The Paracast Newsletter
April 24, 2022
www.theparacast.com
UFO Researcher Erica Lukes Blows the Lid Off the Skinwalker Ranch Mystery on The Paracast!
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
DON'T MISS OUT! SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE ULTIMATE PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive podcast, After The Paracast, plus an enhanced version of The Paracast with the network ads removed, when you join The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes on your device. Flash! Use the coupon code ufo20 to receive a 20% discount on five-year or lifetime subscriptions. And PayPal now accepts cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, in payment. And if you don't want to use PayPal, we now also offer a second payment option, from Stripe, that accepts major credit or debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. For "qualified users," you can now take advantage of Pay Later options, so act now! For the easiest signup ever, please visit: https://www.theparacast.plus
This Week's Episode: Gene and guest cohost Tim Swartz present a return visit from UFO researcher Erica Lukes, who will focus on her ongoing archival efforts to preserve the work of the late investigator Ann Druffel and others. During this episode, she’ll also explain why she regards the ongoing Skinwalker Ranch mystery, involving a location of regularly reported paranormal activity, to be nothing more than a hoax. She has an undying passion for the mysteries of the universe, particularly UFO reports and other strange aerial phenomena. Since childhood, she has been fascinated with imagery of how vehicles and beings from space might appear and she pursued this interest quietly but with determination. Additionally, Erica was a team leader for "Project Orange," a program to study so-called "Balls of Light" phenomenon that have ramification in real-world science in the form of ball lightning and other peculiar luminous phenomena.
After The Paracast — Available exclusively for Paracast+ subscribers on April 24: UFO researcher Erica Lukes rejoins Gene and guest cohost Tim Swartz to discuss her ongoing work on UFO research archives, including the efforts she's made to get ahold of additional documents. She also talks about the state of UFO research, and it's not always pretty. Erica has also visited universities to study their holdings of early UFO researchers and "phenomenologists" like those of the late Dr. Frank Salisbury of the Department of Plant Science at Utah State University. Salisbury contributed important work on UFO reports in Utah with the help of "Junior" Hicks, a well-known UFO investigator. A singer and voiceover artist, she was approached to perform media broadcasting work. This, coupled with her long-term interest in strange phenomena of nature, led her to take her first steps into radio in 2014 by developing her own programming and interview techniques of known figures in this topic.
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: https://www.theparacast.com/forum/. Visit our new online shop for great branded merchandise at: https://www.theparacast.shop/, and check out our new YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOfficialParacastChannel
A Few Sort of UFO Odds and Ends
By Gene Steinberg
Some might wonder why I stuck it out in the UFO field for so long. I mean, it’s not that I haven’t stepped away a time or two. But there is something real special about the greatest mystery of our time, so I keep on keeping on.
If, as many people believe, we are being visited by beings from another world, it could change everything, or almost everything.
Consider our current situation: We are immersed in yet another tribal war. A worldwide pandemic may have abated in some countries, but it persists in others. Add to that climate change, inflation, rising crime and other problems, and it’s fair to suggest this planet is messed up big time.
Yet some people who claim to have been in contact with so-called advanced or higher beings assert they are here to help us resolve our problems. Unfortunately, they never seem to accomplish much of anything. We already know we should give peace a chance, but far too many people aren’t listening.
In the old days, the UFO field was essentially divided into two distinct camps. There were the serious or “scientific” researchers, who looked for evidence of what UFOs really were. And, of course, there were the contactees.
Although some of the serious researchers would devote time to debunking the contactees chapter and verse, others would just ignore them. If they were asked about those claims, they’d just chalk it up to some crazy or deluded people falling for hoaxes.
Over the years, it did seem as if these two factions came closer together. So I recall the 1960s, when Jim Moseley of Saucer News and Saucer Smear fame would conduct monthly meetings at a conference room in mid-town Manhattan. It wasn’t a four star hotel, but there were mostly acceptable alternatives that provided affordable surroundings.
At first, those who lectured were primarily the serious folk, but as he needed to fill lecture slots, some of the less-reliable UFO figures from the New York area and elsewhere came on.
I recall a visit from Alexander McNeil, a contactee whose most distinctive aspect was his height. He was around seven feet tall, but his story was no more reliable or consistent than any of his more famous fellow travelers.
At another time, “Dr.” Frank Stranges, author of a curious book, “Stranger at the Pentagon,” was a guest. He spoke of an alleged extraterrestrial being named Valiant Thor. Stranges claimed that he had appeared in public on some occasions, including at United Nations headquarters.
I don’t recall much about the story. If I read the book at all, it was in fits and starts.
What I do remember is that Stranges had apparently broken his leg some time before the lecture, and arrived with crutches. I talked to him a bit, and he seemed reasonably normal and friendly. The details of his encounter with that stranger were couched in mystery, with the usual suggestions of possible government plots to conceal the truth.
I won’t get into the questions about Stranges’ Ph.D., or whether it really came from a diploma mill. At least he evidently had a piece of paper to show something, whereas some people in the field simply claim to have educational credentials without producing even questionable diplomas to back them up.
