Table Of Contentr lens
Thank you all from everyone
here at UFO DATA for your con Feature writer Brian Allan explores 'Fairyland'
tinued support.
14 ROS 60 CONFERENC
We have a vcry special
announcement to make with What a ".\O.1;'C(,o!S!> tu n revl w tl1e ven
this issue, but more about that
later.
31
It has been an interesting year,
with several significant UFO
events taking place:
Sixtyyears of Roswell is a
major milestone and one cele
brated at our 2007 conference
(review inside).
Cornrnerchil(!i1ot, Ray Bowyer,
reported seeing huge unex
plained object over the holiday
island of Guernsey and several
good sightings from around the
world.
Thanks to our varied team of
associates, UFO DATA gets the
opportunity to publish articles
that rest on the fringe of ufolo
gy or the unexplained and we
hope to continue to publish
similar reports and research in
the coming years.
Christmas is coming, so make
the mOBt of it as we look for
ward to your company in 2008.
carefully, other objects shot through
ed in a news this canopy show little distortion and
report. That are easily recognisable as other air
report can be craft. So what are we looking at?
viewed online in
its entirety at the Initially, UFO DATA's Steve Johnson
BBC News website posted a link to the clip on a different
or via YouTube. area of our forum and at that point,
he too suspected distortions through
Links to the clip the canopy, but on further examina
will be published tion ofthe film, frame-by-frame dis
at the end of this section revealed an aircraft clearly
passing in front of this cigar-shaped
object.
The case was
It has not gone unnoticed that, in brought to my attention by a sharp One thing that was mentioned in the
recent years, UFO sightings have not eyed researcher, Ben Lydiatt, from news report was that at the end of
been as prevalent as in years gone Oxfordshire, and then the frame the actual mission, the flight would
by. analysis was done by our own Steve jettison spent fuel pods from their
Johnson. aircraft.
That said, this subject is not a pre
dictable science. Sightings, encoun When Brett rang me, I viewed the Remember, the film is a training
ters and reports happen when they
footage whilst he was still on the mission, so it would be extremely
happen and, in some cases, that can phone. He pointed me to the two wasteful dumping fuel pods in the
be years apart. sequences that appear to show an desert, not to mention dangerous to
unusual object flying close to the release them in the flight path of
Even less in abundance are sightings high-speed jet fighters. other members of your squadron.
accompanied by quality film evi
Whatever we are seeing in the film
dence and even rarer than hen's The camera that was used to record makes for interesting viewing, but
teeth are those sightings caught on the clips was mounted inside the please see the clips for yourself at the
camera whose source is undeniable. I
cockpit of one of the jets. I was wary following addresses:
think back to all the wonderful NASA not to get too excited by what the
events captured out ofthe blue by film showed, simply because the www.ufodata.co.uk/forum
enthusiasts such as Martyn Stubbs or camera was filming behind the
Jeff Challender. curved, glass canopy of the plane and www.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7
I immediately thought of reflections oooooo/newsid_70058oo/7005856
Well, the images above are con or distortions of the images when .stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&nol_sto
firmed still frames from a military filmed this way. ryid=7005856&news=1
training exercise, recorded over
Israel. We know the footage is However, on watching the sequence Let us know what you think ...
authentic as it was acquired by the
3
the fall of the Soviet Union, SETKA: A SECRET SOVIET UFO pletely certain; there have been
researchers have made many claims RESEARCH PROGRAM reports from Russia that Yuri
.bout the former regime and its UFO Andropov, the chairman of the KGB
. crets. Hollywood even got involved DAWN OF THE SECRET from 1967 to 1982, and the General
ben former J ames Bond, Roger PROGRAM Secretary of the Communist Party of
[oore, fronted the absolutely terri the Soviet Union from 1982 to 1984,
le KGB Files, a 90-minute docu By Paul Stonehill & Philip Mantle was extremely interested in the UFO
pentary claiming to blow the lid off phenomenon (specifically, in one
FO secrecy from behind the Iron A sharp increase in UFO activity in case investigated by SETKA
... urtain. 1977-1978 (especially, tl,e researchers). He had enough power
Petrozavodsk Case) had forced to give impetus to the creation of tl,e
What transpired was the producers appropriate depaltments within the secret program.
