「MIB」タグの記事が8件件あります

The knocking at the door comes a few days after you witness the strange objects in the sky. A loud series of slow deliberate thumps like whomever is on the other side of your front door is striking with their fist rather than rapping with knuckles. On your very doorstep are three sinister pale-skinned men dressed in old-fashioned black suits, thin black ties, sunglasses, and starched white shirts. They wave black suits, thin black ties, sunglasses, and starched white shirts. (00:03:02)

They wave official-looking identification in front of your nose and give you a choice. Let them inside or come with them. The uninvited men are intimidating, even frightening. They exude menace and mouth threats and cold monotones. For the next hour or more these eerie strangers ask question after question about what you witnessed in the sky. Who are you with? Who have you told? And with about what you witnessed in the sky. (00:03:28)

Who are you with? Who have you told? And with real malice in their voices they demand you hand over any photographic evidence in your possession. And then, too late, you realize these visitors are the men in black. Finally they leave as abruptly as they came, pausing at your door only long enough to issue an unambiguous warning. You will stop talking about UFOs or you enough to issue an unambiguous warning. (00:03:48)

You will stop talking about UFOs or you will be harmed. This has been the chilling experience reported by hundreds of UFO eyewitnesses. In this documentary we will show you how terrifying encounters with these so called men in black not only are much more common than previously thought but also come from all over the world and quite possibly stretch back down the centuries. It's possible that the modern understanding of the men in black, the centuries. (00:04:16)

It's possible that the modern understanding of the men in black, the mysterious figures that would become the subject of fascination in ufologists, conspiracy theorists, the highest level of government and eventually break into mainstream popular culture can be traced back to one day June 27 1947. On June 27th 1947 Harold Dahl claimed to have seen six donut-shaped objects flying above the shores of Washington's Maury Island. (00:04:58)

Dahl's account stated one of these objects seemed to malfunction with parts flying off and metallic debris hitting his son Charles on the arm as well as striking the family dog who did not survive the ordeal. Dahl was able to get some pictures of the aircraft with his camera during the encounter which he later showed to work colleagues. The following morning Dahl was visited by a later showed to work colleagues. (00:05:24)

The following morning Dahl was visited by a man in a black suit claiming to be a government agent. Despite the man presenting his ID Dahl was leery of letting the man into his home so he smartly suggested they conduct their conversation across the road in a busy diner. Regardless of the risk of being overheard the man in black threatened Dahl to cease talking about what he may or may not have witnessed in the skies. (00:05:43)

His threats were punctuated with details of Dahl's private life, the name of his wife and child, his place of work, the times he left in the morning and the times he returned home at night. After that Dahl began to claim that he made up the entire UFO incident. It was all a hoax he said without offering any details on how he convinced his boy to go along with the scheme or whatever was supposed to have happened to the family dog. It was only years later that Dahl supposed to have happened to the family dog. (00:06:09)

It was only years later that Dahl regained the courage to once again speak about the strange crafts he and his son had seen on that day in June 1947. (00:06:18)

Just one visit from the men in black was sufficient to scare Dahl into a prolonged silence but in 1952 Albert Bender was subjected to a sustained campaign of intimidation and violence by black suited assailants. Albert Bender would have been a notable contributor to UFOlogy even if he had never found himself the target of MIBs. He'd become fascinated with unexplained phenomenon while serving during World War II. (00:06:57)

And after the war it was Bender who founded the world's first civilian organization for the cataloging and investigation of unidentified flying objects, the now legendary Flying Saucer Bureau. An experienced writer, Bender also founded the official publication of the IFSP, the Space Review. If the Internet was around in 1952 we'd say that Bender's work quickly went viral. Within a year of its launch the IFSP was approaching 1,000 members and sister organizations were started in Great Britain and Australia. Every month Bender organizations were started in Great Britain and Australia. (00:07:35)

Every month Bender received correspondence from people all over the world, claimed that they had seen UFOs and sometimes had been visited by the unsettling men in black. At the time Bender was living temporarily in Bridgeport Virginia at 784 Broad Street, a three-story house owned by his mother Ellen and stepfather Marco Lornolino. As his organization grew Bender turned the family attic into a command center for the IFSP. He placed maps marking the most credible UFO sightings on the walls and the IFSP. (00:08:04)

He placed maps marking the most credible UFO sightings on the walls and filing cabinets were crammed with leads from the ever-expanding web of members from all over the world. Bender planned to present the best of his evidence at what he intended would be the first of an annual conference for like-minded UFOlogists in November of that year and it was as he began to assemble his work that the phone calls started. The home phone would ring as soon as Bender was that the phone calls started. (00:08:29)

