Adding animal features to the human form is arguably the oldest known act of mythic imagination. The earliest known work of art is a handsome lion/man carved from ivory dating back over 30,000 years and found in southern Germany. Cave art in southern France, nearly as old, shows a figure combining the head and torso of a bison to human legs. In the French prehistoric cave art gallery of Lascaux can be found bird-headed men. At Trois Freres an upright figure combines human legs and upright posture to parts from horses, reindeers, and felines. (Mithin, 1976)
Michael Harner, anthropologist and specialist in shamanic visions, has observed that snakes and jaguars populate visions in many cultures and he cites many examples from the anthropological literature. “Serpents certainly recur in the visions, and crocodiles and reptiles in general, and so do tigers, leopards and cats; but fangs also do, and birds of prey and vampires, and perhaps all of these are interrelated by their implication of danger….” (Harner, 1973)
Their deadliness makes them figures not only to fear, but to identify with. If one could harness their power, one could strike fear into one’s enemies. Mythologists will tell you, “There is probably no creature which is found more widely distributed in the mythologies of the world than the serpent.” (Cavendish, 1985) Examples include the Egyptian crocodile god Sebek, the Hindu Nagas, the Toltec Quetzalcoatl, the Greek Typhon, and the Biblican Serpent of Eden.
The current presence of reptoids within UFOlogy is less a puzzle than their absence in the early years of the UFO controversy. This absence was likely caused by a general sensibility in the early years that aliens would be benevolent or at least neutral. Reptiles however seem inherently to be felt to be dangerous. Such presumptions favored the contactees’ utopians and the UFOlogists’ big-brained humanoids over other forms. As sensibilities changed in the sixties we see horror clichés like mummies and Big Bugs enter the mythos. A crocodile-skinned alien turns up in the 1967 David Seewaldt abduction of Calgary, Canada. It had holes for a nose and holes for ears and a slit mouth. It could arguably be called a reptoid though it doesn’t have a compelling resemblance to later examples of the form. It gained little attention. (Allen, 1974) A crocodile-skinned biped turns up in the 1975 Brian Scott abduction, but it seems more humanoid than reptilian. (Lawson, 1976) The 1978 Zanfretta abduction from Marzano, Italy, got attention but was quickly dismissed in America as too blatantly identical to The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). (Steinman, 1986)
In 1980, Leonard Stringfield indicates his sources in the crash-retrieval tales he has been collecting speak of aliens generally having a scaly or reptilian skin and a medical authority confirms that under the microscope resembled mesh-like, granular skin of iguanas and chameleon. Though the rest of the alien seems more like a Gray, this description set the precedent for later speculations in Stringfield’s Status Report III (1982), Bernard Finch’s “Dinosaurs…Not Humanoids” for Flying Saucer Review (Finch 1982), and Erich Aggan’s “Possible Reptilian Origins of Certain UFO Occupants” for MUFON. (Aggan, 1982). Also in 1982, Dale Russell got widespread attention for a museum exhibition in which he speculated how a dinosaur called the Stenony-chosauraus could have evolved into an intelligent biped.(Hecht & Williams, 1982) Carl Sagan, in the award-winning The Dragons of Eden (1977), had given this idea some prominence a few years earlier.
The culture accentuated the popularity of the form in the mid-1980s. In 1983, a TV miniseries called “V” gained high ratings for alien reptoids disguised as humans in order to steal the Earth’s water. This stimulated a number of imitations including Dreamscape’s Snakeman (1984), Buckaroo Banzai’s lectroid Emilio Lizardo (1984), and the Draks of Enemy Mine (1985).
