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Post by Graveyardbride on Sept 19, 2013 10:08:13 GMT -5
The Betty and Barney Hill Abduction
Around 10:30 on the night of Tuesday, September 19, 1961, Betty and Barney Hill were driving along Route 3 through New Hampshire’s White Mountains on their way home from a Niagara Falls vacation when Betty noticed a light moving in the sky. At first, she thought it was nothing more than a falling star, however, it was growing bigger and brighter. Barney pulled into a picnic area just south of Twin Mountain and because they were afraid bears might be foraging in the area, he retrieved a pistol from the trunk. The stop gave Betty the opportunity to observe the “odd shaped” illumination, which was now flashing multicolored lights, through binoculars. When she handed the binoculars to her husband, he initially dismissed the lights as those of a commercial airliner, but when the object suddenly descended in their direction, he changed his mind, quickly started the car and the pair drove toward Franconia Notch.
As they continued their journey toward Portsmouth (their home), the light came ever closer and at one point, passed directly above a restaurant and signal tower atop Cannon Mountain, reappearing near the 48-foot profile of the Old Man of the Mountain. Betty estimated the object was at least 1½ times the length of the profile and appeared to be rotating. Whatever it was, it was now moving erratically, bouncing back and forth in the night sky. As they drove through Franconia Notch, they observed the object seemed to be playing a game of “cat and mouse.”
Then about a mile south of Indian Head, the bright light rapidly descended in their direction, causing Barney to stop the 1957 Chevrolet Belair in the middle of the highway as the huge, silent “thing” hovered approximately 80 to 100 feet above them. Barney grabbed his pistol and the binoculars, got out of the car and observed about eight to 11 humanoid figures in glossy black uniforms and caps peering from the windows of what was obviously a spaceship. Suddenly, in unison, all but one of the creatures moved away from the windows and the remaining figure telepathically communicated the message: “Stay where you are and keep looking.” Then red lights on bat-wing type fins telescoped from the sides of the craft and a structure descended from the bottom. At this point, Barney, in a state a hysteria, called to Betty, “They’re going to capture us!”
Almost immediately, a rhythmic series of beeping or buzzing sounds bounced off their vehicle, causing it to vibrate, and they both experienced a tingling sensation. The otherworldly beings – who were humanoid in shape with grey skin, bald heads, large wraparound eyes, small ears and almost indistinguishable noses – ordered the Hills to accompany them up a ramp into the disc-shaped ship which had a metallic appearance. Once inside, the two were separated and “examined.” The examiner explained to Betty – telepathically – what he was doing as he examined her, cut a lock of her hair and scraped off some of her skin cells. At one point, he thrust a long needle into her naval, which was agonizingly painful, but a humanoid she identified as “the leader,” waved his hand in front of her eyes and the pain disappeared. When the examiner left the room, Betty engaged in conversation with the leader and at one point, picked up a book, which contained rows of strange symbols. The leader explained she could have the book and when she enquired where he was from, he pulled down a map dotted with stars. Following their examinations, the Hills were returned to their car and instructed to wait until the ship departed before continuing their journey home.
It was dawn when the couple arrived in Portsmouth and immediately realized they had lost around two hours, about which they had no memory. In fact, it wasn’t until Betty started having strange dreams that the two began to recall what happened – but they stuck to their claims for the remainder of their lives. Barney Hill died in 1969 of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 46. Betty died in 2004 at the age of 85.
In 2009, the University of New Hampshire held an exhibition and seminars devoted to the Hills. Betty’s dress and other artifacts are part of UNH’s special collections (above). Betty was a 1958 UNH graduate. “I think that she wanted to make sure the materials were available for serious study,” said David Watters, director of UNH’s Center for New England Culture. “She said to me that she wanted the dress to be preserved, so that when our science caught up with alien science that it would be able to determine what the chemicals were on her dress, for example. Or the star chart that she made under hypnosis – some day she thought it would be possible to have that confirmed through astronomy.”
