Abduction Watch 3
Number 3, October 1997
The best hoax since APEN – or even better?
The ‘Unnamed Soldier’ marches mysteriously on. Since starting AW – only 3 months ago now – I’ve realised that if there’s one thing queerer than folk, it’s ufologists. And maybe odder yet are the people who feed those ufologists – soft targets that they are – some of the rubbish that they believe in. I’m used to dealing with wild beliefs, and with exploitation for profit and fame, but for pretty much the first time I’m having to think about what motivates cold, deliberate, anonymous, disinformation.
I’m beginning to believe in my own guesses. Not only does the material seem to be in place more widely than I’d imagined, but a prominent UK researcher was offered what sounds like the same stuff just as AW2 was going out. Then, a few days ago, Terry Mark Knight, “Founder and President” of the British Society of the Unexplained (BSU) wrote to assert that all the information I’d published – which came from a range of sources – was actually the product of work by the BSU! I should share this with you – words entirely Mr Knight’s, jammed together to save space
Thank you for sending your lates issue of ‘Abduction Watch’ to us at the society, my only problem with your publication is the levels of research that went into it, the story regarding 580 Security was wrong. Here are a few points you will find interesting . . The research was not undertaken by any of the people or groups you mentioned, it was conducted by us . . The Investigator that uncovered this story works for the BSU . . The information was passed to us by an ex-member of the armed forces, and we are in possession of the full taped conversation (over three hours of tape) . . The main reason why other investigators will not say much or reveal sources is because they do not know anything . . Photographic evidence does exist, we have it . . We gave Global the story . . The locations you mention are wrong, it was Sennybridge not Sunnybridge . . We are the only Organisation in possession of any of the information you mention, including the name and location of the 580 Security informant. I do wish other “investigators” would get their facts right and stop pretending they have information they do not have . . If you would like to discuss this story with us please contact me . . This story is only being ridiculed by publications like yours because your informants are making it up as they go along. The story and evidence are real and the best yet, the only fakes are the UFOlogists.”
I’ve sent a copy of the letter to Andrew Hermidia, Editor of Global, but at first sight it looks as though the BSU, like others before them, have been persuaded that they – uniquely – have been given highly significant information about a military/alien relationship, abduction, mutilation, and a pattern of international military activity designed both to further the alien agenda and to cover it up at the highest level. Except, of course, that there is no cover-up, because so many groups and individuals have been told what, supposedly, is going on. Far from being concealed, the fiction is just pushed out to those most likely to be convinced that it’s true. I do hope that the BSU have, as should any responsible person, passed their “photographic evidence” to the police.
What do abductees do in the dark?
If you’ve been keeping an eye on Derrel Sims via the Internet, or you’ve read the article in the latest Alien Encounters, you’ll know that Sims – always on the lookout for ‘scientific’ evidence of abduction – has “discovered fluorescent markings on several areas of an abductees body, in approximately 5% of the abduction cases he studied”. This idea seems to have been around since an Internet posting in early 1996, and I gather that Sims was using a black light, to detect this fluorescence, on attendees at the BUFORA Conference this year. At least one UK abduction investigator has reported that he has been using the technique, too.
The Alien Encounters article is, apparently, written by a biochemist, Eve Frances Lorgen, though her background and qualifications are not stated. She makes her own position as a believer quite clear, saying
“The fluorescent design marks found on abductees are probably some type of organic fluorescent label used by the mysterious ‘abduction handlers’ . . Most of the fluorescence seen on post-abduction bductees are sub-dermal yellow-green, or bluish-lavender irregular splotch marks. This suggests a possible contamination of the fluophore used as markers by the aliens . . According to some cattle mutilation research, a luminescent substance was found on surgically excised areas of the animals.”
