Pascagoula Abduction

Last updated
Calvin Parker
Calvin-Parker.jpg
Calvin Parker at the 2019 International UFO Congress in Phoenix, Arizona
Born(1954-11-02)November 2, 1954
Died (aged 68)
Known forAlleged abduction
Charles Hickson
BornApril 16, 1931 [1]
DiedSeptember 9, 2011(2011-09-09) (aged 80)
Known forAlleged abduction
Alleged abduction of Charles Hickson, Calvin Parker
Location Pascagoula River, Mississippi

The Pascagoula Abduction was an alleged UFO sighting and alien abduction in 1973, in which Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker claimed they were abducted and examined before being released by aliens while fishing near Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Contents

Map showing coastal route US 90, connecting Pascagoula with Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Mississippi-Coast-towns-NOAA.jpg
Map showing coastal route US 90, connecting Pascagoula with Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Alleged abduction

On the evening of October 11, 1973, 42-year-old Charles Hickson and 19-year-old Calvin Parker told the Jackson County, Mississippi, sheriff's office they were fishing off a pier on the west bank of the Pascagoula River in Mississippi when they heard a whirring/whizzing sound, saw two flashing blue lights, and observed an oval shaped object 30–40 feet (9–12 m) across and 8–10 feet (2–3 m) high. Parker and Hickson claimed they were "conscious but paralyzed" while three "creatures" with "robotic slit-mouths" and "crab-like pincers" took them aboard the object and subjected them to an examination. [2] [3] [4]

Publicity and later activities

Following the incident, Hickson gave interviews and lectures, appeared on television (including an episode of the game show To Tell The Truth ), [5] in 1974 claimed additional encounters with aliens, and in 1983 authored a self-published book UFO Contact at Pascagoula. [6] Parker later attended UFO conventions, and in 1993 started a company called "UFO Investigations" to produce television stories about UFOs. [2] [7]

In September 2011, Hickson died of a heart attack. [8]

In 2018, Parker released his book, entitled Pascagoula: The Closest Encounter, My Story, which is "the first full account of the event given by Parker along with how it affected his life". [9] [10]

On June 22, 2019, a historical marker was unveiled at the site of the alleged abduction, funded by the historical society and with placement approved by the city. Parker attended the unveiling, as did Hickson's son and family. Parker stated, "It is emotional for me. I can't really describe it because I would break out in tears if I do. I wish when I died I could be buried right here underneath this plaque, that would explain it the best. It is quite an honor." [11] [4]

Parker died from kidney cancer in August 2023. [10] [12]

Skepticism

Aviation journalist and UFO skeptic Philip J. Klass found "discrepancies" in Hickson's story, noted that Hickson refused to take a polygraph exam conducted by an experienced examiner, and concluded that the case was a hoax. [13] [14] Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell wrote that Hickson's behavior was "questionable" and that Hickson later altered or embellished his claims. Nickell speculated that Hickson may have fantasized the alien encounter during a hypnagogic "waking dream state", and suggested that Parker's corroboration of the tale was likely due to suggestibility because he initially told police he had "passed out at the beginning of the incident and failed to regain consciousness until it was over", [6] [7] a claim supported by Hickson during his To Tell the Truth appearance.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alien Autopsy (1995 film)</span> 1995 television film

Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction is a 1995 pseudo-documentary containing grainy black and white footage of a hoaxed alien autopsy. In 1995, film purporting to show an alien autopsy conducted shortly after the Roswell incident was released by British entrepreneur Ray Santilli. The footage aired on television networks around the world. Fox television broadcast the purported autopsy, hosted by Jonathan Frakes, on August 28, 1995, under the title Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction, and re-broadcast it twice, each time to higher ratings. The footage was also broadcast on UK's Channel 4, and repackaged for the home video market. The program was an overnight sensation, with Time magazine declaring that the film had sparked a debate "with an intensity not lavished on any home movie since the Zapruder film".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pascagoula, Mississippi</span> City in Mississippi, United States

Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula metropolitan area, and is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area and the Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan area. The population was 22,392 at the 2010 census, down from 26,200 at the 2000 census. In 2019 the population was 21,699. It is the county seat of Jackson County.

