general
Eyewitnesses have accounted for an alleged gamut of extraterrestrial life-forms in the shape of blond-haired Nordic-type men, average men with exceptional intelligence and technology, horror-novel monsters, dwarves, fairy-type creatures, cyborgs, large slabs of cognizant metal, and amorphous biologically organic matter.

Still, no extraterrestrial is as iconic or convincing as the Alien Gray. The description of this particular extraterrestrial life-form is consistent throughout the years and hundreds of eyewitness reports, more so, these accounts rest on a rockbed foundation of correlating U.S. Government and Military involvement. The Alien Gray seems to carry with it a chilling fascination for investigators and public alike. The alleged cover-ups, bizarre cases of elusive physical evidence, and terrifying accounts of human laboratory experiments are a few of many facets which make the Alien Gray so interesting to ufologists and the public alike.
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description/appearance
Greys are generally described as being short in height, roughly four to five feet tall with slight bodies, long arms and fingers, no protruding nose, a small slit-like mouth, and extremely large black almond-shaped eyes.

An anonymous medical doctor claimed to have performed an autopsy on an alien specimen while serving in the United States military in the early 1950's. This astoundingly detailed account written in July of 1979 was taken from his experience in what is now popularly known as 'The Roswell Incident'.

"The specimen observed was four feet three inches in length. I can't remember the weight. It has been so long and my files do not contain the weight. I recall the length well... because we had a disagreement and everyone took their turn measuring. The head was pear-shaped in appearance and oversized by human standards for the body. The eyes were Mongoloid in appearance. The ends of the eyes furthest from the nasal cavity slanted upward at about a 10-degree angle. The eyes were recessed into the head. There seemed to be no visible eyelids, only what seemed like a fold. The nose consisted of a small fold-like protrusion above the nasal orifices. The mouth seemed to be a wrinkle-like fold. There were no human type lips as such ' just a slit that opened into an oral cavity about two inches deep. A membrane along the rear of the cavity separated it from what would be the digestive tract. The tongue seemed to be atrophied into almost a membrane. No teeth were observed. X-rays revealed a maxilla and mandible as well as cranial bone structure. The outer 'ear lobes' did not exist. The auditory orifices present were similar to our middle and inner ear canals. The head contained no hair follicles. The skin seemed grayish in color and seemed mobile when moved."

Multiple alleged abductees have told of identical or nearly identical extraterrestrial creatures. Meanwhile, witnesses of the Roswell Incident have provided similar descriptions of the biological evidence collected from crash site and stored in the top-secret Hangar 18 of Roswell, New Mexico and Area 51 of Nevada.
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range/habitat
There is no rhyme or reason in alleged abduction cases attributed to the Alien Gray. Abductees run the gamut of every age range, background, and location. There are, however, 'hotbeds' of UFO activity which could hypothetically be attributed to the Alien Gray. Some well-known ones are Puerto Rico, Arizona, and a particularly remarkable sighting was reported from Yuma, Colorado. On August 27th of 1995, twenty-one witnesses reported a UFO in thirteen different locations. The sightings continued for forty-eight hours. Eyewitness reports told of a cigar-shaped ship performing incredible maneuvers. This event is known as one of the most important mass sightings in US extraterrestrial phenomena history.

Hypothesis regarding the place of the origin of the Alien Gray range from early misconceptions of 'moon men' and Martians to more educated and thoughtfully constructed ideas regarding recently-discovered planets hypothesized to be capable of supporting life as we know it.

From 2006-2007, a US/Australian-Anglo team of researchers discovered an impressive twenty-eight new planets, known as exoplanets, outside of Earth's solar system. Among the finds were four multi-planetary gas systems, which could, in theory, host a planet capable of preserving water as Earth does. Water, of course, is essential to the survival of life as we know of in modern science.

Many scientists, astrophysicists, and ufologists are convinced that discovering water on other planets is one more step closer to discovering life on other planets. The location of origin of the Alien Gray is theorized by many to be one of these potential exoplanets. While these planets have yet to be fully investigated to understand their life-sustaining capabilities, popular astrophysicists have theorized that, due to the sheer infinity of the universe, it is more unlikely that a planet would not exist that could not sustain life.

A specific incident in the famous Hill Abduction case points toward a specific location in outer space linked directly to the Alien Gray. Betty Hill recounts asking her abductors where they were from and was shown a three-dimensional map of a cluster of stars. She redrew an astoundingly correct replication of that map under hypnosis in 1963.

The cluster of stars is formally known as Zeta Reticuli, which is thirty-nine light years away from Earth. Zeta Reticuli was not mapped by astronomers until 1972. When Zeta Reticuli was first mapped, comparisons between the scientific data and Hill's map show an inconsistency of three extra stars on the part of Hill's map. Later, with more advanced technology, astronomers returned to investigate Zeta Reticuli and accounted for the three additional stars.

Betty Hill's map is profoundly exact in the configuration and location of these stars, displaying an accuracy that is remarkable. More remarkable is the fact that this eyewitness recorded exact scientific data roughly nine years before the technology was developed which would be capable of obtaining this particular information. This occurrence is only one of many of the astounding pieces of information orbiting the Alien Gray phenomenon.
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history/origin
It is natural for mankind to wonder what exists beyond the stars. This curiosity is as old as civilization and creative thought. Multiple indigenous cultures across the globe have myths of beings and deities of or from the stars, long before telescopes or even mathematical capabilities required to measure distance between planets. Ancient West African mythology spoke of extraterrestrial visitors from the Sirius star system, who left little trace of their presence except the astronomical traditions of the Dogon tribe of Mali.

Meanwhile, theories run amok in attempts to explain some of our more fantastic ancient treasures, such as the Pyramids of Egypt. These structures are considered by some to be advanced and astoundingly vast for the time era they were built in. A popular Egyptian hieroglyph seems to resemble something similar to a spacecraft. Other alleged hubs of extraterrestrial activity within Earth's ancient cultures are the unaccounted-for Lumeria and Atlantis.

