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The Abduction Phenomenon is as umbrella term used to describe a number of kidnap individuals--sometimes called "abductees"--usually for medical testing or for sexual reproduction procedures. Many such encounters are described as terrifying or humiliating, and many abductees report that extraterrestrials communicate via telepathy. Such alleged abductions are usually closely connected to UFO reports, and are often supposedly conducted by so_called Greys: Short, gray_skinned humanoids with large, pear_shaped heads and enormous, dark eyes.
While few mainstream scientists believe the phenomenon literally occurs as reported__some experts contend the field is rife with kooks and pseudoscience--there is little doubt that many apparently sincere persons report alien abductions they believe are utterly genuine. Stigma and self-doubt may be obstacles to more widespread study and/or reporting.
In his books, Harvard Medical School professor Dr. John Mack explains that common features of alien abduction experiences include the feeling of paralysis, the perception of having been transported immaterially, frequently through a beam of light; the sense of having been surgically probed or implanted with devices, the freezing or slowing of time, and sexual or reproductive contact or manipulation by the aliens. Local support groups for experiencers of the phenomenon are not uncommon.
Analysis and Proposed Explanations Proposed psychological alternative explanations of the abduction phenomenon have included schizophrenia, and parasomniae - near-sleep mental states (hypnogogic states and sleep paralysis). Sleep paralysis in particular is often accompanied by hallucinations and peculiar sensation of malevolent or neutral presence of "something", though usually people experiencing it do not interpret that "something" as aliens.
Especially criticised as unreliable is frequent reliance on hypnosis. It's been demonstrated that false memories are often very easily created, and that hypnosis can unintentionally aid in confabulation. Some abductees, however, report vivid, detailed accounts without hypnosis.
It is worth noting that many events reported during purported abductions often have parallels in anthropology, folklore and religion: Especially frequently correlate with certain imagery persistent in shamanic experiences (e.g., surgery_like procedures, foreign objects implanted in the body) and faerie contact stories, for instance.
Abduction claimants do not always attempt to explain the phenomenon, but some take independent research interest in it themselves, and explain the lack of greater awareness of Alien Abduction as the result of either extraterrestrial or governmental interest in coverup.
The alien abduction phenomenon has been the subject of conspiracy theory and as such has become a staple of popular science fiction works such as The X-Files.
In June, 1992, MIT hosted a scientific conference on the abduction phenomenon. [1] (http://www.cufos.org/abduct_P1.html)
Notable abduction claims
Notable figures
External links
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