THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
February 9, 2014
The Gulf Breeze UFO Flap and Other Cases Explored on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 2:00 AM until 5:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Important — Please Read! In a separate email, Paracast host Gene Steinberg has made a personal appeal for emergency financial assistance. Please check that message for further details. If you’re able to assist, please note that we have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. There's also a Donate link on our forums, at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. Or just send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com. We can also accept Bitcoin, and we offer a donation link for that, too, on our site.
Attention U.S. Listeners: Help Us Bring The Paracast to Your City! In the summer of 2010, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. But we need your help to add additional affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact on your behalf. We can't do this alone, and if you succeed in convincing your local station to carry the show, we'll reward you with one of our special T-shirts, and other goodies. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
Please Visit Our Online Store: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and an expanded collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt now featuring our brand new logo, just pay a visit to our online store at The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We also offer a complete lineup of other premium merchandise for your family, your friends and your business contacts.
About The Paracast: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host and acclaimed field investigator Christopher O'Brien, and a panel of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present veteran UFO investigator and photographic expert Dr. Bruce Maccabee. The controversial Gulf Breeze UFO flap of the 1980s and 1990s is one of the main topics on the agenda, but we'll be covering his other work in the field that focuses mainly on UFO photos and accompanying evidence.
Chris O'Brien's Site: http://www.ourstrangeplanet.com
Dr. Bruce Maccabee’s Site: http://brumac.8k.com/
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. We recently completed a major update that makes our community easier to navigate, and social network friendly.
Sponsored Message: Don’t get ripped off when you need to liquidate your precious jewelry and silverware. Call Steve at Numis Gems at (480) 878-7678 and get the straight scoop!
Back to the Past
By Gene Steinberg
In recording a segment with scientist and long-time UFO researcher Dr. Bruce Maccabee for this week’s episode of The Paracast, he spoke at great length about his extensive study of the Gulf Breeze, Florida UFO flap, which mostly occurred during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The key figure in that wave of UFO sightings was a fellow who got the nickname “Mr. Ed,” but not because of the fabled TV horse of the same name. Later it was revealed that Mr. Ed was Ed Walters, a local builder, who somehow managed to see and photograph more than his share of unusual objects.
Now Walters was nothing if not controversial, particularly when some questionable elements in his background were revealed. So as the result of a youthful indiscretion, Walters spent time in prison for check fraud. Years later, he allegedly took ghost photos that were based on double exposures to entertain his teenaged children. It was all in the spirit of good fun, but it’s understandable that his subsequent UFO photos were questioned.
I actually interviewed Walters at one time for the paranormal magazine that my former wife, Geneva, and I edited, “Caveat Emptor.” Prior to that, however, the Spring 1989 issue contained a lengthy study of the case from none other than the late Jim Moseley, of “Saucer Smear” fame, entitled “I Go To See Mr. Ed.”
Jim’s conclusions at the time were quite even-handed. He wrote, “Whatever the ultimate truth behind all this may be, until this case is finally resolved, Mr. Ed surely deserves the benefit of the doubt.”
My interview with Walters was relatively informative, and I didn’t feel, at the time, that he was somehow being deceptive. His presentation was even-handed, sincere, but with no outward expressions of emotion despite the potentially frightening nature of his experiences.
Later on, a small model of a flying saucer was discovered in the attic of one of his former homes, and that certainly added to the questions about Walters’ veracity. But he denied any connection to the model and continued to insist his photos were genuine.
In later years, Jim’s skepticism of the case only increased, and this development was possibly one factor.
On the other hand, Dr. Maccabee is, to this day, clearly convinced that Walters had genuine experiences, and goes into great lengths on the episode to explain why. I won’t prejudge him, and you have to consider the fact that, as an optical physicist who worked for the U.S. Navy, Dr. Maccabee has the expertise to make an informed analysis.
True, that model spaceship is troubling. But since Walters had become a public figure because of his UFO experiences, I suppose it is possible some prankster actually planted the item in that attic in order to advance an agenda.
It’s also true that Walters, unlike many UFO witnesses, managed to cash in on his experiences. His first book, co-authored with his wife Frances, “The Gulf Breeze Sightings,” was, as I recall, a best-seller. The follow-up, “UFO Abductions in Gulf Breeze,” offered more extensive coverage of his reported close and personal encounters with possible alien beings.
But whenever you begin to feel skeptical about Walters, there is yet another troubling fact, which is that others in Gulf Breeze saw UFOs too. Maybe not as often as Walters, but you have the stretch the facts real far to assume they were all fakes even if the original witness was ultimately discredited.
From the Wikipedia entry on the Gulf Breeze case: “According to ufocasebook.com, an estimated 200+ others came forward with sightings, videos and/or photographs during a three-year period. On December 2, 2010, the Syfy series ‘Fact or Faked’ investigated another UFO video shot in 2009, where the object in the video is similar to the one(s) Ed Walters caught on camera.”
