FREE ESSAY ON I WANT TO BELIEVE

I WANT TO BELIEVE

Introduction
I want to believe
Ever since US Air Force Pilot Kenneth Arnold coined the term Flying Saucer, on 24th June
1947, after allegedly encountering nine disk shaped objects while out flying over the
Cascade Mountains, the world wide sightings of such objects, has increased
logarithmically. By 1957 the furor over UFO sightings showed no sign of abating and the
sightings had now been awarded levels of classification by US Astronomer, Allen. J.
Hynek. Hynek created three categories for UFO encounters: Close encounters of the first
kind: nocturnal lights, daylight disks, the second kind: Physical affects left by UFOs,
marks on the ground, car engines stalling and finally close encounters of the third kind:
the actual witnessing of beings emerging from their craft. But on September 20th 1961,
the categorization of this phenomena took on a fourth dimension when Betty and Barney
Hill claimed while driving home one night, they were allegedly abducted by alien beings.
The Hills were the first individuals in modern history to state publicly that they had
been abducted by extraterrestrial beings, leading to a new era, with reports of alien
abductions occurring world wide. But to be abducted whilst outdoors like the Hills is
considered to be extremely rare, with almost all cases being reported at night, while the
abductee was in bed and without any independent witness corroboration. The description of
the alleged alien abductors varied widely throughout the world but in the last ten years
or so the descriptions of the abductors have become almost indistinguishable. Therefore,
the object of this project is to try and establish the possibility that a minority of the
human race, could conceivably be being abducted from their beds at night, by a super
intelligent race of extraterrestrial beings or do these people just perceive that they
have been abducted and there is a more down to earth answer for the abduction phenomena.

The first part of this project contends that alien beings do not come from out a-space
but a lot more closer to home or more specifically inside the human brain. The project's
debate, is that the reason behind the vast majority of abduction cases might be temporal
lobe epilepsy, epilepsy which triggers a condition known as hypnogogic sleep disorder.
When a person is in the midst of hypnogogic sleep they are almost always completely
paralyzed and suffer hypnopompic hallucinations, hallucinations which give the sufferer
the impression of a presence around their beds with the secondary effect of floating.
When a person reaches this stage of the hallucination they then interpret it as being an
alien abduction experience. The project will then look at outside influences that might
trigger temporal lobe epilepsy, influences like electrical trauma and or electromagnetic
fields, fields that are higher in density in more areas than others, areas that are
located close to radio masts and electricity pylons. The essay will then look at Dr.
Michael Persinger's experiments with electromagnetic fields experiments were Persinger
was able to recreate hypnogogic type hallucinations. 
The next part of the project will then debate, that a section of the human race is being
systematically taken from the planet, for reasons that are not clear. It will tell of the
advantages of night time abductions and tell of an exceptionally rare case of an
abduction with multiple and credible witness. The project will then reveal the striking
similarities of alleged alien beings and the mythical beings portrayed throughout
different cultures, similarities that are particularly evident within the prophetic
messages given to these said cultures by their gods from the stars. The second part of
the debate will close by putting forward a theory for the attention we seem to be
receiving from our extraterrestrial inquisitors, suggesting that the emergence of the
human race into the nuclear age, might in part be responsible. 
The aim of chapter three, is to analyze and evaluate it's primary sources of research
(Questionnaire and Little Gray Man Experiment) looking at the statistics and their
relationship to the alien abduction phenomena. The project will then give an
interpretation of the findings, starting with the questionnaire, revealing that there is
a pattern throughout the questionnaire, a pattern showing that the vast majority of
people are willing to believe in un-provable beliefs. The interpretation of the little
gray man experiment, helps to demonstrate the power of the media and the influence it has
in giving people preconceived ideas of what an alien life form might look like, which
might explain why people nearly always see the same being. Chapter three will then
examine the relationship between the mass media and its effects on peoples opinions and
how people appear to be led by the media, contending that the emergence of alien
abductions has become more prolific since the advent of television and extraterrestrial
beings are the result of a war of the ratings as opposed to a the war of the worlds.
