Magonia - No 37 - 1990 10

Magazine Overview

This issue of Magonia, number 37, dated October 1990, features a cover story by Peter Rogerson discussing Bud Hopkins' theories on alien abductions and their confrontation with British critics. The issue also includes contributions from Thomas Bullard defending American ufology and Dennis Stillings on the drama of fantasy, alongside extended reviews of major new books.

Bud Hopkins Confronted by British Critics (Peter Rogerson)

Peter Rogerson introduces Bud Hopkins as a persuasive speaker who recounts 'horror stories' of alien abductions. These accounts include aliens entering homes, stealing people, taking children for unspecific purposes, and performing abusive acts, leading to fears and phobias. Rogerson notes that Hopkins offers no explanation for these events, attributing them to the 'utterly alien 'otherness'' of the beings, echoing medieval theologians with the phrase, "Strange indeed are the ways of the Greys."

Hopkins' books are described as containing 'flashes of shattering images' rather than extensive narratives. Rogerson suggests that Hopkins is giving a name and face to collective fears, particularly the 'great abduction fear,' which is linked to other fears like ritual abuse. The article touches on the idea that these fears might be related to the 'absolute collapse of order and habitat' and the 'abuse of the helpless, secret victim.'

Rogerson contrasts Hopkins' image of the victim with Paul Devereux's concept of the 'potential Magus' who has a symbiotic relationship with nature. He notes that some in the audience found Devereux's ideas more threatening than Hopkins'. The article also discusses Jenny Randles' work on atmospheric phenomena and her 'wilder, more savage' UAPs, and her book 'Crop Circles' co-authored with Paul Fuller, which attempts to explain unexplained UFO reports using a vortex theory.

Rogerson critiques the idea that all UFO reports can be explained by a single answer, and notes the lack of a clear mathematical model in Terence Meaden's vortex theory. He also mentions Andy Roberts' book 'Phantoms of the Skies,' which received a mixed response.

The article delves into the psychological aspects of abduction, with Rogerson citing research that suggests mental disturbance and social dissatisfaction among close-encounter claimants, though not necessarily psychopathology. He discusses the complexity of cause and effect in abduction phenomena, questioning whether psychological predispositions lead to abduction experiences or if real experiences lead to profound life changes.

Rogerson also addresses the argument that UFO reports are influenced by cultural factors, particularly science fiction. He acknowledges that science fiction provides many images that can match abduction accounts but argues that this doesn't negate the possibility of primary experience. He highlights the stability of abduction narratives as anomalous, suggesting that if they were purely fictional, they would exhibit more variation, similar to urban legends.

America Strikes Back: Further Rumblings from Across the Atlantic (Thomas E. Bullard)

Thomas E. Bullard responds to criticism of his previous article in Magonia 34, defending his work against Peter Rogerson, Martin Kottmeyer, Hilary Evans, and Dennis Stillings. Bullard, a folklorist, argues that abduction reports possess a unique stability and coherence that sets them apart from typical folklore. He notes that while folklore is characterized by variation, abduction narratives show a remarkable consistency in their patterns and content, even across a large number of cases.

Bullard discusses the 'Law of Self-Correction' in folklore, where audience feedback helps maintain the tradition's stability. However, he argues that this principle may not fully explain the consistency of abduction reports, especially given the potential for media involvement to speed up the process of oral transmission and variation.

He addresses the argument that abduction reports are influenced by cultural factors, such as science fiction. While acknowledging that cultural influences play a role, Bullard suggests that they may not be the sole explanation. He points to the work of David Hufford, who has shown that experience can sometimes precede tradition, and that people may use existing frameworks to describe novel experiences.

Bullard also examines the role of hypnosis in abduction accounts, agreeing with critics that altered states of consciousness can occur without formal induction. However, he maintains that his research found hypnosis played little part in shaping abduction stories, and that spontaneous recall yielded similar results. He questions how natural hypnosis could produce a consistent narrative like other abduction stories.

Bullard concludes by suggesting that the stability of abduction reports is a significant anomaly that requires further investigation, and that psychosocial explanations, while offering possibilities, often fail to fully account for the phenomenon.

Other Articles and Themes

The issue also features a section on "Witches sabbats scatter considerably in events and details, despite investigators' manuals and singularly persuasive ways of leading the witness!" This suggests a discussion on the variability of witch trial accounts compared to the perceived consistency of abduction narratives.

There is a discussion on the 'Meaden Vortex' theory, which attempts to explain UFO phenomena, and a critique that it lacks a clear mathematical model and testable predictions. The article questions the premature declaration of the 'death of ufology' and suggests that the field is far from over.

The issue includes a section titled "Remember, you read it here first" which speculates on future directions in ufology, including potential lawsuits by abductees, the publication of books on hypnotic regressions to past lives, and the possibility of elaborate hoaxes.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue revolve around the nature of alien abduction phenomena, the role of cultural influence versus direct experience, and the psychological underpinnings of belief. The magazine appears to present a critical yet open-minded approach to ufology, encouraging debate and questioning established theories. There is a clear engagement with folkloric methodologies to analyze UFO reports, suggesting a stance that seeks to understand these phenomena within broader cultural and psychological contexts, while also acknowledging the possibility of genuine, unexplained experiences.

This issue of Magonia, number 37, published in October 1990, focuses on the analysis of 'Fantastical Productions' and their dramatic structures, particularly in relation to ufological claims. The cover story, 'A Note on the Dramatic Structure of Fantastical Productions' by Dennis Stillings, leads the issue, exploring how narrative consistency in UFO accounts might be interpreted.