~f the show offered hamburgers and USSR Academy of Sciences to agree
US Greenbacks to now streetwise to a research program for anomalous And so, at the end of 1978, anom
Russian citizens, who had very atmospheric phenomena. The code alous research in the
~uickly learned how to become mini name for this program was SETKA
!:3pitalists and were selling anything AN (Akademii Nauk Set'--Academy
md everything they could get their of Sciences Net, or AS-NET.)
band on. It's a wonder Lenin's
moustache wasn't put up for auction The Soviet Ministry of Defense
on eBay, because you could buy most embarked on a similar program,
other things. duhbed SETKA-MO (Ministerstva
Oboroni Set').
However, there is one UFO
researcher that has managed to keep Reportedly, it was the Military
~ level head since his country's new Industrial Commission tl,at had
found freedom happened. In fact, he ordered this research. The powerful
now resides in the United States. Military-Industrial Commission
Paul Stonehill is a good friend and decided to create two UFO research
o-author with our features editor, centers, one in the USSR Academy of
Philip Mantle, and it is that partner Sciences, the other in the USSR
sbip that brings this feature article to Defense Ministry. Both centers aided
UFO DATA Magazine ... each other's research and exchanged
information. But we are not com-
4
USSR Academy of Sciences became sented the Moscow Technological a central storage place of the data.
the subject of a special scientific Institute. Balashov and Volga repre Volga stated that the sources of pri
research program designated as sented the secret military unit 67947. mary information included the
SETKA-AN. Its functions were dis Makarov represented the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of
tributed among different depart Department of General Physics and the Interior Affairs, and TASS.
ments, and a number of Soviet Astronomy of the Academy of
research institutes of the USSR Sciences USSR. Gindilis represented According to Dr. Fomenko, Migulin
Academy of Sciences received tasks the Shternberg State Astronomical was chosen to lead the program
to research various aspects of the Institute. We are not sure who the while he was absent...no one else
anomalous phenomenon issue. other participants represented at the wanted to touch the dangerous sub
meeting. This was the genesis of the ject.
On the 18th of October 1978, a meet SETKA programs, a fundamental
ing took place in the Academy of research of anomalous phenomena In 1978, it was K. Ivanov, the deputy
Sciences, USSR. Those present in the Soviet Union. The main agency chief of the General Staff of the
included V1adimir Vasilyevich of the research was to be the Soviet Navy (and chief of the Naval
Migulin, Georgiy Stepanovich Izmiran. Platov was to be the chief Intelligence) who was ordered to
Narimanov, Rem Gennadiyevich executive at the Izmiran for the research the UFO phenomenon.
Varlamov, Victor Petrovich Balashov, SETKA-AN. We cannot quote the
V1adimir Ivanovich Volga, A. N. complete document here, but we THERE ARE NO UFOS .•.
Makarov, Inna Evgraphovna need to mention several crucial
Petrenko, Evgeniy Pavlovich Chigin, points. The Ministry of Defense was One of the first acts of the SETKA
Dmitry Aleksandrovich Men'kov, worried about the effects of anom AN (according to Yuri Striganov,
Zaytsev (a colonel ofthe Soviet anti alous phenomena; such effects inter well-known Russian researcher)
aircraft forces), Lev Mironovich fered with its work. Balashov men resulted in official sanction of
Gindilis, Inna Gennadyevna tioned that the priority of research "anomalous atmospheric phenome
Petrovskaya, and Yury Victorovich should go to the periodically generat na" as a descriptive term instead of
Platov. ed phenomena. He later said that the forbidden "UFO." The censorship
there was no confirmation of sight chains on the UFO subject were
By the way, according to Dr. ings by either Soviet or American removed in 1989.
