Have you ever felt like your car is telling you something is wrong, only to find out later it was just a sensor glitch or a misinterpretation of a warning light? Just like a car owner might misread signals from their vehicle, some people might misinterpret unusual experiences as evidence of alien abduction. Mark H. is one such individual. He recounts a night where he awoke paralyzed, witnessing flashing lights and hearing strange sounds. Terrifying non-human figures loomed by his bedside, leading him to believe he was in the grasp of extraterrestrials.
Seeking clarity, Mark underwent hypnosis, a process intended to unlock repressed memories. Under hypnosis, his experience intensified. He recalled being taken aboard a vast spaceship through an open window and subjected to a medical examination by aliens, even describing a sexual encounter with one of them. He remembers being returned to his bed, the ordeal leaving him deeply shaken. But the question remains: did these events truly occur, or are they something else entirely?
Researchers at Harvard University, delving into the nature of memory and trauma, designed an experiment to explore this very question. They sought to understand if the memories of individuals claiming alien abduction elicited the same physiological responses as those experienced by people recalling genuine traumatic events, such as combat veterans or car accident survivors. This exploration aims to shed light on the psychological mechanisms behind these vivid and often disturbing memories, much like diagnosing a complex car problem requires understanding the intricate workings of its systems rather than immediately jumping to conclusions about a catastrophic failure.
Professor of psychology Richard McNally and his team recruited ten individuals, six women and four men, all claiming to have been abducted by aliens, some on multiple occasions. Intriguingly, seven out of ten reported under hypnosis that they had experienced reproductive procedures at the hands of these extraterrestrial beings, including sperm or egg extraction, or direct sexual contact.
Each participant was interviewed by either McNally or Professor Susan Clancy, both experts in psychology. They were asked to create a written narrative detailing their abduction experiences. These narratives were then transformed into neutral-voiced audiotapes. In the laboratory of Scott Orr at the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Manchester, N.H., the participants listened to these tapes while researchers meticulously recorded their emotional responses. Measures such as heart rate and palm sweat were used to gauge their physiological reactions, similar to how a mechanic uses diagnostic tools to assess a car’s condition.
For comparison, a control group of eight individuals haunted by traumatic experiences unrelated to alien abduction also underwent the same procedure. This allowed the researchers to compare the emotional responses of the “abductees” with those who had experienced documented trauma.
The results were compelling. The individuals claiming alien abduction displayed surprisingly strong physiological reactions when listening to the tapes of their recounted encounters. Their reactions were comparable to, and in some cases even exceeded, those of individuals grappling with the real traumas of combat, sexual abuse, and other deeply distressing events. McNally presented these findings at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Denver on February 16th. He emphasized, “The results highlight the powerful impact of emotional belief. People who genuinely believe they have been abducted by aliens exhibit emotional and physiological response patterns to these ‘memories’ that are strikingly similar to those experiencing genuine trauma from combat or comparable events.” This suggests that the intensity of the emotional response is real, even if the memory’s origin is not a literal alien abduction, much like a car alarm might blare intensely even for a minor trigger.
“Dreaming with Your Eyes Wide Open”: The Brain’s Own “Alien Ship Scan Car” Scenario
Neither McNally nor his Harvard colleagues entertained the idea that alien abductions actually occurred. Instead, they focused on understanding the origin of these vivid, lasting memories. They proposed a phenomenon known as “dreaming with your eyes wide open” as a key explanation. These episodes occur during the transition from sleep to wakefulness. Dreams often involve full-body paralysis, a natural mechanism to prevent us from physically acting out our dreams and potentially injuring ourselves. Sometimes, we awaken from a dream before this paralysis fully dissipates, leading to a state where we are conscious but still experiencing dream-like phenomena, including hallucinations such as flashing lights and perceived figures in our surroundings.
Sleep paralysis is a common occurrence and, as the researchers point out, is no more indicative of mental illness than a hiccup. However, the combination of paralysis and hallucinations can be profoundly frightening. In an attempt to make sense of these unsettling experiences, individuals may seek explanations.
Some turn to psychiatrists or psychologists who employ hypnosis to uncover supposedly repressed memories underlying these strange episodes. During these sessions, individuals may inadvertently construct false memories of being transported onto spacecraft and subjected to medical or sexual experiments, much like a car owner might, under pressure, fabricate details to explain a mysterious car issue they don’t fully understand.
Psychological assessments of the “abductees” revealed little evidence of mental illness, but they did highlight a propensity for rich fantasy lives. These individuals often immerse themselves in imaginative scenarios while listening to music or watching movies, readily envisioning themselves in different places or as part of the narrative. McNally notes that a typical “abductee” often has “a long-standing interest in ‘New Age’ practices and beliefs such as reincarnation, astral projection, mental telepathy, alternative healing practices, energy therapies, and astrology.”
He and his colleagues concluded that “a combination of pre-existing New Age beliefs, episodes of sleep paralysis accompanied by hallucinations, and hypnotic memory recovery can cultivate beliefs and memories of alien abduction.” Essentially, the mind, much like a complex car with interconnected systems, can sometimes misfire, creating convincing but ultimately fabricated realities. Just as a faulty “Alien Ship Scan Car”—a misreading of sensory input and internal beliefs—can lead to false conclusions about vehicle problems, similar processes can lead to false memories of alien abduction.
Ghosts, Hags, and Incubi: Cultural Interpretations of Sleep Paralysis
McNally emphasizes that the interpretation of these experiences varies across cultures and throughout history. Not everyone frightened by such episodes concludes they were abducted by aliens.
A hallucination upon awakening could be interpreted as a visitation from a ghost or even Satan in different cultural contexts. In Newfoundland, encounters with the “Old Hag,” a witch who sits on your chest, are part of local folklore. Centuries ago in Europe, people feared the incubus, a malevolent spirit that oppresses sleepers, or the succubus, a female demon believed to seduce men in their sleep. These diverse interpretations highlight how cultural beliefs and pre-existing frameworks shape our understanding of these unusual experiences.
While “abductees” react emotionally similarly to individuals with genuine trauma, most surprisingly, many view their alien encounters positively. Some express pleasure at being chosen for hybrid breeding programs, interpreting their experience as spiritually transformative. Ultimately, McNally suggests, for many, these experiences, however misconstrued, are imbued with personal meaning and can be interpreted as profound and life-altering, much like some car owners develop an almost mystical connection to their vehicles, attributing human-like qualities and significance to them beyond mere transportation.
