by Timothy Good
“There is. It is very high at present and therefore only visible above the rain clouds, but soon it will move lower, not of necessity but to show the humans watching that real power and science is ours, yet we remain peaceful. You should both be able to observe the craft in an hour from now, so you can remain at your post without missing the sighting. You may tell your seniors that the craft will be observable between the two settlements [Westonzoyland and Middlezoy] which lie each side of this military area.”
An hour later, Thomas, Keith, and Alan went outside. “In front of us was an almost terrible shape, an intensely dark shape like a black thundercloud,” Thomas recalls. “This was totally mind-chilling….
“In front of us was a triangle. It was very, very big, dwarfing the V-bombers we [sometimes] had in camp. It was black, solid, and pulsing at about fifty feet from the ground, and it was creepily still, hovering and silent. No one spoke…. The lights appeared along it and what must have been windows lit up. The shape of the craft became more defined….
“The lights, or windows, glowed yellow to orange, becoming richly colored but never reaching red. Eventually I felt there was a horizontal division and that I was seeing lights above windows. At first they played from right to left, ‘disappearing’ around corners of the triangle and back again; then, suddenly, all remained alight. There were no shapes of beings in any of the windows, we all agreed…. There was no sound, no engines or machinery sounds as with all of our own aircraft and vehicles. And our camp had gone silent. No [searchlights] were shone onto the craft and no aircraft took off, not even a helicopter….”
As Thomas reports, this probably owed to the fact that most of the personnel in camp were asleep and, apart from those on duty, had simply not been told. “The huge craft then descended to almost ground level…. Then the lights began to flash again and the craft rose slowly. Violet lights showed beneath, emphasising the craft’s triangular shape, and without any sound to suggest rapid acceleration it left Somerset at a speed I could not even have guessed at.”
“That was frightening,” said Keith. “I need a drink.” So did the others.
The following day, the aliens at first seemed unresponsive. Eventually they responded that this would be their last day in camp, that they were now recovered and grateful for the care they had received. G put his hand on his chest and delivered a lengthy and interesting “speech” to Thomas and Alan, which included ominous warnings of dire things to come. “We, or those who work with us, will decide Earth’s future, and all life upon it….” Later, L communicated some concluding remarks:
“We owe the six of you so much. You will not be forgotten. We leave today, but be assured we will remain about and upon this planet…. Say nought about these days to others, even to denying our presence if asked—unless we bid it differently to one or another in the future—for at least a quarter of a century, even half a century. Remember what we have told you…. We cannot have all six of you here to say good-bye. Everything must appear as usual and as normal. So, tell the others and go about your lives.”
Shortly afterwards, the duty officer and two “white coats” appeared. Alan and Thomas returned to their office. As they and his colleagues were finishing lunch, the fire drill bell rang twice. Together with the others they ran back to the office. “Gone!” shouted the duty officer. “Vanished! They damn well disappeared before our eyes! All three of us. Do you know anything about it? No, of course you don’t. They were sitting there as usual. Saw them clasp hands—32 and 33. Then my head hurt and I saw the other two holding their heads as I was. Then 32 and 33 faded … and their couch was empty. Gone!”
And that was it.
There is much more to be learned about this truly extraordinary case in Thomas’s book. Naturally, the questions arise: How much of the story is true? Although not a student of the subject, per se, he has read only a few related books. Apart from Roswell, for example, he was unaware of numerous other cases involving so-called “crash-retrievals” of alien craft and bodies.
Since his career in the RAF features in the book, it was incumbent upon Thomas to submit his proposal for review by the Royal Air Force Historical Branch. And having stated in his introduction that readers can take the story as either fact or fiction, the RAF understandably relegated its status to the latter. They could hardly have done otherwise.
Never will I forget the first time I heard the fundamental aspects of the story from Thomas in person. In spite of the many years that have gone by, he evidently retains a vivid memory of—and remains deeply moved by—these awesome events.
