Nick Redfern November 6, 2020
Tim C is someone who very generously gave me permission to publish the details of his confrontation with the menacing Men in Black in England. Tim’s is a case that is undeniably weird – as all of the MIB cases are – and that chilled him to the bone. With that said, I’m going to share with you the strange story. Tim began: “Dear Mr. Redfern, The reason I am writing to you is with regards to a strange experience I had back in 1997 when I was 17 years old. Whether you may be able to shed light on my experience I’m not sure, but I came across your name and ‘real men in black’ article on the web and felt that your expertise on the subject might lift a nagging uncertainty that I have had for fourteen years. Firstly I would like to say that I have not read your ‘men in black’ book as yet (I do intend to) but I do have an interest in the unexplained and have read many books on these subjects since I have had multiple strange experiences in my past and present. That being said, the experience I wish to convey to you has not been contaminated with any theories of others or my own.”
Tim continued: “I am very open-minded but at the same time possess a healthy skepticism with any unexplained phenomena. However, I have not found any logical reason for what I am about to tell you (although there is always the possibility that there is one). The following account is complete truth and I have not embellished any part of it. All I hope is that you might have an explanation for what happened, be it strange or mundane, as I am uncertain as to whether this account depicts the behavior of the ‘Men in Black?’ At the time of the experience I was 17 years of age and was ‘bunking off’’ from a college lecture to meet my then girlfriend later that afternoon.
“My Account: I was walking from my college and into town to get a coffee to while away the hour until I caught the bus to my girlfriend. I was young and newly ‘in love’ and walking quite happily down the main street when I had a strange feeling that I was being followed. This feeling led to an instinct of looking behind me and as I did, a few feet away, I saw a couple of men close behind. As I looked they both emitted a ‘blank’ smile. Being young and – dare I say it – possibly naive, I had the thought that maybe they were from the college and following me because I bunked off. (On reading this whole account you will see that what happened is not the normal procedure any college would take.) After I witnessed this ‘blank smile’ I continued to walk at my normal pace down the long main street towards my destination. I was now wondering to myself if they smiled at me because I looked at them (the old ‘you look at me so I look at you’ scenario). I looked behind me a second time and again they offered, in unison, that same ‘blank smile.’ I also noticed their appearance and whilst they were not wearing black suits and black fedoras, they were wearing an attire that didn’t seem to fit in. Dark brown tweed suits with matching long overcoats and fedora-like hats. Without sounding clichéd (as I now know the usual nonconformity of these guys) they did appear to be from an earlier era than the ’90’s, to say the least.”
Things got even stranger for Tim: “I decided to quicken my pace and noticed that their pace also quickened. Feeling a little paranoid I quickened my pace again; and again they also matched my speed. So now I’m almost speed walking towards the cafe to get my coffee. A third look behind me before I entered (the then) ‘John Menzies’ [a British store-chain] confirmed that they were still walking my way so I entered the store but waited inside a little for them to pass by. They didn’t, so I ventured into the street again but they had disappeared. I immediately assumed that they had turned off or entered another shop and put it down to myself as being a paranoid college bunker. I re-entered the store and proceeded to walk upstairs to the cafe area. It is worth mentioning here that whilst I chose this cafe for its quietness it did always bug me that the cafe attendants rarely gave you enough time to choose what you wanted without being quickly pestered into hurrying up with your order. (The reason for this note will become apparent soon). Having being quickly served at the counter, I found a place to sit at a table facing the cafe entrance and began to read a letter that my girlfriend had sent me (sickening I know).
“Anyway, a few moments later I looked up from the letter whilst taking a sip of my coffee and froze on the spot. The two distinguished gentlemen were a few feet away at the food counter staring at me blankly. After what seemed like an age of staring one of the men placed a large leather-like satchel that I had not noticed before on the floor. With the other man still looking at me, the other bent down, opened the satchel and pulled out a very large and old looking camera, complete with large round flash. He proceeded to point the camera directly at me and took my picture [Note from Nick: John Keel called this group of MIB as the “phantom photographers]. On doing so he placed the camera back in the satchel and both men turned and slowly walked away towards the stairs.
“Completely in shock and bemused as to what just happened I was still frozen in place trying to wonder what the hell had just happened. I quickly decided to follow them (the time taken for this decision, taking into consideration the casual speed at which they exited, I calculated that they would still be going down the stairs or at least at the bottom by the time I got to them) and literally ran down the stairs. There was no sign of them so I decided to go to the store exit first and looked outside but they weren’t anywhere to be seen. I then turned to look into the store again due to the fact that I might have missed them inside and that they would have had to pass me to leave. But again they were nowhere to be seen. One thing that was apparent to me was that whilst they were upstairs by the counter they were never attended to by the very needy cafe staff and believe me they used to pester you [Note from Nick: the MIB rarely eat, even when seen in restaurants and cafes. In fact, they don’t seem to understand what food is]. To be honest, without sounding stupid it seemed like no-one could see them. I know how that sounds but all I can do is explain the account in the same way I experienced it.”
