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─ [190] MUFON/Fido - BAMA Fringe Sci. (88:9002/0) ─────────────────────── BAMA ─ Msg : 319 of 407 From : John Powell 1:261/1201 Wed 18 Jan 95 22:03 To : All Subj : Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 1 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * Originally By: Pony Godic * Originally To: All * Originally Re: Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 1 * Original Area: ParaNet(sm) Abduction Echo * Forwarded by : Blue Wave v2.12 OS/2 In "Australian Ufology: A review" (Journal of UFO Studies, New Series, Vol.2, 1990 pg.35) the authors (Keith Basterfield, Vladimir & Pony Godic and Mark Rodeghier) record that Bill Chalker "presented the first comprehensive discussion of Australian abductions, discussing five cases from the 1970s, plus various theories and hypotheses advanced to explain the accounts." "That discussion was covered in Bill Chalker's research paper `Australian `Interrupted Journeys'." While that paper was published in the UFO research Australia Newsletter, Vol.5. (2):14-23, 1984, it was originally presented at an Australian UFO conference in Sydney, NSW, on October 14th, 1979. The paper appeared in the conference proceedings and was also published in the MUFON UFO Journal No. 150, August, 1980. "It should be noted that this review predated the appearance of Budd Hopkins' `Missing Time' book (1981). As such it provides an interesting insight into the early period of abduction research in Australia and overseas research. It also refers to an earlier study by Bill Chalker, `Beyond the CE 3 down under - Notes on the apparent absence of contact, time lapse and abduction cases in Australia' which he presented at a UFO conference at Surfers Paradise, Australia, in 1977." In 1991, "Australian `Interrupted Journeys'" was published in the UFOR digital book "UFO Research in Australia and New Zealand." Special thanks to Bill Chalker for allowing reproduction of this fascinating, ground breaking article here. -!-------------------------------------------------------------------- AUSTRALIAN "INTERRUPTED JOURNEYS" By Bill Chalker (C) COPYRIGHT 1979 - Bill Chalker, NSW, Australia Interactions with the UFO phenomenon have occurred at many levels. The most compelling for science are those that are readily amenable to traditional scientific method. The area of physical evidence and traces are one case in point (1), however, other types of accounts seem to be opening up new vistas. One such area of enquiry is where the percipient of the UFO experience does not have a total recall of events. The overseas experience has noted this loss of total recall, or memory loss, in several types of UFO events. These have been mainly in the contact and so-called abduction genre. Their validity has been a subject of considerable debate, but this is a theme I will return to later. Until recently, it has been noted that, upon first inspection, "we appear to have a complete absence of time loss `abduction' contact cases. Keith Basterfield, myself, and others have demonstrated that Australia does have a considerable body of entity accounts, and yet none of them demonstratively show `contact' aspects. It can be shown that Australia has a large body of evidential cases of the peripheral `contact' type. Here I am referring to the situation where a witness encounters a UFO, an entity or some kindred manifestation, and then some manner of interaction takes place, either in an objective or subjective way." (2) (3) I indicated in 1982 that: "While we lack contemporary cases which demonstratively show, among other things, the elements of abduction, contact and time lapse, Australia, unbeknown to most researchers, enjoyed a rich indigenous tradition of similar accounts. Here I refer primarily to the tribal initiating accounts of aboriginal medicine men - men of `high degree' as A.P. Elkin aptly puts it.* These aboriginal `shaman' have a powerful and consistent tradition of ritualistic initiation, the elements of which bare amazing similarities to many modern day UFO abduction and contact accounts. (4) (*It is with much sadness that I note the passing of Professor Elkin in 1979. While he is no longer with us, his extraordinary work on indigenous folklore and Australian aboriginal culture will, no doubt, be timeless.) "Thus, while a hidden body of data on the contact, abduction, and time-lapse variety may exist in Australia today, we really only have a few cases which, in certain aspects, reflect these factors as well as a remarkable aboriginal tradition of such cases. The latter, because of their mystical, shamanistic framework, really allude definitive correlations with the contemporary UFO contact tradition." (5) In a manner, often disconcertingly characteristic of the UFO subject, our enquiries exhumed a number of antipodean cases of the "interrupted journey" genre. By