Dr DAVID CLARKE reveals a now largely forgotten counter-theory was of infiltration by demons from the fiery pits of Hades. Some members of the Christian Orthodox Church find it impossible to accept that there is any goodness in the elusive and contradictory nature of UFO behaviour. If there are no aliens in the Bible and the UFO occupants aren't angels then UFOs can only be demonic in origin.
Dr DAVID CLARKE reveals a now largely forgotten counter-theory was of infiltration by demons from the fiery pits of Hades. Some members of the Christian Orthodox Church find it impossible to accept that there is any goodness in the elusive and contradictory nature of UFO behaviour. If there are no aliens in the Bible and the UFO occupants aren't angels then UFOs can only be demonic in origin.
Dr DAVID CLARKE reveals a now largely forgotten counter-theory was of infiltration by demons from the fiery pits of Hades. Some members of the Christian Orthodox Church find it impossible to accept that there is any goodness in the elusive and contradictory nature of UFO behaviour. If there are no aliens in the Bible and the UFO occupants aren't angels then UFOs can only be demonic in origin.
Ufology often seems to come down to a choice between extraterrestrial
visitors and some as yet unknown natural phenomenon but, as
DR DAVID CLARKE reveals, a now largely forgotten counter-theory
was of infiltration by demons from the fiery pits of Hades.
Illustration by MICK BROWNFIELD.
aegtee
“You'd better pray tothe Lord when gou see thse fying saucers
mag be the coming of the judgement day...”
Charles Green & Gy Cohen, “When YouSee Those Flying Saucers" Oct 1947,
ince the 1950s, the dominant, and certainly the
‘most popular, hypothesis in ufological and public
discourse has been that flying saucers and their
occupants represent highly intelligent visitations
from outer space. From an early
stage with a few exceptions the
majority of ufologists appear to have
believed the nature and intentions of
the “visitors” were benevolent —either
to keep an eye on our progress towards,
joining the “intergalactic federation’ or
towarn us thar our nuclear experiments
were “upsetting the balance of the
Universe”,
But even proponents of the Extra-
‘Terrestrial Hypothesis (or ETH) have
had to contemplate the effect that open
‘contact with an ET race might have
‘upon human societies, particularly in its
spiritual implications. Much speculation
hhas been published on the impact such
an event would have upon religion,
especially fundamentalism. Oddly
‘enough, theologians -who would appear
tobe the most obvious experts to offer
advice on spiritual matters have had litte to say on the
subject. There is for instance, no rigid Christian dogma on
life beyond Earth or on the nature and origin of UFOs,
‘This reluctance to commit has infuriated some
Christian groups, particularly those who promote extreme
interpretations of the UFO phenomenon. Ou the one hand
there isa group of evangelicals - mainly Americans, such
as Dr Billy Graham - who have said the UFO occupants,
Roo aay
FLYING SAUCERS
rd
ray be angels sent by God to watch over us. The best-
Jenova exponent ofthisideais the Presbyterian minister
Rev Barry Dovrning, author af Flying Saucers an the Bible.
Downing appears tobe open minded about aliens as part of
God's creation and to look tothe scriptures for evidence of
early ET contacts
Acthe opposite end of the spectrum are some members
of the Chaistian Orthodox Church? who find it impossible
‘to accept that there is anv goodness in
the elusive and contradictory nature
of UFO behaviour. The most extreme
‘expression of this view is that there
can be no ETs because life on other
planets is not mentioned in the Bible.
tsa point of view that leads its
proponents toa further conclusion:
if thereare no aiensin the Bible and
the UFO occupants aren't angels, then
{UFOs can only be demonic in origin.