Fomenko, a famous Russian UFO cosmonauts or astronauts (they
researcher, a group of 10 or 15 observed containers, he added; The well-planned tasks of the SETKA
researchers who later formed the meaning that the objects they saw programs had a terrifyingly effective
SETKA core, regularly met outside were not UFOs). impact. According to Stroganov, the
their work to discuss the UFO phe "Academic Commission" did its best
nomenon. to prove there are no UFOs, only
errors in observation of rocket
In 1981, the SETKA research pro launches, or at the very least, ball
gram was given another name, lightning.
Galaktika (MO and AN designa
tions), and in 1986, the name was SETKA-AN served as a powerful
changed to Gorizont MO and AN. cover, creating a distraction away
After the program ended (right after from the workings of the Ministry of
the failed Communist, anti Defense, whose SETKA-MO is said to
Gorbachev attempted coup in 1991, have been, or is, more serious in its
although Colonel Kolchin, a noted investigations than the academic
Russian UFO researcher, mentioned group. Despite the SETKA's noncha
the year of 1990), a group of experts lance there had been occasions when
remained in the Department of "anomalous phenomena" had led to
General Physics and Astronomy of the unauthorized launches of mobile
the Russian Academy of Sciences missiles, and on other occasions, the
Dve S utt e oaster IS recovere
where they analyzed incoming appearance of UFOs during military
here are few Images of such space
reports until 1996. training exercises had resulted in the
Discussions about the organizational breakdown of radio communications
THEPLAYERS details were, too, very interesting (an and equipment malfunctions.
HQ is needed at the Academy of
We know today that at the historic Sciences; Platov, the CEO, was to There had also been reports from
meeting Migulin and Platov repre provide it; Migulin promised to military personnel including senior
sented the Izmiran (the Academy of "organize" rooms in Moscow; officers, about the strange conduct of
Sciences USSR Institute of Gindilis mentioned the central UFOs over Soviet missile bases and
Terrestrial Magnetism and Diffusion archives and the catalogue in one cosmodromes.
of Radio Waves). Narimanov and central place). Varlamov mentioned
Petrovskaya represented the that there are 3000 reports coming Scientific arguments regarding the
Academy of Sciences USSR Institute in each year from general population. nature of UFOs had been the least of
for Space Studies. Varlamov repre- Migulin was against Gindilis's idea of the military researchers' concerns;
5
they did, however, pay close atten Research in the USSR, a decision was tion. It would be very decent on their
tion to the hypothesis that UFOs are made to keep the programs secret. part to inform Russian and other for
manifestations of an ET civilization. The justification was a necessity to mer Soviet ufologists as to where
Most of all, they have been con ensure "abatement of public their archives are located (if there are
cerned with UFOs' impact on mili response". There were three reasons any left), so that perhaps a joint com
tary technology and on personnel; for that, according to both apologists mission could be formed, and reports
such impact could be quite unpre for this Inquisition-like approach to researched again. We are not asking
dictable. UFO phenomena research: that a foreign representation be
included, for there may be defense
INSTRUCTIONS AND APPEALS Programs formally belonged to activ secrets in the archives of reports that
ities pertaining defense-related sub spanned over 13 years. But we do not
The Guidelines for the Soviet Navy jects; initial assumption that there is think that Platov and Sokolov should
had been dated March 7, 1980, and a high probability of military-techni be allowed to dismiss Soviet and CIS
signed by Deputy Commander of the cal origin of the observed strange UFO phenomenon with their publi
Main HQ of the Navy, Vice Admiral phenomena; and possibilities that in cation. Actually, such prominent par
Saal..)'an. A well-known Russian ufol case of successful completion of the ticipants in the programs as Colonel
ogist, Valdimir Ajaja, who at the time raised tasks some of the UFO charac A. A. Plaksin Oiaison between the
had problems with the Communist teristics could be used for military military and the academic programs)
ideologues and officials because of purposes. have recently confirmed the UFO
his UFO research, was given protec incident in 1982 (when a nuclear war
tion and work by his friends in the CONTROVERSY was almost triggered because the
Navy; he helped with the writing of launch codes for the Soviet ICBMs
the Instruction. We do not believe that Platov and had been bafflingly enabled just as
Sokolov's publication is truthful. For the gigantic UFO appeared over the
Instructions regarding the proce example, look at their insistence that secret ICBM base in Ukraine).