way of an interesting synchronicity, the first of these (1971 - Gladstone) came to my notice at the time I was highlighting the apparent absence of such cases (6) and, early in 1978, I was caught up in an extended, and on-going, investigation of another (1978 - Bakers Creek Falls). Since then a small, but fascinating, body of "interrupted journeys" has surfaced. The presence of such stimuli as the film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," and the burgeoning literature on the theme, cannot be clearly viewed as a cause of the appearance of these cases. Two of the cases to be presented occurred before the publicity that accompanied the advent of "CE3K." What follows is a sampling of the "interrupted journeys" that have appeared. Part 1 will describe these cases and Part 2 will try and make some sense out of them. Continued in part 2... --- FMail/386 1.0g * Origin: Absence of Evidence is not Evidence of Absence BBS (1:261/1201) ─ [190] MUFON/Fido - BAMA Fringe Sci. (88:9002/0) ─────────────────────── BAMA ─ Msg : 320 of 407 From : John Powell 1:261/1201 Wed 18 Jan 95 22:03 To : All Subj : Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 2 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * Originally By: Pony Godic * Originally To: All * Originally Re: Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 2 * Original Area: ParaNet(sm) Abduction Echo * Forwarded by : Blue Wave v2.12 OS/2 Continued from part 1... PART I: AUSTRALIAN "INTERRUPTED JOURNEYS" CASE ONE: GLADSTONE-ROCKHAMPTON, QUEENSLAND, 1971 (7) After finding out about this case in 1977 (I and others had heard many rumours of a "teleportation" or "Hill" type case in the Gladstone area for a number of years previous to this), two years of investigation took my enquiries from Queensland to Western Australia, then as far afield as Finland and Sweden, to finally return to Queensland. I finally managed to catch up with the original witnesses and I am confident that what follows is an accurate representation of what happened: On the night of August 1, 1971, a Finnish couple, Ben and Helen K (names and address on file, but not for publication) were returning home after visiting friends. The couple left Gladstone soon after 11.35p.m. Having found no petrol stations open, they were very low on fuel but decided to risk the trip to Rockhampton, hoping to find an open petrol station in one of the small centres on the way, before their tank ran dry. The night was foggy and dark. By midnight, they had arrived at Calliope River. After passing over the bridge, and beginning to travel along the straight stretch of road that followed, they became aware of seeing a Caltex station on the left side of the road, north of Mount Larcom, some 20 miles beyond the Calliope River bridge! The station was closed but, after driving some 50 yards passed it, Ben K became aware that he could see "a green light at the level of the treetops" in the rear view mirror. His wife confirmed the presence of two green lights. Then, Ben K said: "Suddenly we had a feeling that we had been driving straight forward all the time. The road seemed straight, foggy, and surrounded by trees (in this area the roads are usually winding). And we had a feeling that we were repeating the same words over and over again. We thought we should have been arriving at Mount Larcom." Suddenly, the couple saw a light to their left and, above them, a circle of lights, similar to the lights on a merry-go-round or carousel. The next thing they saw was the Port Alma road sign, some 40 miles north of Calliope River. Immediately, after this observation, the couple found themselves at a railroad crossing outside Rockhampton, about 20 miles from Mount Morgan. Ben K indicated: "We wondered how we had managed to get so far and why we had not seen any villages on the way. We should have seen at least four of them. We felt that something strange had happened to us. We were afraid. I took a rifle out of the trunk and loaded it. We drove to Rockhampton with the rifle on my knees. Our dog, Candy, who usually sleeps on the back seat, was afraid and wanted to come to the front seat." In the middle of Rockhampton, the couple found an open petrol station. It was there that the bizarre nature of the trip really struck home. They were shocked to find that the time was only 15 minutes past midnight! Only 40 minutes had passed since they had left Gladstone. At the average speed, the couple estimated they were driving at, some 35 to 40mph, the trip time would have been in excess of an hour, probably closer to two hours. It seemed that the couple covered the distance in almost half the required time and, on top of that, had no conscious recollection of passing through any villages. They only remembered the Caltex station and the Port Alma road sign. The service station attendant in Rockhampton became very interested in that. Then peculiar