The Andreasson Affair (27 page)

Looking back on the incident, it would seem that Betty experienced the same weightlessness that our own astronauts did. She seems to have been artificially held down, except when the aliens floated her at will from one position to another. The heavy feeling that she felt while on the UFO may have been an induced localized gravitational force that counteracted the weightlessness—or a byproduct of extreme acceleration. A similar applied force probably kept her upright on the black track transportation system.

Even the small globes carried by the aliens may not be entirely unprecedented in the annals of UFO history. Early in 1967, NICAP received a startling report from a gentleman who refused to give his name and address. Although this case could not be properly investigated, it nonetheless bears a striking similarity to this aspect of the Andreasson Affair.

On the evening of February 5, 1967 (interestingly enough, only 11 days after Betty's experience), a young man in Hilliard, Ohio, said he heard a “strange noise” and a dog barking. Looking up, he saw a UFO 75 feet long and about 75 feet high come in low over a road shoulder. The object, he said, landed on three legs in a field, and “beings” emerged. They were carrying
small circular balls
, which they placed on the ground around the sides of the ship. Then the witness stepped on a twig that snapped, which immediately caught the attention of the “beings.” Their leader ran after the observer who, badly frightened, attempted to run. However, the creature caught him by the back of the neck, immediately leaving a burned wound that, according to the witness, was later confirmed by unnamed Air Force officers investigating the incident. He said still another of the creatures
approached, and both dragged him back to the saucer. As they got almost to the door of the craft, the humanoids looked at each other as if panic-stricken. They dropped the scared witness, gathered up the balls, and took off in the UFO.
²⁰

Thus, there are a number of interesting parallels between the Andreasson Affair and other CE-IV reports on record. There seem to be too many such similarities, cast in a logical structure within her account, to dismiss them all as products of cryptoamnesia, a term that refers to the mind's ability to record and subconsciously store all sorts of data from daily experience. Information culled from books, magazines, newspapers, radio, TV, recordings, and conversations all contributes to our subconscious memory bank.

This, of course, could include data on other UFO cases. In fact, Betty admitted having read books and articles on UFOs following her 1967 experience, and her initial letter to Dr. Hynek reflected theories and ideas obviously gleaned from a reading of uncritical UFO literature. Yet some of the subtle details she related—though
extremely
uncommon—
do
correlate with other unpublished UFO cases we have investigated. (These particular characteristics must remain confidential so as not to compromise our investigations into future cases.)

How could Betty's subconscious have “remembered” details from cases that have not yet been printed? If we grant that
some
other reported UFO experiences are grounded in reality, these common and not-so-common characteristics of
other
UFO reports add support for the authenticity of Betty Andreasson's report. I personally found it very hard not to accept that the Andreasson family had a bona fide UFO experience.

In retrospect, the Andreasson Affair can be divided into five segments:

Segment 1:
The flashing lights and power failure were experienced and consciously remembered by Betty and Becky Andreasson, and Waino and Eva Aho. The younger children did not remember anything.

Segment 2:
Alien entities were observed by Betty and Becky Andreasson, and Waino Aho.

Segment 3:
Betty alone experienced the UFO episode.

Segment 4:
Betty alone experienced a visit to an alien realm.

Segment 5:
Betty alone experienced the return to her home.

Because segments 1 and 2 were witnessed by more than one person, they logically receive higher credibility ratings than segments 3 through 5, which essentially involved Betty alone.

The controversial segment 4, during which Betty saw the huge bird, presented the greatest dilemma to the field investigators, the hypnotist, and the psychiatrist. Where
was
Betty taken? Were the red and green areas part of an underground colony on earth, on the moon, or on one of our neighboring planets? Was the alien colony located within a hollowed-out asteroid, or did Betty visit a vast artificial mother ship? Did Betty leave our solar system entirely, via an acceleration and technology entirely beyond our ken? These and many other questions remain unanswered. And because of its uniqueness within UFO literature and its strong religious overtones, the Phoenix episode was difficult to accept as a
physical
experience.

Segment 4 seemed just as real to Betty as the other segments, but because of the high degree of strangeness associated with it, one does tend to want to disassociate it from the rest of the report. Regarding the bird and the voice, our attitudes varied: This segment was a nonrelated vision instigated by Betty's own religious beliefs; this episode was a programmed vision induced by the entities; it could have been a staged, symbolic (yet physical) initiation rite as described by Betty; it was a deliberate deception on the part of the aliens to make human beings believe in a UFO/religion connection. And lastly, perhaps there was a possible link between UFOs and religion. In any case, the Phoenix episode remains a puzzle.

If taken at face value, however, the other segments of the Andreasson Affair are incredible enough, in both their content and their implications. If we accept Betty and Becky's account as true, then an actual alien craft landed or appeared in the Andreassons' backyard. The strange craft contained aliens of unknown origin. Their paranormal powers indicate that no one is exempt from a CE-IV.

It is especially unnerving to realize that the glasslike chairs in the half-cylinder room were shaped to the stature of a
human
body. The tubes connected to Betty's nostrils and mouth were designed for air-breathing persons. The entire operation seems to have been tailored for human beings!