Grey aliens, also referred to as Zeta Reticulans, Roswell Greys or Greys, are purported extraterrestrial beings. They are frequent subjects of close encounters and alien abduction claims. The details of such claims vary widely. However, Greys are typically described as being human-like with small bodies, smooth, grey-colored skin; enlarged, hairless heads; and large, black eyes. The Barney and Betty Hill abduction claim, which purportedly took place in New Hampshire in 1961, popularized Grey aliens. Precursor figures have been described in science fiction and similar descriptions appeared in early accounts of the 1948 Aztec UFO hoax and later accounts of the 1947 Roswell UFO incident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travis Walton incident</span> Alleged alien abduction, 1975

The Travis Walton incident was an alleged alien abduction of American forestry worker Travis Walton on November 5, 1975, while he was part of a logging crew in the Apache–Sitgreaves National Forests near Heber, Arizona.

Alien abduction refers to the phenomenon of people reporting what they believe to be the real experience of being kidnapped by extraterrestrial beings and subjected to physical and psychological experimentation. People claiming to have been abducted are usually called "abductees" or "experiencers". Most scientists and mental health professionals explain these experiences by factors such as suggestibility, sleep paralysis, deception, and psychopathology. Skeptic Robert Sheaffer sees similarity between some of the aliens described by abductees and those depicted in science fiction films, in particular Invaders From Mars (1953).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Budd Hopkins</span> American artist, author, ufologist (1931–2011)

Elliot Budd Hopkins was an American artist, author, and ufologist. He was a prominent figure in alien abduction phenomena and related UFO research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maury Island hoax</span> Alleged UFO incident in the United States

The "Maury Island incident" refers to claims made by Fred Crisman and Harold Dahl of falling debris and threats by men in black following sightings of unidentified flying objects in the sky over Maury Island in Puget Sound. The pair would later claim the events had occurred on June 21, 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Meier</span> Swiss author and founder of a UFO religion

Eduard Albert Meier, commonly nicknamed "Billy", is the founder of a UFO religion called the "Freie Interessengemeinschaft für Grenz- und Geisteswissenschaften und Ufologiestudien" and alleged contactee whose UFO photographs are claimed to show alien spacecraft. Meier claims to be in regular contact with extraterrestrial beings he calls the Plejaren. He also presented other material during the 1970s such as metal samples, sound recordings and film footage. Meier claims to be the seventh reincarnation after six prophets common to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Enoch, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Immanuel (Jesus), and Muhammad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dover Demon</span> Alleged creature sighted in Dover, Massachusetts, USA

The Dover Demon is a creature reportedly sighted on April 21–22, 1977, in Dover, Massachusetts, a town about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of downtown Boston. While explanations have been proposed, the sightings remain unresolved.

In ufology, alien implants is a term used to describe physical objects allegedly placed in someone's body after they have been abducted by aliens. Claimed capabilities of the implants range from telepresence to mind control to biotelemetry. As with UFO subjects in general, the idea of "alien implants" has seen very little attention from mainstream scientists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Moulton Howe</span> American journalist

Linda Moulton Howe is an American investigative journalist and Regional Emmy award-winning documentary film maker best known for her work as a ufologist and advocate of a variety of conspiracy theories, including her investigation of cattle mutilations and conclusion that they are performed by extraterrestrials. She is also noted for her speculations that the U.S. government is working with aliens.