dures to collect information about there were virtually no reports of Although Boris Sokolov for years
anomalous phenomena data collec anomalous phenomena from military reported the same, he has later
tion in the atmosphere and space objects at or next to secret testing changed his story. We believe it is A.
were sent to various Soviet depart areas and ranges. This is simply not A. Plaksin who should be the author
ments and organizations. The order true, for Soviet UFO researchers ity in the cases investigated by the
came from the Department of reported a number of such sightings. militaty SETKA program; or the
General Physics and Astronomy of Y. Platov and B. Sokolov (the latter head of tl,e program, General
the USSR Academy of Sciences. had somewhat different opinions Balashov. By the way, Colonel
Nedelya newspaper published an when he discussed his work with Plaksin nowadays is the leading
appeal by V. Migulin and Y. Platov to George Knapp, a noted American paranormal phenomena expert of the
those who have sighted unusual phe journalist in 1993) were official par Russian Defense Ministry.
nomena to first determine on site ticipants and leaders of the pro
whether the observed object was not grams. Also, both authors admit that REVELATIONS OF COLONEL
an astronomical or another familiar because scarce funding was available PLAKSIN
object. If it was not conventional in for their programs, and necessaty
nature, then to describe the object equipment to research such phenom And he is quite outspoken about the
thoroughly, and send the report to ena as large-sized plasma structures SETKA program (September 8 and
the Department of General Physics in the atmosphere was not available, 15,2000, REN-TV program titled
and Astronomy of the USSR their methods could not be foolproof. Voyennaya Tayna or Military Secret).
Academy of Sciences. A most curious article was published
Basically, information was collected, in Komsomol'skaya Prvada newspa
As Y. Platov and B. Sokolov state in and analyzed, and some physical per on 31st May 2002. Tbe autllOr
their History of State-directed UFO models of observed phenomena were was Andrey Pavlov, and its title is
------""I!~ developed. But even UFOs helped Americans create super
~-~~"i£;;'- this assertion seems weapons. Aleksandr Plaksin, who
;. -~':h'~~'" to be untrue. Their was interviewed, is called a military
publication was crit geophysicist. In the article Plaksin
icized by Russian "reveals" several interesting develop
and Ukrainian ufol ments.
ogists, and applaud
ed by seasoned 1. Many recent achievements of the
debunkers. There is American military-industrial com
obviously an agenda plex have been generated in the labs
to denigrate inde dedicated to the research of paranor
pendent UFO mal phenomena.
research, and not 2. "Aliens" have nothing to do with
some "secret KG B American advanced technology (i.e.,
files", as the authors Stealth).
state in the publica- 3. In his 15 years of UFO research A.
6
Plaksin had never obtained direct military officers as Gherman measured by military technological
proof that there are alien civilizations Kolchin, Lev Ovsischer, and others. equipment. Plaksin, obviously, is
active on our planet. Gershtein, Subbotin, Chernobrov revealing more information, piece
4. Americans have researched UFOs should also be heard, for their meal. There is more to be learned
since 1954 (U.S. Air Force), and since research skills are diverse and vast. from him, we hope, in the future.
