Kenneth Arnold's Changing Opinions on What UFOs Were

Over at Mysterious Universe there's a new article from me on Kenneth Arnold, the guy who practically created the UFO phenomenon in the summer of 1947. It's a little-known fact, however, that by the start of the 1960s Arnold's views on UFOs had significantly changed. By then, he had discarded the extraterrestrial theory and came to believe that UFOs were living creatures themselves; large jellyfish-type beings that soared around the highest levels of the Earth's atmosphere. You can find the article here...

New Articles: UFOs, Nessie, the Chupacabra

There are a few new articles from me at Mysterious Universe and here they are:

1. Does the Chupacabra really suck blood? (Answer: No!)

2. Corroboration for Kenneth Arnold's UFO encounter of June 24, 1947?

3. The Loch Ness Monster in fiction.

June 24: UFO Deaths

June 24, 1947 was the date on which Kenneth Arnold had his now-famous sighting of unidentified objects in the vicinity of Mt. Rainier. June 24 also happens to be the date on which there were a number of deaths in Ufology. Those deaths spanned the 1960s to the 2000s.

Of course, if we went looking, there's a very good chance we could find half a dozen UFO deaths on May 2, October 28, February 12, etc., etc.

In other words, it may simply be a case of looking for deaths on that specific date of June 24, of finding some deaths, and then interpreting that to mean something.

On the other hand, maybe it does mean something.

Anyway, however we look at it, it's the subject of a new 2-part article from me.

Here's part-1 and part-2 will follow tomorrow.

June 24: A Deadly Day For Ufologists

 
Loren Coleman has an excellent new article on the more than a few deaths in the UFO field that have occurred on June 24. It's the date on which (in 1947) our lord and master, Kenneth Arnold, had his famous and controversial encounter that ushered in the modern era of Ufology. It's also a subject which I discuss in my latest book, Close Encounters of the Fatal Kind.

Saucers and St. John

Loren Coleman has a fascinating new post up at his Twilight Language blog titled St. John's Day: June 24th ~ Flying Saucers, Fires, Forteana, and Finding MacFarlane's Bear.

As Loren notes, not only is June 24 St. John's Day, it's also the day on which (in 1947) the era of Flying Saucers was ushered in, thanks to pilot Kenneth Arnold and the curious craft he encountered at Mount Rainier, Washington State.

Loren also notes that: "Mystery deaths are often associated with St. John's Day."

And that includes people in the UFO field, too, as Loren reveals:

"The deaths of various UFO (aerial and related phenomena) researchers, writers, and fans (Frank Scully, June 24, 1964; Frank Edwards, near the coming midnight of the 24th, on June 23, 1967; Arthur Bryant, June 24, 1967; Richard Church, June 24, 1967; Willy Ley, June 24, 1969; Jackie Gleason, June 24, 1987). June 24, 2006 saw the death of renegade publisher Lyle Stuart who published anomalist writer Frank Edwards’ Fortean book, in 1959, Stranger than Science, a paperbook full of information on ufology and other unexplained accounts."