things were discovered on the car. The couple's car (1971 Valiant sedan) was covered with a very thin film of odourless oil. The attendant could not identify it but suggested it would be used on "very fine machinery unknown to him." In the corners of the oil covered bonnet, four round marks, two in each rear corner, were noticed. All were identical, being one eighth of an inch wide and nine inches in diameter. In the middle of each circle there was a spot - a one inch solid circle. Oil traces ran in two stripes from the circles towards the nose of the car. A defect in the duco, described as being burnt, was found on the right-hand-side front of the bonnet (with respect to viewing site from in front of the car), above the headlight (left headlight with respect to driver). The mystery deepened as the number of people gathering around the car, in curiosity, grew. Ben K said, "after a while another driver came to the station. He said he had passed us before the Calliope River. He couldn't understand how we could have arrived at Rockhampton before him. "Finally, we went to the police station and told our story. But the young officer said (after examining the oil and marks on the bonnet): `All I can say is that I have often fallen asleep at the steering wheel and woken up after 200-300 miles'." Beware of somnambulistic police officers in the Rockhampton area! The couple wanted to contact the local newspaper but, at that hour, it was closed. They drove around Rockhampton for a while, with their car drawing stares wherever they stopped. In an effort to reconcile, in their own minds, what happened, Ben K states: "Slowly it dawned on us what happened. As we were so concerned about the petrol station, UFOs lifted us from Calliope River, past Mount Larcom, to the Caltex Service Station, and from there, during a second lift, via Port Alma Junction, to the railway crossing a couple of miles from Rockhampton. (That is an excellent solution to a petrol crisis.) Continued in part 3... --- FMail/386 1.0g * Origin: Absence of Evidence is not Evidence of Absence BBS (1:261/1201) ─ [190] MUFON/Fido - BAMA Fringe Sci. (88:9002/0) ─────────────────────── BAMA ─ Msg : 321 of 407 From : John Powell 1:261/1201 Wed 18 Jan 95 22:03 To : All Subj : Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 3 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * Originally By: Pony Godic * Originally To: All * Originally Re: Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 3 * Original Area: ParaNet(sm) Abduction Echo * Forwarded by : Blue Wave v2.12 OS/2 Continued from part 2... "We continued our trip around 3 o'clock and had 300 miles of foggy driving ahead of us. We were wishing that UFOs would come and help us again, but that didn't eventuate. "During the following day we did inspect our car more carefully and thought that the paint work had burned, lifting off in flakes. This wasn't the case; as the oil, mixed with dust, had started to dry up, it produced this flaking. We tried and found out the mixture of `oil and dust' was water soluble..." The experience on the night of August 1-2, 1971, changed the couple's lives to a degree. They subsequently saw a number of UFOs and Helen K had several possibly related experiences of telepathy (one in relation to a UFO event (8) and precognition). An analysis was done on the "burnt" spot on the bonnet by Finnish UFO researchers and it was concluded that the site came in contact with extreme heat. Hypnotic regression was also attempted on the couple, however, nothing further was elicited. Each time induction was attempted, and recall of that evening was attempted, they would begin to shake violently. The hypnotist gave up the attempt. (9) CASE TWO: MOONIE, QUEENSLAND, 1977 (10) The "Balonne Beacon" newspaper of St George, Queensland, described the following odd events in its March 17, 1977, edition. The details may be germane to our enquiries. The incident took place in a very isolated locale, with only scattered homesteads: "Two travellers from Brisbane report an unnerving experience when they came under the attention of a UFO near Moonie last night. Jennifer Hands and Michael Noonan had pulled up about 10.30 for an hour's sleep a few miles this side of the township. Jennifer woke to find the lights of their vehicle on and asked Michael to switch them off. About 12.30 the lights were on again, but the battery was flat. Both people reported a weird sensation: on awakening, they felt they should not open their eyes and are convinced they could not have done so anyway, as some force was holding them immobile. `The weird electrifying sensation can't be described,' they said. Eventually, when they did open their eyes, a strange object with flashing lights was hovering some distance away. This rose and also moved sideways before zooming off on the approach of a truck, which clutch-started their vehicle, which, from