PART TWO
Chapter Eleven
The Overlords
My study of the various types of alien encounters reported around the world includes a number of cases which initially I was tempted to reject on account of their absurdity. Yet subsequent reflection and comparison with other scarcely known cases reveal certain parallels that have caused me to change my mind. Sometimes, ludicrous, sinister, surreal—and even evil—elements feature in these cases. One such is that of Richard Höglund, a Swede whose encounters covered a lengthy period. First investigated by Ernst Linder, the case is barely known outside Sweden. What follows is taken largely from several reports provided for me by Håkan Blomqvist,1,2 a leading researcher of contact cases, and from our many communications and discussions. He has written a book on the case in Swedish.3
Born in Stockholm in 1913, Höglund was a rock-blaster by profession. Though by all accounts a very down-to-earth man, he nonetheless had an uncanny ability to read people’s minds—a talent that might have some bearing on his experiences. The story begins on the afternoon of December 9, 1965, the day before he was due to undergo surgery to remove a small kidney stone. He felt a sudden urge to take a long walk with his dog on a frozen lake, Grindhultsjön, just outside Uddevalla (near Gothenburg), where he lived with his wife, Gunvor.
As Höglund began walking on the lake, the dog began running in circles as though demented and had to be restrained with its leash. Suddenly, a whining sound came from above. Looking up, Höglund saw a saucer-shaped, translucent craft about five meters in diameter. “He could see figures moving inside,” reports Håkan. “The object came closer to the ground in a spiraling movement. It stopped before touching the ice, and a dark tube was lowered from under the object. This tube was seemingly made of a soft material since it moved in the wind. He felt a breeze of hot air with a distinct smell of hyacinth. His first thought was that this must be a Russian machine. But he soon changed his mind.
“From the tube four entities floated down, as though they were in an invisible elevator, and walked up to him. They were three men and one woman. Other than for a translucent overall, they were naked. One of the men seemed old, while the others looked younger. They were of normal height, had very large, dark, somewhat slanted eyes and perfect teeth. Their skin had no blemishes and there was absolutely no hair on their bodies, not even genital hair.
“Richard was especially fascinated by their ears, which were large and pointed. The ear opening in the head was very large, as on a cat: he thought he could almost see into their heads. The men seemed very strong, like wrestler types, with bull necks. They had a slight Oriental look about them. The entities were covered by the clear plastic overalls which looked like they were held out from the body by air pressure.”
Höglund became confused, though not afraid. Through sign language and drawings in the snow, the entities started to communicate with him. They seemed fascinated by his hair, and he had to remove his cap several times as they laughed and pointed at him. When he tried to touch their overalls, however, they quickly retreated, as if they did not want him to do so. Using a small black package, they sprayed something like a gas on everything, including the dog, before they touched it. The dog evidently objected, as the “gas” had a strong smell of hyacinth. Höglund himself smelled of hyacinth for several days afterwards, causing his wife to wonder if he had already bought
flowers for the coming Christmas.
A sketch of one of the entities, as described by Richard Höglund. (Gösta Johansson)
Communications in sign language continued for a while as Höglund tried to explain a number of earthly pursuits, such as hunting and dancing. The woman meanwhile played with the dog, which was out of character since it normally became aggressive toward strangers. All this time, the strangers appeared to be walking on an unseen layer, as their feet did not touch the ground. When the woman patted the dog, she too leaned her knee against this unseen layer. On their left wrists the entities wore a broad, black bracelet with a yellow button, which when touched seemed to alter the effect of gravity on the beings.
The older man indicated that he knew about pygmies, by demonstrating how they hunted with bow and arrow. He also seemed to indicate that his people would come in “great armadas” in the future. After further communication, the older man returned to the craft and fetched an object the size of a cylinder or microphone, which he proceeded to run along Höglund’s back. At this, he felt a sensation of warmth, vibration, and sudden relief from the kidney pain that had troubled him for fifteen years.
