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which can persist for decades after such encounters. According to Mack, abductees often withdraw from society. Fear of ridicule and a sense of hopelessness often result. In some cases, abductees report a sense of being "chosen" for a special purpose. That purpose is usually to bring the message of impending doom or environmental disaster to sleeping populace. According to Mack, some report a sense of overwhelming joy or a feeling of being "home" while on board the alien craft.'*° However, the overwhelming majority of contactees report a sense of dread, humiliation, and hopelessness which can persist for decades. For most of us, reports such as these are exceedingly difficult to swallow The notion of alien entities abducting people from their cars and bedrooms, performing genetic experiments for the sole purpose of producing hybrid offspring, is suggestive of the deranged tales of a psychotic or grossly disturbed individual. In the case of Betty and Barney Hill, the primary evidence for the abduction was the parallel descriptions of the encounter discovered in separate hypnotic sessions. Ever since the widespread publicity of the Hill's alleged encounter, skeptics have endeavored to systematically debunk such incidents. In anticipation of these efforts, John Mack has laid out the following series of five tests that he says must be satisfied by anyone who might try to provide an alternate explanation for these events: 1. The high degree of consistency of detailed abduction accounts, reported with emotion appropriate to actual experiences told by apparently reliable observers. 2. The absence of psychiatric illness or other apparent psychological or emotional factors that could account for what is being reported. 3. The physical changes and lesions affecting the bodies of the experiencers, which follow no evident psychodynamic pattern. One of the primary skeptics regarding the occurrence of alien abductions was the astronomer Carl Sagan. Shortly before his death in 1996 Sagan authored his final book, The Demon-Haunted World, a skeptical inquiry of all things paranormal. In it he devoted considerable space to debunking alien abductions. His objections to the UFO phenomenon and alien abductions are in general fairly representative of the skeptic's positions. Sagan's primary objection to the abduction accounts is the notorious unreliability of hypnotic regression. He and others rightly point out that numerous studies have shown that hypnotic regression can elicit memories of events that never occurred or of events that are yet future! 6 Tn addition, skeptics argue that if the hypnotherapist has strong opinions about the reality of abductions, those opinions will bias the interview. And, that bias will be reflected in the way the questions are phrased, thus "leading" the subject into "false memories." In defense, John Mack counters that up to one third of “bductees recall part or all of their encounters spontaneously, without the aid of regression therapy. 68 THE SKEPTICS REPLY 4. The association with UFOs witnessed independently by others while abductions are taking place (which the abductee may not see). 5. The reports of abduction in children as young as two or three years of age.