1974 they have operated a secret sci
entific research center to study 9. A. Plaksin is of the opinion that Scientists in the Novosibirsk
anomalous phenomena and UFOs the unidentified objects ("20 per "Akademgorodok", a powerful sci
through the use of a special Earth cent", according to him) are of physi ence center in Siberia, conducted the
based station. Hence, they (the cal origin that is still unknown to us. first data processing of UFO sight
Americans) were able to create a Our laws of physics cannot explain ings by Soviet computers. The actual
super weapon. such objects. The rest of the cases calculations were performed in the
(A. Plaksin goes into terrifying have to do with UFOs that are of the Institute of Mathematics of the
details, but basically his aim is to plasma formation, quite natural in Siberian Branch of the Soviet
denigrate American HAARP, future origin. The methodology used by Academy of Sciences. They used
U.S. policies, etc.) Soviet military scientists allowed EVM ES 1022 computers. This was
5. A. Plaksin describes the creation of them to juxtapose Sun's condition done in the framework of the
the Soviet program(s) to study the and the timing of UFO appearances. SETKA-AN. Mikhail Gershtein bas a
anomalous phenomena from 1978 They had determined that under cer copy of this historic attempt to study
on. tain conditions a stream of solar UFO data; the repOlt consists of 45
6. A. Plaksin goes into fascinating radiation penetrates the Earth pro pages of graphs and formulas.
details; the information after all, tective magnetic field and assumes
came from Soviet militalY branches, velY diverse forms, causing influence Plaksin never discussed the mysteri
the Navy, the border guards, anti-air on measuring devices and people. He ous "Arkhangelsk Dust" in his inter
craft units, etc. Some of the informa mentions two fascinating episodes views, but he knew about it, as does
tion revealed in the interview in (1977 and 1981). V. Fomenko. Soviet scientists from
Komsomol'skaya Pravda contains the SETKA, as well as Novosibirsk
fascinating details of a sighting from 10. Although A. Plaksin states that came to Arkhangelsk to study the
tbe Borisoglebsk airfield (the inllno most likely there are no aliens on phenomenon. Arkhangelsk Region is
bile black cloud). This case is Earth, he also mentions that because situated in the North-West ofthe
described below. of military secrecy he cannot reveal European part of Russia. Its shores,
everything he knows. three thousand kilometers long, are
This is of great interest; there have washed by cold waters of three Arctic
been other very strange "clouds" over 11. Among other projects carried out seas: the White, Barents and Kara
the former USSR and Russia; such by the military UFO research lab A. Sea. We could not get more details of
cases are mentioned throughout Plaksin worked in was the creation of the mysterious event. We do know
Mysterious Sky: Soviet UFO the USSR anomalous zones map. from Mikhail Gershtein's interview
Phenomenon (2006). There have been dozens of such with V. Fomenko that Plaksin gave
zones. The most important ones were the elderly researcher some notes
7. A. Plaksin mentions the infamous in the Ust'-Koksin area of the Altai and information he had kept in his
and very dangerous 1982 case (and Mountainous Autonomous region; apartment
gives the correct date; it was the 4th the Zarevshan area; the Borisoglebsk
of October, not the 5th; and nothing area; the Plesetsk area of the Overall, Russian ufologists are not
other than a UFO almost triggered a Arkhangelsk region; the certain what had actually been
nuclear war). Dzerdzhinsky area of the "caught" by the SETKA-MO. The
Nizhegorodsk region; the Shatursky Instructions signed by Saakyan men
8. A. Plaksin states that there were area near Moscow. tion two military units where the
no UFO crashes in Kazakhstan in most serious UFO data collected was
1978; no secret storage for UFO frag 12. The military institute authorized to be telegraphed to immediately:
ments in Mitische (Moscow area), no to study UFOs had cooperated with Unit 67947 (Mitischi city, Moscow
super secret storage in Novaya other institutes of the Russian region), and Unit 62728 (Leningrad).