The final part of this project will sum up the subject matter that has been debated (are
people being abducted from their beds at night by extraterrestrial beings or are these
people suffering from a neurological disorder that might be being agitated by the media)
and then draw a conclusion from the debate.
Chapter 1
NEUROLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS 
Alien abductions are not as straight forward as they seem, do the answers lie in outer
space or is it all in the mind? The vast majority of all alleged alien abductions, occur
at night in bed, just as the potential victim is about to enter into a deep sleep. Could
there be a connection, some theorist believe there is and one hypothesis suggests, that
alien abductions are strongly connected to sleep paralysis syndrome. Sleep paralysis
syndrome, is believed to be a form of epilepsy or to be more specific, temporal lobe
epilepsy temporal lobe epilepsy is important to emotions and other sensations, it is
possible that disturbance in this part of the brain is responsible for the sleep disorder
narcolepsy (Chadwick., 1988, P.14). Narcolepsy manifests its self in several different
ways, depending on the individual sufferer but the most common outcome is a seizure
taking place, whilst the sufferer is still sleeping, to a rare condition known as
hypnogogic sleep. Hypnogogic sleep is the medical term for sleep paralysis syndrome and
this condition is thought to be closely associated to Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM),
which is a phase of sleep closely related to dreaming. When in REM sleep, the body is
believed to be paralyzed, this is thought to be an in-built safety mechanism to stop
people physically carrying out there dreams, like being violent or trying to run. When
people suffering from this condition awaken, they are fully aware of their surroundings
but the paralyzing symptoms of REM sleep are thought to persist people suffering from the
hypnogogic sleep disorder, awaken from REM sleep but their body remains in a state of
paralysis with the exception of the sufferer being only able to move their eyes (Hufford,
1982, P. 107). When a person suffering from hypnagogic sleep disorder awakens into an
altered state, as well as the paralysis, the sufferer will often encounter vivid and
frightening dreamlike experiences. These hallucinations are a major component of the
hypnagogic sleep disorder and are so real to the sufferer, that they are unable to
distinguish them from reality.
In almost all cases, the same scenario is played out, beginning with the afflicted person
realizing that they are unable to move any part of their body, this instinctively sends
them into a blind panic. Typically, they then enter into the final stage of hypnogogic
sleep and experience hypnopomic hallucinations. It is at this hypnopomic stage, that the
stupefied victim senses a presence in the room with them, this is usually coupled with
the sensation of floating, making the circumstances ideal for the terrified recipient of
the paralysis, to interpret the situation as an alien abduction I was quite conscious of
the fact I could not move, conscious of were I was going and the creature in front of me.
I was floating and felt like a bear on the end of an invisible rope (Hough.P, 1997,
P.50). This is a fairly typical account of a nocturnal alien abduction experience and
contains all the components to classify it as such. Some people have been so affected by
what they perceive to be an alien abduction, they have then felt compelled to write about
their experience. A good example of this is by the famous horror writer Whitley Strieber.
Strieber was alleged to have undergone a classic alien abduction scenario
Is someone there? I wondered aloud. the door opened a few inches and I had a glimpse of a
big and glistening black eye, belonging to a distinctly non human face. Then there is
something like a burst of lightning from above and the house was bathed in light
(Strieber.W, 1987) 
Strieber was so overwhelmed by his alien abduction incident, that he was inspired to
write the best selling book Communion, Which allegedly portrayed his abduction ordeal.
Strieber continued to experience what he perceived to be alien abductions after writing
communion, therefore he decided to seek a medical explanation for his strange
encounters.
After undergoing a batch of psychological and IQ tests he was given a clean bill of
health, he was then given a brain scan (M.I.R) and this also turned out to be negative.
finally Strieber was subjected to a temporal lobe scan (E.E.G) but this time the test was
positive and inconsistencies were found in this area of his brain (Schnabel.J, 1994).
Strieber past the rigorous psychological examinations set before him but the discovery of
anomalies within the temporal lobe region of his brain, is symptomatic of narcalepsey.
Therefore, what Strieber and thousands like him perceived to be alien abduction, could
instead be TLE. It seems more likely then, that the answer to the alleged alien
abductions does not lie in out-a space but more likely in inner space, within the human
brain. 
