Page 13 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - Late January 2019

The Hills: A Study in Madness 13

Betty and Barney Hill: A Betty also later reproduced a star map Further, Barney's previous wife had won
she claimed was shown to her by the captain. custody of their children, and wasn't terribly
Study in Madness Marjorie Fish later analyzed it and claimed that enthusiastic about either Betty or Barney ever
all the little dots lined up perfectly with stars in seeing them. That must have hurt. Finally,
the Zeta Reticuli system. But only if the viewing Barney had to drive to Boston every day for
Continued from Page 12
point of the star map is from somewhere other work. Hardly mentally grueling, but it must still
than Earth, and only if it's rotated and finagled a have been a pain in the ass. Suffice it to say that
The Hills continue to disagree with each other
bit. This is one of the hardest points to refute, but he was one stressed out dude. Perhaps he bought
on almost every point of the story. Betty initially
Kottmeyer again draws similarities to a star map into his wife's tales more enthusiastically than
describes her captors as having big honkin'
shown in Invaders from Mars. One thing strikes I'd thought before. Perhaps, if we consider the
noses, like Jimmy Durante. Barney (eventually)
me as odd: Betty claims that the map shows paranoiac incident in the restaurant, he created
says that he sees no noses at all, just little holes
numerous stars as well as planets; Fish's some of his own.
where the nostrils ought to be. Betty later interpretation only works if you assume that all Everyone has their pet explanation for
explains this by theorizing that the noseless
of the dots represent stars. Fish's interpretation UFOs in general and this case in particular.
creatures were so weird looking that, in her
demands that you ignore Betty's statement that Perhaps it really occured the way that they
dream, she tried to humanize them a little by
some of the little dots are planets. I'm not going claimed and the many variations, contradictions,
adding the ol' honkin' schnozzes. That's right - in
to argue that Betty got the map from one source and flat out insane claims made by the Hills are
making her argument that her dreams are
or another: I argue that if you throw some dots just unlikely coincidences or the product of
accurate memories of events that really
down on a peice of paper, and are liberal in your space aliens monkeying about with their
happened, she admitted that the dreams may
interpretation as to which ones are stars, planets, memories. Perhaps it truly was a case of Folie a
have, at least partially, been the product of her
asteroids, or whatever other junk is floating deux. Perhaps it was a product of Betty's worries
imagination. Sweet. around in outer space, you are very likely to about her medical condition; perhaps it was a
For Betty, the creatures initially had jet
eventually match it up with something, product of decades of bad space alien horror
black hair and peircing eyes - but the eyes were
somewhere. flicks coupled with the hysterical predictions of
fairly normal people eyes. The pupils were a bit
Let's just suffice it to say that the story the UFO literature at the time (they're coming!)
odd, and she said that they were a bit "catlike,"
changed frequently, that the two of them could Perhaps this story is simply the product of a
but other than that she seemed not too much
hardly agree on much of anything about it, and mind in the grips of paranoid fantasies, which (I
impressed by them. Yet eyes figure immensely
that it is riddled with problems in the form of speculate without having looked deeper into it)
in today's abduction literature: David Jacobs in
just plain out common sense. could explain the hypocondriac fears of Betty,
particular claims that they are the manner by
I mentioned before that Betty had, the whispers and thoughts of conspiracies and
which space aliens can hypnotize people. Yet perhaps, a not entirely sufficient grip on reality. shadowy dealings, the feelings of persecution,
Betty saw nothing particularly strange about
This occured even before her life had been and Betty's later grandiose claims.
them. That's odd.