By far the strangest contactee was probably Albert K. Bender. Yes, that Albert K. Bender!
Originally he was one of the originators of the Men In Black legend, by dint of his starring role in Gray Barker’s 1956 book, “They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers.”
For a number of years, it was assumed that Bender had been harassed by government operatives on a mission to hide the truth about UFOs. Others came forth with similar claims, and the belief that there was a truth to hide only grew.
As for Bender, he finally agreed to reveal the fine details of what happened to him, which appeared in his 1962 book, “Flying Saucers and the Three Men.” It bore the distinctive touch of being heavily edited by Barker, the publisher.
But the “real” story wasn’t about government operatives or their conspiracy to hide the truth about the flying discs. Instead, it was a curious contactee yarn, with Bender asserting that the three men who encountered were really space beings from a planet known as Kazik (with the “z” silent for some reason).
Bender gave a lecture before Moseley’s group shortly after his book appeared. He seemed personable enough, and he told his story quietly and with evident sincerity.
I don’t know what really happened to him, since nobody else was writing about meeting up with entities from Kazik at the time. Or ever — or at least I haven’t heard about it.
Bender eventually quit the UFO game and moved to California, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He was probably right to get out of the rat race.
However, the MIB became the stuff of legend over the years, and eventually turned up some graphic comic books, written by one Lowell Cunningham, which were first published in 1990.
The tale was about a super secret agency charged with managing and investigating paranormal activities, primarily visits by alien beings.
It also became the source material for a series of movies, starting with “Men In Black,” released in 1997, which starred Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as members of the team. After two sequels, the concept was reborn in 2019, with the release of the less-successful “Men In Black International,” starring Thor actor Chris Hemsworth.
Alas, neither Bender nor Barker were actually able to cash in on the success of these movies. The same is true about author John Keel, who finally received a decent payday for “Mothman Prophecies.”
Cunningham, by adapting the MIB myth from the UFO field, did receive payments described by some as in the low six figures.
Interesting stuff about the UFO culture. But, as you may have gathered, none of it moves us any closer to solving a genuine mystery.
Yet even with its questionable beginnings, we are still talking about MIB in Ufology. People still claim to have been visited by possible government agents, some of whom indeed wore black suits and motored around in black Cadillacs.
Real? People mistaking real government agents for the fanciful ones? Are some just making it all up? Are others running around harassing innocent people for their own benefit?
Do inquiring minds really want to know? I’ll leave it to you to decide.
Copyright 1999-2022 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
April 24, 2022
www.theparacast.com
UFO Researcher Erica Lukes Blows the Lid Off the Skinwalker Ranch Mystery on The Paracast!
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
DON'T MISS OUT! SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY THE ULTIMATE PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive podcast, After The Paracast, plus an enhanced version of The Paracast with the network ads removed, when you join The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes on your device. Flash! Use the coupon code ufo20 to receive a 20% discount on five-year or lifetime subscriptions. And PayPal now accepts cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, in payment. And if you don't want to use PayPal, we now also offer a second payment option, from Stripe, that accepts major credit or debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. For "qualified users," you can now take advantage of Pay Later options, so act now! For the easiest signup ever, please visit: https://www.theparacast.plus
This Week's Episode: Gene and guest cohost Tim Swartz present a return visit from UFO researcher Erica Lukes, who will focus on her ongoing archival efforts to preserve the work of the late investigator Ann Druffel and others. During this episode, she’ll also explain why she regards the ongoing Skinwalker Ranch mystery, involving a location of regularly reported paranormal activity, to be nothing more than a hoax. She has an undying passion for the mysteries of the universe, particularly UFO reports and other strange aerial phenomena. Since childhood, she has been fascinated with imagery of how vehicles and beings from space might appear and she pursued this interest quietly but with determination. Additionally, Erica was a team leader for "Project Orange," a program to study so-called "Balls of Light" phenomenon that have ramification in real-world science in the form of ball lightning and other peculiar luminous phenomena.
After The Paracast — Available exclusively for Paracast+ subscribers on April 24: UFO researcher Erica Lukes rejoins Gene and guest cohost Tim Swartz to discuss her ongoing work on UFO research archives, including the efforts she's made to get ahold of additional documents. She also talks about the state of UFO research, and it's not always pretty. Erica has also visited universities to study their holdings of early UFO researchers and "phenomenologists" like those of the late Dr. Frank Salisbury of the Department of Plant Science at Utah State University. Salisbury contributed important work on UFO reports in Utah with the help of "Junior" Hicks, a well-known UFO investigator. A singer and voiceover artist, she was approached to perform media broadcasting work. This, coupled with her long-term interest in strange phenomena of nature, led her to take her first steps into radio in 2014 by developing her own programming and interview techniques of known figures in this topic.
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: https://www.theparacast.com/forum/. Visit our new online shop for great branded merchandise at: https://www.theparacast.shop/, and check out our new YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOfficialParacastChannel
A Few Sort of UFO Odds and Ends
By Gene Steinberg
Some might wonder why I stuck it out in the UFO field for so long. I mean, it’s not that I haven’t stepped away a time or two. But there is something real special about the greatest mystery of our time, so I keep on keeping on.