Unlike the Internet postings I’ve seen, the article does point out that there are natural forms of bio-luminescence. However, great stress is laid on the abductees (how they know they’re abductees in the first place isn’t explained) displaying sub-dermal fluorescence, and the obvious alternative explanations for that scenario just aren’t set out. Straightforward research, conducted with the great help of professionals who belong to ASKE (the Association for Skeptical Enquiry) has established that Lorgen is either woefully ignorant of the range of causes of dermal fluorescence, or has been selective in her presentation. She mentions “fungi” without being specific, and fails to mention that one of the specific uses of the black light-UV light (known in medicine as Wood’s Lamp or Wood’s Light, after the US physicist who invented it) is the detection of fungal infections of the human skin, such as ringworm. Or that infections do not rub off. To quote a GP’s opinion on the subject as set out in the net “Have you had a close encounter – keep a black light lamp at home’ site, which reports on Sims and Leir
“UV light is used in dermatological investigations to show up skin disease invisible to (or difficult to see with) the naked eye – fungal infections (eg ringworm) are common causes of skin fluorescence under UV, so they are prime candidates. I would hazard a guess that the woman who “had red fluorescent marks, inside their palms, on their necks and face, whereone would expect a close contact holding a baby” might conceivably have been showing up ringworm from holding, say, an infected cat . . Of the two theories – alien abduction vs ringworm – I’d choose the latter any day!”
A Lecturer in Skin Bioengineering with a Department of Dermatology at a UK university commented that
“The use of black light (UV) illumination is a standard diagnostoic confirmatory test for the presence of fungal infection in the skin. The fungal hyphae fluoresce in a very characteristic and obvious way. Also other skin components exhibit fluorescence, for example Stratum corneum (look at dandruff in a UV illuminated disco, for example) and collagenous proteins. Clearly the use of testing for aliens is absurd.”
Lorgen’s claim that “Fluorescence has also been reported on mutilated cattle . . some mutilated cattle associated with UFO activity are thought to be pre-marked before surgical excisions” looks like part of the mutilation myth. I wonder if these reports amount to any more than ufologists waving black lights around over dead animals? Anyway, I haven’t yet had time to ask for opinions on this one, but, to quote the Oxford Textbook of Medicine (3rd edition, 1995),
“Anaerobes such as Bacteroides melanogenicus in wounds and ulcers fluoresce red”
Anaerobes are bacteria having the power to live without air. Melanogenicus are species of bacteria found in the mouth, faeces, infections of the mouth, soft tissue, respiratory tract, urogenital tract and intestinal tract. Perhaps Lorgen – and Sims – were unaware that mutilated cattle, being mutilated, have wounds, that they may well be ulcerated, and that being left out in the open are very likely to contain a variety of bacteria. Which, of course, would display completely natural fluorescence under UV light.
Apparently, Sims thinks he has found a triangle, a crescent, and a Mandelbrot shape among the fluorescence detected, but I suggest that the shapes detected – for which there seems to be no verifiable record – are likely to be random, chance, and subject to interpretation. Different varieties of fungal skin infection, and other sources, may display all kinds of shapes under UV, and like a child looking at clouds, the observer may choose to name those shapes. A sample of 5% of people who Sims believes to have been abducted may be no more than a perfectly normal ratio given all the possible causes of fluorescence on or in the human skin.
Derrel Sims and his supporters persistently suggest that genuine scientific enquiry is being conducted into alien abductions, generally by unnamed scientists whose whereabouts must be kept secret. Somehow, these enquiries are never finished, or their results published. Sims himself makes clear in Alien Encounters16 that ‘scientific’ results will be put to “abductees, contactees or experiencers” first”, and only later, possibly, submitted for peer review. I shan’t be holding my breath.
Roswell: why weren't all the witnesses dead within days?
In a presentation at the Roswell Anniversary bash, another Sims project saw claims being made for the extraterrestrial origins of the ‘Roswell fragment’: claims which, of course, involve no proof for the source of the ‘fragment’, or where it had actually been for the last half-century. Hidden away, fear of government, ridicule, etc, etc as usual, it seems. The full statement by Sims’ ‘scientist’ in this case, “Dr Russell Vernon Clark” included various claims which, as you’re probably aware, have attracted a great deal of criticism. I don’t understand much of this material, though I’m assured that the criticisms are very telling. However, one comment has been made by an ASKE member re the Ge ratios in the fragment, and the measurement in the fragment of a relative Ge-75 ratio of 0.11% (Ge-75 has a half-life of only 1.38 hours, and the Roswell crash supposedly occurred in 1947).
The MD of a company supplying scientific instruments has commented that
“The point about Ge 75 being a radioisotope with a relatively short half-life was extremely powerful, and is probably enough alone to crush any claim of this work to scientific validity. You can’t determine the presence of a short-lived isotope after days or weeks unless the initial concentration of that isotope was massive enough to kill anyone in the vicinity. That they claim to have measured this isotope shows how slapdash their analysis really was.”