One possible source for the alien abduction phenomenon could be attributed to electrical
activity, particularly electrical trauma to the brain. The human brain is a highly
sensitive bioelectrical organ that continuously conducts millions of electrical impulses
through it's billions of neurons and in essence it could be described as a super computer
At any one time , the brain is a junction box alive with incoming and out going messages.
These are carried by thousands of millions of cells, these cells form such a complex
arrangement that we have little chance of understanding what individual cells do
(Barnhard. C, 1984, P.78). This statement illustrates that the human brain is a delicate
electromagnetic organ and if it is exposed to electrical trauma, this then might lead to
a malfunction. Parapsychologist Albert Budden conducted a study of fifty alleged
nocturnal alien abductees, to his amazement, he found that all fifty had one thing in
common, they had all been exposed to a major electric shock Almost invariably I have
found that these abductees have had a major electrical event, they have been struck by
lightning or been near lightning or have suffered major electrocution and this has
changed their bodies permanently (Budden A, 1998) This remarkable discovery by Budden,
helps to show the ramifications of electricity on the human physiology. Therefore, did
all fifty people in Budden's study suffer major electrical trauma and were then abducted
by aliens or more realistically, did the electrical event somehow change the functioning
of their brain, altering their perception of reality and if so could these changes be
reproduced in the laboratory?
Research carried out by neuropsychologist, Professor Michael Persenger suggests that the
human brain is susceptible to certain kinds of natural occurring electrical energy.
Persenger theorized that weak electrical impulses sent to the temporal lobes of the brain
would induce hypnopomic like hallucinations. To test his theory Persenger built a sound
and light proof chamber, a subject was then placed in the booth and a purpose built
helmet that was able to generate a weak electro magnetic field, was placed on the
subjects head. Varying electrical impulses were then sent to the helmet, enabling
Persenger to control the electromagnetic waves sent to the recipients brain. He found
that this generated differing kinds of mystical experiences amongst his volunteers
The kinds of things that people reported in the chamber when their experiences were
amplified by applying these complex weak electro magnetic fields, would be feelings of
floating through a tube, feelings of being detached, sensations of someone being in the
chamber with them. One subject said he could feel someone tugging at his legs and
genitals so he labeled it as an experience contributed it to the electro magnetic field.
But if you took the same experience when you are alone at night in bed, the cultural
label is, alien abduction (Persenger, 1998). 
This experiment by Persenger, helps to prove that under certain circumstances,
electromagnetic fields can trigger hypnopomic Imagery, but this is in the laboratory, how
could these events take place while we are in bed? The fact is, we are all bathed in
strong electromagnetic radiation but some people are more susceptible to electro magnetic
fields than others. This is an environmental health issue and in fact alien abductions
are just a very small part of a much broader issue which is electro magnetic pollution
(Budden, 1998). If people with discrepancies within the temporal lobule area of the
brain, live in the vicinity of electricity pillions, electrical sub stations, radio masts
or any other generator of strong electromagnetic fields, they then might be living near
the very catalyst, that triggers an alien abduction event.
Chapter 2
Extraterrestrial Explanation for alien Abductions
The notion that people can be taken from their beds at night against their wills by
little gray alien beings and taken aboard a space craft, appears to be an outrageous
claim, but unfortunately for some people it seems to be a fact of life. If the aim is to
abduct a person in the most covert manner possible, then during the night would logically
be the best time to achieve this goal. It is at this time that the potential abductee is
at their most vulnerable, they are usually sleeping and do not see their abductors until
they awaken. On awakening, the victim is almost always paralyzed and unable to speak,
making the conditions ideal for the abductors to stealthy extract their quarry Secrecy
appears to be critically important to the aliens in determining the opportunities for
abductions (Jacobs D.M, 1993, P.12). Nocturnal abductions are also advantageous in that
the absence of the person who is being abducted is likely to go unnoticed and any
memories that they might retain of their abduction experience, could be attributed to a
vivid dream. Therefore, if the abductors wish to maintain the subterfuge when carrying
out their clandestine activities, it seems more feasible to surreptitiously sequester
people from their beds whilst they are in a transient state, rather than to snatch them
from the street during the day. . 
