Mark H. recounts a night of sheer terror, a vivid memory etched in his mind. He awoke paralyzed, eyes darting around a room filled with flashing lights and unsettling buzzing. A sense of levitation, tingling sensations, and most frighteningly, non-human figures lurking by his bedside filled him with dread. Mark was convinced: he was being abducted by aliens.
Under hypnosis, the details became clearer, more disturbing. Mark recalled being drawn out of his window, transported onto a massive spaceship, and subjected to a terrifying medical examination by alien beings. In this altered state, he even remembers a sexual encounter with one of his captors before being returned to his bed, the ordeal leaving him shaken to his core.
But did Mark’s terrifying encounter truly happen? Could these vivid memories be more than just nightmares? Researchers at Harvard University delved into this very question, seeking to understand the intense reality of alien abduction experiences, not as literal events, but as powerful psychological phenomena. Their investigation explored whether the memories of alien abduction could trigger the same intense physiological responses as genuine traumatic events experienced by combat veterans or car accident survivors.
Professor Richard McNally, a psychology expert, and his team recruited ten individuals – six women and four men – who firmly believed they had been abducted by extraterrestrials. Intriguingly, seven of these individuals, under hypnosis, reported invasive procedures like sperm or egg extraction, or direct sexual contact with these alien beings. Each participant shared their detailed abduction narrative with McNally or Professor Susan Clancy. These accounts were then transformed into neutral audiotapes.
In the lab of Scott Orr at the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, these abductees listened to their own stories while researchers meticulously recorded their physiological responses, measuring heart rate and palm sweat – indicators of emotional arousal. A control group of individuals with documented trauma unrelated to alien encounters underwent the same procedure.
The findings, presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Denver, were remarkable. The individuals who believed they had been abducted by aliens exhibited physiological reactions to their taped narratives as strong, if not stronger, than those who relived genuine combat experiences, sexual abuse, or near-fatal accidents. McNally concluded, “People who sincerely believe they have been abducted by aliens show patterns of emotional and physiological response to these ‘memories’ that are strikingly similar to those of people who have been genuinely traumatized by combat or similar events.” This highlights the potent impact of deeply held emotional beliefs on our physical responses.
Dreaming with Eyes Wide Open: The Sleep Paralysis Link
Neither McNally nor his Harvard colleagues entertained the idea of actual alien abduction. Instead, they sought a grounded explanation for these vivid, persistent memories. Their research points towards a phenomenon known as “dreaming with your eyes wide open,” or sleep paralysis. This occurs during the transition between sleep and wakefulness. Dreams often involve temporary full-body paralysis, a natural mechanism preventing us from physically acting out our dreams and potentially harming ourselves. In sleep paralysis, a person awakens mentally before this paralysis subsides, leading to a bizarre state of consciousness where they are awake but unable to move. Hallucinations, such as flashing lights, buzzing sounds, and the perception of strange beings nearby, are common during these episodes.
Sleep paralysis itself is not indicative of mental illness, the researchers emphasize. However, the combination of paralysis and vivid hallucinations can be profoundly frightening. Seeking to make sense of these unsettling experiences, individuals may turn to hypnosis in an attempt to uncover “repressed memories” behind these strange occurrences. Paradoxically, hypnosis, while intended to reveal truth, can sometimes inadvertently create false memories, including elaborate narratives of alien abduction, medical examinations on spaceships, and even sexual encounters with extraterrestrials.
Psychological assessments of individuals reporting alien abductions reveal no consistent patterns of mental illness. However, these individuals often exhibit a rich and active fantasy life. They tend to immerse themselves in imaginative scenarios while listening to music or watching films, often envisioning themselves within the narrative. McNally observed that a typical individual reporting alien abduction often has “a longstanding interest in ‘New Age’ practices and beliefs such as reincarnation, astral projection, mental telepathy, alternative healing practices, energy therapies, and astrology.”
The Harvard research team concludes that “a combination of pre-existing New Age beliefs, episodes of sleep paralysis, accompanied by hallucinations and hypnotic memory recovery may foster beliefs and memories that one has been abducted by space aliens.” The feeling of being powerless, observed, or even “scanned” by an unseen force during sleep paralysis could be misinterpreted and integrated into a pre-existing belief system involving extraterrestrial life.
Cultural Interpretations: From Ghosts to Aliens
McNally notes that the interpretation of these experiences varies across cultures and throughout history. The same terrifying hallucination upon waking from a dream might be interpreted in vastly different ways depending on cultural context. Instead of aliens and spaceships, past interpretations have included visitations from ghosts, demonic encounters, or supernatural beings. In Newfoundland folklore, the “Old Hag,” a malevolent witch, is said to sit on the chests of sleeping individuals, causing breathlessness and terror. Historically in Europe, people feared the incubus, a male demon believed to lie upon sleeping women, and the succubus, a female demon who seduced men in their sleep.
While those who believe in alien abduction display similar emotional responses to trauma survivors, a striking difference emerges: many abductees express positive feelings about their experiences. Some feel honored to have been chosen for hybrid breeding programs, viewing their encounters as transformative and spiritually significant. Ultimately, McNally states, “most of them ultimately interpret their experience as spiritually transforming.” This perspective highlights the human need to find meaning and purpose, even in experiences that others might perceive as terrifying or delusional.