In 1991, Betty told The Associated Press she would no longer be making public appearances because of her age and “disappointment in the way the UFO field is headed.” She said too many people with “flaky ideas, fantasies and imaginations” were making UFO reports. “If you don’t know the answers to something, you can always dream them up, whether they are true or not,” she said. “A lot of the UFO field certainly is not sticking to the facts.”Sources: The Interrupted Journey: Two Lost Hours Aboard a Flying Saucer by John G. Fuller, and "New Hampshire notes 50th anniversary of UFO abduction story" by Kathy McCormack, Associated Press, September 18, 2011.
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Post by Sam on Sept 22, 2013 5:03:54 GMT -5
I've read a lot about this case, but I'm still not sure if it was real or not. Some investigators have said that it was a hoax and that Betty's sister had reported seeing a UFO a little while before, but the Hills did stick to their story all those years. Even if they weren't abducted, I think that something strange happened that night.
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Post by aprillynn93 on Sept 22, 2013 15:35:59 GMT -5
That's why I am unsure as well. I really think the Hills truly believed something happened to them. I am pretty convinced it wasn't an out and out lie, however they only started remembering it because of Betty's dreams. It could all just be faulty memory and the power of suggestion.
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Post by natalie on Sept 22, 2013 23:54:47 GMT -5
Did anyone else within that area report strange lights or any objects?
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Post by Sam on Sept 28, 2013 3:02:04 GMT -5
I've read a lot about this case and nobody else saw anything that night, or if they did, they didn't report it. From what I understand, where it happened are thick forests, very remote and there isn't very much traffic at that time of the night, so there wasn't anybody around to report seeing any strange lights or anything.
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Post by Joanna on Sept 20, 2016 3:56:51 GMT -5
Reticulan Does Star Map Confirm Betty & Barney Hill Abduction?
Alien abduction claims made by a couple 55 years ago have been given new credence after it emerged a sketch of a star map they made closely resembles a real constellation they could not have known about at the time. Betty and Barney Hill of Portsmouth, from New Hampshire, claimed they were abducted by aliens and intimately examined aboard a UFO on September 19-20, 1961. Neither initially recalled being abducted, but both experienced a three-hour memory lapse on the night in question after which they experienced nightmares and suffered severe stress. Betty’s dress was torn and covered in a strange pink powder of unknown origin. The couple’s car was covered in concentric circles which caused a compass to spin uncontrollably.
Under hypnosis, both recounted remarkably similar versions of what happened. “I was taken on board,” Mrs. Hill said. “Barney was taken into one room and I was taken into another. The one who did the testing we called ‘The Examiner.’ First they put me on a stool and they checked my eyes, ears, nose, throat. They put me on a table and said they wanted to check my nervous system. Then they tried to insert a needle-like instrument in my navel which caused pain, so they stopped doing it. Barney’s exam was very much like mine in the beginning, except they were interested in his bone structure.”
Betty questioned “The Leader,” the head alien. “I said ‘I know you’re not from this planet, but where are you from?’ He showed me a star map indicating where he came from.” Under hypnosis Betty drew a version of the map she’d been shown. At the time, experts said the map didn’t resemble any known area of space. However, the Hills continued to insist they had been abducted until they died.
Last year, statistician David Saunders said the map closely resembles the Zeta Reticuli system in the southern constellation Reticulum. He believes this proves the Hills were telling the truth about being abducted by aliens. The Zeta Reticuli system was first noted in astronomical texts in the 1800s, but it wasn’t closely studied 1996. The Hills identified Zeta Reticuli as the system from which they aliens said they came. Ufologists named the type aliens the Hills allegedly encountered “Reticulans.”
Source: Mark Piggott, International Business Times.
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Post by jane on Sept 21, 2016 2:07:30 GMT -5
After all this time, I don't think we'll ever know what really happened. They did stick to their stories until the day they died, so I don't think that they were lying. I've always believed that something happened to them that night.
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Post by Sam on Sept 21, 2016 3:23:15 GMT -5
After all this time, I don't think we'll ever know what really happened. They did stick to their stories until the day they died, so I don't think that they were lying. I've always believed that something happened to them that night.
I also think that something happened. How could the Hills have come up with that star map on their own?