The Dramatic Structure of Abduction Narratives

Dennis Stillings' main article critically examines the work of Eddie Bullard and Martin Kottmeyer regarding the structure of abduction narratives. Stillings acknowledges Bullard's proposed eight-element structure (capture, examination, conference, tour, otherworldly journey, theophany, return, aftermath) but disputes Bullard's claim that the consistency of this structure indicates real experience. Kottmeyer's analysis, as presented by Stillings, shows that similar dramatic structures can arise spontaneously in imaginative works, citing the 1930 comic strip 'Tiger Men of Mars' as an example. Stillings draws parallels between Bullard's abduction schema and conventional dramatic structures, including those found in dream analysis (exposition, development, peripeteia, lysis) and Kottmeyer's own breakdown (character introduced, peril and conflict, examination and insight, goodwill and attempt to impress, excitement, climax, closure, sequel). The article argues that the ubiquity of these collective dramatic elements undermines assertions of real events and suggests that abduction narratives are imaginative dramatizations of collective stresses and conflicts.

Crop Circles: Mystery or Art?

The issue features a significant section on crop circles, including reviews of 'Crop Circles; a mystery solved' by Jenny Randles and Paul Fuller, and 'The Cereologist' journal. Randles and Fuller's book is presented as explaining the phenomenon through the 'Meaden Vortex' theory, suggesting it also accounts for many UFO reports. However, the review questions their critical analysis of witness reports and highlights a curious lacuna: the lack of crop circle reports from Warminster, a well-documented UFO hotspot. 'The Cereologist' is described as a publication dedicated to maintaining the mystery of crop circles, with an article by Patrick Harpur suggesting they are an expression of the 'Soul of the World' manifested through the trickster Mercurius. The reviewer posits that crop circles might be the work of human hoaxers acting under Mercurius's influence, or perhaps a conceptual landscape art project. The article contrasts crop circles, which are physical evidence, with UFOs, which are primarily verbal reports.

Book Reviews

The 'Book Reviews' section covers a range of titles related to ufology, parapsychology, and anomalous phenomena:

• 'The Gulf Breeze Sightings' by Ed and Frances Walters and 'The Case of the Cottingley Fairies' by Joe Cooper: These books are reviewed together due to their shared characteristic of witnesses reporting strange encounters and providing photographic evidence that critics deem 'too good to be true' and potentially faked. The review notes the parallels in how both cases were championed and derided, and how the witnesses' honesty is asserted. Joe Cooper's book is praised for its honest account of a simple hoax, while Ed Walters' book is described as a comprehensive first-hand account of UFO sightings and an abduction.
• 'Cyberbiological Studies of the Imaginal Component in the UFO Contact Experience' edited by Dennis Stillings: This anthology is described as containing material dating over a decade, touching on 'new age' physics, the escalation of disbelief, paranoid thought, and radical misperception in UFO experiences. It includes pieces on the birth trauma, temporal lobe epilepsy, and Jung's interpretation of UFOs. The review highlights contributions on the Cash-Landrum case and the Pascagoula object, suggesting that UFO cases are subject to literary conventions.
• 'The Elusive Quarry: a scientific appraisal of psychical research' by Ray Hyman and 'The Adventures of a Parapsychologist' by Susan Blackmore: Both books are reviewed by Peter Rogerson. Hyman's work is an anthology illustrating a skeptical approach to parapsychology, concluding that experiments are flawed. Blackmore's book chronicles her disillusionment with parapsychology, detailing how her experiments yielded chance results and others' experiments had flaws, leading to her being labeled a 'negative personality'. Both authors are noted for their critical stance on anomalous phenomena.
• 'Victims without a crime?' by Tony Collins: This book is reviewed for its examination of alleged mysterious defense industry deaths. The reviewer notes the book's disorganization and poor indexing but acknowledges its useful task in compiling information. The review questions whether the suicides discussed are statistically above average and considers the pressures of working on secret contracts. It concludes that while some cases remain curious, the evidence is inconclusive, and the author may be determined to find sinister explanations.
• 'Beyond Reality: The role unseen dimensions play in our lives' by D. Scott Rogo: The reviewer finds the title meaningless and criticizes the book's discussion of religious miracles, particularly the apparitions at Medjugorje. Rogo's concept of 'projections' into our world from a 'spiritual realm' or 'parallel dimension' is deemed unscientific. The review also touches on Rogo's discussion of 'many worlds' interpretations of quantum theory.
• 'Have an out-of-the body experience in 30 days' by Keith Harary and Pamela Weintraub: This book is described as a practical guide to OBEs, detailing 30 exercises that become progressively more physical and worldly, including an 'Erotic Variations' exercise.

Other Content

• 'Portraits of Alien Encounters' by Nigel Watson: This book is promoted as an examination of close encounter stories, including sightings of robots, men in black, and telepathic messages, investigating incidents in Northern England.
• 'Hold the Back Page': This section features miscellaneous ramblings, including a story about six soldiers arrested in Gulf Breeze, Florida, and their alleged connection to the 'Rapture' and UFOs. It also includes a cartoon by Andrew Birch titled 'The Designers', which humorously depicts Venusians seeking a revamp of their corporate image, and a brief mention of a 'Neville Brody influence' on Wooton's comments in BUFORA's UFO Times regarding crop circles.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue revolve around the critical examination of UFO phenomena, particularly abduction narratives and crop circles. There is a strong emphasis on questioning the validity of claims based on structural consistency or photographic evidence, and a tendency to explore psychological, cultural, and hoax-related explanations. The editorial stance appears to be one of skepticism towards sensational claims, advocating for rigorous analysis and a move towards sensible, traditional methods for understanding anomalous phenomena. The magazine consistently highlights the importance of critical thinking and the potential for misinterpretation or fabrication in the study of UFOs and related subjects.