there to St George, ran very erratically. The generator and lights would stop working and then come good again, the temperature gauge would rise high and then fall back to cold. Michael said it was hard to control at times, as though a sideways force was being exerted on it. There were also unexplained noises in the back (it's a covered ute) and in the panel work. On arrival at St George, they parked on a service station forecourt and Jennifer wrote a letter to her mother telling of the experience. As a joke, they looked up and high overhead they could see several UFOs among the stars. Michael said near where they saw the hovering UFO there was a very acrid smell, similar to that when a number of car batteries are being charged in a confined area. They also found a strange piece of material under the bonnet. This has been given to the police, to whom they have reported their experience." Apparently, several local residents also saw strange objects in the sky shortly before midnight. It is perhaps only coincidental that the truck-driver, who assisted the young couple with a push start, apparently indicated that his truck "did not behave as well" after the incident. (11) It is of interest that the St George area has long been a centre of UFO activity and came into prominence later with the "shoot-out" incident. (12) CASE THREE: BAKERS CREEK FALLS, NEW SOUTH WALES, 1978. (13) This is the strange experience of Gary P (name and address on file, but not for publication) on the Old Grafton Armidale road, during January, 1978, which I detailed in "Australian UFO Newsletter" (14). During the early hours of January 10, 1978, Gary P observed two UFOs about 10 miles out of Grafton, along the Old Armidale Road. One of the objects approached and seemed to be slowly moving down the side of a mountain. It seemed to periodically issue a "shower of sparks." This sighting apparently lasted for about 20 minutes. It is the interim journey, that follows, that is of interest here. Gary P found himself, in his Kombi, stopped on the road, at about 5a.m. To his left, was an incredibly bright object, hovering some distance away, in the direction of Bakers Creek Falls. How did he come to find himself in this position? I quote from my report: "Mr P's perception of time from leaving Grafton, up until he finds himself at Bakers Creek Falls - a distance of about a hundred miles - is certainly not clear. He thought the first sighting, out of Grafton, occurred a long time out of Grafton, but apparently, after retracing his route, he is certain that it occurred only about 10 miles out of the town. He thought it was only a few minutes after leaving the first UFO sighting behind that he saw `a group of hunters' gathered around a fire beside the road, but his reconstruction, upon returning along that road, places these `hunters' a good three quarters of an hour in time after this. Then he felt it was 10 or 15 minutes before he finds himself at Bakers Creek Falls. His second trip along that road put it at about an hour and a half. In fact, he cannot even recollect driving the distance between seeing the `hunters' and turning up at Bakers Creek Falls. Although it is common for people to drive long distances without recollection of the trip, this particular road would seemingly preclude it. For much of its distance, it is dirt gravel surface which winds its way up into plateau country. The road twists and turns and, even when it finally gives way to a bitumen surface, it still requires complete attention to travel it safely. Having driven up and down this road many times myself, I find it astonishing that someone, not having travelled it before, would not have a vivid memory of a fairly bad road. In fact, without recall to total faculties, I would expect that a weary traveller would instead find himself parting company with the road in many places... Continued in part 4... --- FMail/386 1.0g * Origin: Absence of Evidence is not Evidence of Absence BBS (1:261/1201) ─ [190] MUFON/Fido - BAMA Fringe Sci. (88:9002/0) ─────────────────────── BAMA ─ Msg : 322 of 407 From : John Powell 1:261/1201 Wed 18 Jan 95 22:03 To : All Subj : Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 4 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * Originally By: Pony Godic * Originally To: All * Originally Re: Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 4 * Original Area: ParaNet(sm) Abduction Echo * Forwarded by : Blue Wave v2.12 OS/2 Continued from part 3... "Mr P's recollection of the hunters and the surrounding locality may place it at Tyringham - a small community about half-way between Grafton and Armidale. Here, in 1973, I investigated what appears to have been one of the most intensive UFO flaps ever experienced in Australia (15). Mr P did not stop and share his adventure with the `hunters' as he felt he may have been ridiculed and the hour may not have been