What If You Have a Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind? | Unveiled

What If You Had a Close Encounter Of The Fourth Kind?

One of the greatest questions that humans have ever pondered is whether we’re alone in the universe. Scientifically, we can calculate the probabilities of life existing elsewhere. Crunch the numbers and try to determine whether aliens do or don’t exist. But we’re still yet to encounter any... or that’s the official line, anyway. Nevertheless, some are certain that aliens not only do exist, but that they visit our planet. And a small number of people across recent history have claimed not only to have seen aliens, but to have met them, too.

This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; What if you had a close encounter of the fourth kind?

The well-known and much used phrase “close encounter” didn’t originate from Hollywood, despite it often appearing in movies and TV shows. Really, the term was born on a scale (of sorts) created by then astronomer and UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek, in 1972. Hynek devised the term “close encounter” and divided it into various levels or “kinds”, to categorize the different eyewitness reports of UFOs that had begun to emerge around the world at the time.

The original Hynek Scale consists of three different types of alien encounter. Close encounters of the first kind refer to a visual sighting of a UFO within 500 feet. Close encounters of the second kind are UFO sightings along with an accompanying effect of some kind, such as interference with nearby electronics. And a close encounter of the third kind involves not only the seeing of a UFO, but the seeing of aliens, as well. In the years since Hynek plotted his initial scale, however, more categories have been added to it… including close encounters of the fourth kind (which involves being abducted by aliens) and of the fifth kind (which involves actually communicating with them). It's the fourth kind, or alien abductions, that we’re focussing on in this video.

Alien abduction stories have varied in the way they’ve been told throughout history. The greatest shift in the narrative came, though, after the infamous abduction of Betty and Barney Hill, which gained national attention across the US, in the 1960s. According to the Hills, a UFO had followed them before aliens abducted them. They were then taken inside a spaceship, and experiments were performed on them… before both Betty and Barney had their memories wiped. Their recollections of what happened were only later recovered under hypnosis. Ultimately, the Hill Incident became so famous that, according to sceptics, it kinda set the template for all alien and UFO stories that followed. But actually, the first abduction story to receive notable coverage of any kind anywhere in the world came before the Hills. It centred on Antônio Villas Boas, a Brazilian farmer who claimed he was abducted by five-foot-tall humanoids four years earlier, in 1957.

The similarities that these cases share (as well as various others in the years since) are certainly up for debate… but they do at least allow us to understand what it might be like to have a close encounter of the fourth kind. The event itself would start out as many others have, with you seeing a UFO in the sky coming towards you… or perhaps with you waking up to aliens standing around your bed, if it turns out to be a more sci-fi horror kind of reality.

First things first, it’s possible that you won’t be able to move… as some kind of paralysis is common in alien encounter stories. You’d probably see various bright or flashing lights, too, as that’s another common motif. Often, in various alien accounts, the aliens themselves are described in much the same way as those made famous by the Hills… as an otherworldly race generally known as the Greys. These creatures are usually human-like but with different bodily proportions, and with smooth, grey skin and bulging eyes. There have been other reports, though, of ET visitations conducted by more reptile-like aliens, smaller, and with yellow eyes. In a past video, we took a look at what aliens might really look like, according to science… so be sure to check that out after this. But it must be said that most descriptions of alien figures from abduction stories do tend to align with one another.

After you’re taken, as part of your “fourth kind” close encounter, the general pattern tends to be that an examination is what follows… and then perhaps a tour of the ship… before a return to your normal life with a variety of lingering symptoms. And, although these experiences are often held to be traumatic, the aliens aren’t usually portrayed as being all that evil. Instead, they’re so often described as though they’re curious… so if you are ever taken, you needn’t fear the worst straight away. Betty Hill even recalled laughing at her aliens’ apparent interest in Barney’s dentures.

Famously, Betty Hill also remembered seeing a star map on the wall of her aliens’ ship, which she memorized… and, indeed, Antônio Villas Boas reportedly recalled seeing red symbols on the wall of his ship, which he later recreated for investigators. Perhaps, then, if you were in such a situation, you should also try to memorize something significant about the ship, to convince people about it upon your return. What would you be on the lookout for, first of all?

Regardless, almost every abduction story agrees on what happens next. It’s said that the abductee is taken to an examination room of some kind, where a variety of experiments are performed… usually paying particularly close attention to your anatomy. The procedures, while they do vary, are often described as efficient and business-like, and over quite quickly. Betty Hill claimed to have had a needle inserted into her navel to see if she was pregnant. Others have claimed that small skin samples were taken, or hair samples. But naturally, as those claiming to be abducted by aliens have clearly lived to tell the tale, most stories don’t involve death or gory violence. Although many do claim to have been implanted with a tracking probe… and, in some cases, the implant is in their brain, behind their eye, or inside a muscle. So, there are some more gruesome accounts, too. Nevertheless, if you do experience a close encounter and you are implanted with a probe, it can probably be seen as a good sign… as the aliens must at least intend on returning you to Earth.

The final part to many an alien abduction story is also often told - your memory will, in some way, be wiped. And, when you “wake up”, you’ll have been left with a sense of time loss and confusion, as well as possibly torn clothing and missing belongings. In general, “missing time” features prominently in a lot of encounter stories, with some people losing hours… and others losing days. The memories are then most often restored via hypnosis, although in some cases it’s claimed that they just return to a person naturally… as though the memory wipe was only a short-term condition.

It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that those claiming to have been abducted by aliens also report various other problems, including difficulty sleeping, anxiety, PTSD-like symptoms, stress, and frequent nightmares. As a result, many refer to a condition now known as Post Abduction Syndrome… and although PAS hasn’t been officially recognised, there have been dedicated groups set up to help support those claiming to have experienced an alien encounter in their past. Additionally, if you were to have an alien experience like this, it’s said that you might also suffer something known as the Oz Factor… which is a feeling a little like déjà vu (but more disturbing) that something just isn’t quite right (or real) with the world. There have also been reports of post-alien theophany before, though, which is sort of the opposite, and can be described as an ultimate and euphoric feeling.

No matter how you come out the other side, however, one thing’s for sure… you’ll almost certainly be forced to deal with the fact that most people in your life will have trouble believing you. And so, you could quickly find yourself questioning your own memories. Until there’s officially recognised proof of aliens on Earth, that situation isn’t likely to change.

For now, there’s something of a stand-off. Most scientists and researchers agree that alien abductions are, for whatever reason, not real. They’re either faked, or those claiming to have experienced them are unknowingly influenced or mistaken, with often offered explanations including a lack of sleep and sleep paralysis. However, so many alien claimants stick to their story for their whole lives. They know what they saw, they know what they experienced, and they’re not about to deny that reality. As strange as it may seem. But that’s what would happen if you had a close encounter of the fourth kind.