What the opposing sidesin the
“UFOs are angelsidemons” debate
have in commonis their acceptance
ofthe notion that if we can have good
‘UFO occupants then we can also
have evil ones (and Satan is,after
all, according to Christian tradition,
a fallen angel) They also share the
concepts of the Antichrist and the
imminence of the Second Coming of
Jesus predicted inthe Book of Revelation
Billy Graham, for instance, has been quoted as saying
that the angelic UFO occupantshave been sent to help us
“fight he demons in the prelude tothe Second Coming of
Christ”, Furthermore, a 2002 Time/CNN poll found that 58
per cent of those quizzed accepted the literal truth of the
‘End Times’ predicted inthe Book of Revelation, ® And the
pol found that many believe that the final battle with theAntichrist will rake place in their own lifetime
While some ufologists have attempted to make outa case
for hostile aliens in the tradition of HG Wells, none of these.
scenarios are as interesting as the ones conjured up in the
fundamentalist literature on UFOs, founded as they are upon
traditions which date back to mediaeval demonology. Ti you
vere only to read the ‘serious’ UFO literature you might be
forgiven for believing such a theory in which demonic or evil
forces are controlling the UFOs ~ belongs, like David Icke's
famous reptilians, solely to the natic fringe”, just one
‘more crazy idea in a gamut of crackpot notions, However, this,
‘would be far from the truth - demonology has played a very
influential, and largely overlooked, role in the
development of ufology both in the United
States and Britain,
Probably the best-known books promoting
the demonic theory of UFOs are John Weldon &
Zola Levit’s UFOs: What on Earth is Happening?
and Dr Clifford Wilson’s UFOs & Their Mission
Impossible, both published in the 1970s These
‘ree writers represent a very vocal faction of
Christian fundamentalists who have written on
the subject. Weldon & Levitt pull no punches in
setting out their stall: UFOs are manifestations
of demonic activity, and the increasing number
of UFOs in our skies is the result of demons
gathering for the coming of the Antichrist. From,
this point of view, evidence idemtifying the UFO
‘occupants as fallen angels is plentiful in the
Bible, if you know where to look and how to interpret obscure
passages appropriately. More recently, writers in the same
‘tradition have pointed to the wave of alien abduction claims as
proof that Satan's hordes have been let loose on the world. They
are out to steal our souls and deceive us into a false religion,
especially by promoting such ideasas ancient astronauts and
evolution rather than Creation,
BA ron
on.eaith
escaas
THE COMING INVAS
crane)
LEFT: The ‘fallen Ange’ Satan plummets from Heaven.
stration by Gustave oré for Milton's Parade Lost.
ASPACE-AGE DEMONOLOGY
wanted to discover how far these extreme
views were reflected in British ufology. Initially,
thought there was little evidence; then T
scratched beneath the surface and found a
‘mountain of literature and even a society
dedicated to promoting the demonic theory. The
former editor of Britain's Fluing Saucer Review,
Gordon Creighton, was until his recent death
the best-known demonologist in the UK. But
‘what is not so well known is that, as recently as
1996, a group of ‘concerned ufologists’ which
included Creighton and the founding President
of BUFORA, Graham Knewstub, privately
circulated a report warning of the demonic
origins of UFOs,
‘The UFO Concern Report was copied to
several hundred ufologists, MPs and peers of
the realm and was endorsed by none other
‘than Lord Hill-Norton, a former British Chief
of Defence Stat Hill-Norton, who died in 2003,
shortly after Creighton, is usually quoted by
UFO proponents as someone who, given his
military contacts, should have known what
hhe was talking about. So its interesting to
find Hill-Norton writing, in the memorandum
which launched the report, that UFOs were
“essentially a religious matter” rather than
military threat from outer space, and that
furthermore: “There is certainly a degree of
psychical involvementin almost every case. Quite often,
however, such experiences are definitely antithetical to
orthodox Christian belief”
‘The UFO Concern Report was a “restricted edition” aimed
at alerting “tap people” to the dangers posed by UFOs and
‘abductions. While Hill-Norton’s memo was published in FSR,
itgot very little publicity in the mainstream UFO press. Some
of the big names who initially supportedit later distanced
themselves because they didn’t agree with the emphasis
placed by the report's author, sub-deacon Paul Inglesby, on the
spiritual dangers posed by UFOs
Inglesby was, before conversion to the
Orthodox faith, an Anglican priest by the name
of Rev Eric Inglesby. Iris largely through his
and Gordon Creighton’s influence that the
demonic explanation of UFOs has been kept
alive in Britain
Born in 1915, Inglesby is probably Britain's
Tongest serving UFO theorist, with contacts at
the highest level both in the church and in the
British establishment. Much of what has been
written on this subject in the UK emanates
from his persistent and meticulous writings,
even though most ufologists I've questioned
have never heard of him.