amenable to safe roadside meetings with strangers. Shortly after this, he recollected seeing `the same thing again - these yellow objects out in a paddock,' but he was not certain. He continued on without any recall of what happened until just outside Armidale, at Bakers Creek Falls." My interview with Mr P tells what happened: "What happens was - next recollection was that I'm stopped on the side of the road, and I'm looking out to the left this time, and what I'm looking at is an incredibly bright...what I thought was a chicken farm...and I'm looking at this thing and was watching it for a good 10 minutes and there was nothing happening...I just couldn't believe it, but how bright this thing was...and I was about to take off...I actually lined this - the chicken coop - (this thing) what I actually saw, was that the chicken coop moved!" After a lengthy diversion with an unco-operative "witness," Gary P set off into the paddock to get closer to the extraordinary object he was seeing. However, as he got nearer, the object seemed to retreat into the extensive fog that surrounded it. Gary P eventually found his way to the Falls area and saw the fog retreating out of the ravine. Suddenly, the fog stopped and Gary P was shocked to then see that the fog was now returning along its original path towards him. It quickly enveloped him, reducing visibility to less than 10 feet. The return of the fog was accompanied by a sound similar to that of a vacuum cleaner. A column through the mist could be made out above him where he could see the sky. The fog then quickly dissipated, along with the sound, leaving Gary P alone at the falls. He waited until morning then returned to the car. Standing at the car, he noticed what he described as two "shockwaves," one minute apart, which were like the whole area being suddenly shaken. Then normality, 7.05a.m. and morning. For further details on Gary P's experience, I direct you to my report. (16) CASE FOUR: BALADONIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, 1978 (17) A 30 year old male truck driver experienced the following events, while driving east of Baladonia, at about 4a.m., February 5, 1978: "While driving west, approximately 20-30 miles east from Baladonia, I observed a large spotlight coming towards me, coming from the west, going east. I thought it was another vehicle, so I put my high beam on and off several times, but the other light did not change. Then I could see a large diamond shaped light coming towards me (No.1). It had red, blue, green and yellow lights reflecting off the road directly below it. The white light momentarily blinded me, so I don't know whether it went directly overhead or veered to one side of me. Then I stopped the truck and got out, but couldn't see anything. After a couple of minutes, I started driving again. I started looking around when I noticed a round, dull, white light (No.2), or object, on my right hand side, which was approximately 2-3 inches in diameter, also travelling the same speed as my truck. I then stopped and the object stopped. I started driving again, then the object moved again. Then it disappeared when I drove into Baladonia. About five minutes, it reappeared on my left-hand side. I stopped, then another truck stopped, which was coming from the west, to see if I was alright. I asked if he could see anything, but the object had disappeared. "I started driving, then it reappeared to the left again. I switched my truck headlights off (while driving), then the object went from a round shape to an elongated shape (no.3) which was approximately 17 inches by 8 inches high. It was a dull white colour with black segments (windows?). About one or two minutes later, I switched my headlights on again, then the object disappeared. About quarter, to half, and hour later, it reappeared on my right hand side as a round shape again. About 4.30a.m., as the sky grew brighter, the object disappeared." Continued in part 5... --- FMail/386 1.0g * Origin: Absence of Evidence is not Evidence of Absence BBS (1:261/1201) ─ [190] MUFON/Fido - BAMA Fringe Sci. (88:9002/0) ─────────────────────── BAMA ─ Msg : 323 of 407 From : John Powell 1:261/1201 Wed 18 Jan 95 22:03 To : All Subj : Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 5 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * Originally By: Pony Godic * Originally To: All * Originally Re: Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 5 * Original Area: ParaNet(sm) Abduction Echo * Forwarded by : Blue Wave v2.12 OS/2 Continued from part 4... This account is fairly interesting from a number of points, but we also find that the driver experienced "a lapse of memory" for approximately three, to three and a half, hours, immediately preceding the UFO event. There are some gaps in this account due to illegible parts of the original account: "When I left Boarder Village I was fully clothed. When