

hair sample

and roundly

reject-

ing the bizarre nature of the story, they were immediately very interested.

Our

discussions then focused

on the

fact that

techniques like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification

and sequencing of mitochondrial

ple

might provide a

real

DNA on the hair sam-

challenge to the credibility of

abduction stories and an opportunity to do some in

real science

an area that had been dominated by wild claims and theo-

ries. I felt

that while the prospects for a breakthrough

be very small, the

and potential of the biochemical and

utility

forensic approaches to alien abductions

breath of scientific fresh

Could a DNA-based reality

would

would come

as a

air.

forensic approach help determine the

of the alien abduction experience? If these bizarre ab-

duction episodes occur at a physical derstand

it,

sample— the

then a

DNA

level, at least as

we un-

analysis of the controversial hair

"alien hair"— would provide us with a

unique op-

portunity to apply some real science to this controversial area.

This would be a rigorous

test

Khoury" s extraordinary claim.

I

of the credibility of Peter pointed out to Peter that

if

the testing confirmed a prosaic origin for the sample, then he

may have some

explaining to do, not only to us but to Vivian,

his wife, in particular! Peter's response

had happened and was keen this way, regardless

Phase

was that he knew what

to have his evidence tested in

of the eventual

results.

One— Hair Shaft Analysis— Strange Evidence

The biochemists undertook a standard

forensic investigation

of the shed hair over several months, from 1999.

The method they

late

1998 to early

chose, after considerable discussion

72

Bill

and

evaluation, was based

Chalker

on

forensic procedures established

by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the accurate analysis of biological evidence

found

at crime scenes.

28

The

DNA sequence to see how it compares with the normal human DNA variations. method was designed

to

produce a precise

Research had shown that, for forensic purposes, the greatest

apparent

DNA

DNA variability in humans is found in the region of

called "mitochondrial hypervariable region

chondrial

I."

Mito-

DNA is present in any cell in quantities 200 to 500

times that of nuclear

an aged sample.

DNA, and hence

is

more

easily detected

It

has the further advantages of uniquely

preserving the female

DNA and being more resistant to dete-

in

rioration than nuclear

DNA. Thus,

more

it is

likely to

be

re-

covered at crime scenes, and in our particular situation our "suspects" were female, albeit of a

The

most unusual

variability or "hypervariability"

kind.

of a sample provides

DNA equivalent to fingerprinting— "genetic fingerprinting"— the DNA profile of the source of the biologthe basis of the

ical

sample that can uniquely identify

its

owner. But

first

the

sample must be properly prepared.

To

extract fragments of mitochondrial

DNA

from the

blond hair of the strange female Peter Khoury encountered, a two-centimeter piece of hair shaft (located just above the root)

was cut from the found hair and transferred

sterile tube.

to a small

Similar pieces of hair shaft were cut from the hair

samples that had been taken from Peter and his wife Vivian in

my presence and would act as controls. The

three hair samples were easily distinguishable both to

the naked eye

woman's words

it

hair

and under a microscope. The strange blond was extremely thin and almost clear. In other

had very

little

pigment (melanin) material. In sharp

contrast, Peter Khoury's hair

was thick and black, while hair

Hair of the Alien

73

from Vivian was of normal thickness and brown. The unusual optical clarity of the strange

dling a big issue, as

a glass surface;

When

it

it

blond woman's hair made han-

was almost

invisible to the

naked eye on

could only be handled under reflected

light.

the hair was investigated further under a powerful mi-

croscope,

human

it

was found to be

hair for thickness

structure,

at the lower

end of normal

and had a pronounced "mosaic"

which was perhaps accentuated by the low

levels

of

melanin.

The

hair samples were prepared in the prescribed

forensic

DNA

way

for

work, which involved an elaborate "chemical

washing" (extractions) to ensure that the surface of the hairs

was not contaminated

from the washing

step.

in

No DNA was

any way.

recovered

Following a prolonged extraction step

at elevated temperatures,

fragmentation of the hair into

smaller pieces, and repeated boiling and freezing with dry

DNA

the

purified,

from each was released from

and prepared

for the

PCR

its

ice,

protein structure,

amplification step.

The

PCR step, in simple

terms, creates a very large quantity of the

originally extracted

DNA, making

DNA in tion ine.

more

detail.

it

Without that

possible to analyze the

critical step

and copying, there would not be enough Special bits of

of amplifica-

DNA to exam-

DNA ("primers") carry out this vital step in

a kind of large-scale, rapid biological copying process.

The procedure

successfully extracted

variable range of the hair samples

DNA over the hyper-

from the strange blond

woman and Peter Khoury. Vivian's hair sample did not produce PCR amplification products; the analysts concluded that this might have been due to chemical treatment. But as

Vivian had not

come

into direct contact with the blond hair

sample, this was not viewed as Peter's sample.

critical as

a good result from

a

Bill Chalker

74

Concentrating on the amplified products from the blond hair

and

Peter Khoury's hair,

good

obtained and then analyzed to see

normal human

results

lay within the

how they compared

to the

region of the vast database of DNA.

were striking. As expected, Peter Khoury's

human

DNA

consensus range, but the blond hair

sults revealed a fascinating

re-

anomaly. Most humans, particularly

Caucasian types, would have their so-called

DNA libraries were

DNA range, namely what is referred to as the

"human consensus" The

quality

"human consensus"

DNA

falling within this

range. Species that are different

have what are called "substitutions" in their

DNA. These substi-

DNA that are brought about by the replacement of a basic DNA unit tutions are "mutations," "transitions," or changes in the

with another. Chimpanzees, for example, differ from fifty-five

derthal

The showed

locations in the

same

DNA region. The ancient Nean-

man differs from humans at twenty-seven locations.

DNA profile from the blond hair sample consistently five

them seemed

of these changes, or "substitutions." Three of fairly

common among human

two appeared to be quite sample, bizarrely

so.

racial types,

but

rare and, given the nature of the

In a blond hair sample that apparently

came from someone who was

human

humans at

biologically close to

normal

genetics, there were extremely rare "mutations" that

should have been evident only in an unusual rare Chinese

Mongoloid

type,

which

is

racial

type—

one of the

rarest

human lineages known. The hair usually associated with such peoples

is

black in color, as would be expected from the Asian

type mitochondrial

DNA,

blond hair sample. The

yet in this sample

rarity

of these

ther evident in the fact that they

lie

mainstream than any other except aborigines.

it

occurred in a

DNA mutations is fur-

further from the for African

human

Pygmies and

Hair of the Alien This was a most unexpected

blond to blond

Given that the hair was

and the apparent donor, the strange

clear in color,

tall

result.

fair-skinned female Peter

Khoury encountered

under very bizarre circumstances back in 1992, we would

DNA to match racial types from Scandinavian countries in northern Europe. But the DNA revealed otherwise. This ground-breaking mitochondrial DNA sequence analy-

expect the

utilizing

sis,

PCR and

undertaken by the Anomaly Physical

DNA

Evidence Group, revealed a strange and unusual

se-

quence that was not the result of laboratory contamination,

and that would be found only

in a few other people through-

out the whole world, but not in blond to fair-colored

The chief biochemist's report concluded: "What tions

might these comparisons have,

hair.

implica-

for possible authenticity

of the alien hair sample as collected by [Peter Khoury] in Syd-

ney in 1992? While

it

would not be impossible

for

him

to

have had sexual contact with some fair-skinned, nearly- albino female from the Sydney area, such an explanation

by the

ruled out

DNA evidence, which fits only a Chinese Mongoloid as

a donor of the hair. Furthermore, while to find a few Chinese in

just

is

it

might be possible

Sydney with the same

4% of Taiwanese women,

it

would not be

DNA as seen in

plausible to find

woman here with thin, almost clear hair, having the same rare DNA. Finally, that thin blond hair could not plaua Chinese

sibly represent a chemically root),

because then

its

bleached Chinese (including the

DNA

could not easily have been ex-

tracted.

"The most probable donor of the hair must therefore be [Peter

Khoury] claims: a

tall

as

blond female who does not need

much color in her hair or skin, as a form of protection against the sun, perhaps because she does not require

Because of these very unusual

it."

results, further controlled

Bill Chalker

7 6

DNA

testing

was undertaken with blood samples obtained

from Peter Khoury,

his wife, and'a

analyst. Like Peter's wife, this

male Chinese biochemical

man had

never touched the

sample, and indeed had never had any contact with Peter or Vivian Khoury. three

all

human

new

The mitochondrial

DNA results showed that

control samples lay very close to a

modern

consensus, quite unlike the results obtained for the

"alien" hair.

'While these phase-one results were not in themselves

proof of the provocative.

found

in a

hair's alien nature, they

How

is it

Mongoloid

DNA was

if related to

the blond

that rare Asian

blond hair sample, which,

were certainly very

woman Peter Khoury encountered, would have been expected to yield a Caucasian as hair dyeing, factors were

DNA profile? Prosaic explanations such

an albino source, contamination, and other

examined and ruled

out.

The presence of the strange Asian-looking woman during Peter Khoury' s July 1992 encounter was also considered.

Could

this individual

onto the sample? This ings of the hair sample

from the the

have is

somehow introduced

not

likely,

and the

her

given the external wash-

fact that the results

emerged

total shaft, principally its contents. Peter's case

DNA analysis of the hair sample were documented

received widespread attention in 1999. sults

would

Phase

DNA

29

and and

But more striking

re-

follow.

Two— Hair Root Analysis— Very Strange Evidence

The original DNA work was done on the shaft of the hair. More fascinating anomalies were found in the root of the hair when the soft root tissue mitochondrial DNA was extracted. The procedure was essentially the same as the first phase,

Hair of the Alien

77

with the apparent absence of melanin allowing some limited modification that led to the soft root-tissue and hard hairshaft being extracted separately as independent samples for

PCR methods

PCR. The

remained the same, once again con-

on the hypervariable

centrating

clear region,

which contains a

region, while

one small nu-

special gene (the

CCR5

gene)

was amplified. Other nuclear regions gave no amplification,

DNA was too degraded.

apparently because the hair

The new phase-two

results

on the blond

Depending on whether we ana-

vealed a stunning anomaly.

lyzed the hard hair shaft or the soft root,

DNA appeared

to be of

"alien" hair re-

its

mitochondrial

two different kinds! From the lower

hair shaft

we again obtained the same

rare

chondrial

DNA

soft root tissue,

substitution.

But from

Chinese mito-

DNA,

obtained a novel Basque/Gaelic type mitochondrial

which had a

rare substitution for that racial

grouping along

with several other characteristic substitutions. This in

was a stunning

result.

The

testing

we

itself

methodology meant that

prosaic explanations such as contamination or laboratory error were ruled out. In any get consistent

from, be

it

DNA

hair,

normal human

irrespective

DNA we

should

of where the sample comes

blood, or other tissue. But incredibly here

within the one piece of hair we were getting two types of strikingly different

DNA, depending on where

the mitochondrial

DNA testing occurred. The rare Chinese type DNA in the hair shaft

was confirmed and a possible

DNA was found in the

root section.

rare Basque/Gaelic type

The biochemists had no

explanations for this strange anomaly. 30

The

results were very puzzling

and

controversial until

when a paper appeared in Nature Biotechnology that revealed some recent findings in baldness research that used 2000,

advanced cloning techniques to transplant previously incom-

Chalker

Bill

78

patible hair. 31 Here in the sample recovered sial

under controver-

circumstances by Peter Khoury back in 1992, we seemed

to have a similar example of

Was

combined or "grafted" DNA.

of advanced

this evidence

DNA

cloning techniques?

wondered our principal biochemist? Could the blond female possibly have

The only

had a hair replacement

though quite remote,

other,

someone with an extremely stitution

in the past?

rare Asian

had forcefully handled the

alternative

Mongoloid

is

that

DNA sub-

hair sample. Given the

cir-

cumstance of the recovery of the hair sample, there appear to be only two candidates for such an alternative: the strange

blond female or the unusual "Asian" female. This still

possibility

supports the claim that Peter Khoury was in the presence

of two very unusual persons with apparently rare mitochondrial

DNA, not

But the

results

easily

found

in the Sydney, Australia, region.

we obtained do not support prosaic processing

errors or contamination.

Perhaps even more controversial findings suggestive of nuclear resistance.

The

genes for the

also have

hair sample seems to contain two deleted

CCR5

protein and

no

intact gene for the

normal

very important in

human

CCR5

genetics because

immunity

The

we

that

DNA indicating possible viral

undeleted CCR5. The gene

present.

is

it

confers

deleted

CCR5

is

to

gene factor

AIDS-HIV when not

may also

provide

resis-

tance to other viruses such as smallpox. While the limited nuclear

DNA results were insufficient to achieve the clear result

needed, the implications are startling.

The

principal biochemist working

speculates that, if correct, these

implications for

CCR5

mankind and our

specifically "for the nature

species elsewhere."

on the hair sample

results

hold profound

place in the universe,

of our relation with human-like

Both the recent origin of the gene and the

Hair of the Alien fact that

tance in

both gene copies must be absent to confer viral

humans

resis-

argues for a "breeding mutation" rather

than natural selection. "Could such a double-deletion," he wonders, "have been induced by germline [egg and sperm genetic engineering, as a

cells]

way of making a whole

alien

species viral resistant? Alternatively, if delta-CCR5 arose

on

random mutation, why did this valuphenotype [physical characteristic] not show itself first

Earth only recently by able

China

in apes, or in primitive countries such as India or

where smallpox

is

rife?

How

been achieved by natural selection 5,000 years

came

into

man only recently in

"Today we

see

HIV have ago, if HIV

could resistance to

1955?

delta-CCR5 almost exclusively

among

peo-

of northeast European descent, as well as Ashkenazi

ple

Jews.

and

32

The

it is

origin of that mutation dates to 5,000 years ago,

associated with a blond, blue-eyed racial type.

Could

such a mutation have been introduced into local humans, by cross-breeding with

some blond

alien species in ancient Ire-

land or Scandinavia?"

The suggestion of possible viral esting implications for the

resistance has

some

numerous accounts of

inter-

"aliens"

who seem to interact with humans without any apparent concern over human viruses. Richard Thompson, in his book Alien Identities: Ancient Insights into Modern UFO Phenomena, dean intriguing— and relevant— story from India, con-

scribes

cerning

"the

Smallpox

Lady."

This

unusual

woman

apparently "appeared at times of smallpox epidemics, and she

would mystically cure people of smallpox." This was "a classic celestial

tures.

woman,

as portrayed in

South Indian temple sculp-

She had a big forehead, a very thin

prominent powers."

breasts."

waist,

and very

She seemed to have almost "supernatural

Thompson draws

parallels

between the Vedic female

80

Bill

Devas

(or goddesses)

the "Nordic" kind.

and

33

Chalker

UFO

entities, particularly

those of

'

Together, the two distinct phases of

DNA analyses under-

taken on the "alien hair" sample recovered from Peter

Khoury^s bizarre 1992 experience provide a very striking array

of genetic findings. They appear to be evidence for advanced

DNA techniques and DNA anomalies of the sort we are only now discovering,

or starting to

make

sense

of, in

mainstream

biotechnology. I

certainly

ples like that isted

would be more comfortable

if

dozens of sam-

from Peter Khoury's strange 1992 experience

and that

their testing revealed either

ex-

some consistency

or contradiction of results. Either result would provide more

coherent answers to this controversy. But for

now we

have

only this anomalous sample, which has provided us with a strange

DNA profile.

While our findings

subjected to review and debate, they

dence for a forensic and

scientific

still

will

continue to be

represent potent

approach to

evi-

alien abduc-

tion cases that will help illuminate the possible strange reality

that

may be

at the heart

of such claims.

CHAPTER

SIX

The Nobel Laureate

OUR

ANALYSIS OF THE ALLEGED ALIEN HAIR SAMPLE

WOULD

not have been possible without a remarkable break-

through conceived by Dr. Kary Mullis, an American biochemist.

up

to his

On a Friday night in April

Anderson Valley cabin

in

1983, Mullis was driving

Mendocino County

northern California. During the drive to his cabin, Mullis

in

made

one of the great discoveries of modern chemistry— the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a surprisingly simple method for

making unlimited copies of DNA, thereby revolutionizing biochemistry almost overnight. For his discovery, which he described in

Scientific

American/ 4 Kary Mullis was awarded the

Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993.

Oddly enough,

may have had an

this

famous and controversial

alien abduction himself.

night, during the

summer of

scientist

On another Friday

1985, Kary Mullis drove

up

to

Bill Chalker

8 2

his cabin

and

arrived at

around midnight,

after driving for

about three hours. Mullis drdpped'off groceries he had

bought on the way, switched on the batteries),

and headed, with

toilet located

about

lights

(powered by solar

flashlight in hand, to the outside

On

west of the cabin.

fifty feet

the way,

Mullis encountered something extraordinarily weird.

book Dancing Naked

Recalling the episode for his 1998 the

Mind

under a

Field,

landed.

Mullis wrote, "... at the far end of the path,

fir tree,

flashlight at It

wondered

it

there was something glowing.

anyhow.

It

only

I

pointed

made it whiter where

seemed to be a raccoon. if it

in

I

the

my

beam

wasn't frightened. Later,

I

could have been a hologram, projected from

God knows where. "The raccoon spoke. 'Good evening, something back,

I

doctor,'

it

I

remember,

it

was

was walking along a road uphill from Mullis had no idea

how

he got there, but he was

it.

on the

hours had gone

dry

was

There were no signs

floor where he

by, all

still

flashlight

of injury or bruising. The lights of the cabin were still

I

my house."

missing; he has never been able to find

six

said

morning.

early in the

morning dew. His

despite the extensive early

some

I

don't remember what, probably, 'Hello.'

"The next thing

groceries were

said.

had

unaccounted

still

left

for.

on; the

them. But

Later in the

day he found that an area of his property— "the most beautiful part

my woods"— had him. A year or so

of

dread for

John Wayne-style by

firing

inexplicably

become a

place of

later Mullis exorcised this fear

rounds of ammunition into the

woods. While the cowboy-style psychotherapy proved successful, it

him find out what had happened to him summer of 1985. His encounter with the

did not help

that night in the

talking raccoon resembles other alien abduction accounts

where something ordinary appears to be a screen memory for

Hair of the Alien something apparently quite

known Nobel

alien.

Mullis

Prize laureate to claim

an

83

is

probably the only

alien abduction-like

experience.

Kary Mullis describes himself as "a generalist with a chemical

prejudice."

Others have described him as "Hunter

Thompson meets Stephen Hawking/'

or "the world's

and outspoken Nobel Prize-winning

centric

most ec-

We

scientist."

cannot dismiss Mullis's experience as a drug or alcoholic hallucination; Mullis states he

was not under the influence of ei-

ther that night.

But he

is

not the only one to have experienced something

strange at the cabin. His daughter, Louise, once disappeared for

about three hours,

after

wandering down the same

hill.

She also reappeared on the same stretch of road. Her frantic fiance

was about to

call

had told no

the local sheriff. Mullis

one of his own experience until

daughter called to

his

father about her strange experience

and advised him

her

tell

to

buy a

book, Whitley Strieber's Communion. By coincidence, Mullis

had already been drawn

to the

book and was

ing Strieber's report of strange "owls" and his cabin in Upstate

little

"I

wouldn't try to publish a

paper about these things, because

periments.

I

can't

them from a

men entering

New York.

In his book, Mullis concluded, scientific

just then read-

make glowing raccoons

I

can't

appear.

do any I

can't

ex-

buy

supply house to study.

I

can't cause

myself to be lost again for several hours. But

I

don't deny

scientific

what happened.

It's

what science

calls

anecdotal, because

only happened in a way that you can't reproduce. But

it

it

hap-

pened."

Kary Mullis confirmed

him in

1999.

35

all this

and more when I spoke with

He told me then that yet another person had en-

countered a "glowing raccoon" between his cabin and the

toi-

Bill Chalker

84

This was a friend ofMullis's,

let.

coon" story and was a

who

know of the "rac-

did not ,

first-time*visitol

.

The

incident occurred

during a party at the cabin after the announcement of Mullis's

Nobel Prize in 1993.

On the way up

the

hill

toward the house

who

the friend encountered a small glowing man,

then sud-

man who said something like, see you tomorrow." Mullis's friend, who was not experienc-

denly expanded into a full-sized "I'll

ing a drug- or alcohol-induced hallucination,

left

with a friend

without informing anyone. They returned to their hotel at a nearby town. That night the

man

inexplicably

found himself

outside in the hotel car park, troubled and terrified by the impression that he had

somehow been back

The following

and

night, he

at the Mullis cabin.

his friend returned to the

Mullis cabin, where the celebration continued. As the

man ar-

man" he had seen as an expanding apparition the night before drive up in a car. Panicked, he left immediately, holding Mullis somehow rerived he

was shocked to

see the "full-sized

sponsible for the previous night's events.

Sometime

tearfully revealed the full story to Mullis,

who

man bor,

later

he

identified the

as his elderly neighbor. Mullis checked with his neigh-

and sure enough, he had come

to the party

on the second

night, arriving to be seen by the terrified visitor. However, he

was certain he was not there on the

first night,

not in person,

anyway, and not lurking as a glowing raccoon or a small glowing

man that expanded into a vision of himself! Given

this sort

of activity on his property,

surprising that Kary Mullis told his experience

ulates

is

me

Hyperspace)

even stranger than abducting

at a

macrocosmic

perhaps

isn't

he thinks the nature of

about multidimensional physics 36

it

(a la

aliens.

He spec-

Michio Kaku's

level: it's "like

anything can

goddamn happen and the speed of light is not really the limit in terms

of interactions with other cultures or whatever. This

Hair of the Alien

85

them

stuff about grabbing people or subjecting

of experiments,

it's

understand quite

When

I

all

kinds

we don't

just anthropology at a level

yet."

him about our PCR

told

to

testing of biological

samples from abductee experiences, he replied: "You might

imagine that

I

thought of that myself,

can have some of mine,

if I

as for instance in 'you

can have some of yours.'

very unlikely

and finds implausible the

presence on the scale suggested by

abduction

feels

existence of an alien

some of the bleaker book

the 1998

alien

called The

and abduction researcher David Jacobs,

Threat by historian

who

knew of

Mullis

tales.

He

DNA to survive

that the idea of an alien culture needing our is

"

argues for an alien secret agenda to create alien-human

hybrids,

which

our

are in the process of integrating into

planet and supplanting mankind.

37

Kary Mullis thought that

any culture that could conquer the barrier of space-time could have easily conquered the far simpler problems of complex biochemistry

and would not need us

in the

manner

de-

scribed in the gray alien-human hybrid theories.

The very strange nature of the experiences that befell Kary Mullis, his daughter Louise, bizarre

dimension of

this

and

his friend

alien

unbound

Strangeness and reality

remind us of the

abduction controversy. are the siren calls of this

phenomenon. Discontinuities of memories

feature aplenty.

Extraordinarily bizarre recalls are often ignited by seemingly

innocuous events or by

Sometimes memory just shut

strange

of the encounter.

seemingly contorted, manipulated, or

down during

a person's engagement with this

phenomenon. The boundaries between

the unreal

become

our world

is

bizarre

is

revisiting the scene

blurred.

Maybe Mullis

is

correct.

intersecting or interacting with

quantum

hyperspatial playground.

reality

some

and

Maybe sort of

CHAPTER SEVEN

Tape of Lost Memory

SINCE

I

HEARD ABOUT PETER'S 1992 ENCOUNTER MANY

months Peter

after its occurrence,

down

UFO

to

know

if

this material in 2000,

McGhee and Bryan

this experience

1

came

across

was

had given

in

to

some apparan interview

Dickeson, members of the

group Peter had originally joined in order to seek

tance to understand his 1988 experience.

had taped an interview with

what

what he told me. In trying

ently contradictory information he

with Moira

wanted

had told other people about

consistent in every detail with track

I

Peter in

The two

assis-

said they

which he talked about

women, but did not mention anything about the hair. Peter recollected they had taped an interview with him, but thought it was unlikely that he had referred to the strange women, as the interview had occurred prior to his exthe strange

perience with the strange

women in the summer of 1992. But

Hair of the Alien even

if

he had spoken to them about the women, perhaps

had been circumspect about the

Peter

87

and not men-

details

tioned the hair, given the bizarre nature of the episode and his concerns

ceptance.

To

and

issues

about lack of support and general

try to clarify this situation,

McGhee and Bryan

wrote to both Moira

I

Dickeson, with Peter Khoury" s written

support, requesting a copy of the tape.

Moira was able

fore

to find, copy,

their interview with Peter. nately,

but Moira

felt

curred in either late

mean

It

and

took a few years be-

The tape was not

that the interview

March or

me

give

early April

the tape of

dated, unfortu-

had probably

oc-

of 1992. Did

this

Khoury and all the other points of confirma-

that Peter

and validation— Vivian, Jamie Leonarder, the diary

tion tries,

ac-

38

and other evidence that pointed

for the encounter with the

en-

at a July 23, 1992, date

women— were

all

wrong? Did

it

mean that perhaps Peter had fabricated the story and had somehow produced the unusual hair, one that would ultimately reveal an extraordinary

DNA profile, which strikingly

confirmed the apparent existence of possibly two strange people?

The taped

interview would, in fact, reveal a

stranger possibility.

Khoury at

least

Could the two women have

much

visited Peter

once prior to the July 1992 episode?

For Moira and Bryan the absence of a reference to the hair

might have implied else.

it

had possibly come from somewhere

They speculated that perhaps

Peter

had acquired the hair

sample from another abductee, maybe from one of those

came forward during the October 1992 duction researcher

visit

Budd Hopkins. Hopkins

who

of American ab-

did pass on some

Australian abductee contact details to Peter's

new support

group, but none of these witnesses had experiences that featured physical evidence such as hair samples. Given the

Bill Chalker

88

prominence

Peter's case achieved after its initial

tion in 1999,

it

documenta-

seems unlikely that an alternative source for

the hair samples

would have remained hidden

that time.

all

Conflicting Perspectives

The

idea that Peter might have manufactured both the story

women and

about the sample

is

their connection to the strange hair

unsubstantiated and simply does not

fit

the facts.

To my knowledge, only one other account of possible hair

emerged

A young

1992 and 2001.

in Australia, in

alien

Queenslander reported to Peter Khoury in mid- 1996 that a strange encounter had occurred bizarre-looking creature

some

five years earlier

and provided

with a

"hair" samples as evi-

dence. These were quite unlike those obtained in Peter's experience.

brush

They were dark bristles

than fine humanlike

considered by

McGhee and

though he had

hair.

call

them

Auchettl of PRA for analysis during a

analysis, other

Queensland "hair" sample was

and had some

sort of

group, the

DNA

APEG, was

it

to

John

provided few de-

than saying that the

behavior, then later saying real interest.

eventually able to undertake

yielded only weakly amplified results,

PRA

was of no

examination of samples of

consensus

experience and

interesting, mineral in nature,

"memory"

rather contradictorily that

own

even

fact,

UFO conference in Bris-

bane in October 1996. Unfortunately, about their hair

own. In

Queensland sample

related sample, he passed the

tails

Unlike the scenario

his

not fully revealed his

still

like coarse

Dickeson, Peter Khoury did not

appropriate these samples and

its

and looked more

in color

this material,

DNA,

My

some

but found

consistent with

it

human

which suggested prosaic contamination,

namely the kind of

results that

would come from handling

Hair of the Alien the sample. These

8 9

were communicated to Peter

results

Khoury and the source of the sample. No further work was undertaken by APEG, and the young person

who

originally

39 provided the samples wanted no further involvement.

So we have no coherent evidence that supports a scenario

Khoury

that Peter

strange

fabricated his story of encountering two

women and

recovering a strange hair sample at the

same time during July 1992. The hair sample that yielded the extraordinary

DNA data clearly came from Khoury" s own ex-

perience.

Dating the Taped Interview In order to properly interpret this earlier interview, nail

down

the date of this interview with

I

needed to

Moira McGhee and

Bryan Dickeson. Moira believed the interview had occurred

soon

after a

major traumatic event in the Khoury family— the

shocking death of Peter Khoury' s

sister-in-law,

who was mur-

dered on March 17, 1992. She had gone missing for a day and a

half,

and

find her.

all

her family, Peter included, had been trying to

Unknown

to

most of the

volved in an affair with a local schoolteacher.

gone to meet him to end the killed himself.

family. Peter

affair,

When

in-

she had

he killed her and then

This tragedy had a devastating effect on the

was no exception. Moira McGhee

their interview with Peter

had asked

had been

family, she

recollects that

took place a few weeks

Peter whether he

wanted

to

later, as

do the interview

she

at the

time because of the family tragedy.

There

is

Dickeson interview. Moira remembered that point of getting dle

McGhee/ Peter made a

yet another element to help date the

them

to look at his

had been inserted during

his

head to

see

where the nee-

1988 experience.

McGhee

rec-

Bill Chalker

90 ollected that Peter

big

lump

had

to part his hair before she could feel a

at the location. This clearly placed their interview as

May

occurring before

13, 1992,'

head injury during the job several stitches.

McGhee

clearly

when he

site assault.

This injury required

have seen a video of his head injury, and

I

saw only the much smaller lump linked

much more

1988 needle insertion and not the severe

received the severe

to the

evident

and

head trauma.

In the wake of that severe head injury, Peter experience

some brain

swelling

Khoury did

and short-term memory

loss.

many notes for Peter remind him to do things,

Vivian recollects vividly having to write

during his long recovery period, to

such as taking his medicine. One has to wonder ity to

remember a

women was due liberate effort

possible earlier episode involving the two

memory loss or to a dewomen to block his recall. Or

either to short-term

by the strange

was there no such separate event and flawed or imperfect severe

if his inabil-

memory and

head injury and

its

are

we dealing with a

forced reconstruction?

The

short-term consequences also do

not provide an explanation for the whole July 1992 event, as

we have

ultimately the presence of the hair to explain and the

extraordinary

DNA results that in a remarkable way confirm

aspects of Peter Khoury' s strange encounter.

Some

to

on the tape adds further support an interview date occurring between March 17 and May 13, internal evidence

1992, indeed before late April— around Peter's birthday.

Moira McGhee asked Peter Khoury, "How old did you say you were now?" Peter's reply: Vll be 28 in April Because of the poor quality of the taped interview,

statement means

"I'll

it is

uncertain whether this

be 28 this coming April," or whether

it's

a rhetorical statement that means "I'm 28 in April" (coming or passed?).

Hair of the Alien In the interview Peter suggests that this incident with two

women in the bedroom of his home occurred between four to six

months

previously,

making it either October or December

of 1991! During the interview he asks his wife Vivian to join them, saying: You know when I said to you I had some weird feeling that there were two

women

in the

bedroom?

How

long ago did that

happen? [Peter then says in response to feedback from Vivian]

About six months ago. There follows a brief

Aboutfour months

discussion mentioning two jobs Vivian

or early 1992. These served to

had

either in late 1991

prompt her confirmation

that

the "incident" Peter was asking her about occurred about six

months before the

interview.

As

this dating exercise

seems to

suggest that the interview probably occurred in late (or, less likely, early April),

the two strange

women

March

then an event apparently involving

mostly

likely

took place in October

1991.

A Different Encounter? In the taped interview Peter ently

happened

similarity

Khoury

in 1991. In a very

talks

about what appar-

broad sense there

is

some

between the events described and those that oc-

curred in July 1992.

Two

strange

women

were involved, one

Asian looking and the other blond European looking. Both encounters occurred in the morning and took place in the

bedroom of the home, and in both cases Peter seemingly bit one of the women on the breast. But beyond these broad similarities,

there are a

number of quite

In the event Peter describes tape, the

women's

woman who

significant differences.

on the McGhee/Dickeson

roles are reversed. It

is

the Asian looking

straddles him, while the blonde takes a passive,

apparently observational

role.

The "Asian"

is

naked, but the

Bill Chalker blonde

is

described as wearing "overalls," even though Peter

also refers to her as having

pak

skin

",all

over." Peter describes

the duration of the 1991 event as lasting ten to twenty min-

than in his recollection of the July

utes, considerably longer

1992 event. Peter then wakes up two hours after the encounter; in the July 1992 event he calls Vivian at after she arrives there,

which

is

less

just

than an hour after the

cident occurred. In the 1991 event Peter describes activity

work

in-

much more

with the Asian woman. She takes Peter's hand to her

breast, taking

it

back and forth three or four times, then some

eight to ten times she cups Peter's head to her breast, back

and

forth, seemingly

There

is

wanting him to

no mention of any

bite her breast area.

hair being recovered in this taped

interview regarding this apparent 1991 event.

When

I first

heard this taped interview,

differences between Peter's

I

wondered

two recollections were the

of flawed recollections of only one event port for a fabricated story. But

it

if

result

sup-

or, less likely,

soon became very

the

clear to

me that Peter seemed to be talking about an entirely different episode than the 1992 event, one that apparently occurred

about nine months

earlier.

Confronting a Dilemma I

contacted Peter Khoury after

advised

him

strange

women

I

had

listened to the tape

and

that in the interview he clearly refers to the two

but doesn't mention the hair sample.

I

also

indicated that there were significant differences between the

two apparent Peter

events,

but

I

did not describe these differences.

and Vivian were thoroughly puzzled and confused by

this news.

They couldn't understand how Peter could be

ing about the two strange

women before

talk-

the date of his head

Hair of the Alien injury.

As often

as Peter

turned the events over in his mind,

what had

the only thing he could recollect with certainty was

happened

months

He could not

in 1992.

recollect

an experience nine

previously.

Peter was willing to try anything to sort out this apparent

confusion, even suggesting hypnosis, truth serum, or a tector test.

nosis as a

I

had serious reservations about the

means of accurately

Khoury

de-

of hyp-

but

after

that before

listened to this long lost interview tape,

might be useful to situation.

retrieving memories,

some consultants we concluded

discussions with Peter

utility

lie

see if hypnosis could

shed any light on the

As the episode had occurred in a rather

year for Peter, between the

head injury from the job tant hynotherapist

murder of his site assault,

Robb

Tilley

it

stressful

sister-in-law

my

and the

and consul-

friend

thought that these events

could be used as "signposts" for hypnotic

Dick War-

recall.

burton, a friend and psychologist, consented to monitor the sessions,

ber

6,

which were carried out and videotaped on Novem-

2003.