Inglesby is also unique in that his interest
began a whole decade before the flying
saucer era, In 1938, while serving with the Royal Navy under
Lore Mountbatten, he contracted a tropical disease and was
left dangerously ill for three months, During this time he
underwent a “devastating spiritual experience”, during which
he saw visions of a future atomic war and demonic forces
controlling space ships and nuclear weapons, While trapped in
this timeless limbo, “...not only did I witness future events, in a
‘mental telepathic sort of way, but throughout the whole of this
timea battle was raging for possession of my soul”.Fortunately, Inglesby’s prayers were answered and he was
saved from the clutches of the demonic forces. Following,
his baptism of fire, he naturally remained on the lookout for
‘evidence of evil influences. When the first reports of flying
saucers appeared in British newspapers in 1947, Inglesby
felthis visions were about to become reality. He found the
extraterrestrial hypothesis, prevalent in the media and ufology,
an unsatisfactory explanation for the phenomenon. Gradually,
hhe-came to believe the contaets and messages passed on by the
UFO occupants were, at least partly, demonic in origin.
Conversion to Christianity followed and in 1964 he was
ordained asa priest in the Church of England. His conversion
to the Orthodox Church came in 1980 following a meeting with
FrSeraphim Rose at a monastery in California, Fr Rose had
‘written a treatise on UFOs as demonie signs which proved to
be highly infiuential on Inglesby’s developing theories. The
monk advised him to take refuge in orthodox doctrine so that
he would have spiritual protection in the campaign against
flying saucery tat was to occupy much of his ite
Like other fundamentalists, nglesby saw the decline of
traditional religion and the arrival ofNew Ageand UFO-
based religious cults such as the Moonies as
a sign that the End Times were imminent
Of course, this wasn’t a new idea, or one
exclusive to Christians. As forteans are well
aware, belief in the approaching apocalypse
isa massively important theme throughout,
the history of ufology. tis particularly
associated with UFO cults whose leaders
have predicted world cataclysms:in
‘messages supposedly passed on by the
space people. Fundamentalists, however,
interpret these messages as being
demonically inspired.
Before the End Times can arrive, Satan
‘must implement his evil plan for world
domination. In order fort to succeed,
large numbers of people ~ particularly
those in high places - will be brainwashed
or possessed by evil spirits in order to prepare them for
the final battle on the side of the Antichrist. Thisidea of a
creeping take-over alarmed those who believed UFOs were
demonic in origin, Not for them the War ofthe Worlds invasion
of aliens with machines and death rays. They feared a more
deadly takeover of human souls and the horrifying idea of
crossbreeding between demons and human beings to create
hybrid creatures.
The famous Antonio Villas Boas UFO abduction case from
Brazil provided the demonologists withthe evidence they
‘were looking for when it was published in FSR. This
amazing story ofa sexual liaison with a female alien,
‘which took place on board a UFO in 1957, did not
‘emerge in the UFO literature until 1965. Ever since,
the sexual theme has continued to turn up in abduction
narratives, so much so that Inglesby was able to
state, ina letter to PSR published in 1993, that: “All
the evidence points to quite a simple solution [to the
‘UFO abduction mystery], namely that wicked spiritual
powers for some time have [...] been stealing human sperm
‘and ova [..] however, these genetic ingredients most
probably are NOT crossed with their own genetic
stuf (if any)... but are being used... to create
pseudo human beings] probably thousands,
iffnot millions, of these creatures somehow,
somewhere, now exist. Inevitably they must
be soulless, and thus can be easly possessed
and completely controlled by evil spirits
{the aliens’) Their ultimate purpose can
only be the takeover of planet Earth
by invasion, Trojan-horse fashion.”
ONE WOMAN SAID
THAT FLYING SAUCERS
WERE A SIGN OF THE
WORLD'S END
DEMONIC IDEAS IN THE NEW UFOLOGY
Ac the opening of the UFO era in 1947, the ETH was just one of
a number of competing theories for the origin of flying saucers.