I drove past --- through Niduar, but I couldn't remember anything between --- and --- miles east of Baladonia, except for, I remember talking to somebody about inventing something (somebody wanted me to take credit for their invention, but I wouldn't agree), also I remember speaking with two voices. Next thing I remember I was four miles east of Baladonia, where I stopped my truck to refuel it, when I noticed that I still had on my tee-shirt and Amco jacket and only my jockets, but my shorts were elsewhere in the truck cab. I didn't pick up any hitch hikers, or have anybody else with me, on the trip from east to west." CASE FIVE: LAWITTA, TASMANIA, 1979 (18) A young man was driving through Lawitta, near New Norfold, at about 9.50p.m., on February 5, 1979, when the bonnet of his car was lit up by an intense white light from overhead. The car radio went dead, the lights went out and the engine stopped. Later that night, the man was found by police in a Hobart city street. They went to speak to him because he had no lights on his car. The man did not know who he was, where he had come from, or where he lived. The police searched him, found his address on personal papers and took him home. The man boarded with friends who took him to Royal Hobart Hospital, where he was said to be suffering from shock. He had a high pulse rate. When doctors shone a light into his eyes, the young man started to recall what had happened at Lawitta. He stated that, after the car stalled, he spent 10 to 15 minutes trying to get it started. He could not recall driving to Hobart. The man declined to get involved in any further investigations. Part II: "INTERRUPTED JOURNEYS" - THE TRADITION, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE The Australian events described in Part 1, and others (19), seem to reflect a variation of the far better documented close encounter cases. Some of them hint at being the stuff of "abduction" stories and such purported alien interactions" seem to hold considerable prominence, particularly in the Americas. The stature that such accounts hold can be directly attributed to the famous Hill case (20), which largely established the "abduction" precedent in contemporary times. Considerable, and diverting, work has been carried out on historical antecedents of world-wide folklore (21). The story told by the Hills incorporated a close encounter, a period of "time-loss" and an attendant mystery. The nature of the events that had befallen the New Hampshire couple, during this time period, is pivotal in significance to this aspect of the UFO mystery. Under hypnotic regression, Betty and Barney Hill told a story of being abducted, taken on board a UFO, and examined. The validity of this interpretation of these events, and the many others that followed, is the subject of this part. What follows, is of considerable relevance for understanding, and assessing, the "interrupted journey" genre. John Fuller indicated: "a dual identical psychosis (a folie a deux) is substantially excluded by the absence of other characteristics of this rare psychosis, nor was there any other evidence of psychosis. A joint fabrication is also substantially excluded. The two remaining possibilities would appear to be: (1) A totally real and true experience. (2) An experience which had been so affected by the accompanying emotional state as to produce some perceptive and illusory misinterpretations - as embodied in the dream hypothesis." Dr Benjamin Simon, who carried out the Hill regressions, stated: "I was ultimately left with the conclusion that the most tenable explanation that the series of dreams experienced by Mrs Hill, as the aftermath of some type of experience with an Unidentified Flying Object or some similar phenomenon, assumed the quality of a fantasised experience. "But the whole thing could not be settled in an absolute sense. The case could be safely left as it stood, especially in view of their improvement (22). We would remain in contact, and time might eventually bring out a more complete picture." Since the Hill case entered the public domain, numerous other cases, of the "interrupted journey" and "abduction" genre, have appeared (23). Much of the alleged physical evidence indicated to be supportive of these accounts is hotly debated (24). For example, the "star map," featured in the Hill story, is seem from two extremes. Some see it as extraordinary evidence. Others deem it as largely spurious. In fact, even Jacques Vallee went on record to criticise the correlation of the "star map" with the Zeta Reticuli system. He somewhat unkindly referred to it as "Zeta Ridiculous" (25). Continued in part 6... --- FMail/386 1.0g * Origin: Absence of Evidence is not Evidence of Absence BBS (1:261/1201) ─ [190] MUFON/Fido - BAMA Fringe Sci. (88:9002/0) ─────────────────────── BAMA ─ Msg : 324 of 407 From : John Powell 1:261/1201 Wed 18 Jan 