Profile of John A. Keel on Famous Like Me

John A. Keel (born March 25, 1930) is a ufologist, parapsychologist and journalist currently residing in New York, USA.

John Keel is arguably one of the most widely read, and influential ufologists since the early 1970s. Although his own thoughts about UFOs and associated paranormal anomalous phenomena have gradually evolved since the mid 1960s, Keel remains one of Ufology's most original researchers. It was Keel's second book, UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse (1970), that alerted the general public to the fact that many aspects of contemporary UFO reports, including humanoid encounters, often paralleled certain ancient folklore and religious encounters. Moreover, Keel argues that there is a direct relationship between UFOs and psychic phenomena/demonology.

Influenced by writers such as Charles Fort, Ivan Sanderson, and Aimé Michel, in early 1966, John Keel commenced a full-time investigation of UFOs and paranormal phenomena. Over a four year period, Keel interviewed thousands of people in over twenty states. More than 2,000 books were reviewed in the course of this investigation, in addition to thousands of magazines, newsletters, and newspapers. Keel also subscribed to several newspaper-clipping services, which often generated up to 150 clippings for a single day during the 1966/67 flap years.

Like fellow 1960s researchers such as Dr. J. Allen Hynek, and Dr. Jacques Vallee, Keel was initially hopeful that he could somehow validate the popular extraterrestrial visitation hypothesis. However, after one year of investigations, Keel realised that the extraterrestrial hypothesis was untenable. Indeed, both Hynek and Vallee eventually arrived at a similar conclusion.

As Keel himself wrote, "I abandoned the extraterrestrial hypothesis in 1967 when my own field investigations disclosed an astonishing overlap between psychic phenomena and UFOs ... The objects and apparitions do not necessarily originate on another planet and may not even exist as permanent constructions of matter. It is more likely that we see what we want to see and interpret such visions according to our contemporary beliefs."

Keel argues that a non-human (spiritual) intelligence source has staged whole events over a long period of time in order to propagate and reinforce certain erroneous belief systems. For example, the fairy faith in Middle Europe, vampire legends, mystery airships in 1897, mystery aeroplanes of the 1930's, mystery helicopters, anomalous creature sightings, poltergeist phenomena, balls of light, and UFOs. But ultimately all of these anomalies are nothing but a cover for the real phenomenon.

John Keel's book The Mothman Prophecies detailed his 1967 investigation of sightings of the so-called Mothman—a strange winged creature with luminous eyes—reported in and around Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The book was loosely adapted into a movie, starring Richard Gere.

Many of Keel's books are out-of-print, and sometimes sell for rather high prices among collectors. Keel’s books were originally issued in paperback, and often sold very well, usually going through several printings.

Despite his popular public appeal, Keel's works have received relatively little recognition from academics and mainstream ufologists. There have been a few exceptions: Jerome Clark suggests Keel is one of the most influential UFO writers. Keel’s work also earned a brief mention in David J. Hufford’s groundbreaking The Terror That Comes In The Night, a classic 1982 study of sleep paralysis among different cultures. Hufford notes that Keel’s 1970 work,Strange Creatures From Time and Space featured a chapter called "The Bedroom Invaders", which noted similarities between some UFO reports and sleep paralysis; Keel argues that these visitors may be "unreal visions" (Hufford, 233).

Bibliography

• Jadoo (1957)
• UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse (1970)
• Strange Creatures From Time and Space (1970)
• Our Haunted Planet (1971)
• The Flying Saucer Subculture (1973)
• The Mothman Prophecies, by John Keel, Saturday Review Press, 1975 and Tor Books, (paperback) 2002 ISBN 0765341972
• The Eighth Tower (1975)
• Disneyland of the Gods (1988)
• The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings (1994) - Revised Version of Strange Creatures from Time and Space

Sources

• David J. Hufford; The Terror That Comes in the Night: An Experience-Centered Study of Supernatural Assault Traditions; University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982; ISBN 0812278518

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