My Albert Bender Obit

You can find an obit from me for Albert Bender - the man who began the Men in Black mystery - at this link. And here's how the article starts:

Over at Wikipedia you can find a new page for Albert Bender, the man who pretty much kick-started into existence the mystery and controversy surrounding the Men in Black. As you’ll note, it reveals that Bender died just recently, specifically on March 29, 2016, at the good old age of 94. Given that there have been claims Bender died in the early 2000s, a few people have already asked me if the Wiki page is accurate. Yes, it is. Bender had a full life and outlived just about everyone else who got involved in Ufology in the late 1940s and early 1950s. And, he was the creator of the International Flying Saucer Bureau, a body that provoked a lot of interest – both within the United States and overseas.

If you know your UFO history, you’ll know that it was Bender’s encounters with a creepy trio of MIB at Bridgeport, Connecticut in the early 50s which prompted author Gray Barker to pen a book on the matter. Its title: They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers. Bender’s MIB were nothing like the Tommy Lee Jones/Will Smith kind, however. Rather, they were ghoulish characters with shining eyes, and who were far more Bram Stoker-meets-H.P. Lovecraft than The X-Files-meets-Dark Skies. It’s highly appropriate, then, that Bender’s encounters with the MIB occurred in his attic, which he had transformed into his so-called “Chamber of Horrors.” It was a room filled with all manner of paintings of demons, black cats, skeletons, vampires, bats, and skulls. Even an “altar” of sorts. Indeed, Bender had a deep interest in the worlds of the paranormal, UFOs, and the occult, in both fact and fiction.

Gray Barker & the MIB: AUDIO

Fans of the Men in Black mystery, don't miss this: a new audio edition of Gray Barker's classic, 1956 study of the MIB phenomenon, They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers, is now available as an audio-book.

Check it out.

Rich Reynolds: MIB Thoughts

In a new post at The UFO Iconoclast(s), Rich Reynolds delves deep into the puzzle of the Men in Black, and suggests that, perhaps, evidence of their sinister actions dates way before many have even begun to suspect. But, they may not have always dressed in black...

Rich kicks off as follows:

"The Men in Black, whom Nick Redfern has documented rather fully in his book, The Real Men in Black, have been with mankind for a lot longer than surmised.

"They ensued right after the dawn of civilization, if The Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) and various myths have any reportorial accuracy.

"The modern-day MIB phenomenon began with Gray Barker’s introduction of them in his 1956 book, They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers.

"However, those versed in early religious and mythological tales know that Men in Black types have ponced on humanity well before 1956."

And here's where you can find the rest of Rich's thought-provoking post.