Examining the power of the imagination, aspects of group psychology and sociology and the concept of "fantasy prone personalities," Bartholomew and Howard, explore the influence in spreading UFO stories, dubbed "collective delusion," and how this phenomena can be dangerous, leaving great pain and tragedy in its wake. Included are detailed descriptions of the United States airship flap of 1896-97; the imaginary sightings of Thomas Edison's "electric star" during the late 18OOs, Canada's phantom balloon wave of 1896-97, the New Zealand zeppelin scare of 1909; the British UFO panic 1912-13: phantom German air raids and spy missions over Canada, New York, Delaware, New Hampshire, and Africa during World War Sweden's ghost rocket crisis of 1946:-all reports of UFOs before the famed Roswell incident-and the emergence of flying saucers since 1947.
The authors examine collective behavior, fallable human perception, deviance, religion, popular culture, history, the role of the media, and relationships to the paranormal. From alien contact with humans to well- organized cults, UFOs and Alien Contacts is gripping, humorous, and at times horrifying. Robert E. Bartholomew (Queensland, Australia) is a lecturer in sociology at James Cook University of North Queensland. George S. Howard (Notre Dame, IN) is a psychology professor at the University of Notre Dame.
Est. 345 pages ISBN 1-57392-200-5
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