Fourth Century BC Greek Philosopher Diogenes asserted that an intelligent race lived on the moon. Contemporaries followed Diogenes' hypothesis and added their own, arguing that since the lunar day is fourteen days longer than Earth's, this 'moon race' must be fourteen times bigger. Unfortunately, such claims did not end with the fourth century.

British astronomer Sir William Herschel stated in a paper read to the Royal Society in 1780: "... knowledge of the construction of the Moon leads us insensibly to several consequences... such as the great probability, not to say almost absolute certainty, of her being inhabited."

Herschel believed he'd seen cities, roads, even circuses and many other signs of civilization during his observations of the moon. Herschel, ironically enough, is credited to the finding of one of our solar system's planets - Uranus.

It is theorized that such wild hypothesis of moon-men and moon-civilizations are due to the unique patterns left on the desolate surface of the moon by meteors and comets. Unable to fully investigate due to undeveloped technology, people formed incredible theories based on their limited observation from Earth.

However, modern-day amateur and professional astrologists have reported witnessing activity on or around the moon, but none make claims of the moon actually being inhabited. This particular phenomena is known as Transient Lunar Phenomena, and is characterized by reports of odd lights, dark spots, reddish patches, cloudlike manifestations, flashes of light or moving, unidentified objects. Most of these accounts can be easily explained by sun reflections, moving debris on earth interfering with the vision of the observer, and meteors. Most, but not all.

Winifred S. Cameron analyzed some 900 reports from 1540-1970 and concluded "Some facts indicate that some of the brightening results from unknown atmospheric, instrumental, and geometric effects, but many puzzling aspects still remain."
This data has caused a number of ufologists, alleged abductees, and casual observers to consider the moon may very well be a stopover or base of operations for intelligent extraterrestrial life.

Despite great efforts by those in years past to understand what creatures, if any, exist beyond the stars and the resulting extravagant description of extraterrestrials that followed, the full spectrum of the Alien Gray in specific did not truly take root until the 1940's - also known as UFO era and the Abduction era.'
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timeline/major sightings
The development of knowledge regarding the Alien Gray is a multi-faceted series of events, taking place in the experiences of average citizens and decorated veterans. It is a fascinating history with a rich diversity of input spurred on by bizarre accounts, a history that is ever-evolving with new and disturbing discoveries.

1896-1897: Newspapers across America headline accounts of mysterious cigar-shaped objects spotted in the sky. These 'airships' were said to flash bright searchlights. It was theorized that these craft carried Martian visitors. These 'airship scares' continued to the early 20th century, whereupon extraterrestrial theories were replaced with much more relevant concerns of hostile German aeronauts or some genius inventor.

1947: Pilot Kenneth Arnold's account of sighting extraterrestrial space craft spurred nationwide media and public interest. Arnold reported seeing many unidentified semicircular-shaped objects fly past Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams in Washington. It was unlike any aircraft the experienced pilot had ever seen, lacking typical features such as wings, vertical stabilizers, and engines. The craft moved in a wobbling/skipping motion, comparable to that of a spinning disc skipping over water at speeds recorded by Arnold to hit 1,700 mph.

A newspaper reporter took slight liberties with this particular description, in doing so coining the term 'flying saucer'. Arnold himself did not use those particular words, although they now evoke the image of extraterrestrial spacecraft today.

The following weeks yielded hundreds of 'flying saucer' reports from the public. The U.S. Army Air Force stepped in and would be held in both respect and contempt in the coming years in regard to further extraterrestrial phenomena. As of Arnold's account and those like it, they stated firmly that such craft did not belong to the US Air Force, but the spokesperson added "Don't worry about it, we are working on it, and we haven't found anything yet."

In the following years, the U.S. Air Force would explain these sightings through mundane occurrences such as weather phenomena, misidentifies airplanes, stars, planets, or hoaxes.

1947: Worldwide press reported that remains of a 'flying saucer' had crashed in the remote area of Lincoln County, New Mexico. According to the coverage, the U.S. Army Air Force recovered remains and evidence. Within hours of the release of these reports, a 'correction' was wired out from officials at Eighth Arm Headquarters in Fort Worth,Texas. The correction assured reporters it was nothing more than a weather balloon.

Meanwhile, the material was allegedly flown to Wright Field, later renamed Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. In a twist of irony, the most well-known extraterrestrial government cover-up was simply laid to rest until years later, when this event and others would be reopened for investigation as 'The Roswell Incident'.

1947: An event which would change the general social attitude of amusement and passive interest in extraterrestrial phenomenon to serious consideration took place on July 8th. An unspecified accident took place at the Roswell Army Airfield, New Mexico. A USAF spokesman unwisely joked about recovering flying saucer debris. It was a weak attempt to divert public attention from top secret projects taking place at the airfield to address the Cold War. Roswell Army Airfield was site to the first nuclear bomber, high altitude radar balloons and parachutes. Instead of reassuring the public, this spokesperson set the stage for the plethora of Government cover-up conspiracies to come.

Meanwhile, according to informants, searchers found the bodies of four gray-skinned humanoid creatures roughly two miles from the main crash site. They claimed to have been sworn, along with other military and civilian personnel, to secrecy by government authorities.

Early 1950's: George Adamski, employed at Mt. Lamomar Observatory in Tibet and founder of the Royal Order of Tibet claimed to have regular meetings with extraterrestrials. The content of these meetings centered on attempts by these extraterrestrials to save the Earth from nuclear destruction. Adamski provided photographic evidence of extraterrestrial spacecraft, from small scoutships to large, cigar-shaped 'motherships'.

Furthermore, the 1950's hold a distinct shift in eyewitness accounts in regard to events where extraterrestrials made direct contact with witnesses. Where previous eyewitnesses held relatively harmless and odd experiences with extraterrestrials and therefore called themselves 'contactees', the tone of accounts emerging in the 1950's took on a more sinister spin and witnesses began to call themselves 'abductees'.