The home phone would ring as soon as Bender was alone in the house. Each time after Bender dutifully ran down two flights of stairs from his attic workstation he'd find nothing but silence on the other end of the line. As he pressed the phone to his ear Bender would be struck by a sudden sensation of extreme dizziness. He described losing a sense of balance sudden sensation of extreme dizziness. (00:08:48)

He described losing a sense of balance and an instant pounding headache that would last for minutes after he slammed the handset down. One call in particular left Bender, a healthy man in his 30s, so dazed he was unable to return to the attic for the remainder of the night. As was his habit Bender went to see a midweek movie at the local theater. The was his habit Bender went to see a midweek movie at the local theater. (00:09:11)

The film ended a little after midnight and clutching the remains of his popcorn bucket the 30-something began the short walk home. Although that part of Bridgeport would be redeveloped over the next decade the area was reasonably safe and crime-free. Middle of night or not there was no reason for a grown man to be on high alert and maybe that's why Bender didn't notice the figure tracing his footsteps in the darkness. (00:09:35)

But as the movie theaters marquee lights shot off behind him he felt a sense that he was being stalked. When he stopped to dispose of his empty popcorn bucket in a street side trash can he thought he heard footsteps off in the near distance but he could not see anything. After the ufologist turned a corner from the main street towards the quieter part of town where he lived the echoes of footsteps in the shadows behind him became undeniable. Startled but not quite afraid in the shadows behind him became undeniable. (00:10:10)

Startled but not quite afraid Bender crossed the street to give himself the opportunity to turn his head back towards the top of the road. That's when he saw the man in black. (00:10:20)

The man was very tall and thin, his skin was pale white and there was something very odd about his appearance. Bender later described the man in black as having an unearthly look like a facsimile of a person rather than the flesh and blood of a human being. The 32 year old hastened his pace when he heard the footfalls behind him quicken he broke into a panic sprint. Reaching his home just minutes later he made sure to broke into a panic sprint. (00:10:55)

Reaching his home just minutes later he made sure to lock and bolt the front door behind him and also checked that all downstairs windows were latched. After several minutes and familiar surroundings Bender's fears began to subside and he decided to retire to the attic only to find that his belongings had been ransacked. His files had been flung from their cabinets, the maps were ripped off the walls and papers and letters were scattered all over the floor. His bed had walls and papers and letters were scattered all over the floor. (00:11:21)

His bed had also been tossed as if someone had frantically searched for an item hidden in the sheets or under the mattress. The next day Bender and his stepfather added a second lock to the front and back doors. Bender told his family and friends he was convinced that the home invasion was connected with his work with the IFSB but he dared not yet speak of his second suspicion. Weeks passed with the IFSB but he dared not yet speak of his second suspicion. (00:11:45)

Weeks passed without another incident. The dizzying phone calls ceased and after working diligently on his UFO presentation Bender decided he had earned himself another trip to the movies. Although he made sure to see a much earlier screening so his walk home would be in the sunlight. For an hour Bender lost himself in the film forgetting the odd phone calls, his terrifying race through the darkened streets and the home invasion. (00:12:20)

And that was when the man in black sat down next to him. Bender was paralyzed with fear. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see the dark figure was staring at him as the movie played on. The man was just inches away and in full view of a dozen or so other moviegoers in the auditorium. Bender sat terrified unsure of what to do until after several minutes the figure got up and left. Spending the next moments agonizing whether or not he figure got up and left. (00:13:08)

Spending the next moments agonizing whether or not he should remain in the theater where at least there were other people or rush home immediately with the Sun as high as possible in the sky. Before he can make a decision he felt the same sensation that had come over him when he was followed home. A sense that he was being watched by unfriendly eyes. He turned his neckA sense that he was being watched by unfriendly eyes. (00:13:33)

He turned his neck towards the exit. The man in black who had been sitting next to him was now standing in the doorway staring directly back at him. A terrified Bender made for the other exit checking over his shoulder every few seconds as he ran the entire way home. It was clear the man in black was attempting to scare Bender. (00:13:55)

And even though the young man was afraid he was also determined to hold true to the IFSB's mission. In the July issue of Space Review he promised the international ufology community a startling revelation would be revealed at the first annual IFSB convention which is now set for November. Perhaps Bender intended to publish a full account of his encounters with the man in black. But whatever the revelation was it never saw print. Within months Space in black. (00:14:25)