Zemlya. Science Academy to create a number "Serious" data concerned the follow
of super sensitive equipment for ing: physical traces of anomalous
A. Plaksin also mentions that the lab UFO research. The equipment phenomena, death of military per
oratory he worked with after 1978 allowed them to estimate the size of sonnel (as a result of contacts with
was created at the military scientific UFOs, density, and their speeds. the anomalous phenomena), and
research institute TSNII-22. He According to A. Plaksin, the Soviet breakdown of technology.
started there as a junior scientist in military scientists also learned to
1979, and gradually became its predict UFO waves. We are not certain about the fate of
supervisor, until 1991, when the pro the Krasny Kut unidentified phe
gram was disbanded due to the lack 13. They never worked with any con nomena secret archives of the
of funds. It would be great to com tactees. They were only interested in Minisny of Defense that (according
pare his information to that provided the official reports from Soviet mili to retired Colonel Gherman Kolchin,
by such respectable former Soviet tary units; the reports were to be a respected UFO researcher and
7
author) were kept at the secret test barely able to shut down the power interviewed. Ensor found out about
ing site in the Saratov region. and with great difficulties guide the forty major incidents, including one
According to Kolchin, Colonel aircraft out of the cloud. The cloud that prompted fears of stalting an
Sokolov had burned those reports hovered over the airfield for four accidental nuclear war. Ensor's team
that were not sold (400 most intrigu hours, and then disappeared. The also found out about the Instrnction.
ing cases) to the American ufologists Soviets were never able to determine They viewed awesome footage of a
who visited Moscow in 1993. what that "cloud" was or consisted huge triangular UFO filmed by a
Also, according to Ko1chin, back in of. Soviet propaganda film crew (most
1997, one of the scientists involved likely, it was the so-called Riga UFO,
with the program had confirmed that 1981, Mukachevo, Ukraine 1961 incident). Other reports con
Migulin's commission virtually Again, we have A. Plaksin to thank firmed by eyewitnesses proved to be
stopped its activities. The same situa for the information about the case. It important. The incident that almost
tion was in the Ministry of Defense. took place on September 14, 1981. A unleashed a nuclear war took place
MIG-23 jet was conducting a training in 1982, on October 4. The event in
And yet, Russia of 2007 is very dif flight. And a fiery sphere appeared question took place in the Soviet
ferent from Russia of 1997. President from nowhere, right in front ofthe Ukraine. That day a huge UFO of
Putin and his government may have aircraft. The front part of the jet was perfect geometrical shape and 900
a radically different view of the UFO destroyed. The pilot had time to eject meters in diameter hovered over a
phenomenon and its effects on the himself from the cockpit. A. Plaksin nearby ballistic missile base.
Armed Forces. Perhaps, some day we claimed that such incidents were Numerous eyewitnesses confirmed
will find out whether other programs never explained by his military UFO the sighting to David Ensor. So did
are active now. Nikolay Subbotin, an research. Lt. Colonel Vladimir Plantonev (we
active Russian UFO researcher from are not certain if this name was
the RUFORS organization, men October, 1982 spelled correctly by ABC news), a
tioned that in the summer of 2002 Reports received from Russia indi missile engineer. According to him
he discussed the subject with a cap cate that Soviet Colonel Boris the UFO was a noiseless, disc-shaped
tain from the strategic rocket forces. Sokolov investigated the case, and on craft; it had no portholes, its surface
Captain Murtazin mentioned that in October 5, 1982, he was sent to completely even. It made turns, like
2001 he had seen a special registra Ukraine. Sokolov knew quite a lot an airplane would. The missile silo
tion log for anomalous atmospheric about UFOs, as he was involved in at the base contained a nuclear war
phenomena (the same one that the the information collection and analy head pointed at the United States. It
SETKA had introduced in the late sis per the Instruction. The reason he was dismantled in tl,e early 1990'S.