This would not be Peter's

When

he joined his

first

with a hypnotherapist,

first

UFO

who

experience with hypnosis.

group, he came into contact

indulged in

New Age

techniques

and asked leading questions. The session was very ing for Peter, visited his

who

did not achieve a trance

state. Peter later re-

1988 experience under hypnosis with a

experienced hypnotherapist, Frankh Wilkes.

an

alien presence emerged,

beyond just

but

it

unsatisfy-

provided

much more

A recollection of

little

clarification

his conscious recollections. This regression occurred

two days before the July 1992 experience with the two

strange

women

The hypnotic

that led to the recovery of the hair sample.

"reliving"

lected experience

and the

of a previously consciously recolclose proximity of another strange

Bill Chalker

9 4

made me wonder if there was a causative connection. But later a case for the manipulation ^of memory and reality incident

by factors other than hypnosis would emerge.

When Harvard psychiatrist John Mack visited Australia to research the subject of alien abduction in 1996, 40 he took the

opportunity to regress Peter to try to ence beyond the

moment of blankness

inserted in his head.

being taken into a as if the surface

clarify the

after the needle

Under Mack's regression

room that was

was the

up.

lit

light source.

1988 experi-

was

Peter described

The walls were white,

He was on

a table, with

one entity standing above him and speaking to him with a

sound like the chirping of birds. tall figure,

but

was thinking

you

it

sounded

at the time,

It

was one person, a shadowy

like there

were

fifty

of them. Peter

How am I going to remember what

me? The scene just faded and everything went

are telling

dark again. That was

all

that

came out

in the session. Ulti-

mately Peter was not really satisfied with the hypnotic recollections

and

feels

more comfortable with the consciously

recollected details.

The 2003 Hypnosis Session Following the induction by Robb ally

Tilley, Peter

Khoury eventu-

entered a deep state of hypnosis. During the

first

phase

he seemed to have had some sort of restraint or containment in his wrist or

comfort

it

was

ular incident. It

was

arm far

area,

but beyond verbal expressions of dis-

from

clear if this

Robb Tilley brought

clear that the session

it.

to focus sponta-

women

unless he was di-

Robb

Tilley gave Peter a

After the next induction,

specific direction:

partic-

Peter out of this situation.

was not going

neously on any episode with the rected to

was related to any

Hair of the Alien RT: You are very

sick.

.

.

We want you

.

to see yourself in

Were you driving her there?

the car with Vivian.

PK: Yeah.

RT: Okay. You are driving off towards the station. Peter elaborated

on what Vivian was wearing.

was dressed up for a cold

day. This

July 1992 dating (winter),

November

(early spring). It

We hoped

seems consistent with the

and not a date around October or

feeling very sick that Peter lections.

she

It is clear

was

clear with the direction

about

would elaborate on the July

recol-

that by starting there he might later refer

to another episode.

PK:

It's really cold.

RT:

What time

PK:

It's seven.

is it?

before the train leaves.

RT:

.

.

.

is

the station

I pull over and get sick, just vomiting.

What does Vivian

PK: I think she

Vve got to get her to

Five past seven

used to

say?

by now. She doesn't say much about it.

it

RT: So you drop her at the station. She gets out of the car

and then what do you do? PK: She's

telling

myself basically.

me

may

that I

need

Vm on my way back.

there I pull over aboutfive times. I get

Can't stop

.

.

.

to see

a

doctor, just to

I pull over twice.

On

watch

the

way

home a lot quicker coming back.

God. Couldn't stop the car quick enough.

RT: So you're back at home. PK: Yeah, I'm back at home. I sit on box. I put

it

the bed. I actually get

a

tissue

next to me. I've got it next to me, because I was worried I

would vomit in

the bed.

RT: Are you cold? PK: No, I'm pretty rugged

BC:

up.

What are you wearing,

PK: Winter clothes, long pants, tracksuit,

but not matching.

.

.

.

Peter? long-sleeve jumper, blue in color,

But

the sloppy Joe

is

a

lot

newer

.

a .

.

.

Bill Chalker

9 6

BC: So you

lie

down back on

the bed.

PK:

Vm in bed covered, trying to get to sleep.

BC:

What time was

when you go back

that,

to bed?

PK: About ten past seven, quarter past seven at the

latest.

Vm toss-

ing and turning trying to relax.

BC: So youVe gone back to

sleep.

PK: Yeah.

BC: Something woke you at some point? PK: Yeah.

BC:

.

.

Do you remember anything waking you up?

PK: Someone's jumped on like patted the bed, slightly

BC:

that

Is

PK: Yeah, nothing

.

light, like

.

.

on

the bed,

more

tapping it.

what woke you up?

no, that's

it's

the bed, not jumped

what woke me

up, so pressure

me out of my sleep,

not like rocking

flattening the sheets, throw your

on

the bed,

something

it's just

hand over and tap

it,

but

Vm

sit-

very light movement.

BC: So, what's going on? PK: I'm just trying to find out what this movement is?

.

.

.

ting up.

BC: Have you opened your eyes yet? PK:

No

.

.

.

no, not yet

.

.

.

I've got

my eyes open.

I can see two fe-

males in the room.

BC:

Do you want to describe them? Where are they?

PK:

Vm sitting up now.

There

end of the bed and another one at the

one directly in front of me at the

is

the corner

of the bed, at the foot of

bed almost.

BC: Describe the one directly in front of you. PK: Vmjust trying to catch

up.

BC: What's happening there? PK:

It s like there's

through, ah,

two of me.

how can I put

this

.

.

.

It's like it's

like

ah

.

.

.

it's

like

a

see-

a balloon image, a clear

.

.

.

Hair of the Alien balloon, that's shaped like me. It's a clear

and

97

image of me. I know

I can see her through that, through this image.

.

I'm catching up with

my body

body catches up

can hear the Asian-looking one

about dren

more

babies, babies,

.

.

strange.

BC:

.

.

confusing

it's

.

babies,

.

.

/.

.

.

.

my physical

saying things

something about babies, not .

.

me

[long pause]

.

just as

something about babies, another baby

.

.

chil-

this is really

.

How are you hearing that?

PK: Just

me.

... I

.

.

it's

in

my

head, telepathically, I suppose. She's looking at

.

BC:

Is

she telling you this?

PK: Yeah. Yeah

.

.

BC: Are you seeing her PK: No,

but I

no,

looking at each other, straddling me,

know

lips

moving?

she's the

one

telling

me, because

and the other one's just sitting there.

we are

She's almost

on top of me.

BC: This other one that's sitting there, almost on top of you, can you describe her?

PK: Very

attractive, very,

very attractive.

BC: What's happening now? PK: She's reaching out to me,

BC:

just cupping

.

.

.

hugging

breast or chest. She's got

BC:

cuddling me.

How do you mean?

PK: Like a mother's cuddle it,

like

What are you

a way. There's nothing sexual about

in

my

head,

and hugging me towards her

my face in her breast and I can't breath. feeling at that point?

PK: Just shocked. I'm just shocked by

my

bedroom,

clue.

But

they're

.

.

.

that's for sure, it's

but

definitely got

.

.

.

how

it.

they got here I haven't got a

a sexual aspect

to

it,

because I

naked in front of me. There's no sexual act as such.

BC: They are both naked, are they? PK:

Definitely shouldn't be in

Yes. Yes.

mean

Bill Chalker BC: You were saying the Asian

woman was

talking about

babies.

PK:

as soon as I caught

Yes,

up with

my body,

it's

as ifI could com-

municate with them, where before there was that detachment I think

and I couldn't strange,

it

was

Once I caught up and I became one

relate.

.

.

.

it

was

was already talking but as I became one I can

like she

hear her now.

What were you hearing?

BC:

PK: Just something about

and

babies, babies,

this

new baby

will

They're not children as such, like they're not

join other babies.

teenagers, but babies,

and

that this one will join the other babies.

my

me

Vm

getting

a feeling

cause

concerns me. She's either touching her stomach, or rubbing her

it

like they're

maybe patting her stomach.

stomach,

babies, that this

one

PK: Seconds

be-

something about

will join the other babies.

.

.five seconds

.

ing her saying babies,

Viv

this

one

.

.

.

not even

.

.

.

It's just

is

that

all

Yes, that's all

that I'm hear-

will join other babies. I feel like

and I haven 't had children yet, can 't be my

BC: So PK:

It's definitely

this,

How long does that communication go on for?

BC:

bies.

babies? Like she's telling

my

ba-

babies.

she talked to you about?

I can hear.

BC: So what about the

woman

in front of you,

you were

saying she had taken hold of you, like cuddling you.

PK: Yes

.

.

There's nothing sexual to

.

me, but my face

is

in her breast.

it,

it's just

like she's

I'm having difficulty breathing. I push

me go. She's still got me. From ond she's touched me she hasn't let me go.

away from

her.

She doesn't

BC: So where

is

let

like

BC:

she's

with both of her hands

push away

the sec-

she holding you?

PK: She's cupping my head, head

hugging

/ can't push away.

hugging my head, the back of my

She hugs

me again. I'm

My face is just buried.

Why can't you push away?

trying to

.

Hair of the Alien PK: She's just strong. I'm trying to push, I'm not to

.

.

She's just got

.

me

.

.

it's

not like

she's in control.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Whoo

.

it's

.

.

.

not like I've got

move, I've got to move.

BC:

Why do you have to move?

PK: Because I can 't breathe.

BC:

Why can't you move?

my face is in her breast! It's like, God, it's trying to breastfeed or something! It's just burying my face into her. BC: So how long does this go on for? PK: Oh,

.

.

PK: Not long at

all.

Maybe fifteen

seconds.

.

.

.

I'm just trying

to

get a breath.

BC: So what happened? PK:

BC:

.

.

.

Some ofher breast is in my mouth.

What

part of her breast?

PK: Part of her nipple

area.

.

.

.

Oh

gee,

I'm just going

to

push

away.

BC: So you're pushing away. PK: J can 't push away. I don 't know what I've got to to bite. I just

took a

little

nip.

Damn,

do.

oh gee. She's pushed

I'm going

me

away.

BC: She's pushed you away? PK: Oh yeah.

BC: So what's happening now? PK: I just bit her on

the breast!

BC: What's she doing? PK: Just pushed

me away and looking at me. Oh

.

.

.

She's looking

at the other one now. They're talking.

BC:

What are

PK:

It's

sense, I

they talking about?

not words but

can feel it.

It's like

.

.

.

they are talking telepathically. I can

a feeling.

BC: So what are you feeling? PK: That

I've

done

this

wrong.

It

should have been like the last

time. It's different to the last time? It's not the

same

as the last time.

Bill Chalker

100 BC:

What do you mean by the

PK: Another time. didn't

work

BC:

last

It's like I've got the

out, it didn't

work out like

impression she's saying

Who is giving you that feeling?

one's saying

it.

I don't know,

but I'm definitely getting

maybe this

other. I really can't tell

one because I

the blond

thing about,

it's

my

thing stuck in

something and having a throat. It's

bit

on

done wrong and

Things have gone wrong and they didn't pan out like before. this

which

somehow went better, and I've done something wrong

the last time

got

this

the other time.

PK: They are both looking at each

her,

time?

a

little bit

throat.

.

.

.

God

.

.

it's

.

.

.

just like eating

your

piece of food that's stuck in

little

irritating

Whoa

.

.

.

it's

I've

.

starting to

my

burn

throat.

BC: What's starting to burn your throat? PK: Whatever I

I think.

bit,

It's

just starting to feel really

.

.

.

Whoa...

BC: So PK:

how is it burning, could you explain that?

It's strange,

I never felt like

more stinging I think

.

.

.

Yeah,

it's

this,

felt this thing before.

stinging in

.

.

.

It's

my throat.

BC: Whereabouts in your throat? PK: Deep,

it's

not like I could spit it out ifI wanted

near my Adam 's apple, a fair way down irritating. I've started coughing.

BC: PK:

.

.

Not

after

BC:

down

it's

really

uncomfortable

really there. It's

it's

see the

women still?

I'm finished coughing. No, after

coughing I look up and there's no one

Itfeels

Geez,

Oh, gee,

What about, can you .

to.

I've finished

there.

How long were you looking down for?

PK: Oh

.

.

.

five seconds. Just coughing probably five seconds,

and

they're gone.

BC: Did you see them go? PK: No, just gone,

and I'm on

there's just nothing in the

top of the bed, I can see

my clothes ...

room, no one

there,

.

Hair of the Alien

1

0

1

What about the dooner [a bed covering usually filled with duck down or feathers and used during the winter, BC:

which occurs

in June

and July

PK: I'm lying on top of it. lying on top.

It's

in Australia]?

bed has been made. Vmjust

It's like the

made

not messy. It looks too well

have been sleeping in

it.

It's

actually for

me

to

too perfect.

BC:

What about

PK:

It's really irritating.

now?

the thing in your throat

I'm just going

something or drink

to eat

something.

BC: So what do you eat or what do you drink? PK: Just going like

.

.

.

I'm expecting anything

someone's in

BC:

there.

I'm looking around

into the kitchen.

There

isn't

to

happen.

anyone in

.

.

.

the house

Strange, like I

know

there.

Why do you think that?

PK: I don 't know, and I didn 't see them go.

BC: So did you see them again? PK: No. I just feel that someone's

there,

some

sort

of energy

is

there.

BC: That PK:

.

.

It's like

chills, like

.

.

.

know, because I didn't

they're there

I'm

in the kitchen.

just like I'm getting cold

What do you

them

like that

I'm thinking

leave,

eat.

eat?

Do you have anything to

PK: Not yet,

see

I'm having something to

PK: Just bread, just Lebanese bread,

BC:

It's

somebody walking over your grave, or something

feeling. I don't

BC:

something's there.

no, just

dry.

drink?

even the bread trying

to

make

this

thing go

down my throat. BC: Does that make

it

feel better?

PK: No.

BC: So what's happening? What's

ment?

it feel

like at the

mo-

.

102

Chalker

Bill

PK:

It's just stinging, like

never stop

I

cough, but I know ifI cough

want to

I'll

J drink water.

BC: So

how much water do you drink?

PK: Easily halfa small bottle

.

.

.the

little

water bottles, about 500

milliliters.

BC: So

how does

PK: Not a problem, but the ing is

still

down?

that go

irritation's still there, the scratchy feel-

there.

BC: So

a scratchy feeling now?

it's

makes you want to cough

PK: Yeah,

stingy, scratchy,

BC: So

that burning feeling

is

still

there?

Vm sitting on the lounge in the lounge

PK: Yeah, burning yeah room.

BC: Anybody PK: No. No,

BC: So

else there?

Vm just sitting down, drinking more water.

how long do you drink the water for?

PK: J drink

the whole bottle,

about two minutes

how

BC: So after you've drunk that whole bottle,

your [throat]

does

feel?

PK: Throat's sore still, just irritable.

BC:

What about

the burning feeling, any better or any

worse? PK: No, scratch it

.

.

the same, just the irritation, .

I got to go to the

toilet.

BC: So did you go to the

you

just wish

lot

ofpain on

start to piss,

it

my penis

.

.

.

hurts, but, oh,

penis. I think I've scratched

toilet?

cutting into

my skin.

oh gee,

...

7 pull

Gee, that looks like

BC: What's that hair look PK:

like I've scratched

not on the

it.

It's curled, like

an

could

I got to do a piss.

PK: Yeah, yeah, I'm just trying to do a piss, just waiting. a

you

inside.

.

my skin it's

been

.

it,

.

.

.

There's

I don't

It's like I've

back. I see

a

.

cut

.

.

I

my

hair. It's

there.

like?

% " but more curves than an % "just like

c

c

Hair of the Alien figure 8's but not joined, but foreskin,

ting

on

it's

cutting into

my foreskin,

no, not

my

my penis, because Vve pulled my foreskin back and it's sitmy penis, and there's two of them. One's a short blackish,

darker than the other one, and one's really hair almost

can sew

103

.

but

with,

.

looking almost looks like a.

.frail

.

like

it's

nylon,

and

.

.

.

.

not fishing

it's

frail like

a baby's

like that stringy ou line, really thin, it

doesn't even seem real.

BC:

What about

the darker one?

PK: The darker hair just looks thicker, darker, long hair, I've taken the short one

but not the long one yet.

off,

BC: So

is

the short one easy to take off?

PK: Oh,

it

hurt,

bigger one

off.

The

thicker, shorter.

but it's only a short piece. I'm just going to take the

That hurts a heck of a

more but

lot

.

.

.

I don't really

want to peel it off. BC: Why's that? PK: Because like there's

it's

sore,

a cut on

really slowly, so

I'm worried

my penis.

I'm just peeling

bleeding like

it

to scar

me.

It's

off slowly, really,

I'm not ripping it off.

BC: So can you see whether PK: Yeah,

even going

it's

it's

like it's

it's left

.

.

.

a mark

like

cut you?

it's

embedded. I wouldn't say cut as in

a groove, the shape of how

there, like

it

was sitting. Got it all off.

BC: You

still

have both pieces?

PK: I'm holding both pieces fingers, just looking at them.

dump them in BC:

the toilet

in

my

hand. I'm holding them in

I'm actually thinking whether I should

and flush them, or keep them.

What do you do?

PK: I'm walking out of the bathroom, back towards get a plastic bag from bags,

sample

bags.

my

it.

briefcase.

.

.

My penis is still sore.

bags, big ones, smaller ones,

hairs in

my

.

.

the kitchen. I

I've got small different size .

.

I've got four different size

and I pick the smallest one and I stick

both

.

1

Bill Chalker

04

BC: So what do you do with the bag? PK: It's a

resealable

old office here, which

is

bag and I've sealed it.

and

bag.

I write on

it

.

.

.

do that I get a

hair sample"

The bag's sealed and Vve sealed

paper.

.

.

It's

.

the lounge. I

house

.

.

in

my filing cabinet.

.

Yeah, I'm seeing my

it

to the filing cabinet

and Vve taped

it

over the

over again, with the sticky

someone or something's

something not finished or ... or they're not ready

.

a white

sticky paper,

I don't go back to bed. I go back to

feel like there's

still

.

next to the spare room. I go

in the corner. Actually before I u

paper,

.

in the

to leave,

but I can 't see anyone.

BC: So PK:

how long does

It's probably

that kind of feeling last for?

about quarter to

Vivian gets to work at about

eight.

I

eight, eight o'clock,

want

to call her,

I know that

but I can't, be-

cause she's not there. So I'm just going to wait. I want to talk to Vivian.

I'm waiting.

BC: Have you looked at the clock? PK: No.

BC:

How do you know the time?

PK: Just from how long things have taken. in the lounge room.

.

We didn't have a clock

.

BC: So do you

still feel

there's

someone

else still in the

house? PK: Yeah,

there's

all this started I'd

anyone.

BC:

41 .

.

.

still

the

same feeling

it's

like

half an hour after

say maybe. Twenty minutes, half hour. I can't see

I've got this

What about

bad coughing

after this time,

this really

annoying coughing.

does your penis

PK: No. I can't feel the pain anymore, but my

still

hurt?

throat's so irritable.

Peter explained that he tried to spit out the irritant

and

was fighting for breath, because he was coughing so much, but he was unable to get anything out. The bad,

it felt

throat.

irritation

as if barbwire were being dragged

was so

through his

He drank a lot of cough mixture in an attempt to

alle-

Hair of the Alien viate the irritation,

but

it

105

brought about only a

slight im-

provement. By about 8 a.m. the feeling that there was some-

one

else there receded.

He thought of calling

Vivian,

and he

eventually did so about 8:20 a.m., telling her in between a lot

of coughing that something strange had happened. Peter said in the session that he

told her that he all

hair that evening,

and

had swallowed something and was coughing

and that the

the time,

her about the to

showed her the

women,

hair

was involved, but he didn't

tell

indicating instead that he wasn't ready

him just to tell her when he was ready. While we were still on the subject of this experience, I re-

tell her.

Vivian told

turned to Peter's impression that the encounter had seemingly not

gone

as

it

The

should.

was that

feeling he got

it

hadn't gone like the previous time, but he couldn't recollect a

met the

previous time or another occasion on which he had

women. However, he had

the impression that they were con-

veying to each other the idea that they had done this before,

and why did last

go wrong

Why didn't

go

like the

time? Peter could only remember this incident.

He was

certain that

it

it

happened

recollected feeling sick

this time?

after his

and the

head

vile

injury, as

he strongly

smell of his medication.

added that when the Asian

Peter

it

woman was

about babies, he got the impression that "this one the others," that he was creating something, that to be taken

up

there,

and that he would be

think

it

was more

woman but

woman or to

likely that

toward her

face.

will join

was going

able to interact at

a later date. She patted her stomach, and at the ther pointed at the blond

it

talking

the sky.

same time

ei-

He seemed

to

she was pointing at the other

Even under hypnosis he was un-

able to recall another time or another event that involved

these two

women.

.

1

Bill Chalker

0 6

Through Robb

More Darkly

the Mirror

Tilley

took over the session again and asked Peter to go

forward to the next strange event, as we had not been able to elicit

memories of any other event involving the women

fore the 1992 episode.

What Peter began talking about was an

1996 in which he described being taken

experience in

me

through the bedroom mirror. 42 Peter had already told about

this consciously recollected episode,

that in the regression he

memory— beyond

but

went further than

turned out

his conscious

it,

beyond and ultimately back

bed with Vivian and he began to

in

it

the mirror, giving a striking description of

that transition through

He was

be-

feel

again.

a sense of

He

tried to

touch Vivian in order to break the paralysis he was

feeling,

creeping paralysis that was increasing in intensity.

but he couldn't. PK: I can

mirrors in

the

an army of them.

.

.

.

room, a mirrored war-

Gee, they are quick.

ing or hovering. They are like the small.

One

my

There's a whole group of beings coming through it

drobe it's

see

.

.

little

It's like

Oh shit,

oh

.

hooded guys. They are only

It's like

I'm just getting lifted off the bed

.

.

.

a cushion. I'm just slightly off the

only three of them. I don't

.

.

.

.

.

bed.

.

Oh wow

.

.

.

ohh

.

.

skin

and my

hair.

My

oh, it's like

whoo

.

.

.

touch-

I'm being

.

on

is

the others

The

He

has just

I'm starting to go through

.just vanished

there's like static electricity,

.

is

back the way they came. There

know what happened to

My feet are going through,

my

and

side,

no one

one at the end of the bed has gone through the mirror.

it.

Fuck,

my side

floated out towards the mirror

faded.

.

There are a few of them. I can see three of them near my bed.

one on

ing me.

.

they are levitat-

stands at the end of the bed. There's one on Vivian's

there's

.

I'm jumping in jelly

the outside

whole body's

like it's

of my body,

got an

.

.

.

but

like

on

electric cur-

.

.

.

Hair of the Alien rent

me

.

.

.

thick.

it feels

.

.

.

.

they are not touching me.

We

levitating just floating.

They are off the ground, hovering

started off really quickly, like floating

Now it's really slow. Vm just going It's [It feels] really thick. Fuck, how am I going to breathe

quickly towards the mirror.

up

my hips.

to

through

that.

my face.

0 7

I can see the mirror, one on either side of

.

.

1

.

.

.

Whoo

I can see

my

.Up

..

.

.

to

my chest

.

.

.

Ohh

.

.

Vm looking at

.

gone

reflection in the mirror. They're already

through. The others have gone through. I've just seen the other two go

Vm

through. Jeez,

face

.

.

Ohhh

.

Vvegot this

.

.

.

.

.

.

up

my

to

Oh fuck,

Vm going through

PK:

.

Ohh

.

it.

.

.

.

.

.

my

I can see

.

It s just really thick

I don't know,

What happens now? I'm definitely not in my

BC:

.

Vm either scared, or Vm just in total shock,

like it's cotton, sheep's wool,

can see

chin

room.

.

it's

.

I

.

like light patterns, different shades

more

.

.

.

it

made

like jelly

know I'm moving

of light.

.

.

I don't

.

.

.

.

I

know

where I am

What can you

BC:

see?

PK: There's no one around me. They are all gone eling through. It's like a tube.

huge, but nothing in

veyer belt. resting

.

.

it.

.

.

.

.

It's like I've

on something.

floating.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I've stopped.

.

.

It's like

I'm

this

sitting

.

.

.

it's

like

I can feel

on a cloud

.

.

still

trav-

a big room,

It's just

I'm lying on something

been traveling on

I'm

.

a con-

my body

like you're

My mouth's really dry

Peter felt like he was there for a while, an

hour or two, ap-

parently alone "floating" stationary in this strange room. tried to relax, to rest, as

paralysis that he

again. lot

of

The room static

end.

It

is

again

that seems to be

on

is

it is

feeling.

draining to fight the continual

Then

it

finally begins to

narrowing down. He then all

around

making him

He

move

starts to feel a

his body, a tingling sensation

cold,

and making

his hair stand

seems to be becoming very cold, and then he seems

to think he isn't wearing any clothes because of the sensation

Bill Chalker

108 of coldness

over his body. After what seems to

all

period of about three minutes, versing

and he

to be a

like everything

is re-

going back. Everything he experienced be-

is

now seems

fore

it feels,

him

to be playing out again, but in reverse.

He

then finds himself back in his bed, without feeling himself

going through the mirror.

and he

can't

open

He now

his eyes because

can see that Vivian

is

beside

him

has a very bad headache

of the pain. Eventually he in

bed

asleep.

He

slowly

wakes her up and they discuss what happened. She wasn't aware of anything unusual happening, apparently having slept

through

it.

Robert Tilley tried to trawl back and forth in time again,

but

little

of value emerged. Despite a number of efforts we

were not able to get any clarification of an

earlier experience

with the two women. Peter Khoury's account of the July 1992 experience under hypnosis was largely consistent with his

conscious recollections. There are some elaborations of detail

and some elements that

are new, but perhaps these were just

subconscious reflections of his struggle to try to recollect

more

fully

what had happened. After

all,

he had come to the

session primed with the idea that a tape existed that revealed details described

strange in

by him of an

women. Robb

Tilley,

earlier

encounter with the two

Dick Warburton, and

I

were

all

agreement that Peter wasn't trying to make these elements

some debate about what his description represented— fragmented and distorted aspects of one experi-

up, but there was

ence or evidence of at least two separate experiences.

The "Forgotten" Revelations It

was now time to

let

Peter listen to the interview he did with

Moira McGhee and Bryan Dickeson back

in 1992.

The audio

.

.

.

Hair of the Alien quality of the taped interview

talking over each other,

is

109

poor, with frequent breaks,

and the segments

are difficult to de-

cipher.

PK: ...in

the

morning about 7:30 ... I dropped her off at the sta-

tion at Regent's Park. I

came back home.

MM (Moira McGhee): To here, this house? PK: I didn

•£

Yes,

back

here,

and I went into the bedroom,

have work that day, so I thought Vd sleep

lied

is

no

that in July 1992 Peter wasn't working,

some time because of the injury he

had

illness that

received a few

different incident

is

months

no

not

refer-

and hadn't been

for

followed the severe head

earlier.

Clearly an entirely

being described here.

sudden I saw myselfsitting in bed, is

is

reference to the fact

I lay down. It might have been halfan hour later

There

bed.

in.

These words immediately suggest that Peter ring to the 1992 experience. There

down in

reference to

sitting

up

.

.

.

when

all

of a

in bed.

what prompted Peter

to

wake up,

unlike the apparent later episode, where he sensed something get

on the

bed.

MM: You could see yourself? PK: Yes...

MM: What angle of view did you have? PK: Like I was watching myself sitting there and basically next to myself.

The apparent

.

Vm sitting there,

.

later episode features a similar perspective

of seeing a transparent version of himself, but from immediately behind,

not from beside himself.

MM: Beside yourself. PK: Yes like

Asian

thirty

—

.

—

.

.

Herface was like leather.

Her skin was incredible

a lot darker

[like

One had

There were two women. .

.

straight black hair,

She looked

It was like

it

from under a tanning lamp]

like she

was tanned

was about .

.

tanned

1 1

Bill Chalker

0

The blond one had high, it

was

came down was a

lot

like curly to

really nice goldy blond hair

wavy

.

.

.

and

about halfway down

it

was

loer

really

and

it

way out

was .

.

.

really

and

it

back, but really puffed up. It

of hair She was white. Her whole body was white.

was

It

milk white.

MM: How old would she be? PK: She looked

younger than

like she'd

be about twenty. She looked a

lot

the other one.

MM: What were they wearing? PK: Actually

the

one in the white was wearing like

overalls,

but the

one with black hair wasn't wearing anything.

Moira's question about clothing leads Peter to say that the

blonde was in overalls and the Asian was naked, although

ear-

he had said that "her whole body was white." He de-

lier

scribed both

women

as being

The impression I got was

naked in the 1992 encounter.

the blond-headed

one was watching and

learning and the other one was either teaching her, or I'll explain

it

to

you and you'll see what I mean.

The

activities

of the two

women

are reversed in this

episode relative to the 1992 episode.

Now the black-haired one grabbed my hand and brought it to her breast. She'd

want me

to touch her.

The touching of the hand at all in the July

on her face. I thought,

MM:

Were

their facial

PK: They were a

One

to

me

was not described

1992 account.

The other one was sitting on the look

to the breast

the bed,

was just watching. I could see

Why isn't she doing anything? features more like us or different?

lot like us,

but

like

I

said,

her face was leathery.

looked really young and her skin hadn't been in the sun

too long.

MM: What were the nose and mouth like? PK: Small

nose, very, very small nose

.

.

.

same features as us ... I

.

.

Hair of the Alien saw

lips,

was

really white I couldn't see

but I didn't see

couldn't see eyebrows.

teeth,

1 1 1

I didn't see a tongue.

.

any eyebrows, but even

Maybe I didn't notice them

.

.

The one that

the black

one I

/ didn't notice

the color [of the eyes].

In the 1992 account, Peter does refer to the eye color.

A

discussion follows about the limited visibility of eyebrows,

then Peter continues.

my hand and she'd bring it to her breast. She did that three or four times. Then she grabbed my head and brought it PK: She grabbed

.

to

her breast and

.

.

.

This

.

.

was incredible.

MM: You were watching this happening? PK: / could see

this

happening.

MM: Were you fighting it? PK: No,

and I'd do

no, no. I

was just under control.

I had no control over it.

it.

.

.

.

She grabbed

my head

.

In the July 1992 account Peter describes himself as progressively trying to resist this activity.

Now she grabbed my head. know what wanted me

when

they

wanted

to, like,

bite

I'd bit she'd push

She'd bring

to do.

it

to

her breast. I didn't

The impression I got was that she

on her nipples and

I did at

one point, and

my head like she'd want pain in a way, and

at one time, this happened for about eight to ten times, where she like

grabbed

my

head,

put

to

it

her breast, then she'd push

me

away.

This reaction of the Asian trary to the reaction

of the

fully described episode

woman in the 1991 event is conblond woman during the more

of July 1992. Rather than seemingly

seeking pain, she reacts and conveys a sense that this

is

wrong. Peter describes his head being pulled to the Asian's breast as happening eight to ten times in this 1991 episode; in

the July 1992 episode he alleges that

times and on that occasion

it

it

only happened three

was the blonde, not the Asian.

.

.

.

Bill Chalker

2

1 1

.

In the 1991 episode,

Asian pushes him away, and in July

the'

1992 he pushes the blonde away. Then at one her breast skin,

was

That's

time,

it

was

stretch. That's

like leather. I

why

why

could

know

I

could see

it

her chest skin was like leather

and really stretch.

stretch like that,

me

Vm hurting anything

and I could see her breast extend,

I could see

see, honestly, like

I got the impression that she wanted

because she'd push, not like to,

like I

to

do

that

it

way

but she'd push

me

stretch out.

BD

(Bryan Dickeson): Sort of like leather or like rubber?

PK:

It

would be more

like

rubber because

was stretching.

it

There seems to be a break in the recording of the parently missing

is

.

.

tape.

Ap-

a description of Peter swallowing the piece

of skin and starting to cough.

MM: PK:

.

.

.

did

See, I

it

stop almost as suddenly as

wasn't coughing unintentionally

cause I needed to get it out.

MM:

.

.

.

.

.

.

it

sort of stop

went I didn't like think about it much

MM: So the cough didn't go on .

.

.

no, no, once that thing

was

.

.

.

.

?

.

it

it

dissolved or

when

.

.

in

my throat,

thing sitting in your throat in a particular spot, out,

was coughing be-

did the coughing ease up over a few days until

PK: Because I was coughing on purpose, when

PK:

I

started?

.

gradually diminished or did

it just

.

it

and once it wasn 't there I wasn 't coughing.

it

was

andyou try

like to

I didn 't need

some-

cough

to.

it

That's

what it was. I wasn 't like coughing like ...

BD:

I

need to ask, were you under any

stress at the time?

PK:M>... This

is

further support for an earlier episode. Peter

and Vi-

vian clearly recollected the July 1992 event as happening

when he was

ill

from the head

not working for some time

it

injuries,

and because he was

was a period of some

discussion follows about whether Peter

felt

stress.

A

okay about being

Hair of the Alien and

regressed,

and

rience

PK:

his

it

seems he wanted to deal with both

It worries

me that it might be worse, like that,

of affected me,

really sort

1

3

this expe-

1988 experience.

had intercourse and things it

1

like

I might have actually

but I don't remember it, but then

like this

was a turnoff

so I

can imagine

how bad that experience would have been

MM:

Bit of a personal question,

you must have stopped

to think

but when you woke up,

was there any evidence to

you that you had had intercourse. PK: Yeah, I did,

nothing

no,

MM: There was no evidence to you that you had? No

... as far as I

t see,

no I couldn 't.

PK: couldn

3

MM: No sign?

.

.

.

was concerned I

still

had

my

clothes on. I

No feeling that you had either?

PK.No. This

is

a clear difference between the two encounters. In

the July 1992 event, Peter does have evidence that there was

something on

his penis,

namely the hair that was recovered.

BD: Was there any

feeling

PK: Not that I could

tell,

ence took to the time I

you have

but I

woke up

it

mean for the short time

worked

the opposite.

missing time, like you're traveling, say,

read you're something

of lost time?

.

.

traveling, .

of a

all

sudden you

ten minutes later you go

it

Where usually

from

reports

a

Vve

light

or

home and you find out

it's

hours gone by. This was different The experience

twenty minutes, but when I woke up

the experi-

see

itself took, say, ten

was between 9:00 and

or

9:30. It

was two hours actually.