But whatever the revelation was it never saw print. Within months Space Review ceased publication and Bender stunned the IFSB's 1,000 American members by announcing he was disbanding the organization. In his final Space Review editorial dated October 1953 Bender ended with this cryptic message to his fellow truth seekers. The mystery of the flying saucers is no longer a mystery. The source is already known but any information about this is being withheld by orders from a higher source. We would like to print the full story in Space by orders from a higher source. (00:15:00)

We would like to print the full story in Space Review but because of the nature of the information we have been advised in the negative. We advise those engaged in saucer work to be very cautious. Bender then disappeared from the ufology scene he'd helped found and build for over a decade. It was only when he finally resurfaced as a middle-aged married man who ran a hotel clear across the United States in California that Bender revealed what had happened to him after the night in the cinema. Within days Bender revealed what had happened to him after the night in the cinema. (00:15:38)

Within days of the July 1953 issues mailing day Bender was visited not only by the man from the theater but two identically sinister colleagues. This time Bender was confronted inside his own home. A series of slow purposeful bangs on the door woke Bender from dozing downstairs in front of the TV. He was alone in the house and swung open the front door expecting to see his mother and father-in-law on the doorstep with an explanation they had forgotten their keys. Instead he was fronted by three identically tall men in black. One their keys. (00:16:18)

Instead he was fronted by three identically tall men in black. One of them was the man from the cinema. After flashing some sort of a government badge they swept past the front door and ushered Bender back into his living room. There they coldly informed the petrified ufologist that he was to cease any and all investigations into UFOs. He described the scene as this three men in all investigations into UFOs. (00:16:42)

He described the scene as this three men in black suits with threatening expressions on their faces. Three men who walk in on you and make demands. Three men who know that you know what the saucers really are. Fixing Bender with an ice-cold stare the man who had been shadowing him all summer stated that he and his colleagues would harm him if he continued to publish information on UFOs. (00:17:09)

Many people, Howard Dahl for example, would have been scared off by a single visit by these MIBs. Bender had been subjected to months of intimidation tactics but had been determined to continue his work for the IFSB and perhaps that directly resulted in the MIBs responding with a show of force. As if three strangers pushing their way into Bender's home wasn't enough. For the if three strangers pushing their way into Bender's home wasn't enough. (00:17:35)

For the next month he also experienced sudden bouts of extreme dizziness, sickness, headaches, memory loss, and lethargy. (00:17:43)

Unlike Dahl, Bender did not believe the men in black were government agents. He believed and later claimed that the MIBs actually told him that they were not from this earth. Down the decades skeptics have used Bender's mental health as a justification for dismissing everything he experienced. They point out that Bender's obsessive behaviors bear the hallmarks of him suffering with OCD and perhaps autism. But as our understanding of mental health and perhaps autism. (00:18:17)

But as our understanding of mental health progresses, Bender's supporters are now asking these critics, so what? We now understand that many so-called mental illnesses are not only much more common in the population but may actually be the driving force for many successful people's contributions to society. Charles Darlin was likely on the autism spectrum and so was Albert Einstein. Bill Gates is autistic and so autism spectrum and so was Albert Einstein. (00:18:47)

Bill Gates is autistic and so is his great contemporary Steve Jobs. And some of the most creative minds in writing, filmmaking, and music are also on the spectrum. Yes, Bender was obsessed with getting to the bottom of the UFO mystery. But what other type of person could build an organization as large as the IFSB so quickly? Ultimately we're left with two questions. Do we believe Bender? And if so, whatUltimately we're left with two questions. (00:19:21)

Do we believe Bender? And if so, what parts of his story do we consider most credible? His claims that MIBs were themselves aliens is an extraordinary one. And extraordinary claims require the kind of extraordinary evidence Bender could not provide. But some ufologists are convinced Bender was targeted by sinister forces from our own planet. Impersonating government agents was the MIBs go-to routes to gain access to their victims homes. We know this because the US Air Force's intelligence agency their victims homes. (00:19:56)

We know this because the US Air Force's intelligence agency the USAFSS was so concerned with the unknown operators impersonating their agents that they issued the following document to their chain of command. The recently declassified document dated Thursday March 1st 1979 was headed Impersonation of US Air Force Officers. The document stated, information not verifiable has reached HQ USAF of impersonations of US Air Force officers and other defense establishments. Persons impersonations of US Air Force officers and other defense establishments. (00:20:30)

