the Scottish Society for Psychical Research

....investigating the paranormal in Scotland

The changing folklore of UFOs 

by Daphne Plowman

Why are the world's sacred books full of descriptions of 'gods' who came down from the sky in fiery chariots, and very often departed, promising to return one day? Many of the people of very different ethnic cultures have this same thread of belief running through their legends, traditions and, of course, their religious ritual and dogma. Primitive tribes in New Guinea, Eskimos, Pigmies in the Congo, the Amazon Indians, all came up with similar beliefs, when questioned by missionaries and explorers.

I do not want to shock people or upset their religious convictions, but I will tell you Bible stories with a flavour you may not have heard before. Early descriptions of angels were not really very much like the later depictions of beautiful, winged creatures, but were more like men, until they showed that they had extraordinary powers and abilities. I see some similarities to reports of apparitions, both some similarities to reports of apparitions, both some similarities to reports of apparitions, both from the literature, and some of our own cases. They look quite normal until they do something extraordinary, such as suddenly disappear, or deliver a warning about a future catastrophic event. This is well illustrated in the story of Lot, which is found in Genesis 19, verses 1-28.  Two angels visited Lot's town. They were offered hospitality for the night, and apparently were like men. They first showed possible paranormal skills by blinding some local 'bovver boys', who made a nuisance of themselves. They then showed their precognitive skills by warning Lot and his wife, and the immediate family, to get out of the town as quickly as possible, as it would be destroyed very soon. They actually dragged the family, with Lot protesting as he went. They also warned that they must not look behind them. We all know that Lot's wife did, and she was turned into a pillar of salt!

This story illustrates two things:

1)      The unmistakable powers of the angels, and

2)      The fact that Lot did not have much respect for angels or messengers from God, because he protested loudly, and his wife disobeyed and looked back.

Since the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, there has been speculation that Lot's experience could have been a nuclear disaster of some kind. Some of the bodies found after the Atomic Bomb dropped, were turned into grey/white ash...a pillar of salt? People can only describe such things in the light of their own technology, or lack of it. There are many instances where ancient people tried to describe possibly advanced technology, in the only terms with which they were familiar. This may be the reason why learned people throughout the ages, have been inclined to dismiss the Old Testament in particular, as myth, folklore, imagination or symbolism.

I suggest it was very strange that The Children of Israel, managed to wander for forty years in the desert and why they thought they were the ‘Chosen People.’

What did Ezekiel see, and describe so very accurately? He gave the precise date, not-quite-so-precise place, but a superb description of the vehicle he saw, as well as its occupants. This bears considerable similarities to present day UFO reports, and people's experiences of Aliens. I was particularly interested in his description of the creatures emerging from the midst of the 'spacecraft:'

"The likeness of four living creatures, and this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man, and every one had four faces, and every one had four wings, and their feet were straight feet; and the soles of their feet were like a calf's foot, and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass."

How often have we heard of cloven footprints, sometimes in snow around buildings, particularly in poltergeist cases? We had one about five years ago, involving a very old inn on the outskirts of Edinburgh, where it was claimed that the Devil had visited in the 1850s.

Ezekiel's creatures gave him some advice about restoring law and order to the country...I have heard that statement before from subjects who encounter 'aliens'!

How did Moses apparently have technology thousands of years before he should have? The precise instructions and the warnings, regarding the Ark of The Covenant… not to mention the protective clothing to be worn, and the appropriate footwear necessary when it was to be transported?

In Samuel 6, Verse 2, we heard what happened to Uzzah, when he helped to drive the cart it was in. Passing cattle shook and threatened to overturn it; Uzzah grabbed hold of it, and fell dead on the spot, as though struck by lightning.

Many people with technical skills, which I do not profess to have, say that from the details given in the Bible, it can be calculated that the Ark could produce many hundred Volts, with its condenser formed from gold plates. Could Moses have been in touch with a hovering UFO spacecraft?

There are an astonishing number of similar accounts in other ancient texts: On the fifth tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is of Sumerian origin, is written, "No mortal comes to the mountain where the gods dwell. He who looks the gods in the face must die." Why did the gods not want to show themselves face to face? What were they afraid of?

There is a possibility that the whole account in Exodus could have come from the same source material. Consider the strange account of Moses being found in the bulrushes by an Egyptian princess. He may well have had access to ancient texts in Egypt, including Gilgamesh. In the late 1970s, two Cambridge engineers put forward the hypothesis that the Ark was a Manna-machine, which fed the Children of Israel for forty years in the Wilderness. They presented a convincing case for the possibility that the Jewish texts, particularly the Torah, describe a machine, a piece of space-going technology, modified for use by the Israelites. Not only could it produce food, but it was also a mini-ecosystem designed for long space journeys. It was dangerous in unskilled hands, and possibly radioactive (hence all the warnings about protective clothing and footwear). The engineers also mentioned how ancient sources state that the gods or angels were barely distinguishable from men. It would seem that the so-called 'star men' were very like ourselves.

Who was Balder the Beautiful or Odin? Where is Valhalla, the heaven of Norse mythology? Balder sailed into the sunset, towards Valhalla, his Viking longboat on fire, never to be seen again.

In the remote Hessdalen Valley, in Norway, even today, there has been an enormous wave of UFO sightings; strange light phenomena, which are interacting with scientists observing them over several years. When too many observers turned up, the lights moved away to an even more remote valley.

Throughout history spacemen, gods, call them what you may, seem to appear when all is not well on Earth. They traditionally involve themselves in wars and battles, to lend weight to one or other side, to ensure it wins, possibly for their own ends, or even to keep a balance of power.

One very strange aspect of the reports of UFOS, both ancient and modern, is that although our technology has advanced considerably, particularly over the last century, the spacemen seem to have come in similar vehicles for at least 5,000 years. The reports I got in October-November this year are not so very different to those of Ezekiel, the Ancient Egyptians or the Ancient Chinese. WHY?

As astronomers with their modern instruments and space probes such as Voyager, set their sights ever deeper into space, perhaps we will meet up with the spacemen on their home ground. It would be arrogant to believe we were the only life in the universe. Another possibility is that the Spirit World and the domain of the Spacemen and gods and angels may be in another dimension, very close to us, a parallel universe, only a 'whisper' away.

Condensed from a talk given on 1/11/94.