When the very first Gallup poll was carried out in the US, the
ETH did not even figure in the results. But when asked “What
do you think the saucers are?” one woman responded by “citing
Biblical text... and] said it was asign of
the world’s end”. ® However, even at this,
stage, more ancient devil traditions from
folklore were becoming entwined with the
UFO narratives. Probably the most obvious
examples the Men in Black, or MIB, a piece
of ufological folklore which began with the
story of Albert K Bender, founder of the US-
based International Flying Saucer Bureau.
Bender learned the ultimate source of the
saucers in 1953 and decided to reveal what
he knew. What happened next islegend:
three sinister men dressed in black suits paid
hima visit, having intercepted his letter. The
‘MIB visit affected him so profoundly that he
discontinued all further involvement with
ufology and shut dow his saucer club.
Bender had an obsessive interest in the
occult and black magic as well as fying
saucers, so perhapsit is hardly surprising that he was visited
by the devil. His experience, though, had far-reaching
‘consequences in that it tended to alert some of the more
religious members of flying saucer clubs to the spiritual
‘dangers of involvement in lying saucery. As a result, schism
‘occurred, with some saucer groups actively avoiding any
associations with the occult such as were rife among the
contactee movement. But the spiritual connotations of flying
saucers would not go away.
Ly the late 1960s, many mainstream nfologists
‘were growing disenchanted with the subject. The
Tong-predicted landings on the White House lawn.
bad failed to materialise and the truth about
UFOs seemed as elusive as ever. In some cases,
uufologists turned away from the ETH and looked
instead to occult and supernatural explanations.
Journalist and author John Keel and, toa
lesser extent, the French computer scientist
Jacques Vallee, were leaders of the
so-called ‘new ufology’.Keel’s
theory of ultraterrestrials*
supernatural entities which
coexist with mankind ina
parallel universe - proved
‘immensely popular among
LEFT Gordon Creighton,
Tongtime editor of Flying
Saucer Review.
ran 35uncon2006
ABOVE: Aredtop scar story fom the 1970s,
BOTTOM: Pui Ingesb,frmery Rev Eiclglesby, who warned of
the spiritual dangers of UFOs and wrote UFOs andthe Christian 1978.
ufologists who were looking for an alternative to the ETH.
Keel claimed he could contact the UFO entities via messages
relayed by contactees and even via the telephone (ina
similar fashion to spitit mediums) These encounters led him
to conclude that the intentions of the UFO occupants were
sinister. ln his Operation Trojan Horse, he wrote: “The UFOnauts
are the liars, not the contactees. And they are lying deliberately
as part ofthe bewildering smokescreen which they have
established to cover their real origin, purpose and motivation.”
Although Keel avoided religious conclusions and claimed
tobe an atheist, his ultraterrestrials were, in effect, identical
to the angels and demons of old. Flying Saucer Review was one
of the main conduits for these Keelianloccult views, whose
influence reached every UFO group and society in Britain.
When Gordon Creighton took aver editorship, the demonic
theories were promoted with renewed energy. By 1976,he could
write in a review of one of Vallee’ books that: “Demons... are
here already in immense strength.” They were busily selecting
those people whose genetic stock was needed for crossbreeding,
Even worse, the demonic entities were programming these
slaves to commit violence and controlling puppets in
Government todo their evil bidding
‘These were peculiar views, even for a UFO publication,
Creighton was following Inglesby in forging a demonological
interpretation of ufology.a package that contained some
disturbing ingredients such as extreme right wing politics and
raging paranoia, During his long editorship, these bizarre views
found a homein the very mouthpiece of ‘serious’ ufology. For
atime, anyone who was anyone in the subject read FSR.
And, as aresult, number of very well known names
‘were dravin into this web ~including some of those
{rom Britain's largest UFO organisation, BUEORA..
‘Three former chairmen of BUFORA, including
the founding President, Graham Knewstub,
along with Capt Ivar Mackay and Roger Stanway,
‘became convinced that UFOs were of demonic
origin. Both Knewstab and Stanway were originally
‘elievers in nuts-and-bolts spacecraft,
Dut their views changed when
their involvement in ufology
‘came into direct conflict with
their religious beliefs.
