Alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and films, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade Earth to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it, harvest people for food, steal the planet's resources, or destroy the planet altogether. It can be considered as a science-fiction subgenre of the invasion literature, expanded by H. G. Wells's seminal alien invasion novel The War of the Worlds, and is a type of 'first contact' science fiction.
UFO conspiracy theories are a subset of conspiracy theories which argue that various governments and politicians globally, in particular the United States government, are suppressing evidence that unidentified flying objects are controlled by a non-human intelligence or built using alien technology. Such conspiracy theories usually argue that Earth governments are in communication or cooperation with extraterrestrial visitors despite public disclaimers, and further that some of these theories claim that the governments are explicitly allowing alien abduction.
The extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH) proposes that some unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are best explained as being physical spacecraft occupied by extraterrestrial intelligence or non-human aliens, or non-occupied alien probes from other planets visiting Earth. In spite of ardent believers that various UFO sightings are verifiable evidence for the hypothesis, no rigorous analysis has ever concluded as much.
The Flying Saucers Are Real, by Donald Keyhoe, is a book that investigated reports of UFOs by United States Air Force fighters, personnel, and other aircraft, between 1947 and 1950.
The Invaders is an American science-fiction television series created by Larry Cohen that aired on ABC for two seasons, from 1967 to 1968. Roy Thinnes stars as David Vincent, who after stumbling across evidence of an in-progress invasion of aliens from outer space—the aliens disguising themselves as humans and gradually infiltrating human institutions—tries to thwart the invasion despite the disbelief of officials and the general public, and the undermining of his efforts by the aliens. The series was a Quinn Martin production.
Stanton Terry Friedman was an American–Canadian nuclear physicist and professional ufologist who was based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.
Little green men is the stereotypical portrayal of extraterrestrials as little humanoid creatures with green skin and sometimes with antennae on their heads. The term is also sometimes used to describe gremlins, mythical creatures said to cause problems in airplanes and mechanical devices.
Jacques Fabrice Vallée is an Internet pioneer, computer scientist, venture capitalist, author, ufologist and astronomer currently residing in San Francisco, California and Paris, France.
Contactees are persons who claim to have experienced contact with extraterrestrials. Some claimed ongoing encounters, while others claimed to have had as few as a single encounter. Evidence is anecdotal in all cases.
Earth vs. the Flying Saucers is a 1956 American science fiction film from Columbia Pictures. It was produced by Charles H. Schneer, directed by Fred F. Sears, and stars Hugh Marlowe and Joan Taylor. The stop-motion animation special effects were created by Ray Harryhausen. The storyline was suggested by the bestselling 1953 non-fiction book Flying Saucers from Outer Space by Maj. Donald Keyhoe. The film was released as a double feature with The Werewolf.
Invaders from Mars is a 1953 American independent science fiction film directed by William Cameron Menzies and starring Jimmy Hunt, Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Morris Ankrum, Leif Erickson, and Hillary Brooke. It was produced by Edward L. Alperson Jr. and released by 20th Century-Fox in SuperCinecolor. The film follows David MacLean, a young boy who witnesses a flying saucer behind his home one night. When his father investigates, he returns a changed man; soon David's mother, his neighbors, and others begin to act in the same way. David's panicked story is heard by Dr. Pat Blake, who takes him to astronomer Dr. Stuart Kelston. David convinces Kelston that this is an invading vanguard from Mars.
It Came from Hollywood is a 1982 American comedy documentary film compiling clips from various B movies. Written by Dana Olsen and directed by Malcolm Leo and Andrew Solt, the film features wraparound segments and narration by several famous comedians, including Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Gilda Radner, and Cheech and Chong. Sections of It Came from Hollywood focus on gorilla pictures, anti-marijuana films and the works of Ed Wood. The closing signature song was the doo wop hit "What's Your Name" by Don and Juan.
Nicholas Redfern is a British author of books on unidentified flying objects, cryptozoology, conspiracy theories and similar subjects. Several of his books have been best-sellers.
Flying Saucers from Outer Space is a non-fiction book by Donald Keyhoe about unidentified flying objects, aka UFOs.
Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster is a 1965 science fiction film. It was directed by Robert Gaffney and starred Marilyn Hanold, James Karen and Lou Cutell. It was filmed in Florida and Puerto Rico in 1964.
A flying saucer, or flying disc, is a purported disc-shaped UFO. The term was coined in 1947 by the news media for the objects pilot Kenneth Arnold claimed flew alongside his airplane above Washington State. Newspapers reported Arnold's story with speed estimates implausible for aircraft of the period. The story spurred a wave of hundreds of sightings across the United States, including the Roswell incident and the Flight 105 UFO sighting. The concept quickly spread to other countries. Early reports speculated about secret military technology, but flying saucers became synonymous with aliens by 1950. The more general military terms unidentified flying object (UFO) and unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) have gradually replaced the term over time.
Ancient astronauts have been addressed frequently in science fiction and horror fiction. Occurrences in the genres include:
