The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters

by Story, Ronald

  It is time for all of those who have studied mountain of relevant data to stop being “closet UFOlogists” and to speak up and not hide behind “invisible colleges” and private rather than public pronouncements. The future of the planet many depend upon our courage as earthlings.

  —STANTON T. FRIEDMAN

  Fry, Daniel W. (1908-1992). Probably the most technically oriented of the famous contactees, Dan Fry is described on his book jacket (of The White Sands Incident, 1966) as: “an internationally known scientist, researcher and electronics engineer who is recognized by many as the best-informed scientist in the world on the subject of space and space travel.”

  Mr. Fry described himself as “an engineer, scientist, author, and lecturer,” who “was one of the prime movers in the Crescent Engineering and Research Company’s liquid-fueled missile flight-testing program.” He also worked for the Aerojet General Corporation at the White Sands Proving Grounds, where he was “in charge of installation of instruments for missile control and guidance.” Fry later moved to Tonopah, Arizona, the home base of his quasi-religious organization called Understanding, Inc. (After that, he lived in Alamogordo, New Mexico.) He also claimed to be an “ordained” minister and to hold a Ph.D. degree from St. Andrews College of London, England.

  Dan Fry’s initial contact with the “Space People” (he claimed four contacts in all, between 1950 and 1954) allegedly occurred on July 4, 1950, near the White Sands Proving Grounds (now Missile Range), near Las Cruces, New Mexico, while employed by Aerojet General. Fry said he missed a bus which would have taken him into town that night to observe the traditional fireworks display. Thinking he would spend the evening reading, he returned to his room, but his air conditioner failed, so he decided just to take a desert stroll and enjoy the cool, night air.

  Daniel Fry

  As he was scanning the sky, he caught sight of a “disappearing” star. The star only appeared to “blink out” because it had been eclipsed, he claims, by a “flying saucer” (he described it as “an oblate spheroid about thirty feet in diameter at the equator or largest part”). The “saucer” supposedly settled to the ground about seventy feet away, whereupon he approached to investigate the surface of the highly polished metal. He was startled to hear a deep voice, which he claims came out of the air beside him, which said, “Better not touch the hull, pal. It’s still hot!” He was so taken aback by this, he says, that he caught his foot against a root sticking out of the ground and fell over onto the desert sand. Then, a chuckle filled the air as the invisible voice supposedly spoke again: “Take it easy, pal. You are among friends.”

  After a little introductory chat, Fry claims to have learned that he was talking to an invisible spaceman named Alan. The spaceman explained some of the technicalities of the spacecraft’s operation, and then took Fry on a quick flight to New York City and back to White Sands—a trip which lasted only thirty minutes (flying at a speed of 8,000 miles per hour).

  The Space People who contacted Fry were said to be the descendants of a past supercivilization on Earth, which was annihilated in an atomic war more than thirty thousand years ago. According to Alan, the Saucerians’ ancestors were originally from the legendary Lemuria, which was in scientific competition with the ancient civilization of Atlantis. These two nations eventually destroyed each other, except for a few survivors who were able to escape in four aerial craft capable of space travel. One ship was lost along the way; but three landed safely on the, planet Mars, where the survivors established a new society. Later, they became independent of planets altogether, and began living aboard huge, self-sustaining ships that float through space in whatever direction the people choose, somewhat like the imaginary floating island fictionalized by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver’s Travels.

  According to the skeptic-UFOlogist Philip J. Klass, who did some checking on the matter, Fry’s doctoral degree was obtained from “a sort of correspondence school” operated by a small church, from which it is possible for virtually anyone to be granted a Ph.D. by merely submitting a ten thousand-word thesis and paying a standard fee.

  Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, former head of the U.S. Air Force Project Blue Book, also had this to say: “He [Fry] hadn’t told the Air Force about his ride before because he was afraid he’d lose his job. But, at the press conference, he did plug his new book, The White Sands Incident. By this time Adamski had already published his book Flying Saucers Have Landed and it looked as if Fry was going to cut him out. But Fry took a lie-detector test on a widely viewed West Coast television show and flunked it flat.” (Ruppelt, 1956).