1970s). That log contained recent was summoned to the Soviet Ukraine But in 1982 it was fully functional.
entries, and the watch officer very was an urgent report from an ICBM Plantonev was in the bunker that
efficiently sent the reports to a spe base, sent to the Chief of General fateful day in 1982. The room con
cial military center that only he had Staff. On October 4th, a UFO was tained dual control panels for the
information about.. .. That means that observed in the area; it remained missile, each of them hooked to
the research program was either there for about four hours. But the Moscow. As the UFO hovered over
revived ... or was never really termi control panel indicated that an order head, signal lights on bOtll the con
nated. came in to prepare launch of the base trol panels suddenly turned on, for a
missiles. Lights actually lit up on the short period of time. The lights indi
SOME OF THE SETKA CASES panel, and launch codes enabled the cated that the missiles were prepar
missiles; there were many officers ing for launch. Moscow could have
1974, BOROSOGLEBSK AREA present that witnessed the incident initiated such launch, by its trans
The area is also named by A. Plaksin that could have started a nuclear mission of special orders. But no
as one of the most important anom war. Apparently Boris Sokolov's team order came from Moscow, and no
alous zones of the former USSR. That came to the conclusion that it was one at the base pushed any buttons.
year a very interesting case took the UFO that bears responsibility for For 15 long seconds tl,e base simply
place at the Povorino airfield. A arming Soviet missiles. In the year lost control of its nuclear weapons.
motionless black cloud appeared 2000 Sokolov changed his views, Moscow was very much alarmed, and
over the site. It was hovering at the perhaps under direct pressure, and sent an investigation team to verify
altitude of seven kilometers. It was came out against UFO hypotllesis in the incident. A member of the com
approximately a kilometer and a half this and other cases. mission, Colonel Igor Chernovshev
long. The radar below indicated that (we are not certain if this name was
it was an aircraft. A jet was sent to This case became famous in the West spelled correctly by ABC news), cor
intercept it; there were two fliers years later. A transcript from ABC roborated the 1982 incident to David
aboard. As soon as they entered the News Prime Time Live dated October Ensor.
cloud, a sharp siren pierced their hel 5, 1995 describes the segment about
met's earpieces. The sound was pow the KGB files. David Ensor, a well Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle
erful, above "pain threshold". At the known correspondent for the net Co-authors oJ Mysterious Sk-y -Soviet
same time their onboard device illu work, conducted a five-month inves UFO Phenomenon (2006) /lOW available
via Amazon.
minated the "dangerous altitude" tigation of tl,e Soviet UFO files.
The authors can be contacted via email
reading, and the aircraft started Dozens of Russian scientists, militalY
at: [email protected] &
shaking violently. The pilots were and government officials had been
[email protected].
8
entry town a
RobertKirk into our version of reality for extra- plague of rats, the piper entranced
terrestrial spacecraft, and upon occa- the local children by playing his
© Brian Allan 2007 sion beings, from parallel dimen- pipes and led them into a cavern in
sions. However, this is obviously not the nearby Koppenberg Mountains.
the only answer and since there is Neither the children nor the piper
more than one explanation for the were ever seen again. The portals in
This alticle is adapted from a chapter
existence and nahlre of extraterres- accounts such as these take the form
in paranormal researcher and author
trial spacecraft, there may be a link of caves, fissures and other points of
Brian Allan's new book entitled, 'The
with more traditional interpretations access below the surface of the earth,
Hole ill The Sky'. ofthese 'doorways'. Therefore, _>j:"'..."r"'f.~tI'J
they might also be viewed as
magical openings into which
"Note' The abduction of human
people and animals either enter
beings by non-terrestrial entities is a
by mistake, or are taken by
far from recent phenomenon and one
entities, that in this context are
such case involved a 17th-centUlY
assumed to be fairies and elves
Scottish Presbyterian minister, the
or some other variation on
Reverend Robert Kirk. Although he
these magical creatures. One
seems to have been born, lived, mar
thing to bear in mind though is
ried and died in a conventional man
that in this matter context is
ner, what actually became of this
vitally impOltant. Before con
enigmatic man is still shrouded in
sidering the Rev Kirk, perhaps
mystelY and speculation, and the
we should think about a charac
tales concerning his ultimate fate
ter who appears in a popular
deserve attention. traditional children's tale, i.e.
the 'Pied Piper of Hamelin'.
