Why did so many people believe they had been kidnapped by aliens?
In the 1980s, stories from people claiming to have been abducted by aliens sparked animated public debate, only to see the controversy largely over by the end of the nineties. At its heart was the question, should the stories be believed? Advocates for abductees pointed to the consistency, sincerity, and lasting trauma of victims, while detractors argued that media, quacks, and cognitive bias were fooling and manipulating vulnerable people. Now, a quarter century later, it’s time to revisit the controversy. Who were the protagonists? What had it been about? And why did it end the way it did?
Greg Eghigian is Professor of History and Bioethics at Penn State University (USA). He is a historian of science and medicine and has published books and articles about the history of disability, the history of madness, and the history of criminality, among other things. More recently, he has written about the history of the global fascination with unidentified flying objects and aliens, publishing articles in places like Time magazine, The Los Angeles Times, and Boston Review and giving interviews to numerous media outlets in the UK, North America, and Australia. His most recent book, After the Flying Saucers Came: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon, was released in fall 2024. His next book will examine the history of the alien abduction phenomenon.
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Image: Communion book cover, painting by Ted Seth Jacobs
