Alternate Horizons Newsletter

Magazine Overview

Title: Alternate Horizons Newsletter
Issue: Volume Three, Whole Number Thirteen, Number One
Date: November 24, 1968
Publisher: FOUNDATION FOR PHILOSOPHIC ADVANCEMENT

This issue of the Alternate Horizons Newsletter explores a range of topics related to unexplained phenomena, ancient legends, and purported contact with non-human intelligence. It draws connections between historical myths, modern UFO sightings, and psychic experiences, suggesting a unifying underlying force or reality.

Legends of Underground Worlds

The newsletter begins by discussing legends of subterranean worlds, referencing Baring-Gould's "Curious Myths of the Middle Ages." The Horselberg and its associated cavern, the Horselloch, are presented as a place with a legend of a world beneath the mountain, sometimes associated with Venus or Purgatory, from which strange sounds were heard. The legend of the minnesinger Tanhauser, who twice disappeared beneath the Horselberg, is also mentioned. Similar stories are found in American Indian lore from North Georgia, where a minister allegedly disappeared in 1837. Willis George Emerson's "The Smoky God" and Richard Shaver's stories of a cavern world are also cited as examples of this theme.

The "Breakthrough" of 1967 and Ultraterrestrial Communication

John A. Keel's article, "The Secret Is Out - But There's A Credibility Gap," discusses the "UFO mystery" and the proliferation of underground literature on the subject. He highlights a "cult" in Denmark in the fall of 1967 that received telepathic impressions urging them to build an underground shelter for a prophesied atomic holocaust. While the event did not occur, Keel notes that parapsychologists collected similar "messages" from around the world, all employing the same phrases and warnings, suggesting a single source and a "dry run" to test communication channels with "ultraterrestrial forces." These forces are credited with accurately predicting future events, including the deaths of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, election outcomes, and earthquakes. The newsletter asserts that the predictions relayed to "silent contactees" by UFO occupants are identical in phrasing and content to messages received by trance mediums and Ouija board operators.

"Hippie" Movement and Paranormal Signals

The "hippie" movement is noted for adopting symbols and mystical ideas from ancient cults, with some individuals claiming contactee-like experiences and adopting specific modes of dress, such as the Nehru jacket and turtle-necked sweaters. The newsletter also reports an upsurge in mysterious signals received spasmodically on telephones, radios, and TV sets, including strange voices over public address systems in churches. An AP story from Portland, Oregon, in November 1968, mentioned a "ham radio station" broadcasting "unwelcome comments" over a church's amplifier system. Congregations in California reportedly moved out of the state after receiving "psychic" warnings of an impending earthquake.

A Massive Communication Effort

In summary, the newsletter posits that a "massive communication effort is now underway," affecting all levels of society globally. UFO manifestations are seen as a small part of this broader situation, with most "messages" being privately circulated or veiled in "hippie" newspapers and occult journals. The focus on extraterrestrial visitants and "spaceships" by "ufologists" has led them to overlook the connection between UFOs and occult/psychic occurrences. The "contactee" phenomenon is viewed as a variation on spiritualism and trance mediumship, and all paranormal events are suggested to be manifestations of a single central force that is "breaking through" to humanity.

Research Directions and the "Invisible World"

Allen H. Greenfield's contributions focus on investigations and phenomena. An article discusses Ebo Landing on St. Simons Island, Georgia, a site of a legend involving the Ibo Tribe marching into a creek to drown rather than submit to slavery. Another report details a ghostly phenomenon at Christ Church on St. Simons Island, where investigators, including reporters and ministers, claimed to have seen an apparition. James W. Moseley, Donald R. Cook, Jr., and Greenfield conducted a "ghost seeking" investigation at Christ Church graveyard, noting an eerie atmosphere and a possible unusual reflection in a photograph taken at the site. The newsletter also touches upon ESP experiments, with an incident involving three and four-digit numbers suggesting a remarkable coincidence or ESP display.

The newsletter advocates for a shift in ufological research, suggesting that the objects themselves are less important than the people who have been "singled out" by them. It proposes studying these individuals and their backgrounds for correlative factors, drawing parallels between psychic "hoaxes" and UFO events. The concept of an "invisible" or "parallel" world, recognized in ancient times and alluded to in early biblical texts (where "sheol" meant "invisible world" before being translated as "Hell"), is revisited. The authors suggest that humanity is too limited to fully comprehend this phenomenon and that hard, physical proof may never be forthcoming, emphasizing the need for statistical evidence similar to medical research.

The newsletter concludes that our world is undergoing "interpenetration" by something operating beyond our limited senses, and it is time to meet this phenomenon "halfway." The investigation into the Brown Mountain Lights in North Carolina with UFOlogist Timothy Green Beckley and James W. Moseley, meeting with contactee Ralph I. Lael, is also mentioned, with the observation that no final answer to the phenomenon is apparent.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue include the exploration of ancient myths and their potential connection to modern unexplained phenomena, the concept of a hidden or "invisible" world, and the idea of a global communication effort by an unknown intelligence. The editorial stance appears to be one of open inquiry, suggesting that UFOs and paranormal events are symptoms of a larger, more complex phenomenon that requires a shift in research focus from the physical objects to the human experiencers and the underlying spiritual or psychic dimensions. There is a strong emphasis on the interconnectedness of various unexplained phenomena and a belief that a unified understanding is possible, even if current human comprehension is limited.