Persons have claimed to be USAF officers including North American Aerospace Defense Command. All military and civilian personnel, particularly information officers are to immediately notify chain of command. The document went on to detail as citizens had been fooled and or intimidated into handing over photographs of UFOs to these sinister impostors. So clearly over three decades after the first American reports of men in black pounding on the doors of UFO eyewitnesses there was deep concern within the US military machine regarding the true identity of these shadowy and elusive figures. However despite alerting the true identity of these shadowy and elusive figures. (00:21:13)

However despite alerting literally tens of thousands of trained military personnel to the MIB's existence there are no reports in the public domain that the US Air Force ever got close to an answer as to who was impersonating their agents. There were no arrests, no leads, no clues. In 1968 an ordinary citizen did manage to capture rare photographic evidence of a man in black. (00:21:43)

Timothy Green Beckley was a New York based writer and ufologist who ultimately wrote well over 100 books on UFOs, men in black and other unexplained phenomenon. In 1968 Beckley's friend and fellow ufologist Jim Mosley called to say that he and his wife had been experiencing strange phone calls, sudden bouts of dizziness and had been followed around town by individuals clad head to toe in black. (00:22:12)

Beckley's thoughts immediately turned to the experiences of Albert Bender 16 years earlier. When Mosley called again in a near panic breathlessly conveying that someone had been inside of his house and gone through his UFO papers Beckley hatched a plan. After walking the streets surrounding his apartment until he sensed he was being tailed Mosley returned home but at the last second ducked into his car to hide along with a waiting Beckley. They didn't have to wait ducked into his car to hide along with a waiting Beckley. (00:22:40)

They didn't have to wait long. (00:22:41)

Peering from the car windows the two friends watched the MIB strike down the road and take up a position hidden in a doorway opposite the Mosley residence. This was it. As Mosley started the car Beckley grabbed his camera and at 20 miles an hour leaned out the backseat window and snapped a picture of the man dressed in black. Mosley lived on a one-way street that was frequently double parked and in the minute or two it took them to find a place to pull over sprint back towards where the MIB had stood the stranger had vanished. (00:23:20)

However the picture they had taken was undeniable evidence that a man dressed in black was watching the Mosley home. Beckley passed away age 73 in 2021. He went to his grave believing that he had captured one of the very few images of a man in black. Photographic evidence cannot be offered to support Albert Bender's accounts of being subjected to surveillance from men in black but the circumstantial evidence should give pause. (00:23:54)

Whether you believe in coincidence or not the fact is that just six months before Albert Bender was being pursued through the darkened streets of Bridgeport after his midnight movie the American Central Intelligence Agency had formed a special unit to investigate UFOs and ufologists. The Robertson panel was a classified scientific investigative committee that was inaugurated in January 1953. It was headed by Professor Howard P. Robertson and as we'll see that is allIt was headed by Professor Howard P. (00:24:27)

Robertson and as we'll see that is all the proof we need that the CIA took UFOs and related phenomenon deathly serious. The report was declassified decades later. We know that the Robertson panel report concluded that UFOs were not a direct threat to national security. Most UFO reports they concluded could be explained as misidentification of terrestrial aircraft including experimental US fighter jets that the public were not aware of. (00:25:08)

However Robertson had several concerns about the UFO phenomenon posing what he called an indirect threat to the United States. First he feared UFO sightings could overwhelm standard military communications due to the steadily increasing public interest in the subject. Second he feared that the increasing interconnection between and among UFOlogy enthusiasts provided an easily infiltrated potential network for unwitting spies. Specifically the report was concerned that Soviet agents could or perhaps already had infiltrated organizations like the International Flying Saucer Bureau and from within would begin focusing literally hundreds of eyeballs on the skies around the US Air Force bases. (00:26:04)

It was the recommendation of the Robertson panel that a public education campaign be undertaken in order to significantly reduce the risk of US air defense communications getting swamped with UFO reports at critical times. The methods suggested read like a missive from a modern-day conspiracy nut but this is the actual text submitted by one of America's most respected minds to the highest levels of the CIA. This debunking aim would result in the the highest levels of the CIA. (00:26:37)

This debunking aim would result in the reduction in public interest in flying saucers which today evokes a strong psychological reaction. (00:26:45)

The education could be accomplished by mass media such as television, motion pictures and popular articles. As in the case of conjuring tricks there is much less stimulation if the secret is known. It also clearly recommends that civilian UFO groups be closely monitored for signs of infiltration by Soviet agents. The panel noted that propaganda based on a subject with so many obvious possibilities for exploitation might indicate a possible Russian official policy. Just six months after those words were written the intimidation campaign policy. (00:27:28)