In 1987, the Lear statement spread Dulce Base revelations about frightening creatures with reptilian skin and claw-like fingers. Whistleblowers speak of cases of lizard-humans in Level 7, “Nightmare Hall,” and cages of Draco-Reptoids. (Bishop III, 1989) Tal Levesque indicated the Grays and reptoids are in league with each other and a planetoid bearing the ruler race of reptoids was headed to Earth to oversee an invasion. (Cosmic Awareness, n.d.) One source said this would occur approximately 1999. (Wingate, 1999)
By the time of 1992 M.I.T. Abduction Study Conference, John Carpenter indicated about ten percent of the aliens being seen in abductions collected by himself were reptilian. Three of nine abduction investigators had not seen any however. (Pritchard, 1994 ) As the nineties proceed some sources reveal that reptoids can crossbreed with anybody and they rape women. One woman sheepishly tells Carpenter they gave her an incredible orgasm despite their repulsive looks. (Carpenter, 1999) Pamela Stone-brooke, a jazz singer, is the most vocal woman to speak of her sexual encounters with reptoids. Dense New Age metaphysics accompany her claims. (greatdreams.com, 1999)
Drawings of the reptoids are inconsistent, but some bear close resemblance to Dale Russell’s evolved dinosaur from 1982. Joe Lewels indicates his abductees cannot bear to look at photos of the Russell creation because the resemblance is so close to the terrifying beings. (Lewels, 1997) Though Lewels seems to regard this similarity as a vote for the plausibility of such beings, this overlooks the fact that Russell’s creation is highly speculative. Certain things like the absence of ears and yellow eyes with vertical slit pupil are pure guesswork, since fossils obviously do not preserve such things. Russell specifically admits the ears were omitted strictly as an artistic choice to avoid a more human appearance. (Hecht & Williams, 1982)
Lore about the reptoids expanded tremendously throughout the nineties. The inconsistencies of form resolve to the existence of different reptoid races. Their history extends to ancient times. One source said reptilians were slaves to the Grays, but they are more commonly felt to be their rulers. This however runs counter to other sources who say mantis aliens rule the Grays. We are told they eat children like we eat chicken deepening their image of natural evil. The Chupacabra (goatsucker) of Puerto Rico is revealed as a reptoid-Gray crossbreed and adds vampirism to their image.
Web sites have sprung up devoted to warning people about these evil beings. David Icke’s “Reptilian Research” is the most expansive with a section detailing the history of serpent mythology and another that gathers together some lurid tales of reptoid rape. Another site called “Reptoids.com” offers a typology and a collection of popular reptilian images from television and film. These images are not regarded as sources of reptilian mythology, but rather as ways of preparing the populace for the reptoid takeover. Another called “The Reptilians: Who are They Really” collects documents of the Stonebrook controversy and information about reptoid caverns, but is notable for a large selection of links demonstrating the amount of material about reptoids around and the nature of the beliefs of those drawn to the subject.
It needs to be said that the concept of reptoids is undoubtedly less troubling to scientific sensibilities than certain other alien forms like blonde Nordics—too precisely like us (Fortey, 1997)—and the bioengineering absurdity of big Mantis beings. Some will argue that large brains require warm-blooded physiologies and placental gestation, but the different evolutionary pathways explored on alien worlds may open up combinations of traits we could scarcely predict on first principles. There are such unforeseeably bizarre strategies found both in present life and the fossil record on earth that it is hard to regard the reptilian-biped combination as fundamentally unthinkable.
The more compelling objection to reptoids is that the culture finds them such readily compelling villains. It had been using them for years before they started appearing in UFO encounters and there is absolutely no mystery from an anthropological standpoint why such a mythical being could emerge within modern visionary experiences and stories.
—MARTIN S. KOTTMEYER
References
Aggan, Erich A. “Possible Reptilian Origins of Certain UFO Occupants,” MUFON UFO Journal (August 1982).
Allen, W.K. “Crocodile-Skinned Entities at Calgary,” Flying Saucer Review (1974).
Bishop III, Jason. �
��The Dulce Base,” UFO magazine (July/August 1989).
Buhler, Walter K., Pereira, Guilherme and Pires, Ney. “UFO Abduction at Mirassol,” UFO Photo Archives (1985).
Carpenter, John. “Reptilians and Other Unmentionables,” MUFON UFO Journal (April 1973).
Cavendish, Richard. Man, Myth, Magic (Marshall Cavendish, 1985).
Cosmic Awareness “Reptoids can Recognize All is One and Still Eat You” (http://ufobbs.com/ufo)
Fortey, Richard. Life: A Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth (Vintage, 1997).
Harner, Michael. Hallucinogens and Shamanism (Oxford University Press, 1973).
Hecht, Jeff and Williams, Gurney. “Smart Dinosaurs,” Omni magazine (May 1982).