Tim had still more to say, something that is hardly surprising: “As a 17 year old bunking off college I was hesitant to tell my mother of this experience (not because of the ludicrous way it would have sounded – she actually took that part in her stride as she has also experienced strange phenomena in her life), but because I thought I would have been grounded for bunking off. Least to say, when I did arrive home later that day I told her the exact same thing I told you now, including why I was not in college. The intrigue of my experience swayed the ‘grounding’ and to this day I have no logical reason as why something like that would happen to me. Obviously with my interest in all things weird becoming increasingly larger over time with other experiences and the ease as to which information about ourselves can be found out via the Internet, this aspect couldn’t have been the reason for this strange occurrence as I was rarely on the new Internet back then. Anyway, what happened that day is a mystery and there could be a mundane reason for it. But there are little things that bug me. Why did I feel I was being followed only to see that I was? Why did they seem out of place in both their clothes and their blank demeanor? Why take a picture of me at all, let alone with the most old-fashioned of cameras? And how did they disappear so quickly? Is this the type of behavior that you would deem to be of ‘Men in Black’ origin? I know that account sounded a little ‘wacko’ but I assure you I am of sound mind.
Tim concluded: “I simply have an experience that I have no answer for.” Just about everyone who has encountered the MIB can surely relate to those words. Mysterious Universe
Are the Remains of Dead Aliens Hidden in the U.K.?
That was the question put to me a few days ago while I was doing radio. I have to say I’m probably not the best person to give a positive response on that same question. After all, I’ve written two books on the Roswell affair of July 1947, both of which show why aliens didn’t crash on the Foster Ranch, Lincoln County, New Mexico. I have to admit that up until around 2001 I was a true believer in Roswell. That soon changed, however – and to a significant degree. My view is that if Roswell – the most credible “UFO crash” case for many – turns out not to have alien origins, then what chance is there for the other, lesser credible cases? With all of that said, however, I can say for sure there are claims of dead aliens on ice in well-guarded facilities in the U.K. We need far more than mere claims, however. Right now, though, that’s all we have. I’ll begin with a strange story that dates back decades and that involved a famous journalist who died under controversial circumstances. Nick Redfern November 2, 2020
Dorothy Kilgallen (left)
Dorothy Kilgallen was an investigative journalist who died in 1965 – when she was doing extensive research into the JFK assassination of November 22, 1963. It’s the 1950s we need to focus on, however. While on vacation in 1955, Kilgallen and her husband, Richard Kollmar, went on holiday to England. While there, she heard a fantastic story. In Kilgallen’s own words penned at the time: “I can report today on a story which is positively spooky, not to mention chilling. British scientists and airmen, after examining the wreckage of one mysterious flying ship, are convinced these strange aerial objects are not optical illusions or Soviet inventions, but are flying saucers which originate on another planet. The source of my information is a British official of cabinet rank who prefers to remain unidentified.” Kilgallen had more to say. She quoted her source as telling her:
“We believe, on the basis of our inquiry thus far, that the saucers were staffed by small men – probably under four feet tall. It’s frightening, but there’s no denying the flying saucers come from another planet.” Kilgallen had more: “This official quoted scientists as saying a flying ship of this type could not have possibly been constructed on Earth. The British Government, I learned, is withholding an official report on the ‘flying saucer’ examination at this time, possibly because it does not wish to frighten the public. When my husband and I arrived here from a brief vacation, I had no premonition that I would be catapulting myself into the controversy over whether flying saucers are real or imaginary.” It’s important to note that Kilgallen’s informant said the alleged aliens that flew the crashed UFO were “probably under four feet tall.” The word “probably” implies that even if the U.K. government did have a crashed saucer, they didn’t actually have dead aliens on ice. And that’s where the story ends (aside from the highly controversial “Marilyn Monroe, Kilgallen and UFOs” document that surfaced publicly in the mid-1990s).
Nick Redfern’s copy of the FBI’s file on Dorothy Kilgallen
Now, let’s take a look at the second case I have on record. I should clarify that I have more than two. The problem is that the additional twelve cases are so vague – and of a typical friend-of-a-friend-type – they are barely worth addressing. There is, however, one case (a notorious one, to say the least) worth looking at. It all went down (quite literally, perhaps) on the night of January 23, 1974 on the Berwyn Mountains, North Wales. Depending on who you ask, what happened was the crash of a UFO and its crew, a secret military experiment, an earthquake that occurred at the same time as a meteor shower, or sightings of what have become known in Ufology and Forteana as “ghost lights.” But, what about the “dead aliens” angle to all of this? Let’s have a look.