Just six months after those words were written the intimidation campaign against Albert Bender began. What is interesting to note that today all the physical symptoms the men in black inflicted on Bender and that terrifying final confrontation in his home, the dizziness, the inability to think straight, the headaches and sudden nausea all sound eerily like Havana syndrome. Havana syndrome was first experienced by American diplomats serving in Cuba in 2016 but in the years since well over 100 Americans serving at various posts overseas have fallen ill with the symptoms. (00:28:01)

Havana syndrome was initially thought to be the result of a Cuban biological attack but the US intelligence community has concluded it is instead the results of a targeted sonic weapon. Did the US government have access to something like this type of sonic weaponry 70 years ago? We can only speculate. But it cannot be ruled out in a world where the British military intelligence invented the modern computers in the 1930s and kept it a secret even from the highest levels of government until the 1970s. (00:28:35)

What we do know for sure is that Bender was not a sickly man. In fact he lived a healthy and long life until finally passing away at age 95 on March 29, 2016. Do men who are sickly, prone to excruciating headaches, nausea and dizziness in their 30s really live until their mid-90s? No matter how much UFO naysayers enjoy poking fun at the idea of little green men and flying saucers, what they cannot do is alter the fact that the United States of America took the possibility of extraterrestrial incursions so serious that they assigned Howard Robertson, one of the most intelligent men on the planet, to investigate. (00:29:28)

It is near impossible to overstate the credentials of this man. Professor Robertson was born in 1906 in Washington State and by his early 20s had established himself as an authority, if not a genius, in not only quantum mechanics but also physics, chemistry and ballistics. In 1936 Albert Einstein himself withdrew a general relativity paper submitted to the critical review periodical because of the issues Robertson pointed out in a peer review. Robertson then published his own paper building upon, expanding peer review. (00:30:05)

Robertson then published his own paper building upon, expanding and perhaps even surpassing Einstein's work. At the outbreak of World War II, Robertson was quickly recruited by US intelligence where he not only served to keep Americans safe from access power rockets but also served as a chief science advisor for the National Defense Research Committee. As the war went on he was later dispatched to London to help interrogate German scientists on the Third Reich's ballistic and atomic capabilities. (00:30:35)

For his service during the war, Robertson was awarded the Medal of Merit, the highest award for a civilian in wartime, by President Truman. (00:30:46)

NASA also named a section of the moon itself in his honor. This was the caliber of man who the CIA entrusted to investigate the UFO sightings in the 1950s. Which brings us to his final recommendation on how to deal with the public's growing interest in UFOs. One of the greatest minds in America, whose genius helped the Allies defeat Nazi Germany, a man whose intellect forced Einstein himself to back down. This man advocated that the US forced Einstein himself to back down. (00:31:21)

This man advocated that the US government work with the mainstream entertainment industry to influence public opinion away from seeking answers about UFOs. The Robertson panel specifically noted that pop culture would be an effective delivery system for disseminating propaganda. The report went on to advocate for enlisting noted psychologist, Professor Don Marquis and Dr. Leo Rosten, along with trusted radio personality Arthur Godfrey or someone like him, to serve as the messenger. (00:31:49)

The report even specifically suggested that Walt Disney Company be co-opted to help, quote, spread the gospel that there was nothing to reports of UFOs. Disney, of course, had produced several World War II propaganda cartoons, ranging from Der Fierse Face, where Donald Duck has a nightmare that Hitler rules America, to the shocking Education for Death, depicting how a German boy is slowly turned into a Nazi monster. (00:32:19)

These were groundbreaking pictures and highly effective propaganda at the time, and Der Fierse Face won an Oscar at the 15th Academy Awards. But more modern audiences are much too sophisticated to be swayed by such on-the-nose grandstanding. So how, then, to quote Robertson, would the gospel that strange lights in the sky and sightings of highly advanced aircraft weren't even worth a second thought to be brought to generations X, Y and Millennials? (00:32:50)

We think we can provide an example. In 1998 Hollywood released not one, but two summer blockbusters about an imminent threat of near-earth asteroids. Broadly speaking, the movie Deep Impact was aimed at college-educated moviegoers who learned terms like ELE, Extinction Level Event, that had previously only been uttered inside of NASA and little red pages of academic journals. The second movie, the Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck action flick journals. (00:33:56)