There is reason to wonder, though, why such individuals as Ed Walters are “lucky” enough to experience frequent UFO encounters.
After examining a number of his photos, and considering the possibility that one or more involved a model suspended before the camera, Dr. Maccabee concludes: “…for this reason and the other reasons I have listed I reject the suspended model hypothesis. Since the double exposure and glass reflection hypotheses have already been rejected, and since the UFO cannot be a cluster of balloons, I conclude that the UFO is unexplainable as conventional phenomena.”
You can find more of Dr. Maccabee’s extensive work on the case at his site, http://brumac.8k.com. You'll want to concentrate particularly on his photo analyses of various cases, including Gulf Breeze, because they are extensive and create strong impressions that genuinely unknown objects were involved.
As for me, I do consider these events to be endlessly fascinating despite my lingering doubts about Walters. There is certainly nothing wrong with writing a book about one’s unusual experiences, and the chances that it will be a best seller are, at best, a crap shoot. The fact is that very few UFO books have earned that distinction. Even some of the best titles on that subject rarely sell more than a few thousand copies, which means a bare-bones payment to the authors.
So consider Walters lucky, or unlucky if you look at his UFO experiences as frightening and certainly unwanted. I know that if I believed I had been abducted by aliens, I would immediately get in touch with an accredited mental health therapist to find out exactly what was going on.
You see, I’d probably conclude I was going crazy, since I don’t have a lifetime of UFO encounters. I’d say it’s barely one if you include that brief sighting of a rapidly moving light in the 1960s. Or maybe…
You see, I do remember those awful dreams, when I was a child, living in an apartment with my parents and my brother, Wally, in Brooklyn, NY. Those nightmares involved, in part, the presence of a large black object coming towards me at a rapid speed. After a few years, the dreams left.
There was one more thing: I remember once creating a clay model, some sort of serpentine creature with a large head and a long tail. Despite the protests of my parents, I insisted that the creature be placed on the wall for a week or two, after which I removed it.
It was no doubt some sort of attempt to create artwork with a sci-fi angle. I also used to draw spaceships in elementary school, though I don’t recall if my teachers ever reacted to my side pursuits. But I still maintain that none of this signifies any sort of paranormal encounter, so there you go. And I remain on the fence, still, about Mr. Ed Walters.
Copyright 1999-2014 Making The Impossible, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
February 9, 2014
The Gulf Breeze UFO Flap and Other Cases Explored on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 2:00 AM until 5:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Important — Please Read! In a separate email, Paracast host Gene Steinberg has made a personal appeal for emergency financial assistance. Please check that message for further details. If you’re able to assist, please note that we have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. There's also a Donate link on our forums, at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. Or just send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com. We can also accept Bitcoin, and we offer a donation link for that, too, on our site.
Attention U.S. Listeners: Help Us Bring The Paracast to Your City! In the summer of 2010, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. But we need your help to add additional affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact on your behalf. We can't do this alone, and if you succeed in convincing your local station to carry the show, we'll reward you with one of our special T-shirts, and other goodies. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
Please Visit Our Online Store: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and an expanded collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt now featuring our brand new logo, just pay a visit to our online store at The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We also offer a complete lineup of other premium merchandise for your family, your friends and your business contacts.
About The Paracast: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host and acclaimed field investigator Christopher O'Brien, and a panel of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present veteran UFO investigator and photographic expert Dr. Bruce Maccabee. The controversial Gulf Breeze UFO flap of the 1980s and 1990s is one of the main topics on the agenda, but we'll be covering his other work in the field that focuses mainly on UFO photos and accompanying evidence.
Chris O'Brien's Site: http://www.ourstrangeplanet.com
Dr. Bruce Maccabee’s Site: http://brumac.8k.com/
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. We recently completed a major update that makes our community easier to navigate, and social network friendly.
Sponsored Message: Don’t get ripped off when you need to liquidate your precious jewelry and silverware. Call Steve at Numis Gems at (480) 878-7678 and get the straight scoop!
Back to the Past
By Gene Steinberg
In recording a segment with scientist and long-time UFO researcher Dr. Bruce Maccabee for this week’s episode of The Paracast, he spoke at great length about his extensive study of the Gulf Breeze, Florida UFO flap, which mostly occurred during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The key figure in that wave of UFO sightings was a fellow who got the nickname “Mr. Ed,” but not because of the fabled TV horse of the same name. Later it was revealed that Mr. Ed was Ed Walters, a local builder, who somehow managed to see and photograph more than his share of unusual objects.
Now Walters was nothing if not controversial, particularly when some questionable elements in his background were revealed. So as the result of a youthful indiscretion, Walters spent time in prison for check fraud. Years later, he allegedly took ghost photos that were based on double exposures to entertain his teenaged children. It was all in the spirit of good fun, but it’s understandable that his subsequent UFO photos were questioned.