One of the most reliable cases of alien abductions with multiple independent witnesses
ever to be documented, was the Brooklyn Bridge Incident of 1989. The credibility of the
witnesses was so convincing that, Bud Hopkins a UFO investigator involved with the case,
felt compelled to write a book about the whole incident I have come to the firm
conclusion: This abduction event so drastically alters of the alien incursion in our
world that it is easily the most important in recorded history (Hopkins, 1994,
Introduction). Hopkins is a leading authority on the alien abduction phenomena and is
renowned for his fastidious approach to his research, therefore it would be fair to say
that his assessment of the validity of this incident would be held in high esteem.
Hopkins noted, in downtown Manhattan, New York City early on the morning of November 30,
1989 at approximately 3 am, Linda Cottile, a married mother of two, was seen emerging
from an apartment building window twelve stories above ground accompanied by three small
alien figures. Linda and her captors appeared to be suspended within a blue beam of light
which was causing them to ascend into a large reddish-orange glowing UFO, which then
moved off in the direction of the Brooklyn Bridge. Numerous witnesses, including a high
placed united nations diplomat (who remained unnamed), saw and later independently
substantiated this unbelievable event. It is the presence of the numerous and influential
eyewitnesses to this abduction that makes this event one of the most reliable known to
date. But when Linda Cortile first reported her abduction to Bud Hopkins, he only
conducted an initial investigation and concluded that there was nothing that unique about
the incident, deeming it to be an archetypal abduction event containing the usual
components which included the common message of imminent destruction for planet Earth.
That assessment changed dramatically when Hopkins later received a letter in which two
men, identified as New York City police officers, described sitting helplessly in their
car and watching three creatures escort a woman (Linda Cottile) into a reddish-orange
glowing oval hovering in the sky She was floating in mid air in a beam of whitish blue
light. She was then brought up to that oval, she was being escorted into that thing by
three small ugly humanoid creatures (Hopkins, 1997, P.4). The occurrence of this event
would have gone without further investigation because of its similarity to the many
thousands of unsubstantiated cases like it but the corroboration of independent and
authoritative witnesses, gave the whole case an new and extremely powerful dimension.
Cases like this one, now seem to be prevalent throughout the world but if we go back in
time and look at different cultures, it appears that alien abduction occurrences or
nocturnal visitations are an age old phenomena. 
Throughout recorded history, many cultures have been infused with myths and legends of
night time visitations by strange entities, from the Roman nocturnal demon, the Incubus:
(Night mare) to the malevolent Japanese demon, Kanashibara: (To tie with iron rope). The
ubiquitous presence of these nocturnal creatures across time and cultures appears to
follow a set pattern with the main diversity of the narratives being in the description
of the said entities The Old Hag has been regularly reported for more than two thousand
years, it has been attached to a variety of narrative frameworks . . . , But regardless
of the framework, the experiential features have remained the same (Hufford. D, P.39,
1982). Huffords statement suggests, that visitations by insidious creatures during the
night, may have played a part in differing societies throughout history, however today,
there seems to be a general concessus amongst the alleged nocturnal visitations, a
unanimity that comes in the guise of alien beings. Consequently, alien beings may be the
successors to our ancient myths but there is also the possibility that they originally
inspired them. To our ancient ancestors, beings who came from the sky in fiery craft
would in all likelihood be seen as gods, giving rise to many of the legends associated
with the magical beings that have appeared throughout the history of the mankind.
Therefore the alien abduction phenomena of today might be an amplified resurgence of a
phenomena that is as old as the human race.
Throughout the individual epochs of history, differing cultures have prophesied the end
of the world, 'the apocalypse' and one particular civilization, the ancient Maya, made
that very prediction over 5000 years ago. The Maya claimed they were endowed with
prophetic knowledge from their Gods The religious legends of the ancient Mayan peoples
say the stars were inhabited and that the 'gods' came down from them. A god who became
known as Quetzelcoatl taught the Mayas science, arts and customs and left very wise laws.