  However, if we are looking for meaning when we study the contactees, does it really matter if the alleged contacts are literally true? Let us consider the story about the war between the Lemurians and Atlanteans as a parable, or metaphor, demonstrating what consequences we can expect when competition is not balanced with cooperation. When you read The White Sands Incident carefully for its meaning, it is hard to miss. The spaceman, Alan, uses a series of metaphors to trace the different phases of human civilization, beginning with “the symbol of the tree and the serpent,” and culminating in our present-day situation.

  Photo taken by Fry at Merlin, Oregon, in 1964

  “The tree is almost always the symbol of life,” says Alan, “beginning in the sea, rising to the atmosphere, and finally into space. There is another factor which may, perhaps, have some significance. Your people and some of mine, including myself, have, at least in part, a common ancestry.” This is where Alan relates the story of the rival between the two factions, represented by Lemuria and Atlantis. He applies the parable directly to us when he states that: “Unless some small balancing force is applied in the right quarters, your entire civilization may wipe itself out in a planet wide holocaust before we are in a position to be of assistance.” He adds: “…man can improve the conditions of his life only through cooperation.”

  According to the psychologist Carl Jung, the UFO (or space ship) represented the higher Self. It is usually in the shape of a mandala (or magic circle), which universally symbolizes order and perfection. Thus the independent, free-floating space ships—mentioned in all of the contactee accounts—clearly symbolize the perfect, self-reliant, individuated psyche: the ideal to which all humans seeking wisdom aspire. It is also the ideal that is required for survival; hence, the warning.

  In the same manner that the technological gods and angels reside inside the self-sustaining space ships, the “kingdom of heaven” resides within each of us, just as Jesus said. In every case, the contactee is given a tour of the ship—which, of course, means looking inward at the elements that make up the psyche and realizing the virtually unlimited potential that exists within us, once we tap into nature’s forces. The personal message is that when we take control of our own “ship,” we have all the power we need, and we become the cure for whatever ails us. When Alan says “Every aspect of our environment is precisely controlled within our ships,” he is really talking about human potential and self-actualization. When you read Fry’s original account, the metaphor becomes richer and more obvious with every sentence.

  Fry was informed that he was specially chosen to be the liaison between planet Earth and the Galactic Confederation. “One of the purposes of this visit,” Alan told him, “is to determine the basic adaptability of the Earth’s peoples, particularly your ability to adjust your minds quickly to conditions and concepts completely foreign to your customary modes of thought. Previous expeditions by our ancestors, over a period of many centuries, met with almost total failure in this respect. This time there is hope that we may find minds somewhat more receptive so that we may assist you in the progress, or at least in the continued existence of your race.” (Fry, 1973)

  Alan made the most important point of all when he said: “Actually, the possibility of atomic warfare on your planet, while it is an immediate danger, is not the basic problem, it is merely a symptom, and few illnesses can be cured by treating only the symptoms.” He then
explained how material science and social science are perfectly good in themselves, but must be based on a foundation of “spiritual science which deals with the relationship between man and the great creative power and infinite intelligence which pervades and controls all nature, and which your people refer to as God.” (Fry, 1973).

  That is one of the main differences between man and the other animals: “the animal has no spiritual or social science”; whereas “Mankind…is endowed with the innate realization of the infinite intelligence and the creative power of the supreme mind, even though he may not yet be able to understand.” (Fry, 1973)

  —RONALD D. STORY

  References

  Fry, Daniel W. The White Sands Incident (New Age Publishing, 1954; Best Books, 1966).

  ———. To Men of Earth, including The White Sands Incident (Merlin Publishing Co., 1973),

  Gibbons, Gavin. They Rode in Space Ships (The Citadel Press, 1957).