95 22:03 To : All Subj : Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 6 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * Originally By: Pony Godic * Originally To: All * Originally Re: Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 6 * Original Area: ParaNet(sm) Abduction Echo * Forwarded by : Blue Wave v2.12 OS/2 Continued from part 5... The controversy can be largely resolved into three camps: 1. The experiences are possibly objectively real - the strongest proponents of this hypothesis in the past were the Lorenzens and their organisation, APRO. It is to their credit that they gathered an extraordinary body of data and attempted to confirm the legitimacy of the accounts beyond hypnotic regression with "lie detector" tests and psychological evaluations. Leo Sprinkle and James Harder did most of the work in this area (26). 2. The accounts are hoaxes or misinterpretations - the main proponents, in this can, are Phillip Klass and the late Dr Donald Menzel. Their arguments, particularly those of the former, largely revolve around the "weapon" of character assassination (2). 3. The experiences are largely of a psychological nature - this hypothesis received its strongest lift from the fascinating work of Macall and Lawson with "imaginary abductees." In conjunction with other studies (28), this type of work has effectively provided an excellent calibration of "regression" information. The correspondence of "imaginary" and "real" abduction and "interrupted journey" type experiences are impressive and indeed the similarities with other types of "journeys" and experiences ("out of body experiences," "pseudo death" accounts, etc (29)) are food for thought. Psychological phenomena, such as "time-gap," hypnagogic and hypnapompic imagery (30), are now being offered as possible explanations. The work of Targ and Puthoff on brain hemisphere duality, as an explanation of the extremes of information from "standard" to "exotic," in these types of situations, is particularly illuminating (31). The perspectives, given by the wide ranging arguments for and against the validity of these types of cases, requires the researcher should: (i) Approach these types of cases with an open mind and, at first attempt, gain as much information as possible on that part of the experience which is extant in conscious recall. We could do no better, to gain a good perspective of these types of cases, by familiarising ourselves with the available literature. Fuller (32), Lorenzen (33) and Fowler (34) are recommended for "testing the water." (ii) If a "time loss" is highlighted, care should be undertaken in the way in which we approach it. Sprinkle (35) has provided an excellent starting point for those who are considering hypnosis and similar methods of "memory" retrieval. The quality of technique is of paramount importance here. An experienced practitioner, who should be qualified, accompanied by an experienced investigator, well steeped in the shortcoming of hypnotic regression technique, and a qualified psychologist, is desired. Interpretation of the information gained, under such investigation, should be cautious and well considered. (iii) Harold Cahn of Apro provided an interesting method of discriminating between "true" and "false" hypnotic regression cases, which involves monitoring the bodily direct current potential. He indicates that the DC potential curve correlates with trance induction. This will assist the investigator in assessing whether the subject is validly in a deep trance during a hypnotic session (36). (iv) These types of investigations should be supplemented with as much supportive information as possible. Sprinkle again indicates certain things that can be undertaken ("lie detection" through polygraph testing and psychological assessment) (37). The controversial use of psychological stress evaluation (PSE) has also been suggested as worth trying. It can be seen that, while "interrupted journey" accounts may offer some opportunities of assessing the interactions with the UFO phenomenon, sorties by investigators into this "murky field" should be undertaken only if they are fully aware of the total picture. This area of information retrieval brings us into the domain of the human mind's ability to articulate interactions with apparently inexplicable manifestations. It is the experienced UFO researcher, well versed in this field, who is best able to evaluate the type of information gained through this type of information retrieval. Only time will tell whether it will give us more insights into the human mind or into the UFO phenomenon. Could it be that it will do both? Continued in part 7... --- FMail/386 1.0g * Origin: Absence of Evidence is not Evidence of Absence BBS (1:261/1201) ─ [190] MUFON/Fido - BAMA Fringe Sci. (88:9002/0) ─────────────────────── BAMA ─ Msg : 325 of 407 From : John Powell 1:261/1201 Wed 18 Jan 95 