When Quetzelcoatl left he boarded a ship which took him to the morning star (Vondaniken.
E, 1993, P.73) After the Maya had received their visitation from the 'star gods' their
technological understanding of the world around them increased dramatically, this was
particularly evident through their grasp of mathematics, when developing an extremely
accurate calendar. Their calendar, accurately established the duration of the terrestrial
year, 365. 24.20 days and the length of the Venus ion year of 584 days. In 3114 B.C the
Mayas prophesied that on July 11, 1991, there would be a solar eclipse over southern
central America, stunningly on that date, some 5105 later, Guatemala City was whiteness
to a full solar eclipse. However, this astonishingly accurately prognostic calendar that
was allegedly given to the Mayas by their gods from the stars, has yet another
prediction, a prediction that chillingly claims, the world as we know it will come to an
end on 22 December 2012 . This type of prediction is abundant throughout most religions
and is one of the most powerful mythologies throughout the human race but when examining
the alien abduction phenomena, one of the most common traits to emerge, is the conveying
of a similar apocalyptic type message by the alien beings Scenes of the earth devastated
by a nuclear holocaust, vast panoramas of lifeless polluted landscapes and waters and
images of giant earthquakes, firestorms and floods even fractures of the planet are shown
by the aliens (Mack. Dr. J.E, 1994, P.40). This unnerving message of mass destruction is
a dominating factor conveyed by the alleged alien beings and echoes the prophesy set out
by the Mayan civilization over 5000 years ago. Therefore, the primal belief of 'the day
of judgment' now seems to be reemerging, in an age were some poles show that more people
are prepared to believe in aliens, than believe in God. Consequently, it seems that
aliens are now perceived by many, as the modern day equivalent of the horsemen of the
apocalypse and it is they who are the armagedonists of the twentieth century, reanimating
the prophecies of cultures like the Mayan, seemingly preparing us for annihilation. But
why for the past fifty years, have the so called gods from the stars, ever increasingly
made their presence known to mankind an increase that is seemingly reaching its zenith. 
The human race appears to have been intensively scrutinized by extraterrestrial beings
for the past fifty years. The advent of this curiosity could be attributed to the first
detonation of an atomic bomb in 1945. Once man had solved the enigma of splitting the
atom, he may then have sent out a calling card to the rest of the universe, announcing
that planet earth can no longer be considered a primitive civilization. Some theorists
believe that in all likelihood this is the case and many governments throughout the world
know this and are collaborating in a cosmic cover up 
There has been a tremendous amount of security put around the subject. I could go and
meet with the deputy director of NASA and they know the subject is real but they would
never go in front of a camera and talk about it, because it would be the end of their
careers professionally (Greer, 3/2/99)
This theory could help to answer the question of why the alien abduction phenomena is a
relatively new occurrence with almost all cases being reported in the last fifty years.
With the development of nuclear weaponry and the exploration of space, it therefore seems
fair to assume that beings from around the universe would be casting a worried eye on the
advancement of mankind. 
At the end of the second world war, man kind was technologically evolving at a staggering
rate, with the invention of the atom bomb, rockets and powerful radar. On a cosmic time
scale, this technological evolution could lead to man visiting the stars, in the not so
distant future. The ability to achieve interstellar travel might therefore be viewed as a
potential threat by any extraterrestrial race that might be living in the locale 
If we make an assumption of the aliens that they are concerned with their own survival
and security, we would expect them to check out all primitive societies in the local
neighborhood and from their view point, we are a primitive society whose major activity
is tribal warfare (Friedman, 1988, P.67). 
Ergo, it would seem plausible that mankind is being scrutinized by extraterrestrial
beings for the purpose of their own preservation and to make sure that we do not bring
our brand of friendship which they might call hostility.
Chapter 3
Questionnaire 
(Results and interpretation) 
There is no tangible evidence to conclusively prove that people are being surreptitiously
removed from their beds at night by a race of super intelligent extraterrestrial beings
but despite this fact, there are some people who implicitly maintain that these events
are undoubtedly authentic. Even with the most precarious evidence, many individuals are
willing to except that UFOs and alien abductions are the results of visitations from
beings from outer space, rather than being of an earthly origin, in essence they want to
believe which is a doctrine that is as old as mankind. Throughout the ages man has
instinctively pursued the belief that a higher being or beings exist and their existence
has an overall influence on their lives, a concept collectively known as religion.