radically altered by media attention. She was For me, it all boils down fairly simply:
Here's another point that seems a bit odd:
convinced that she had discovered a number of Betty was a loon and, with the aid of a hypnotist,
the aliens are helpless idiots. During the medical
landing sites for UFOs and, when she took convinced her husband that something which
procedure, the captain of the spaceship tells
investigators to those sites, she consistently did not occur had really taken place. He fought
Betty that jamming an enormous needle into her
refused to believe that things seen in the sky against it, knowing this was crazy, and though
belly button won't hurt. The surgeon-space
(some of which, it was pointed out by her he finally broke, his account is more riddled
monster then jabs her with it and, of course, it
companions, were airplanes, stars, lights, or with contraditions and less fiercely accurate
hurts like blazes. The captain looks startled, what have you) were anything other than simply because he was unable to convince
waves her hands over her eyes, and the pain
spaceships. Utter unwillingness to even consider himself of a fantasy as thoroughly as his wife
stops. Later he apologizes and says that if he'd
that some of the dozens of things she saw in the could. It is my opinion, and an opinion that I
known it was going to hurt, he wouldn't have
night sky on any given evening were of espouse as frequently as I can, that there are
dont it. Wait. What? If he didn't know it was
terrestrial origin certainly does not speak well as many explanations for cases of UFO abductions,
going to hurt, how did he know just the right
to her status as a reasonable, unbaised observer. but all are grounded in the flaws of the human
way to make the hurting stop? How would he
To mangle the lyrics of a song popular with the mind. After seeing something in the sky, Betty
think that it wouldn't hurt in the first place? He
young people, stupid people do stupid things, believed what she wanted to believe (that it was
claims this isn't the first time he's done this sort
smart people outsmart each other, and people a ship) and her neuroses (a need to believe,
of thing, but you'd have to be a spectacular that want to see spaceships in the sky no matter paranoid, fears for her health, etc.) combined
doofus not to think jabbing up someone's guts
what are going to see spaceships in the sky no with this to create a fantasy world in which she
wouldn't hurt. And how did the hand waving
matter what. lived.
remove the pain, anyway? Seems more like the
Barney was certainly a more sober The original article I wrote receives by
logic you'd find in just a run of the mill dream.
individual, though he seems to have had his far more hits than anything else on this site.
For instance, I have a repetitive dream where I'm
share of problems. Before the abduction he and Looking at the list of what people have put into
walking along the ocean floor underwater, but I
his wife stopped in a restaurant, and he felt that search engines to find this site, 95% of them are
can breath. Why can I breath? BECAUSE IT'S A
the other diners in the place were watching some combination of "Betty and Barney Hill." I
DREAM. Logic doesn't need to hold. them. He eventually realizes that, in fact, no one could go on and on and on adding more and
And then there's the matter of the book. is watching them, and the others are acting in a more of the argument and counterargument that
Betty asks the captain for some proof that the
totally normal manner. He scolds himself and have popped up as regards this case, but others
whole even occured, and he gives her a big book
says he needs to get a grip on himself, but this have done it before me, to say nothing of better,
to take. Later, he takes the book away from her,
raises a strange question: when a guy who has than I could. I have included some links should
claiming that the crew doesn't think it's a good
the occasional paranoid thought that he's being you care to pursue the matter further, and to
idea. This is totally at odds with Barney's
watched by others describes an encounter (under everyone else, I give up.[]
description of the captain as a business-like, no-
hypnosis) where creatures with huge,
nonsense leader. He doesn't realize that giving
mesmerizing eyes are watching him, do we
her tangible proof that the abduction occured really need to drag space monsters into the
would counteract his "you must never remember conversation? In the past, I'd given Barney a lot For The Best Radio Programming
this" order? And what sort of hardcore space From the
of credit. It turns out he wasn't on the most stable
soldier would take shit from his crew like that? World of the Paranormal
psychological foundation in the world when this
There are officers in the 101st ROTC Mess Kit To
whole thing went down. To start with, he (a
Repair Battalion that wouldn't let their
black man) was married to a white woman in The Science of Parapsychology
subordinates question their orders. Seems like
1960s rural New England. I wasn't around back 24/7/265 Visit
more dream logic to me... suspiciously
then, but I'm told that the 1960s were not
convenient dream logic. www.xzbn.net
particularly easy times for mixed race couples.