Thursday, January 24, 2008





Some researchers maintain that "paranormal" occurrences are interlinked by an underlying syntactical logic (see Loren Coleman's recent post on the Fortean "name game").

Maybe we should attempt a more formal, quantitative analysis of these claims. One example that I find oddly amusing is the famous Hopkinsville, KY "invasion," in which a family opened fire on bizarre, goblin-like beings that they assumed were alien visitors.

Many ufologists committed to the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis (ETH) exclude the Hopkinsville incident from their files because, at least in retrospect, it seems so implausible; attacking an isolated farmhouse hardly seems like the behavior expected of "real" extraterrestrials. Interestingly, journalists noted that purported psychic Edgar Cayce had grown up just south of Hopkinsville. Some Forteans wondered, not completely without justification, if there might be some sort of connection.





Enter artist Budd Hopkins, whose research has rendered "alien abductions" and the ETH virtually synonymous in the public imagination. Books such as "Missing Time" and "Intruders" (both seminal works in several respects) echo Hopkins' belief that manipulative ETs are visiting Earth in order to engage in a long-term transgenic experiment.

Is Hopkins an unwitting player in an acausal mosaic of weird happenings? If so, it seems his nuts-and-bolts conclusions regarding the alleged alien presence comprise a kind of "punchline" to the unlikely antics exhibited by the Hopkinsville "goblins," who behaved more like mechanized circus monkeys than Hopkins' own methodical genetic engineers.

Skeptics will point out that "Hopkins" is hardly an unusual name. But there are enough cases of synchronicity within UFO research alone to justify a closer, more rigorous analysis. Perhaps Fortean events unfold in a barely glimpsed "Matrix," their manifestations only partially perceptible to baseline human consciousness.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Social analysis diagram of Budd Hopkins and Hopkinsville coming right up, sir....

Mac said...

I want that analysis on my desk first thing in the morning, Johnson, or you're *fired*!

Loren Coleman said...

Thank you for bringing up this important issue.

BTW, the drawing being used at top is from my book, Mysterious America, which has an entire chapter on the Kelly Creatures and explores various ideas related to the encounters.

Best wishes
Loren Coleman
http://www.amazon.com/Mysterious-America-Strangest-Creepiest-Creatures/dp/1416527362/

wmmott said...

As Loren has so aptly pointed out, there are often ancient connections in the "name game".

"Hob" is an ancient appellation for a demon, goblin, or devil. The stretch to "Hobkin" or "Hopkin", i.e., "goblinkind" or "devilkind", is another connection in all this. Hobyahs, hobgoblins, etc. bear this out.

Sorry if this offends anyone named Hopkins, as the etymology of the surname may have taken a completely different route in developing. But the other meaning is intrinsic, coming from Anglo-Saxon and Celtic sources.

wmmott said...

Loren,

Where did the original drawing of the goblin grabbing the guy's hair come from? What was the original publication?

Thanks,

-Mike

wmmott said...

Don't know why my last post didn't make it so here it is again, essentially: The reason I ask is I wanted to know if there was a prior publication so I can find other samples of the artist's work. He or she did a great job of capturing the moment and the look of "surprised terror" on the guy's face! Really top-notch illustrative work. Who was the illustrator?

Mac said...

Loren--

I had no idea that illo was from your book; I just stumbled across it. Thanks for the heads-up.

buy kamagra said...

Well the picture looks very creepy actually...
Anwyay the paranormal activity I really believe in it, I don't believe in god or something else, but will be to arrogant that we are alone in this world or the universe, on my guess of course.
Thanks