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"... hundreds of individuals who, uncontaminated by exposure to any previous unidentified flying object lore or to each other, have so hesi- tatingly, reluctantly, timidly, come forward with their utterly incredible accounts of having been abducted and examined in UFOs not by ‘little green men' but rather, for the most part, by spindly limbed 3 to 4 1/2 foot- tall telepathic gray creatures with outsized foreheads dominated by huge, compelling, tear shaped black eyes."'"* Throughout the conference these abductees shared stories of their contact with what they believed were extraterrestrial alien entities. While individual accounts varied, the similarities of their stories and the consistency of their details were astonishing. A conference such as this might have been rejected out of hand if it were not for the prestigious cochairmen and setting. Due to its high profile location the conference was well attended by scientific investigators, abductees, and the media alike. Many have wondered why John Mack, a prestigious psychiatrist, would risk his career on such a controversial topic. In his own words Mack expressed his thoughts about the importance and impact of alien abductions on society: "The idea that men, women, and children can be taken against their wills, from their homes, cars, and school yards by strange humanoid beings, lifted onto space craft, and subjected to intrusive and threatening procedures is so terrifying and yet so shattering to our notions of what is possible in our universe, that the actuality of the phenomenon has been largely rejected out of hand or bizarrely distorted in most media accounts. This is altogether understandable, given the disturbing nature of UFO abductions and our prevailing notions of reality. The fact remains, however, that for 30 years, and possibly longer, thousands of individuals who seem to be sincere and of sound mind and are seeking no personal benefit from their stories have been providing to those who will listen consistent reports of precisely such events." We take a very skeptical view on the question of alien abductions. Despite population surveys which indicate that as many as 1—3 percent of the population may have had an abduction experience, the hard evidence for such accounts is lacking. Nevertheless, we do believe that to appreciate the nature of the UFO phenomenon, an examination of the history and nature of these alleged abductions is very important. After the UFO waves of the 1940s and early 1950s, the phenomenon took an unexpected turn as people around the world began to report close encounters with the alleged occupants of UFOs. The Air Force's attempt to debunk UFOs was aided by a series of outrageous reports of human contact with extraterrestrials as well as reports of alleged abductions in the early 1950s. Beginning with George Adamski, a parade of people in the 1950s claimed that they had experienced close encounters with extraterrestrials from places such as Mars, Venus, 62 Encounters of the Fourth Kind, the conference was also attended by: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS?