The term "contacts" covers a wide range of phenomena accompanying encounters with UFOs and aliens: from sighting UFOs at a certain distance to direct contacts between earthlings and creatures emerging from UFOs.
According to Western estimates, the most valuable sightings are "face-to-face contact", where an eyewitness is able to observe what is happening "no more than 500 feet" (less than 170 m). The famous ufologist Dr. J. Allen Hynek proposed the following classification of such meetings.
Close Encounters of the 1st Kind (Degree) (CE I)
These are situations where a UFO is observed at a short distance, but the object does not interact with observers or the environment.
Such objects could make a great impression on eyewitnesses (for example, performing amazing maneuvers for earthlings), but did not leave any traces of their presence either on the ground or anywhere else, and also did not enter into any interaction with observers.
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Close Encounters of the 2nd Kind (CE II)
The UFO leaves behind any traces of its stay (burnt grass at the supposed landing site, malfunctioning of electrical equipment, etc.). Close contacts of the 2nd kind can sometimes be accompanied by frightened behavior of pets, painful manifestations in humans, and a temporary stop of car engines near UFOs.
Such effects can cause fear among eyewitnesses of an accident, even if there is no direct interaction between them and the UFO. It was noted that close contacts of the 2nd kind quite often took place in the middle of major highways.
Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind (CE III)
This is the most famous category of UFO sightings. Hynek classifies those incidents in which "moving" creatures are involved (meaning living ufonauts, but this also includes "moving" robots and other inanimate creatures).
This category includes a variety of descriptions of creatures whose appearance in front of people was somehow associated with HJIO, and stories about encounters with humanoids prevail here, less is known about encounters with clearly non-humanoid creatures (similar to robots, birds, insects, hairy balls, etc.), however, there are a lot of such meetings, however, it is not clear in which cases the eyewitnesses saw the real appearance of the alien, in which - "feigned".
Some of the alleged aliens resembled ordinary people, differing from them only in height. In other cases, mysterious creatures could have only humanoid features (some were short, gray skin, characterized by the absence of hair, others were tall, slender build, bald skulls, long noses, or, conversely, their complete absence). Clothes could also be different (long robes, tight-fitting overalls, "scuba divers' equipment").
HLO was also associated with meeting people with huge, hairy, ape-like humanoids (such as Yeti). Sometimes observers who saw the same "aliens" from different points later gave very different descriptions.
The behavior of aliens during contacts of the 3rd kind is very different. Sometimes ufonauts show friendliness, sometimes complete indifference to people, sometimes hostility towards earthlings (Jacques Valais reminded of reports from South America, where creatures that arrived on our planet in UFOs allegedly attacked and killed people).
Sometimes the aliens leaving the ships paralyzed the people who approached them with the help of some kind of rod-like device (with or without a ray of light).
The stories of contacts of the 3rd kind sometimes include stories of how aliens abducted earthlings and, aboard their spacecraft, subjected them to humiliating (but not always painful) surgical operations (stitching various objects under the skin, nose, bones), often interest in the genitals of both men and women is shown.
Many descriptions of contacts of the 3rd kind look absolutely absurd and ridiculous (Ufonauts ask people to bring them matches or treat earthlings with pies supposedly cooked on board their spacecraft, but subsequent analysis shows their completely earthly origin).
As Hynek warns, Type 3 contacts should be treated with extreme caution. Among the factors that should be taken into account, one can name: the reliability of the witness or witnesses (taking into account the likelihood of hallucinations, motives for fiction), the consistency of the story, the correspondence of this or that story to other stories about meetings of the same category, any supporting information from other sources, testimonies of others observers at other points, radar records, meter readings, black boxes, etc.
Contacts of the 4th kind (CE IV)
Cases of abductions, when earthlings are allegedly taken by aliens onto spaceships and undergo "medical examinations" there.
Usually, such memories are "extracted" from the memory of people in a state of hypnosis, and here it is necessary to pay attention to the inconsistency of this method, the results of which can be interpreted ambiguously (for example, it is believed that "memories" in a state of hypnosis are fantasies based on offenses experienced in childhood).
The likelihood of hoaxes is very high, and therefore the stories about contacts of the 4th kind also require a very careful attitude towards themselves.
It is possible to highlight some common or common elements of descriptions of UFO encounters, which were almost always present in one form or another in the stories.
- Typically, UFO sightings are characterized by "undulation": over a period of time (from days to years), many messages from one region or country are received at once. "Waves" tend to spread more often from east to west and occur on average once every 1.5 years. Researchers have found a certain correlation of "UFO waves" with astronomical phenomena (for example, with the dates of the closest approach of Earth and Mars), although this statement is not certain.
- Aliens have humanoid features, although they have certain differences from earthlings (in the form of eyes or ears).
- The alleged aliens were shown to the same person in a secluded place (usually at night).
- Physical evidence of the presence of guests from space on Earth was usually dubious or absent altogether.
- Contacts between earthlings and aliens are often carried out with the help of words or images.