This event seems

much

longer than the encounter of July

1992. Also, in the later experience Peter apparently doesn't go

back to

sleep,

and

rings Vivian just after 8:00 a.m. There

sense of two hours of missing time in that encounter. So

it

worked the

opposite.

You know what I mean?

is

no

1 1

Bill Chalker

4

There was some confusion about what Peter meant

Some starts

here.

discussion followed, but then the tape pauses and

on another unrelated

matter.

Elsewhere in the interview, Peter incident with the two

first

mentioned that

this

women in the bedroom of his home oc-

curred between four and six months previously, making

it ei-

December of 1991. Given that this is nine months before the more certain event in July 1992, in which ther October or

Peter in recent fragmented "recollections" sis

recollected the Asian

and under hypno-

woman implying a pregnancy or chil-

dren, one wonders if the two events were separated by a

gestation period familiar to us

all

here

on

Earth.

Reconciling and Rationalizing?

When and

Peter listened to this taped interview, he was shocked

And he was

surprised.

frustrated that he could not re-

member any of the specific elements of the encounter with the

women

described in the interview. But he has

no doubt that

the episode described was different from the 1992 episode. said, "It's a

He

whole different scenario, very similar, but different

things."

That night vian

Khoury

I

played the whole interview for Peter and Vi-

together, particularly in

an

effort to see if it trig-

gered any recollections in either, but also to see

if

any aspect

could shed light on the whole dilemma of the tape. Vivian was also puzzled

by

Peter's

account of the episode with the

women. While most of it was zling, she

and puz-

did recollect the detail of Peter's stretching the skin

of the woman's

remember seemed

disturbingly confusing

breast.

As

for the rest, she, like Peter, did not

that account of the

women. Both agreed

to describe a different encounter,

and

all

that

it

the available

Hair of the Alien

1

1

5

information indicated that the incident preceded the July

1992 episode, and appears to have taken place

The evidence is

for

two separate encounters with strange

When

compelling.

this interpretation

ture of the interactions

becomes

alien logic or behavior gets laid If

we have

these strange

late in 1991.

clear evidence

clearer,

is

embraced, the na-

and in a way a kind of

out for our contemplation.

of two separate encounters with

women some nine months apart,

ingly inexplicable behavior

women

and

then the seem-

details described originally in

the July 1992 episode almost, in a bizarre sort of way, sense.

The

home,

as he

event, Peter

inexplicable

make

incident from about October 1991 has Peter at is

not working that day. In contrast to the July

Two women appear in his bedroom under circumstances. The naked Asian-looking woman

is

not ill.

at first grabs Peter's

hand and

takes

it

to her breast three or

four times, then she grabs Peter's head and pushes

it

back and

forth to her breast eight to ten times, seemingly at times trying

him to bite her nipple. It almost seems to be some sort of bizarre and highly awkward attempt at foreplay. Apparently to get

Peter bites her nipple this activity the

and seems

blond woman, dressed in some kind of overalls,

seems to be watching and learning. ing, the

During

to swallow a bit of it.

When

Peter begins cough-

women take their leave, we are not sure how.

back to sleep or wakes up

after

Peter goes

about two hours. There seems

to be a definite sense of missing time.

Some

nine months

later— after a gestation period, perhaps, for the Asian

woman—

the two are back for a return engagement. This time

blond woman who brings

Peter's

head to her breast. But

it's it

the

ends

When Peter bites her breast, she reacts, indicating to the Asian woman that it hasn't gone like the far

more quickly

last time.

this time.

The Asian may be

giving a sign that she

is

(or was)

pregnant— she has a somewhat distended stomach. In the be-

1 1

Bill Chalker

6

ginning Peter was under, the bedcover. At the end he was on top

of it. There

is

some

sort of unnoticed discontinuity in the flow

of events. While Peter

but

this

them

coughing, the pair disappears again,

time a hair that might have an exotic link to both of

is left

awake

is

in a very obvious place— on his penis.

this time.

There

He remains

important evidence of the women's

is

presence to be recovered and a story to be told.

Without

this physical evidence

it

would be tempting

to at-

tribute the 1992 encounter to perhaps the medication Peter

was on. While not generally linked with inducing major sensory disturbances such as hallucinations, these factors as possible less cases.

common

some may have had

side effects in isolated

However, the hair evidence, which supported rather

than conflicted with the

reality

of the encounter, was hardly

the stuff of hallucinations. During his extended period of

medication Peter only had this strange experience once and the apparent 1991 encounter occurred without medication, injury or stress as possible factors.

Why

But why did Peter not remember the 1991 episode? Vivian didn't

is

perhaps understandable. While supportive of

Peter, her priorities

during this difficult time revolved around

family, not aliens. Since then, her only reference point Peter's clear, consistent

and often repeated

the 1992 episode

and the

sault have caused

memory loss,

Could

hair recovery.

his encounter in July

for certain,

recollections of

Could the job

site as-

or were other factors at work?

1992 have been instrumental in

preventing recall of the earlier experience?

know

was

We may

never

but we do know that the July 1992 en-

counter occurred. The

DNA forensic work has given us an ex-

traordinary level of certainty of that event. All the evidence

argues that the July 1992 experience and the "hair of the alien" are

not about a hoax, a delusion, or some fantasy.

CHAPTER EIGHT

More Hair

ASK

ANYONE WHAT AN ALIEN LOOKS

LIKE,

AND JUST ABOUT

everyone will describe a small, bald gray being with

large dark eyes— an iconic description that

modern society's perceptions of alien

life-forms irrespective of

one's belief in the reality of their existence. 43

ing of the alien "visitor"

Communion served

on Whitley

to entrench this

dominates

The cover

1987 book

Strieber's

image widely

paint-

in the public

consciousness.

The extraordinary public dissemination of the via the cover of this

One of these

book

initiated a massive tide

image

of reports.

reports Whitley Strieber described as "the best

description of the gray beings" ters that

alien

among

the thousands of let-

were sent to him in the wake of the success of Com-

munion. According to Strieber this was the only case to

emerge that featured a key

detail that

he told

me

he had sup-

1 1

Bill Chalker

8

pressed from his descriptions of the "visitors." a

way of trying to

He

did this as

evaluate the reports he expected to receive.

I

am not sure Whitley Strieber was'suggesting that all his "visihad

tors" for

him

since

this

me

asked

it

this detail, or that

one

letter

it

was a striking personal validation. He

to investigate the experience detailed in the letter,

had come from Australia.

The key element

that Whitley Strieber told

out in his descriptions of his

He had omitted

hair.

was only evident in some. But

this

"visitors"

me he had left

was the presence of

element from his book in order to

have a way of later identifying possibly authentic descriptions

of the

"visitors."

The

fact that this largely

hidden aspect of

the gray alien image appears to have emerged in only one of the thousands of letters Strieber received

gument

for

some

critics that

reporting only the bald alien depicted

Such an argument

here

is

is

a potent ar-

the majority of letter writers

might have just been jumping onto the

nion.

may be

alien

on the

bandwagon and cover of Commu-

found wanting, because

that the presence of hair in reports of aliens

my point is

in fact

quite widespread. Peter Khoury's 1988 experience featured be-

ings that were very similar to Strieber' s literary rendering in

Communion, but Peter became aware of Strieber's encounters only after his

own experience.

Peter's

account of the July 1992

episode featuring the rather humanized "alien" fered

up

largely

in a very bizarre

way the key

feature that

hidden or ignored by many researchers:

alien characterization, a key feature

women

of-

had been

hair.

This

of this abduction event,

emerges as an extraordinary "lightning rod" for a new perspective

on the

While is

it

case for alien reality.

seems reasonable to argue that the bald gray alien

a dominant type of entity in reports of abductions, to argue

that

it is

the whole picture

is

to

impose a very skewed percep-

Hair of the Alien Embracing the idea that

tion

on the

ture

many human

issue.

1

such as

characteristics,

aliens

might

1

9

fea-

hair, propels the

quest for validating alien reality into a very real and not so

Suddenly every biological

alien dynamic: the biological realm. trace or contact

can potentially be transformed into a rich

source of data to be calibrated against the huge netic database.

The very sense of the

human embrace now becomes task.

ge-

alien that precluded easy

little bit less

formidable a

Now it is a task that can be done and is being done, with

verifiable results. If least partial

human

some of

Visitors in

these alien contacts involve at

then suddenly the chances of vali-

traits,

dating that reality are

The

that

human

much

improved.

New South Wales

case that Strieber passed

on

to

me took place in late

1976

New South Wales, Australia. It occurred in the middle of the day. A woman in her early thirties was vacuuming her in

home. Suddenly she

down on her lounge

felt sick

and

faint,

and decided

to sit

chair to steady herself She noticed three

strange figures in front of her— "three

little

beings," she called

them.

One

being,

was about elongated

which the

woman

five feet tall. It face.

The other

stood to be male, were

understood to be female,

was very slender and had a very

two, which she instinctively under-

much

shorter.

They had broader,

chubby

faces. All three figures

est hint

of what appeared to be noses and mouths. Each wore

had

large eyes,

and the

slight-

a shroudlike cloak, the taller figure in black, the two smaller

ones in brown. All had wispy bits of hair at the backs of their heads. In the case of the female, the hair was black; the others' hair

was brown.

1

Bill Chalker

2 0

The

began to communicate with the woman,

taller figure

not verbally, but apparently through the mind, that she

had

that the

woman go with

to

telling her

go with them. T^he figure continued to

woman refused. the woman could

them, but the

tually the "female" figure indicated

The woman got up from

and began

the couch

toward the front door. This proved to be very

movements were very

slow.

When

Evenleave.

to crawl

difficult, as

woman

the

insist

her

reached the

front door, the beings ostensibly pulled her back "with their

minds." The beings continued to to

tell

the

woman that she had

go with them. Again she refused. Once again they "told"

her she could go. Again she crawled up the hallway. This time her husband appeared to be there. The desperately.

woman

clung to him

She had a strong recollection of the smell of the

pure wool sweater he was wearing. The beings however, "just tore" her out of his

arms and pulled her back

to the

couch

again "by force of mind." They said she would go with them

and

was useless to

it

fight.

woman remembered was hearing pulling up out front. When he came into

The next thing husbands's car

the

her the

house, the visitors were gone. Eventually she was reassured

was her husband

that

it

p.m.

More than

ollect

really

only the

five

first

this time.

By then

it

was 5:30

hours had passed, of which she could hour.

the thought that her two

rec-

The woman was most disturbed by young children were outside

backyard playing throughout

all

in the

of this. They were unaware

of what had happened. Her husband did not witness anything except for the woman's profound Years

later,

the

woman was

fear.

advised by her sister to read

Whitley Strieber's book Communion because of the similarity

of the events described in lier.

it

to her

own

The woman never completely read

experiences years ear-

the book, but wrote to

Hair of the Alien Strieber about her experience. Strieber called

me

to give

other Australian events. write to me.

I

On February 20,

me some

He

spoke to the

1

details

woman on

the

1

1988, Whitley

of this and some

had asked the witness

said he

2

phone

to

after receiv-

ing her letter and later interviewed her extensively in person

when she came

to Sydney.

A

qualified clinical psychologist

subsequently hypnotized her because she wanted to improve her recollection of what the "beings" looked revealed

little

beyond the conscious

like.

The

session

recollection, only

some

of the beings' appearance, a brief impres-

slight clarifications

sion of being outside, "floating feelings," the act of looking

out a window, the feeling of strong pressure on her forehead,

an impression of some kind of object

"like a bolt,

with a nut,

attached to a cord," plus some other fragmentary recollections.

When

she started to

experience, the session

on the want

is

was ended. She found that focusing

The psychologist and

and she did not I

respected her

and no further sessions were undertaken. For the

woman, ings

uncomfortable describing the

beings' appearance frightened her

to continue.

wishes,

feel

the the

most

strikingly similar

image to that of the be-

Wandjina— the haunting Australian aboriginal

rock paintings that reveal figures with large dark eyes and no

mouth. 44

When Whitley Strieber came to

promote the paperback

to Australia in October 1988

release

of Communion, he asked to

meet with the witness. After mentioning the case mation, the sequel to

the gray beings" he

time

when he was

Communion, as "the best description of

had

perience in his third

in Transfor-

received,

45

he again referred to her ex-

book about the visitors, Breakthrough,

at a

struggling with the possible "negative" na-

ture of the "visitor experience."

He

of the most compelling "negative"

described this case as one

letters

he had received, and

Bill Chalker

122

he suggests that the noise of the woman's vacuum cleaner

may

have

somehow prevented

the disabling "sonic attack"

often used to render people unconscious, thereby allowing

her a clear and conscious awareness of the beings' presence. Strieber

was deeply disturbed by "the bullying, the compul-

sion, the cruel

and extremely

clever deceits"

of the

"visitors"

in this case. Strieber believes her resistance led to the negative

aspects of the experience. While Whitley Strieber has reconciled this aspect in his

embrace

it,

and

own mind,

just as

many who cannot who have no need to,

there are

many, perhaps,

because their experiences are more positive. 46

and

frustrating issue with

while

we

still

no

It is

a puzzling

certain answers at this point,

grapple with the question of the reality of these

experiences. In The

Communion

Letters Strieber

once again ad-

dressed this case: "The fact that the incident unfolded in the

middle of the day suggests that the operate in our world than

we have

visitors are

much

freer to

realized. Indeed, their

im-

perious conduct in this case might indicate that they place

themselves as a higher authority, with rights over us similar to those

we claim over the lower orders of earthly

creation."

47

While most descriptions of alien beings present in abduction episodes, particularly the so-called "grays," refer to hairless beings,

number of

the presence of alien "hair" cases. Descriptions

of

is

tall

noted in a significant

"Nordic"-type beings

have been reported frequently, perhaps most notably in the Travis tial

Walton case of 1975. Not only did Walton report an

encounter with the small fetus-like

have seen four

woman, each coarse,

tall

aliens,

ini-

he also claims to

human-looking people, three men and a

very similar in appearance, with the "same

brownish-blonde

her shoulders." There are

hair,

with the woman's longer, past

many similar

For example, in her books,

UFO

cases in the literature.

researcher Jenny Randies de-

Hair of the Alien scribes a

123

1976 case from Bolton, Lancashire, in England.

A

young woman was the subject of an apparent abduction. Subsequent regression described a

tall

looked human. This entity was over

blond

it

was almost white."

DNA

in these cases, a

48

blond female entity that six feet tall,

with hair "so

Had the alien hair been recovered

analysis could substantiate whether

these accounts were something

more than just

bizarre stories.

While reports of "grays" have been by default the focus of

most UFO abduction and

reality

the issue

is

of abduction experiences argues powerfully that not

all

reports of grays searchers

research, a closer scrutiny of the history

about the

may

grays.

The preoccupation with

have misdirected a generation of

and perhaps delayed a more

realistic

re-

appreciation of

what might actually be going on.

The Alien It's

Reality

worth noting that the biological dimension of the

alien

abduction mystery has been present from the very beginning

of the controversy. Most researchers in

this field recognize

that there are actually two "first" abduction reports that have

had a strong impact on our perceptions of the phenomenon. 49 These are the watershed case of Betty and Barney Hill

from 1961 and the controversial sexual "seduction" encounter of Antonio Villas-Boas from 1957.

During the night of September Hill,

a respected Portsmouth,

19, 1961, Betty

New

Hampshire,

and Barney interracial

on the

couple, experienced a strange "interrupted journey"

way home from a longed

UFO

holiday.

They claimed

sighting, during

to have

had a pro-

which they saw figures

windows around the UFO. After the

experience, they

at the

became

aware of a period of missing time during which they were un-

Bill Chalker

124 able to

remember what had happened. They

arrived

home

a

couple of hours later than anticipated^.

The couple began experiencing problems— anxiety dreams for Betty and stress-related problems for Barney— that became so severe that they sought the help of a Boston psychiatrist, Dr. Benjamin Simon, in January 1964. Dr.

Simon soon

learned that the 1961 "interrupted journey" seemed to be the

He used hypnosis to explore the rectify their problems. What emerged

focus of the couple's anxiety. experience,

hoping

to

was a complex account of abduction and medical examination by aliens

on board a

flying saucer. Betty Hill said that

during the experience the aliens inserted a needle in her

navel— a "pregnancy Dr.

was an

Simon never

real.

test."

believed that the Hills'

Of the "alien's preg-

Simon said, "There's no such medical procewould use a direct needle through the abdomen to

test" Dr.

dure that

examine a condition of pregnancy. This that

abduction

For him, their story was a fantasy to be explored in

effort to relieve the associated anxiety.

nancy

UFO

is

the sort of thing

makes me doubt the story of the abduction.

It

simply

has no basis in medical practice." Since the publication of a best-selling

John

book about the

Fuller in 1966, a

case, The Interrupted Journey,

number of medical techniques

by

similar

to this "pregnancy test" have been developed, in particular the

amniocentesis

test

and the use of the laparoscope, which

is

used for both internal viewing and for ova sampling of "test tube" babies. This reference to the "alien pregnancy test" as early as 1961

and development of a

the publication of the provocative.

book on the

similar technique after

Hills'

encounter

is

at least

The widespread exposure of the book did not im-

mediately unleash a flood of similar "interrupted journey" or

abduction accounts. 50

Hair of the Alien Betty Hill's "anxiety dreams" were the

documented

first

accounts of the possible abduction dimensions of the

down

"interrupted journey." She wrote

Hills'

the details of her

nightmares during November 1961. They were largely consistent with the recollections that

emerged under hypnosis, but

there was a significant difference in the description of the

strange beings they encountered: "Their complexions were of a gray tone; like a gray paint with a black base; their lips were

of a bluish black."

51

tint.

They

also

Hair and eyes were very dark, possibly

had prominent

aliens described did

noses.

Under hypnosis the

not have hair or big noses. So from the

beginning there was reference to

traumatic

hair, albeit via

dreams that preceded the hypnotic recollections that took place in 1964.

The Antonio ily

Villas-Boas experience occurred

farm located near Sao Francisco de

Minas

Gerais,

on October

Brazil,

on the fam-

Salles, in the state

15,

of

Villas-Boas

1957.

claimed that while plowing a field at about one o'clock in the

morning, he was abducted by three small beings and taken

aboard a UFO, where he was forcibly undressed.

was spread over

liquid

became

ill

his skin.

A clear, thick

A blood sample was taken. He

and even vomited. The most unbelievable aspect of

Villas-Boas's story followed.

He claimed

that a naked

woman

then entered the room. She had white skin and an unusually

shaped

face,

which seemed to come to a pronounced point

her chin. Villas-Boas stated, "Her hair was (like hair

dant.

.

.

.

.

.

.

almost white

bleached with peroxide), smooth, not very abun-

She has big blue

eyes, rather

longer than round, for

The contour of her

they slanted outwards ent

fair,

at

face

she had very high prominent cheekbones.

narrowed to a peak.

.

.

.

.

was .

.

differ-

Her

face

[Her body] was slim, and her breasts

stood up high and well-separated.

.

.

.

She was

much

shorter

Bill Chalker

126 than

am.

I

.

.

.

Her skin -was white and, on the arms, was

ered with freckles

.

.

.

cov-

her hair in the armpits and in another

place [pubic area] was very red, almost the color of blood

." .

.

Sexual intercourse followed, which Villas-Boas attributed to the effects of the liquid that had been applied to

comment

in

on him. He was

an interview with Dr. Olavo Fontes, professor

of medicine at

Brazil's

National School of Medicine, that

"some of the growls that came from her

at certain times

me

the disagreeable

nearly spoiled everything, as they gave

impression of lying with an animal."

There seems to be some striking strange blond-haired

woman who

and Peter Khoury's blond also apparent.

While Peter didn't

and root of the

similarities

between the

coupled with Villas-Boas

though differences

interloper,

derarm hair on the woman, the shaft

52

recall seeing

are

pubic and un-

DNA profiles that emerged from

hair yielded the rare Asian

Mon-

DNA (usually associated with dark hair, but found in this blond hair) and the rare Basque or Gaelic DNA (usually

goloid

associated with orange or dark hair color, but again revealed in the

blond

hair).

Hair color, in biochemical terms, levels

is

determined by varying

of types of melanin— eumelanin and pheomelanins. The

former dictates dark hair and the

latter controls

brown

hair.

Natural blond hair has a rather murkier origin, some arguing it is

dominated by eumelanin

MC1R

(melanocortin

1

levels

or at a genetic level via

receptor) gene diversity. Given that

the Villas-Boas blonde was said to have freckled skin

blood-red pubic and underarm hair,

it

should be noted

usually associated with high levels of pheomelanin levels

of eumelanin, linked at a genetic

ing alleles in the

MC1R gene.

becoming increasingly

better

53

level

and

this is

and low

by nonfunction-

While hair and skin color are

documented

in terms of their

Hair of the Alien

127

biochemical and genetic origins, these issues have

been

fully resolved.

still

not

While some success has occurred with the

elaboration of the genetic nature of red hair, the rest of the story

more

is

difficult.

The

British journal

ported in July 2002: "Hair color

is

New

Scientist re-

usually determined by the

cumulative effect of several genes, so there's no such thing as a single gene for blonde hair that could be turned into a simple test, for example."

54

The

research important genetic

may offer UFO information that may prove sigfield

of genetics

nificant in revealing the reality behind the bizarre stories of alien abduction.

More Sex with Peter

Extraterrestrials

Khoury and Antonio

Villas-Boas are not alone in their

strange experiences. There are a surprising

number of similar

Many come from South America. A 56 year-old Chilean man called "Gaspar MH" claims to have had a sexual encounter in 1978 with a short woman with whitesexual "alien" cases.

pinkish skin and large blue eyes. 55 Another case from Brazil in

1978 seems rather too similar to the Villas-Boas

case,

namely

the alleged sexual encounter of Jose Ignacio Alvaro with a "silvern-haired

Then Brazil,

there

who

woman.

is

tall

56

the case of Joao Valerio da Silva of Botucatu,

apparently lost consciousness as an attractive

naked brown-haired and dark-skinned

woman

touched him

during his 1982 abduction. Joao Valerio was subjected to a follow-up forensic medical examination by Dr.

Stancka

e Silva,

who

revealed that Joao Valerio

had a

Luciano circular

mark on his breast with unusual lesions within it, and slight lesions on his penis— both elements that recall Peter Khoury^s 1992 experience and that of Credo

Mutwa in the late

1950s.

A

Bill Chalker

128

strange "oil" was also found

on

his

body and

was handed over to Sao Paulo police later

reported that

it

was

lost.

shirt.

The

shirt

but they

for analysis,

57

But few of these cases inspire any confidence. Take,

for ex-

ample, Alvin Guerra's alleged "rendezvous with a Nordic

nymph." This Texan from Fort Worth reported a very friendly abduction into a UFO, seemingly manned by an

women. He described being "rewarded" with a sexual encounter with the

tall,

all

"Nordic"

for his cooperation

blue-eyed, blond-haired

"Nordic" commander. After round two of their prolonged sexual liaison Guerra lost consciousness then

woke up naked

in his bed, with his penis "chapped, irritated,

places raw." This story

Turnage

in her

is

some

in

one of a number described by

unabashed book Sexual Encounters

She claims to have interviewed the

traterrestrials.

and

man

C. L.

with Exherself,

but does not provide any information or evidence to inspire any confidence in the truth of the

Turnage

also relates the story

alien lover with long red hair,

regular

story.

home

ress, until his

of a

named

58

green-skinned

lusty,

Quetyal,

who conducts

with "Susan," a young rural Texan wait-

visits

sad demise in a "saucer" crash! Again, Turnage

provides no information that could verify this improbable tale.

59

Turnage

lists

twenty-one cases in

all,

her

first

being

"Antonio Villa Boaz" (she means Antonio Villas-Boas) and the last

"Jesus— the hybrid messiah."

Eve Longren's book The Love

Human

Relationships, picks

up another

For Longren the "love bite"

whereby the victim

is

Bite: Alien Interference in

is

bizarre sexual thread.

"a kind of 'psychic rape'

abducted, then manipulated into bond-

60 ing with a targeted love partner chosen by the alien beings."

This seemingly dubious theme

more mainstream abduction

is

echoed in cases presented by

researchers, however.

61

Hair of the Alien

2 9

1

Genetic Agenda

Whatever

their validity, the claims

of sexual encounters with

by many researchers as support for the idea

aliens are cited

some form of genetic agenda. But the fantastic claims made about ab-

that alien abductors have this notion,

among

ductions,

one of the major stumbling blocks to the

bility

is

credi-

of abduction claims. Mainstream science argues that

alien life exists, life.

all

it is

unlikely to be compatible with

if

human

Hence, any claims to the contrary, such as alien abduc-

tions, are regarded as absurd.

Therefore, the focused in the Peter

Khoury

DNA profiling technique we

used

case goes to the very heart of one of the

key claims behind the alleged alien abduction agenda.

It

pro-

vides an opportunity for testing the credibility of such claims. If

such claims are

bility in

the

true,

DNA of alleged alien specimens, but some possi-

ble anomalies

may

be evident that would perhaps not be

readily reconciled with ity.

And

then there should be some compati-

our measures of human

DNA variabil-

indeed our original analysis confirmed the "alien

hair" in the Peter

Khoury

genetically close to

case

came from someone who was

normal humans, but of a very unusual

racial type.

Perhaps Peter Khour/s two females are the "hybrids" that are said to be the goal of the aliens' genetic agenda.

But the

whole concept of hybrids in abduction accounts was until

re-

cently difficult to reconcile with our understanding of the

limitations of interspecies breeding. Indeed, given the possi-

we may be dealing with a vastly technologically species that could be biologically different from

bility that

su-

perior

us,

hybrids of aliens and

humans would seem

probable and logically implausible.

On the

scientifically im-

other hand,

if

the

Bill Chalker

130 aliens have

mastered space

travel or interdimensional travel,

it

seems they would have already conquered the biochemical barriers that normally bar interspecies breeding. 62

But the pace of development biochemistry in the

last

and

in the fields of genetics

decade has extended the horizons of

this debate substantially. Indeed, transgenics, the transfer

of

foreign genetic material into other genomes, 63 perhaps addresses

the logical interspecies barrier argument against

human-alien hybrid claims. Leading abduction researcher

Budd Hopkins and

his co-author Carol Rainey highlight

transgenics, or rather

an alien variation on

through— "the breakdown of the

barrier

it,

as the break-

between species"—

that possibly legitimizes the idea that alien abduction

may

really

be about genetic experimentation by alien beings. Their

book

Sight Unseen also focuses

on strange accounts of human

or humanlike entities they label as "transgenic beings" that

seem

to have stunted emotional ranges

sometimes with a sexual element to them

social activities,

(seen also,

One "Sally,"

it

seems, in Peter Khoury's encounters).

case that

a young

had been

and carry out unusual

Hopkins and Rainey describe

woman

in contact with

is

they view as "highly credible." Sally

Budd Hopkins

since 1987,

when

was trying to understand a peculiar "missing time" ence.

that of

she

experi-

Her story featured encounters with the ubiquitous gray

aliens,

but she also was plagued since childhood by the atten-

tions of a strange Sally described a

man

she called "Stewart." Under hypnosis

harrowing

memory of being

raped by this

man at the age of six. Stewart became a regular specter in her life. He seemed human in appearance— "a tall man [in his middle

thirties]

with a long, thin

oddly shaped eyeglasses" blue eyes." 65

64

face, curly

blond

hair,

and

highlighting "piercing, electric

Hair of the Alien While those persistence

1

3

1

make Stewart stand out, his He was a frequent participant in

details hardly

and behavior

do.

her alien abduction experiences, often seemingly taking a cilitator role, a process that usually led to his giving

fa-

her over

on a few occasions were

to the gray aliens. His attentions

those of "a more violent sexual abuser." Over a twenty- five-

and "seemed

year period he appeared remarkably ageless, gifted in the

paranormal sphere, apparently being able to pass

through closed doors or windows alien-fashion, able to communicate

human

telepathically,

and

impose paralysis on

able to

abductees and possible witnesses." 66 Such claims

vite dismissal

Stewart

in-

of Sally as being perhaps delusional; however,

may have been more than just

the stuff of alienated

fantasy.

During the

early 1990s Sally

was working

in

Washington,

and sharing an apartment with "Hannah," another

D.C.,

young woman. Stewart turned up one

night,

somehow

ap-

pearing by Sally's bed, even though the apartment was on an

upper floor and the windows and door were locked. Al-

though frightened, she joined him

in the living

room, shar-

ing the couch, drinks,

and detailed discussion about the

mundane

life

aspects of her

and

job.

At one point she ques-

tioned Stewart about his reality and nature, but drew only smiles

and avoidance. Determined

to get

an answer to her

question, Sally, having noticed that his shirt was opened a bit,

"suddenly reached inside, took hold of a long, curly chest

hair,

and pulled

look, but she level

he was

it

out.

He winced and

was pleased

real

to realize that

into a hovering

tion experience."

on some

physical

and not a phantasm. A few moments

three small gray aliens approached

window and

gave her an angry

67

UFO

later

and she was taken out the for a

more

typical abduc-

Bill Chalker

132

Budd Hopkins week about her lude.

Two

In the

points out that Sally

phoned him within a

recollections of that strange nocturnal inter-

things convinced Sally that her experience was

morning she found the two

glasses

real.

of half-finished

drinks that she had served for herself and Stewart. provocatively,

More though, Hannah, her roommate, had woken up

during the night with "a roaring sound" in her head. Fright-

ened and unable to move, she heard voices coming from the

room— Sally's voice and a man's voice. Still unable to move, Hannah must have gone back to sleep. Hopkins inter-

living

viewed Hannah by phone, confirming these

A

few years

Hopkins's

later,

New York

details.

an abductee from Budd

"Molly,"

support group, stayed with Sally in an-

other apartment she had taken in the Washington area. Shar-

bedroom one night, they both awoke to find themselves paralyzed and the room bathed in light. Compar-

ing the

ing their recollections the next morning, they each recalled a

shared abduction experience. Both recalled that several small alien beings

had appeared

tioned the presence of "a

tall,

curly-haired blond

oddly shaped glasses." Sally knew

saw the

man "operating inside

saw. For Sally, Molly's drawing

While glass

it is

own drawing.

who

the

gray aliens." Sally asked Molly, an

Stewart than her

bedroom, and both men-

in the

it

man

with

was— Stewart. Molly

UFO along with the small

artist, to

draw the man she

was an even better likeness of 68

understandable that the presence of a used

and a hair did not leap

inquiry at the time, today's verify the alienness

to the center of the investigator's

new

DNA paradigm promises

of any such stories in the future.

to

Hair of the Alien

1

3 3

Another "Alien Hair" Sample? It

should be noted that the "alien hair" sample obtained in the

Peter

Khoury

analysis.

did not

case

is

DNA

not the only one we subjected to

There was another alleged "alien hair" sample, but

show the kind of anomalies we obtained in

it

Peter's case.

refer to as "Mike Wood," from whom the mid-north coast of New South Wales near Foster, had initially contacted the Australian UFO Research Network's tele-

A local

businessman,

phone hotline seemed

I'll

to report

to be unfolding

some unusual

experiences.

was a slowly escalating

UFO

69

What

and

alien

abduction dynamic that also seemed to involve the witness's

Members of the group UFO Research (NSW) had touch with Mike and on the weekend of April 13-14,

daughter.

been in

2002, they stopped by to

visit

him. According to Mike, some-

thing very strange had happened and he had something to

show them. He gave them a small sample bag containing a hair sample, one that he said had

come from an

alien female. Be-

cause of that development, and the incident's apparent similarity to Peter

Khoury's 1992 experience, the group contacted

and eventually gave me the sample doing

fore

so,

however,

I

wanted

for possible

I

discovered that

DNA testing. Be-

to establish the credibility

context of the story myself with the witness

went back to

and

on location.

Mike was not the only one

in the area to

have seen UFOs; so did others in the community.

had some unusual

me

He had

also

Some of the episodes He viewed the phenomenon as

entity encounters.

his childhood.

something dark, malignant, and ultimately manipulative, and

UFO

seemingly intensely interactive.

He

while fishing with his son-in-law.

Mike warned him

ful

what he said

would be

as he

cited

one

sighting

to be care-

had found that often things he

bizarrely reflected

back in some sort of UFO

said

display.

Bill Chalker

134 As

if

on cue

UFO,

in the

utes later, play,

to the son-in-law's request to see purple coloring

the

UFO

shot up the coast^ returned three min-

and seemed

to

to a 200-foot radiant dis-

with a bright purple center. Then

If that

turned off like a light

to his son-in-law.

element of a highly

reactive, reflected

Mike claims

phenomenon

may lend some credibility to the incident that led to the recovery of the new hair sample. During

then

valid,

it

Mike

switch. "I told you," said

was

blow out

it

the evening of Sunday, April

7,

2002, he and his partner were

having a bit of an argument. In a somewhat cynical and flippant

way Mike

wish one of these space

said, "I

women would come

and take me away." That said, eventually they retired details

of the incident that follow are somewhat

Mike

recollected fragmentary images of a

other

woman

through

who seemed

as well,

an overwhelming

feeling,

his body, that

experience.

"That night

woman's

which

darker skinned. There was

almost

still

eyes,

face

sensed that there was an-

powered an

He woke up I

He

The

explicit.

and her washboard stomach. He remembered her were slanted and dark colored.

to bed.

like

erotic

feeling

had the hardest erection

electricity

going

dimension to the

hard in his member: I

ever

had

in

my life."

He

did not think he had an orgasm. There was no smell, and

no

feeling in his scrotum.

When he woke up

he remembered having what seemed to

He became aware wrapped around his penis. He

be this erotic dream and his raging erection. that he

had a

fine white hair

started to pull floor.

it

He began

two strange

off

and then dropped

to have flashes of

women

it

on the bathroom

memory of encountering

during the night, one blond-haired and

olive skinned, the other apparently

Asian in appearance.

He

returned to the bathroom, picked

then remembered the

hair,

the hair off the floor,

and placed

it

in the small

sample bag.

Hair of the Alien

1

3 5

When I first heard of this incident from Bryan Dickeson of

UFO

Research (NSW),

if this

was naturally suspicious.