1950: Physicist Robert Sarbacher, a consultant to the Defense Department's Research Board attended a Canadian meeting of scientists and engineers. Other meeting participants inquired about allegations that the U.S. Government had access to UFO remains. Sarbacher responded in the affirmative, stating 'We have not been able to duplicate their performance'all we know is, we didn't make them, and it's pretty certain they didn't originate on the Earth.' When pressed for more details, Sarbacher responded 'The subject is classified two points higher than even the H-bomb.' He would divulge no further information.

1953: A former army pilot witnessed a DC-7 arrive at a Wright-Patterson Hangar carrying five crates. According to the witness, the crates held each a small humanoid on a fabric stretcher, preserved with dry ice. They were four feet tall, thin, without hair and had small mouths. They seemed brown under the hangar lighting and the specimens wore tight-fitting uniforms. Crew members of the DC-7 told the witness that the specimens were recovered from a spacecraft crash in Arizona. It was further stated that one of the humanoids was alive upon discovery, and crews attempted to save it without success.

1952: A retired Air Force pilot allegedly attended a high-level secret meeting at Wright-Patterson Air Base, where he saw an alien body deep-frozen in an underground chamber. The description was exactly in accordance with descriptions from other eyewitnesses ' four feet tall, hairless, large head and long arms. He later said to have learned that the UFO material and biological specimens were transferred from the underground complex to another at Colorado Springs, Colorado.

1952: Pan-American pilot William Nash and co-pilot William Fortenberry claimed to have encountered UFOs over Virginia in July. As they were interviewed by investigators by the U.S Air Force's Project Blue Book personnel, Fortenberry asked in his one-on-one interview if rumors about crashed flying saucers stored at Wright-Patterson was true. He received an affirmative response from his interviewer. During the final interview which included Nash, Fortenberry and all Blue Book personnel, Nash asked the same question. According to Nash, the interviewers 'all opened their mouths to answer the question, whereupon Major Sharpe looked at them, not me, and said very quickly, 'NO!' It appeared as if he were telling them to shut up rather than addressing the answer to me.'

1960's: Senator of Arizona and Brigadier General in the U.S. Air Force Barry Goldwater got a thorough scolding from friend, General Curtis LeMay. Goldwater asked LeMay for a favor ' access to a room at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Goldwater was fascinated by the alleged UFO wreckage and bodies stored at that particular location. LeMay adamantly stated 'Not only can't you get into it but don't you ever mention it to me again.'

1960: Brazillian farmer Antonio Villas-Boas accounted experiencing an alien abduction may be the first abduction case so far known. The eyewitness claimed to have been forced into intercourse with extraterrestrial creatures on board a UFO. This account was speculated to be some sort of attempt at interplanetary breeding.

1961: Jaques Francis Vallee, one of the world's leading and respected UFO theorists, was the chief scientific consultant for the to the Air Force's various public UFO projects Projects Sign, Grudge, and Blue Book. In 1961, a UFO was picked up on satellite tracking tape, and the project director ordered the tape erased.

1961: The infamous Barney and Betty Hill abduction incident took place on September 19, on Route 3 of rural New Hampshire. They witnessed what they described to be an object which looked similar to a star following them as they drove home. Then, at around 10:35 PM, their memory went blank.

1961: Betty and Barney Hill were extremely disquieted over a number of unusual occurances after having witnessed the 'star' following them on Route 3. Betty's dress was marred with an unknown pink powder-like substance and the zipper torn, amongst other superficial damages. Both complained of nausea, headaches, weakness, and found unusual and unaccountable damage to their car in the form of polished, round spots the size of silver dollars. After hearing the extraterrestrial slant of their ordeal, a physicist neighbor encouraged the Hills to test a compass' reaction to these spots. When held close to any one spot, the compass would swing and spin madly. When laid directly upon them, the compass would 'flop over' and give no response.

Most distressing, however, was the two to three hours of unaccounted-for time they had lost on Route 3. On September 21st, both underwent hypnosis in an attempt to discover what, exactly, happened.

In the hypnosis session, they discovered that after they had witnessed the star-like object following them, it finally got closer and they could see it was a disc-shaped spacecraft. The UFO sped overhead and lowered around one hundred feet in front of them. It was then that the Hills could make out the details of the spacecraft, notably emitting blue-white, strong light, made no sound, had two rows of windows and, behind those windows, eight to eleven humanoid shapes.

Frightened, Barney drove the car onto a dirt side-street. They did not drive far before they came upon a barricade of six to eight men. As the men divided into two groups and approached the driver's and passenger's seats of the car, they finally noticed these 'men' were not human. Their description is typical of the Alien Gray. They pulled Betty and Barney out of their vehicle, Betty struggling to escape, and lead to the spacecraft.

Both reported an eerie experience of being subjected to a series of cold and calculated laboratory tests. Betty recalled the extraterrestrials collecting various tissue and fluid samples and having a needle pierced down through her naval. Barney recalled a device placed over his groin in order to collect semen. An account by Barney Hill published in Look Magazine's serialized version of the story stated: 'As he stared downward, he seemed very impersonal and I suddenly felt like a tiny bug waiting to be snatched ' like I was some sort of specimen and it was the eeriest feeling.'

During her time on the craft, Betty asked where her abductors were from and was shown a three-dimensional map of a cluster of stars, which is now known as Zeta Reticuli and mentioned earlier in the 'Range/Habitat' section of this entry.

After various laboratory procedures were completed, the Hills were lead back to their car and allowed to continue home. This abduction account is the most notorious and well-known. Most importantly for ufologists, it was the only known abduction account with physical evidence to potentially back up eyewitness claims.

1966: A retired Army Intelligence Officer stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Base claimed to have seen nine alien bodies in a heavily guarded location. He described them at about four feet tall and gray-skinned. He heard other personnel claim there were a total of thirty extraterrestrial bodies and the wreckage of a UFO stored on base. The witness stated 'Since 1948 secret information concerning UFO activity involving the U.S. military has been contained in a computer center at Wright-Patterson AFB. At the base a master computer file is maintained with duplicate support backup files secreted at other military installations.' Source claimed Wright-Patterson was the same base where Senator Goldwater arrived and General LeMay denied him access to the UFO-storage areas. 'The refusal caused quite a fiasco at the base' the witness said.