I actually interviewed Walters at one time for the paranormal magazine that my former wife, Geneva, and I edited, “Caveat Emptor.” Prior to that, however, the Spring 1989 issue contained a lengthy study of the case from none other than the late Jim Moseley, of “Saucer Smear” fame, entitled “I Go To See Mr. Ed.”
Jim’s conclusions at the time were quite even-handed. He wrote, “Whatever the ultimate truth behind all this may be, until this case is finally resolved, Mr. Ed surely deserves the benefit of the doubt.”
My interview with Walters was relatively informative, and I didn’t feel, at the time, that he was somehow being deceptive. His presentation was even-handed, sincere, but with no outward expressions of emotion despite the potentially frightening nature of his experiences.
Later on, a small model of a flying saucer was discovered in the attic of one of his former homes, and that certainly added to the questions about Walters’ veracity. But he denied any connection to the model and continued to insist his photos were genuine.
In later years, Jim’s skepticism of the case only increased, and this development was possibly one factor.
On the other hand, Dr. Maccabee is, to this day, clearly convinced that Walters had genuine experiences, and goes into great lengths on the episode to explain why. I won’t prejudge him, and you have to consider the fact that, as an optical physicist who worked for the U.S. Navy, Dr. Maccabee has the expertise to make an informed analysis.
True, that model spaceship is troubling. But since Walters had become a public figure because of his UFO experiences, I suppose it is possible some prankster actually planted the item in that attic in order to advance an agenda.
It’s also true that Walters, unlike many UFO witnesses, managed to cash in on his experiences. His first book, co-authored with his wife Frances, “The Gulf Breeze Sightings,” was, as I recall, a best-seller. The follow-up, “UFO Abductions in Gulf Breeze,” offered more extensive coverage of his reported close and personal encounters with possible alien beings.
But whenever you begin to feel skeptical about Walters, there is yet another troubling fact, which is that others in Gulf Breeze saw UFOs too. Maybe not as often as Walters, but you have the stretch the facts real far to assume they were all fakes even if the original witness was ultimately discredited.
From the Wikipedia entry on the Gulf Breeze case: “According to ufocasebook.com, an estimated 200+ others came forward with sightings, videos and/or photographs during a three-year period. On December 2, 2010, the Syfy series ‘Fact or Faked’ investigated another UFO video shot in 2009, where the object in the video is similar to the one(s) Ed Walters caught on camera.”
There is reason to wonder, though, why such individuals as Ed Walters are “lucky” enough to experience frequent UFO encounters.
After examining a number of his photos, and considering the possibility that one or more involved a model suspended before the camera, Dr. Maccabee concludes: “…for this reason and the other reasons I have listed I reject the suspended model hypothesis. Since the double exposure and glass reflection hypotheses have already been rejected, and since the UFO cannot be a cluster of balloons, I conclude that the UFO is unexplainable as conventional phenomena.”
You can find more of Dr. Maccabee’s extensive work on the case at his site, http://brumac.8k.com. You'll want to concentrate particularly on his photo analyses of various cases, including Gulf Breeze, because they are extensive and create strong impressions that genuinely unknown objects were involved.
As for me, I do consider these events to be endlessly fascinating despite my lingering doubts about Walters. There is certainly nothing wrong with writing a book about one’s unusual experiences, and the chances that it will be a best seller are, at best, a crap shoot. The fact is that very few UFO books have earned that distinction. Even some of the best titles on that subject rarely sell more than a few thousand copies, which means a bare-bones payment to the authors.
So consider Walters lucky, or unlucky if you look at his UFO experiences as frightening and certainly unwanted. I know that if I believed I had been abducted by aliens, I would immediately get in touch with an accredited mental health therapist to find out exactly what was going on.
You see, I’d probably conclude I was going crazy, since I don’t have a lifetime of UFO encounters. I’d say it’s barely one if you include that brief sighting of a rapidly moving light in the 1960s. Or maybe…
You see, I do remember those awful dreams, when I was a child, living in an apartment with my parents and my brother, Wally, in Brooklyn, NY. Those nightmares involved, in part, the presence of a large black object coming towards me at a rapid speed. After a few years, the dreams left.
There was one more thing: I remember once creating a clay model, some sort of serpentine creature with a large head and a long tail. Despite the protests of my parents, I insisted that the creature be placed on the wall for a week or two, after which I removed it.
It was no doubt some sort of attempt to create artwork with a sci-fi angle. I also used to draw spaceships in elementary school, though I don’t recall if my teachers ever reacted to my side pursuits. But I still maintain that none of this signifies any sort of paranormal encounter, so there you go. And I remain on the fence, still, about Mr. Ed Walters.
Copyright 1999-2014 Making The Impossible, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!