Magonia - No 43 - 1992 07

Magazine Overview

Title: Magonia
Issue: 43
Date: July 1992
Price: 95p.

Articles and Content

"Down to Earth: the pre-history of Crash-Retrievals" by Nigel Watson

This extensive article by Nigel Watson delves into the historical roots of 'crash-retrieval' narratives, tracing them back to the late 19th century. Watson argues that the concept of spaceships crashing and their occupants or remains being discovered is not a new phenomenon, but rather a recurring theme that predates modern UFOlogy.

He begins by citing an incident from Peru around 1878, where a person claiming to be 'A SERARO, Chemist' reported finding a huge aerolite containing a 4.5-foot alien body and a silver plate inscribed with hieroglyphics, indicating the vehicle came from Mars. The New York Times reportedly dismissed this as a lie.

Another significant case discussed is the Aurora, Texas crash of April 17, 1897. Reported in the Dallas Morning News, the story detailed an airship crashing, its pilot being non-terrestrial, and hieroglyphic papers being found. Watson notes that this story, while sensational, has been subject to much scrutiny and debunking over the years, with claims that it was fabricated by the correspondent S.E. Haydon to attract business to the town.

Watson also examines other similar incidents from the same period, including a discovery near the Carcarana River in Argentina in 1877 involving an egg-shaped rock with cavities, hieroglyphics, and a mummified body. He connects these early accounts to the template of later, more famous cases like the Roswell crash, suggesting that these historical narratives laid the groundwork for contemporary crash/retrieval stories.

The article critically analyzes the evidence, often pointing out the lack of concrete proof and the tendency for such stories to be sensationalized or fabricated. Watson highlights the role of newspapers in using these accounts as filler items. He also touches upon the efforts of organizations like the International UFO Bureau (IUFOB) to investigate these historical claims.

"Northern Echoes" by Peter Rogerson

This section features an editorial by John Rimmer, referencing an editorial by John Harney from the December 1966 issue of MUFORG Bulletin. Harney's editorial addresses the problem of investigators becoming emotionally involved with witnesses, leading them to believe stories without demanding objective proof. This psychological phenomenon is particularly noted in contactee and abduction cases. Harney suggested using outsiders with backgrounds in interrogation, such as retired CID officers, to investigate.

Rimmer reflects that while this suggestion sounds naive, the problem persists. He advocates for investigators to produce much fuller reports, including full transcriptions of interviews, rather than edited highlights. He emphasizes the importance of examining the life histories of percipients and the surrounding cultural influences to understand these 'high strangeness' cases.

Rimmer discusses the resistance to psycho-social interpretations of UFO experiences, often seen as robbing them of a transcendental quality. He notes that many ufologists are drawn to the subject due to disenchantment with conventional science. He also raises the issue of using pseudonyms for percipients and investigators, especially when dealing with public figures.

Other Mentions and Content

The issue also includes subscription details for Magonia, listing rates for the United Kingdom, Europe, United States, and other countries. It specifies that US subscriptions must be paid in dollar bills or UK funds and that cheques drawn on American banks are not accepted. French subscribers are advised to send a 50-franc banknote.

Correspondence, subscriptions, and exchange magazines are to be sent to the Editor, John Rimmer, at his London address. The copyright in signed articles rests with the authors.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue revolve around the historical investigation of UFO phenomena, particularly crash-retrieval cases from the late 19th century. There is a strong emphasis on critically examining the evidence, questioning the veracity of sensational reports, and exploring the psychological and sociological factors influencing both witnesses and investigators. The editorial stance appears to be one of cautious skepticism, advocating for rigorous research methods, detailed reporting, and a consideration of the percipient's background and context, while acknowledging the persistent allure and historical presence of such unexplained aerial phenomena.

Magonia 43, published in July 1992, is a magazine focused on ufology and related phenomena, often with a critical or skeptical perspective.

Magonia Conference Postponed

The Magonia Conference, initially scheduled for late August, has been postponed. The organizers are unwilling to burden the UFO world with yet another conference when several others are happening around the same time. Instead, they plan to hold a Magonia/MUFOB 25th Anniversary meeting and birthday party in May 1993, over the May Bank Holiday weekend (Saturday 1st to Monday 3rd May).

MUFOB's History and Future Content

The first issue of MUFOB (Merseyside UFO Bulletin) was published in January 1968. At that time, MUFOB aimed to steer ufology away from the 'ETH' (Extraterrestrial Hypothesis) and towards a broader understanding that included psychological, sociological, and even parapyschological perspectives. Over the next year, Magonia plans to publish articles examining how ufology and the UFO phenomenon have evolved over the past quarter-century, featuring extracts and snippets from past MUFOB and Magonia issues to show how things have changed.