Late 1970's: Ufologists reopened the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base investigation, seeking the truth behind alleged government cover-ups of extraterrestrial spacecraft and bioanomalies. The case was now renamed as the infamous 'Roswell Incident'. This move was breakthrough even in ufology circles. Until then, while there were many who held firm belief in the existence of UFOs and extraterrestrials, the idea of extensive government cover-up was seemingly reserved for fringe ufologists.

Eyewitness Norma Gardner worked at Wright-Patterson Air Base with access to sensitive material, including items recovered from crashed UFOs. Responsibilities included cataloguing, photographing, and tagging UFO evidence. She claimed to have witnessed two humanoid bodies as they were moved from one storage room to another, describing them as generally human in appearance, though with large heads and slanted eyes. She related this account because she was dying of cancer, and said 'Uncle Sam can't do anything to me once I'm in my grave.'

May 1982: An alleged abductee related his experience in 1978 as he drove home with his wife. They both witnessed a spacecraft, estimating the size at one-hundred feet long, twenty feet wide and ten feet tall. The spacecraft outmaneuvered their vehicle and landed on the highway , forcing them to stop. Two blinding lights then came on. Eyewitnesses do not recall anything after the incident.

In 1982 the eyewitness found a metal object in his arm, a few inches above his wrist, close to the bone. There were no scars to indicate an entry wound. An MRI scan shortly before the extraterrestrial encounter showed no anomalies. Dr. Roger Leer of Thousand Oaks, CA, is a surgical specialist in removing 'extraterrestrial implants', investigated this anomaly. Leer has removed dozens of unusual metal implants from patients, and while most were not tested, the few that were either proved to be not alien or inconclusive.

In this particular case, the metal was confirmed to not be a secretion of the human body. According to Leer, the body is not capable of creating such an object. During the surgery, two further curiosities were discovered. One being that the eyewitness's body had surrounded the small, metal object with a bundle of nerves. The usual human biological reaction would be to react with inflammation/irritation, reject the object, or create scar tissue around the object.

Most astoundingly, video tape of the procedure shows the object physically shifting within the eyewitness' body to avoid extraction with odd 'jumping' maneuvers. There was no fluid present in the incision or around the object which would help facilitate such movement.

Early 1990's: An unsettling change in eyewitness accounts of extraterrestrial life-forms took firm hold in the early 1990's. Accounts of abductees being subjected to disturbing and invasive medical procedures began to take rise. Meanwhile, ufologists began to take serious interest in the 'Roswell Incident', disregarding typical skepticism of government cover-ups and access to extraterrestrial specimens, concepts which were dismissed in ufology circles until the 1990's. William Moore, Stanton Friedman, Kevin Randal, Don Schmitt and other ufologists collected hundreds of accounts from hundreds of, sometimes, reluctant witnesses. Roswell personnel, civilian contractors, Roswell residents and ranchers all shared their experience during this remarkable event in the history of ufology.

2007: Analysis done in this by UFO Hunters team on implant 'victim' Jeff Hardy yielded fascinating, but ultimately obscure, results. Hardy claimed to have witnessed a UFO while on a fishing trip in Pennsylvania at the age of eight. The craft was said to be 'smoking in the back'. In 2001, Hardy was diagnosed with a severe case of heavy metal poisoning. Shortly after, Hardy discovered a strange metal segment imbedded close to the skin in his thigh. Doctors claimed it was consistent with shrapnel ' despite there being no entry scars which would explain the object's location, and the fact that Hardy has never been to war.

Dr. Roger Leer performed the operation to remove the object. Magnetic, EMF, and Radio Frequency tests were first run before surgery. The results of the magnetic test proved positive, showing a noticeable 1/8' 'rise' of skin in the object's response to the 250 lb magnet. Electromagnetic Field reading concluded at 10 miligaust ' a very high reading for an object only slightly larger than a BB, and could only reasonably be accurate if the object was connected to an outside power source. Radio frequency read at 35 megahertz, but a particularly fascinating result came with the gigahertz reading, which was concluded at 59. That same frequency is used by satellite radio and Telsa communications, which uses the exact same radio frequency to scan outer space in search of proof of extraterrestrial technology.

Investigators hypothesized that the object could be doing one of two things ' sending out information signals or was being used as a homing beacon.
During the surgery, Leer discovered an anomalous response on the part of Hardy's body similar to the previously recorded surgery in 1982. Hardy's body had grown an encapsulation of tissue around the object, instead of scarring, reacting with irritation, or rejecting. The object ceased emitting any and all EMF and radio frequency readings once it had been removed from Hardy.

Infrared testing of the object proved it to be made mostly of iron. Observation under an optical microscope revealed the object to be natural and organic in shape and structure, resembling an uneven surface with looked like 'the surface of a meteor'. A further curiosity was revealed as a little 'wing' of material which did not match the rest of the object was found ' testing showed that this material was actually a very small piece of Jeff's flesh, which had somehow been grafted onto the object itself.

Ever the professional ufologists, the UFO Hunters team were unable to draw definite conclusions on the EMF and radio frequency readings, citing possible environmental contaminates of the results. Furthermore, it is a possibility for foreign objects to migrate wildly within the human body, so the lack of any scar tissue or sign of puncture around the object's location was ruled out as evidence. No one from the team or Leer's medical practice could explain the flesh grafted onto the implant, and that particular piece of evidence remains truly unexplainable.
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suspected hoaxes
There is a lingering shadow of skepticism regarding UFOs, extraterrestrials, and the alien gray. Initial skepticism on the part of scientists during the 'UFO heyday' fueled this prevalent attitude, while alleged government cover-ups certainly did their part to dismiss extraterrestrial phenomena. Meanwhile, some eyewitness accounts, whether they involve the Alien Gray specifically or not, are truly so bizarre they are difficult to take seriously. Bring into consideration the 'Hollywoodization' of the Alien Gray and the sheer number of supposed abductees, the grounds surrounding extraterrestrial phenomena can be considered fertile for hoaxers of all imaginations.

