12 Volume 36 Issue 3 | Skeptical Inquirer

Famous Alien Abduction inPascagoula: Reinvestigating a Cold Case

Among reports of extraterrestrial encounters, the 1973 claim of two Mississippi men to havebeen taken aboard a flying saucer remains controversial. Was it a real encounter or a hoax? Or is that a false dichotomy?

JOE NICKELL

C harles Hickson, the chief claim -ant in the Pascagoula, Miss issippi,UFO abduction case, died of a

heart attack on September 9, 2011, at theage of eighty. Until his death he main-tained the truth of his alien en counter—part of the UFO “flap” of 1973 (Peebles1995, 241–45). It has remained (after theBetty and Barney Hill case of 1961) “thesecond most famous UFO-abductioncase in history,” according to UFO his-torian Jerome Clark (1998, 714).Very Close Encounter

Hickson, then forty-two, was fishingfrom an old pier on the PascagoulaRiver with a friend, nineteen-year-oldCalvin Parker Jr., on the night of Octo -ber 11, 1973. Hickson claimed theyheard a “zipping” sound and en coun -tered a glowing object—an elongatedUFO—hovering above the ground.Three robotlike aliens exited from thecraft; although they were gray hu-manoids just over five feet tall, theywere otherwise of a type not reportedbefore or since (Nickell 2011): each en-tity lacked a neck, exhibited only slitsfor eyes and mouth, had a nose and earsthat were sharply pointed protrusions,

and possessed clawed hands. The legswere joined, pedestal-like, and the en-tity glided (see Figure 1).

The two men claimed they weretaken aboard the spacecraft, where theywere examined, after which they werereturned to their fishing site. Un nerved,they sat in a car to regain their compo-sure (with Hickson, at least, drinkingwhiskey), then reported their experi-ence to the sheriff.

Although the UFO reported by themen had apparently not been seen bypeople on the heavily traveled nearbyhighway (Randle 2001), there had beenother UFO sightings in the area, includ-ing on the night in question. The UFOswere variously described—some saw ahelicopter-like object; one person re -ported a supposed “experiment” from anAir Force base; and so on (Clark 1998,715; Blum with Blum 1974, 14–19).Controversy

The pair’s veracity was accepted byUFO believers J. Allen Hynek of theCenter for UFO Studies (CUFOS) andJames Harder of the Aerial Phe nomenaResearch Organization (APRO), bothof whom rushed to interview the “ab-

ductees.” Harder tried unsuccessfully tohypnotize the men (Clark 1998, 717)but did conclude they had experienced“an extraterrestrial phenomena [sic].”1

Hynek believed the pair had at least had“a very real, frightening experience”(Blum with Blum 1974, 24–25). Thesheriff ’s de partment also felt the menwere telling the truth, and Hickson re-quested and passed a lie-detector testarranged by the agent with whom themen had signed a contract to promotetheir story. Parker suffered a breakdownand was briefly hospitalized (Clark1998, 714–17).

The men’s fantastic report drewmuch skepticism. Famed UFO skepticPhilip J. Klass noted discrepancies inHickson’s account (for instance, oncereferring to the creatures as having a“hole” for a mouth but later calling it a“slit”). Klass also pointed out that thelie-detector test was conducted by an“inexperienced” polygraph operator andthat Hickson refused to take anotheradministered by an expert police exam-iner. Based on other evidence—includ-ing the fact that Hick son had oncebeen fired for improperly obtainingmoney from employees under his su-

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pervision—Klass concluded the casewas a hoax ([1974] 1976, 347–69; 1989,18–19).A SolutionSo which was it: a genuine alien abduc-tion or a hoax? Or is that a false di-chotomy? In reviewing the case, Ithought there might be another possi-bility: the two men, who might havebeen drinking before the incident (asHickson admitted he was after), mighthave dozed off. Hickson could thenhave entered a hypnagogic (“wakingdream”) state, a trancelike condition be-tween waking and sleeping in whichsome people experience hallucinations,often with bizarre imagery, includingstrange beings (aliens, ghosts, etc.). Thisstate may be accompanied by what iscalled “sleep paralysis” (the body’s in-ability to move due to still being in thesleep mode). In fact, Hickson not onlyreported the bizarre imagery but also

said that the aliens “paralyzed” him be-fore carrying him aboard the UFO inwhat sounds like a hypnagogic fantasy.

The imagery might even have beentriggered by Hickson actually sightingsomething—almost anything—that,while he was in the waking-dreamstate, appeared to be a “UFO.” Duringa recorded interview with Sheriff FredDiamond (Blum with Blum 1974, 30–

36), Hickson described the UFO as “ablue light,” adding: “It circled a bit.” Heemphasized it was blue, saying, “Andyou think you dreamin’ about some-thing like that, you know” (original emphasis). Hickson also reported thatit made “a little buzzin’ sound—nnnnn -nnnnn, nnnnnnnnn” (Blum with Blum1974, 31). Bright lights and odd noisescan also be part of the waking-dream

The men’s fantastic report drew much skepticism. Famed UFO skeptic Philip J. Klass noted discrepancies in Hickson’s account (for instance, once referring to the creaturesas having a “hole” for a mouth but later calling it a “slit”).

