It is alleged that several species of extraterrestrial origin have visited our planet in the past or continue to visit today; and, in some conspiracy claptrap, are walking amongst us in disguise, are collaborating with select government factions, and have even created a human-extraterrestrial hybrid to gradually populate earth with their species. Why they are here, if that is the case, is beyond the scope of this book–for our purpose is only to investigate whether or not they can exist.
The UFO community claim there are dozens and perhaps hundreds of alleged extraterrestrial species, this book will focus on the most frequently reported in UFO circles. This chapter will shed some light on their characteristics, alleged home plants or star systems, variations of the same species reported, and various witness accounts of reported encounters with these alleged extraterrestrials.
It is important to note, however, that reports of alleged extraterrestrials are predominantly the result of single-witness accounts, hearsay, and hoaxes; and in many cases alleged close encounters from unreliable sources. Moreover, according to the scientific community, academia, and governments throughout the world; and, more importantly, many legitimate UFO organizations, there is no physical proof or evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the following alleged extraterrestrials exist or have ever visited Earth.
The Greys
To date, the most common alleged extraterrestrial reported is the Grey. Around half of all reported alien encounters in the United States, including reports of alleged abductions submitted to the Aerial Phenomenon Investigations Team, were described as the Greys.
Predictably, Greys are depicted as grey-skinned humanoid beings; and having unusually large heads, no hair, large opaque black eyes with no noticeable iris or pupil, small slits for mouths and no discernible ears. In some reported cases of alleged encounters, the Greys communicated telepathically and spoke English.[i]
The Greys are purportedly from Zeta Reticuli, a binary star system in the southern constellation of Reticulum. They are frequently associated with the classic “flying saucer”, the UFO wave post The Roswell Incident, and thousands of reported alien abduction claims. The Grey species, remarkably, are so common today that almost any person in modern society could draw a sketch of the alleged extraterrestrial.
Plausible Origin of the Grey
While reports of the Greys have circulated the UFO and conspiracy theory community for decades, the origin of the Grey is often associated with the 1961 Betty and Barney Hill abduction claim.[ii] Because the media began to report the alleged Greys after the Betty and Barney Hill claim, it is assumed by the UFO community that the Greys are recent phenomena.
However, that is not the case. The first appearance of the Greys can be traced as far back as 1891 – decades before the UFO wave of post-1947. Almost 125 years ago, Kenneth Folingsby published a book called Meda: A Tale of the Future.[iii] The book, which came from the author’s visions of the future while in a coma, described “tiny gray men with heads shaped like hot air balloons”.53 Soon after, in 1892, readers were fascinated in what the human species would look like after millions of years of evolution. In 1893, H. G. Wells authored a small article titled The Man of the Year Million in which he speculated what the human race of the year 1,000,000 AD would look like. Wells imagined humans would have no hair, mouth, or nose; and would have an enormous light bulb-shaped head and a small body.53
In 1897, H.G. Wells also published The War of the Worlds. The design of the Martians, according to his biography, was a convergence of his research on evolution and pure imagination. He proposed a Martian with an enormous head because they were advanced and a more intelligent race than humans, thus necessitate larger brains.53 Furthermore, according to Wells, the Martians had large eyes, no nose or ears, and very small mouths. He envisioned Martians communicating telepathically to eliminate all misunderstandings when they communicated with each other, which remarkably has been reported by alleged abductees.
In the 1930s and 40s, once again before the UFO wave, the little grey aliens were a solid foundation of many comic books such as Amazing Stories, Wonder Stories, and Science Wonder Stories. During this era, comic books were making a large impact in society and many of the tales depicted inside the comic books represented bigheaded little grey “visitors from space”.
- [i] Jacobs, David M. “Aliens and Hybrids. “Alien Discussions”. Proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference. Cambridge: North Cambridge Press
- [ii] Betty and Barney Hill. University of New Hampshire Library. http://www.library.unh.edu/special/index.php/betty-and-barney-hill
- [iii] A Media History of Gray Aliens. http://www.theironskeptic.com/articles/gray/gray_history.htm