1835: Sir John Herschel, Sir William's son created a magnificent outer-space tale in the footsteps of his father. His accounts tell of winged, slightly orangutan-like extraterrestrials as well as a higher species of lunar 'bat-men' "of infinitely greater personal beauty scarcely less lovely than the general representation of angels by the more imaginative school of painters."

Richard Adam Locke, a reporter for the Sun, had written a report based on Herschel's 'professional' observations and presented it as a reprint from 'the Edinburg Journal of Science', a publication Locke wholly falsified.

Astoundingly, the combined efforts of Herschel and Locke fooled thousands. Edgar Allan Poe expresses the situation quite accurately, stating "Not one person in ten discredited it, and (strangest point of al!) the doubters were chiefly those who doubted without being able to say why - the ignorant, those uninformed in astronomy, people who would not believe because the thing was so novel."

Historian of Science Michael J. Crowe hypothesizes that the event, which is now known as the 'Moon Hoax' was a satirical work, intended to bring humor to Locke's audience - not convince them to the point of unquestioning, widespread belief.

1991: The extent of belief in alien abduction was explored in a publication by the Roper Organization. '[The] most unsettling development to date' was when it was estimated, from sample figures, that two percent of the American population had been abducted at some point of time in their lives. That's around five million per year, or twenty-two million per year if extended globally. Even Betty Hill of the notorious Hill Abduction case had to comment, stating, not without a bit of sarcasm, "With 4,000 people being abducted every night, I don't see how planes would get through!"

These inflated numbers are really very astounding, and even ufologists and commited believers in extraterrestrial phenomena are moved to believe that, reasonably, some (if not most) must be hoaxes - whether the witnesses in question falsify these claims consciously or not.

A particular photograph of an alien corpse laid out for autopsy at the Roswell Army Air Field surfaces on television news, in newsprint, magazines, and on the internet occasionally as evidence of the recovery of alien bodies in the Roswell crash. The photograph, depicting the open-eyed corpse of a stereotypical Alien Gray on what could be a hospital bed or gurney, in black and white, is actually a skillfully-made prop from the 1994 TV movie 'Roswell'. It was donated to the International UFO Museum in Roswell, New Mexico by producer Paul Davids.

1988: Robert Lazar made quite a name for himself during the Roswell Investigations as he came forward with his account in November on Las Vegas KLAS-TV. The interview was hosted by respected investigative journalist George Knapp. Lazar claimed to be a physicist hired to work at Area 51, and told of extremely secretive behavior on part of military officials. He claimed to have been driven on location in a bus with blackened windows. After undergoing physical examination at the location known as S-4 on Papoose Lake, he was settled into a briefing room, alone, to review project documentation. His accounts were as detailed as the poster in the room, which showed a UFO hovering over a dry lake bed (as seen in Area 51, known as the Groom Lake Flats) with a caption reading 'THEY'RE HERE'.

According to him, bunkers on Area 51 housed nine different types of saucer-shaped extraterrestrial spacecraft, which were powered by a gravity-wave generator. An amplifier directed these waves. Fuel was said to consist of reddish-orange disks the size of half-dollars and was an unknown element, referred to as 115. The interior of these spacecraft held small bucket-seats, which hinted at the small size of the pilots. He also claims to have once glimpsed a humanoid being in the company of two men in lab suites.

Lazar's account could neither be proven or disproven, however the credibility of his reports was severely compromised when it was discovered that his scientific credentials were, in blunt terms, false. Many scientists stated his use of scientific vernacular was 'nonsensical' and 'unprofessional'.

Lazar's testament may have been compromised, but in coming forward so did a plethora of other bizarre tales. One man claimed to have worked at Area 51 with a friendly alien named Jarod, for example. On a darker duality of the mystery shrouding Area 51, people speculated that the U.S. government received technological advances from extraterrestrials in exchange for allowing them to abduct U.S citizens.

Extraterrestrials are featured in many accounts which could be neither proven or disproven, but the sheer abnormality of these statements have encouraged people to approach them with heavy skepticism.

1956: A South African woman, Elizabeth Clarer, stated she was having an affair with an alien named Akon, of the planet Meton. Clarer stated "I have found the true meaning of love in mating with a man from another planet". It was not unusual to see such statements every so often in entertainment rags such as 'The Enquirer'.

Despite the, at times, extreme romanticization of encounters with extraterrestrials, there was a darker side. According to science fiction author Whitley Streiber, extraterrestrials broke into his home in December and sodomized him in his own bedroom.

1967: Betty Anderson Luca claimed to have been visited on a regular basis by extraterrestrials since her childhood. These visits were accompanied by odd visions, such as a glass phoenix and hundreds of headless 'monkeys' with eyes on stalks swarming a building. Luca claimed to have been given a tour of the 'Otherworld', lead by a stereotypical Alien Gray who called itself 'Quazgaa'. Luca claimed these visits and visions were sent from the Judeo-Christian God, or 'God's Will'. She would not be the first witness to claim so, as the bizarre experience told by Jean Higley in 1979 of time-freezing, extremely mischievous, winged, pseudo-faerie extraterrestrials with 'dead faces'. Another account from George King May in 1954 told of hearing a telepathic 'voice' from a 3500-year-old 'master' of the planet Venus, which moved King to found the Aethurius Society in 1956. The Aethurius Society mixes yoga, theosophy and science-fiction-like spiritualism involving trancelike channeling of alien entities.

One possible hoax took on a, perhaps, slightly damaging turn. Dr. David Jacobs, a historian at Temple University of Philadelphia, John Mack, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard and New York artist Budd Hopkins were known as established ufologists. Many alleged abductees approached them for their expertise and for help, only to be told that aliens have groomed certain human 'specimens' for long-term use as lab specimens.

This hypothesis-stated-as-fact went up to and included stating that these aliens impregnate women with human/alien hybrid fetuses and remove them before the fetuses come to full term. It can be easily imagined how terrifying it would be to hear confidence behind such statements, particularly since none of these claims can be verified.