22:03 To : All Subj : Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 7 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * Originally By: Pony Godic * Originally To: All * Originally Re: Australian Interrupted Journeys Part 7 * Original Area: ParaNet(sm) Abduction Echo * Forwarded by : Blue Wave v2.12 OS/2 Continued from part 6... REFERENCES: (1) "Physical Evidence for UFOs in Australia - A Preliminary study of the physical trace experience in Australia" by Bill Chalker (UFOCON 4, 1979). (2) "Beyond the CE3 Down Under" - Notes on the apparent absence of contact, time lapse and abduction cases in Australia, by Bill Chalker (UFOCON 3, 1977). (3) Ibid, p.2-3 (1868, Parramatta); p.3-4 (1972, Mooraduc Road - Maureen Puddy); p.4 (ca. 1973, Springwood); p.4-5 (ca. 1974 - the Canberra "snails" case - Heather X) and p.5 (1974 Goulburn area). (4) Ibid, p.6-8. See Elkin's, "Aboriginal Men of High Degree" and Eliade's "Australian Religions" & "Shamanism." (5) Ibid. (6) Ibid. (7) "Ufoaika;" "Suomi Newspaper," 3/1973, p.12 & 13, translation by Ikka Serra, UFO Finland; personal communication from original percipients (B. Chalker). (8) Ben K returned from night shift at approx 2.30a.m. Helen, his wife, woke up from a deep sleep 2.55a.m. and walked out into the dark night. 150 yards away, in the direction of the woods, she observed a bright yellow light between tree tops and the ground. It did not illuminate the surroundings. After standing there for a minute, she claims she heard an inner voice (ostensibly telepathic) saying: "Go to bed, don't walk toward the light." Helen turned and started to go back to bed, but then returned to her original viewing spot, only again to be greeted by the "inner voice" urging her to go to bed. This time she did. (9) Personal communication from original percipients (B. Chalker). Investigation ongoing. (10) "Balone Beacon," March 17, 1979; personal communication with editor of paper (B. Chalker). (11) Ibid. (12) UFOR (Qld); national papers, etc.; personal investigations (B. Chalker). (13) Personal investigation (Bill Chalker with David Reneke, *UFO Research (NSW), see "A Strange Encounter at Bakers Creek Falls" by B. Chalker, p.6-12, "Australian UFO Newsletter," No.54 55, July-August, 1979. (*Please note that the UFO Research (NSW) mentioned in this article has no relationship to the "UFO research (NSW)" that was formed at the end of 1991. The original UFOR (NSW) was renamed from UFO Investigation Centre (UFOIC) in 1977 and operated under the UFOR (NSW) name until 1991 when its original name was readopted, ie. UFOIC.) (14) Ibid. Later called "Australian UFO Researcher," published by UFO Research (NSW). (15) "The Tyringham-Dundurrabin UFO Flap" by Bill Chalker (personal investigation). (16) Ibid, (14). (17) Courtesy of Jeff Bell, UFOR (WA) and ACOS. (18) Courtesy of TUFOIC & ACOS. See also the "Mercury Hobart," February 17, 1979. (19) A number of other accounts have come to light, however, these are either still under investigation or have not yet been confirmed. It should be noted that even Quentin Fogarty claimed that a "time warp" occurred during the New Zealand TV film UFO incident on December 31, 1978, (personal communication (B. Chalker); see also Australian Playboy. (20) "The Interrupted Journey" by John G. Fuller. (21) See, for example, Jacques Vallee's "Passport to Magonia." (22) Ibid. (20) (23) See "Abducted" by Coral & Jim Lorenzen (APRO, 1977). See also "The Andreasson Affair" by Raymond Fowler (1979) for a detailed investigative account of a "classic" abduction experience. (24) See, for example, Klass' "UFOs Identified." (25) "Messengers of Deception" by Jacques Vallee (1979). (26) See APRO Bulletin and also "Abducted," Ibid. (23) (27) Ibid. (24) (28) "What We Can Learn from Imaginary Abductees" by Alvin A. Lawson, MUFON UFO Journal (1977). (29) See works by D. Scott Rogo, Charles Tart, Raymond Moody's "Life After Life" (1975), etc. (30) Hypnagogic imagery as a possible mechanism for UFOs has been popular amongst French civilian researchers. Here in Australia, Keith Basterfield has written an excellent paper on the "imagery" hypothesis; "A Possible Psychological Explanation for Certain Close Encounters with the UFO Phenomena" by Keith Basterfield, UFOR (SA) Inc. Newsletter, No.33, Sept-Oct 1978. See also Guerin's comments on this hypothesis in FSR, Vol.25, No.1 (1979, p.11-13). (31) "Mindreach" by Targ & Puthoff (1977). (32) Ibid. (20); (33) Ibid. (23); (34) Ibid. (23). (35) "Hypnotic Time Regression Procedures in the Investigation of UFO Experiences" by R. Leo Sprinkle, Ph.D. in Lorenzens (1977), Ibid. (23). (36) "Use of Hypnosis to Discriminate `True' and `False' UFO Experiences" by Harold A. Cahn, Ph.D APRO Bulletin, March 1979. (37) Ibid. (23) (C) COPYRIGHT 1979 - Bill Chalker, NSW, Australia --- FMail/386 1.0g * Origin: Absence of Evidence is not Evidence of Absence BBS (1:261/1201)