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| UFO illustration, scanned (by Salas, S. 2022) |
Betty & Barney Hill's alien abduction (1961) it's the 1st case documented and researched by the US government. It would kick off an extensive inquiry by the Project Blue Book, that investigated UFO sightings, leaded by Dr Allen Hynek. Even if in later years he had to contradict his discoveries (as a government's attempt to cover the investigation), he was the first to classify the Close Encounter system, and it's considered the father of the concept of scientific analysis of reports and evidence left by the UFO's.
The Interrupted Journey, a 1966 book by the author Jhon G. Fuller was collaborated with Betty & Barney Hill's testimonials, which were taken after separated hypnosis therapies conducted by a psychiatrist (continue...)
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| 'UFO' illustration first sketch on paper, ink pens. (By Salas, S. 2022) |
It all started with a spontaneous trip to Niagara Falls: on their way back to their home in NH, as they drove, they noticed a strange light in the sky, which "looked like a falling star but it grew larger and brighter with each mile". “Barney,” she told her husband, “if you think that’s a satellite or a star, you’re being completely ridiculous.”
Barney had an IQ of 140, and also a pragmatic man, he didn't want to scare Betty who was becoming concerned. The object floated above the tree tops (approx 100 feet above them). Barney stopped the car, he took his hid handgun and rushed into the dark field, leaving Betty in the car. What he saw was as big as a jet but as round and flat as a pancake. “My God, what is this thing?” he recalled thinking. “This can’t be real.”
The next thing they remember it's fuzzy, and they came back to their senses two hours later and 35 miles down the road. In the months after, Betty decided to report the sighting to the Air Force, worried about radiation. Even if Barney wasn't convinced. The Hills were a biracial couple, something it was taboo and not well-seen in that time, they had to be extra careful with their everyday life. Something like a crazy story could ruin them for good.
In the coming years, Betty suffering from disturbing dreams and Barney developing ulcer and anxiety, the couple search for mental help. This is how the psychiatrist and neurologist Benjamin Simon, took the couple and after months of weekly hypnosis sessions, he helped them to piece together what they think it happened: "a vessel had landed on the Hill's car, putting them to sleep. Afterward, gray beings walked them up a long ramp and into the spacecraft".
Once inside, the gray beings conducted a series of experiments, including a large needle was inserted into Betty's belly. Barney was taken to another room for further experiments, leaving Betty alone with "the leader" of the gray beings. Betty asked where the craft had flown, admitting she knew little of the universe. The being joked with her, saying “if you don’t know where you are, there wouldn’t be any point in telling you where I am.” Later, under hypnosis, she drew a star map shown to her on the ship.
In separated sessions, they draw what they remember of the spacecraft, coinciding with their testimonials, they draw similar objects.
In 1965, the Hills' story was picked up by a Boston newspaper. After that, everything changed. The quiet couple’s story became the subject of a best-selling book and a movie starring James Earl Jones.
Many skeptical, try to discredit the couple arguing "the stress of being an interracial couple living in a predominantly white state in a turbulent era". But the truth, it's that they have more to lose with this kind of story as both activist in the civil-rights movement.
In my opinion, I rather and want to believe, not only because it makes life less dull, but with everything that is happening in the world today, who isn't looking for answers outside of it?
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