The Roswell Incident inspired two hoaxers to convince a well-known journalist, Frank Scully, to write 'Behind the Flying Saucers' (1951), a book which is credited to introducing the idea that the military had recovered dead aliens from UFO crash sites and theorized on some of the supposed alien technology found at these sites by the U.S. government.
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proposed explanations
Extraterrestrial phenomena continues to this day, with reports sourced from all over the world. Because of the sheer massive scope of ufology, theories are composed from all aspects of academia, from astrophysics to anthropology. Skeptics have long presented entirely anomalous but, nonetheless, of-earth explanations behind UFO and extraterrestrial sightings.

1978: A hypothesis published in Applied Optics magazine in November proposed that UFO sightings are simply swarms of 'glowing insects', the abnormal light caused by electrical discharges through the antenna and legs of these insects as they flew through an electrical field.

Joseph Allen Hynek was a skeptic who, unlike others, did not make conscientious efforts in ridiculing extraterrestrial phenomena believers and investigators. He attributed a particular rash of UFO activity in Michigan to swamp gas. Paranormal investigators are quite familiar with this proposed explanation as well, which is said to account for anomalous luminosity sightings. He made these observations serving as a scientific consultant for the U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book. This statement drew media and public attention as well as ridicule. These reactions resulted in a one-day hearing by the House Armed Services Committee. During the hearing, Hynek called for a "civilian panel of scientists'[to] examine the UFO problem critically for the express purpose of determining whether a major problem really exists."

The committee Hynek called for was established through the Air Force in contract with the University of Colorado. Director Edward U. Condon showed a notorious contempt of UFO theory and the scientists who expressed sympathy to it, creating one of many strings of bad publicity for the project. It was to such an extent that Project Blue Book was closed in December of 1969.

Another theory proposes the origin of extraterrestrial phenomenon lies within our mind and our cultural and folkloric ties. Jaques Vallee hypothesized in his 1969 book 'Passport to Magonia' that UFO abductions are simply continuations to whatever instinct lay behind the development of the fairy kidnapping and changeling folklore. However, Patrick Harpur argued in his 1994 book 'Daimonic Reality' that the fairy mythos and extraterrestrial abduction cases hold very few similarities outside of the 'kidnapping' factor and whatever personal interpretation the abductee may claim.

Thomas E. Bullard, folklorist, followed a similar vein of observation in his analysis of over thirty abduction cases. Bullard noted these experiences "hark back to primitive initiatory rituals and shamanic journeys, suggesting archetypal patterning behind human experience with otherworldly beings." Whether the experience takes place as a vision quest, an abduction into a faerie ring, or an
alien abduction, needless to say these occurrences set the abductee apart from the rest of the community, providing them with insight to happenings above the everyday physical mundane. Perhaps these abductees would have, in ancient and primitive societies, been revered as shamans, priests, priestesses, and seers. Alien abductions, according to this theory, may be considered the modern-day shamanic journey.

As noted in the 'hoaxes' section of this entry, the sheer number of alleged extraterrestrial abductions is seen as ludicrous to even firm believers in ufology. Sociologist and ufologist Hilary Evans hypothesized in 1947 that the public imagination was 'prepared ground' for the rash of extraterrestrial activity which would continue into 2009 and possibly beyond. Evans and other ufologists sought the source of the archetypal characteristics of alien abductions and found them in the popular pulp science fiction novels of the 1930's and 1940's. In his anthology "The UFO Mystery"- (1998) he wrote "It is not exaggeration to say that virtually every feature of the flying saucer myth - paralyzing rays, levitating beams, telepathic communication and alien abduction was anticipated by [these] ingenious authors." From the late to mid 1900's science fiction took a widespread genre interest in secluded civilizations and exotic, unknown anomalous biological entities, as can be seen in the works of H.G. Wells, C.S. Lewis and H.P. Lovecraft. At the time of the first widespread and notable extraterrestrial craft sightings in the United States, science fiction had strongly established these abduction and extraterrestrial characteristics within their pages.

Science fiction is theorized to be the 'patient zero' for the widespread consistency found in the multitude of extraterrestrial encounters. Radio, print, and later television media would soon become key in expanding awareness of these abduction commonalities. Media, in summary, could be the reason behind the regularity of details found in the unbelievable mass of eyewitness reports, burying the potential 'real' cases beneath those which are falsified, exaggerated or simply irrelevant due to their lack of groundbreaking detail or available evidence.

A particular field of scientific study gives heartening credence to the possibility of actual extraterrestrial biological entities in the flesh and blood - or whatever it is that would stand as an equivalent. Astrobiology encompasses many factors which, ultimately, add up to broadening the search for life on other planets. In one aspect, astrobiology searches for far-away exoplanets which meet a specific criteria which would enable these planets to support life, as seen by the twenty-eight exoplanets discovered in 2006-2007 mentioned in the 'Habitat' portion of this entry. Scientists were also excited to discover that Jupiter's sixth moon, Europa, potentially has an ocean of water beneath its icy surface.

Another aspect of astrobiology is the search for organic and biological evidence, such as nanobacteria, which are one sign of life capable of existing in the harsh and exacting environments of space. In the 1990's biologists discovered these nanobacteria on Earth - several different specimens capable of living in hostile or toxic environments without light, heat, or oxygen. These nanobacteria are hypothetically capable of traveling through space on meteor or comet debris.

Later in 2003, scientists discovered four completely new kingdom classifications of life in the barren tundra-like land west of Boulder, Colorado. Until Dr. Carl Woese shook the foundation of biology in 1977 by discovering a 'third kingdom of life', scientists classified all life forms into two kingdoms - animals and plants. This 'third kindgom' was archaea micro-organisms which live near volcanic vents on the sea floor. Specimens belonging to this third kingdom were capable of living without oxygen and in conditions thought to bear similarities to Earth's earliest environment. Since then, scientific study has rocketed forward with advancement in DNA analysis technology. Before the discovery of the four new microbe kingdoms, scientists estimated the total to be around thirty. Now, scientists hypothesize that there may be many, many more kingdoms of life forms on Earth alone.