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Post by Joanna on Sept 19, 2017 12:07:43 GMT -5
Niece Insists Betty and Barney Hill Were Credible Witnesses
A woman whose aunt and uncle claimed to be abducted by aliens and taken aboard a spaceship believes the existence of extraterrestrials can be proven by evidence from the incident. Author and researcher Kathleen Marden “wants the truth” as she claims her relatives are credible witnesses.
Barney and Betty Hill reported the sighting of an unidentified flying object while driving in rural New Hampshire on the night of September 19, 1961. At the time, Marden was just 13-years-old, but has since conducted extensive research into the reported incident and has now written a biography of the Hills. Physical hypnotized was found to back up the Hills’ accounts, including a pink substance on Betty’s dress and spot marks on the trunk of their car.
The writer recently attended the UFO Truth magazine conference in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, where she spoke to a local news site, The Examiner. The Florida-based writer said: “I believe there was an abduction. When I began the investigation I was as unbiased as I could be. I did an analysis of Betty and Barney’s statement when they were on the craft, being taken and then released. My analysis is that the experience was real.” Marden continued, explaining her aunt and uncle didn’t want the news of their experience to be made public, but it was picked up by reporters when the couple’s confidence was breached by a confident.
The pair revealed more about the incident when they were hypnotized, revealing a disc-shaped craft and eight to ten individuals described as “somehow not human.” They also described the “aliens” as having black shiny uniforms and said something began dropping from the mysterious flying object.
Barney claimed he then ran back to his wife, shouting that they needed to get out of there. The pair raced away from the scene in their car but later found themselves 35 miles distant with only vague memories of the incident.
Marden is convinced that this account of the situation is accurate. “The scientists who investigated the case said Betty and Barney were honest and mentally healthy,” she reasoned. “They were upstanding members of their community.” She urged people to just look at the facts of the story before making a judgment, while also warning people who find the idea difficult, to remain in their comfort zones. “I only want the truth,” she added. “And I want to separate fact from fiction because a lot of fiction has been built around what happened to Betty and Barney.”
Source: Lauren Windle, The Sun, September 18, 2017.
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Post by pat on Sept 25, 2017 15:45:18 GMT -5
I'm not sure what happened that night, but I don't see where a niece saying the Hills were credible witnesses would make any difference. Just because she says they were credible doesn't mean that they were. That's just her personal opinion.
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Post by Sam on Sept 25, 2017 20:08:32 GMT -5
I'm not sure what happened that night, but I don't see where a niece saying the Hills were credible witnesses would make any difference. Just because she says they were credible doesn't mean that they were. That's just her personal opinion.
You're right. It's the Star Map, more than anything else, that's the best proof that something happened that night. Also, they never changed their stories.
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Post by steve on Sept 19, 2020 15:04:07 GMT -5
After I read the Thought for the Day, I realized that tonight will be the anniversary of the Betty and Barney Hill Abduction. I just re-read the story and saw that some of the things from the abduction have been preserved at the University of New Hampshire. Can anyone go to the university and see these things?
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Post by JoannaL on Sept 19, 2020 19:17:17 GMT -5
After I read the Thought for the Day, I realized that tonight will be the anniversary of the Betty and Barney Hill Abduction. I just re-read the story and saw that some of the things from the abduction have been preserved at the University of New Hampshire. Can anyone go to the university and see these things? I've seen the material and yes, it's open to the public. Here's a link to a UNH Magazine piece describing the collection, which I've also included in the article above.
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Post by Sam on Sept 19, 2021 17:24:19 GMT -5
This is the 60th anniversary of the abduction. For a while, it seemed there were a lot of reports of alien abductions, but now there are hardly any. I think something happened the night that Betty and Barney Hill thought they were abducted, but it's really hard to believe they were taken aboard a spaceship and examined by aliens.
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Post by steve on Nov 8, 2022 16:56:09 GMT -5
I just heard a strange story from a new co-worker. Late one night back in the 1980s, he and his family were driving on the same road where the Hill abduction happened and they were followed for miles by a bright light. He said that his father didn't really believe in things like UFOs, but that he seemed rattled by what happened. Later his dad ordered the kids not to tell anyone what they saw that night. I'm going to question him more about it when I get the chance. I've never heard of that area being a UFO hotspot, but does anyone know of any other similar sightings in the White Mountains?
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