TnNovermber 1976, Stanway
stunned his friends and
colleagues by resigning
36 rms
as chairman and severing all,
contact with the subject. In his
resignation letter of November
1976, he explained that he and
his wife had been “born again”
2 part of a massive Christian
revival that was sweeping through
the world, He added that:
“Furthermore, Inow believe
that the UFO phenomenon has
Satanic origins” You coutd
dismiss Stanway as an isolated
cexaample of someone who
‘was pre-inclined to religious
fundamentalism but chat
‘wouldn't necessarily be true,
and he isn’can isolated
example.
Pethaps the most bizarre
story of all concerns the
BUFORA investigator for
South Wales, Randall Jones Pugh, who died
in 2003. Pugh ~a retired veterinary surgeon - was a God-
fearing man who investigated the West Wales UFO flap of
1977 that became known as the “Welsh Triangle”. Initially,
he was another believer in ET visitors but gradually his
views changed. During his investigations, Pugh looked into
4 range of weird happenings centred upon a remote part of
the Pembrokeshire coast: lightsand objects hovering in the
sky, mysterious silversuited figures peering into farmhouse
swindows, cowering animals, a herd of cattle teleported from
‘one part of a farm to another, and poltergeists plaguing a
amily of UFO witnesses, ’By 1980, he had concluded that the
‘UFO occupants were evil supernatural entities, and came to
believe ufologists were placing themselves in both physical
and spiritual danger. Soon afterwards, like Roger Stanway
before him, Pugh left uflogy and burned his collection of
‘books and slides. These actions followed a series of personal
experiences that, he claimed, “were too frightening to talk
about”
ike Pugh, the Rev Anthony Millican’s interest in evil
aliens cane from personal experience. One night in April
1968, he was out for stroll with his wife near his vicarage on
the outskirts of Bristol. Suddenly, the couple saw a glowing,
dome shaped object hovering close to the ground just a
few hundred feet away. It was transparent and appeared to
rotate silently on its axis; both felt “uncanny and chilling”
sensations,
Millican said: I don’t think the thing saw was mechanical
atall. [got the distinct impression that it was alive." He felt
the UFO was evil, and made a report of i to the Bishop of
Bristol and to the police, who searched the area but diew a
blank, ®
CHRISTIANS vs THE SPACE PEOPLE
In May 1977,a group of priests and former
ufologists came together as a result of an advert
placed in the The Church Times. In the advert, Brie
Inglesby had invited all those who were concerned
by the growing public interest in UFOs and aliens
to joina new Christian UFO Research Association.
Although membership of CHRUFORA never rose
above 40, the society had associates from all
denominations of the Christian faith. It
included ufologists such as Knewstub,
Stanway and Pugh and clergy such as,
Inglesby, Millican and several bishops.
‘The association pledged to fight against
what it saw asthe rising tide of oceultismQueen Elizabeth I
‘and to do everything in its power to warn others about the evil
influence of flying saucery, which was “fraught with danger for
‘the unwary and riddled with heresy and false belief”
CHRUFORA saw the imminent release of the Steven
Spielberg film Clase Encounters of the Third Kind as the most
‘ebvious focus for their campaign launch. Inglesby described
the massive popularity ofthe film as “slow poison, more deadly
‘even than The Exorcist”. The use by Spielberg of the Devil's
‘Tower monument in Viyoming as the focal point ofthe film’s
final close encounter was clear evidence to CHRUFORA of the
‘movie's demonic inspiration.
Members also identified a number of other evil elements
in the plot. For example, those contacted by the aliens are
subject to form of ‘mind control (demonic possession) that
ives them an overwhelming desire to make their way to the
‘Devil's Tower. At the climax of the movie, the UFO entities are
portrayed as benevolent and angelic, and ~as all well-informed
demonologists know ~Satan’s demons are able to disguise
themselves as‘angels of light’ to deceive world leaders.