Indeed, according to Quazgaa, Betty is just one of many persons who have undergone such an experience. And before bringing this comparative analysis to an end, we must turn to one of the most striking similarities discovered during our investigation of the Andreasson Affair. It has to do with the needle and possibly implanted BB-like object in Betty's nose.

Other cases seem to have parallels to Betty's experience of having a needle inserted into her nose—for example, the Lehi, Utah, case mentioned earlier. When Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) hypnosis consultant Dr. Harder asked the abductee, “Where was the needle?” she replied, “I could see it coming toward me…to the front of me.” Dr. Harder tried unsuccessfully to break through an apparent mental block instilled by the entities that prevented any further details about the needles. APRO consultant Dr. Leo Sprinkle was more successful concerning a case at Fargo, North Dakota. Under hypnosis, the abductee, Mrs. Sandra Larson, described a portion of the physical examination administered to her by the aliens: “It was like somebody took a knife and made the inside of my nose sore.” Because her eyes were closed during the examination, she could describe only what she was feeling. When asked to describe the instrument being used, she continued by saying that it felt like a “little knife” placed in her nose.
¹

One of our most provocative questions concerns the BB-like object at the end of the needlelike probe that was apparently
removed
from Betty's nose. How did it get there? What was its purpose? The answer to this puzzle may very well be connected with the following case. It is of high significance for comparison purposes, because it has not been published
outside of a certain circle of investigators who specialize in the study of UFO occupant reports.

To the best of my knowledge, it is the only other report on record describing this particular procedure. The following is quoted from the investigators' report on this fascinating case. (The witnesses' and investigators' names are on file, but must be kept confidential at this time.)

Witness:
And they released this little tiny thing, like a buckshot.

Investigator:
What did they release it from?

Witness:
From the needle.

Investigator:
What was the needle like?

Witness:
It was sort of like a long needle that was sticking in my side.

Investigator:
Was it a hollow needle, and then ejected through the hollow needle, or attached to the—

Witness:
I didn't see the needle [
i.e., when the tiny device was released
]. They had my arm up over my head, like that, so I couldn't see what they were doing here. And then they said, “I hope your body doesn't reject it. With this implant we're putting in there is going to come better communications and power, and we hope your body doesn't reject it. If it doesn't reject it, we'll activate it in, uh, three or four weeks.” And then they turned me over on my back and said, “Now you're going to sleep.”

Was this object Betty described, then, an implant? And how did it get there in the first place? The answer seems couched in an astounding revelation by Betty during our last hypnotic session.

At one time, Betty's captors had mentioned to her where they had come from. But Betty couldn't pronounce it. We attempted to obtain the phonetic pronunciation of their place of origin.

Fred:
In one of the previous sessions, you told us a little bit about a place where the beings came from. You had trouble spelling or saying it. Would you try once again to recall that?

Betty:
It's a Z…[
Pause
] some S's and a P in it.

Fred:
Are there more than four letters in that?

Betty:
There's a lot more than that, yes.

Fred:
Do you recall it well enough to spell the whole word?

Betty:
I don't know. They talk it funny.

Fred:
Can you say it the way they talk it?

Betty:
No.

Fred:
Mimic it?

Betty:
Uh, mimic it. Let's see—um…[
Attempts to pronounce it without success, sighs
] I can't do it.

Fred:
All right. Where did you get the information?

Betty:
He told me it.

Fred:
Who told you?

Betty:
The beings told me it.

Fred:
Do you know which one told you?

Betty:
[
Sighs
] There are so many of them.

Fred:
Was it one that you've told us about?

Betty:
No.

Fred:
Then when did you get the information?

Betty:
When I was there.

Fred:
When you were
there?

Betty:
Yes.

Fred:
How long ago was that?

Betty:
A long time ago.

Betty's answer caused quite a stir in the room. It came as a complete surprise, although we should have expected it when she had described the removal of the object through her nose.

Fred:
You mean in 1967? Is that when you got the information? [
25-second pause
] Was it before 1967, Betty?

Betty:
Yes.

Jules:
It was! Do you remember how long before 1967? [
25-second pause
] Can you tell us any more about it? Maybe you can't remember the date, but can you tell us any more about that?

Betty:
No.

Fred:
How do you know that that is the place where the beings come from?

Betty:
That is where they come from.

Fred:
I didn't hear you. Did you say that
is
where they come from?

Betty:
Yes.

Fred:
Why do you—how do you know that? Why do you know that is where they come from? Because they told you?

Betty:
Yes, they told me.
And I was there
.

Joseph:
You went to the place where they came from?

Betty:
Yes.

Joseph:
Did you see other ships still there?

Betty:
Yes, there's other ships there. They live in a gray atmosphere, hazy all the time.

Fred:
Can you recall anything about the occasion?

Betty:
Seems very gray and dark.

Fred:
How old were you at the time that this happened?

At that point Betty became very upset.

Jules:
What are you upset about, Betty?

Betty:
I don't like this place. It's so dark and gray.

Joseph:
Which place? Are you back there now?

Betty:
Yes.

Fred:
You don't know how old you are?

Betty:
No.

Fred:
Was it before 1967?

Betty:
Yes.

Joseph:
Are you frightened of the place?

Betty:
Yes.

Fred:
Would you like to leave that place?