Historical Airship Sightings (1897)

The magazine delves into historical accounts of 'airship waves,' particularly focusing on incidents from 1897. Several cases are presented, including:

• Jefferson Bee (April 15, 1897): An airship crashed near the town, containing four bodies with two faces and two sets of arms and legs. This was later acknowledged as a hoax by the newspaper staff.
• Pavillion Township: Two old soldiers reported seeing an airship followed by an explosion, with wreckage found the next day in the area and at Comstock township.
• Park Rapids (April 17, 1897): A 'flying drugstore' exploded over Fish Hook Lake, with legs and arms seen flying out, causing fish to flee.
• Near Mead: An abandoned cigar-shaped airship with a broken propeller was found by Mr. Thurber.
• Near Elmo: An airship reportedly hit a friend's windmill.
• Livermore Gazette (April 16, 1897): This account claimed that town citizens staged an airship crash to use its parts for decoration.

The article suggests that these historical 'crash stories,' even those with questionable reliability, were absorbed into ufological lore similarly to modern cases like the Aurora crash. It posits that in the airship wave era, people often treated such accounts as jokes, aiming to ridicule or shock believers. The author notes that while it took time for serious ufologists to accept crash cases and retrievals wholeheartedly, the acceptance of such narratives means one must also accept that they may have been influenced by 'liars' or a tradition of exaggeration.

Sources for this material are cited as Eddie Bullard's 'The Airship File' and Supplements I and II, and Robert G. Neeley's 'UFOs of 1896/1897: The Airship wave' and 'The Airship Chronicle'.

Catflap: A Curious Trail of Rumour

This section, featuring contributions from John Harney and John Rimmer, explores peculiar local newspaper stories.

John Harney writes:

Harney discusses a story from the Bracknell News (May 21, 1992) titled "Fur Traders Target Cats." The article reports a 'massive increase' in missing cats, with the colour of missing cats changing monthly (tabbies and tortoiseshell one month, black cats the next). Bracknell Petsearch, an organization, is cited as uncovering 'startling facts,' including a black plastic bag of skinned cats found near the M4 motorway. This discovery was reportedly made by a 'local RSPCA volunteer.' Mrs Martin, the Bracknell Petsearch co-ordinator, believes traders target Bracknell, skin cats in vans, and transport pelts to London for export abroad. The story also mentions Scotland Yard suspecting a trade in cat skins in London. Harney expresses skepticism, noting the lack of widespread tabloid coverage if such a trade were significant and questioning the evidence presented.

Your Editor continues...

The editor discusses a similar story from the Barnes, Mortlake and Sheen Times (June 19, 1992) with the headline "Cat Snatch Fear After 'Spate' of Missing Pets." This article also mentions a mysterious woman snatching cats and a vet reporting dead cats found on the pavement, claiming cat fur fetches a high price abroad for gloves and toys. The editor notes the similarity to the Bracknell case, attributing the missing cats to busy roads and parks, but acknowledges the 'sad notices' for lost pets. He quotes Mrs Joan Wearne of 'Petwatch,' who claims cats are skinned and pelts sent to Italy and Germany, and that police 'do not want to know.' A police spokesman commented that stolen cats are not recorded but that they are 'not aware of a problem.'

The editor also references a report in The Mail, Hartlepool (April 24, 1992), where Mrs Wearne again appears, linking the issue to a 'racialist' theme and mentioning a 'Yorkshire printer' finding cat remains and a 'Manchester policeman' finding 200 dead cats. The editor contacted the reporter for the Barnes paper, who stated she was 'only reporting what people told me.' The editor expresses concern that the reporter did not investigate further despite the startling coincidence of identical stories in different local papers and the unlikelihood of catnappers leaving dead cats neatly lined up.

The editor questions the motive behind these alarmist stories, suggesting they might exploit fears about the fur trade and 'animal rights' as a substitute for traditional racist slurs. He asks readers to send in cuttings and details of similar stories, announcing the inauguration of a new national organization called 'Nutwatch' to monitor these reports.