I

I

wondered

was some sort of crude hoax. He didn't think

clear to

me

Khoury's

so. It

was

that the story did not have the strengths of Peter

case, especially as the

chain of evidence— an impor-

and

tant factor in forensically establishing context

relation-

ship—had been broken. Mike said he dropped the hair sample, then went back and found placed

same

it

again on the bathroom floor and

How certain

in the bag.

hair sample?

it

Mike seemed

could we be that

fairly confident.

I

it

was the

wasn't.

When I visited the family, I took control samples from Mike, his partner, his daughter, her daughter,

visual inspection,

which

I

and

his son-in-law.

On

then verified under a high-powered

microscope, his daughter's hair sample looked similar to the "alien hair."

The

rest

were obviously different.

I

also

determined

from Mike that he had read about Peter Khoury's experience a year or so fetched,

earlier.

At the time, he

and claimed he

he thought

it

seemed

far-

didn't even read the whole article. De-

spite these obvious difficulties

information, Mike

said,

of "contamination" by prior

Wood seemed to be credible. He gave the im-

pression of someone

who was

what he perceived was a

real

struggling to

come

to grips with

UFO and alien contact and abduc-

tion situation.

Ultimately

tochondrial

we did

the preliminary step of undertaking a mi-

DNA PCR

profiling

comparison against the

"human consensus" on both the "alien hair" and Mike's daughter's

sample. While different, both were within the normal

"human consensus"

DNA

range. This "alien hair" sample did

not display the unusual variations from normal sus in the region of

sample.

It

human consen-

DNA hypervariability seen

in the

had been an informative and worthwhile

Khoury

exercise.

We continue to monitor Mike Wood's ongoing experience.

70

t

CHAPTER NINE

An Early Abduction Odyssey

THE COURSE OF MY RESEARCH INTO THE

IN I

visited Oliver

ment

Harry Turner, a retired Australian govern-

scientist, at his

clear physicist,

home

in the

1950s and early 1960s, but odyssey through the

UFO

it

was

on UFOs

bomb

trials

his secret

officer for

during the

and strange

me

mystery that had brought

home. He had written a classified

report

summer of 2001. A nu-

Turner was the chief health physics

the controversial Maralinga atomic

his

UFO PHENOMENON,

for the Australian

to

"scientific appreciation"

Department of Defense

Directorate of Air Force Intelligence in 1954 that concluded, rather provocatively, "The evidence presented by Australian Air Force] tend to support the

.

.

.

RAAF

conclusion

.

[Royal .

.

that

certain strange aircraft have been observed to behave in a

Hair of the Alien

3 7

1

manner suggestive of extra-terrestrial origin." During the late 1960s and early 1970s Turner had fought a secret battle to encourage a more scientific and comprehensive examination of

UFO mystery within the clandestine world of intelligence

the

and the

military.

By then he was a

and Technical

Directorate of Scientific Joint Intelligence Bureau.

and

intelligence

bizarre

tilt

on the

Intelligence of the

was fleshing out Harry Turner's

we had been discussing

story,

his dealings with the military

subject.

was not anticipating the

I

into the "twilight zone" that was to come.

our discussions he handed

document— ten pages of

notes— devoted to

his investigation

a Canberra terested as

woman named I

Klein, also

was the same woman, an alien odyssey

knew about my Mrs. Klein. The Mrs. Klein I knew was

I

was immediately

in-

from Canberra, and

as Turner's report told

and abduction

Klein's extraordinary contacts details revealed

his handwritten

during 1971 and 1972 of

Mrs. Klein.

knew of a Mrs.

if it

During

me what turned out to be a partic-

ularly remarkable

wondered

with the

71

my visit

As the focus of

scientific analyst

than the

far stranger

Vicki Klein.

I

milieu.

I

of

These facts

I

had spoken with

her once back in 1991. She had been living with her family in the small

town of Dalton, which

the capital of Australia. At the time, sible

northwest of Canberra,

lies I

was examining the pos-

connection between earthquakes and unusual aerial

lights,

and

this

what drew me

is

to contact Vicki Klein.

Dalton has an unusual claim to fame.

It is

earthquake-prone areas in eastern Australia. in the late sixties Vicki Klein

berra

UFO

group.

son interested in

It

one of the most I

also

knew

that

had been involved with a Can-

was that fortunate juxtaposition— a

UFOs now

per-

living in Dalton, a locality

steeped in earthquake activity— that led

me to

talk to her.

She

138

Bill

impressed

me

as

an

Chalker and

intelligent

to help a researcher

UFOs. She mentioned nothing

pothesis for

own very strange experiences. That's why Harry Turner's ences

came

woman,

articulate

examining the "earthquake

notes

I

light" hy-

me about

to

her

on Mrs.

Klein's experi-

my

shock quickly

as such a shock to me. But

turned to fascination, as

willing

realized that

Harry Turner's

1971-72 notes revealed that Mrs. Klein's bizarre experiences actually prefigured several extraordinary elements of the

UFO

abduction phenomenon that would not become public for

more than a decade and a described

them

when

half,

Budd Hop-

researcher

1987 best-selling book Intrud-

kins

first

ers.

Her story was unpolluted by our modern

in his

culture's

fixation with the prototypical alien abduction experience.

such, this

it

represents a critical touchstone for investigators of

phenomenon.

Turner's notes revealed that Vicki Klein's the

As

UFO

first

exposure to

mystery apparently occurred in 1960. At the time

she was on a

CSIRO

72

kangaroo

field

in the far northwestern corner of

Wilcannia,

when

New South

Wales, near

them observed a red light apIt stopped, changed to blue and then white

the two of

proaching rapidly. before shooting

study with Harry Frith

up

to a high altitude, then falling

down again

with an odd falling-leaf motion. The light stayed in the area for

two hours, during which

it

repeated these movements

about three times. Later in October of the same year a

UFO

sighting in the southern offshore state of Tasmania by an Anglican minister, Lionel Browning,

and

his wife,

tory at Cressy, gained national publicity.

73

from the

rec-

This led Vicki to

think that what she and Frith had observed was probably a flying saucer. Frith

warned her not

to talk about

it,

perhaps

thinking that such an admission might jeopardize his

ulti-

Hair of the Alien

1

3 9

mately successful attempts to become chief of the CSIRO's wildlife division.

The

rest

of Vicki's

extraordinary dance with strange

life

would prove

to be

an

phenomena— an ongoing

embrace with the mysterious.

and three

Vicki married in late 1960,

her husband, Gerry,

moved

years later she

and

new Canberra suburb

to the then

of Downer. She worked at a day job while her husband

Commonwealth police. One night, when she was a few months pregnant with her first son (David), Vicki was sitting alone with her dog— a German shepherd—when suddenly the dog began bristling and snarling at

worked the night

something

shift

with the

invisible to her in the corner

ing Mrs. Klein from going there.

of the room, prevent-

On another day the cat sud-

denly reacted violently in the kitchen.

It

went through the

back door, screen and never came back inside the house. Vicki

was getting the impression that somebody was watching, but she never saw anyone.

From Harry Turner's this

notes:

"One night by

the fire she

happen and instead of turning her head

looked out of the corner of her eye to see a

felt

as before, she

man

standing in

the doorway with his head nearly touching the top (approxi-

He was

mately

6'6").

mesh."

He seemed

dressed in a close-fitting suit of silver

to radiate a feeling of well-being. After

David's birth in 1964, Vicki would often find that his toys

had somehow been moved from a lowboy into

his cot. Vicki

would often

arms toward

see

David smile and reach out

his

an empty space. Turner's notes then reveal a dramatic turn:

"One day while

looking in a mirror Mrs. Klein saw David smile, reach out and

then was "the

lifted

up from the bed

into mid-air."

The presence—

Man"— became known as Claude. When David was about

two, "he claimed to have been taken

up

into the clouds by 'the

Bill Chalker

140 Man.'

"

David had apparently made a sketch of the man's

and

"house,"

it

appeared to be a rough clrawing of a "flying

saucer," according to Vicki. Claude's presence in the

house

persisted for about eighteen months, before disappearing at

"UFO sighting" over Canberra airport. 74 But "the Man" would continue his strange intermit-

the time of a

"Claude" or

tent presence in the Klein household. Vicki's

second son, Adam, was born in 1966. Sometime

prior to this Mrs. Klein

was

at the Royal

when

had her second

Show in Melbourne,

UFO

sighting.

She

leaning back in the seat

she saw three objects circling in tight forma-

of a

car,

tion.

They disappeared when two planes approached

their po-

sition.

Vicki Klein's third

UFO sighting involved an approaching

"three-pronged object,"

when one of the "prongs" seemed

to

The remaining two went "into a wobble, approached, and looked like a gray boomerang with a number of black spots down the spine." The object rose three times, drop

off.

on each occasion

giving the appearance of "wobbling vio-

lently until spinning

and then

falling."

of Greek background

nesses

who

There were two witregarded

the

aerial

apparition as "the work of the devil."

The fourth ing as

it

sighting by Vicki Klein

involved setting off a

"UFO

is

particularly interest-

detector."

Harry Turner's

notes of his interviews with Mrs. Klein do not record the date,

but

list

the following information: "Cylinder 40°, above Mt.

Majura, going

[in

a rectangular movement, according to

Turner's sketch] but drifting slowly northwards. Neighbor as witness." This brief description detail via

was supplemented

in

some

correspondence Harry Turner had with Dr. Michael

Duggin, a fellow Australian terest in the

scientist

who

also

had a deep

in-

UFO phenomenon. Harry Turner and Mike Dug-

Hair of the Alien

1

4

1

gin were part of the secret "invisible college" of scientists con-

ducting research in the

UFO mystery.

In correspondence with

Mike Duggin, Harry

UFO

It

Vicki Klein's

"detector" sighting.

occurred during a

rash of sightings in the Canberra area during June 1971. This activity civilian

had prompted Turner

me

secretary since

and July

to contact the local

UFO society in Canberra, formed in

had been the group's

detailed

1967. Vicki Klein

inception. Turner told

its

that while Vicki told the group of her sightings, she was

mention the unfolding

careful not to

pening in her

own house. To

obviously part of the

her the

"alien"

dynamic hap-

UFOs were up

there

and

UFO scene; the other events in her home

were an entirely different matter. In the wake of Turner's contact with the group, she privately

made contact with him and,

home between July

1971

and February 1972, Vicki Klein described her unfolding

alien

during a

series

of meetings at her

contact calling.

At

home at

1:10 p.m.

on July

7,

1971, Vicki saw a light gray

cigar-shaped object above Mt. Majura.

Ten minutes

earlier,

a

magnetic detector designed to pick up changes in magnetic fields,

and

set

up

started to "buzz"

The

"UFO

detector,"

and could not be switched off by

resetting.

inside her

letter continues,

house as a crude

"Armed with 12 power binoculars and a

next-door neighbor, she scanned the skies for a possible cause for the buzzing, finally locating

an object

bearing 70°, apparently directly above a

at elevation

civil

40° and

radar station

on

top of Mt. Majura (two miles from observer and four miles

NE of Canberra city). The object was slightly fatter at one end and was tracing out a square pattern

in a vertical plane, the

object remaining horizontal during the maneuver. At the cor-

ners of the square pattern there appeared to be

with occasional flashing. After

five

some fading

minutes the object disap-

Bill Chalker

142

peared and the detector -stopped buzzing. There was no echo reported on the radar, but this would not be expected

if

the

object actually was directly above the radar."

Two

days

later,

Vicki Klein spotted another

UFO

sports arena in the afternoon. Schoolboys playing alerted her to

its

without wings, jura.

The

presence.

tail,

It

seemed

from a

on the

field

to be a dark gray object

or contrail, moving slowly over Mt.

Ma-

object was about half-moon size, with a silver shim-

mer at the

rear.

Harry Turner made the following notes

after a July

1971

conversation with Vicki: "For two years she had been instructed in the astral by a being dressed in a tight fitting uni-

form and with a head more

some months, contact, ple) are

local individuals

and then

ears

etc.).

75

For

were brought to her house for

astral instruction

by

her.

They (UFO peo-

too busy to do everything themselves and need earth

teacher." This

formed around

was the beginning of a contact group that her.

Vicki elaborated tact.

dog (pointed

like a

on her understanding of the

alien con-

"Children even in embryo are being subconsciously

trained for the latter days.

Some

children are being 'fathered'

by space-beings (by non-physical means).

[Vicki] believes that

Claude was responsible for her second child

Adam who

was

generated at about the time Claude returned from an absence

and while she was in their

minds

this has also

on the

still

for use at

happened

The "space beings"

Information

is

The chaos

believes

to her."

told Vicki that "the latter days" were a

will

told Turner:

"The signal

for the

be the disappearance of a small

land followed by a larger one— she suspects the area.

being stored

an appropriate time. She

coming time of chaos. She beginning of the end

pill.

itself will last three

is-

New Guinea

days getting progressively

Hair of the Alien worse.

The world has

will take place in

mantra

in

UFO

to be cleansed,

and a new development

lands newly arisen." This

fascinating to see

unrealized.

It is

tems are so

easily

and

how these

to be played out

cluding the convoluted "signs" heralding

and

its

Vicki Klein reveal:

flawed belief sys76

on Canberra— in-

it,

the preparation

exact nature— became a major preoccupation for

and Mrs.

"Both

a very familiar

and generally always

uncritically embraced.

The impending "chaos"

it,

is

contact experiences— contact and prophecy—

usually rooted in something apocalyptic

for

143

Z.,

one of her neighbors. Turner's notes

women claim they have been told that when the

chaos comes they are to go to a particular location south of

Canberra with their children and await events. They already have some food prepared to take with them. The

first

day of

the chaos will be severe earth tremors, weird colors in the sky,

green discs flying over and red balls fired at the ground,

which

will start fires. Later

major earthquakes.

.

.

.

(second or third day) will

Their job

who

of the blonde

.

and

race's children.

.

.

really 'Claude's.'

They have been

she considers

David

not one of 'theirs,' whereas

is

Mrs.

K has had

her tubes

tied.

is

Adam

.

.

.

The coming chaos

bring about a that there

is

an

new evil

is

the second eldest

One

own

more

is

to bring

new land when

it

up ar-

difficulty appears to be this plan

and anxious

to

purposes. This other group

attacking and converting people

who

are actively helping

the first group. This struggle will be even greater during after the chaos. Apparently,

is

be used by these people to

group opposing

take over the earth for their

one

Mrs. Klein's eldest

Their purpose

will

earth race.

really

had a hysterectomy and

these children so that they can go to the rives.

is

told that they will have

children even though Mrs. Z. has 77

the

to look after the children.

is

Mrs. Z. has an adopted child,

come

both groups can be rather

and

force-

Bill Chalker

144 ful in trying to

side uses the excuse that they only exe^rt

own

c

The goocT influence on their

keep their earth proteges in

line.

race descendants

"It

appears that mainly

presumably to look in the valley

women

after the children.

where the children are

considers that she herself

is

them.' She has been told that

from the chaos,

are saved

No men have been seen Mrs. Klein

later taken.

a 'space-child' and if

the natural chaos

is

'one of

is

insuffi-

cient for the task, then additional chaos will be created. There is

a determination to do the job. There will be a great

with the

evil forces

lieve the evil

ones

who

will

will try to take over. In fact, they be-

hunt them down

only will there be eruptions there will be

much

'battle'

among

after the chaos.

Not

the hills of Canberra, but

water in some way. The space people will

be so busy during this time that they cannot give assurance of help.

but

They may be

will

able to provide a

to the hiding place,

not be able to stay afterwards. There

helping the If this

doubtful

men in

is

no

interest in

the families."

were the extent of Vicki Klein's story, interest. It's

that really struck

what follows

me— how the

controversy fifteen years

in

it

would be of

Harry Turner's notes

story strikingly resembles the

would come

alien abduction accounts that

UFO

'lift'

later.

to

dominate the

Turner wasn't sure what

make of this information in the early seventies. At the time he was simply trying to make an accurate report of Vicki to

Klein's claims.

Of the two Canberra women, Vicki Klein and her neighbor Mrs.

Z.,

Turner

writes:

"They both claim to have had ova

taken from them (they say the operation that children are being created for the time

when

and bred

is

quite painful)

in

they will be returned to

and

some other place earth. They both

claim that on the same night they were both taken astrally to

Hair of the Alien a place, a huge

room whose

145

walls were covered with small

Mrs. Z. saw embryos being incubated. In the centre of

cells,

the room, Mrs. Klein saw a central glassed enclosure contain-

ing developing babies that had been taken from the incuba-

Many

tors.

of them did not look

well.

When

the 'nurse' was

not looking, Mrs. Klein, disobeying instructions, took one

from first

its

humidity

crib

and nursed

very annoyed, but later realized

contented and that 'motherly ent. In fact this lack

race

is

love'

The attendant was at that the baby was more

it.

was the missing ingredi-

of emotion and feeling of the advanced

one of its downfalls, because there

perpetuate the race.

One of its

present aims

advanced intellectual and psychic

fertilized

is

abilities

some of the emotions of the human

race.

no ambition

is

to

of

to

combine the its

race with

Hence these

cross-

embryos."

With regard

to the use

of human ova in the

aliens' experi-

ments, Turner notes that "Mrs. Klein said that after she had

complained of the pain caused by the 'operation/ during an astral projection she

was invited by a friend to have

course, but she refused,

her astral guide, but she

me

in case

process.

it

whereupon the still

refused.

friend

The

inter-

changed into

story was given to

could help in understanding their experimental

She thought the offer was made as an alternative

method of producing their babies without eration. Alternatively,

it

fiber/ Since then, she has

may

the pain of the op-

have been a test of her 'moral

had many ova removed. Once

again,

she insists that these people are not interested in earth people,

but only in reclaiming

what

is

'their

own/ She does not know

meant by 'their own.'

"They communicate with Mrs. Klein by producing a highpitched buzzing noise that

rises

and

falls in

once a second, followed by a voice which

is

intensity at

about

external to the ear.

Bill Chalker

146

She communicates by repeating speech or thoughts— they apparently are not monitoring her continuously— until an an-

swer

two

is

received (usually a day or two). In the presence of the

types, only the 'dog-faced'

one converses, but even then

mouth does not move, although the voice seems to come from him. He has black markings over his eyes and his black his

pupils are like tunnels. His hair

is

dark; there

is

an

The blonde one only communicates

bluish tinge.

overall

reassur-

ance."

Mrs. Z. claimed that during the evening of September 1971, she

had gone

to the rear of the

was acting up. Turner's notes

state:

7,

house because her dog

"As the dog retreated in-

doors, she noticed two figures in Mrs. Klein's backyard near a tree.

Mrs. Z. thought they must be Mr. and Mrs. Klein but was

puzzled as to

why

and be so

So she went towards them and shone her torch

still.

on them. They turned out

[flashlight]

meshed

they should be standing in that position

to be a tall metal-

clad figure (like 'Claude') with his 'dog-faced'

com-

panion. They were smiling at her as though a joke was being played on her and then gradually faded away.

No

signs re-

mained. Mrs. Klein's dog was not disturbed. "These two disparate types claim they are 'one people.' The

blonde one

tall

faced' (or

is

similar to the Nordic race, but the 'dog-

one has pointed it

oval

ears, eyes

with large pupils, and no

no white —Turner), longish flattened

mouth, dressed

and

is

(?)

in blue-grey tunic with tight

shoes.

more human-like

In this account

nose, thin

banded

The dog-faced type can appear

if they

wish to (swarthy,

we have

iris

collar

to look

5'-5'6")."

several features that are identical

to the ones heralded as a breakthrough for the understanding

of the alien abduction agenda by Budd Hopkins in 1987: the

humanoid

beings,

one of them apparently of the "Nordic

Hair of the Alien program that

type," involved in a genetic

147 ova

utilizes painful

removal procedures, taking place in a strange room that houses bred babies (an alien incubatorium), and babies that

seem weak and respond Klein's being

couragement feature that

to

bonding with humans. Even Mrs.

encouraged to have is

actually

sex,

only to find that the en-

coming from one of the

would be described by another

entities, is

a

David

researcher,

Jacobs, in Secret Life twenty years later as an "envisioning" procedure.

The resemblances

are astonishing.

For Vicki, the "contacts," strange "visions," and unusual

phenomena continued

to escalate in the latter part of 1971.

On the night of

But the encounters were not always

clear-cut.

September

of friendly observers, but

12, "the

house was

full

no communication was made. Often there front door, but

no one

polite

way of gaining

maybe

across a

is

entry.

darker,

astral trips,

her as

if

Sometimes shadows

their

it is

are seen,

a disturbance of light, that

crosses a room."

The visions

be-

and she was often taken on "projection"-type

where scenes seemed to be played out in front of

on a

events to

isn't,

a knock at the

She considers that

window or perhaps

looks like a shadow, but

came

there.

is

screen.

Many of these

seemed to be of

displays

come— a kind of reinforcement of prophecy.

Vicki

did not volunteer what she was going through nor that

fires

were connected to the coming "chaos." Things continued into early 1972 with the feeling that events

might come

to a

head by February 22. Both of Vicki's sons— David and Adamwere having dreams of

fire,

and talked of being places with

"the man." During storms in February Vicki Klein sensed

many presences, and saw one of "them." "She

is

to clear

items in the backyard to provide a landing space.

awoke one morning and said that he thought already

left

with 'the man.'

"

his

away

Adam

mother had

Bill Chalker

148

Harry Turner's notes end

He

at that point.

lost contact

with Vicki Klein and her neighbor. Needless to quakes,

The

fire,

spiral

and water did not

say, earth-

cfecimate Canberra in 1972. 78

of visions and contacts that Vicki Klein had been

sucked up into seemed to come to nothing.

When 2001,

1

Harry Turner passed on

immediately

set

this material to

about trying to confirm

me

its

in July

contents.

There were many problems. The worst was that Vicki Klein

had passed away in 1994. In a further that her eldest son, David, 13,

having fallen out of a

tree.

in June

I

discovered

1978 at the age of

In February 2002

I

visited

Some locals gave me background. One of them, Wayne Medway of

where the family had

some valuable

lived since 1972.

the local garage, grew

He

up

in the

same time frame

as

Adam

always thought Vicki was okay; she was certainly

not "off her perch." He was aware of Vicki and Adam's interests

Can-

suburb of Downer, and then went out to Dalton,

berra, its

Klein.

had died

tragic turn,

and even

recollected there

UFO

was something about a

UFO landing in the paddock near the Klein house. I

then learned from Wayne that Vicki's father,

mers,

still

lived there.

Ron

Ron Sum-

graciously agreed to an interview.

He confirmed the basic story that Vicki had revealed to Harry Turner. While Ron didn't quite know what to think about them, he basically accepted his daughter's strange experiences.

He even

witnessed

UFOs

with her one night, so he

didn't discount the subject. Despite

had her

feet

all this,

he

felt

that Vicki

planted in the real world as well.

In April 2002

I

located Vicki's

sister, Gillian.

She remem-

bered the talk about "Claude," but she was never sure about "the alien thing." As for

Adam

being an "interloper," under-

standably she was very skeptical about that. For Gillian,

Adam looked and acted like a member of the Klein-Summers

Hair of the Alien family

tree.

1

49

She recollected that the three children, David,

Adam, and their sister were all firm believers in UFOs, at least when they were young and living in Canberra and Dalton. She remembered that Vicki had a very strong affinity with animals. Gillian had been reading a series of novels anchored in Native American spirituality that featured "dreamers," or

shamans that could

They reminded her a

foresee things.

lot

of Vicki— a shamanic "dreamer." In truth Gillian said that she

and some members of her family seemed tact with Vicki since her death

been in con-

on a number of

often sensing her around them. In tradictions,

to have

life

but she managed to knit

occasions,

Vicki was full of con-

it all

together. Basically

None of them seemed to

the whole family just accepted Vicki.

think anything was wrong with her. According to Gillian,

who was

even Gerry, Vicki's husband, skeptical of such things,

would

very pragmatic

head and

just shake his

and say,

"That's Vicki." I

spoke with Gerry. Although guarded, he

keyed into

it,

Vicki

would

say.

I

was not a

said, "I

wasn't

believer." Realizing

that these things didn't interest him, Vicki did not share

everything with him. She saw

him as

a psychic block of wood,

He claimed own was their

not open to the wider, stranger aspects of reality. that having horses

main motivation

and a few

for

moving

acres of their

to Dalton, not concern

about a

catastrophe in Canberra. I

finally

He

spoke with

Adam

second son, then

when he realized I wasn't a wild-eyed believer who saw him as an alien child, and that my interest was more sociologically and scientifically motivated. From his recollection and perspective he 36.

relaxed

said that his spiritual side,

and warmed

Klein, Vicki's

mother had

to the conversation

"vision,"

and that she had a deep

which encouraged psychic development

in her

1

Chalker

Bill

5 0

and

children as part

parcel of childrearing.

reason for the family strongly tied

up

He

move from Canberra

in Vicki's fixation or fear of a

said that the

to Dalton

looming

went along with

lieved

any of it. He

felt

it,

catas-

Adam

trophe (such as "the earthquake") smiting Canberra. recollects that the family

was

but never be-

sorry for his father, as he

had a good

job in Canberra and was forced to go out to "the middle of

nowhere" and work on the never really liked.

Adam

closer to his mother.

I

something that Vicki's gone to one of her there was I

thanked Adam for

hopes

I'll

said his brother David

was surprised when

sister's

was a

lot

confirmed

"spirit"

had

daughters. Family lore suggested

He

his time. In Australian parlance,

even volunteered a

never

come asking

Dalton connection. While

UFO

for

it.

we should look

Some

surely

area.

probably from the

79

late

owe

seventies,

fought to clear

I

felt as if I

Vicki wrote, I

woke up

had walked

wardrobe door, with some force I

the

In one undated Dalton

2.30 a.m. with an awful shriek because

on my arm.

some of

their origins to the

"Something strange happened two nights ago.

large bruise

at the

living there, Vicki kept the Sydney-

earthquake proneness of the

sleep into the

he was a

DNA sample, but probably

Investigation Centre apprised of

stranger goings-on there.

dispatch,

Adam

me: that Vicki's

sister told

Before leaving the Vicki Klein story,

based

in a job he

now some sort of psychic link between generations.

nice bloke. .

Gunning Council

local

too.

I

was drugged and

in

at

my

have a I

really

my mind, it was something outside.

"There was a

terrible racket

going on, dogs everywhere

were howling, and the horses were whinnying and racing

around the paddock, birds screaming and cows moving and also racing around. "I

went outside. There was no moon, but bright

starlight.

Hair of the Alien

No

wind.

fill

way I can think

mals quieted down.

I

and go

the air

1

through me. That's

right

to describe the noise.

"After twenty minutes

I

5

couldn't see anything, but there was a 'singing'

I

which seemed to the only

1

it

suddenly stopped and

went back

to

bed and

slept

all

till

the ani-

morning.

have since asked eleven people, without explaining why,

about that night. Five had walked in their sleep and they had terrible dreams, but couldn't

they were very frightened."

earthquakes in the Dal ton area.

when

I

remember them except

81

I

interest in

first realized this in

1988

saw a segment on the popular science show Quantum

on the ABC work.

said

80

worth noting that Vicki took up a serious

It's

all

It

(Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

was a story about Dalton and how

working with was Vicki

locals to

Klein.

monitor seismic

TV

scientists

net-

were

The key local Marion Leiba, of

activity.

One of the scientists was

Dr.

the Australian Geological Survey Organisation. She was one

of the

first

people

Vicki Klein. Vicki.

I

I

I

called after

I

received the Turner notes

wanted to find out

as

much

as

I

could about

soon found that Marion Leiba had a very high opin-

ion of Vicki, and they had become firm friends.

Marion

on

at her

Canberra

Vicki's strange story,

home and

I

met with

told her the details of

which she had not revealed to Marion.

Despite the bizarre nature of the story, Marion insisted that the Vicki she

knew

well

was

entirely sane

and a good

friend.

Marion was aware that Vicki had some unusual and perhaps eccentric interests, but in her eyes. 21, 1994,

none of this diminished Vicki's

When Vicki

stature

died of a brain hemorrhage on April

Marion wrote an obituary about her friend

for

an

in-house geophysical survey/engineers newsletter. Vicki Klein's story prefigured one other provocative aspect

of the

UFO abduction phenomenon, and that is the notion of

1

Bill Chalker

5 2

"star children."

hanced

82

Some believe

that "special children" with en-

the product of human-alien unions or

abilities are

other exotic means and that they represent a transformational step in

mankind's

artificially accelerated

evolutionary

path. Stories like Vicki Klein's might suggest such a notion,

but they are

far

from being the kind of proof that the

children" saga requires.

An

uncritical fusion of New

"star

Age

per-

spectives has crept into the unraveling of such claims. While

some advocates of "star children" may mean well, and are haps only seeking to potential,

it is

assist the "alienated" achieve their full

a veritable mine field that requires

objective assessments.

mount

Such precautions

in dealing with children,

to be happening. It

is

and

and

are absolutely para-

seems

one thing for parents of "special

to foist such beliefs

and researchers— who

critical

yet the opposite

dren" to hold such belief systems, but

them

per-

it is

chil-

quite another for

onto their children. Those parents—

do, run the risk of being accused of ex-

ploiting or endangering children.

We

need frequent

reality

checks as we work toward answers to these strange and puzzling questions.

CHAPTER TEN

Shaman Blues

O THE NAMES PETER KHOURY AND ANTONIO VlLLAS-BOAS, add the name Credo Mutwa. Credo Mutwa

JL and

goma

(a

shaman

Natal area of South Africa, his

sentially (in)

is

Bushman." He

Tribal History, Legends,

try

in 1921 in the

is

Vusamazulu

mix of cultures,

is

also a noted painter

My Witness

Indaba,

My

I

es-

Believe

and writer

Children: African

Customs, and Religious Beliefs (1964),

(1966),

My People

(1971), Let Not My Coun-

Die (1986), and Isilwane: The Animal: Tales and Fables ofAfrica

(1996). in

name

the product of a

whose published works include

Africa Is

full

Born

meaning "Great Awakener (of the Zulus),

the Little

a san-

or healer) and high sanusi (clairvoyant

lore-master) of considerable repute.

Credo Mutwa, which

is

its

Although

its

accuracy

is

often disputed, Indaba

is

epic

scope and often referred to as a "classic."

As a shaman and keeper of native

stories

and

traditions,

1

Bill Chalker

5 4

Credo

is

many within the community of

held in high regard by

academics and researchers

who

examine, myths, native healers,

and shamans. Dr. Stephen Larsen 83 edited Credo Mutwa's Song of the

Stars:

Keeney

84

The Lore of a Zulu Shaman (1996) and Dr. Bradford

edited Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa: Zulu High Sanusi as

part of a series of books called Profiles ofHealing which are dedicated to "helping the world's

most revered

shamans,

healers,

medicine people, and leaders of complementary medicine their stories."

Credo

tell

recognized as "the most famous African

is

traditional healer of [the twentieth] century," "a national trea-

sure of South Africa,"

healing arts." gard,

it

85

With

"elder

this sort

fact,

spokesman

for the African

of background of respect and

seems surprising that Credo

alien controversy.

In

and an

re-

Mutwa would embrace the

But he does.

he claims that he was the victim of a horrific alien

abduction and seduction back in either 1958 or 1959. Credo's experiences have been detailed in several books and at least

one video, but

for this

account

I

quote with permission from

an interview he gave to Rick Martin, editor of the alternative newspaper Spectrum, in 1999. 86 this story are extremely explicit.

Credo

A warning in advance: Parts of

unpleasant and other parts are quite

Interspersed with the extensive quotations from

(in italics) are

my own comments.

Credo Mutwa begins by

of

telling the story

how

he got

"taken." Sir, it

day

was an ordinary day,

in the eastern

like

any other day.

It

was a beautiful

mountains of Zimbabwe, which are

called

Inyan-

gani. These are mountains to the East ofZimbabwe.

Now, I had been

instructed by

my

teacher,

a

woman

Moyo [Mrs. Zamoya], was Ndebele, from Zimbabwe, Rhodesia, to go the healing

and find a

of a certain

special herb, which

initiate

called Mrs.

once

known as

we were going to

who was badly ill.

use in

Hair of the Alien was looking for this

/

and I had no tered

them

things, I

herb,

1

and I was not thinking about anything

belief whatsoever in these creatures. I

before,

had never encoun-

and although we African people

was mighty

skeptical,

5 5

even about certain

lieved in at that time, because I

many

believe in

entities that

we

had never encountered anything

belike

that before.

Presumably here Credo tions as distinct Stars

Mutwa is

referring to alien abduc-

UFO encounters, for in The Song of the some UFO experiences that took place in

from

he describes

Botswana between 1951 and 1958. Credo claims that

in 1951

he witnessed a UFO, two entities that ran into the object,

its

subsequent departure, and the hazardous physical ground trace as a

it left

behind.

He

reports that in 1958, he was called in

sangoma to look into a bizarre event that involved his en-

counter with a monstrous cylindrically shaped creature

known as the Muhondoruka. 87 And all of a sudden, sir, I noticed that the temperature around me had dropped, although ticed that

it

was a very hot African day. I suddenly no-

was now cold and

blue mist swirling all landscape. I

it

was what appeared

to

be a bright

around me, getting between me and

the eastern

there

remember wondering

stupidly,

what this thing meant,

be-

cause I had just begun to dig one of the herbs I had found.

Suddenly, I found myself in a very strange place, a place that looked like a tunnel lined with metal. I had worked in mines before,

and where I found myself appeared

to

be a mine tunnel, which was

lined with silver-greyish metal.

I was lying on

what appeared

working bench or a working table.

I was just lying there

table,

to sir.

and very

large

was not chained

to the

be a very heavy

But yet,

I

and my trousers were missing and so were the

heavy boots that I always wore when I was out in the bush. sudden, in

this strange, tunnel-like

And all of a

room, I saw what appeared

to

be

dull,

heady-looking grey, dull-like creatures, which were moving toward me.

.

1

Chalker

Bill

5 6

There were

They seemed

to

lights in this place,

but not

we know them.

lights as

he patches ofglowing stuff%And there was something

above the far entrance, which looked

and

the silver-grey surface,

was hypnotized, just as

But I watched

like

writing that writing against

me but I witchcraft had been put upon my head.

these creatures

if the

the creatures as they

were coming at

were coming towards me. I

didn 't know what they were. I was frightened, but I couldn 't move

arms or

when

my legs.