- Messages transmitted to people usually contained warnings about great dangers and cataclysms awaiting Humanity (for example, about the threat of a global nuclear war), expressed concern of representatives of distant civilizations about the fate of the peoples of the Earth, assurances that representatives of other worlds who arrived on our planet are worried about the well-being of humanity, are filled with the best intentions and therefore are asked to trust them. In some cases, earthlings were gently imposed on a vaguely defined, but distinctly syncretic worldview system with many elements of Hinduism.
- The technological level attributed to aliens, especially with regard to their "spaceships", varies significantly from story to story. One way or another, they reflect the technological level that has been achieved by humanity at the time of this contact.
- Much of what was allegedly reported by aliens is disinformation or outright fiction and lies.
There is a noticeable metaphysical flavor in all of these stories (the connection of guests from outer space to God), but the beliefs of the alleged aliens invariably reveal themselves rather incoherently. In some cases, such explanations seem to be more or less consistent, but they come into serious conflict with traditional Jewish and Christian beliefs.
A special category can be attributed to incidents when people observed ghosts that resembled traditional religious images (for example, the Virgin Mary). At the same time, it should be noted that the messages to humanity, allegedly received during such meetings, could differ greatly in their content from the usual doctrines of the Christian faith.
- The aliens urge earthlings to believe them, but nevertheless they lie and do not explain the reasons for their deceit.
- They prevent in every possible way from being photographed (sometimes they are not allowed to look at themselves in bright light). As a rule, the names they called as their own consisted of two syllables.
- The aliens claimed that they had no problems adapting to terrestrial conditions, but did not explain in any way how they did it.
- Often, the activities of aliens seem completely meaningless. For example, the crew of the alien ship could, according to eyewitnesses, do nothing except walk around the surroundings, studying the earth's flora along the way.
- The speech and behavior of humanoids was often characterized by many inconsistencies. For example, these creatures could declare their extremely benevolent intentions towards earthlings, but in no way protected contactees from injury or damaged clothing.
- Often, the stories of contacts seem to be simply fantastic, although they do not give the impression of frank invention. Sometimes there is a lack of detail where, it would seem, any narrator would bring a great many of them. And where contactees, on the contrary, provide small details, the latter appear to be either contradictory or absurd.
- There are cases of "interference of perception", when witnesses claim that all noises and sounds around suddenly disappeared during meetings with UFOs.
- In the descriptions of alien spaceships, you can also see a lot of contradictions. In fact, one can only believe or not believe that UFOs possess some means that allow them to neutralize gravity and inertia and perform maneuvers unthinkable by earthly standards. And yet, according to eyewitnesses, many UFOs spewed out powerful jets of flame similar to the rocket exhausts we are used to, which, generally speaking, indicates a much less perfect form of movement of jet vehicles.
In the descriptions of the "crashes" allegedly befell UFOs, the absurdities become even more noticeable. It has been argued that unfavorable weather conditions in the skies over the southwestern deserts of the United States could have caused accidents of alien spacecraft in the late 1940s. However, for some reason, the fact that even man-made aircraft of that time were able to withstand bad weather was ignored.
- Especially often, along with the appearance of UFOs, interference is created for the operation of communication facilities, primarily radio systems. Receivers in cars could make strange sounds or fail altogether.
- Various temperature effects are often mentioned, most often a sharp sensation of cold.
- Psychological and bodily sensations (anxiety, nausea, headache) can accompany or occur after UFO encounters. It was often reported that people who witnessed the passage of mysterious objects in the immediate vicinity developed depression, deteriorated orientation in space, and increased excitability. Sometimes a person who came into contact with supposed aliens began to feel like a completely different person and even became imbued with the belief that he had to fulfill a certain "mission" on Earth.
- Very often people who allegedly saw UFOs and aliens were associated in one way or another with the occult or belonged to religious sects.
- The authorship of many stories about meetings of this kind belongs to individuals, in general, prone to fantasy.
- If you believe the storytellers, most often the incidents associated with UFOs and humanoids took place immediately after waking up or just before going to bed.
- Contactees were often characterized by paranoid manifestations (for example, they were firmly convinced of the existence of a so-called group of silence, which made it its goal to hide the truth about UFOs and aliens). Throughout the history of UFOlogy, “conspiracy theories” have been very popular, sometimes with very solid arguments.
Not all of these elements have retained the same importance at all times. For example, warnings about the threat of a global nuclear war have been mentioned less and less since the 1950s. They were replaced by warnings regarding the deterioration of the ecological state of our planet and the impending environmental disaster in this regard.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the nature of the messages of the "aliens" changed again: the emphasis shifted to the spiritual state of mankind, and a syncretic worldview system was unobtrusively promoted, which largely echoed with Hinduism.
If before that stories about encounters with UFOs were limited, as a rule, to peaceful single contact with aliens, then in the future (90s and 2000s) cases of cruel treatment of guests from outer space with earthlings (up to rape) began to be reported more and more often.
Since that time, the alleged aliens have shown a strong interest in human genitals. Such stories involuntarily bring to mind the incubi and succubi - evil spirits capable of engaging in sexual relations with men and women.
