Okay, alien abduction really isn’t a joking matter. But it never ceases to amaze me how two people can share the same abduction experience, and come away with two completely different views of what happened.
A wonderful illustration is the Pascagoula, Mississippi Abduction case of pals Charley Hickson, now deceased, and Calvin Parker. The abductees were the subject of a recent newspaper story, since its the 40th anniversary of their famous UFO abduction. Now this is one of the most legendary abductions, from back in 1973, since it wasn’t all that common for folks to go public in those days with their alien experiences. These guys had apparently been levitated into a UFO one night while fishing. They were so freaked out by what happened that they made a report to the local sheriff, which leaked to the newspapers. And boy did it kick up a firestorm of publicity, attracting skeptics, debunkers and UFO enthusiasts from all over. The men stuck by their story, though, and both even passed polygraph tests.
I interviewed Calvin Parker years ago. He told me some things that he never revealed in TV or magazine interviews. He reported that he came off the space ship with a cut on his abdominal area and his jeans were covered with his own blood. Naturally, he was horrified. Like he told the reporter in a recent article, “This is something I really didn’t want to happen.” Calvin is clearly an abductee.
His buddy, Charley Hickson, had a completely different take on the experience. He comes off the craft, thinking these “crab-clawed creatures, out of a nightmare” are the greatest thing since…well, crab meat! He was like an alien ambassador, wanting to let everyone know that we are not alone, and that the aliens are peaceful. Charley was clearly a Contactee—someone who views their experiences as positive. In my opinion, this is a typical case of “Alien Stockholm Syndrome.” (Stockholm Syndrome is where kidnap victims become brainwashed and end up identifying with their abductors, such as in the famous Patty Hearst case.) I mean, what was he thinking about his young friend’s bloody jeans??
I also met Charley at a UFO conference in Laughlin, Nevada. I couldn’t help but point out the discrepancies between his story and that of Calvin’s. Suddenly, having his version of events challenged, calm Charley Hickson’s face went from strained, to angry, to red, to rage. He responded: “I don’t cae what happened to Calvin Paker. I know what happened to ME!” I suspect that he really didn’t. My colleague, the late Dr. Karla Turner, smiled and said to me, “I guess you hit a raw nerve about something he doesn’t want to remember.” I backed off, and let him drone on about what a great time he had with the aliens.
Two men, one event, two very different perspectives.