I just lay there like a goat on a sacrificial altar.

the creatures

my And

came towards me, I felt fear inside me. They were

short creatures, about the size ofAfrican Pigmy. They have very large heads, very thin arms,

I noticed,

were

sir,

built all

and very

thin

because I am an

wrong from an

too long for their body,

legs.

artist,

artist's

a painter, that these creatures

point of view. Their limbs were

and their necks were very thin, and their heads

were almost as large as full-grown watermelons. They had strange eyes,

which looked

like goggles

have, only small holes eyes.

on

Their mouth had no

of some kind. They had no

either side lips,

noses, as

we

of the raised area between their

only thin cuts as if made by a razor.

And while I was looking at these creatures, sir, in amazed fascination, I felt something close to my head, about my head. And when I looked up, there was another creature, a slightly bigger one than the

and

other,

it

was standing above

my

head and was looking down at

me / looked into the thing's eyes

me

to

keep looking into

and I noticed that the

his eyes.

I looked

and saw

creature wanted

that,

through these

covers over their eyes, I could see the creature's real eyes behind this black, goggle-like cover. Its eyes

those

ofa

could see

cat.

were round, with

straight pupils, like

And the thing was not moving its head.

that.

I could see

little

nostrils

moving

The creature smelled like nobody's

It

was breathing I

closing and shutting.

business. It

a very strong smell.

.

had a strange smell,

a throat-tightening chemical smell, which smelled like rotten also like hot copper [sulfur],

.

eggs,

and

Hair of the Alien

And

the creature

saw me looking

at

terrible,

sword had been driven

my left thigh.

my

calling out for

mother,

mouth. You know, please

sir,

sir, it

it

had

the creature placed

was like— ifyou want

the creature's

And

thumb was

the

down

me

at

my left thigh,

as ifa

to

my

hand over

its

know how and place

that felt,

it

against

hand felt upon my mouth.

long fingers, which had more joints than

thin,

fingers have.

looked

5 7

I screamed in pain, horrible,

take the leg of a chicken, a live chicken,

your lips. That was how It

and

and

awful pain on

and, all ofa sudden, I felt a into

it,

1

in the

my human

wrong place. Each one of the

fingers ended in a black claw, almost like certain African birds. The

thing

was

telling

me

to

And how long the pain went on,

be quiet.

sir,

I

don Y know. I screamed and I screamed and I screamed, again.

And

then, all

of a sudden, something was pulled out of my flesh,

and I looked down and saw my

thigh covered with blood,

and I saw

that one of the creatures— there were four of them, other than the one

standing over

my head— they

silvery -grey in color,

offish that

ing above

than the

tight fitting overalls,

the sea off South Africa.

my head appeared to be a female. it

was

taller, bigger.

appeared 3

afraid of it. I don t

The sense

which were

and their flesh resembled the flesh ofcertain

we find in

others. It

a woman,

wore

to

be feminine.

know how I can

that a being

is

And

describe

And the creature stand-

It

Although

types

it

was somehow didn

r

different

have breasts

the others

appeared

like

to

this.

feminine, despite the absence of

obvious gender differences, has been reported before. This

ement

that Strieber

felt

It

also occurs in the Australian case

was the best description of the "grays" he

ever received.

And

then, while this terrible thing

creatures

came up

way, as if it was

and

el-

features prominently in Whitley Strieber's experience

described in Communion.

had

be

it

to

me— it

was going

walked sideways,

on, another

in a slightly jerking

drunk— it walked up along the table,

stood next to the one standing above

my

of the

to

head.

my right side, And before I

Bill Chalker

158

knew what was happening, a small,

thing coldly, into Sir,

choked and tried nightmare. Then,

The pain was

head

to

this

the thing out

it pulled

It

I

was a

and I tried to fight and sit up.

but the other thing above

terrible,

all over.

my head placed its

my forehead and kept me down with very little force. I was out the blood, and then I managed to turn

to spit

out the blood, which I

to the right to spit

All I do

nized from

sir,

did,

and then what

I don't know.

know is that the pain went away, and in place of the pain,

strange visions flooded

my head,

my travels— but,

visions

cities

of cities, some of which I recog-

which were half-destroyed, the build-

having their tops blown away,

eye-sockets in

a

human skull. I saw

the buildings that I

water. It

pushed

my throat.

scream, but the blood got into

the creatures did to me,

ings

it

my right nostril.

choking and trying

my

end,

pain was out of this world. Blood splattered

the

hand upon

creature stuck something that was like

pen with a cable at one

ball-point

silver,

this

was as

with windows like empty

these visions again

saw were half drowned

if there

had been a flood and

in

a

and again.

reddish,

the buildings

All

muddish

were

stick-

ing up out of this great flood, partly destroyed by a disaster of some kind,

and it was a terrible sight.

The "alien" display of scenes of destruction in abductee accounts is common. Vicki Klein reported them in her "alien prophecy" tableaux.

And then, before I knew one of the creatures, the one standing next to my feet, drove something into my organ of manhood, but here it,

there

was no pain, just a

violent irritation, as if I

was making love

to

something or someone.

And

then,

when

the creature

small, black tube, which

it

withdrew the thing which was

had forced

something which produced a strange ally.

I think

it

into

result,

my organ of manhood,

like

a

I did

and I did not do it intention-

was— my bladder opened, and I urinated straight into the

chest ofthe creature, which

had pulled the thing out of my organ.

.

Hair of the Alien And ifI had shot the creature, away and

It jerked

away

like

nearly

a drunken

and

5 9

would never have reacted as it did.

and

fell,

insect,

it

1

then

left the

it

and

recovered

room. I don't

staggered

know whether

y

my urine did it; I don t know

.

.

Then, after a while, the other creatures went away, leaving

me

my nostril, with blood on my thigh, and the table wet with urine. And the thing standing above my head had not moved. with a dull pain in

with

It just stood there

strangely beautiful

hand touching

right

its

and feminine way.

There was no expression in

its face.

talk or

make any sound of any

peared

to

shoulder, in

its left

It stood there looking at

I never

saw any of the

know

kind. All I do

a

me.

creatures

that they ap-

is

be mute.

And then,

out ofsomewhere there arrived two other creatures, one

my worst nightbig And the area in

of which was made entirely out of metal Even in mares, I

still

see this creature. It

was

tall.

It

was

which we were was too small for it. It walked with a

and

ing forward, creature, its

it

was

a living

definitely not

a robot ofsome kind.

slight stoop,

thing. It

was a metal

And it came and it stood near my feet,

whole body clumsily bent, looking

down

at me. There was no

mouth. There was no nose. There were just two bright

seemed ling

to

of an

change

color,

mov-

and seemed

move somehow,

to

eyes,

which

like the crack-

electrical device.

Accounts of metallic beings occur often in the

literature.

Again, Strieber reported such creatures in Communion.

And then,

behind

surprised me. It It

had pink

was

skin. It

this huge,

very, very, very, very swollen,

had a

blondish, very

bright, blue, slanting eyes. It

some

bent creature, came a creature which

had hair which looked

kind. It had high cheek-bones

full lips

artist and

noticed that the creature

in appearance.

body. It like

had very

nylon fiber of

and an almost human mouth, with

and a small, pointed chin. The

male but like an

human

sir,

creature,

sir,

was definitely a fe-

a painter, which I am, and also a sculptor, I

was

totally

out ofproportion.

It

was wrong.

1

Bill Chalker

6 0

First, its breasts

were thin and pointed, and

not where a normal woman's breast^ would

chest,

powerful, almost fat, but

its

were too short and

legs

And

short in proportion to the rest of its body.

looked

down

at me,

mated with me. had been done affected

It

to

and

was a

before I

it

be. Its its

upon

its

body was

arms were

too

came towards me,

knew what it was doing somehow

horrible experience,

me before. But even now,

my life even now,

Why hair,

set too high

sir,

the

it

even worse than what

trauma of that day had

exactly forty years later.

did that strange creature, which was naked, with red pubic

which climbed over me on that working table, why did it have an

organ, which though slightly different from that of a normal

woman,

was still a recognizable female organ? In an interview with controversial researcher David Icke, 88

Credo Mutwa elaborated on the description of this strange male.

fe-

He said her breasts were set high. Her eyes were pale blue

and her head

But her pubic and armpit

hair a golden color.

hair was fiery red in color.

The contrasting

hair color

is strik-

ingly reminiscent of the female being encountered by Antonio

Villas-Boas only a year or

two

earlier.

had a

that the female creature

Credo

tail-like

Mutwa also noted

appendage.

Was

this a

genuinely recollected detail or an embellishment inspired by an

When

awareness of Villas-Boas's story?

Mutwa

in

2002

I

spoke to Credo

I

did not get the impression that these

ments were inspired by the 1957 Villas-Boas poignant nature of our discussion

left

me with

that this was not about recent elaborations

and perhaps was more

to

do with a

story.

in the front,

was

where that of normal

recognizable,

woman's

the

organ.

The often

the impression

and

fabrication,

real story told forthrightly

but influenced by the crosscurrents of his complex The creature's organ was in

ele-

wrong place.

women

is

and it looked like a female

It

was

life

slightly

between the organ. It

journey.

legs.

more But

it

had hair like a

Hair of the Alien And after that, when

the creatures

had gone, leaving only

creature which had been standing about

my head shook me by the hair,

ing about

forced

1

in,

1

one

the

my head,

the creature stand-

it gripped

me by the head and

me to stand off the table and to get off the table.

such was the state that I was

6

I did

that,

and

that I fell onto

my

was

had moving patterns

knees and hands,

onto the floor.

And I noticed in

it,

that that floor

strange. It

which kept on changing and shifting—purple,

red,

and greenish

And the creature pulled me by the hair, again, forcing me to stand up, and it pushed me roughly and made me follow Sir, it would take too long for me to describe what I saw in that

patterns,

on a metal-grey background.

it.

strange place, as the creature pushed me, roughly, from

Even now

And in

the roof to the floor

appeared

room.

were huge cylindrical objects, made of what appeared

be glass ofsome kind.

from

to

my mind can't grasp what it was that I saw. Amongst many

things that I saw to

room

to

these objects, cylinders,

which reached

of the place we were going through, was what

be a sort of a greyish-pink liquid.

And in

this liquid

I saw

small editions of the alien creatures floating round and round, like gusting little frogs, inside

this liquid.

I couldn't understand what then, in the last

room

I

was

it

was

that I

led through, I

strange creatures, which, even now,

out of, lying on the

dis-

was being shown. But

saw

people,

and

other

my mind can't make head or sense

table.

And I passed a White man, a real White man, who smelled like a human being was smelling ofsweat, urine, excrement, and fear. This White man was lying on a table like the one I had been lying on, and I looked into his eyes

and he looked into mine as I went by.

Abductees in the West also mention the presence of other helpless abductees aboard the "ship."

And then I found myself out in were missing. There was a

terrible

the bush. I found that

pain in

my left thigh.

my trousers There was a

"

1

Bill Chalker

62

my penis which was starting to swell, and when I tried to pass

pain in

water, the pain

was excruciating.

Khoury reported the same problem following

Peter

his

July 1992 experience. I took off

my

and

shirt

I used

it

and

as a loin-cloth

I walked

through the bush.

I first met a group ofyoung Rhodesian Black people

me to my

teacher's village.

And when I arrived outside that village,

smelled so horribly that every dog in the village snarling to tear other students

and

to pieces.

and the

the villagers

They accepted

me

And

villagers

who saved me on

They said

to

me

had happened to many other people turn

alive,

was only

it

because

that

before,

my

teacher

that day.

Credo Mutwa's

had been missing

and her

My teacher to tell

what had happened

for three days.

Walton went missing

see,

me

so on.

Zamoya, told him that he 89

Arizona abductee Travis

for five days after a

UFO

encounter. 90

In the year following 1960, 1 was delivering parcels in the Johannesburg. You

to

that part of the

again—White people, Black people, and teacher, Mrs.

them.

and that I was lucky to re-

many people have disappeared in

land, never to be seen

I

came yapping and

were not at all surprised by what I had

it, sir.

who guided

city

of

I was working in a curio shop, when a White

man shouted at me to stop. I assumed that the White man was a secret policeman who wanted to look into my identity documents. And when I tried to produce the documents, he told me, angrily, that he didn't

want to see my stinking documents. Sir,

you

he asked

before?

me

this question: "Listen,

where the

hell

have I seen

Who are you?"

I said, "I am nobody,

sir;

I am just a working man.

He said, "Don 't bullshit me, man; who the hell are you? Where did I see you before?"

And

then I looked at him. I recognized

golden-brown

hair, his ridiculous

him— his

long

straggly,

mustache and beard. I remembered

.

Hair of the Alien him— bis blue eyes blood-shot and naked-terror,

6 3

1

shining

upon

his eyes,

and his skin as pale as that ofa goat. I said, "Meneer, " which in Rhodesia in

White

man

3

is

a certain place underground/'

with

my fist,

"Meneer—1 saw you

the African s way.

And

if I

had

way

he wouldn't have reacted the

hit that

he did,

sir.

He turned away and walked with a terrible expression, and he disappeared on the other side of the street

.

Over many years oflooking into I can

tell

you

this:

that the

beings that our people

human

.

thing trying to understand

this

Mantindane, and

know

the other kinds

it,

of alien

about, are sexually compatible with

beings.

This theme essentially entered the ufological canon in 1987.

Budd Hopkins,

in his

books

Intruders

and

American

best expressed the mainstream view of the

community regarding

alien abductions.

in his view, are extraterrestrial

and

sult, certain

alien abductors,

Human

cells are

some

sort

beings are

first

sampled, and as a

cells are

re-

taken from them during follow-up ab-

Sometimes pregnancies follow that

mysteriously abort.

human and 'alien' brid race."

UFO

individuals are followed closely. After puberty,

ova and sperm ductions.

The

are involved in

of extraordinary genetic experiment.

abducted when children. Their

Missing Time,

The goal of this

activity

is

seemingly

later

"the merging of

genetic material for the production of a hy-

The hybrids

are then apparently

in laboratory "nurseries" inside large

brought to term

UFOs. The involuntary

contributors are later abducted yet again, and are

shown

their

offspring— tiny hybrid infants or children. In these bizarre

"baby presentation" events abductees are asked to pick and hold their "offspring" in a kind of bonding experience. The Mantindane are capable of impregnating African women.

And I have come across many so.

For example, according

to

cases

our

of this during the culture, abortion

last is

30 years or

regarded as

1

Bill Chalker

64

worse than murder. Africa

is

And ifa tribal woman from a rural area in South

found to be pregnant by some unknown person, and then her

pregnancy disappears, [the]

relative to that

woman,

having committed abortion, and yet she denies cause of the fight that results between her

husband's

relatives,

her to take her to a

and her

that

is

a person

goma will sometimes examine the woman and, woman had

that the

removed—a

of course.

this,

then she challenges these people

sangoma;

accuses her of

And be-

relatives,

the

who are accusing

like myself.

ifthe

The san-

sangoma finds

been pregnant, and had somehow had her fetus

thing which,

when

it is

done by

the

Mantindane,

results

recognize— then, the

woman which anyone with experience can sangoma knows that the woman is telling the

truth. Also, the smell

which clings

in specific injuries to the

to people

who have been through

hands of the Mantindane, that meticulous table,

always

clings to all

women who

man

which

is

the

unforget-

have been impregnated by the

Mantindane, no matter how much perfume or powder

they try to

use.

So, in the last

40 years or

so,

many women who Mantindane and their preg-

I have received

have actually been impregnated by the

woman feeling defiled, It becomes my duty to con-

nancies mysteriously terminated, leaving the feeling guilty,

and

rejected

vince the family of the spiritual

by her family.

woman's innocence,

to try

and heal the terrible

and mental—as well as physical— trauma that the woman has

undergone, and to otherwise help her and her members of the family,

and forget what happened.

Other indigenous people have reported similar experiences. For example, John Kernott, leys area

stories

who had a mail run in the Kimber-

of northwestern Australia, had heard a

from

aboriginals.

He

told

me

lot

of strange

that tales of sexual con-

tact resembling alien abductions were apparently very

mon among

aboriginal

women

in the Great

com-

Sandy and

Central Deserts. Since about 1986, Central Desert aboriginal

Hair of the Alien

1

65

women have told him of "feather foot" spirits that do not walk on the ground but walk

and move through walls and

in the air

talk

about waking up

sex with spirits, having babies,

though no baby

things in order to punish people.

and having

ever comes. Often their

They

stomachs swell up and then go down.

Their sexual assailants are often described as being like in black." It

was often hard to

tion lore.

The concept of "spirit

Such comparisons

"Phantom" or

see their eyes.

missing fetuses feature in

"false" pregnancies, or

children"

is

is

likely in

such a fringe

in the 1930s, while

and distortion

area.

him that as a young

camping with a group of aborigines,

they saw a green light spinning around in the sky.

hind

trees.

abduc-

are fascinating, but ultimately they are dif-

John's father-in-law, an aborigine, told

man

UFO

also widespread.

ficult to interpret, given the cultural filtering

that

"men

Lots of

little

men

walked back to the UFO, which then took / believe that these so-called aliens don us,

y

t

and I

at

off.

them, and then 91

come from far away at all. believe that they

some of us human beings use

stances from us, just as

landed be-

shining with green light came

and walked around the aborigines, looking

I believe that they are here with

It

need sub-

certain things

from wild animals, such as monkey glands, for certain selfish purposes of our own.

Credo

Mutwa was

apparently not the only person to dis-

appear for days under unusual circumstances from Mt. Inyangani.

A

recent

deputy minister in the Zimbabwean

government was one of three companions tery

"lost"

on the mys-

mountain. What was truly bizarre was that according to

the minister the three

men

"walked aimlessly in a state of

confusion, feeling neither thirst nor hunger,

all

the while see-

ing and waving frantically at the elements of the rescue team,

who

could not see them at

all."

Following ritual magic offer-

Bill Chalker

166

ings to "the tutelary deities of the mountain," the finally found.

our space-time continuum. 92

ment

official

men

This anecdote conjures up a sense of

On

were

rifts

in

another occasion a govern-

went missing on the mountain. Once

again,

man was found fit and well,

after local tribal ritual efforts, the

but unable to remember what had happened to him during the two days he was missing. Others were apparently less for-

tunate and have apparently not been found. 93 While Credo

Mutwa went

Inyangani he remembers at

of his three days in alien oblivion. 94

least part

Far

Mount

missing on

many

too

people fall into the temptation of looking upon

these "aliens" as supernatural creatures. tures,

They are

sir.

like us; and,

They are just

furthermore,

statement here which will come as a surprise: the Grey edible.

.

.

Their flesh

.

anyone who

is

protein, just as

solid crea-

Vm going to

make a

aliens,

sir,

animal flesh on Earth

are hut,

is,

ingests Grey alien flesh comes very, very close to death. I

nearly did.

You see,

in Lesotho there

Crying Stone mountain. so,

is

a mountain

called Laribe;

On several occasions,

in the last

And

alien craft have crashed against this mountain.

called the

it is

50 years or

one

last inci-

dent was reported in the newspapers not so long ago.

An

African

who

find the corpse of a dead Grey drag

it

into the bush,

some of them

die as

About a year

a

when

believes that these creatures are gods, alien, they take

it,

put

where they dismember it and result

before I

it

in

they

a bag and

ritually eat

it.

But

of ingesting that thing

had

the experience

from

the

Inyangani

Mountains, I had been given, by a friend of mine in Lesotho, flesh

He gave me a small rather dry stuff, which he said was the flesh. And he and I

from what he lump ofgrey,

and

called

a sky god. I was

his wife ritually ate this

thing

sir,

on

which was

thing one night. After

the following day, exactly,

like

skeptical.

we had

eaten

our bodies erupted into a

nothing I had experienced in

my life before.

this

rash,

Hair of the Alien

Though considered gestion of flesh

bizarre by Western standards, the in-

and other materials

prominent aspect of many

symptoms Credo Mutwa alien flesh

6 7

1

seem rather

to gain 95

tribal cultures.

knowledge

is

a

In addition, the

describes after ingesting the alleged like

a form of anaphylactic shock.

Though

this hardly contributes to establishing credibility in

Western

eyes, it is

not "alien" to shamanic and

tribal lore. If

the stories have any substance within an African tribal setting, the "alien flesh" is

trying to

valued in

promote biochemical

abduction evidence,

some of this

I

think

"alien flesh,"

it

but

I

ritual.

As a chemist and one

DNA verification would be

of claimed

interesting to get

suspect that

would be im-

it

possible to verify the chain of evidence, even given the remote

likelihood of any of this material surfacing.

I

suspect that like

many Western stories of alleged biological evidence

and

unverifi-

me from

trying to

tion or alien tales, they will remain apocryphal able.

But such

difficulties

do not dissuade

in abduc-

look into these unlikely avenues of evidence.

Our bodies were so full ofthe rash and urticaria, small pox. arm-pits swell.

wife

We

itched, the itching

and between

the

legs,

was

and the

it

was as if we had under

horrible, especially

buttocks.

Our tongues began

We could not breathe. And for a number ofdays, my friend,

and I were totally helpless,

studying under

secretly attended

by

initiates

to

his

who were

my friend, who was a shaman.

I came very close to death. There was bleedingfrom nearly every

ori-

We passed blood, much blood when we went to the toiWe could barely walk, barely breathe. And after about four or five

fice in let.

the

our body.

days, the rash subsided, then the peeling

Our skins began Sir, it

fact,

of the skin took

to peel, in scales like that

its

place now.

of a snake shedding its

skin.

was one of the most terrible experiences I had undergone. In

when I began

Mantindane was

to feel better,

I think that

the direct result

my being abducted by the

of my having ingested flesh from

Bill Chalker

168

one of these creatures. I had hot believed that what ing

my friend was giv-

me was flesh from a creature. I assumed it was some kind ofroot or

herb or whatever. But, afterwards, I recalled the taste of the thing. It

had a coppery

and had

taste,

the

same type of smell

was

that I

to en-

counter in 1959.

intriguing to note that Peter

It is

Khoury claimed he had

reactions— coughing and "burning sensations"— when he gested the "alien flesh," ostensibly the

left

in-

nipple of the

strange blonde he claims to have bitten. His reactions were not nearly as severe as Credo's, but the African material certain origin

And, after

and was

the rash

down— while

went

day—a strange change came

over

of knowledge who would read

We went crazy,

me.

We ha,

I was

still

sir,

us, sir,

and we

peeling

initiates,

every

which I am asking all people

this in your

country

to try

and explain

utterly crazy.

started laughing like real loony tunes. It

was ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-

day after day—for the slightest things we started laughing our heads

off, for

hours, until you

And the flesh It

ofa

my friend said was the goal which

this

those

who

ate

Earth. Suddenly, our feelings were heightened. water,

Water became as

it

was as ifyou had drunk a wine ofsome

delicious as

a man-made drink. Food began

amazingly. Every feeling was heightened, and

was as

scribe

strange thing hap-

Mantindane wanted to achieve.

When you drank

taste

and then a

was as if we had ingested a strange substance, a drug a drug like

no other on

kind.

were nearly exhausted.

then the laughing went away;

pened, a thing which

it

less

certainly not as "fresh" as Peter's either!

were smeared from head to foot with coconut oil by the

to

had a

it

And months.

if I

was one with

it's

to

indescribable-

the very heart of the universe. I cannot de-

any other way. this feeling

of amazing intensity offeeling lasted for over 2

When I listened

to music, it

the music, behind the music.

was as

if there

was music behind

When I painted pictures— which is what I

Hair of the Alien do for a living— and when I was holding a particular color on the

my brush,

it

was as if there were other colors in that color.

describable thing

sir.

6 9

1

It

tip

was an

of

in-

Even now I cannot describe it.

The Mantindane are not the only alien beings that we Africans have seen and

know about, and have got stories to tell about.

Many, many, many came

we African people encountered a

to Africa,

which looked exactly

White-man

centuries ago, before the first

like the

race of alien beings

European White-man who were going to

invade Africa in our future. These alien creatures are like athletes,

bones.

And

and

Some of them

tall.

are rather well

they have slightly slanting blue eyes

they have got golden hair,

and

Europeans of today, with one exception:

and

built,

high cheek-

they look exactly like the

their fingers are beautifully

made, long and like those of musicians and artists.

Now,

these creatures

came

to

Africa out of the sky, in craft which

looked like the boomerang of the Australian people. these craft

comes down

makes a very

large

to land, it creates

sound indeed,

guage ofsome African

tribes,

Now, our people gave several names to They

called

literally

means

these White-skinned aliens.

means "god" but

loosely

"people of the dust-devil or the whirlwind.

They saw them,

Wazungu

of a tornado. In the lan-

zungar-uzungo.

is

them Wazungu, a word which

33

Wazungu from the and they saw that some— in fact, many— ofthese

And, our people were familiar with start.

a whirlwind of dust, which

like that

a whirlwind

Now, when one of

these

carry what appears to be a sphere

a sphere which they always playfully bounce

And when a force of Wazungu throws this

warriors

tries to

made ofcrystal or glass,

like

a ball in

capture a

ball into the air, catches

it

their hands.

Wazungu,

in his hands,

the

and

then disappears. But,

some

Wazungu

were captured by Africans in the past and

forcibly kept prisoner in the villages of chiefs,

shamans. The person who had captured the

and

in the caves

Muzungu,

as he

is

of

called

Bill Chalker

170 in singular,

from

had

to

make sure

Wazungu. So

the

that he kept the glass-globe well-hidden

long as he kept the globe hostage, the

Muzungu could not escape. Credo Mutwa appears

to be describing the Nordic type be-

ings that have been extensively reported in the

UFO literature.

These "Nordics," for example, make an appearance in the abduction accounts of Peter Khoury in 1992 and Travis Walton in 1975.

in

But they are most conspicuous

which people claim they have

largely benevolent interac-

tions with humanlike, "Nordic" aliens. Alien

in contactee accounts,

Timothy Good's book

Base— an attempt to rehabilitate the dubious world of fly-

ing saucer contactees— cites one interesting example: Ludwig

Pallman's contacts with "Nordic" types from the improbably

named world of Itibi Ra

96

II.

Other situations

fall

within the

blurred and ambiguous continuum between contact and abduction, like the striking 1970 close encounter of the Imjarvi (Finland) skiers

Aarno Heinonen and Esko

Vijo.

This bizarre

case featured a "Nordic" female, complete with the frequently

reported

hand

"implants."

97

and suggestions of controlling

Another striking example occurred during 1968

at Villa Carlos "ball"

"ball" artifact

Paz in Argentina, where a "Nordic" entity with a

manipulating "solid light" (coherent beams of light, os-

tensibly concentrated light) confronted the witness

dia Pretzel, causing her to slowly again, at least twice, in a

fall

manner like

Maria Elo-

backwards, then

"the swinging

rise

motion of

those sorts of dolls which invariably revert to a vertical position because their spherical base

And when

weighted." 98

Africans saw the real Europeans, the White

Europe, they transferred the people

is

to

them

from Europe, we

the

name Wazungu.

Africans,

Before

we met

we had met White-skinned

Wazungu, and we transferred the name Wazungu peans, from the aliens.

men from

to the real

Euro-

Hair of the Alien The

extent

and

variety of

1

Credo Mutwa's

alien tales

rather troubling for the credibility of his claims.

Mutwa's

write Credo

1

seem

Most seem

to

tales off as aberrations or just plain fab-

But Credo Mutwa's

rication.

7

tales

may well be something else

entirely.

Credo Mutwa Considered

What are we

to

make of Credo Mutwa's

Credo Mutwa's

stories

"alien" stories?

emerge from a culture marked by

a distrust of whites, a distrust of authorities, a strong focus

on

oral histories rather than written history,

ness of taboos

and forbidden or hidden knowledge, known

to the few initiated

men and women Credo's

is

and an aware-

shamans, but experienced by the

all

many-

over Africa. But "oral material" like

very difficult to judge.

extent, trying to create a bridge

Is

he reaching out to some

between cultures? Such

at-

tempts often lead to a diffusion of worldviews, either deliberately or inadvertently. Clearly with

a person ences. It

who

has been widely exposed to Western influ-

would be natural

for a storyteller to incorporate

such material into his repertoire

own

Credo Mutwa we have

if it

supported his or her

experiences and knowledge. For the investigator, the

difficulties

emerge when such influences

dilute, distort, or

completely change original material."

Credo

Mutwa may represent a particularly intriguing case

study of the emergence of an "alien" story from an indige-

nous source. Credo claims he has been talking about for a long time. retelling, fueled

seek

But could

his story be

"aliens"

growing with each

by the obsessions and interests of those

him out? Or

is it

who

a naturally unfolding progression, in-

fluenced by tribal traditions and taboos? Perhaps

it's

like the

1

72

Chalker

Bill

onion whose layer

layers are slowly peeled

back to reveal

layer after

of an extraordinary mythic view.

Perhaps the "alien knowledge"

and would remain so except in the

know

he

"someone

for the initiated, unless

breaks ranks and

Mutwa claims

"forbidden knowledge,"

is

This

tells all."

is

what Credo

doing. Back in the sixties he was criticized

is

by the Zulus and whites

alike for revealing too

much of Zulu

oral traditions in his books. His epic repository of tural knowledge, Indaba

My

Children,

and

his

book

Zulu

Let

cul-

Not My

The

Country Die contain nothing of an explicit alien nature. lore with

an ET spin was allegedly "hidden" within forbidden

knowledge

circles,

and Mutwa claims he had

some

to pass

dreadful hurdles to get access to this information. Although this

seems suspect to Western

how would one confirm

taboo knowledge unfolds. But It is

way

sensibilities, it is actually the

this?

not easy to establish the evolution of Mutwa's alien

stories. It is difficult to

what influences were operating ries total fabrication,

distorted truth

other reality?

and

It is

who

said

what when, and

at the time.

Are Mutwa's sto-

pinpoint

contamination, some combination of

fiction, or a fractured reflection

hard enough to establish the

ern Western abduction stories. In cases

I've

reality

of some of mod-

investigated

I al-

to,

who

has

previously investigated or researched their account,

and

for

ways

try to establish

what purpose, the abductee

who such

people have talked

in order to determine

may have added

what

to the story.

sort of "baggage"

Some stories

are so

hopelessly contaminated that they're just too difficult to unravel. I

don't

know if Credo Mutwa's

Mutwa seems

to have

had a preoccupation with

at least as early as the late sixties. ley

met Credo Mutwa

tales are in this category.

When Brian (Baruch) Crowmore about "spiribut Crowley does remember

in 1967, they talked

tual contact" than anything else,

alien tales

Hair of the Alien

Mutwa mentioning something about

1

73

ETs, a subject that was

not "of prime interest" to Crowley at the time. Crowley did

some of Mutwa' s "ET" Martian apparently during the early seventies, and finally

eventually go origin tales,

on

to record

mentions them in his books The Face on Mars and Return of Mutwa' s alien origin

Mars. These

tell

originating

on Mars. The

latter

story,

to

with the Zulus

book includes Jean-Claude

Koven's photos of Credo Mutwa' s 1983 painting, which

shows the Mutende-ya-ngenge

(the Mantindane or "grays"), the

Muhondoruka, and the Muonjina. So

Mutwa was painting them

back in 1983 long before John Mack, Stephen Larsen, and others began recording his stories.

Given Credo Mutwas's legacy as a legitimate tive stories,

teller

of na-

one has to wonder why he would want to dilute

that reputation by telling tales about aliens.

Could

it

be that,

given the opportunity to travel internationally, his storytelling has

been fired up again because of the

stories

he has

heard in developed countries, and from his perspective he has seen

how many such

and African

periences is

telling

stories

anyone who

have intersected with his

traditions?

Once again

will listen that Africa

own ex-

into the fray, he

too has these sorts

of experiences and traditions, often experienced and acted with,

on a level not often seen

His story

is

inter-

in the West.

either a remarkable testimony of the world-

wide nature of the alien abduction experience, or the legacy of a master storyteller

who knows how to shape his

tales to serve

a purpose, cultivate an audience, or further an interest. Credo

Mutwa swer

is

lies

moving that he

such a complex

somewhere

in a

plexities

not

that

it is

possible that the an-

broad spectrum, or on a constantly

stage. His rather is

man

complex job description ensures

easily categorized,

and adding

to this the

com-

of the history and culture he has lived through,

fur-

174 ther ensures that he

or

Chalker

Bill

vilified,

is

variously celebrated, accepted, rejected,

often in direct or indirect proportion to the

of the circumstances. Suffice to

ties

do

dismissal, despite efforts to

say,

he

reali-

resists simplistic

so.

In Conversation I

Mutwa

spoke with Credo

2002 to address some of these

in

issues.

BC: this

I

gather most of this information about things like

happening in

were recorded in an oral way,

Africa, they

they weren't written down.

CM: BC:

They were handed down, but we kept quiet about them.

Why was that?

CM: Because, ties,

sir,

ifyou are dealing with extra

you don't know what they

story

around

our mouths

.

and an urge

.

.

will

quiet.

to

do

super human

enti-

to you ifyou start spreading the

avoid retraumatizing yourself kept

We knew about this thing. We put it down

to gods,

and the less said about it the better. BC: As

far as yourself is

talking about your

own

concerned when did you

experiences

and

UFO

first start

experiences in

Africa?

CM:

It

was

thereabouts,

looking for help

from

sir,

in

1959 and afterwards, when I was

other shamans, trying to understand clearly

what had happened to me.

BC: So that was mainly between yourself and other

shamans?

CM: even

Other shamans and

tell.

For example

relatives.

my late wife,

Some of my

I never told her about

ence even though I was already married to

when she too nearly had an BC:

her.

this experi-

I only told her about it

experience like mine.

What sort of experience

relatives I did not

did she have?

Hair of the Alien

CM:

175

She was out in her yard. She was working as a house servant

for a white family and there was no one at home. She went out to bring in

some

clothes.

she thought

and then

.

.

There above the white man's house she saw what

.

was a bus with many windows.

she

saw what

ples' door.

light

shone upon

her.

She ran

Afterwards she was so

away and

closed the white peo-

horrified, scared,

and embarrassed

by the whole happening she thought I wouldn't believe

her.

When did that happen to her?