Rey Millican’s reaction to the opening of the film in his
native Bristol was to set up a stall in the foyer of the Odeon Film
Centre. By June 1978, aver 150,000 people had passed through;
there were plenty of souls o save. During his campaign, he
handed out 4,000 leaflets warning cinemagoers that UFOs were
not ETs but “the devil's messengers”,
‘Millican’s display was in direct opposition to the message of
the local UFO dub and the Aetherius Society - which had 20
stalls ofits own at cinemas up and down the country but his
demonic message seems to have been the most newsworthy.
‘While Millican was saving souls in Bristol, Inglesby was more
concerned about the spiritual welfare of the Royal Family. Her
Majesty the Queen, he felt, was in grave spiritual danger it
she allowed herself tobe seen to publicly endorse the film, In
February 1978, he learned to his horror that both the Queen
and Prince Philip had been persuaded to see it for the benefit
of a charity. In desperation, he appealed to the Archbishop of,
Canterbury and to Lord Mountbatten, urging them to intervene
and warning that Her Majesty's presence might prove
* disastrous” for the Royal Family:
In the event, the Queen, along with Prince Philip and Lord
‘Mountbatten both of whom were long-standing flying saucer
enthusiasts ~ attended the starspangled Royal Premiere on 14
March, apparently without any intervention by demonic forces.
‘Having failed in their campaign against Close Encounters,
(CHRUFORA had more success in their bid to make their
‘mark on the House of Lords UFO Debate initiated by ufologist
ith Earl Mountbatten - Paul Inglesby warned them against attending the premiere of Close Encounters
The Third Kind 1976), ABOVE RIGHT: The Devi’s Tower, Wyoming, as seen in the Spielberg film.
Lord Clancarty (Brinsley Le Poer'Trench), [twas through the
intervention of Inglesby and CHRUFORA that the Archbishop
of Canterbury asked Maurice Wood, the Bishop of Norwich, to
speak in the debate, held in January 1979.In his contribution,
he said he was anxious about the dangers posed by UFO cults
and pseudo-eligions “obscuring basic Christian truth” and
added: “Some Christian researchers suggest that those who
‘become deeply involved in the religious aspects of the UFO
situation come under psychic domination which can cause
serious distress to them in their personal lives.”
‘Through the 1980s, public interest in UFOs and the occult
duvindled and Inglesby’s group felt it had achieved some
success, at least insofar as the general consensus had moved
against “an obsessive, unhealthy interest in UFOs now seen as,
‘occult phenomena”.
BATTLEFIELD EARTH
So why did the demonic theory of UFOs become such a popular
explanation from the late 1960s and early 1970s on? And how
many ufologists and, indeed, members ofthe public, give
credence to thisidea today?
I suspect there may be a link between belief in a
ddemonic origin for UFOs and the wider “occu revival”
recognised by the sociologist Marcello ruzzi (see FT208:
58-50) He categorised the revival into four main areas of
popular fascination: Astrology; Satanism and Witchcraft;
Parapsychology; and Eastern mysticism, “Fying saucers”
appeared only in a fifth‘waste basket category containing
‘areas which he believed had “small scape and influence or are
na STuncon2006
3B vos
nan actual state of decline”.
Few detailed studies have been carried out into the
relationship between religious and UFO beliefs. Asa result, it
is difficult to assess how many people subscribe to the angelic
/ demonic origin of UFOs. There have been few opinion polls in
the UK, butif we look at the most recent US Gallup poll from
1996 we find that 48 per cent of respondents believe UFOs
are real and not figments ofthe imagination, Proponents of the
Extraterrestrial Hypothesis tend to interpret the result as
‘meaning that nearly half the population believe UFOs are ET
visitors ~ butis this really the case?
‘Much depends on what ismeant by “real”. For many religious
people, the Deril is very much a physical, living reality. Certainly,
his evil influence is as real to them as are the Greysto those who
believe in alien abductors. Indeed, it seemed that, inthe USA
at least, belief inthe devil had easily overtaken the ETH in the
run up to the Millennium. A succession of polls published by the
Center for Policy Research found belief in the devil increased
from 37 per cent in 1964 to 48 per cent in 1973.2 The latest
Gallup poll, in 1995, found this had risen to 65 per cent ~ more
than those who believe UFOs are “real”!