Lawson, Alvin. “Hypnotic Regressions of Alleged CE III Encounters: Ambiguities on the Road to UFOs” in Dornbos, Nancy, ed. Proceedings of the 1976 CUFOS Conference (CUFOS, 1976).
Lewels, Joe. The God Hypothesis (Wild Flower Press, 1997).
Mithin, Steven. The Prehistory of the Mind: The Cognitive Origins of Art, Religion and Science (Thames and Hudson, 1996).
Pritcahrd, Andrea, et.al. Alien Discussions (North Cambridge, 1994).
“The Reptilians: Who Are They Really” (www.greatdreams.com/reptilan/reps.htm)
Sagan, Carl. The Dragons of Eden (Random House/Ballantine, 1977).
Stringfield, Leonard. UFO Crash-Retrievals: Status Report II (Privately published, 1980).
Stringfield, Leonard. UFO Crash-Retrievals: Amassing the Evidence: Status Report III (Privately published, 1982).
Steinman, William and Stevens, Wendelle. UFO Crash at Aztec (UFO Photo Archives, 1986).
Wingate, Steve. “An Alien Update: How Close are the Reptoids,” IUFO Mailing List webarchive (January 14, 1999).
resistance techniques against alien abduction A careful study of “alien abduction-scenarios” will demonstrate to objective minds that this is a phenomenon separate and distinct from the physical, craft-like phenomenon we normally call “UFOs.” True UFOs are viewed in full waking consciousness, caught on film and radar, and chased by jet pilots, while most abduction scenarios take place in sleep or are induced in light trances such as road hypnosis and other altered states. Retrieval of abduction stories through hypnotic regression adds to the suspicion that they are not physically real.
Fifteen years of research in Tujunga, California revealed that three of these five abductee witnesses instinctively fended off subsequent approaches of “abductors.” (Their experiences were described in my 1988 book, Tujunga Canyon Contacts.) Attempts to bring this new aspect to the attention of the field between 1988 and 1992 has resulted in bitter controversy. Although many researchers welcomed this new information, others contended that resistance to “alien abductors” was impossible. They presented contradictory theories: (1) the abductors are technologically superior ETs and humans are powerless against them; or (2) abductors are here to “save” us or help us toward a higher stage of evolution and therefore should not be resisted.
Feedback to my initial articles on the subject resulted in seventy additional resisters coming forward, the majority of whom had instinctively freed themselves of abduction scenarios. My subsequent 1998 book, How to Defend Yourself Against Alien Abduction describes nine specific resistance techniques:
1) mental struggle, in which the witnesses deliberately return to full waking consciousness, resulting in the breaking of the scenario;
2) physical struggle, in which the witnesses physically attack the entities, resulting in the entities’ rapid departure;
3) appeal to spiritual personages such as the Sacred Heart, Allah or the archangel St. Michael, which brings about an “awakening”;
4) repellents such as iron objects, small electrical appliances (whirling fans, room heaters, etc.) and time-favored herbs such as pennyroyal and St. John’s Wort, which prevent the entities’ approach;
5) righteous anger, whereby witnesses, in heightened self esteem, express their inalienable rights against intrusion;
6) protective rage, directed toward protecting one’s family members as well as oneself;
7) support from family members, where housemates assist in breaking the abductee’s altered state;
8) metaphysical methods, such as visualizing white light, which provide protection and break the scenario;
9) intuition, which enables witnesses to detect the approach of the entities so that techniques can be readied before the scenario begins.
A combination of techniques is usually necessary for full success. Resistance techniques are most effective when used by stouthearted, strong-minded individuals who instinctively resent intrusion. They can be learned by witnesses who consider abduction scenarios as unwelcome experiences which interfere with their lives. Abductees who crave constant attention from researchers and other abductees are not good candidates for successful resistance.
The escalation of claims of “implants” and “hybridization” from 1973 through the 1990s seems to have been heightened by a combination of unconscious telepathic leakage between witnesses and even the most careful hypnotist/researchers, plus unrecognized psychological needs of the individuals involved. Strong doubts of the physical reality of abductions and reports of “missing fetuses,” “genetic manipulation,” and “alien-military cooperation” (all of which lack scientific proof) are needed to build up an individual’s confidence.