If, as many people believe, we are being visited by beings from another world, it could change everything, or almost everything.
Consider our current situation: We are immersed in yet another tribal war. A worldwide pandemic may have abated in some countries, but it persists in others. Add to that climate change, inflation, rising crime and other problems, and it’s fair to suggest this planet is messed up big time.
Yet some people who claim to have been in contact with so-called advanced or higher beings assert they are here to help us resolve our problems. Unfortunately, they never seem to accomplish much of anything. We already know we should give peace a chance, but far too many people aren’t listening.
In the old days, the UFO field was essentially divided into two distinct camps. There were the serious or “scientific” researchers, who looked for evidence of what UFOs really were. And, of course, there were the contactees.
Although some of the serious researchers would devote time to debunking the contactees chapter and verse, others would just ignore them. If they were asked about those claims, they’d just chalk it up to some crazy or deluded people falling for hoaxes.
Over the years, it did seem as if these two factions came closer together. So I recall the 1960s, when Jim Moseley of Saucer News and Saucer Smear fame would conduct monthly meetings at a conference room in mid-town Manhattan. It wasn’t a four star hotel, but there were mostly acceptable alternatives that provided affordable surroundings.
At first, those who lectured were primarily the serious folk, but as he needed to fill lecture slots, some of the less-reliable UFO figures from the New York area and elsewhere came on.
I recall a visit from Alexander McNeil, a contactee whose most distinctive aspect was his height. He was around seven feet tall, but his story was no more reliable or consistent than any of his more famous fellow travelers.
At another time, “Dr.” Frank Stranges, author of a curious book, “Stranger at the Pentagon,” was a guest. He spoke of an alleged extraterrestrial being named Valiant Thor. Stranges claimed that he had appeared in public on some occasions, including at United Nations headquarters.
I don’t recall much about the story. If I read the book at all, it was in fits and starts.
What I do remember is that Stranges had apparently broken his leg some time before the lecture, and arrived with crutches. I talked to him a bit, and he seemed reasonably normal and friendly. The details of his encounter with that stranger were couched in mystery, with the usual suggestions of possible government plots to conceal the truth.
I won’t get into the questions about Stranges’ Ph.D., or whether it really came from a diploma mill. At least he evidently had a piece of paper to show something, whereas some people in the field simply claim to have educational credentials without producing even questionable diplomas to back them up.
By far the strangest contactee was probably Albert K. Bender. Yes, that Albert K. Bender!
Originally he was one of the originators of the Men In Black legend, by dint of his starring role in Gray Barker’s 1956 book, “They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers.”
For a number of years, it was assumed that Bender had been harassed by government operatives on a mission to hide the truth about UFOs. Others came forth with similar claims, and the belief that there was a truth to hide only grew.
As for Bender, he finally agreed to reveal the fine details of what happened to him, which appeared in his 1962 book, “Flying Saucers and the Three Men.” It bore the distinctive touch of being heavily edited by Barker, the publisher.
But the “real” story wasn’t about government operatives or their conspiracy to hide the truth about the flying discs. Instead, it was a curious contactee yarn, with Bender asserting that the three men who encountered were really space beings from a planet known as Kazik (with the “z” silent for some reason).
Bender gave a lecture before Moseley’s group shortly after his book appeared. He seemed personable enough, and he told his story quietly and with evident sincerity.
I don’t know what really happened to him, since nobody else was writing about meeting up with entities from Kazik at the time. Or ever — or at least I haven’t heard about it.
Bender eventually quit the UFO game and moved to California, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He was probably right to get out of the rat race.
However, the MIB became the stuff of legend over the years, and eventually turned up some graphic comic books, written by one Lowell Cunningham, which were first published in 1990.
The tale was about a super secret agency charged with managing and investigating paranormal activities, primarily visits by alien beings.
It also became the source material for a series of movies, starting with “Men In Black,” released in 1997, which starred Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as members of the team. After two sequels, the concept was reborn in 2019, with the release of the less-successful “Men In Black International,” starring Thor actor Chris Hemsworth.
Alas, neither Bender nor Barker were actually able to cash in on the success of these movies. The same is true about author John Keel, who finally received a decent payday for “Mothman Prophecies.”
Cunningham, by adapting the MIB myth from the UFO field, did receive payments described by some as in the low six figures.
Interesting stuff about the UFO culture. But, as you may have gathered, none of it moves us any closer to solving a genuine mystery.
Yet even with its questionable beginnings, we are still talking about MIB in Ufology. People still claim to have been visited by possible government agents, some of whom indeed wore black suits and motored around in black Cadillacs.
Real? People mistaking real government agents for the fanciful ones? Are some just making it all up? Are others running around harassing innocent people for their own benefit?
Do inquiring minds really want to know? I’ll leave it to you to decide.
Copyright 1999-2022 The Paracast Company. All Rights Reserved.