Therefore the aim of this study is to establish a sample group of peoples personal views
of the paranormal and to then interpret the findings. This survey was conducted using
opportunity samples with 32 people taking part, eighteen women (56%) and 14 (44%). Their
ages ranged from 20 to 70 of age with 21 (65%) coming from the 30 to 40 age group. Fifty
percent of the people surveyed, said they did not have any religious beliefs with only
one person (3%) declaring they had no beliefs what so ever (religious and paranormal). Of
the fifty percent of people who had religious beliefs only two people (6%) subscribed to
the alien abduction theory, which might suggest that from a religious point of view, God
created man in his own image and therefore man can be the only intelligent life form in
the universe And God proceeded to create man in his image, in Gods image he created him,
male female he created them (Holy Scriptures 1984). Seven (21%) of the religious people
polled acknowledged the possibility of life on other planets, this could be attributed to
the media once again, with the recent and highly publici sed ALH840071, Rock from Mars
which purports to contain fossilised life forms (Bacteria). Only two (6%), were open to
the possibility that we had actually been visited by extraterrestrial beings. But the
majority of religious people tended to be superstitious, ten (31%) and believe in ghosts
five (15%) the superstition could emanate from biblical events such as good Friday and
its connection with Friday the thirteenth and the number disciples at the last supper
could be equated to the number thirteen. Their belief in ghosts could possibly have its
origins with the holy ghost but in all likelihood, religious peoples beliefs could be
affected by the society in which we live, like everyone else they are not exempt from the
exposure of such mediums as the mass media.
All but one of the non religious people had a combination of beliefs but predominantly
they tended to be superstitious, 12 (37%) and believe intelligent life on other planets
11 (34%). The roots of superstition are as old as mankind and they have been passed down
through generations over the centuries. Consequently, longevity of superstitious beliefs
could account for the high proportionate number of believers, an overall of 22 (69%). Of
the 32 people poled, 18 (56%) held the view that there might be life on other planets
this also could be attributed to the media. Coverage of the alleged Roswell incident and
the countless UFO based documentaries that are shown to the nation on a regular basis
help to shape peoples perceptions of reality leading people to believe what the media
wants them to believe. 
People who subscribe to the extraterrestrial theory for an answer to the alien abduction
phenomenon, state that one of the strongest pieces of evidence to substantiate their
claims, is no matter where the abduction takes place, the same scenario is nearly always
played out. They particularly contend that regardless of were you are in the world, the
being who is kidnapping you, will almost always be small, gray with a large head and
large almond shaped eyes. They claim, it is no coincidence that these encounters are
virtually identical, theorizing that we are being observed by a race of gray alien beings
and therefore the vast majority of reported abductions are being carried out by that said
race. This theory appears to be plausible and would answer the question of how different
people from a variety of locations around the world, seem to be experiencing the same
occurrences but there could be another more down to earth reason for people witnessing
these same events, namely the media. The mass media reaches out to the far corners of the
earth and it is the media which helps us build our perceptions of the world around us The
mass media tells people that most things are okay and that radical change would be bad.
This view suggests that the media do not merely report what is happening, but actively
try to influence people's opinions and behavior (Davernport. G.C, 1996, P.288). It would
therefore seem more tenable that it is the influence of the media that predominates our
perceptions of extraterestrials and not actual eye witness accounts as some people
believe. 
The Little Gray Man Experiment
The little gray man experiment, was an investigation to try and establish if there could
be a connection between the description of the alleged alien abductors that people claim
to have encountered and the media. For the past ten years or so, the media has
predominantly portrayed alien life forms as being little gray men with large heads and
this portrayal has perhaps influenced the description of alleged sightings of such
beings. Therefore, this experiment theorized that the media's portrayal of these
creatures, could conceivably have an affect on the collective psyche of a group of eight
to ten year old children Other children and the media provide powerful models from which
children draw their ideas about what to do and think (Davernport, 1996, P.174) Because
this age group of children has grown up through the media's fashionable (and profitable)
Gray period for alien beings, it hypothesized, that when asked to draw a picture of an
alien being, the majority of the children would draw a little gray man. 
