Terrestrial Shadows

The state of Texas has had more than its share of great UFO cases, “Lubbock Lights” case of 1951. The case began as three Texas Technological College professors, Dr. W. I. Robinson, Dr. A. G. Oberg, and W. L. Ducker were chatting in Robinson’s backyard at 9:10 PM, August 25. Without a warning, the three men saw a number of lights fly across the clear, dark Texas sky.

30 Luminous Beads in Sky:

The lights appeared to be made up of glowing beads, and the grouping, looking at it straight on, was a boomerang shape. A second group would soon make its appearance. The following day, the three professors checked with Air Force personnel, who claimed that there had been no traffic in the air the night before. From the initial sighting until November, Ducker alone saw 12 different groups of these lights.

Three Flights a Night:

Talk of the lights brought a public awareness, and there would soon be reports of what seemed to be a systematic schedule of as many as three sets of lights in one night over Lubbock. Many eyes were trained on the night skies, and within a few days of the initial sightings on August 30, 18-year old Carl Hart Jr. would take five photographs of the lights with a Kodak 35-mm camera at f3.5, 1/10 of a second. Texas education officials could find no reasonable explanation for the objects in Hart’s photographs.

More Intense than Venus:

With the objects caught on film it was simple now to count the number of light spots. The number ranged anywhere from 18 to 20. It was determined that the brightness of the objects was greater than that of the planet Venus. There could be one or two groups of the boomerang-shaped lights at any one time. Some photographs seemed to show one larger light separate from the group. It was surmised that this lone object might be a mother ship.

Air Force Examines Photographs:

As one would expect, soon the United States Air Force would become involved in the matter. During the later part of September, they would make a detailed examination of the Hart photographs. The Air Force could not authenticate nor debunk the photographs. Captain Edward J. Ruppelt was sent to Lubbock to examine the mystery. He would later become the first director of Project Blue Book.

Just a Plover Bird?:

Hoping to get away from any extraterrestrial explanation, several earthly explanations for the lights would be offered. One was that the objects were plover birds, similar in size to a quail, another a flock of ducks, and another of shooting stars, or comet fragments. The most likely cause, the plover bird, was quickly dismissed by game wardens. They explained that the plovers never flew in groups of over 3.

Still Discussed Today:

The case of the Lubbock Lights is still being discussed today, with different theories being offered to explain what was seen and photographed over the Texas city in 1951. The photographs taken by Carl Hart Jr. have never been debunked as to their authenticity, but the question remains. What were the strange lights that moved across Lubbock, Texas in 1951?

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Many early researchers into the mystery of UFOs had distinctive lines of belief. It is in the realm of possibility that someone could see and report a UFO, but it is impossible that the alien beings flying the UFO would interact with humans, and certainly not take them against their will. This line of distinction would forever disappear because of one flagship case of alien abduction, the Betty and Barney Hill encounter. Their journey into the unknown began in New Hampshire in September, 1961, and would forever change the course of Ufology.

Star Moved Erratically:

The Hills were an interracial couple. Barney, a 39 year-old black man, worked for the postal service, and Betty, a 41 year-old white woman, was a supervisor for the child welfare department. Because of Barney’s ulcer problems, the two had embarked on a vacation into Canada. On September 19, they began their journey back home. At about 10:00 PM, Barney, who was driving, saw a star which seemed to move erratically. He told Betty about it, and they both kept tabs on it as they drove along.

Multicolored Lights, Rows of Windows:

They were just north of North Woodstock, when Barney noticed that the star was moving in a very unusual manner. When they arrived at Indian Head, they stopped their car, and got out to have a better look. Using binoculars, Barney zoomed in what he thought was a star. This was no star! He could make out different colors of lights and see several rows of windows around a flying craft. The object moved closer, and now Barney could actually see people inside the ship. Was this strange flying object being piloted by humans?

Thirty-Five Miles in Two Minutes:

The next thing the Hills recalled was being frightened by the unusual flying object, and the occupants inside of it. Barney scurried back to the car where Betty was waiting. They jumped into the car, and raced down the highway. Looking for the object, they found that it was now gone. As they drove on, they began to hear a beeping sound… once, then again. Although they had been driving only a couple of minutes, they were 35 miles down the road!

UFO Confirmed by Radar:

Betty and Barney finally arrived home safely. After seeing the UFO, the rest of their trip home had been uneventful. They were tired from their journey, and immediately went to bed. When Betty awoke the next day, she telephoned Janet, her sister, and told her about the strange object they had seen. Janet urged her to call Pease Air Force Base, and tell them what her and Barney had seen. After hearing Betty’s report, Major Paul W. Henderson, told her:

“The UFO was also confirmed by our radar.”

Two Hours of Missing Time:

At least the Hills were not seeing things, and they were trying to put the incident behind them. But soon Betty began to have nightmares. In her dreams she would see her and her husband being physically forced into some type of craft. Before long, two writers heard about the Hill’s story, and contacted them. The Hills, with the aid of the writers, compiled a time chart of the events of September 19. There could be no doubt that the couple had lost about two hours of time somewhere along the way.

Calling Dr. Benjamin Simon:

As news of the UFO sighting became more common place, the Hills were forced to hide from reporters as much as possible. Because of the missing time element, and the desire to know what, if anything, had happened during that time, they decided to contact a psychiatrist. They decided on Boston psychiatrist and neurologist, Dr. Benjamin Simon, well-known in his field. He would come to play an important role in the Hill abduction story.

Regressive Hypnosis:

His suggestion for treatment was regressive hypnosis, which would hopefully unlock the memories of the two missing hours of time. His sessions began with Betty, and soon Barney followed. After six months of treatment, it was Simon’s opinion that the Hills had been abducted and taken aboard an unknown craft. Regressive hypnosis, a controversial treatment, is often used to unlock lost memories. It has been used in a number of other alien abduction cases, including The Buff Ledge Abduction and The Allagash Abductions.

Facts Uncovered:

Some of the memories that were uncovered from the Hills included that their automobile had stalled on the road. The UFO had landed in the middle of the road, and alien beings came to their car, carrying both Betty and Barney to the UFO. They were subjected to various medical and scientific tests. Before the aliens released them, they were hypnotized and ordered to keep their capture a secret.
Bald-Headed Aliens:

During the intensive regression sessions, the Hills would describe their captors as “… bald-headed alien beings, about five foot tall, with greyish skin, pear shaped heads and slanting cat-like eyes.” This description very much described what would become known as the “greys,” now a standard description for the small beings with large heads, small mouths, and little or no ears, and hairless.

Also details were released about the actual procedures performed on the Hills. Both physical and mental experiments were conducted. Samples were taken of their skin, hair, and nails. Betty had gynecological testing, and Barney reluctantly revealed that sperm samples were taken from him.

The Betty and Barney Hill case is still studied and discussed today. It is the alien abduction case to which all others are compared and judged.

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