BC:

CM:

This happened to her,

ble year in

sir, it

was around about 1962— a

Because I could see that

South Africa

I said please trust me, Cecilia,

tell

down and

Then I

told me.

way I was able to

told her

my own

.

.

.

terri-

my wife was sick,

me what happened! Have you

raped, have you been assaulted? She said no.

been

In the end she broke

experience,

and

in this

help her out of her problem.

When did you start to speak more widely to mixed au-

BC:

diences,

CM:

both black and white, about these experiences? The first person I went

to

was Elizabeth

Klarer.

100

1 went to

her for help, trying to find reasoning behind these extremely things.

her,

she thought were garage mechanics in silvery

coming towards

overalls

A

illogical

Why was I like this?

BC: Did you

CM:

Yes,

sir,

tell

her about your

own

experiences?

I did.

What was her reaction to your experience? CM: She said that this is a very common thing. I expected BC:

was common from

the side

that

it

of black people, but this was the first time I

had heard a white person actually accepting what had happened to me without calling me a lunatic.

BC:

When did you tell her?

CM: Vm Credo African ject.

101

no longer sure, but

Mutwa

told

me

it

was

also again in the early sixties.

he did not

know Cynthia Hind, an

UFO researcher and author of two books on the sub-

He

explained:

1

Bill Chalker

76 In South Africa for

not openly talk to each

many years

and white people

black people

other, especially on subjects

of this nature.

did

When

black people try to reach out to white people, they are often rebuffed

and their experiences are put down

The

to stupid black personages

white people simply thought these were just superstitious savages. Everything was put down to black superstition,

ply

tell

human

what they know.

.

.

.

known by

the unexplored country, the ne-

is

and yet

glected country, the ignored country,

a golden link that

it is

human experience throughout the world together.

There are things that [Western writers] refuse cause those things come from Africa,

country

.

.

.

[in

common]

with Africa.

vastness ofhuman experience in

BC:

I

noticed

amazing .

.

.

know simply

to

and yet I have

parts of the world. I have found these

I

Africans sim-

These creatures have been

beings for millennia. Africa

joins all

and it still is

traveled to

be-

many

things between every

The world

is

one,

and

the

many possible fields is one.

when you described your experience of 1959,

think in one of the accounts that IVe heard you talk about,

you mentioned the strange lady you saw inside that strange room, the blond

hair.

.

.

.

There was some mention she had

unusual hair coloring in other parts of the body as well?

CM:

You mean

the creature that assaulted me, the female creature?

BC: That's correct.

CM: painter,

This creature

a wood

that creature chest,

carver,

was strangely

and a

like

sculptor. I

was out ofproportion. The

and the legs were

a white person, but I can

tell

you

am

a

that the body of

breasts were set too high in the

too short for the rest of the body.

The eyes were

slanting very, very bright blue, almost as if they had electric lights be-

hind them. The hair was golden— as if the hair was

some nylon substance

It

looked too metal-like

fine golden fiber. It was arranged like a

was split in

BC:

.

bun at the

the middle

What about other body hair?

.

made of metal or ifyou can image

.

back.

.

.

.

The hair

Hair of the Alien

CM:

The hair under the armpits and between the

very red against the

red,

.

.

.

77

was blood

legs

very pale skin.

How would you describe her skin coloring?

BC:

CM:

It

nescence to I

1

was it,

very, very blond, very fair skin, with

a kind of lumi-

as if it was polished.

asked Credo

Mutwa about

of the Antonio

his awareness

Villas-Boas case that occurred in Brazil in 1957

and

claimed encounter with a blond woman, which

him was

very similar to his

own

I

He brushed

description.

told

his

the question

aside, indicating:

CM:

The thing

sir,

is,

I

am

not the only one. There were others,

men and Hindu, who had similar experiences like mine here in

black

South Africa.

When

I

said

similar even

CM:

it

down

Like I say,

Africa for millennia.

means ple,

was intriguing that the descriptions were to the blood-red sir,

body

he responded:

hair,

We have a name for them— Ncupusana,

the trappers, the

one who entraps people.

.

.

have in that way [they did to Credo

Mutwa]

in

which

These blond peo-

.

our people have seen them, females as well as males

the gray creatures.

known

creatures of this kind have been

.

.

.

Many be-

in conjunction with

Some of them just come and are

seen in villages,

and sometimes they try to leave [strange] messages to people, messages

make no

which

sense to the African people

vastness of the cosmos there

African to

BC:

is

a thinking

make of that kind ofgibberish

.

.

.

.

.

for example, "In the

brain. "

what

is

an

.?

A lot of the Western researchers feel they were the ones

who

discovered this

tion

phenomenon.

phenomenon,

CM: Africa has been the Western world,

totally ignored

in the sense of the abduc-

by

many arms of research in

and people like me can't correct this great injustice

and imbalance. There is more to learn in Africa than tinent

Now

on

earth.

in

any other con-

1

Bill Chalker

78 I

asked him what

been to his

CM:

his-

own country

People are benighted here. People are asleep here. In

parts of South Africa people are

Vm

referring to the

good

people's reaction

spirit,

had

extraterrestrial experiences.

bad

still

white people,

spirit

many

caught in the Victorian mindset.

and

black people are caught in the

phenomenon, and they explain everything

in

terms ofspirits I

in

Mutwa about comments

asked Credo

attributed to

him

which he suggested that maybe these beings were not

traterrestrial

CM:

ex-

but were from our future.

J think

from what I have

so, sir,

seen

and what

little

I have

found. For example, a creature from outer space would walk into our earth with

its

entire

body protected by some kind ofarmor. But there are

so-called extraterrestrials

which walk about with theirfaces bare

The

pink-skinned aliens, they go about with theirfaces exposed. They cannot be extraterrestrial creatures.

Earth man, you would have

we have an

interesting

.

to

.

Ifyou go to the planet Mars, being an

wear a helmet to breathe

with.

But here

phenomenon, which I have been studying for

years, of creatures which their faces unprotected,

breathe,

.

walk about with

their

hands unprotected and

which means they breathe the same air we

and for some reason are not afraid ofthe many microbes which

could attack them

Perhaps the startling "alien" hair

DNA work done with Peter Khoury's

sample may hint

namely, that "aliens"

may

at a reason for this behavior,

have genetically engineered an im-

human diseases. For example, the owner of the blond hair sample may have had the genetic factor of CCR5 deletion that seems linked to a resistance to munity

to some, if not

all,

things like AIDS.

Credo Mutwa simple one and

basically argues that the picture

may

is

not a

involve not only extraterrestrials, but

time travelers, as well as an advanced civilization in the past.

Hair of the Alien

We

1

79

discussed the Jean-Claude Koven photos of Credo's 1983

alien paintings.

Mutwa indicated he had been painting paintings since he was a child. He also

Credo

these sorts of alien

lamented that

But he rational-

his paintings were stolen.

all

izes laconically:

CM: It's life,

sir.

Now what I do to heal people,

I've also

made

little

sculptures out

ofaluminum, which I melt in the African way, and Vve cast different

when a person comes

kinds of star creatures, so that

pears

have undergone a traumatic experience

to

cross-question them. I ask

them

to

to

like that,

go into a room and

one creature which was involved in

his

to

.

You

.

.

I don't

or her experience. Scores of

Mantin-

me and other sangomas in search undergone such an experience. We are the

people come to

see,

of help when they have only people they can talk

Despite

ap-

pick out the

people in the last thirty years or more always pick out the

dane.

who

me,

to.

this, there is still

a dark legacy of bitterness and

hatred.

CM: Some about these

black people hate

things.

me

bitterly

for telling white people

They say we should be quiet

breaking [of] a taboo,

it is

.

.

.

because of [the]

associated with deep guilt.

Credo indicated there are taboos about talking about these alien beings, that he

and stated

others,

CM:

To help

had broken those taboos and many

his reason for

my people,

doing

so:

because our people do not know their true

Our people have no feeling of their self worth as a people. They know a lot of things and yet they are content to say they know

greatness.

nothing and that it is the white utterly false.

.

.

.

Yet this

is

[The white people] don't show arrogance because they

are evil people.

know.

man who knows everything.

No

one

Ignorance

and bloodshed on

is

is

evil in this world. It

the reason

the earth

is

because they don't

why we have got so much

violence

.

.

Bill Chalker

180

He

reflected that people like himself who have

awareness of lives.

reality,

However, his

cated he was

beyond the shallow

own

.

I

He

indi-

to speak out about these things.

Vm

beginning

what's the use of it

to say,

What is the use of talking where there is no one to hear?

.

.

.

suggested that a lot of people are listening.

CM: is

of our daily

wife died after forty-six years of marriage, some-

thing has died inside me. all?

reality

circumstances had changed.

no longer going

CM: When my

had these

on an expanded

experiences develop a kind of faith based

Yes,

sir,

hut not the people that matter.

.

.

.

The

biggest danger

ignorance

People

who have

who

really been abducted, people

carry the

strange stigmata on their bodies develop a compassion for humanity,

which

almost pathetic, and I am

is

like that.

I loathe

and detest myself

for what Ifeel for people. I don 't know why Ifeel this way, but all those

who went through

the

same horror I went through develop a

love for

humanity that is almost insane. When you hear about waryou have a feeling deep in you like that of a lieve

about

to give childbirth.

Be-

me

All one can do, gods,

woman

is

to sit in

who have gone through

a dark place and

cry,

the

hands of the

so-called

and ask yourself, don't these fools

know we are not alone on this earth? Why can't they see what's going on around them and do something about it? Humanity is being the lamb of sacrifice to entities that they

aliens! Illusions

don't even believe

exist.

.

.

.

There are gray

and dreams and hysteria do not leave stigmata upon the

bodies ofhundreds ofmen

and women in remote parts ofthe world. No!

Mutwa is frustrated and embittered by the legion of obstacles people like him and his own people have had to endure. He maintains a conspiratorial view of who really is conCredo

trolling the world. His

He

is

a bleak and unrelenting worldview.

expresses a kind of resignation

his lot

and the

life

and a

feisty

acceptance of

he has had— as a writer of eight books, for

Hair of the Alien which he claims he gets no continue to

sell;

as

an

royalties, despite the fact that

artist since 1935,

paintings, giant concrete statues, his credit,

own

8

1

1

they

with extraordinary

and many other works

though he remains unrecognized

as

an

to

artist in his

country; as a healer with cures for major diseases. De-

spite this legacy

102

and much more, he argues there

and people who prevent the assets.

His frustration

CM:

/

am glad my

have lived for so just too

fuller expression

are forces

and use of these

palpable.

is

has come to an end. I don't

life

many years.

know why

Eighty years! Going for eighty -one.

I

It's

much

A Shamanic Perspective Credo Mutwa's story

offers us a

chance to reconsider the

shamanic perspective on such extraordinary experiences. At the turn of the last century, anthropologists Walter Spencer

and Francis

Gillen, in their

book The Northern

Tribes of Central

Australia,

provided a classic account of the remarkable

shamanic

tradition.

two

spirits,

An

aborigine, Kurkutji, was set

Mundadji and Munkaninji,

in a cave:

"Mundadji cut him open, right down the middle out self,

all

which he placed

all over,

stored

line,

took

of his insides and exchanged them for those of him-

time he put a

was

upon by

him

in the

number of sacred

the youngest

to

body of Kurkutji. At the same

life,

told

and showed him how

spirit,

him

stones in his body. After

Munkaninji, came up and

that he was

to extract

it

re-

now a medicine-man

bones and other forms of evil

magic out of them. Then he took him away up into the sky

and brought him down

to earth close to his

own camp, where

he heard the natives mourning for him, thinking that he was dead. For a long time he remained in a

more or

less

dazed

Bill Chalker

182

condition, but gradually he recovered that he

and the

natives

knew

had been made into a medicine man. When he oper-

ates the spirit

Munkaninji

supposed to be near

is

at

hand

watching him, unseen of course by ordinary people." This

is

an excellent description of the

initiatory experience

of an Australian aboriginal shaman. Ritual death and resurrection,

abduction by powerful beings,

ment, implanting of artifacts,

ritual

aerial ascents

strange realms, alien tutelage

disembowel-

and journeys into

and enlightenment, personal

empowerment, and transformation— these and many other

phenomena shamanic

are

recurring elements of the extraordinary 103

tradition.

Obviously, these worldwide native abo-

many impressive similarities with complex of human experiences now holding sway

riginal experiences share

the bizarre

on the world

stage,

namely

alien abduction encounters.

Whitley Strieber, in trying to come to terms with his duction experiences, wondered

symbol and myth would

"if the

own ab-

shamanic language of

offer a better insight into the visitors'

motives." In an interview for Terror Australis magazine, Strieber stated that

"shamanism is the shattered remnants of mankind's

early attempts to control this [visitor]

In

shamanism we

phenomenon."

see individuals

who seem

to have a

strong measure of control over the set of realities they operate in.

But in

UFO abduction experiences we appear to have gen-

erally helpless victims

"reality" that

who

have no control over the bizarre

overwhelms them. The two types of experiences

appear to be on opposite ends of a control continuum. Per-

haps we as a culture have

lost

and generations may have had undergoing

some

level

"rites

an

ability that other cultures

to

of passage" that

some

extent. Are

will enable

us to achieve

of understanding and control over the

duction experience?

we now

UFO

ab-

Peter Khoury, the Australian alien abductee, in 1996,

1992 experience yielded the hair sample and

whose

DNA analyses fea-

tured in this book. (Credit: Peter Khoury)

This scoop mark appeared on Peter Khoury' s leg from his 1988 experience. If the

Such marks appear frequently

in

abduction

cases.

biochemical nature of the rapid healing often reported

can be established, the benefits in

enormous.

(Credit: Peter

Khoury)

human

health could be

of h.s frightening 1988 This pa.nt.ng captures elements ent.t.es and the needle-like encounter with the two types of head. device being inserted into his Hillman) Christine Peter Khoury with (Credit:

The blonde being

Peter

Khoury encountered

in

1992 and the

apparent source of the strange blond hair sample which yielded extraordinary

DNA data (Credit: Peter Khoury.)

Present also in the 1992 encounter was this Asian-looking

fe-

male being, who seemed to be observing the bizarre interaction between Peter Khoury and the blonde being. Khoury)

(Credit: Peter

cT

This

is

tracted

the

C

DNA sequence ex-

from the shaft of the Z

1992 blond hair sample,

and unusual Asian mongoloid

which revealed very

16,108-T

16,162-G

*

16,129-A

16,129-A

*I

16,172—

DNA results. (Credit:

•l** 21 -:

rare

APEG/Bill Chalker) I 16,162-G 16,172—

#

* * :

I

5

This

16,108—

is

1

DNA sequence extracted

the

* i

from the root of the 1992 blond hair sample which revealed very unusual hybrid-like

DNA sequences indicating

both rare and unusual Basque/Gaelic

and Asian (Credit:

DNA results.

APEG/Bill Chalker) hair shaft

hair root

rare

Basque-

Gaelic mito DNA,

16.255A, 16,278T

rare

Chinese mito DNA,

16.108T, 16,304C

This drawing summaries the unusual

DNA results found in

and shaft areas— results suggestive of advanced cloning techniques and possible hybrid characteristics. the hair root

(Credit:

APEG/Bill Chalker)

The

alien hair

sample

revealed under a powerful

microscope examination.

(CREpm APEG/Bill Chalker)

The

DNA results here from

the hair sample are suggestive

of CCR5 gene deletion—

the extraordinary factor

implicated in

HIV and

other

virus resistance. (Credit:

APEG/Bill Chalker)

Dalton— she was the focus of an intriguing alien journey between 1969 and 1972 that prefigured the current Vicki Klein at

idea that abductions involve genetic experimentation. (Credit:

Marion

Leiba)

Author 's sketch ofbeing (based on drawing by Kelly Cahill).

The

UFO and entity in Keily CahilPs

1993 encounter— an

extraordinary case for the reality of alien abduction. (Credit: International

BASED

UFO Reporter (IUR)

September/October 1994

ON AUTHOR'S RECREATIONS OF ORIGINAL SKETCHES

BY KELLY CAHILL)

Hair of the Alien

183

A comparison of accounts of alien abductions and shamanic initiations

is

revealing.

Folklorist Dr. T. E. Bullard

lists

the following elements of

UFO abduction narratives: •

capture

•

examination (which includes

tales

of specimen taking,

reproductive examinations, implanting of small facts inside the abductees,

and removal of organs)

•

conference (the witness talks with abductors)

•

tour

•

otherworldly journeys

•

theophany receives a

•

arti-

(the witness has a religious experience or

message from a divine being)

return

Michael Harner, Holger Kalweit, and others

list

the

fol-

lowing recurring elements of shamanic experiences: •

selection or capture

•

initiation experiences (which include accounts

planting artifacts, removal of organs, •

of im-

etc.)

"magical flights/' including "celestial ascents" to strange realms

•

dialogues with mythic personages or spirits

•

return

Both types of experiences involve the placement of artifacts within the body. In shamanism

it is

crystals

and the

like.

With

UFO abductions, it is "implants." Celestial ascents are also common to both genres. Even the descents into "other realms"— the underworld or undersea world— that occur in shaman occur occasionally in

UFO abduction stories. And animals often

feature in both experiences. In the case of birds, fish, wolves, bears,

"power animals" or

stories,

shamanism,

deer,

and other animals take the form of

"spirit allies." In

UFO abduction accounts,

1

Bill Chalker

84

the presence of animals

is

rationalized as "screen memories" of

Budd Hopkins describes Virginia Horton's encounter in a French wood with a talking deer that turns out to be an alien. And recall biochemist Kary aliens. In his

book

Missing Time,

Mullis's strange encounter with a talking, glowing raccoon.

The sexual/reproductive element also appears in both shaman and UFO abduction narratives. In shaman accounts we even have stories of "spirit weddings" and "spirit children" offspring— the results of liaisons between shamans and the "spirits."

Holger Kalweit gives a fascinating account of such

an encounter

in his

book Dreamtime and Inner

Space.

The

shaman "gave birth to a child by [a spirit] in the spirit world, and he would bring it to her at night for her to breastfeed it. He came when everyone was asleep. The people in the village heard the child dead."

104

It is

the accounts tales

cry,

but her

own

family slept as

fascinating to

compare that

Budd Hopkins

describes in his

if

they were

sort of story with

book

Intruders—

of ova sampling, baby presentation, and baby bonding—

as well as Vicki Klein's story.

Some of the ters

argue for a

stories,

from

similarities

between the two types of encoun-

literal extraterrestrial

interpretation of such

but one should be careful not to uproot such

their cultural setting

and

to

tales

stamp them with Western

cultural imperatives, such as our fascination with extraterrestrials

and

their possible relevance to

is

ditions.

Even though

tion stories

trials

similarities

and

occur between

and the shamanic experiences of

interpretation

may be

incorrect. Instead

we may be dealing with something

tives offered

aborigines

experiences. This

particularly relevant to tribal legends

caution

literal

UFO

else.

oral tra-

UFO

abduc-

aboriginals, a

of extraterres-

The

perspec-

by indigenous cultures such as that of Australian

may support

other interesting possibilities. Such

Hair of the Alien experiences

may

185

be about the effect of subtle forces exerted

on humans by the natural landscape, 105 locations of unusual natural energies),

"places of power" (or

106

hallucinogens,

107

our

108

modern electromagnetic environment, or so-called "earth 109 lights." The popular acceptance of a literal extraterrestrial explanation as an answer I

may be premature

spoke to a number of people about

or incorrect.

this perspective, in-

cluding Robert Lawlor, author of Voices of the First Day: Awakening in the Aboriginal Dreamtime>

no

who

suggested that the

ET

perspective plays into the vanities of the evolutionary world-

view of the Western world. The indigenous view of the

shamanic world validates the

ment of people

in

realities

harmony with

and the cultural develop-

nature.

The former

is

more

palatable in the Western technological setting. Lawlor suggests

that the rash of

modern

UFO

abduction experiences

may

in

part be due to the effects of an increase of industrial energies or

electromagnetic pollution

on our neural perception

and the indigenous accounts may be due

modalities,

to abnormalities in

the electromagnetic ambience of the natural landscape, along

with increased sensitivity due to initiation procedures and ceremonies. There are obviously

when

considering

UFO

many

perspectives to examine

experiences beyond the obvious main-

stream appeal of the extraterrestrial hypothesis. 111

Credo Redux In the Profiles of Healing

Credo

how

Mutwa

in

book edited by Bradford Keeney,

recounts an intriguing anecdote.

He

describes

1918 his mother mysteriously disappeared from her

community for a number of days. No one believed her story about the

disappearance,

thrashed with a hippo-hide whip for

She said that she was taken

it.

and

she

was

Bill Chalker

186

away by a

strange things.

and

smell,

My

when

mother,

the wise people in

shef came back, carried a peculiar

our community

believe her because she carried the smell

Zulu word too often

More

spirit.

who showed her many

old man,' with large eyes,

little

it

refers to

my grandfather to

of a Mantindane. This

incorrectly translated to

accurately,

told

is

a

mean a fairy or a nature

what some people

call the

gray

aliens. After I was born [in 1921],

my mother and I both disappeared

and came back a few days

This time she returned completely

gray, looking like story."

with

112

later.

someone who had

died,

and everyone

Credo Mutwa contends these

unknown

entities are

Credo Mutwa's

stories

sorts

believed her

of encounters

common in Africa. of personal experience with alien

abductions, while suggestive and perhaps compelling,

fall

short as entirely credible evidence as they are part of his early origin stories,

and

which started surfacing only

early 1990s, consistent with the

of such

stories.

Western dissemination

There seems more compelling evidence that

Credo

Mutwa was

UFOs

in the 1960s

ries

in the late 1980s

more

generally about aliens

and

and 1970s. Either Western abduction

sto-

talking

inspired Credo Mutwa's stories, or they are authentic, but

somewhat colored by the processes from which they emerged.

Chapter eleven

Hidden Evidence

THE

ABDUCTION PHENOMENON

plex

IS

AN EXTRAORDINARILY COM-

human drama, but to date it has not provided the

kind of physical evidence that would persuade a scientist.

UFO and abduction encounters are marginalized experi-

ences in

human

society. Essentially they are seen as fringe

phenomena. They physical reality,

are not accepted as reality.

and

that's

why

there

what

is

to obtain physical evidence alien

real or not. is

live in

a

an emphasis on the

is

search for physical evidence. In our time science that decides

We

and our culture

One of the

it's

best ways

to treat the scene of an alleged

abduction as a "crime scene." This approach has

now

been advocated for about a decade, and as we have seen with the Peter

DNA

Khoury

case,

has begun to reap dividends. While

profiling dominates the public perception of forensic

investigations,

it is

only a part of a

much

larger toolkit.

113

Bill Chalker

188

Crime Scene In 1993 researcher Victoria Alexander issued a call to arms for

a "new protocol for abduction research" using the techniques

of criminal investigations. She was responding to what she

saw

and sug-

as the passive collection of abduction stories

gested that abductees could contribute

more

actively in col-

recommended the formation of an Abductee Task Force (ATF) that would uti-

lecting potentially critical data. Alexander

lize

Abductee Crime Scene Unit protocols. She elaborated

with suggestions that follow standard crime scene forensic protocols: "sealing" the scene, photographing the

fying

and sampling entry and discovery

sampling

points,

site, identi-

and

utilizing

Alexander suggested that "police rape kits"

kits.

could be used, with abductees themselves collecting the more "intrusive" samples, such as swabs

from pubic areas and vagi-

nal washings. Clothing touched by "aliens" might also pro-

vide vital evidence. Surfaces that could hold fingerprints,

such as

human

skin, painted surfaces, glass, etc.,

"extraterrestrial fingerprints." In a variation

tion powder"

and

stains,

on

might

yield

"thief detec-

Alexander suggested coating bed-

room floors with flour in the hope that aliens might walk over them and perhaps leave a "footprint." She even suggested that traces like "hair or bodily secretion might be

se-

cured from the alleged 'hybrid' offspring of alien-human genetic experiments." Alexander

bemoaned

all

the "missed

opportunities," like the case of New Jersey abductee

and

artist

David Huggins, who claims repeated sexual encounters between 1963 and 1987 with an alien female

and pubic like,

hair

which seemed unnaturally

and very black

in color."

114

As

far as

I

who had "head

perfect, as if wig-

know, Huggins has

never obtained any such hair samples for analysis, nor

am

I

Hair of the Alien

1

8 9

aware of any significant results by Alexander in carrying out

any of her forensic suggestions. 115

Other researchers have also picked up on the forensic approach to alien abductions. 116

Hunter" Sims, his

is

Derrel "The

UFO

the material that emerged from

if one believes

UFO

abduction group during

tells stories

of "forensic" hypnosis, ab-

Houston, Texas-based

1992 and 1993. Sims

One

ductees inserted into abductions as "Manchurian candi-

mass abductions, and recovered

dates,"

the evidence he offers

unconvincing.

is

"alien implants,"

but

mixed, ambiguous, and ultimately

117

Another researcher to take the proactive forensic approach is

Cheryl Powell, whose background

tory medicine. During 1995

town,

is

in nursing

and labora-

and 1996 Powell and her Goffs-

New Hampshire, group, called the International Center

of Aerial and Abduction Research, tried to apply a forensic

approach to their abduction research. They reported nothing of significance, however, beyond finding some very small footprints in relation to an abduction case

and a possible

"Bigfoot" hair sample. PowelPs laboratory medicine back-

ground

also led her to suggest that the

ductees should be checked. Filer also

118

blood chemistry of ab-

New Jersey investigator

George

suggested this sort of approach, pointing out that

"analysis can determine if they have been flying at high alti-

tudes in the recent past." NASA's biochemistry studies of astronauts provide potentially interesting insights into the effects

of altitude and weightlessness on a person's blood and

other bodily functions. 119 Yet another researcher has investigated a forty-year-old dress,

looking for clues to back up a claimed alien encounter.

Late in 2003 chemist Phyllis Budinger circulated her analysis

of the large pink stain found on the dress Betty Hill wore dur-

Bill Chalker

190

ing her famous abduction of 1961. ing in the closet of her

undisturbed

all

The

dress

had been hang-

New Hampshire home

relatively

those years. Could the stain and possible

residues be related to her handling by the alien beings she de-

scribed during her encounter? In her analysis, Budinger

found the presence of amides presence of proteins. This residues worthwhile.

in the stain,

made

which suggests the

the search for possible

My APEG

DNA

team received some dress

samples and control biological samples pertinent to Betty

and Barney

Hill.

A

specialized (ribosomal)

ing was undertaken to extract

non-human

PCR DNA

DNA

profil-

along with

standard assessments. While our results revealed nothing of

an

confirmed the usefulness of the

explicit alien nature, they

techniques. Despite the passage of decades,

the dress was connected to Betty surprisingly, at least

and Barney

some of the stained

DNA Hill,

may support

Betty's claim

and rather

areas were

be due to spider's blood. At best, these and other

found on found to

DNA results

of being in a wooded setting dur-

ing their abduction. Sadly, Betty passed away before this work

was completed

in

December of 2004. 120

Alien Dust

A

biophysicist better

crop

circles

121

known

for his controversial testing of

has also gotten in on the

act.

In 1997 Dr.

William Levengood of Michigan was contacted by an abductee

who

described being

woken up

the previous night by

beam of light that shone onto the floor next to her bed. She claimed that when she put her arm into the beam, the beam shimmered. According to Marilyn Ruben, who runs the Alien Abduction Experience and Research the presence of a

(AAER) website, the

woman then experienced a nocturnal en-

Hair of the Alien counter with

aliens.

Levengood

1

visited the

beam of light during the alytical

1

woman's home

and took samples of "the whitish dust residue on her ture where the [witness]

9

furni-

had reported seeing the sparkling night." Levengood,

who

runs his an-

work through Pinelandia Biophysics Laboratory,

re-

ported unexplainable "glassy particles" and "pseudo crystals" in the dust samples.

Further studies of the household dust of other abductees finally led

Levengood

to

announce

his findings in

February

2000. Suddenly ordinary house dust was coming under scrutiny for possible evidence of alien abductions. Micro-

scopic "glassy particles"

and "pseudo

crystals" were being

touted as evidence of alien intrusions. Soon the

was asking: "What

is

your house dust

I.Q.?

AAER website

Has your home

been visited by aliens? Get your house dust tested and find out!" Their ad gives basic instructions for sampling with a

cotton swab, placing each sample into separate plastic bags identified with to

AAER "with

name, room, and

date,

and then sending them

your check or credit card information." Lots

of pretty photographs of "pseudo crystals" have been posted

on the

AAER website,

but given the huge variety of particles

that can get incorporated into household dust,

treme

difficulties in establishing relevant

control samples, crystals" will reality

do

I

and the

ex-

and comprehensive

suspect this exercise of identifying "pseudo

little

to contribute to our

behind alien abductions.

knowledge of the

122

During September 2000 Australian researcher Barry Taylor released details of in a residence

DNA testing on a paw print left on a mirror

on the north coast of New South Wales. He

that the "prints"

felt

may have been digit prints and could be alien

abduction related, but he has provided few details to justify such a conclusion. The results revealed canine

DNA and

the

192

Bill

Chalker

presence of "an unusually high density bacterial culture,"

which may be encountered

in soil

and

fort be

made

to

do

and

I

encour-

I

candidates, but these controls ried out,

water. While

DNA testing, suggested that some efcontrol DNA testing on possible canine

age the application of

do not seem

to have been car-

therefore the results remain inconclusive. 123

Implants

The

strange artifacts or implants that abductees, such as Peter

Khoury and Whitley Streiber, have been reporting in ies

their

bod-

following their experiences are another potential source of

evidence for the physical reality of alien abductions.

lem

is

The prob-

that the implants are rarely recovered; Peter Khoury, as

we have

seen, lost his.

fort has

been made to recover these

But since the mid-1990s a concerted artifacts, largely

ef-

through

the efforts of California podiatric physician and surgeon Dr.

Roger

Leir,

who

has facilitated the surgical removal of a

ber of these strange items and has had

The

first

19, 1995,

analyzed.

of his "implant" removals occurred on August

when

medically supervised surgical procedures iso-

lated three objects

and

them

num-

from two abductees known

"Paul." In the case of Patricia,

metallic artifact

and a

as "Patricia"

two items— a T-shaped

metallic "seed"— were

removed from

her toe. Another metallic "seed" item was removed from

PauPs hand. Since then Roger Leir has described about a

dozen such surgical "implant" removals. The National

Insti-

which supported

Leir's

tute for Discovery Science (NIDS),

work, was able to conduct physical analyses of the implants

New Mexico Tech, an engineering Socorro, New Mexico, including X-ray

through a laboratory university located in

at

energy-dispersive spectroscopy

and X-ray

diffraction work.

Hair of the Alien

A

few,

namely

Leir's first three

1

93

implant removals, suggest

compositional results and isotopic ratios that lend support to the idea that they

may be of extraterrestrial

origin. In short,

the implant materials seemed to be of meteoritic origin.

While provocative, these correlations are tentative and were

made on

the basis of technical interpretations from meteorite

data. This

sources.

a long way from intelligent extraterrestrial

is

The New Mexico Tech

more

analysis also offered a

prosaic origin for the implants: a stone, for example, subjected to calcification because of its apparent side the

body of a person.

A final answer,

embedding

in-

they concluded, can 124

come only with "more in-depth studies." One of the more interesting "implant" was reported

at the

studies to emerge

Abduction Study Conference held

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), during June 1992. At the conference physicist Dr.

and

in a subsequent paper,

David Pritchard described his

MIT

efforts at identify-

ing a small foreign item that emerged from the penis of a

New

York State abductee named Richard

Price. Price

recollection of an alien abduction experience in 1955

was only eight years

old,

had a

when he

during which he saw something im-

planted into his penis. In 1981 there was medical verification

of the presence of a subcutaneous "foreign body roughly 4

mm long and mm in diameter" in his penis. By 1989 this ar1

tifact

was beginning to emerge from the skin surface and was

verified

by Dr. Pritchard

at the time.

Price said that the item finally dislodged

on August

10,

1989, seemingly creating a "strong electric shock" sensation as

it

did

so. Price

and showed tail is

it

placed the artifact in a clean film container

to Pritchard twelve days later. This kind of de-

important from a forensic point of view because

tablishes a "context" for the item in terms of

its

it es-

possible

1

Bill Chalker

94

connection to an alleged alien abduction experience. In other words, there seemed to be a verifiable "chain of evidence." Dr. Pritchard described this in terms of "pedigree," namely "what ties

the artifact to the abduction

phenomenon.

It

includes the

linkage of the artifact to a particular abduction report, the similarity of the abductee's experience to those of other expe-

riences, the testimony concerning the artifacts origin, any

documentation accompanying

this testimony, the circum-

stances of its recovery, any prior descriptions of the artifact or

descriptions of similar artifacts in independently investigated cases, the

claims,

temporal duration and

etc."

125

was

This

Pritchard, just as

it

was

stability

important

extremely

it

Dr.

and the experience

emerged.

The study Dr. Pritchard saic origin for the

describes revealed a probable pro-

implant and failed to confirm the existence

of an extraterrestrial

characteristics of

He

artifact.

shows nothing unterrestrial

Its

for

me to establish such issues

critical for

in the case of Peter Khoury's hair sample

from which

of the abductee's

.

.

.

concluded, "The analysis

[with] the irregular overall

something that grew

.

.

.

[i.e.,

in the body].

elemental and chemical constituents are also consistent

with earthly biological origins." In short, the implant seemed to be calcified tissue glass or

due

to a piece of foreign material like

wood, or from trauma of some kind, perhaps a table

corner.

Dr. Pritchard highlighted the cautionary nature of his investigation. Results that suggest "unusualness"

need to be

was ham-

carefully assessed, he said. Dr. Pritchard's study

pered by the lack of control comparisons, such as we had for

our hair

studies.

Caution

is

indeed our best

study of prosaic items and factors

whether any alleged evidence

is

is

ally.

The wide

needed to help establish

truly

anomalous.

It is

a long

Hair of the Alien and

which certainty might never be estab-

difficult process, in

lished.