I understand that Clark has asserted that “these tests have far less error than, if you will forgive the analogy, even the most sophisticated DNA testing performed today”, and that “the raw data and conclusions from these tests are being compiled and will be submitted to a peer reviewed publication when the rest of the testing is completed.” That’ll certainly be a first.
Holes In Their Heads
I’m trying to make sense of the proposition that, from the bodies of dead animals, it’s possible to draw a logical conclusion that they’re dead because they’ve been killed by alien beings. Dr Dolittle aside, there is no evidence of coherent two-way communication with live animals, let alone with dead ones, yet their deaths have been made into a key element of the abduction mythos, and a justification for believing that the abduction of animals supports the arguments for the abduction of humans.
There’s no doubt about the identity of the UK’s most prominent abduction researcher – it’s Tony Dodd of Quest International, much of whose work appears in the columns of UFO Magazine and its sister publication The Unopened Files, and who often appears on the UK lecture circuit talking about animal mutilations. I hope he might be doing so at the BEAMS conference in Bradford next month.
Dodd’s importance in the field is confirmed by the remarks of John Carpenter in the 1997 MUFON Conference Proceedings, where he says that
“According to Britain’s highly respected UFO abduction researcher and retired police officer, Anthony Dodd, reports of Grays comprise about 75-80% of alleged encounters while Nordics, Reptilians and Praying Mantis types round out the other 20-25%”
In Issue 7 of the popular UK publication “The X-Factor”, a ‘Case Notes’ box states, under the heading ‘UK Animal Mutilations’ that
“Tony Dodd, a former police sergeant turned UFO researcher, has amassed a large number of mutilation reports in Britain. Many of his cases show much the same hallmarks as those reported in the US and other countries – bloodless wounds; the ‘surgical removal’ of organs, eyes and tongues; the rectum ‘cored out’ and the jawbone stripped of flesh. Since the early 1990s, Dodd claims, incidents of mutilation have involved wild animals such as foxes, deer, badgers, seals and wild birds, as well as livestock.”
Illustrating this piece is a colour photo of a dead fox with a hole in its forehead, and this photo also appears in two very similar articles by Dodd in the July/August 1995 and March/April 1997 issues of UFO Magazine. In the earlier article, the picture is captioned “A fatally wounded fox discovered on a moor at Staintondale, North Yorkshire, in 1993. The hole seen on the top of the head is not a bullet wound. The brain was removed.”
In the later article, there are also colour photos of a dead lamb, two dead deer, and a dead hedgehog. The page where they appear is noted “All photographs copyright Quest Picture Library/Anthony Dodd”, and the caption reads, “Numerous types of animals both large and small have been mutilated since 1993. This small selection forms just part of a major file currently under investigation by Tony Dodd. The fox, deers, and lamb were discovered in a forest in North Yorkshire between 1993-95. The tiny hedgehog was found in West Yorkshire”.
Some of the cases presented in both articles appear to just come from local papers, and the absurdly over-hyped Bratton White Horse makes an appearance. This is the nature of mutilations – the alien link rests substantially on a couple of old hypnotic regressions publicised by Linda Moulton Howe, and meaningful, physical, on-site investigation is rare. However, Dodd states that, possibly (presumably?) in relation to the animals in the photos
“In the smaller animals (sheep, deer, foxes etc) the rectum had been cored out and each had a neat hole bored into the head – through which the brain and spinal cord had been totally removed. In every case blood had disappeared without any spillage on the ground.”
Sadly, the later article also presents a photo of a ‘mutilated’ human – I’ll try to deal with this aspect in a month or two – but if we are to establish what actually caused the deaths of these animals, we need to know something about the investigation that has actually taken place. Dodd says he wrote about mutilations to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), the National Farmers Union, and the National Veterinary College, but that “The replies were basically the same, ‘We are unaware of any cases of this nature’. This reminded me of the old saying: ‘If in doubt, deny everything’.”
Dodd writes – without specifying any dates or places – that
“During this time Intelligence Investigators from MAFF turned up at the farms, but strangely refused to enter into any detailed discussions about the incidents. These shadowy figures arrived and quickly departed, not wishing to disclose their involvement or interest. On many occasions animal carcasses were speedily removed from the scene before public interest could be aroused”.