Figure 1. Recreation of Hickson and Parker’s encounter, based on several sketches made from theirdescriptions. (Drawing by Joe Nickell)

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experience, as can the sense of floating(Mavromatis 1987, 148). Hicksonstated, “I couldn’t resist [the extraterres-trials], I just floated—felt no sensation,no pain” (Blum with Blum 1974, 32).These phenomena, coupled with theparalysis and fantastic imagery, corrob-orate the diagnosis of a hypnagogic ex-perience.

Of additional corroborative value areother factors, including Hickson’s de-scription of the aliens as speaking insidehis head (Clark 1998, 715), be cause afeature of hypnagogia is the sense ofperceiving “with whole consciousness.”This explains the bright lights and clar-

ity of his experiences, since hypnagogicvisions often seem particularly illumi-nated, vivid, and de tailed (Mavromatis1987, 14–52, 148).

But if Hickson had a hypnagogic ex-perience, what about Parker? Actu ally,he need not have been in such a statehimself because, as he told officers, hehad passed out at the beginning of theincident and failed to regain conscious-ness until it was over (United Press In-ternational 1973). Later he “remem-bered” bits and pieces of the allegedencounter. This would be consistentwith an example of folie à deux (aFrench expression, the “folly of two”) inwhich a percipient convinces another ofsome alleged occurrence (as by thepower of suggestion, the force of adominant personality, or the like) or theother person simply acquiesces forwhatever reason. (Young Parker’s posi-

tion was vulnerable: he had recentlyjoined the shipyard where Hicksonworked and was residing with theHick sons.) It would have been signifi-cant if Parker had himself been in ahypnagogic state, since “suggestibility ishigh during this state” (Goldenson1970, I: 574). Interestingly, when thetwo men were left alone in a room atthe sheriff ’s office, where they were se-cretly tape recorded (Clark 1998, 716),they did not make incriminating state-ments as they might have if perpetrat-ing a hoax but acted more like peoplecomparing notes to see if they were inagreement with each other.

Still, some of Hickson’s behavior isquestionable. For example, he keptadding to his story. He claimed on a tel-evision show a month later that the in-terior lights of the UFO had been so in-tense as to cause eye injury lasting forthree days, although an extensive hospi-tal examination the day after the inci-dent had shown no such eye damage(Klass 1974, 349–50). But this is a famil-iar story: even accounts of the truest oc-currences gain distortions and embell-ishments over time, so why shouldHickson’s story be any different? UFOl-ogist Kevin D. Randle (2001) in sistsHickson’s alterations “went be yond that.”Specifically, he says, “These changesseemed to be in response to criticismsand appeared to be an attempt to smoothout rough spots in the story.” But to methat just signals Hickson’s defensivenessbrought on by people ridiculing him—

not proof of initial hoaxing.When all the facts are weighed, the

preponderance of evidence appears notonly to favor the hypothesis involvingthe hypnagogic state but to providecorroboration as well. The realizationmay not benefit the late Charles Hick-son, but it could help others who hearof supposed alien abductions to rest inpeace. nAcknowledg mentsI am grateful to Major James McGaha(USAF retired) and CFI Libraries DirectorTim Binga for help with this article.

Note1. The men were later hypnotized by another

person (Hickson and Mendez 1983).

ReferencesBlum, Ralph, with Judy Blum. 1974. Beyond

Earth: Man’s Contact with UFOs. New York:Bantam Books.

Clark, Jerome. 1998. The UFO Encyclopedia, vol. 2.Detroit, Michigan: Omnigraphics, 714–19.

Goldenson, Robert M. 1970. The Encyclopedia ofHuman Behavior: Psychology, Psychiatry, andMental Health. New York: Doubleday.

Hickson, Charles, and William Mendez. 1983.UFO Contact at Pascagoula. Tucson, Arizona:Wendelle C. Stevens.

Klass, Philip J. (1974) 1976. UFOs Explained.New York: Vintage Books.

———. 1989. UFO Abductions: A DangerousGame, updated edition. Buffalo, New York:Prometheus Books.

Mavromatis, Andreas. 1987. Hypnagogia: TheUnique State of Consciousness between Wake ful -ness and Sleep. New York: Routledge & KeganPaul.

Nickell, Joe. 2011. Tracking the Man-Beasts.Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books,184–86.

Peebles, Curtis. 1995. Watch the Skies! A Chronicleof the Flying Saucer Myth. New York: BerkleyBooks.

Randle, Kevin D. 2001. Pascagoula (Mississippi)abduction. In Story 2001, 423–24.

Story, Ronald D. 2001. The Encyclopedia of Extra-terrestrial Encounters. New York: New Amer-ican Library.

United Press International. 1973. Wire-servicestory, “Creatures” (Pascagoula, Mississippi,October 12). In Blum with Blum 1974, 9–11.

Joe Nickellis CSI’s senior research fellow. He hasbeen investigating alleged paranormal phenom-ena since 1969 and is the author (or coauthoror editor) of over thirty books. His website iswww.joenickell.com.

But if Hickson had a hypnagogic experience, what aboutParker? Actu ally, he need not have been in such a state himself because, as he told officers, he had passed out at the beginning of the incident and failed to regain consciousness until it was over.

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