Book Reviews

"Revelations: alien contact and human deception" by Jacques Vallee

Reviewed by Peter Rogerson, this book is described as Vallee's exploration of the UFO field, touching on paranoia and conspiracy theories. Rogerson notes Vallee's clear-headedness in dismissing figures like Bill Cooper and John Lear, but suggests Vallee might sometimes see elaborate theories where simpler explanations suffice, such as the Cergy-Pontoise 'abduction' being a scam rather than a French intelligence operation. The review compares the Warminster Hoax to a scam by lab technicians. Vallee's analysis of hoaxers like UMMO and APEN is discussed, with the reviewer identifying Bryan Jeffrey as the originator of APEN. UMMO is seen as potentially having a more serious purpose, providing 'samizdat literature' in Francoist Spain. The review also touches on crop circle makers potentially expressing artistic leanings through their work and the context of the Bentwaters/Woodbridge incident during the Cruise missile controversy, suggesting UFO stories might have been used to mask security concerns.

Rogerson concludes that Vallee, despite his criticisms of American ufology, is closer to its core beliefs than to 'radical psychosocial' ufologists. He notes Vallee's focus on the 'place of origin' of the 'real phenomenon' and his application of critiques of old-time ETH to theories involving alternative universes and fractal beings.

"Looking for the Aliens: a psychological, imaginative and scientific investigation" by Peter Hough and Jenny Randles

Reviewed by Peter Rogerson, this book is presented as an exploration of the 'terror of the infinite solitude' and the human desire to break the silence and make contact with other beings. The review frames both psychical research and ufology as essentially religious quests driven by a doctrine of plenitude. It critiques the 'CETI programme' for its naive belief in human supremacy and notes that more sophisticated ufologists find naive versions of the 'grail' flawed, yet still dream of an 'over-arching order.' The review highlights Randles' tension between scientific skepticism and a need to find order, comparing her views to Vallee's 'control system' and Scott Rogo's 'The Phenomenon.' It suggests that abductees represent encounters with the numinous, but also the 'violent, dark side of the universe,' with the 'Standard American Abductor' reflecting a bleak cosmos where the sacred is experienced as malignancy.

Hold the Back Page: Miscellaneous Ramblings

Abduction Survey Results

A report by Dennis Stacy from the June issue of MUFON UFO Journal details a major public opinion survey on presumptive abduction experiences conducted in America by the Roper Organisation, financed by Robert Bigelow and an unnamed sponsor. The survey included five questions designed by Budd Hopkins and David Jacobs to identify potential abductees. Of 5947 respondents, percentages answering 'yes' were: paralysis and presence (18%), lost time (13%), feeling of flying (10%), balls of light (8%), and puzzling scars (8%). 2% responded positively to four or more questions, indicating potential abductees. This is extrapolated to 3.5 to 4 million abductees in the USA. Other questions asked about seeing ghosts (11%), UFOs (7%), and vivid dreams about UFOs (5%). The editor views these results as evidence against a literal interpretation of abduction stories, noting that questions 1 and 4 relate to psychical research experiences, and the figure for 'bedroom invaders' is close to old SPR findings. The figure for time loss might be an underestimate due to reluctance to admit memory lapses. The editor hopes to obtain the full report for a review. The survey data was apparently distributed to 'health professionals' to coincide with a CBS TV mini-series, 'Intruders,' raising concerns about abduction replacing Satanism as a mainstream panic.

Crop Circles and Local Newspapers

'Our Man at the Collectors' Fair' reports on a talk by Ian Currie about '200 Years of Extraordinary Weather in the South East.' Currie, a writer on meteorology, stated that in researching his books, he specifically looked for evidence of crop circles earlier than the 1980s in local newspaper files and postcard collections but found nothing. This is presented as strong negative evidence, given the photogenic nature of crop circles and the tendency of early 20th-century postcards to commemorate minor events. Currie reportedly became 'shirty' when he pointed this out to Terence Meaden.

The Barmpots

A short, humorous cartoon titled 'The Barmpots' features two figures, one with a magnifying glass, commenting, "It's not that I mind the implant, it's just that I wish they wouldn't keep playing Jason Donovan records all day."

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

Magonia consistently adopts a critical stance towards sensationalism and unsubstantiated claims within ufology and paranormal research. The magazine encourages a broader, more analytical approach, incorporating psychological and sociological perspectives. It actively debunks hoaxes and questions the validity of media reports, as seen in the 'cat flap' articles and the discussion of historical airship sightings. The editorial tone is skeptical but open to rigorous investigation, as evidenced by the detailed review of the abduction survey and the call for reader contributions to 'Nutwatch.' The magazine appears to value factual reporting and critical thinking over the uncritical acceptance of extraordinary claims, while acknowledging the human desire to find meaning and connection in the universe.