While many assumptions have been
made concerning the nature of so
In June 1284, on being swin
called 'portals' and 'window areas', in
dled out of his agreed fee by the
the context of the UFOlogy they are
officials of the municipality of
9
that he would appear again at the
christening of his as yet unborn
child, (presumably his wife was
already pregnant before his death),
and the only way to secure his
release was for the officiating minis
ter to tlll'OW a knife or dirk over
Kirk's head.
The story goes on to say that he did
indeed appear at the ceremony, but
the clergyman was so surprised that
the knife was not thrown and Rev
Kirk vanished forever. This has obvi
ous similarities with the Pied Piper
legend and implies that the same
unfortunate fate that befell the chil
dren and the Rev Kirk awaits anyone
unfortunate or foolish enough to
venture (or be taken) into the world
ofthe fairies. It is probably no acci
dent that Kirk reputedly possessed
psychic talents, something of which
he was certainly aware, because in
addition to his claim to be a seventh
appear as
son, traditionally a portent of psychic
and other naturally occurring, if give valid reasons to question many
potential, it was rus contention that
unusual, types of vegetation. This of the so-called truths and dogmas
the 'fairies' lived and moved freely in
variant on contact with non-earthly created by both science and religion.
the world of men. They were, howev
beings tends to refer to them by the
er, invisible to all but tllOse with the
ancient term of the 'good folk', one of Although Rev Kirk, who, interesting
gift of second sight and Kirk claimed
many facts comprehensively docu ly, was a seventh son, is commemo
that he could see them. This echoes
mented by the Rev. Kirk in his semi rated by a grave in an old cemetery
with the proposition that non-terres
nal book, 'The Secret Commonwealth just outside Aberfoyle, a prettY town
trial entities move freely among us at
of Elves, Fauns and Fairies', some in Stirlingshire, Scotland, where he
this very moment in plain sight, but
times called The Secret Lives of was the minister, tradition insists
are so utterly and completely alien
Elves and Faeries'. Originally written that although there is a grave there
tl,at they have no need of conceal
in 1691, this volume is a meticulous he is not in it. Instead, local legend
ment because we cannot see them
appraisal of the creatures, mythology maintains that the 'good people' took
due to the fact we have no frame of
and history surrounding fairy lore. In him to a local fairy hill, led him
reference against which to compare
many ways the lasting effects of the inside and there he still remains. The
them.
Rev. Kirk's book is similar to that of use of the term, 'good people' may be
Sir James Fraser's splendid twelve a deliberate attempt by out forefa
This concept is not so bizarre as it
volume anthropological opus, 'The thers to ward off possible repercus
might at first appear since it is on
sions from these entities should they
record that Captain Cook on his voy
inadveltently describe tl,em in any
ages of discovery was once confront
thing less than complimentary terms.
ed by a tribe of islanders who,
The precautions derive from the
although they could see Cook, his
allegedly capricious and sometimes
men and the rowing boat that they
malign nature of these entities.
came ashore in, could not see the
~ ship that they came form although it
Sec.ret Lives An account written by his replace
was only as short distance offshore.
-f ment in the parish, the Rev
All they could see was that there was
Ltves ~ Furies Grahame, goes some way to corrobo 'sometlling wrong' with the ocean.
rate this tale and reveals that in 1692
They could not see the vessel until
the Rev Kirk was walking on the local
they were taken out in the rowing
fairy hill when he collapsed and was
boat and touched it. The same is true
From rh P le! Jounu.l1 taken for dead, in fact the same fairy
of Native Americans, who, at first,
hill to which the 'good people' took
RH. Rom RT KIRK could not discern paintings when
him. At his funeral he reputedly
they saw them; all they could see was
appeared to one of his relations
a confusing multicoloured swirl of
requesting them to contact the afore
colour but no image.
mentioned Rev Grahame and tell
him tl,at he was not in fact dead, but
In addition, the reverend was also
held captive in fairyland. He said
reputedly able to heal by touch alone,
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