Dr. Allen Meyer stated "The discovery of new kingdoms means more undiscovered species exist" This is certainly very remarkable news in the quest for possible extraterrestrial life forms in the incredibly remarkable environment of outer space. More so, if there are life forms which defy the physiological and environmental requirements of survival as we know it, perhaps that expands the search for extraterrestrial life beyond the preconceived, Earth-type planetary structure.

A further aspect of astrobiology is the discipline of combining known facts about extraterrestrial environments, astrophysics, philosophy, Earth sciences such as evolution, environmental effects on biology, and the physiology of many species to create as accurate as possible hypothesis regarding life-supporting planets and the life forms found therein. One documentary on the Discovery Channel, 'Extraterrestrial', aired June of 2005 specified one such hypothetical alien world, as well as Discovery Channel's 'Alien Planet'. Both documentaries vividly paint what type of life-forms would be found in extreme environments, such as a planet with an atmospheric density three times that of Earth's.

String theorist Michio Kaku and Astrophysicist Professor Stephen Hawking both expressed sympathy to the high possibility of extraterrestrial life. Hawking even approaches the subject with a sense of humor, telling the Huffington Post on February 4, 2009 "Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare; Some would say it has yet to occur on earth." When asked if there is cause to worry about Aliens, as in the typical Alien Gray abduction cases, Hawking answered with "Watch out if you would meet an alien. You could be infected with a disease with which you have no resistance."
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influence on culture
The impact of extraterrestrial phenomena is extremely far-reaching, burrowing into the concerns of military and scientists and sparking the imaginations of film directors and authors. The Alien Gray certainly provides a mysterious and rich history of data and potential, building a complex story which many media reporters could not resist. As it stands, these humanoid, little gray creatures with exceptionally large eyes create an irrefutable standard of comparison when the word 'alien' is mentioned in modern culture.

One of the first signs of the Alien Gray's influence in our modern culture was, for better or worse, in the ranks and top-secret files of the United States Military. The conspiracy theories and government cover-ups come nearly hand-in-hand with the image of these creatures. In the early years of extraterrestrial phenomena, 1947 on, the United States Air Force strictly controlled the best and most accurate sighting data based on multiple witnesses, radar readings, et cetera.

This was not considered a problem to civilian scientists at the time - ufology was at its infancy and it seemed only 'fringe kooks' of the scientific community took a deep interest in studying these unexplainable events. Ideas surrounding extraterrestrial involvement were brushed aside with, literally, a 'they can't get here from there' reasoning.

As science turned a blind eye to extraterrestrial phenomena, the U.S. government received quite a scare regarding these anomalous aircraft. The palpable concerns surrounding atomic-powered Soviet flying machines were quite relevant at the time, until it was concluded that the Soviets would not hand their secrets over to the United States so easily by sending their own aircraft over U.S soil. It was a comforting thought, and then the question stood - so what are these things recovered from crash sites and sighted in the sky?

As the possibility of extraterrestrial activity became more and more apparent, the U.S. government reacted swiftly in the midst of a tide of media and public fascination. The U.S. Air Force responded with projects Sign (1948), Grudge (1949-1951), and Blue Book (1957-1969).

Project Sign was the first U.S. Military investigation into the UFO phenomena taking place all across the country. Project Sign came to no official conclusion about UFOs, however much of the project's personnel favored an extraterrestrial hypothesis and Sign argued in favor of extraterrestrial origins of UFOs. The opinion was not a popular one, and Sign was dissolved.

Project Grudge was a short-lived general investigation into the rhyme and reason behind UFOS, but quickly crumbled due to the angle the investigators took in their analysis - that UFOs simply could not exist, ever, no matter the evidence. This particular observation made by Air Force Captain Edward J. Ruppelt spoke volumes regarding the general manner in which UFOs were considered by the majority of the scientific community at that time - as, simply, an absolute impossibility.

Blue Book was a series of investigations which replaced Grudge with the goal to determine whether UFOs were a threat to national security and unlock the secrets behind UFO technology.

Alleged statements of the top-secret nature of these projects were nearly commonplace, government and military personnel dedicated to these projects and exceptional minds contracted to find the truth behind the extraterrestrial phenomena. Shortly after, in Roswell, New Mexico, the alleged cover-ups took on a more opportunistic note. The Roswell incident was, as much as possible, pushed under public radar in an attempt to not clue enemies of the United States to the fact that the U.S. government had access to possibly advanced technology which could be used to give the United States a military advantage.

As Dr. Bruce Maccabee experienced in his quest to publish his scientific articles in favor of extraterrestrial hypothesis in science publications, the scientific community remained far behind media and public acceptance of extraterrestrial activity. His attempts to publish in 'Science', 'Applied Optics' and 'Nature' magazines was met with stalwart reluctance while other pieces arguing against extraterrestrial origins were regularly published. One such example was Donald Warren's "Status Inconsistency Theory and Flying Saucer Sightings" wherein Warren argued eyewitnesses feeling inconsistencies with the socially prescribed life-formula experienced a distinct sense of alienation and stress from community, and as such, manifested those feelings in UFO sightings. Maccabee was even told, point-blank, by an editor that "UFO believers are 99 44/100% kooks."

However, 'Fate Magazine' launched a mere six months after the 'kickstart' UFO sighting over Mt. Reiner in 1947. 'Fate Magazine' specialized in paranormal mysteries, strange encounters and government conspiracies. Perhaps hyperbolic in comparison to many other publications, but a powerful force behind the founding of ufology.

There were and are a number of ufologists who continued to 'buck tradition' and gathered funding, backing, and support in their quest to scientifically and logically explain extraterrestrial phenomena. One such person was J. Allen Hynek, an astronomer, professor, and scientific consultant for Projects Sign, Grudge, and Blue Book. He became a respected advocate for serious investigation into the possibility of extraterrestrial theory behind UFO and Alien phenomena. In 1972 he published "The UFO Experience", arguing that serious UFO study might result in a "mighty and totally unexpected quantum leap" in science. The book gained remarkable headway in scientific publication circles, garnering favorable reviews from 'Nature', 'Science', and other respected field journals. Hynek, with the financial backing of businessman Sherman J. Larson, created The Center of UFO Studies (CUFOS) as a formal organization through which research to the caliber of Hynek's expectations could be conducted.