This

is

195

why cases

like

"implant" investigations, and

deed the Khoury hair sample, must be

left

in-

open, subject to

ongoing research and investigation. David Pritchard also noted that

all

such studies need the

benefit of "a multidisciplinary group with chemists, biologists,

and material

scientists

of various sub-specialties as well

on each of the various machines and

as several experts

niques used in the analysis."

doing

this,

He

tech-

highlights the difficulty in

because of the lack of support and recognition the

UFO field has from mainstream science. Fortunately, because of his reputation and position, Dr. Pritchard was able to obtain such support,

which ultimately revealed the prosaic

gin of the Price "implant." If the

ori-

126

emerging "implant" data can be confirmed via more

comprehensive and multidisciplinary the question that arises

is:

the bodies of abductees? searchers believe they

scientific studies,

then

What are such items doing inside What is their function? Some re-

might serve

to "track" or "monitor" ab-

ductees, but the evidence so far revealed

on implants does not

support such notions. Keith Basterfield recently undertook a detailed review of

UFO

literature accounts

of "implants." Ac-

counts seemed to have emerged from 1979 onward, even

though abduction accounts occur field's

study

127

descriptions

significantly earlier. Baster-

highlights the lack of consistency in implant

and

their locations in the body,

and the

lack of

peer review for the analyzed data. So the variety of such facts, in

both their characteristics and

gests that

we

are a long

way from

arti-

their placement, sug-

certainty about them.

1

Bill Chalker

9 6

On Camera In an attempt to acquire definitive proof of the reality of alien

abductions, a

number of researchers and abductees have

tried

to capture these events with video cameras or webcams. In

most

cases results have been controversial

and ambiguous,

es-

done

in

pecially given the extraordinary things that can be

image manipulation today. credible video,

I

am aware of no case to date of a

webcam, or photographic image of an

alien ab-

duction that has been thoroughly investigated, well docu-

mented, and made widely available for peer review by researchers I'll

and

be the

interested scientists.

admit that some cases are

first to

tantalizing,

however. For example, in 1999 and 2000 John Carpenter,

was then a

UFO

MUFON

(Mutual

UFO

who

Network) consultant,

claimed that a security videotape from a Florida factory was the

first to

show "an abduction

one hour and 50 minutes light."

He

cited video

and

.

.

.

and the worker's return

later in a laser-like 'puddle'

scientific analysis to

of

back up his

claim, but since the basic context of the case, such as who,

where, and when, were never established, the case remains highly questionable. television with

An anonymous

no corroborative

video that

is

details falls far short

kind of credible evidence needed as proof of the alien abductions.

aired

on

of the

reality

of

128

Others have also come forward with claims of photographic evidence. California researcher

Ann

Druffel has pre-

sented photos, taken in Pasadena by Baptist minister Rev.

Harrison Bailey in November 1978, of a metamorphosing "alien entity."

The photos show an animate shadowy being as

well as partial bodily aspects "hiding" behind Halloween

masks. 129

Budd Hopkins has

presented some curious, red-

Hair of the Alien

suburban Brisbane in

tinted photos of a playground area in

Australia during 1992 that family's abduction account.

may

197

have some significance in a

Hopkins

photos as

cites the

dis-

playing possible evidence of the invisibility techniques em130 In 2003 Italian researchers ployed by alien abductors.

Roberto Malini and Federico Dezi cited an alleged South

webcam imagery of moving shadows— "creatures"— as inspiration for Operation W, their own webcam-

African abductee's

based monitoring of abductees. They hope to capture an alien

abduction in progress. 131 Photographic evidence of this kind ity

only

when such "proof" emerges from

Currently, the rection

begun

the

is

in

go beyond curios-

controlled studies.

most ambitious and promising

Ambient Monitoring

step in that di-

Project (AMP), an effort

UFO Research Coalition, which consists Fund for UFO Research, and the Center for

1998 by the

of MUFON, the

UFO

will

Studies (CUFOS). Dr.

tor of the Center for

Mark

Rodeghier, scientific direc-

UFO Studies, described the origin of the

AMP project in the January 2002 issue of the MUFONJournal: "Some

investigators over the years have attempted to use a

video camera in the bedrooms of abductees to obtain physical

proof of an abduction event. These with

some

little

documented

efforts,

though, have met

success. If abductions are, at least in

instances, physically real, then

we would expect

those beings doing the abductions would leave

some

that

trace in

the environment. Even if super-aliens have the ability to transfer a person

through a bedroom wall to a waiting UFO,

that doesn't imply that the environment in the

would be unaffected while the

on

this

assumption, the

eral years

ago to

tential physical

transfer

bedroom

was occurring. Based

UFO Research Coalition decided sev-

initiate a research project to

monitor the po-

changes associated with an abduction event.

Bill Chalker

198

Our working

hypothesis

is

that

some

physical changes

must

occur during a real abduction event (although we are uncertain as to exactly "Specifically,

the

what these might be).

we have constructed a device

that

is

placed in

home of an abductee and left there for about 4-6 months.

The device is small and attractive, about as big as a woman's makeup case, designed to blend in to the home. It records various physical parameters

and stores the information, which

is

then downloaded to the computer of our project engineer

(Tom

MUFON official) every day.

Deuley, a longtime

"While the device

is

home, the abductee keeps a

in her

daily journal of experiences related to the abduction phe-

nomenon. Then, when the data

collection period

is

over, the

journal will be matched up to the physical data to see what

was recorded

may

at those times

when

a person thinks that she

have been abducted, or something similarly odd oc-

curred.

"The project

officially

most involved with the

began in the spring of 1998. Those

project include

Fund, myself from CUFOS, and

Tom

Rob Swiatek from Deuley.

AMP

the

started

with the development of two prototype devices, used in three

From

pilot cases.

this experience,

we constructed the

monitoring device, which was used for the

first

final

case in the

summer of 2000." By January 2002 the lected data

lems."

from

The

AMP

project

had

"successfully col-

several abductees with few technical prob-

project operated as a type of "double blind"

experiment, Rodeghier explained: "Our project engineer, collects the data, has

by the abductees.

no idea what

And

is

the abductees

who

recorded in the journal

and

UFO

investigators

what the device has recorded. The data will be archived and later, when the project has ended, be compared are not told

Hair of the Alien to determine

and correlated this

what can be

learned.

We

follow

protocol— which means that there are no results yet to

port

.

.

—because

.

it is

9 9

1

re-

crucial in the study of anomalies to de-

sign rigorous research that removes any chance to alter the

data to

fit

skeptics

some preconceived

and debunkers who

ciencies, real or

notion. As

are only too

happy

there are

to find defi-

imagined, in any serious research project. The

of AMP, whether positive or not,

results

we know,

will potentially

be

quite important for ufology. Obtaining physical confirmation of an abduction event

would be an important advance

in

our study of UFOs. Finding no physical evidence of abduc-

would be open

tion events

would be just In 2003

as

Tom

to several interpretations, but

important a finding."

Deuley gave

me

it

132

a status report

on the

AMP

"The data collection portion of the experiment ended

project:

on June 15, 2003. It is estimated that it will take 6 to 9 months to analyze the data collected. We collected about 1.2 gigabyte [worth of data] for each of 13 cases.

of time. As the all

collector,

I

as

made

we do the

is

it

the subjects kept. As

evaluation, a report will be published

available. If there

any strong correlation,

I

and

am sure we

equipment and step even higher into doing

will refine the

we have done good work. Deof the equipment and the work will not be available till

solid science. In tails

take a bit

did not see anything unusual, but

must be bounced against the journals

soon

It will

any case we

feel

after the final reports are published.

"For the

moment we

are not using the devices for any

other work until our data has been completely analyzed and the final report made. its

We feel we must protect the device and

capability until that

is all

completed. Eventually we will

publish the report and then will be glad to discuss the device at

any

level.

I

can say that after monitoring every

file

from

200

Bill

sixteen cases

Chalker

we never saw a power

failure or

anomaly that we

could not explain.

"The old idea that the

'aliens*

woufd know and

either turn

things off or fool the device has not proven out in our work, at the

same time the

dents.

The

individual channels were

with reasonable

second 24/7. ing,

subjects did continue to report inci-

sensitivities

It is

what one would expect

with readings being logged each

completely passive except during download-

A new

which was always done when no one was home.

design would require considerable updating."

asked Deuley whether any prosaic actions by the "ab-

I

ductees" could create a false positive with something recorded in the journals. "Yes,"

Deuley

replied, "they

could

try,

but they could not

understand the interactions between channels which would in general divulge the obvious try at fooling the system.

With an array

single instruments they have the advantage.

there are cross feeds that protect I

from

were to put a video camera in a room,

but undivulged audio recorder

With

fooling. For instance if I

would add a separate

for, let's say,

comparison's

sake.

"We do

protect ourselves by having multiple channels

base understandings of the interactions

any channel

is

to the subject.

activated. It

is

when but is unknown

we should

not 100 percent,

see

We also would know if the subject fooled with

the box, the power lead or the telephone lead, or

tempted to open the

if

they

We

at first

wanted 60— in the end we found only 13 before funds ran is

lion or 15.

at-

device.

"Finding subjects was our biggest problem.

There

and

something very wrong

here.

more claimed abductees

Our requirements were

With an estimated

in the

US we

out.

3 mil-

could not find

high, but not that high. Nearly

Hair of the Alien

20

1

any medical study can find 1%; we could not find 1/1000%. This

may say more than

In September

[the results of]

2004 Deuley and Rodeghier informed me

that progress in the analysis of the

due to limited funding, dent

our study." 133

statistical analyst,

AMP data had been slow

their difficulty finding

an indepen-

and the limitations of time,

resources,

and circumstances of the principal technical party involved in the study.

134

One way

or another, sooner or

of "crime

bound to enrich our understanding of the abduction phenomenon.

scene" approach alien

later, this sort

is

An "Alien" Claw Of course,

the crime scene approach can be time consuming,

and ultimately disappointing. The case of Gary

costly,

Lowrey, a safety officer for the Bakersfield Fire Department in California, ple.

whose story came

to light in 2000,

The Lowrey family claimed

an intense

series

UFO

a good exam-

that they were in the midst of

of visitations by purported

some reportedly with

is

extraterrestrials,

clawlike appendages. This

complex

saga yielded not only a mysterious "footprint" but a

number of

bizarre "alien" images via a

"aliens" appear in a

camera

is

CCD

few frames, or are only

camera. The

visible

when

the

stop framed, revealing image fragments of busts or

heads of strange insectlike "gargoyles or gremlins." 135 Then in

September 2000, Gary Lowrey found what appeared to be definitive

proof of his claims, an object resembling a claw in a

bedroom

that was the scene of

alous activity. Thus, it

when

much of the

this "claw"

intense

anom-

was found, he assumed

was related to the strange creatures that had been observed

in the

bedroom.

Bill Chalker

202 This "claw" was

with

me

of. interest to the

as part of APEG.

biochemists working

But because the case had emerged

from the hotbed of Californian ufology and had already been caught up in considerable controversy,

some independent case. Dr.

I

tried to

bona

enquiries to establish the

encourage fides

of the

Colm Kelleher, a biochemist and administrator of the

National Institute for Discovery Science, agreed to look into the case. Although he could only undertake a limited enquiry,

Roger

Kelleher, after consultation with Dr.

ready

made

Leir,

who had

al-

extensive enquiries into the case, felt the "claw"

sample could be a good candidate for

DNA study. NIDS sup-

ported the work and eventually the

APEG

entitled

of the

DNA on

"A Cautionary

traterrestrial Biological

this case

Tale:

is

DNA

summarized

in a report

Analysis of Alleged Ex-

Material— Anatomy of a Molecular

Forensic Investigation," compiled by Dr. Kelleher the three cooperating research groups: (Dr.

re-

The complexity and

ceived a part of the claw to examine. difficulty

biochemists

Roger Leif s organization), and

on behalf of

NIDS, A&S Research

my research group, APEG.

"The investigation of this case went

far

beyond the

'busi-

ness-as-usuaP analyses usually afforded anomaly cases," wrote Kelleher.

"The project evolved into a major molecular biology

research project in

of subsequent

its

own right." In fact,

DNA analysis,

"six separate

rounds

using different and sometimes

very novel approaches, were carried out to bring this case to a

conclusion.

It

was necessary to invent a new polymerase chain

reaction using novel primers to the

most conserved

DNA se-

quences on Earth in order to finally resolve this case." the multiple rounds of

DNA analysis of the biological sample

appeared to corroborate trial) origins.

its

reported anomalous (extraterres-

But the "claw" turned out to have

origins than aliens.

Initially

far less exotic

203

Hair of the Alien Finally,

wrote Kelleher, "painstaking

DNA

analyses

the use of bioinformatics methodology over a 12

and

month

pe-

riod by highly qualified teams of experts in three countries

was necessary to establish that the biological specimen found house was a mundane

in the

particularly snails

and

terrestrial

mollusk. Mollusks,

slugs, secrete a thick

tains multiple inhibitors of

mucus

that con-

many of the common enzymes

that are fundamental to molecular biology

and

DNA analysis,

including polymerase chain reaction enzymes and those used in standard molecular cloning. Further, there

paucity of mollusk

DNA

two factors conspired to lead year.

a relative

sequences, particularly from mol-

lusks found in California, in global

path for about a

is

DNA

databanks. These

this investigation

down

a false

Ultimately however rigorous

analysis using a novel set

DNA

of oligonucleotide primers for the

polymerase chain reaction solved the puzzle.

.

.

.

Independent

confirmation that the sample was a dried mollusk was obtained by an expert from the Los Angeles

History Museum."

136

The anomalies

County Natural

originally reported

by

the family remain unexplained, however. 137

This lengthy and very expensive investigation provides a

good lesson

for investigators.

The

incident

and the analyses

that followed strongly suggest the need for rigorously establishing the strength of the link between reported events

any step

artifacts is

vital

It is

found and thought to be related

because potentially so

much

and

to them. This

hinges on

it.

also important to challenge the initial identifications

of artifacts. For example, in the case of Peter Khoury, one of

our

first priorities

was to establish whether the found hair

sample was even hair in the ing,

first place.

Looks can be deceiv-

but a close-up microscopic viewing quickly established

the characteristic

morphology of

hair. In the case

of the

Bill Chalker

204 "claw" sample,

it

seems that "claw" identification was never

seriously challenged early

time

on

in the investigation,

and by the

DNA work was contemplated, it seemed almost a given.

Ultimately persistence paid

off,

but in hindsight a

work and expense could have been avoided.

lot

of extra

A comprehensive

and more thorough point of discovery

analysis at the begin-

ning of any case investigation would

assist in

determining

whether the evidence merits a detailed and costly study.

The

case once again underscored the value of the scientific

approach, however.

One of

Carl Sagan's last books, The

Demon-Haunted Worlds was subtitled Dark.

It

was Sagan's intention to equate the "dark" with pseu-

doscience. But ence.

I

I

feel

the phrase should have a broader refer-

think that science should be used to examine any

unknown, and the

Science as a Candle in the

specifically that science

way in the study of alien abductions.

should indeed light

CHAPTER TWELVE

The Light

Fantastic

WE HAVE SEEN, ABDUCTION CASES CAN SOMETIMES PROVIDE the sort of physical evidence found in more traditional

AS

UFO cases, like the ground markings that may be left behind in UFO landings. Such evidence adds to the argument that abductions occur in our physical

reality.

taken extensive research into the topic of trace" cases

UFO

"physical

UFO

phenomenon. 138

have been particularly interested in what are called "solid

light" cases, in

which

UFOs

and controlled way. In some take

have under-

and have argued that the evidence supports a

physical dimension to the I

I

on a seemingly

used to

lift

may be

beams from UFOs

sometimes functioning

from one place

scientific

cases, the light

solid appearance, turning corners, being

things, or

tion "tunnel"

appear to use light in a coherent

pay

dirt in

to another.

such

cases.

139

1

as a transporta-

feel there

very well

Many of these

"solid

Bill Chalker

206

appear to have biological

light" cases

abductees.

Some

some

are benign,

effects

on witnesses and

not so pleasant, and

are

others are remarkably beneficial, having what appear to be

healing effects. In the extraordinary

UFO

encounter of Dr.

in France during 1968, for example, the craft projected

may

of light that

X

beams

have been responsible for the remarkable

"rapid healing" of an injury the witness had suffered years before.

And

after a seventy-three-year-old Argentine

tura Maceiras was exposed to a

UFO beam of light in

experienced a remarkable array of physical

enhanced IQ and new light

140

teeth!

effects,

If such effects are

beams, then forensic evaluations of their

biological level, via analyses,

may

named Ven1972, he

including

due

to these

effects at the

DNA testing and perhaps other biomedical

reveal striking information

about the processes

involved and the apparent technologies deployed. Knowledge

of such a mechanism would be an extraordinary biochemical

and biomedical breakthrough. Only late

in recent years have

light

in

we begun

to be able to

ways that seem routine in

abduction accounts. The

UFO

bend and stop

ability to

traordinary ways seems almost standard fare in ogy.

manipu-

and

alien

light in ex-

UFO

technol-

As recent news headlines reveal— "Researchers say they

have slowed light to a dead stop, stored as if it were

it,

and then

an ordinary material particle"— for

us,

released

it's

it

cutting-

edge science.

141

Sight Unseen

provide a sort of de facto "reality check,"

Carol Rainey in their book

Budd Hopkins and

when

they highlight the various scientific breakthroughs and discoveries

which resonate or

reflect the bizarre

elements that

have emerged in abduction lore over the previous few decades. In essence, the

body of abduction

lore as perceived

Hopkins, David Jacobs, and others that

some of the

startling advances

may

by Budd

gain credibility given

of our own sciences seem to

207

Hair of the Alien

approximate some of the unlikely aspects of the alien ab-

eerily

duction mythos. In the following case, the element of "solid light" nent.

It

is

promi-

also contains elements of discontinuity in the natural

flow of events and the perception of time, along with a de-

up

scription of people being caught light"

beam.

in the strange "solid

common in ab-

of these and other aspects are

All

duction cases.

More Than a Dream? I

was told

this story

experience he

by a

man who was

had on the south coast of

Australia, at the beachside

town of Kiama,

ber of occasions and I

found him

New South

Wales,

in the early 1970s.

I

who I will call Graham, on a num-

have spoken to the witness,

view.

troubled by a bizarre

met him

in person for

an extended

to be a compelling witness

who

inter-

grappling

is

with the ontological issues that striking episodes often force us to confront.

Awoken by a anything about

I

have quoted from his prepared statement:

light

it,

truder, so I forced

coming

into the room, I

I wanted to

sleep.

myself awake,

year old daughter sleeping on

.

.

.

to step

I thought

the floor beside me.

quickly asleep. Again the light

came

jumped up quickly, wide-awake again, side.

Suddenly I saw a

light

tinge evaporatingfrom

able to

it.

beam

too it

drowsy

may

be

over the baby and

window I could see nothing unusual outside fell

was

When

J laid

to

do

an

in-

my

two

I got to the

down again and

into the room. This time I

there

was nothing unusual out-

white in color with a blue fluorescent

Because of the luminescence of the

make out the shape of a flying craft from which

jected at an angle to the ground of about

the

light I

was

beam pro-

75 °.

The beam was about thirty feet long and about two feet six inches in diameter, given the craft

was between

the

headland I was on and

Bill Chalker

208 the next headland. like

Suddenly the beam,

a perfect cylinder of solid

gravity,

it

still

light It did^not fall in the direction ¥

continued along the path of its

solid light hit

only thirty feet long fell,

own

a caravan. Upon impact the

pouring over the caravan, over its roof over its

and cranny of the

behaved

light

like water,

over every nook

walls,

van, like fluorescent paint from

an

electro, airless

spray gun. The caravan illuminated completely for about three

onds then the

light faded

away.

of

The cylinder of

axis.

sec-

My attention was on the light. I could

not see the craft anymore. I rubbed the left

from

eyes

and looked for

appeared

the craft. It

slightly to

of its original position with another beam of light, descending

it

When

my

at a very slow speed; say about only three feet per second.

beam reached a given

the

began falling as covered

its

before. This

time

length, longer it

hit

than the first time,

it

an amenities block and the light

surfaces completely illuminating

it

in the

same way as

the

caravan. Again the light faded away.

From

the

ofabout 45

°

same

location, the craft let

to the ground level line.

before. It reached the

sand forty feet at

men.

sitting

at

an angle

beach and illuminated approximately an area of

its

widest. Inside the lighted area craft.

were two

men

A young woman jumped

near a small beach fire and ran

to

stand with the two

A second young woman was running backwards trying to brush

the light offher arms

three

beam go

The beam was much longer than

standing motionless looking up at the

up from

another

and body. Then she too stood separate to

the other

and also stared up at the craft. The light suddenly went out and I

looked for the people.

was marveling at

Has

it

the craft

taken the people I thought? Where, as I

and

light before, I

now became

angry,

thinking it has terrorized that woman. It was not a good thing as Ifirst thought.

Now I could see the fire dimly glowing. I looked this way and

that to see if any of the people walked in front of the fire, to prove they

were

on

still

there.

I fell asleep on

the other side

my feet. When I awoke I was standing

of the window, one hand on the window.

209

Hair of the Alien / looked outside the the street in front

window only feet away. The craft hovered over

of the house.

It

maneuvered very close to

was made of appeared as though

it

window.

The metallic material

I was impressed that it looked like a spaceship it

the

was unpolished Zinc

alloy.

.

.

.

It

was as if it was made from one piece of metal aboutforty feet wide and ten feet high, which began to spin in one direction, then

spun for a shorter time in the opposite ning hovering thoughts

it

a steady position above the

in

belonged to the western world

When I came why was

direction.

I

to,

meant

want to show me

the craft

was

to see that it

that.

still

Then

skyline.

the

There were no

opposite

my

window. I thought it

seemed

to

window shape about six feet wide

and I could

had flat vertical off white

walked into

and

J blacked out.

and two feet six inches high with curved corners. The

fittings. It

stopped

stopped spin-

it

had no welds or seams,

I looked at a

shield suddenly disappeared

it

metallic

window

see inside the craft. I

saw no

walls. I felt very peaceful.

A man

room of the craft and stood in front of the window. As

he walked in he was looking at a flat object he was holding in his hands, like a clipboard but thicker.

He

began

to

move

his

arms

as

though he was working on something at bench height below the window. Totally absorbed, he worked away. Ifelt completely

safe.

Another

man then entered the room looking at the other man and what he was doing. He stood also facing me looking at the bench and pointing like without words he was helping the other fix something.

They had bright silver one-piece

suits like thin wetsuits on,

badges or markings. They carried no weapons or tools [seem to] enter the

room smiled at the other, then

they both smiled directly at me.

my hair stood on end literally and I knew what it

meant to be really scared. I dropped to keep down. Stay out of the

and

They didn't

know I was watching them. With that thought the last one to

I had physical fright,

control

with no

light.

"I

the floor and said,

knew

"Everybody

that in the light they could

my thinking to feel and think peacefully.

severe vibration of the house took place.

Suddenly great noise

The laundry

light

went

2

1

Bill Chalker

0

and

dim, the fridge began jumping about the roof.

there

was great

The washing machine was bumping about

noise above

I said,

also.

w

f

"Quickly get under the doorways, the house

is

the craft overhead sucked the electricity out

of the house, then took

shouted out,

Bill

I said, "It was a

what was

"Shit,

UFO. "

.

.

Gordon

living behind

"What the

.

.

.

Bill said, "Yes I

came out to

his

still

there.

dow and

"Where did

came very angry saying safe. It's gone. Relieved,

it

crash?

again,

she said,

the

it

as

it

the roof off."

there.

Do we

have

He too

himself it

side

opened a win-

to get

out?" She be-

to get

out?"

No you

re

"lam alone with the children tonight, was unusual to hear people

swearing.

and Gordon were saying it was a UFO. Suddenly,

and

still

roof, reassuring

"Do we have

who I had never heard swear before,

wife began to try

off.

took the roof

the roof was

seaward

that bloody pilot should be shot for that. " It

Bill

saw

was that? I thought it took

The lady next door on

said,

was like

back door and said very ex-

was greatly concerned with checking out his

was

" It

that? It took the bloody roof off."

was trying to comprehend how come

off." Bill

plicitly,

.

going to fall.

quiet everyone

down and get us

—

,

Bill's

all inside.

decided that I should phone the Nowra base. I spoke to the duty

We

officer.

He said he was the only one on duty. He asked me ifI saw any orange lights. I said, "Yes. " He then quickly said it was a weather balloon you saw,

it

was

let go

flate properly

at such

and

and such a time from Jambaroo,

other people reported seeing

my mind I thought, I've done my duty reporting

over Kiama. In secret.

it,

to the

so that

warned me not

was,

to

speak about

would happen

to

me

if I

it,

about it, even

to

it

light

must be

was that.

in

dark

suits

with

ID

tags

last night.

and the men went on. [Our wives]

they were very frightened that some-

spoke up and also

laughing stock in the community. The plan was talk

it

didn't in-

an orange

door asking did any one see anything unusual

Frightened by the men, they said no

thing

as

he knows what

The next day [our wives] said two men

came

it

it

one another. So

it

it

would make us a

we would forget it, not

would be distancedfrom our lives.

Hair of the Alien Bill

was reading the paper some days

later

2

and said an expensive

Navy helicopterflew from Jambaroo overKiama. and crashed forty kilometers out ported to be trying to recover

was

rescued. I said, "Yeah, I

happened laundry

it to

The

its

electronics re-

find out what happened. The crew

know about losing power,

to the helicopter as

light.

It lost

offKiama. The navy was

to sea

1 1

what happened

the

same

to the fridge

thing

and

the

UFO took its electricity. " Nothing was said further.

We ignored the event. What I saw holds future understanding for me, if it

was a dream I

believe. Possibly it

was an

active imagination,

a

dream and actual occurrences combined.

Graham has since pondered the nature of this strange event. He is troubled by it and now feels more comfortable referring to

it

as a dream.

The fragmentary nature of the

and the strange element of the experience beckon pretation.

But there are also many

events

this inter-

startling elements in the

experience that reflect the paradoxical reality of the

UFO phe-

nomenon.

When a "solid light" case involves a little physical evidence, a forensic approach can draw

some metaphorical blood,

as

this next case clearly illustrates.

The Abducted Gundiah Crime Scene In early October 2001 an alien abduction story involving a

made

headlines throughout Australia and began

attracting interest

from around the world. The investigation

"solid light"

of this controversial case followed a

classic forensic

"crime

scene" approach involving three different police jurisdictions.

The incident had occurred on Thursday, October 4, 2001, at a Gundiah property near Tiaro, in southern Queensland, and concluded in the early hours of Friday, October

5,

2001.

The

next day Diane Harrison, the well-respected director of the

2

1

Bill Chalker

2

UFO Research Network, called and filled me in on

Australian

the rapidly unfolding events. Based near Brisbane, in south-

ern Queensland, she had been talking to the key participants.

Diane asked

and

I

if

I

wanted

quickly agreed.

"UFO bandwagon" as a cause celebre.

We knew

it

to uncritically

We

wouldn't take long for the

embrace the Gundiah case

were determined to try to unravel the

events— whether fact or

The

to get involved in the investigation,

fiction.

three people involved in the alleged events behind this

extraordinary tale of abduction, teleportation, time distortion, aliens, "solid light,"

thirty-nine, his wife

and physical

traces were Keith Rylance,

Amy, twenty-two, and

ner, Petra Heller, thirty-five. Their

their business part-

Gundiah property was

Winds

winery, as

and other

activities.

parently being developed as the Whispering well as a potential venue for motocross

The

startling

them was

account that emerged from our interviews with

fleshed out with primary source material such as

interviews

ap-

and a witness statement provided

TV

to police. This

is

the story they told.

Thursday, October 4y 2001

Keith Rylance told us that he had gone to sleep in the bed-

room of his mobile home at about 9:30 p.m. Petra had retired to her bedroom in the annex of the mobile home. Amy stayed on a couch watching TV in the annex room they used as a lounge. These locations were in close proximity, separated by

room ajar. The

a window and wall respectively from the lounge. Petra's

had a door leading

to the lounge,

which was

left

door to the bedroom, where Keith was, was apparently open to the lounge.

On

this

Amy apparently fell asleep on the couch.

stormy night,

at

around 11:15

p.m., Petra

was

re-

Hair of the Alien portedly

woken

up.

When

2

1

3

she entered the adjacent lounge,

she was confronted by an extraordinary sight, which allegedly quickly overwhelmed her.

A bizarre rectangular beam of light

was being projected through the open window of the lounge. This light

beam appeared

to be truncated at the end. Inside

the beam, Petra claims to have seen

Amy in a prone position,

being carried out headfirst through the window. Underneath

but

her,

still

within the beam, were items that had been on

Amy had

the coffee table adjacent to the couch where

been

sleeping. Before fainting in shock, Petra noticed that the

beam was coming from a

disc-shaped

UFO

hovering just

above the ground a short distance away, near a tree at the rear

of a clear section of the property, immediately behind the mo-

home annex.

bile

A

short while later Petra regained consciousness and

began screaming. The commotion woke Keith, who stepped

and was confronted by a highly agitated

into the lounge Petra.

The items

now on

that were originally

on the

the floor in front of the window.

coffee table were

He

told us that he

then found that the window screen was torn both vertically

and along the bottom of the window frame. Unable

to get

sense out of Petra, Keith rushed outside, trying to locate

any

Amy.

She was nowhere to be found. Keith then managed to get Petra to

tell

him what had happened. He

lieve her. After call

initially didn't be-

a second search for his wife, Keith decided to

the police.

Keith called the nearby Tiaro police around

1

1:40 p.m. re-

porting that his wife had been abducted and asked for help.

Due

to the short staff at that time of night,

hour and a half

it

took about an

after the initial call for Senior

Constable

Robert Maragna from Tiaro and an officer from Marybor-

ough

to arrive at the site of the incident.

2

1

Bill

4

Chalker

Friday, October

The

5,

2001

police officers initially suspecteH foul play, perhaps even

murder, until the bizarre circumstances of the alleged events

came

into focus.

The two

that their companion,

people, Keith

and

Petra, claimed

Amy Rylance, had been

abducted by a

"spaceship"! As the officers struggled to keep an

open mind,

they were joined by the officer in charge of the Tiaro police,

who had been

Sergeant John Bosnjak,

asleep

when

the police

him to assist in the investigation. The three officers then investigated the site. They had found Keith Rylance and Petra Heller in an agitated state. There was no sign of Amy Rylance. They examined the torn screen. The right side of a flowering bush, commonly known called

as "yesterday, today,

window with

tomorrow," located to the

the torn screen, looked as if

fected by heat.

The

left side

it

of the

had been

af-

police took samples for possible later

testing.

While the police were

was picked up by Keith.

had taken a somewhat

at the property, the

A woman was

distressed

phone rang and

calling to say that she

and apparently dehydrated

young woman from a BP gas station on the northern outskirts of the central Queensland city of Mackay, some 790 kilometers by road to the north of the Gundiah-Tiaro area.

The young woman turned out male

caller

explained that

to be

Amy was

Amy Rylance, and the feapparently

all right,

and

Mackay hospital, where a doctor had examined her. Keith handed the phone to Senior Constable Maragna. Given these extraordinary circumstances, Mackay police

was

at the

making a total of three police stations involved the investigation— Tiaro, Maryborough, and Mackay.

were called in

in,

Keith Rylance gave the police the keys to the property,

Hair of the Alien

2

1

5

packed up a substantial amount of their business and personal gear into a van, and set off for

Mackay with

Petra.

Meanwhile, at Mackay, Constable J. A. Hansen, of Mackay

Amy

police, interviewed ing.

Rylance, around 2:30 Friday morn-

Amy completed a written statement, notarized with a Jus-

tice Act, attesting

that the statement was true to the best of

her knowledge and

belief,

and that

she would be liable to prosecution

thing in

it

that she

knew was

if

on the couch

at the

she had indicated any-

false.

This statement indicated that her lying

admitted as evidence,

if

last recollection

Gundiah

property. She

was of

had no

awareness of the events that Petra described, but claimed her

up

next awareness was of waking

strange rectangular room. Illumination

and the

ceiling.

on a bench

in a

came from the

walls

lying

She was alone. She indicated she called out

and heard what seemed to be a male

voice, asking her to be

calm and that everything would be

all

right

and that she

would not be harmed. Soon an opening appeared and a slender "guy" about

six feet tall

mask on

He

there awhile.

The "guy"

were wrong at the property and

The next thing she

like a

she had been

felt

her,

wasn't

is

because the lights

safe.

waking up on the ground

disoriented.

She could smell

was not sure how long she tumbled through

bushland— it seemed

making much

it

recollects

with trees around her. She the ocean. She

felt

and mouth.

told her they were returning her to a

from where they took

place not far

Amy

in a full

to have a black

his face, with a hole for his eyes, nose,

repeated his calming assurances.

looked

and covered

He appeared

bodysuit walked into the room.

in the wall

to be a long

progress.

time— but she

felt

she wasn't

She then came out onto a road that

highway and saw a

light

walked into the station, where the

from a gas

staff,

station.

She

seeing her state, of-

2

1

Bill Chalker

6

fered assistance. She accepted

what dehydrated.

Initially

some

water, as she felt some-

she was unable to answer ques-

and didn't know where "she was. She was also asked if she had been drinking or was on drugs, to which she said no. tions,

Amy indicated she felt tired, sore, drained, and lethargic. She asked a woman at the service station to take her to the hospital, as she didn't know where else to go. The woman and her friend took Amy to the hospital. Later Amy spoke with two police officers and also spoke with her husband Keith from the hospital. She then went to

Mackay police

station where she gave her statement.

Amy also

indicated that this sort of thing had never happened to her before,

but when she was in the

fifth year

of school she had

UFO surrounded by smaller objects. The police arranged to put Amy in a motel pending the ar-

seen a large

rival

of her husband. He and Petra arrived during the day and

spent considerable time with

They reportedly took

Amy discussing what happened.

extensive notes as well as photographs of

a triangular arrangement of marks on her inner right thigh,

marks on each

had dyed to

show

and the growing out of her hair, which she

earlier in the

its

had passed, had

heel,

week. Her hair had apparently started

former color, suggesting that considerable time certainly

allegedly also

more than a few hours. Her body

become somewhat more pronounced than

would otherwise be apparent

for the short time involved.