In 1996, an alleged military whistle-blower came forward, claiming that aliens had crashed on the Berwyn Mountains back in January 1974. The pummeled bodies of the dead crew were said to have been secretly rushed to Porton Down (a secure facility in the southwest of England that has worked in the fields of chemical warfare, biological warfare, and hallucinogens), for hasty examination and even hastier preservation. As is so typically often the case in such situations, the source of all this chose not to provide his name to the UFO research community of the day. Instead, he preferred to lurk in the darkness, shrouded in mystery and intrigue. He shared his story only with the late Tony Dodd, who was a North Yorkshire police sergeant and UFO investigator. Dodd chose to give his talkative soldier the alias of “James Prescott,” who was said by Dodd to have been long-retired from the British Army. There’s no doubt that something happened on that night in January 1974. And there’s also no doubt that the Prescott story fired up the U.K.-based UFO research community of that time (1996). That was the very same time when an X-Files-type “I want to believe” fever still had a grip on Ufology. You only have to look at the names of all the glossy, UFO-themed newsstand magazines that hastily hit the newsstands in that era: Alien Encounters, Sightings, UFO Reality, The X-Factor, Enigma, UFO Magazine and…the list goes on. All of those magazines are long gone.
I remember very well the debate and controversy surrounding the Prescott claims in the 1990s. Some UFO investigators were intrigued by it. Others were amazed by it. The fact is, though, that all we have now is all we had back then: an unknown source (with a faked name), and a UFO researcher – the aforementioned Tony Dodd – who stubbornly refused to reveal the real name of his informer, even though he could. For some in Ufology, that might be enough to make a case. It’s not enough for me, though, and it shouldn’t be enough for you, either. Of course, I can never say for sure there aren’t any dead alien bodies hidden away in a well-protected underground bunker below the U.K. countryside. On the basis of the “evidence” that we have right now, however, I say we need way more before we can even come close to making such a case. Mysterious Universe
Ozzy Osbourne on Pyramid UFOs, UFOs at OzzFest, UFOs at Concerts and More
Ozzy Osbourne is long known for doing outrageous things onstage and saying outrageous things on reality shows. It’s less known that Black Sabbath’s Prince of Darkness has had a variety of experiences with UFOs. Not surprisingly, this is partly the basis for Ozzy’s new show with wife Sharon and son Jack called “The Osbournes Want to Believe.” In a recent episode, Ozzy proposes his interesting theory that the ancient Egyptians were visited by UFOs shaped like pyramids.
“What if they built a replica of what the ship looked like out of stone? So they wanted to train everybody about the f** pyramids. It could be. The reason why they did it was to say to us, ‘This is what we saw, when this comes back, this is what it looks like.’” Paul Seaburn November 1, 2020
That’s an interesting idea, Ozzy, although the ancient Egyptians were good artists too, and could have just drawn a ship. Sure, it wouldn’t be life-size and nowhere near as impressive, but it would be a lot easier on the slaves. And why didn’t they make some statues of the aliens? Speaking of aliens …
Everybody wants them, until we meet them
Everybody wants them (it’s the end)
Scary little green men, do you believe in
Scary little green men (it’s the end)
You may remember those lyrics from Ozzy’s song “Scary Little Green Men,” releasing in early 2020 with a video featuring Jason Momoa. Sharon told Jenny McCarthy in an interview that Ozzy is seriously obsessed with aliens and completely believes in them. Yes, Sharon Osbourne is an excellent promoter, but this is a subject that Ozzy has some personal experience in. Back in 2010, during a kick-off concert to Ozzfest 2010 in Devore, California, this UFO description was reported to MUFON:
“The shape was triangular with rounded tips. The color of the craft was a pale gray. The middle looking on edgewise was slightly rounded and thicker in the middle, which held three round lights in a line strobe-like. Colors were green, yellow and pinkish purple. The lights were like a strobe that blinked and flashed 3-5 times before it disappeared behind a tree that it fit behind.”
There’s a definite connection between OzzFest and UFOs. In August 2004, fans leaving an Ozzfest concert at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, Illinois, looked up and reportedly saw three lights in a triangular pattern hovering overhead for nearly 20 minutes. While Ozzy wasn’t playing that day, his fans know he has some kind of connection to extraterrestrials. Earlier that year, a poll in the UK asked who should represent humanity in greeting visitors from another planet, and Ozzy placed #1 with 26% of the vote, finishing ahead of Tony Blair, George W. Bush, Prince Phillip, the Beckhams and Simon Cowell. (No, Boaty McBoatface got no votes.)
Ozzy and Sharon
Finally, one of Ozzy’s favorite bass players, who toured with him on during the Diary of a Madman tour, was the late Pete Way, founder of the band … here it comes … UFO.
What does all of this mean? Despite his reputation for over-imbibing on drugs and alcohol, Ozzy Osbourne has some interesting connections to UFOs and extraterrestrials and strong beliefs in both. We could do far worse than sending him up to the spaceship to greet visitors from outer space with a rousing rendition of:
Men on the moon, won’t you tell us the truth Is there anyone out there Feeding us lies as we look to the skies Is there anyone out there now. Mysterious Universe