Search For Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) became a standardized procedure by which ufologists would search for extraterrestrial life forms. The method of SETI projects is to survey the sky to detect the existence of radio transmissions from civilizations on distant planets. This approach is generally considered on a widespread level as hard science, and started in 1960 and continues to today.

Meanwhile, publishers continue to embrace the public's fascination with extraterrestrial phenomena. The novelized account of the Hill Abduction Case, entitled 'The Interrupted Journey', became a bestseller during its initial publication. Multitudes of extraterrestrial-themed titles, from the bizarre to the stoically scientific, can be found on the shelves of popular booksellers today, including a second look at the Hill Abduction Case entitled "Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience: The True Story of the World's First Documented Alien Abduction". Other modern-day common titles are "The Roswell Legacy: The Untold Story of the First Military Officer at the 1947 Crash Site" and "Witness to Roswell: Unmasking the 60-Year Cover-Up". It seems even well into our modernized society, details and accounts of the Roswell Incident continue to pop up and the public's appetite has no less diminished for it.

Roswell itself has become a cultural icon, with the location of Roswell, New Mexico boasting a plethora of tourist traps and an unimaginable selection of alien souvenirs. The City of Roswell holds a UFO celebration every July 4th with guest ufologists as keynote speakers.

There is a disturbing angle of influence extraterrestrial hypothesis has taken on culture. In the 1950's, public interest in UFOs was generally optimistic, and self-proclaimed prophets such as George Adamski, Howard Menger and George King claimed to be in contact with, as they put it, 'space brothers' either telepathically or in person. One spoke of a warning imparted to him by extraterrestrials, a warning of an impending apocalypse if man does not change their ways, and offering salvation in the form of airlift by flying saucers.

This particular belief was stretched devastatingly far in February 1998 in a widely-broadcasted mass suicide of the members of Heaven's Gate, an American UFO-based religion. Members believed Earth would be wiped clean in a 'Noah's Ark-style' recycling of the planet, and the only chance of survival was to leave it immediately.

On a modern-day, general public interest, cultural fascination with UFOs and extraterrestrials takes a strong presence in entertainment media. The 1950's media fascination with UFOs and aliens took firm hold in Hollywood, generating 'B' movies such as 1949's 'The Flying Saucer', which is thought to be the first UFO representation on film. The 1980 sci-fi film 'Hangar 18' starring Darren McGavin and Robert Vaughn dramatized the story of Hangar 18 and the alleged UFO and extraterrestrial evidence stored there. By the time the movie was released, the public was very familiar to what the words 'Hangar 18' meant. The Hill Abduction was also turned into a television book-to-movie adaptation based on their bestselling novel, "The Interrupted Journey".

Meanwhile, there are a multitude of popular film and TV shows which depict extraterrestrials and the Alien Gray with remarkable success, such as Will Smith's 'Independence Day' blockbuster of 1996. The 1982 film "E.T", starring Drew Barrymore and directed by Steven Speilburg, has become something of a family classic. "The X-Files" has experienced remarkable success, where Mulder's UFO poster with the words "I WANT TO BELIEVE" has become iconic in sci-fi fandom. The "Roswell" TV drama was aired on the WB from 1999-2002, depicting the lives alien-human hybrids in Roswell, New Mexico, who had survived the 1947 UFO crash. The Alien Gray has also made cameo appearances in unexpected popular television series, such as "Supernatural" Season 2 episode 'Tall Tales' and even a typical abduction hallucination in the medical drama "House".

The documentary-drama "UFO Hunters" depicts a team of ufologists investigating various claims and pieces of evidence has enjoyed the spotlight on both the Sci-Fi Channel and the History Channel, providing the general public with a glimpse of genuine ufology untouched by the need for Hollywood accoutrement. Astrobiology-centered documentaries on the Discovery Channel, 'Alien Planet' and 'Extraterrestrial', have enraptured the viewing public with their remarkable combination of hard science, commentary from astrophysicists and other professional scientists, and astoundingly creative concept-to-CG design.

The Foo Fighter's frontman Dave Grohl is known to be fascinated with supernatural phenomena, to the extent that the Foo Fighters managed to book a performance at the Roswell Industrial Air Center at the very site of the 1947 Roswell Crash.

Perhaps the most over-all remarkable example of extraterrestrial cultural influence was the airing of H.G. Well's "War of the Worlds" 1938 radio broadcast. The delivery was exceptionally convincing, as the first two-thirds of the sixty-minute broadcast was presented as a series of simulated news bulletins. The broadcast itself was a 'sustaining show', meaning it ran without commercial breaks. Because of these factors and the skillful delivery of the broadcast itself, people were convinced aliens were invading the Earth. Thousands of families left their homes in search of safety.

Clearly, the effect of this particular piece of fiction has not left the public imagination - the book has been adapted to a movie five times over, the most recent in 2005 by director Steven Speilberg. Not only seen in movies, but War of the Worlds has also been adapted to TV series, plays, comic books, and video games.

To truly encompass the influence UFO phenomena, the Alien Gray, and abduction cases has had on our culture would be a remarkable task indeed. It is without doubt that interest on every level - from the most exacting scientists to the most fanciful moviegoer's imagination - will continue on for years to come. Artists and other creatives will entertain the public with fanciful tales of alien abductions and invasions, scientists will continue to scan the skies and search the earth for proof of extraterrestrial life, and perhaps they will come together more often to create remarkable documentaries to keep the general public informed about this incredible phenomena which has captured interest throughout generations and the world.

ABOUT RESEARCH WRITER:
Sam laPena is an elusive species classified under 'creative mercenary'. Coexists with a veritable menagerie of dogs, rats, and other odds and ends. Primarily feeds on books, horror movies, music and Bloody Mary potato chips. Distracts observers with the written word and graphic arts, and then uses the opportunity to escape back into its native habitat - the internet.
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