  Ruppelt, Edward J. The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects (Doubleday, 1956).

  Fund for UFO Research (FUFOR) Founded in 1979, the Fund for UFO Research is a nonprofit corporation that raises money and issues grants for selected UFO investigation and publication projects.

  Until 1993, FUFOR was headed by Bruce Maccabee, followed by Richard Hall from 1993 through 1997. Since 1998, Don Berliner has served as chairman.

  FUFOR has supported investigations into the Wellington/Kaikoura, New Zealand, film, the UFO abduction phenomenon, the “Majestic 12” (MJ-12) documents, and many other UFO-related incidents.

  To receive a grant from FUFOR, a proposal must be approved by a majority of the national board.

  Address:

  P.O. Box 277

  Mt. Rainier, MD 20712 U.S.A.

  Web site:

  www.fufor.org

  Reference

  Clark, Jerome. The UFO Encyclopedia (Omnigraphics, 1998).

  G

  Galactic Club, The (W.H. Freeman, 1974). Australian astrophysicist Ronald Bracewell sounds the first pessimistic note in science books about the prospect of contacting an advanced civilization using radio telescopes. There is only one chance in a thousand that radio signals will come our way and only one chance in a thousand that one of our radio telescopes will be pointed the right way when the signal arrives. He proposes instead that first contact will come as a result of our detection of an interstellar space probe sent to contact us. “It is quite possible,” he writes, that such a space probe, or messenger, has already arrived in our solar system and is even now monitoring us

  Galicia UFO wave of 1995-1996 What would prove to be one of the best-documented UFO “flaps” of the decade began on November 28, 1995 in Galicia (the autonomous region occupying Spain’s northwestern corner), when the security cameras of the As Gándaras military facility captured several UFOs on film, causing concern among the Spanish military.

  The media soon learned that soccer players at a nearby field had also seen the mysterious objects. UFOlogist Marcelino Requejo was quick to stress that the As Gándaras sighting was by no means an isolated incident, and that “a veritable flood of sightings” was taking place in the region, coinciding with seismic disturbances—approximately 70 in that month alone.

  The UFOlogist’s prediction would come true in January 1996, when sightings multiplied throughout northern Spain. Citizens of Pedrona (Santander) were treated to the passing of a brightly-lit oval object over their town. The coastal city of Gijón reported a UFO hanging over the sea at night—its multicolored lights dispelling the darkness. In the Galician village of As Pontes, cameraman Bartolomé Vázquez filmed the maneuvers of a triangular UFO which he described as an “upside down steam iron.” This episode was considered to be one of the most significant, given that the cameraman had managed to capture two jet fighters in pursuit of the slow-moving triangle. Yet the most spectacular one occurred at Monforte de Lemos, where a local camera crew filmed hundreds of witnesses absorbed in contemplation of a massive oval UFO which remained suspended overhead for an hour. Other television crews filmed UFO maneuvers over sensitive locations like the ENDESA thermoelectric plant at As Pontes.

  The phenomenon entered its proactive phase on February 26, 1996, when motorist Andrés Landeira, driving at night toward the city of Lugo, found that his car was being drawn upward by an unknown force. In a panic, Landeira opened the car’s door to jump out, but found he was at least thirty feet above the ground. He would later tell UFO invesigator Manuel Carballal, “I forced myself back into the driver’s seat and thought I was going to die, being taken to God knows where…” However, the force that picked up the car deposited it further along the road, but in a sideways manner.

  Like the classic UFO flaps of earlier decades, the Galician wave followed the classic pattern of sightings, ground effects, and occupant encounters. On February 18, 1996, two children playing in the woods outside Entrimo reported seeing a trio of luminous spheres which merged to form “a pair of saucers on top of each other” before vanishing. The youngsters also claimed having found clearly nonhuman footprints upon returning the next day; investigators ascertained that the marks corresponded to a creature standing at least 7 feet tall.

