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e ancient gods dwelling on mountaintops directly ruled large segments of the population in the Orient; Greece; Rome; Africa; and South America。
However they arrived at their 1953 decision; the CIA/air force plan to debunk; downgrade; and ridicule flying saucers was; in retrospect; the most responsible course the government could take。 But they underestimated the scope of the phenomenon and its ability to manipulate humans and generate propaganda。
IV。
On May 20; 1967; Steve Michalak was out prospecting near Falcon Lake; Manitoba; Canada; when he saw a large circular object land。 It seemed to be made of glittering metal 〃like stainless steel。〃 He approached it and thought he could hear voices mumbling inside。 He called out but received no answer。 Instead; the object spewed out some kind of gas or flame which caught him full in the chest and sent him reeling backward as it took off。 Both his shirt and the skin underneath were burned with an odd checkerboard pattern。
Mr。 Michalak became extremely ill; suffering a week of blackouts; nausea; headaches; and a weight loss of twenty…two pounds。 It took him many weeks to return to normal。 Then; on September 21; 1967; 124 days after the initial incident; the burns on his chest returned and his body began to swell。 He was hospitalized and again returned to normal。 But the malady returned every 109 to 124 days。 In August 1968; after a year of recurring illnesses; he visited the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota at his own expense。 Doctors there told him they had treated another UFO victim from California who suffered from the same thing。 His problems stemmed from 〃a foreign substance〃 in his blood; he was told。
When scientists from the air force…financed UFO study conducted by Colorado University visited Michalak; they asked to see the place where the saucer had landed He admitted that he had been searching for the spot himself; without success。 He was puzzled by his inability to locate it。 Despite his inexplicable injury; the scientists viewed this inability as proof that his story was a hoax。 In their final report they implied he was not telling the truth。
Actually there are a great many cases in which the witnesses found they could not relocate the site of their experience。 Buildings and landmarks clearly seen at the time seem to vanish。 Roads and highways disappear。 This bewildering phenomenon is well…known in psychic lore also; probably because many psychic experiences are hallucinatory; too。 There are innumerable stories about restaurants that seemed to dissolve after the witnesses stopped there。 Tales of disappearing houses are mon。 A weary traveler stops at an old abandoned house for the night; just like in the movies; and later learns the house he stayed in does not exist。。。 or had burned down years ago。
True to the reflective factor; as I was writing this I received a letter from F。 W。 Holiday; the British investigator; in which he tells the following:
A family in the south of England still spend their weekends driving around woods looking for a mysterious lake they encountered some fifteen years ago。 Out in the middle they saw a huge rock with a sword driven into it。 Later they went back to do some research but there was no trace of such a lake。 No one had heard of it and it isn't on the maps。
One could fill a book with such incidents; and; indeed; some authors have。 Long ago I classified such episodes as distortions of reality。 Throughout history people have been straying through Alice's looking glass; seeing things that don't exist; visiting places that spill off the maps into some hallucinatory other dimension。 Fifteen years ago there was a lake in England with a sword jutting out of a stone; waiting for some king to e along〃 and pull it out; shouting; 〃Excalibur!〃 This is no more ridiculous than stumbling upon a secret flying saucer base nestled in the hills of New England and bustling with activity。 Contactees have claimed such things。
An engineer Rex Ball swears he came upon a mysterious underground installation in Georgia in 1940; manned by small Oriental…looking men in coveralls and a few American military officers。 When he was caught in the tunnels; one of the officers issued the curt mand; 〃Make him look like a nut!〃 He woke up in a field; uncertain whether his experience had been real or a dream。
That seems to be the battle cry of the phenomenon。
〃Make him look like a nut!〃
13 … Phantom Photographers
I
〃How much did Keel pay you to say these things?〃 a middle…aged man with a cultured voice demanded over and over again as he systematically called several of the witnesses named in my syndicated newspaper columns。 All those long…distance phone calls must have cost him a lot of money and all he succeeded in doing was raising the ire of people who had already been plagued by an endless stream of unwele visitors; crank phone calls; and crazy letters。 Some of them forwarded their mail to me; not knowing if they should answer; or how。
Our UFO enthusiasts are pulsive letter writers。 A major portion of the mail received by witnesses are letters scribbled on sheets of cheap ruled paper in pencil demanding; 〃Send me everything you know。〃 Others are neatly typed and cover forty or fifty pages。 Threatening letters are not unmon; some are laborious paste…ups using words clipped from magazines and newspapers 。。。 〃Do not talk about flying saucers。〃 Others are painfully written in block letters in red ink。 Almost unreadable mimeographed forms are sent out by many of the teen…aged UFO investigators who spring up after each flap; asking such vital scientific questions as: 〃Which planet did they e from?〃
Unfortunately; no qualifications are necessary to join the various nationwide UFO correspondence clubs。 Anyone who could scrape up the five or ten dollars could receive an impressive…looking membership card which gave them carte blanche to harass local police and witnesses。
Members of the 〃little old ladies in tennis shoes〃 brigade found instant identity in joining such clubs。 Then they trooped about their state; lecturing on the ing of the Brothers; appearing on local radio and television as the local 〃experts;〃 and; more often than not; bringing more ridicule to an already ridiculous situation。
Although they are largely a harmless; humorless lot; a few of the ego…tripping characters in ufology are not above creating a few hoaxes of their own; placing prank calls; and; of course; circulating the idiotic rumors。 Ivan Sanderson referred to them as 〃neurots;〃 short for neurotics。 Dr。 Edward Condon of Colorado University labeled them 〃obstructionist。〃 On several occasions I did find that some of these card…carrying ufologists had warned witnesses to report only to them。 Members of peting correspondence clubs often engaged in open battles; trying to reach witnesses first and accusing each other of all kinds of misdeeds。 Donald E。 Keyhoe; head of the Washington…based NICAP; had spent years building and publicizing his case against the air force。 The only tangible result of his campaign was the