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Walton’s Alien Abduction Lie Detector Test 51

Travis Walton’s Alien

Abduction Lie Detection

Test

A Moment of Truth (or not) for
the most famous
UFO abduction case in history

by Michael Shermer

Because I have a teenage daughter I am
relatively current on what’s popular in pop
culture. American Idol is the ne plus ultra in the
reality television genre (don’t let yourself get
hooked), and because Fox incestuously
promotes its other shows I was vaguely familiar
with The Moment of Truth, a game show in
which contestants have to tell the truth under the
watchful wires of a lie detector in order to win the aliens abduct the other one as well. does this mean? To be fair and balanced (!),
cash prizes. Contestants are put through a Coincidentally (not!), two weeks before possibly nothing, because the polygraph test is
battery of questions while hooked up to the Walton’s abduction, with the logging deadline unreliable. In fact, I even thoroughly debunked
polygraph, but are not told whether the examiner growing near, NBC aired their prime-time it myself in a two-part special for the Fox
determined from the readings whether or not made-for-television movie The UFO Incident, Family channel (watch Part 1 and Part 2 on
they told the truth. Later, in front of millions of about the 1961 Betty and Barney Hill abduction YouTube).
viewers and a live studio audience, with their case. Given the shortcomings of both reality
friends, co-workers, family, spouses, or In the considered opinion of the late television and the polygraph, I wrote to Travis
boyfriends and girlfriends (or ex’s) sitting on the aviation journalist Philip Klass, in his 1988 book and asked him for his account of his experience
set with them, they are asked the same questions UFO-Abductions (Prometheus Books), Walton on Moment of Truth. I had met Walton once
again. After each answer a female voice says and his buddies just made up the story as an before at my office in Altadena, California,
“That answer is…” and after a long pause a excuse to account for their pending job where we filmed a segment for a television
“true” means the contestant continues up the incompletion. In his investigation of the case, special on UFOs. I found him to be an
ladder to $25,000, $100,000, $200,000 all the Klass discovered that during the five days that exceptionally likeable man, a nice guy, and I
way to half a million bucks. A “false” sends you Walton was missing none of his family or co- found his account of this television show to be
packing for home. workers showed any concern whatsoever for his most illuminating. As he wrote me on August
One night a woman was faced with her safety during several interviews by media and 21, 2009:
husband and ex-boyfriend and was asked if she interrogations by law enforcement agents. His I normally would not have ever agreed
wished she had married the other guy. “Yes,” she brother Duane confessed: “He’s not even to be on such a show. After my fellow crewmen
said. “That answer is…true,” sounded the voice. missing. He knows where he’s at, and I know and I passed polygraph tests from the Arizona
She won the money but lost the husband. I where he’s at.” state police polygraph examiner I wrote in my
remember thinking to myself, “you’d have to be Although Walton passed a polygraph book that I was done addressing that aspect of it.
a real pinhead to go on this show.” test arranged by a UFO organization, Klass There the matter rested until last year when I
On July 31, 2008, I appeared on The learned that Walton dictated to the examiner received the bad news from my employer of 11
Moment of Truth (watch Part 1 on YouTube. I what questions would be asked. Further years that over a hundred of those most recently
appear at about 7 min. 35 secs. in Part 2.) The investigation by Klass led him to an earlier hired (which included me) would be
contestant was Travis Walton, arguably the most unpublished polygraph test of Walton, permanently laid off. Coincidentally I came
famous alien abductee in Earth history. I agreed conducted by Jack McCarthy, one of the top home that day to receive a phone call from The
to appear only if there were no sexual allusions polygraph examiners in Arizona. McCarthy Moment of Truth inviting me to be a contestant
(alien probes aside). My question for Mr. gave Klass his assessment of Walton’s story: with the possibility of winning up to $100,000.
Walton: “Do you have any evidence to support “Gross deception!” He added that Walton I’m no fool. I knew that the show’s public
your claim of being abducted?” Of course he employed polygraph countermeasures, such as lure was to familiarize the audience with the
answered in the affirmative, because for three holding his breath. contestant’s friends& family and then shockingly
decades Travis Walton has been telling people Now, many years later, Walton was once disgrace him with a key “failed” question. I
that on the evening of November 5, 1975, he again in the polygraph hot seat. His affirmative wrote to several friends about my misgivings.
was “zapped” into a UFO while working as a answer to my question passed the truth test, The examiner was their man, with a vested
logger in an Arizona National Forest. His because of course Walton believes he has interest in giving his employer the scandalous
evidence? His co-workers said they saw it evidence in the form of his friends’ Jerry Springer type “entertainment” that has
happen. Five days later Walton called from a corroborative story. The next question, for been the show’s stock in trade — to say nothing
nearby payphone to report that the aliens had let $100,000, was refreshingly straight-forward: of saving them from awarding any prize money.
him go. “Were you abducted by a UFO on November 5, I was made even more uneasy to learn that up to
And none too soon, because Walton and 1975.” Without hesitation he barked “Yes.” The then very few had won much of anything. The
his co-workers were about to miss their deadline voice in the sky once again boomed: “That outrageous demands set down in their contract
of November 10th to finish the logging job, after answer is…” was the clincher. I declined their offer.
which they would be docked 10 percent of the “False.” I couldn’t believe it. Neither But they persisted, modifying the
contract, unless an “Act of God” prevented could Walton, whose jaw dropped faster than a standard contract to satisfy my objections. They
completion. Enter the UFO. Why aliens? For crashed flying saucer. At last, after a bestselling said the rules were being changed to insure
years Travis and his older brother Duane had book and popular film about his abduction, Fire more prizes would be awarded.
talked about the UFOs that they had seen in in the Sky, after countless UFO conferences and
Arizona, and they even made a pact that if either media appearances, it took a Fox reality
one were ever abducted they would insist that television show to bring the case to a head. What (Continued on Page 52)