Pascagoula Abduction
Calvin Parker | |
|---|---|
 Calvin Parker at The 2019 International UFO Congress in Phoenix, Arizona. | |
| Born | 1954 (age 69–70) |
| Died | August 24, 2023 |
| Known for | Alleged abduction |
Charles Hickson | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 16, 1931[1] |
| Died | September 9, 2011 (aged 80) |
| Known for | Alleged abduction |
| Alleged abduction of Charles Hickson, Calvin Parker | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pascagoula River, Mississippi |
The Pascagoula Abduction was an alleged UFO sighting and alien abduction in 1973, in which Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker claimed they were abducted by aliens while fishing near Pascagoula, Mississippi.
Alleged abduction
On the evening of October 11, 1973, 42-year-old Charles Hickson and 19-year-old Calvin Parker told the Jackson County, Mississippi Sheriff's office they were fishing off a pier on the west bank of the Pascagoula River in Mississippi when they heard a whirring/whizzing sound, saw two flashing blue lights, and observed an oval shaped object 30–40 feet across and 8–10 feet high. Parker and Hickson claimed they were "conscious but paralyzed" while three "creatures" with "robotic slit-mouths" and "crab-like pincers" took them aboard the object and subjected them to an examination.[2][3]
Publicity and later activities
Following the incident, Hickson gave interviews and lectures, appeared on television (including an episode of the game show To Tell The Truth),[4] in 1974 claimed additional encounters with aliens, and in 1983 authored a self-published book UFO Contact at Pascagoula.[5] Parker later attended UFO conventions, and in 1993 started a company called "UFO Investigations" to produce television stories about UFOs.[2][6]
Skepticism
Aviation journalist and UFO skeptic Philip J. Klass found "discrepancies" in Hickson's story, noted that Hickson refused to take a polygraph exam conducted by an experienced examiner, and concluded that the case was a hoax. Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell wrote that Hickson's behavior was "questionable" and that Hickson later altered or embellished his claims. Nickell speculated that Hickson may have fantasized the alien encounter during a hypnagogic "waking dream state", and suggested that Parker's corroboration of the tale was likely due to suggestibility because he initially told police he had "passed out at the beginning of the incident and failed to regain consciousness until it was over",[5][6] a claim supported by Hickson during his To Tell the Truth appearance.
See also
References
- ^ "Charles e. Hickson Sr. Obituary (2011) Mississippi Press".
- ^ a b Amy, Jeff (October 11, 2013). "Man says 1973 UFO incident turned life upside down". Twin Cities Pioneer Press. Associated Press. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ "Mississippian recalls night of abduction on spaceship". Associated Press. August 9, 1987. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ To Tell the Truth, episode taped November 20th, 1973
- ^ a b Nickell, Joe (May 2012). "Famous Alien Abduction in Pascagoula: Reinvestigating a Cold Case". Csicop.org. Committee For Skeptical Inquiry. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ a b Paul Kurtz (10 September 2013). The Transcendental Temptation: A Critique of Religion and the Paranormal. Prometheus Books. pp. 442–. ISBN 978-1-61614-828-7.
External links
- Information about the Pascagoula Abduction and Calvin Parker's Book.
- All They Meant To Do Was Go Fishing (NICAP transcript of an interview with Hickson and Parker)
- Nickell, Joe. "The Pascagoula Abduction: A Case of Hypnagogia?" in Ballester-Olmos, V.J. (Ed.), The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony. UPIAR, Turin, Italy (2023), pp. 137-140. ISBN 9791281441002.
30°22′12″N 88°33′52″W / 30.37000°N 88.56444°W