This survey was conducted using the opportunity sampling method with 18 children taking
part, 12 (66%) girls and six (33%) boys. Of the 18 children surveyed nine (50%) drew a
little gray type man and nine (50%) drew a multitude of creatures with no two alike, the
only similarities among these creatures was the multiple appendages emanating from the
creatures bodies. The lack of consensus among this group of drawings, might suggest that
these particular children had no pre conceived ideas of alien beings, implying that they
were not influenced by the media. Of these nine drawings, seven (77%) were drawn by girls
and girls seem not find science fiction as interesting as the boys, resulting in fewer
preconceived ideas about alien life forms. In contrast, the other nine drawings were all
similar and showed consistencies with each other. They were all humanoid in design with
large heads and large dark eyes, helping to prove the hypothesis of this experiment. If
this experiment had been conducted more than ten years ago, the chances are, that
virtually no one would have drawn a gray alien. Therefore, the origins of these composite
drawings may have been acquired through the fairly recent and on going feeding frenzy
over the alien abduction phenomena, which might account for the similarities in the
description of the beings throughout the world. 
Since the 1950s, the media has systematically bombarded a large portion of the worlds
population with stories of beings from outer space, which now seems to be reaching a
crescendo with the arrival of television programs like the X Files. This onslaught by the
media, appears to be helping to fuel peoples insatiable appetite for the UFO phenomena,
which is good news for the television produces as their ratings skyrocket Our love of
novelty is proving to be a menace and our aesthetic sense-the basis of all our culture-is
likewise being exploited in order to force our desires along channels which serve a
commercial interest of some kind (Hass. H, 1970, P.183) This observation by Hass
suggests, the media has an influential effect on our insight into the world around us,
shepherding us into what they would like us to perceive as reality. If you asked people
to describe what an alien being from another world might have looked like before the
advent of such shows as the X Files, you would have got a mixed bag of answers, with the
predominant description being that of a little green man with an antenna on his head. But
if you ask the same question today, you will almost always get the same answer, a little
gray man with a large pear shaped head. The media has helped to shaped peoples
perceptions of what an alien life form might look like, these resulting preconceptions
might help to answer the question of why people all over the world predominantly see the
same image of an alien being. Therefore, the promoting of the little gray alien by the
media, seems to have led to the staid image of the pre-90s little green man giving way to
the more fashionable little gray man of the 90s.
Summary and Conclusion
This project has looked at the much publicized alien abduction phenomena or more
specifically, it has looked at the nocturnal aspect of these alleged occurrences. The
project described how these nocturnal incidents are reported world wide and how most of
them appear to follow a set pattern. The project showed that it was the repetition of
this widespread pattern that helped to substantiate the theories of both alien abduction
advocates and skeptics alike with both camps maintaining that it is the parallels between
each abduction scenario that helps to prove their hypothesis. Chapter one of the project
stated that the alien abduction phenomena could, in part be as a result of temporal lobe
epilepsy. It contended that this condition is fairly prevalent throughout the human race
and has varying effects on each sufferer. It told how people who are afflicted with this
condition experience effects from seizures to hypnogogic sleep disorder and it is this
disorder which could be the causes of people believing that they have undergone an alien
abduction experience. Chapter one also examined experiments conducted by Parapsychologist
Albert Budden and Dr. Michael Persinger, Budden and Persinger both theorized, that
external electrical activity such as electricity pylons could trigger an hypnogogic
episode, this led Persinger to build an apparatus to test his theory. With his machine,
Persinger was able to show how weak electromagnetic fields sent to the temporal lobe area
of the brain could trigger hypnogogic hallucinations, consequently, Persinger
hypothesized that naturally occurring electromagnetic fields and the widespread coverage
by the media of the alien abduction phenomena could be the root cause for people
believing that they have been involved in an alien abduction experience.