He says he has
“evidence that shows creatures as small as mice have been killed and their rectums cored out. They also have holes in their heads. In nearly all the cases previously mentioned, several common factors have emerged: The identical nature of the injuries – the perpetrators are never seen and have never been caught – the total blood loss in every case – the strange glowing objects seen performing aerobatics in the area”
He does not mention whether he has reported these mutilations to the police, the RSPCA, the NFU, or the National Veterinary College. I presume that a professional veterinary autopsy would be vital to establish that “the brain and spinal cord had been removed” through “a neat hole bored into the head”, but no vet is mentioned, or autopsy report quoted. Dodd is, however, very specific about MAFF
“Regardless of the cause, strange and patently horrific animal mutilations are occurring, yet nobody associated with the Ministry wants to talk about it. I keep asking: ‘What the hell is going on and why are you(Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries) afraid to talk about it?’
Their findings are now firmly embedded in a department similar to that seen in the X-Files. We have not seen the last of this phenomenon.”
Well, MAFF in North Yorkshire isn’t entirely unwilling to talk about the subject, because they wrote to me recently. I’d sent them Dodd’s later article, including the photos of dead animals allegedly found in North and West Yorkshire. I asked them what they knew about these animals and, particularly, whether Dodd had notified MAFF of these deaths, or asked them to become involved in investigating how those deaths occurred. MAFF replied
“I have made some enquiries locally but have failed to identify anybody within the Ministry who has any knowledge of the incidents described in the article. The Ministry does not have a team of intelligence investigators employed to investigate the sorts of incidents which have been described, although it is possible that, if the police became aware of animals dying in unusual circumstances, they would turn to our Veterinary Laboratory Agency for advice or assistance. I have checked with the nearest laboratory and also the veterinary field staff responsible for this region and they have had no such enquiries.
I am sorry I cannot be more helpful, but I am as confused as you are by Mr Dodd’s reference to “shadowy figures” from the Ministry.”
Before we consider drawing conclusions, or even speculating more than is reasonable without the full story, there’s some serious questions to be asked here. They have to be serious because, unless some sick fool is tampering with the corpses of animals that are already dead, mammals which feel pain just the same as you or I are being killed and mutilated by something – or somebody – for no acceptable reason; if such a reason could exist. I have no doubt at all that such killing and mutilation is likely to be a criminal act.
I’ll be sending copies of this issue of AW to Graham Birdsall (Editor of UFO Magazine – “Factual reporting, factual research) and to Dodd himself, and I’ll publish any sensible response next issue. The simple questions are factual, though they may lead to more: were the deaths and mutilations of the specific animals in the photos ever reported to MAFF, to the police, to the RSPCA, or even to a competent veterinary surgeon for autopsy, while the bodies were still available for examination, or the locations for investigation. If not, why not? And if so, bearing MAFF’s response in mind, when, to whom, and what evidence is available to establish that those reports were made? Has MAFF, deliberately or inadvertently, provided me with incomplete or inaccurate information
The more complex questions are these. If there’s no proof that these animals were ever taken or touched by alien beings, how did their photos come to appear in UFO Magazine? How did they come to be copyrighted to the Quest Picture Library/Anthony Dodd? How did Dodd find out about these dead animals? And, most important, how did they get the neat holes in their heads? How did they die? And why did they die? It is notable that Tony Dodd appears to be the only person in this country who knows, at first hand, about these horrible and extraordinary mutilations, so it is inevitably to him that these questions must be addressed. I’m really looking forward to bringing you the answers to what, for some living creatures, may be questions of life and death.
A final word to the UK UFO investigators who, presumably because they have no comprehension of threat of terrorism in this country, are surprised at being thrown out of MoD premises when they enter them without permission, are looking for the New World Order at work in Downing Street, and an Area 51 under Salisbury Plain – please remember
- 1. A document marked ‘confidential’ has pretty much the same security status as my DSS payslip, and
- 2. just because somebody doesn’t tell you something, doesn’t mean they have something to tell you!
Next issue
As well as the November AW, I’m working on a ‘special’ setting out the immense problems and dangers witnesses are being exposed to by UK (and other) investigators who are using, and arranging, regression hypnosis and other forms of memory enhancement, without appropriate medical knowledge or presence, and without warning their victims either of dangers of the procedures, or of the rubbish that is likely to come out of them.