By now an hour had passed and it began to grow dark, at which point Höglund noticed that the craft was now surrounded by a blue phosphorescent light. The whole craft seemed to vibrate. Except for the dark cylinder underneath, it remained semi-transparent, consisting of two shells, the outer one rotating. Inside, the craft seemed Spartan: all that could be discerned were three shining “cylinders” standing on the floor. Terminating the communication, the entities entered the craft, which then took off at tremendous speed, changing color from blue to orange as it flew away.
The following day, Höglund was X-rayed at Uddevalla hospital. Much to the bewilderment of a Dr. Hartman and his colleagues, no trace of the kidney stone could be found. Subsequently, Håkan told me, all the X-ray plates were checked by Dr. Karl Erik Svensson in Stockholm, who confirmed that no stone was visible on the plates, taken after the encounter.
Second Contact
On August 24, 1966, Höglund felt a strong impulse to visit another lake outside Uddevalla. The urge was so powerful that it felt as if someone else was driving the car (a sensation recounted by Carl Anderson). Arriving at the lake, he saw the same kind of craft hovering above the water, beside which a man seemed to be suspended in the air. Spotting a small rowboat nearby, Höglund climbed in and headed toward the craft. He recognized the man as the same with whom he communicated during the first encounter. This time, he could hear the man speak (presumably in Swedish), though his speech did not synchronize with his lip movements and seemed to originate from the craft slightly delayed.
During this communication, Höglund learned that world peace was threatened because the USA and the USSR supposedly planned a war against China, and that he should go to the Bahamas to act as their contact man. He was given a metal plate with strange hieroglyphic-type symbols embossed thereon and instructed to wear it at all times. Höglund explained that such a mission was impossible; he was an uneducated man, did not speak English, and in any case had a wife at home. These objections were brushed aside, and Höglund felt obliged to comply with the order. Following the encounter, however, he buried the plate in woods near the lake and then returned home.
Despite serious misgivings, Höglund and Gunvor went ahead with the plan. To finance their trip, they sold everything. On March 5, 1967, they flew via London to Nassau, thence to Little Exuma, a small island in the Bahamas where they had been told to go. Höglund did not bring the metal plate with him, however. During the flight, the couple noticed fourteen passengers dressed like priests, all similar in appearance, who supposedly disappeared in an unusual way on landing at Nassau. Apart from this incident, nothing unusual happened during the trip. The couple returned to Sweden. Ashamed to resettle in their home town, they bought a cheap house trailer south of Stockholm, where Höglund was able to find work once more as a rock-blaster.
Surrealistic Developments
In ensuing months, Höglund became involved with Ifologiska sallskapet, a Stockholm-based UFO group which had become interested in his story. Among the members was a wealthy building contractor who offered to finance Höglund in the event he was ordered to the Bahamas again. He decided therefore to recover the metal plate. On the drive from Gothenburg, after picking up the plate, he stopped at a gas station, where an old man approached and asked him for a lift. Höglund consented, as he felt tired and thought it a good idea to have someone to talk with during the journey. The man was dressed in a black cape, boots, and a big slouch hat.
After a while, the man asked Höglund if he recognized him. He replied in the negative, but suddenly it dawned on him that the man was one of those dressed as priests on the outbound flight to the Bahamas. The man introduced himself as “Father Ra Paz” (later contracted to Rapas), and said he worked for “the Overlords,” that is, the beings who had contacted Höglund on the two previous occasions. Rapas suggested a coffee break at a motel. He took off his hat but ordered nothing to drink. By now thoroughly confused, Höglund began to worry that the stranger might be an illusion, so when a boy passed their table, Höglund knocked the hat onto the floor. The boy, assuming himself responsible, picked up the hat and apologized. Father Rapas was no illusion.
Nothing had happened in the Bahamas, Rapas explained, because Höglund had not taken the metal plate with him. He was told that he must return to the Bahamas, this time not forgetting the plate. 7 3 4.5 centimeters in size and about one centimeter thick, with a coarse back, the plate appeared to be made of an aluminum-type material, engraved with three rows of cryptic symbols. At times, the plate became so hot that Höglund kept it in asbestos. He also said that it gave him rashes (caused by the asbestos, perhaps?).
