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Classic Mysteries—Alternate Perceptions Magazine, November 2015


A Maine case of Alien Abduction type memories
Investigated and reported by Shirley C. Fickett

by: Brent Raynes


Back in 1982, my dear friend and colleague the late Shirley C. Fickett, shared with me an intriguing case of apparent “alien abduction” described to her by a young man named Ralph, who was 19 years of age at the time. Living then in Ellsworth, Maine, Shirley had placed an ad about UFOs in the “Bar Harbor Times,” in late February 1982, which Ralph had responded to.

Confidentiality had been requested regarding this matter, so I am not revealing his last name, but Ralph phoned Shirley and wanted to share with her an experience he had had three years earlier, when he was 16. It was sometime around June 6th to the 9th of 1979. He had a girlfriend who lived about a mile from his home. On this particular occasion, his parents wanted him to be sure and be home by 10 p.m. He explained to Shirley that he actually called about 10, but that he was a cross country runner and could be home in minutes.

About halfway home, Ralph claims that he noticed something on the sidewalk ahead. Thinking that it was some animal, perhaps a dog or raccoon, he veered out into the middle of the road to avoid it. While in the road he suddenly found himself bathed in a bright light shining down from above. Looking up, he observed a “craft,” appearing to be of an oblong shape, producing bright yellow light that hurt his eyes. In addition, as soon as the light had hit him, he described a “tingling sensation” and how it felt like pins sticking into his body. He also described how it was odd that despite it being a busy time of the year there, there were no cars around. He then found it hard to describe how the buildings around him began to appear. It was like there was a revolving light above as you see in dance halls, displaying various colors on the buildings, like red, blue, etc. Then things became very strange as Ralph explained that he began not to understand or comprehend what was going on around him. He next was aware of being up in the air, looking down at the whole town! He seemed to be lying on a table, on his back, yet could see no surrounding vehicle. The table seemed to be suspended up in the air. He couldn’t figure out if he was inside a vehicle of some sort or not.

Then Ralph said that he became aware of “shapes” around him. Then after awhile, he found himself once more back on the ground running home. He looked back and stated that three “shapes” were behind him, seemingly gliding along the ground. He said they were calling out to him, wanting him to come back, saying that they wouldn’t harm him.

Reaching the door of his house, he heard the last of them as one said “We’ll be back!” Entering the house and slamming the door, Ralph said he saw his two sisters, ages 3 and 4, sitting on the divan. They asked, “Who just said they’d be back?” An excited Ralph ran upstairs to his parents bedroom and excitedly told them what had happened. They had been asleep. By their clock, they discovered that he had an hour and a half that was unaccounted for!

Shirley asked Ralph to describe in greater detail the mysterious “shapes” that had been following and calling out to him. “Three hooded figures, sort of floating above the ground,” he said. “Their hoods were silver. Then all there was were spaces where the eyes should have been.” His father, who had spent 4 years in the Air Force, was a UFO believer and asked his son to do a drawing of what they looked like. He did and then soon afterwards his father brought him a UFO magazine that showed a very similar illustration.

Shirley asked Ralph about any unusual after effects from the incident, and he stated, “There were bright red spots (on) my legs, down through the groin, on one hand and on my stomach.” His eyes “watered up and still do,” bothering him when he drives a car at night and he encounters oncoming car lights.

Puzzled and frightened by the episode, Ralph’s parents took him to a psychiatrist. The doctor believed his story and suggested they should contact someone in the UFO field. Ralph’s father had seen the ad in the newspaper and had urged him to call her. Ralph told Shirley that it felt so good to be able to talk with someone who believed him.

Ralph said that he visited the psychiatrist once a week for about three months. The parents questioned him about the lost time. The doctor said he could do regression hypnosis, but felt that it was unnecessary.

Shirley pressed Ralph for more information. He claimed that he did feel that he had been examined and that there were three of them there at a time, looking down upon him. They did not identify themselves.

Shirley discovered that there had been a second incident. It had occurred sometime around June or July of 1981. Ralph claimed that it was around 2 a.m., and an aunt and uncle were with him at the time when suddenly “all around the house (it was) lit up like day.” The three went outside, but could see nothing as the cause. However, they did hear the roar of an engine that Ralph likened to the sound of an outboard motor running against the surf. He stated that when the sound died down, so did the light, and when the motor sound picked up the light around them brightened up as well. This phenomenon went on for the rest of the morning.

Shirley learned what sounded like an additional and significant detail too. It seemed that for about three weeks prior to this strange illumination and motor sound, that they had been “seeing people” outside the house, would go out to investigate, but then there wouldn’t be anyone there. The entire family had been witness to these glimpses of “people” outside. Their watch dog, a golden retriever, and the aunt and uncle’s sheep dog would periodically “go crazy” trying to get out at something, during times that the family were seeing things.

Shirley steered the conversation into dreams and paranormal areas of interest. Ralph admitted that he had had dreams that come true. Also it seemed that there was a family aunt that had brought up Ralph’s mother and was very close to the family. After moving into a new house the young man’s mother kept lamenting that she wished that the now deceased aunt could have seen their nice new house.

Ralph told Shirley that one night he awakened to observe his deceased aunt standing nearby in a flowing robe. She communicated with him, though not all was recalled except that she did convey that the house was lovely and she was glad that they were happy with it. He arose the following morning at 6 a.m. and told his mother of the experience before leaving for work.

That night after work, his mother related to Ralph that just after he had gone to work, his sister, then 7, had come down the stairs and told her that she had experienced the same thing of seeing the aunt. The younger girl had been more frightened than her older brother by this experience.

Shirley noted how Ralph kept mentioning the fact that with both the first and second incidents just described that he felt that it was odd how soundly his parents had slept. He said it was not like his mother, mentioning how she slept light when it came to the kids moving around the house, etc. It seems that the parents were also just as puzzled how they slept so soundly as well; especially with the second incident.


Friday, March 29, 2024