Although we are talking about the phenomenon of so-called "alien abductions"Β only from the second half of the last century, some of its characteristics would suggest a certain contiguity with ancient descriptions of experiences that were equally branded as "supernatural".
di Giovanni Pellegrino
(review by Marco Maculotti)
originally published on La Runa Study Center
cover: Edmund Dulac, illustration for Shakespeare's βThe Tempestβ, 1908
One of the most recent and significant developments in the UFO mystery is the fact that many thousands of people around the world claim to have been abducted by aliens, as well as obviously assuming that such abductions are Really. The phenomenon of "alien abduction" emerged in the early 60s, but in recent decades there has been an exponential increase in the number of people who claim to have been "abducted". Using the sociological categories, we could say that from the stories concerning the abductions a real subculture has arisen, especially in the United States: it is now developing into a sort of unitary cultural organism.
Here we will try to identify some of the basic characteristics found in the abductions. Typically, victims are transported by aliens aboard their spaceships either while driving their cars or sleeping in their homes.. In this second type of abductions visitors show that they have the ability to pass through walls and to remain suspended in the air, as well as to take total control of their victims, often immobilized and thus rendered incapable of opposing the actions of the aliens; these also seem to be endowed with telepathic and paranormal powers. When victims are brought aboard UFOs they often experience humiliating and traumatic situations. Medical tests are often performed, in large rooms and on cold operating tables.
Another interesting and disturbing feature to be found in the accounts of the abductees is the fact that aliens act as if they were controlled by a single mind, so much so that some authors have advanced the hypothesis that they have a sort of collective consciousness, a bit like that found in anthills.
Typically, abductees say they tried a strong sense of fear during their experience, although aliens sometimes tell their victims that what is happening is not aimed at causing harm, but for the good of our planet and its inhabitants. As a strange justification for their behavior, aliens sometimes show abductees images of human destruction and suffering in order to remind abductees that they must work hard to prevent apocalyptic events.
Furthermore, there are often strong sexual connotations in the behavior of aliens: often they they take eggs from women and sperm from men and not infrequently they have sexual relations with their victims (it should be pointed out that about 80% of the victims of kidnappings are women); sometimes it also happens that aliens transplant or remove hybrid fetuses from the womb of womenΒ [on the subject, see M. MACULOTTI,Β The kidnappings of the Fairies: the "changeling" and the "renewal of the lineage", on AXISmundi].
At the end of the experience, individuals are taken back to their beds or wherever they were at the time of the kidnapping, but sometimes they are left to fend for themselves in a different place. In most cases the victims of kidnappings keep alone a faded memory, or they remember absolutely nothing of their traumatic experience, so that they are able to remember it almost exclusively throughregressive hypnosis. In summary, we can say that the abduction scenario derives almost exclusively from hypnotic regression.
After summarizing the basic characteristics found in the stories of the abductees, we consider it appropriate to highlight that in the experiences of the victims they can be found a series of important characteristics that cannot fail to interest historians of religions, as they can be traced back to the religious dimension. First, the encounter with unknown aliens, much more powerful than humans, is similar to the idea of ββ'meeting with the "Other", which is basic in all religious systems. In the religious universe the "Other" can be a god or a demigod, or a being that in general transcends the human dimension.
Secondly, seeing lights, seeing strange signs, making out-of-body journeys, mysterious healing experiences, images of global destruction, strong sense of love or fear these are all common elements in rapture experiences, but each of these elements can easily be found in traditional religious systems. Third, the messages that some abductees claim to have received from aliens bring to mind the messages of supernatural beings received by those who claim to have had encounters with the "Other". Fourthly, many abductees are convinced that they are chosen, believing that the aliens have entrusted them with a very important mission. Similarly, in many religious traditions there are people who believe that they have received important missions from supernatural entities to carry out in the interest of mankind or on behalf of divinity.
Fifth and lastly, there is much evidence that various elements of modern kidnapping tales are modernized versions of tales that are part of European folklore. For example, there are close similarities between the accounts of people who in the past claimed to have been kidnapped by the "Little people" or from fairies and those of the victims of alien abductions. For example, the loss of sense of timeΒ (Missing Time) often present in abductions is a phenomenon well known in European folklore [in this regard, see M. MACULOTTI, Who is hiding behind the mask? Visits from Elsewhere and the paraphysical hypothesis].
We must also highlight that in the Middle Ages many people belonging to the Christian religion told of having fallen under the power of nightmares and succubi, terrifying demons who visited people in their bedroom for the purpose of having sex with them (usually nightmares had sex with women and succubus with men). As we mentioned earlier, it happens not infrequently in abductions that alien abductors have sexual intercourse with abductees [on nightmares and succubi, and more generally for an "esoteric" analysis of the phenomenon of sleep paralysis, see M. MACULOTTI, The phenomenon of sleep paralysis: folkloric interpretations and recent hypotheses].
We must not forget that in some myths of the ancient Mediterranean peoples it was stated that the gods and goddesses had relations with human beings and from these relations were born the heroes, semi-divine beings. Also we have to keep in mind that in some cases the abductees have acquired paranormal powers, or a strong interest in religion or in any case for themes of a mystical nature. Others have undergone a strong personality change, similar to those who claim to have had an encounter with supernatural entities.
We deem it appropriate to say something else about the changes in personality and world view that occur not infrequently in abductees. They have similarities with people who have received an initiation rite (such rites were frequent in mystery religions and are still frequent today in the world of esotericism). In fact, those who have passed an initiation rite end up considerably changing both their personality and their vision of the world. Also a number of abductees believe they are part of an elected minority to which truths have been revealed that are not within the reach of ordinary human beings, and it is precisely this awareness that determines in the abductees a change in personality and in the way of perceiving reality. For these reasons we can say that there is a certain similarity between the alien abduction and the religious phenomenon of initiation.
In conclusion, we add that abductees often form associations in order to help each other. For example, one of the major scholars of the phenomenon of abductions, buddhopkins, founded the Intruder Foundation, a research and consultancy institute with the help of which people who had experienced the alien abduction could meet, exchange their point of view and share their feelings and emotions. According to the accounts of these meetings, the people attending used them to test their beliefs and to show the various physical signs that supported their claims regarding the kidnapping. It is evident that even in the religious universe, individuals who belong to a given religion often gather among themselves, not only to celebrate certain rites, but also to support each other from a psychological point of view.
We are convinced that not only ufologists but even sociologists and historians of religions should carefully study the claims of subjects abducted by aliens, in order to try to understand which entities are hiding behind this disturbing and sinister phenomenon and what are the real purposes they pursue.. In our opinion, these similarities that can be found between the religious universe and the universe of alien abductions are not accidental, and precisely the study of these similarities could provide us with important elements to try to better understand this important element of UFO phenomenology.
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