  On March 7, 1996, José Manuel Castro, a rancher from the town of Ferrerías, saw a UFO land on his property a mere 100 feet away from his house. Small creatures “looking like monkeys” emerged from the object, and the vehicle left surface impressions and footprints similar to those found at Entrimo.

  —SCOTT CORRALES

  Garden Grove (California) abduction hoax The 1975 Garden Grove, California, abduction was the most spectacular CE-3 of its time. A 33-year-old man (let’s call him “BS”) gave the following story in eight weekly videotaped hypnosis sessions with Dr. W.C. McCall.

  BS and a friend were camping in the Arizona desert in 1971 when suddenly a weird beam descended slowly and lifted them aboard a UFO where ugly 7-foot reptilian entities stripped them naked. Two entities took BS and floated down a curving hallway, through an exploding door and into a brightly lit room.

  As two creatures fidgeted in boredom at their consoles, BS stood against a wall and was given a lightning-quick physical exam. Two beams shot at him; one held his eyes in a fixed gaze and the other probed his body from his feet up: he sensed he was bleeding, he urinated, liquid drained from his stomach, his chest opened as his heart left his body briefly, and in a dizzying moment he saw his brain travel up the beam and back.

  Then everything stopped and from across the room an alien like the others but 9 feet tall glided toward him, smelling foul and with bad breath as well. BS was terrified but when the monster’s scaly hand touched his head he was instantly calmed. The tall alien gave him a tour of the ship. BS learned that the aliens were clones created by a central intelligence called the Host, in the form of a giant computer (and also as a fetal humanoid) on the UFO’s upper floor. There he also saw a vast birth laboratory—row after row of clear cylinders with writhing alien embryos in liquid. The aliens were “checking the original biological plantation” on Earth.

  BS was returned down the curving hall to his pal and they were dressed and beamed to the ground, and the UFO disappeared. He had been onboard about two hours.

  BS’s weekly regressions kept a group of local UFOlogists gasping. In the fourth week BS reported that he had been visited at night in his garage workroom by a ball of light that became a fetal humanoid. In the seventh week BS disappeared. Police were notified, but BS turned up 24 hours later, unshaven and woozy, wearing only his shorts. Hypnotized, he claimed that he had been abducted by a UFO and taken to Peru where he underwent a ritual with the aliens at the site of the famous spider figure on the Nazca Plain. BS said his first CE-3 was at 16, when he was forced by aliens to give himself a tattoo on his right forearm in the shape of the Nazca spider—spectacular physical evidence, if true.

  The Garden Grove case ultimately involved six alleged abductions (unprecedented in 1975), two with separate second witnesses, and loads of data channeled
during BS’s daily self-hypnosis sessions, including blueprints of the UFO (BS was a draftsman, though otherwise unschooled); chemical formulae for the craft’s propulsion system (with atomic weights of elements to four decimal places); texts of a mysterious computer-like alien language; and a brief message from the aliens written in pre-Homeric Greek (ca. 3500 years ago), “Nous laos hikano.” BS gave us a loose translation: “I come in the mind of man.”

  Unbelievably, perhaps, BS’s case seemed believable to McCall and me. But after several weeks of hypnosis, videotaping, and laborious analysis of his narratives, we caught BS in a hoax. He claimed to have found a spider figure drawn on the ground at the site of a reported UFO sighting, but a young boy had seen BS scratching it in the dirt himself.

  Then—belatedly—we looked into BS’s personal life and found disturbing facts. He worked for a computer manufacturer (bye-bye to the alien computer motif). At work he had access to both a technical library (adios to the atomic weights) and books by Erich von Däniken (ta-ta to the Nazca Plain, the biological plantation, etc.). One of his friends at work was a Greek scholar. Neither of two alleged second witnesses would verify BS’s claims (all fabrications). Finally, we learned that BS had once served prison time for fraud. He had glib excuses for his actions but we stopped working with him.