After continuing the journey for a few more miles, Rapas suggested that he should take the wheel. Höglund pointed out that Rapas seemed rather elderly to drive—he guessed about seventy years old. “If you double that some ten times, you will be closer to the truth,” came the riposte. Exchanging seats, Rapas proceeded to drive the old Volvo as if it were a racing car. Höglund protested, explaining that the police might have speed traps. “Don’t worry,” said Rapas, “I can sense where they are.” Höglund fell asleep. When he awoke, the car was parked beside the road outside Sodertalje. There was no sign of Rapas, who had left a package of fruit on the seat.
An Alien Base?
The building contractor in the UFO group now agreed to finance Höglund’s second trip to the Bahamas, the money to be mailed via a school teacher in Nyköping by the name of Tryggwe Glantz. Höglund and his wife returned to the Bahamas around the New Year period of 1967–68, staying initially in Nassau. When nothing happened during the first two days, Höglund lost his temper and threw the metal plate on the floor, shouting that he wanted nothing more to do with the whole business. That evening, he claimed to have been visited by three humanoid beings of rather oriental appearance but distinctly different from those encountered in Sweden. They delivered a sharp warning to Höglund not to act like that again.
On New Year’s Eve, acting on instructions supplied to him by Rapas, Höglund went to the harbor in Little Exuma Island and contacted an old black man called Joe, who owned a boat. A girl called Li was also aboard. “Höglund was told to lie down in the boat, presumably so he could not see where they went,” Håkan told me. “The boat was very fast.” They arrived at a small island where, through an opening in elevated terrain, they entered a secret base. At some point, Li, presumably one of the “space people,” demonstrated her ability to walk on the water outside the boat! Rapas, who had arrived before them, acted as a guide.
In the base, Höglund met twenty-three different supposed representatives from various planets. “Some were giants, some were dwarves, and others hermaphrodites,” Håkan reports. “He was shown a three-dimensional ‘film’ of human history from the birth of Christ. During this
experience he collapsed three times and had to be revived by Rapas. He was also shown a collection of weapons from all ages and given the mission of starting a peace movement in Sweden, though told that he himself should not appear in public to promote it.”
“The New Generation”
Back in Sweden, during a meeting of contactee-oriented enthusiasts in January 1968, a statement written by Father Rapas and dictated to Höglund (who did not attend) was read out. A new “international peace organization” should be started by the group, it began. With the approbation of the Overlords, the organization was to be named “The New Generation.” The statement contained so much drivel that it is a wonder anyone took it seriously. Among Rapas’s exhortations are the following:
“Your catchwords shall be: Freedom from violence, from hunger; we are all brothers and sisters…. You who have supported [Richard] shall not be forgotten, you shall reap a hundredfold, but if someone hurts him or his devoted wife, I say, they shall be revenged sevenfold.” The group also received “Ra Paz’s Rules”—sixty-five “philosophical points”—one of which is more than enough to suffice here: “If there should be interplanetary people among you, which I believe is rather rare, don’t let them go to heaven but bring them down to Earth again and demand more work of them.”
Most members of the group felt uneasy about Rapas, his threats, and the “New Generation” and their platitudes. The building contractor, for instance, had been asked to pay thousands of kronor without knowing what he was really supporting. And Höglund, thoroughly disillusioned, became reclusive. As a result, the group split up, though Tryggwe Glantz continued to act as spokesman. Interviewed by a Swedish newspaper in mid-1968, Glantz was quoted as saying that the now 600-member organization had been created by “the West Indian peacemaker Ra Paz” as “a worldwide peace movement in the spirit of Martin Luther King.” The article went on to mention the organization’s plans for a large meeting in the fall that year, to be attended by the singer Harry Belafonte; Ralph Abernathy, a leader of the American civil rights movement and assistant of Martin Luther King Jr.; and King’s wife Coretta. The meeting never happened. In the article, Rapas is referred to as a wealthy industrialist who, during his travels around the world, had seen so much misery that he decided to devote his wealth to charitable causes.4