Keith Rylance said he then began to learn about the subject

on the

internet at a cafe

tralasian Ufologist

Australian

hair

UFO

and bought a copy of Aus-

magazine in Mackay. He then contacted the

UFO Research Network number mentioned in the

magazine. Diane Harrison took the

call

and

or so listened to the story that Keith and

apparently sleeping at the time.

for the next

Amy told.

hour

Petra was

Hair of the Alien I

put a

call

through to Keith

2

1

7

at the motel, securing per-

mission to record the conversation. Once again Petra was not available to talk

about her part

in the alleged events. Keith

Rylance went into considerable detail about" the events, ring often to the notes they

refer-

had apparently compiled during

The details described covered the events Petra had witnessed, what Keith had experienced, and what Amy told the day.

them had happened

to her during her experience. Finally,

I

spoke with Amy, mainly about the events before and after the claimed onboard experiences, because Keith had already gone into considerable detail about the latter.

Keith Rylance seemed to want to control

and investigators would get involved. His the

how both media

desire to contact

media promptly led both Diane and me to suggest that he

should think very carefully about the possible ramifications of doing

so.

Keith seemed to

the story out, as

it

ence.

that

it

was important

would come out anyway and

could control the way

way the

feel

it

did.

He was

this

also trying to restrict the

they didn't need to prove the experience.

While he didn't directly witness the experiences, he

both

Amy and

Petra.

I

how

now

be-

explained to Keith that we

wanted to look into the situation very thoroughly. plained

way he

investigators could or should look into their experi-

He claimed

lieved

to get

certain basic sampling procedures

I

also ex-

we could do

with Amy's marks would be important in verifying their story. Since the story seemed destined to be a big one, Diane and I

decided to undertake a detailed on-site investigation. Keith

Rylance had told us that the three of them would wait for us to

come

to Mackay, as they were in

no apparent hurry

turn to Gundiah. They gave us permission to erty in

Gundiah on the way.

visit

to re-

the prop-

2

1

Bill Chalker

8

Tuesday, October

Diane and

I

there

2001

traveled to Gundiah, arriving at the Whispering

Winds winery hour,

9,

property, just after 10 p.m. Because of the late

we obtained permission from the witnesses to stay overnight. The next day we continued our investigation.

Keith had arranged for a neighbor to regularly check on the

two pets

left

behind, namely a parrot and a kelpie dog.

would be okay to

dicated to us that

it

When we

dog

let

the

off,

let

we observed

He

in-

the

dog off for a run.

its

behavior. At one

jumped up on the window with the damaged screen. This gave some support to the possibility that at least some, if point

it

of the damage, could have been caused by the dog,

not

all,

and

closer inspection

confirmed

damaged plant and found a well— simple heat

stress

this.

We

also inspected the

possible prosaic cause for

from hot

sunlight.

A

it

as

healthy flower-

ing bush of the same species at Mt. Bassett cemetery in

Mackay

revealed similar damage.

about the

We

also spoke to the police

case.

Wednesday, October 10, 2001

In Mackay,

we focused our attention on

the area where

Amy

Rylance returned and tried to reconstruct the circumstances

of Amy's return.

We

spoke with the BP gas service station

staff that turned over surveillance videotape that

tain

Amy's

questions

would be it

became

visit.

The more we

we had about

investigated the case, the

clear to us early

more

Keith Rylance indicated to us he

available for questions

tions there that this

When we

it.

might con-

when we got

on the

first

to Mackay, but

day of our investiga-

was probably not going

to be the case.

contacted the motel where they had been the night

Hair of the Alien before, their third

2

motel in Mackay, we learned they had

1

9

al-

ready checked out that morning.

Thursday, October 11, 2001

We

left

messages on Keith's mobile phone but didn't hear

from him

until early in the afternoon of our second day, as

were leaving Mackay.

He apologized

we

for not being available,

but indicated they had relocated to an unspecified location having fled the area following a kind of "men in black"

after

experience. Keith reported being pursued by a high-powered,

dark brown four-wheel truck, which they managed to evade.

We never managed to sample Amy's marks. mantra that

his

this sort

Keith

fell

back on

of evidence was not necessary to

prove their case.

Monday, October 15, 2001

We

heard from Keith Rylance again, but we were largely un-

successful in getting

and

issues raised in

that Tiaro police

him

to answer

some of

our investigation.

would

like to

the questions

We made him

hear from him.

Our

aware

prelimi-

nary investigation report, which was completed by October 14,

was circulated on the Internet and published

tralasian Ufologist.

in the Aus-

142

Thursday, October 18, 2001 I

spoke with Keith Rylance again.

experience,

which he had told

Mackay. Keith also told

ough

police,

but

I

me

He recanted his

me had

men-in-black

caused them to

flee

he had spoken with the Marybor-

responded that

all

investigation

had been

220 handed back I

Chalker

Bill

to Tiaro police, the original investigating station.

suggested again that they would

like to

speak with him.

f

Friday, October 19,

Keith Rylance called.

He was

nary report Diane and it

wrong and

had

I

clearly

angry about the prelimi-

written.

cited errors, namely,

2001

He

we had got

said that

we had given

his age as

40 j

was 39) and

(he

forgive you."

I

Petra's age as

said

39 (she was

we had gleaned

35). Petra said, "I

that information from

media reports, but that the actual case data was accurately

re-

ported, given our limited access. Keith then mellowed a bit

and agreed

my

to answer

questions by e-mail so we could

move on and start talking about the the alien, and so on. We had hoped Petra separately

and

was omnipresent

privately, in

as the

events, that

is,

the craft,

to speak with

Amy and

much more detail, but Keith

primary source of information.

November 2001

The mass-circulation women's magazine New with a four-page story on the the details Keith article

Amy

media

attention.

real

and

affair,

Idea

which revealed many of

and Amy Rylance had conveyed

was quoted I

as saying, "I didn't

know it sounds

came out

do

far-fetched,

to us. In the this to grab |

but

I

know it's

that's all that matters."

The author of the

article wrote:

"[We] were in contact with j

Keith and

Amy and

even slept at their Gundiah house.

considered one of the best researchers in his

field,

Keith about his desire to take

DNA and blood

Amy. He argues that obtaining

biological evidence

Bill,

spoke to

1

samples from is

crucial to

support her claims the triangular puncture marks on her thigh

.

Hair of the Alien

2 2

1

of alien experimentation. However, Amy, Keith

are evidence

and Petra then

Gundiah, and the

fled

UFO

haven't been able to complete their research."

investigators

The

writer then

quoted Diane as describing the case as "extraordinary and controversial,"

tions to

and

saying, "There are too

draw any

objective

real conclusions.

many unanswered ques-

We want

to keep

mind before we conclude one way or the

an open,

other."

143

December 2001 Keith Rylance's contact details, mobile

were no longer functional. Diane and fact that

we would probably never

swers to the

numerous

issues

now highly dubious of the

I

get

phone and

e-mail,

were resigned to the

any responses or an-

and questions we had.

We were

case.

October 2002

On the anniversary of the alleged event, the Fraser Coast Chronnewspaper asked, "Why did they do

icle

that the affair

numerous in

it?"

The

story argued

had been a hoax and highlighted some of the

forensic issues

we and the

police

had found back

October 2001, and had unsuccessfully been seeking an-

swers to from the

The Tiaro

trio.

police were not so circumspect:

"The police

file

remains open and Sergeant Robert Maragna [of Tiaro police]

would bill

love to talk to

for the

Amy, Keith and Petra and

it

them

the

hours of police time that went into investigating the

alien abduction. 'There

story for

give

were too

many inconsistencies

to be true/ said Sergeant Robert Maragna.

search of the property police

in their

During a

found black hair dye, paper towels

and the burnt out remains of two flood

lights

and

electrical

Bill Chalker

222

wiring in an incinerator about 20 meters from the annex.

most damning evidence

are the

f

phone records/

The

said Sergeant

Maragna." Calls came from a motel in Rockhampton, which

between Gundiah and Mackay, to the Gundiah before.

The

Mackay via

police scenario

the

used by Petra

had

Rockhampton

later to play the

Amy

home

to

motel, with the black dye being

blond Amy. The newspaper also

quoted the Tiaro mayor John Horrex, however, who lieved the trio's story

the day

on her way

already

is

of an alien abduction.

still

be-

144

March 2003

We

were contacted by an overseas source

who

suggested the

saga had more to do with some misguided secret Scientology

"mission" to find a buried spaceship, as described in the Mission Earth science fiction series by Scientology's founder,

Ron

L.

Hubbard. The scenario seemed unbelievable, but the source

when we October 2001, we were

claimed intimate knowledge of the incident. However,

were at the Tiaro police station back in

shown a notebook, apparently owned by Petra, which the police had removed from the Gundiah picious, as

it

seemed

to have

property.

The

police were sus-

some strange content they thought

might be connected to the weird story under investigation.

I

rec-

ognized some of its content as being related to Scientology, the

words "Thetan" and that

new

it

"clearing," for example,

and then thought

probably wasn't relevant to our inquiries.

information,

maybe

it

145

But given

was. Recalling that the

this

Gundiah

property was called Whispering Winds, Diane mentioned that

Hubbard,

lived

out his

United States— "It

is

last years

on a remote property

in the

a quiet place, a perfect place to hide."

name? Whispering Winds!

146

It's

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Strange Speculations

THE

STRIKING RESULTS THAT EMERGED

file

FROM THE

DNA PRO-

of the biological sample recovered during Peter

Khoury's 1992 experience seem to confirm that he had a bizarre encounter with strange beings with a very rare ge-

how much

netic fingerprint.

Though

mation a

sample can provide, the nature of these

single

there

is

a limit to

infor-

genetic findings led us naturally to speculate about their possible

connections with

three

ancient

cultures:

Chinese,

Basque, and Gaelic.

Dragon Seed— the Chinese Connection The

initial

mitochondrial

DNA findings from the shaft of the

Khoury hair sample confirmed that the

hair

one who was biologically close to normal

came from some-

human

genetics,

224

Bill

but of an unusual

type— one of the

racial

type— a rare Chinese Mongoloid

human lineages known and one that human mainstream than any other ex-

rarest

further from the

lies

Chalker

cept for African pygmies

and

aboriginals.

But

emerged from a blond hair sample, rather than a

this result

black one, as

would be expected from the Asian type mitochondrial DNA. How do we reconcile this with the description of the tall blond female that Peter Khoury encountered? Hair dying and albinism were ruled out as possible explanations.

The this

DNA data led us first to China in a search for clues to

dilemma.

Western China attracted our attention, particularly Xinjiang province,

147

where a group of remarkably well preserved

mummies emerged from

the shifting sands of the forbidding

Taklimakan desert in 1994. Even more impressive than state

of preservation was their appearance. The

their

mummies did

not resemble the Chinese or ethnic minorities that inhabited the area.

They were

place, for they are

far stranger still

and very much out of

remarkably western or Caucasian in ap-

pearance, with fair hair of various shades: blond, dark blond,

brown, and even straw orange. These people,

who

lived in

western China a few thousand years ago, are generally taller

than the current inhabitants, and the rich fabric of their

clothing startled I

many researchers.

am not about to suggest that the Taklimakan mummies

are in

some way

related to the Nordic-type beings often re-

ported in alien abduction

stories.

be considered once a complete is

available

and the

Such a

possibility can only

DNA profile of the mummies

biological evidence

number of abduction file.

much

from a

significant

cases provides a consistent

DNA

pro-

However, the complexity of ethnic movements and

inter-

Road

trade

plays in the Xinjiang region— part of the Silk

225

Hair of the Alien

mummies

route— means the

are but a tantalizing

and

elusive

fragment within a burgeoning genetic jigsaw. Victor H. Mair, the

man

largely responsible for the West's

mummies, is the book on the subject,

current reexamination of the Taklimakan

coauthor, with J.

Mallory, of the best

P.

The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples

from

the West.

On

the tentative unraveling of the

DNA fingerprint, the authors wrote: "It was his drive to know the results of DNA analysis

mummy's the

on

mummies that first prompted Victor's involvement in the

prehistory of Xinjiang. As part of the initial project, Paolo Francalacci

from the University of

samples from

Sassari obtained tissue

mummies from Qizilchoqa and from mumthe museums at Urumchi and Korla, as well

11

mies housed in

as at the Institute

of Archaeology in Urumchi. Although he

sampled 11 mummies, the Chinese authorities permitted Paolo to carry off samples from only two of them, and the

DNA in one of these was too damaged for analysis. At present the genetic history of the

mummies rests with but a single in-

dividual.

DNA

"Paolo discovered that the

belonged to what

is

known

as

of one of the

mummies

Haplogroup H, one of the nine

subtypes of mitochondrial lineages that are largely associated

with European populations. Haplogroup

H

148

is

the com-

monest marker of European populations and occurs

in

about

40 percent of Europeans (but also in about 15 percent of people

from the Near

more

East), while

typically 'Asian.'

149

As

it

haplogroups

A

through

may be found among

G

are

people of

such diverse ancestry as Swedes, Finns, Tuscans, Corsicans

and Sardinians,

it

cannot so

far relate the

any specific European subgroup; again that the Xinjiang

it

mummies

mummies

yet to

merely emphasizes once find their closest genetic

226

Bill Chalker

among Europeans. As for Victor's original quest: the relationship between the Tarim mummies and the Tyrolean relations

Iceman/ the

latest results

Haplogroup

K, a widespread

on the

latter

show him

to belong to

European haplotype which

oc-

curs in about 10 percent of the population of Europe. Paolo is

convinced that

ples

if

he were able to recover more tissue sam-

from other Tarim Basin mummies, they would probably

reveal other It will

European and Asian haplogroups." 150

be some time before the

Tarim/Taklimakan mummies these out-of-place, spell over the

tall,

is

full genetic

fully resolved. Until then,

fair-haired people cast

an evocative

mystery being studied here, a mystery, needless

to say, that resonates powerfully with tales

jigsaw of the

from China's

some

rather seductive

rich past.

Lost with the Lights Travis Walton's five lost days courtesy of a

UFO

abduction

back in 1975, or Credo Mutwa's three missing days back in the late 1950s, are but winks in time

Chinese

tale that prefigures a

"cave heavens."

Tu

compared

to a legendary

Rip Van Winkle-like

Kuang-t'ing (858-933

trip into

a.d.) in his

"Report

Concerning the Cave Heavens and Land of Happiness in Fa-

mous Mountains"

ten "cave heavens"

lists

and

thirty-six

"small cave heavens" that were thought to be under Chinese

mountains.

Tu relates

the mythical tale of a

man who entered

one of the "cave heavens": "After walking ten miles, he suddenly

found himself in a

beautiful land 'with a clear blue sky, shining pinkish clouds,

fragrant flowers, densely growing willows, towers the color of

He was seductive women, who brought him

cinnabar, pavilions of red jade,

met by a group of lovely,

and

far

flung palaces.'

227

Hair of the Alien to a

house of jasper and played him beautiful music while he

drank felt

ruby-red drink and a jade-colored

'a

the urge to

juice.'

Just as he

himself be seduced, he remembered his

let

family and returned to the passageway. Led by a strange light that danced before him, he walked back through the cave to

when he reached his home village, he did not recognize anyone he saw, and when he arrived at his house, he met his own descendants of nine generations hence. They told him that one of their ancestors had disappeared the outer world; but

into a cavern three

seen again."

hundred

years before

and had never been

151

The county annals of Song-Zi Xian hold a similar and fascinating, although not so legendary account, from Hubei province:

"A certain Mr. Ju Tan, a farmer of Xi-Yan, arose early on the

morning of May

a copse

on the

hill

8,

and was walking along towards

1880,

behind

his cottage,

when he caught

sight,

in the undergrowth, of a strange glowing object, shining

brightly in

many

to seize hold of it, air,

as

colors.

He stepped forward and attempted

and suddenly felt himself swept up into the

though beyond the clouds, with a loud sound of wind

mind stupefied and numbed, and quite unable body. Then suddenly he was conscious of drop-

in his ears, his

to

move

his

ping from a great height, but onto a lofty mountain-peak. "Feeling as though he was awakening from a dream, the

Some time later a woodcutter came along and questioned him as to who he was farmer was terrified beyond measure.

and where from, and Ju Tan replied 'I am from Song-Zi County in Hubei Province.' The woodcutter exclaimed: 'How did you get here! This

thousand

li

from your

is

in

Guizhou

place.'

Province,

more than a

152

"The woodcutter showed him the shortest path down the

Bill Chalker

228

mountain. Ju Tan arrived in due course at his home, and

found that eighteen days had elapsed. After much enquiry, was It

know what had caused

impossible to

still

it

his experience.

was just an extraordinary mystery." 153 These

echoed in modern accounts from China.

stories are

"One evening in

autumn of 1975," according to an un-

the

verified report published

UFO

by the Beijing branch of the Chinese

Research Society, "two soldiers of a certain unit of the

Army

Chinese People's Liberation

County

stationed in Jian-Shui

in the Province of Yun-Nan [Yunnan] encountered a

huge saucer-shaped flying object that was

around

circling

above their heads and emitting beams of soft orange-colored light.

One of the men

at

once ran into the camp to give the

alarm, while the other stayed there to watch later,

when

the

Camp Commandant

armed men came running up

made by

all

at

with about a dozen

who had remained behind.

once ordered that a general search be

and

personnel, officers

was no sign of him.

A few minutes

to the Entrance to the Barracks,

they found no trace of the solider

The Commandant

it.

A

few hours

enlisted

later,

men, but there

four soldiers, taking

over sentry duty, suddenly heard the sound of

someone

moaning behind them, and, looking around, found that it was the missing man, who in miraculous fashion had reappeared. They at once perceived that his eyebrows, beard, and hair

had grown extremely

consciousness

it

When

long.

was found that

His wristwatch showed that

it

his

he had fully recovered

memory was

had stopped long

not a watch of the type indicating the date, so sible to establish

totally gone.

it

ago. It

was not pos-

how many 'days of a different time'

spent 'elsewhere/ His weapons and watch slightly magnetized."

all

was

154

he had

were found to be

155

During the Sydney Writers'

Festival

of May 2003,

1

had the

.

Hair of the Alien opportunity to meet

229

Ma Jian, a literary dissident offspring of He had written

the Cultural Revolution's "lost generation." beautiful

He

told

and disturbing book, Red Dust: A Path Through

me

China.

of his strange encounter with a mysterious light

near the Burmese border, again in early

a

May of 1986.

Yunnan

province, in about

In the middle of the night he

had escaped

from police custody in a small village, where he had been held under suspicion of being a dissident or "I left

the village

and climbed the

spy.

not daring to turn

hill,

my torch [flashlight] on. Soon I could hear the river again. When my hand touched a concrete bridge I switched on my torch and ran.

"Half an hour

later the batteries

ran out and

I

was plunged

down my spine. I was on a narrow path on a high mountain ridge. One false step and I into darkness again. Cold shivers ran

would

roll to

my death.

I

could hear the wind rustle through

treetops in the valley far below.

mouse and could

see in the dark.

to crawl like a pig

I

go no further. At ground.

.

last

groped I

I

I

wished

eyes of a

crouched down and began

like this for

collapsed

had the

I

hours until

and sank

my

I

could

face into the

.

moment

a light appeared in the darkness.

It

was neither a torch nor a candle, nor a glow-worm shaking

in

"At that very

the breeze.

It

seemed

to

come from another

from a stream and floated through the

trees

realm.

It

rose

then stopped by

some branches ten meters away and slowly dropped

to

my eye

my eyes and tried to compose myself. Suddenly I remembered a story my father told me as a child. One night, when my grandfather had lost his way in a field of sorghum, a level. I

ball

of fire appeared before him and guided him back home.

"I

ther

shut

opened

who

my

eyes

died in a

and stood up. He

is

here.

My grandfa-

communist jail before I was born has come

230

Chalker

Bill

my rescue. I walked- forward and the ball of fire followed me through the branches, guiding my way for twenty kilometo

T

ters until the

Ma Jian metaphor China. size

sky turned white." 156

confirmed that

real experience

of a cantaloupe.

literary

of alienation with contemporary

for his sense

was a

It

account was not a

this

with a ball of light about the

157

The Harbin Abduction In September 2003 Time magazine reflected

nent

first

nauts.

manned launch

into space. "Forget China's astro-

The country's most famous

in the last

house on

on China's immi-

his lane at the

intergalactic traveler lives

edge of a Siberian

forest,"

Time reporter Matthew Forney enthused, tongue in cheek, suspect.

158

The best-known

Meng Zhao Guo,

the case of

Wuchang, near Harbin 1994 Zhao ging

alien abduction story in

Guo and two

159

China

I

is

a young tree farmer from

in Heilongjiang province. In

June

other farm workers at Red Flag log-

camp saw something unusual on nearby Mt. Phoenix—

"a metallic glint.

.

.

.

Thinking a helicopter had crashed, he

set

out to scavenge for scrap."

160

and were

was "a strange, white round object

with a

able to see that

tail like

Sun Shi

it

The

climbed the mountain

a scorpion."

Li participated in the

ganization's

trio

(CURO)

Chinese

UFO

investigation of the affair.

Research Or161

In 1997 he

indicated to American researcher Antonio Huneeus, "[Zhao

Guo] couldn't get

closer because

it

was emitting a very strong

noise that produced unbearable pain. So they changed direction to approach the object again but with

no success

On

the following day he guided a group of co-workers to the site

and,

when he was about

1

kilometer away, he looked with

Hair of the Alien

2 3

1

ET with a raised arm forehead. He fainted,

binoculars and saw next to the device an

beam which burned

emitting a

ground."

falling to the

Time's belated take described after his injury,

his bed.

As

his

"Meng

says he

slept below, a three-m-tall,

on her

legs straddled his

minutes of levitational copulation she de-

parted through the wall, leaving his thigh.

.

found himself floating above

six-fingered alien with braided fur waist. After forty

.

what followed. Several nights

and daughter

his wife

.

162

A month

later,

he

says,

Meng

the wall into a spaceship.

Meng with a five-cm mark on he was transported through

asked to see the

woman with

the braided fur. Impossible, they said. But they gave

60

'In

years,

on a distant

planet,' they said, 'the

nese peasant will be born.' this child.

He would. The

Huneeus

Meng

asked

aliens did

if

him hope.

son of a Chi-

he would ever see

not say where." 163

indicates that the story

becomes even weirder:

"When Zhao Guo was taken by train to the hospital, he claimed seeing an invisible alien— a three meter

ET— which nobody else

tall,

scary-looking female

He

even claimed

CURO

investigators

in the train could see.

having sexual intercourse with her, which

have a hard time believing. That same night, Zhao

photo outside in

his

Guo took

a

house and an unexplained white bar appeared

one corner when the film was developed." 164

Sun Shi

elaborated on the

more

exotic aspects of the case

in a lecture he gave in Brisbane, in Australia, during 1997:

After being bit by the ray he had a rare experience with an male. The female took felt cold, so the

him through a wall She took him at

ET gave him

a

cover,

ETfe-

night.

which was also a flying

165

He

vehicle.

In the abdominal area she inserted two grains of medicine, and also in his

leg.

[Zhao Guo] this

lost his

memory of everything

he recovered his memory.

that happened. After

232

Bill

The

ETfemale was very tall,

some images on a screen

that

almost roof height. She showed him

was on

766

ETs predicted this crash I

Chalker

the eve

ofa crash into Saturn. The

f

suspect that the "crash" being referred to here

is

the

1994.

Comet Shoemaker- Levy 9 into Jupiter on July 16, As Zhao Guo had his claimed encounter during June

1994,

it

crash of

seems

likely that this

But, in fact, astronomers

had been predicting the

the comet with Jupiter for

He was also shown

was what was being implied.

some

collision

of

time.

images of Earth and of President Clinton and

Chinese dignitaries. Their technology

is

very advanced. It can reflect

anything on Earth. [In the farmer's house] he had sexual relations with

ET female .

.

He was

told

.

.

The

in detail the anatomical parts

of the female.

a baby of mixed blood [would be born]. Sixty years

later she will return to

show

the child to the farmer.

After the event an orchid by the this

.

maintained sexual encounters on a variety of occasions.

[Zhao Guo] has sketched .

her.

window

.

.

.

after several nights,

orchid gave off brilliant rays of light for several days.

During September 2003 Zhang Jingping, a Beijing-based

UFO

had psychologists and

researcher,

police technicians

Zhao Guo to hypnosis and a lie detector test in BeiZhang indicated the test results proved the abductee was

subject jing.

telling the truth.

that

by

Zhao Guo's

common

He

also claimed that doctors

had indicated

scars "could not possibly have

injuries or surgery."

farmer with only

five years

been caused

Meng Zhao Guo,

a

humble

of schooling, also indicated that

he had never heard of UFOs or ufologists until after his experiences

had been reported. After more than a hundred

views he

now feels

the affair has disrupted his

uneasily, he laments,

[my]

UFO

"But ufologists

still

life.

inter-

Somewhat

take great interest in

encounter nine years on. They hope there

will

be a

Hair of the Alien

UFO phenomenon as soon as possible; only

conclusion to the

then will

I

feel released."

Like so

one

behind

it,

167

many of the worldwide

Meng Zhao Guo's bizarre

233

story

at that.

To

is

cases of alien abduction,

essentially just

really establish the

further research

is

required,

that— a

story,

and a

nature of the reality

and that

research,

whenever possible, needs to be anchored in the forensic/scientific

approach

I

have advocated throughout this book.

Basque Legacy— the Iberian Vinculum

DNA tests on the Khoury hair sample revealed a rare Basque/Gaelic type DNA in the root section. Following each Further

of the

localities

my attention

suggested by the genetic evidence,

turned

world of the Basques.

to the

The Basques

I

are believed

by many to be Europe's oldest

people, but their origins are a mystery. Their language

is

thought to be unique, largely unrelated to any other language

on Earth. They

are few in

number and

inhabit a rugged and

remote part of the European mainland between France and Spain.

168 169 -

Mari, the neolithic goddess of Old Europe and the pri-

mary

deity in Basque mythology, has

many

manifestations,

including "as a tree that looks like a woman or a tree emitting flames," "a white cloud or rainbow, or a ball of fire in the air,"

a "sickle of

fire,

as

which she appears crossing the

"seen enveloped in

through the

air."

170

fire,

lying

down

horizontally,

Her preferred habitat

is

and

moving

generally subter-

ranean, as befits the Basque lands, which are wild tainous.

sky,"

and moun-

171

So the Basques are a unique and unusual people with a mythic belief in a potent female "sky being," often perceived

234

Chalker

Bill

as a light

form moving through the

Modern abduction rePeninsula are no more tangible

ports in the wider Iberian

than

this

myth, unfortunately?

Trolling under the

Many

air.

Dolmen

made public by the late Iberian ufologist Antonio Ribera. One such case involves the bizarre claims of Xavier Clares Jerez, who claims not to have Iberian abduction cases were

been abducted into a

UFO

but into a

cave,

which resonates

Basque goddess Mari's subterranean

well with the

predilec-

tions.

On home

Sunday, July 21, 1985, Xavier Clares Jerez returned after

spending what he thought had been a

relatively

uneventful photographic day excursion to Vallgorguina. At

home he found his wife and brother frantic: for thirty-four

he had been gone

hours instead of several hours, as he thought.

His car was very dirty and was covered "with stains of some viscous, sticky substance."

Though he thought he had

eled only fifty kilometers in his car, the

three

hundred kilometers. And

to top

trav-

odometer revealed

it all off,

he was sport-

ing a bizarre haircut. Totally confused by the turn of events, he turned to his

cameras in the hope of unlocking the mystery. He had taken

two cameras with him— a modern 35-millimeter camera loaded with color slide film and an old-fashioned box camera

he had made himself. Though he didn't recollect taking any photos, his 35-millimeter camera indicated that he had taken several shots.

When developed,

of "green demonic

the slide film revealed a series

faces."

Under hypnosis by a Professor Francisco de Asis Rovatti Heredia, Xavier Clares Jerez told of driving out on a road that

235

Hair of the Alien

dolmen, or

leads out to the Gentle Stone (Pedra Gentil)—a.

monument— at

megalithic

Vallgorguina in the Catalonia

name Vallgorguina is thought

gion of Spain. The

re-

to be a cor-

ruption of the Basque words Val Sorgina, meaning "Valley of

He described seeing "a bit of mist ahead," which puzzled him. He then found himself dozing off on the the Witches/'

ground. "A sort of liquid sticky

.

.

.

ugh

but

to sleep,

certain

It's

.

.

.

very nasty

"I can't; this

it

on me. ...

falling

is

." .

.

sort of

It is

Confused, he said he wanted

water that's dropping won't

isn't water.

.

.

.

And

me.

let

everything's covered in

He then took some photos of "the sky and this rain that is falling" with the box camera. He was protective of the camera, as "the spool I am carrying is important." He added, clouds."

"I

them

don't want

to take

it

off me

... I

can see them."

Xavier indicated under hypnosis that these beings were

not

like the small,

home. He doesn't

benevolent ones he has encountered in his like these beings,

ently telepathically, that they

how he

is.

He

and into a

but they

want him

to

go with them

described being reluctantly taken

cave.

They

tried to

open

his

him, appar-

tell

down

to see

a slope

box camera, until one

of them seemed to understand Xavier's concern. They then stuck something like a catheter into one of his arms and extracted

some

liquid.

Xavier described his abductors: "These are almost as I

am, just a

bit less,

deeply furrowed.

one

who put

You

can't see

the "catheter" in

the others did not. Still

but their faces are horrible.

.

is

him had

hair

on

it."

He

hair,

are

The

his head,

but

.

.

dirty gray" color. tried to use

told that they intend to

copy of him. They even cut his

want to copy

They ."

under hypnosis, Xavier said the beings

He

.

any clothing on them.

They were "a very

both of his cameras.

.

tall as

make

a

apparently because "they

apparently lost consciousness. Xavier

236

Bill Chalker

company— his mirror-image car with him. He was identical-

then spoke about the strange

copy— who drove back

in the

even wearing the same clothing— except that his double had

long

hair,

while Xavier' s was

alien barber. Xavier in Barcelona.

now short, courtesy of a very bad

dropped off his "copy" upon

Xavier has his alien stigmata, like after

him— "three

many others

before and

triangular punctures" forming a triangle

with approximately 3-centimeter sides on his

made

back

arrival

172

left

arm.

He also

a detailed sketch of the three-pronged alien device that

produced the marks. Xavier's box camera yielded photos

showing "a black shape and two

and

claw-like hands, black, shiny

scaly." Allegedly the original plates

make

ing Xavier to

were very dark, forc-

"a contra-type," or negative, apparently,

followed by several generations of prints, each one successively cleaner

and with

less contrast.

helmeted being but with

little

The end

facial

result

detail,

shows a

plus

some

"hand/claw" shots.

Over the next few days there were a number of sightings of

own aunt berated him, when he turned "What— you again! But you have just left, say-

Xavier's "copy." His

up

for dinner:

ing that you couldn't stay for dinner." Perhaps understandably, if this story is to

be believed at

all,

Xavier became very

preoccupied with the whereabouts of his "double." Intermittent sightings continued.

With the approaching cold weather,

a dejected-looking "double" wearing the same flowered

Hawaiian stop on

shirt Xavier

November

had worn

16, 1985.

in July

On January

was spotted

at a

bus

12, 1986, just before

Ribera submitted his report for publication, with Barcelona in winter's full grip, Xavier's "double" was seen again,

wearing that Hawaiian

As ridiculous

shirt!

still

173

as this story seems, there are

some

interest-

237

Hair of the Alien

ing resonances with other encounters around the world.

Xavier Clares Jerez's bizarre

began with the strange

tilt

"rain," "mist,"

remarkably frequent in

UFO

174

some

I

know of at least three such

UFO

car following a

who

encounter.

175

cases

oil"

from Aus-

was found on a

In 1974 two

women from

experienced a missing-time encounter claimed

that a "viscous sticky white material like spiders

over the car door."

like

in

and Rockhampton,

Queensland, a "very thin film of odorless

all

unusual

my background

Given

In August 1971 in Gladstone

Canberra

cases,

are

always hope for the chance of examining such

I

material closely. tralia.

and "clouds." These

events; in

precipitates are also reported.

chemistry,

into the "alien underworld"

176

web

.

.

.

was

And a "thick white substance not un-

white paint" featured in the very strange car "road haz-

ard" incident at

Nemingha

had the opportunity

Under

in 1976.

177

Unfortunately,

I

never

to analyze these residues.

careful scrutiny, Xavier's bizarre tale just doesn't

UFO

hold up, however. "For me," says Spanish

researcher

Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, whose investigative rigor and skills are

beyond reproach

in

my opinion,

"it

was a hoax/psy-

chosis case,

an unreliable testimony from a subject who was

familiar as

an insider to

esoteric circles,

was a witness of so-called bedroom

an individual who

visitations. In addition,

sloppy hypnosis procedures were used. After Ribera, no one ever worried

about the case and, to the best of my memory,

no one came back

to

it

for gullible ufologists."

again. Probably

was 'too much' even

it

178

However, as Vicente-Juan indicated, as

far as

one analyzed the viscous material that allegedly

we can fell

on

tell

no

his car

back in 1985, and there has been no independent analysis of his "alien" photos.

for the story at

all.

So ultimately there

is

no

credible evidence

Bill Chalker

238

Vicente-Juan himself reviewed six Iberian abduction experiences in a paper entitled "Alleged Experiences Inside

An Analysis result

of Abduction Reports." He found

all six

to be the

of hoax, delusion, or psychosis. "In none of the

states Vicente-Juan,

UFOs: cases,"

| 1

"was extraordinary evidence presented to

support an anomalous event or novel phenomenon." 179 precisely this feature, "extraordinary evidence" sup-

It is

porting the anomalous events of Peter Khour/s and Kelly CahilPs experiences, that caused

abduction experiences.

Now

I

me

to shift

my

opinion on

think that abduction stories

that yield extraordinary data that survive a forensic entific gauntlet deserve serious attention.

are

The

emerging speaks loudly for the possible

and

fact that

reality

i

i|

sci-

some

of alien ab-

ductions.

I

I

(

Tuatha Mythos— the Gaelic

Celtic

DNA

"alien hair"

testing of the

Khoury

genetic links to the Gaelic peoples. scientist

who worked on

Nexus

The

sample also yielded

principal biochemical

the sample speculated about the

DNA's possible Irish, English Gaelic, and Celtic origins. The most compelling speculations anchored around the mythic traditions of Ireland involving the mysterious

Tuatha de

Danann, or Tribe of Danu. The coming of these people land

is

i