Many abduction scenarios seem to be “real” in some type of altered reality, especially those reported by rational, honest individuals, but respected researchers such as Jacques Vallée and Gordon Creighton suspect that abductees are interacting not with extraterrestrials, but with “interdimensional” beings who share the Earth with us on a “hidden plane.” Historical and philosophical texts as well as legends and folklore from such diverse cultures as China, Persia, Slovenia, Australia, Italy, and Ireland all describe deceptive entities who delight in assaulting human beings, usually in a sexual manner. Sexual manipulation is part and parcel of the modern abduction phenomenon in all its forms—as in other myths throughout history.
The order of creation described in the Koran as “Al-jinn,” in Celtic chronicles as “Sidhe,” and in European history as “Incubi” (and “Succubi”) acts in ways similar to our modern “alien abductors.” They reportedly have the ability to shape-shift and enter Earth’s spacetime at will. They usually appear to humans in forms consistent with the victims’ own cultural backgrounds. The modern American “abduction phenomenon” appears as “space travelers”—a form which it possibly reasoned could terrify even independent, free Americans.
It is to be hoped that our culture will realize that “alien abductors” are merely the newest form of entities which have traumatized other cultures from the beginning. The most important point here is that multiple world cultures have recognized the phenomenon for what it is and found ways to deal with it, using methods very similar to the techniques described above.
—ANN DRUFFEL
References
Druffel, Ann, and Scott Rogo. Tujunga Canyon Contacts (Prentice-Hall, 1988).
Druffel, Ann. How to Defend Yourself Against Alien Abduction (Three Rivers Press/Random House, 1998).
Revelations (Ballantine Books, 1991). A proliferation of spurious government documents such as MJ-12 helped persuade Jacques Vallée that some aspects of the UFO phenomenon may be covert government experiments in the manipulation of public belief systems. He relates a story in which he and Dr. J. Allen Hynek were deceived by two Air Force generals, both UFO believers, who promised to release genuine UFO evidence but never did because they were only promoting their own personal agendas. While he believes a real UFO mystery exists, he is nonetheless disturbed that “somebody is going to a lot of trouble to convince us of the reality of extraterrestrials, to the exclusion of other, possibly more important hypotheses about UFOs.”
—RANDALL FITZGERALD
Roach abduction In 1975, Pat Roach (originally identified as Pat Pr
ice to protect her identity), a divorcee living alone with her seven children, wrote to Kevin Randle and Saga magazine, telling of her abduction. She said that she knew how whole families could disappear. Her letter was inspired by a report in Saga’s UFO Report that told of the abduction of Dionisio Llanca, an Argentine truck driver.
According to Roach, she had gone to sleep on the evening of October 16, 1973, and had been awakened just after midnight. Convinced that a prowler had been in the house, she called the police. A record of that report was found, providing both the date of the incident and a corroboration for part of the story.
Although Roach remembered almost nothing about the incident, her children had suggested that there had been “spacemen” in the house. Under hypnotic regression conducted by Dr. James A. Harder, then APRO’s Director of Research, Roach began to tell a tale of alien abduction. She claimed that she had been awakened by two smallish creatures standing near her couch, looking at her. They reached down, touched her arms, and lifted her. She saw some of her children in the room, struggling with the aliens. They were then floated outside and into a craft standing in an empty field next to the house. Inside the ship, she was undressed and examined by the creatures, shown some of their advanced technology, hypnotized by the aliens so she could recall some of her life for them, and finally given her clothes and told to dress.
Some of the details of the abduction were corroborated by her daughter, Bonnie, but the descriptions were not as rich as those given by her mother. Attempts to learn more about the abduction by interviewing the other children failed to reveal much additional detail.
An examination of the transcripts of the hypnotic regression sessions, as well as information provided by Harder, both during those sessions and discussions afterward, tainted the case. Harder, after completing the first regression session, expressed concern that Roach had not exhibited the “proper emotional” response. He told her throughout the session that he knew she had been scared, but that she got out of the situation in good shape. It was also Harder who had suggested that Roach had been examined, telling her about the Betty Hill abduction. In a later hypnotic regression, Roach claimed to have undergone a similar examination.
The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters Page 88