The Kelly–Hopkinsville encounter was a claimed close encounter with extraterrestrial beings in 1955 near the communities of Kelly and Hopkinsville in Christian County, Kentucky, United States. UFOlogists regard it as one of the most significant and well-documented cases in the history of UFO incidents, while skeptics say the reports were due to "the effects of excitement" and misidentification of natural phenomena such as meteors and owls. The United States Air Force classified the alleged incident as a hoax in the Project Blue Book files.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Nickell</span> Skeptic and paranormal investigator (born 1944)

Joe Nickell is an American skeptic and investigator of the paranormal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Steiger</span> American writer (1936–2018)

Brad Steiger was an American writer of fiction and non-fiction works on the paranormal, spirituality, UFOs, true crime and biographies. His books sold well to the public but were widely criticized by academics and skeptics for making far-fetched claims without scientific evidence.

Alien abduction claimants are people who have claimed to have been abducted by aliens. The term "abduction phenomenon" describes claims of non-human creatures kidnapping individuals and temporarily removing them from familiar terrestrial surroundings. The abductors, usually interpreted as being extraterrestrial life forms, are said to subject experiencers to a forced medical examination that emphasizes the alleged experiencer's reproductive system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stan Romanek</span> US con-artist and sex offender

Stanley Tiger Romanek is an American author, documented con-artist and convicted sex offender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Leir</span> American physician

Roger Krevin Leir was an American podiatric surgeon and ufologist best known as an investigator of alleged alien implants. Leir wrote books such as The Aliens and the Scalpel, and appeared on various radio and television shows, including Coast to Coast AM, claiming he had discovered proof of "non-terrestrial experimentation on man".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barney and Betty Hill incident</span> Alleged alien abduction, 1960

Barney and Betty Hill were an American couple who claimed they were abducted by extraterrestrials in a rural portion of the state of New Hampshire from September 19 to 20, 1961. The incident came to be called the "Hill Abduction" and the "Zeta Reticuli Incident" because two ufologists connected the star map shown to Betty Hill with the Zeta Reticuli system. Their story was adapted into the best-selling 1966 book The Interrupted Journey and the 1975 television film The UFO Incident.

References

  1. "Charles e. Hickson Sr. Obituary (2011) Mississippi Press".
  2. 1 2 Amy, Jeff (October 11, 2013). "Man says 1973 UFO incident turned life upside down". Twin Cities Pioneer Press. Associated Press. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  3. "Mississippian recalls night of abduction on spaceship". Associated Press. August 9, 1987. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  4. 1 2 Brockell, Gillian (June 26, 2019). "The men claimed they were abducted by aliens. In Mississippi, police believed them". The Washington Post . Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  5. To Tell the Truth , episode taped November 20th, 1973
  6. 1 2 Nickell, Joe (May 2012). "Famous Alien Abduction in Pascagoula: Reinvestigating a Cold Case". Csicop.org. Committee For Skeptical Inquiry. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  7. 1 2 Paul Kurtz (10 September 2013). The Transcendental Temptation: A Critique of Religion and the Paranormal. Prometheus Books. pp. 442–. ISBN   978-1-61614-828-7.
  8. "Mississippi man who said he was abducted by aliens dies". Reuters. September 14, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  9. Broom, Brian (July 6, 2021). "Alien abduction: 45 years after alleged UFO encounter, Mississippi man breaks his silence". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Broom, Brian (September 2, 2023). "'It completely changed my life': Calvin Parker, MS man allegedly abducted by aliens, has died". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  11. "Historical marker unveiled honoring possible alien abduction in Pascagoula". WLOX. June 23, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  12. "Calvin Parker, who claimed he was abducted by aliens in Pascagoula in 1973, has died". WLOX. September 3, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  13. Nickell, Joe (2012). "Famous Alien Abduction in Pascagoula: Reinvestigating a Cold Case" (PDF). Skeptical Inquirer . 36 (3). Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  14. Picknett, Lynn (2001). The Mammoth Book of UFOs. Constable & Robinson. p. 195. ISBN   1-84119-075-6.

30°22′12″N88°33′52″W / 30.37000°N 88.56444°W / 30.37000; -88.56444