‘We can now appreciate why the demonic theory has retained
its popularity for so long and why it appears to be the only
answer that makes sense to many people. Quite simply, as
Gareth Medway has recognised, demonic theories have an,
advantage over all other ufological hypotheses. Many people
‘want an answer to the mystery that leaves no ambiguities, and no
residue of unexplained cases.Those who seek to explain UFOs
as weather balloons, mirages, ball lightning, ‘earth lights’ or ET
craft can make their case only by distorting or ignoring evidence
that does nat ft -or by suppressing it.
Levit, UFOs: wnat on Ean
is Happening?, Harvest,
Calforna, 1978. According to
‘the Intreduction, Weldon is 2
researeh eo for te Christian
Research institute and Let is 2
Hebrew Christian who “met the
Lorin 1971" Cfo vison,
UFOs & Their Mission Impossible,
Slane, New York, 1974,
4c Inslesby, UFOs andthe
Christin, Regency Press, 1878,
NOTES
{1 The Orthodox Church or Eastern
Orthodox Church is defined by
the OED as “a Chistian Church
cor federation of Churches
acknowledging the authority of
the patriarch of Constantinople,
‘tginatng in the Church of the
Byzantine empire.
22 88¢ News Online, 6 Aon 2003,
ohn welkon and Zola
LEFT: Howard and Marla Menger, who were
‘warned by an extraterrestrial contact that
Earth was the battlefield of Armageddon and
they should rely on prayer, good thoughts
and caution.
‘An American Orthodox priest,
FrThomas Kulp, summarised the
superiority ofthe demonic theory over
all others inthis way: “If we are being
visited by extraterrestrials, no unified
and coherent hypothesis has yet been
offered to explain the multifarious
‘worldwide motifs of alien contact...
There isnot single UFO incident on
record that cannot be explained asa
demonic deception or apparition.”
So, if you believe the devil and his
army of demons are real, everything can
be explained. As the devil has unlimited
powers, n0 UFO story is too absurd or
‘contradictory, as this is just what would
be expected if their source were a
‘demonic one. Bearing this in mind, we
can appreciate why this theory proved
so attractive to ufologists like Creighton
and Inglesby, who had searched in vain
fora satisfactory answer. For ufologists
ofa paranoid or apocalyptic mindset
- with which the subject seems beset the idea of an invasion by
evil forces (whether alien or Satanie) can explain all the baffling
and contradictory aspects a the UFO mystery.
‘What we are witnessing isa reenactment of some very ancient
myths and legends common to many of the world’s religious
traditions. The most obviousis the ongoing bette forthe souls
‘of mankind between the opposing forces of light and dark, good
and evil, God and the Devil, played out in a technological setting
‘where spaceships replace traditional religious imagery
Perhaps thats what the space people who visited New Jersey
signwriter and contactee Howard Menger in 1956 were trying to
communicate. As well as telling him they were from Venus, Mars,
Jupiter and Saturn, introducing him to space music and the
delights of space potatoes, they informed him that there were
both good and bad space people, and that the bad ones could
disguise themselves.
When Menger asked how a mere mortal was able to tell them
apart, one ofthe spacemen turned and looked at him sadly,
saying: “My friend, this Earth is the battlefield of Armageddon,
and the bait is for men’s minds and souls. Prayer, good thoughts
and caution are your best insulation.”
‘AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
DDRDAVID CLARKE lectures on supernatural beliefs
and urban legend at Shelfield University’s Centre for
English Cultural Wadiion. Heisaregule Freotrbutor
andauthor of The AngefofMons(2008)
8 Fying Saucer Review Vol 14/4,
1088,
9 Sundoy People, 23 Ap 1978.
40 Marcell Muze, “The Oocult
Revival as Popular Culture"
Scvioloaica! Quarter 13, 1972,
:u Ronald Stony, Te Space Gods
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22 Gareth Medvay, neient
‘Astronauts, Gods and Greys,”
‘Magenia 6, 1998.
'§ See Bob Durant, “Public Opinion
Pals and UFOS", Evans & Stacy
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6 Peter Rojcenicz, “The Men in
Black Experience and Tradition,”
Journal of America Foifore 100,
‘patiune 1987
See Dad latte, “Brtan's x
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24-28, July 2005,