Chapter two of this project, examined the nocturnal alien abduction phenomena from the
point of view of the alien abduction advocates. It told of the similarities in alien
abductions all over the world and theorized why the vast majority of abductions take
place at night while the victim is in bed at night. It stated that, a minimum amount of
fuss would be created at this time of day, as the potential abductee and potential
witnesses were likely to be sleeping. It then looked at a seemingly watertight case of an
abduction which had a multitude of credible and influential witnesses, witnesses who were
deemed so credible, that one researcher, Bud Hopkins wrote a book about the whole event,
a book which claimed that the alleged abduction, was the best case ever documented. The
next part of chapter two looked at the alien abduction phenomena of today and the night
creatures that seemingly traversed the worlds of mankind throughout history, revealing
the striking similarities of alleged alien beings and the mythical beings portrayed
throughout different cultures, similarities that are particularly evident within the
prophetic messages given to these said cultures by their gods from the stars. Chapter two
then speculated that one reason for our visitations could be as a result of mans
technological evolution and emergence into the nuclear age. It theorized, that any
intelligent life living in the cosmic neighborhood, might be apprehensive about mans
technological ascendance and therefore they might be monitoring us as a precautionary
measure.
Chapter three, examined the primary research, it assessed the findings of the
questionnaire and the little gray man experiment. The primary aim of the questionnaire
was to establish peoples beliefs religious, paranormal and the existence of non
terrestrial intelligence. The main aim for trying to amass this information was to show
that even though nothing on the questionnaire could be conclusively proved, people would
still want to believe. The hypothesis of the questionnaire was, if the results of the
questionnaire tended to show that people believed in non tangible entities such as
ghosts, then it might be possible that they would believe in alien abductions suggesting
that abductions are the modern day equivalent of the incubus. The questionnaire revealed,
97% held unprovable beliefs but only 6% subscribed to the alien abduction theory, helping
to disprove the questionnaires hypothesis. The questionnaires hypothesis made some crude
assumptions and thought it would get a definitive answer, consequently, the survey
demonstrated the diverse complexity of human beings. 
The little gray man experiment, was an attempt to show how the media's recent portrayal
of alien beings as being gray as opposed to their more conventional colour of green,
could be the reason why alleged alien abductees report the same beings throughout the
world. When this media induced image of an alien life form is coupled with hypnogogic
sleep disorder, the sufferer might then have the ideal circumstances to interpret the
event as an alien abduction. The little gray man experiment theorized, when asked to draw
an alien life form, a group of eight to ten year old children (who had only been exposed
to the media's recent depiction of alien beings) would predominantly draw a little gray
man. Fifty percent of the children drew a little gray man with the others drawing a
mixture of creatures, the gray creatures all resembled each other suggesting that the
children who drew them had preconceived ideas for alien beings, ideas possibly generated
by the media.
Chapter three further explored the psychological link between nocturnal alien abductions
and media, looking at the mass media as a source for peoples perceptions of the world
around them. chapter one explained how it was physically possible for people to believe
that they had been abducted from their beds at night, through hypnogogic sleep disorder
and chapter three suggested that the media dictated the imagery that they experienced
while suffering an hypnogogic episode. Chapter three gave an account of our developing
obsession with non terrestrial intelligence an obsession which culminated in the
production of such shows as the X Files. Therefore chapter three hypothesized that, the
homogeneous accounts of nocturnal alien abductions might be the result of the ever
growing media attention given to this controversial subject.
This project has looked at both sides of the argument of nocturnal alien abductions and
after much deliberation, it concludes that they are not extraterrestrial in origin but
terrestrial. The reason the essay has come to this conclusion, is that the only evidence
that these events have taken place is anecdotal evidence, there is no tangible evidence
that can conclusively prove that these events are taking place. However, there is
evidence that suggests that these alleged events are neurological in nature, with a high
proportion of abductees showing anomalies within the temporal lobe region of their
brains. When coupled with the media attention that this subject has received over the
past twenty years, these neurological abnormalities offer an answer that is not
speculation but actual evidence that can be studied, unlike the extraterrestrial theory
which appears to have a more prosaic explanation. 
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