The second movie, the Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck action flick Armageddon, was aimed squarely at what movie executives euphemistically called popcorn audiences. By the end of 1998, everyday people were much more informed about the dangerous reality of an asteroid slamming into the side of our planet. The idea of an asteroid of all things posing a danger to humanity was previously thought of as absurd. (00:34:27)

But beginning around the turn of the millennium, mainstream media across the world began covering the subject seriously. Yet inevitably, each subsequent account of a supposed near-miss by these heavenly bodies was met with more and more apathy. Until October 2022, barely an eyebrow was lifted when NASA announced that it was testing DART, a spacecraft with the sole purpose of saving the earth from an asteroid capable of obliterating our entire species. (00:35:04)

In less than two and a half decades, the idea of asteroids posing a grave threat to our way of life was introduced, taken from absurd to science fiction to plausible science fiction all the way to an accepted fact of life. (00:35:19)

Because NASA felt that hundreds of millions of dollars had to be spent to develop a defense against humanity-killing asteroids. Many ufologists believe that since Robertson's recommendation, pop culture has been manipulated exactly like this to make the general population grow ever more open to the idea that aliens are present on planet earth. It was coined in the 1960s by author Ray Palmerto to describe what we've been talking about. Terrifying encounters with unknown agents hell-bent on silencing talking about. (00:36:08)

Terrifying encounters with unknown agents hell-bent on silencing discussion about UFOs. Now try googling that term. See how many links, posts, reviews, trailers, clips of the Will Smith movies you'll have to scroll through before getting a single article about real MIB phenomenon. Authorities learned long ago that having a policeman or official pushing the public back while yelling nothing to see here was a near-perfect way to halt public interest in whatever was being hidden from them. (00:36:38)

No, we are all smart enough to understand our government today uses much more sophisticated strategies to deflect our attention. In the Hollywood movie series Men in Black, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones use a small silver device to wipe the memory of any citizen who had seen the wrong thing or had found out too much. It is very possible that the real reality is thing or had found out too much. (00:36:59)

It is very possible that the real reality is the silver screen itself is doing the brainwashing. The Men in Black movie was based on a little-remembered comic book that was published by Malibu Comics early in the 90s. In the books, and in a nod to conjecture, that in previous eras darkly clad strangers would be perceived as manifestations of the supernatural, the Men in Black agency handled incidents of paranormal as well as extraterrestrial nature. (00:37:33)

One adventure had agents J and K tackle a monster who was drawing energy from the subconscious of a small town's population. Another saw them take down a demon and yet another had them face off with a rogue MIB agent who had gained superpowers. Malibu Comics was bought out by Marvel in 1994, which is why you see the credit based on Marvel Comics at the start of the movies. (00:37:59)

Marvel Comics has since been bought out by Disney, who now owns the rights to the pop culture incarnation of Men in Black. So Professor Robertson's suggestion indeed came to pass. Some ufologists have drawn a link between the Men in Black and unexplained mysteries from previous eras. The idea of life on other planets didn't enter the public consciousness until the late 1800s, when authors like H.G. Wells public consciousness until the late 1800s, when authors like H.G. (00:38:31)

Wells imagined invasions from malevolent forces from across the void of space. These authors invented science fiction. Before the cylinder fell, there was a general persuasion that through all the deep of space, no life existed beyond the petty surface of our own minute sphere. We know now that in the early years of the 20th century, this world was being watched closely by intelligences greater than man's. (00:39:27)

Across an immense, ethereal gulf, minds that are to our minds as our minds are to the beasts in the jungle. (00:39:40)

Intellects, vast, cool, and unsympathetic regarded this earth with envious eyes. And surely drew their plans against us. Hello, I'm Orson Wells, and I've been quoting from another Wells, no relation. H.G. Wells, the distinguished novelist, historian, prophet, who was also the great master of science fiction. He wrote The War of the Worlds, on which was based a certain notorious radio broadcast, which as some of you may remember, sent many thousands of our listeners panicking into the streets all over the country. (00:40:37)

H.G. denounced me for doing it, but later when he realized that our broadcast, like his story, was not intended to cause riots, but just to entertain, we got to be good friends. And I was forgiven. Whether all those people who jammed the highways and even took to the hills to escape the Martians have forgiven me is another matter. This is it. We thought that this was it. (00:41:10)

Listening to that show, I said we were very impressionable at that age because of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, and that really made a big impression on us. One fellow in particular who owned a store took the money from his cash register and loaded his car up with food and took off for the mountains and left his wife and children at home. New York City was just demolished, and they were coming closer. (00:41:41)

All of New Jersey is an inferno, and they are proceeding south. Quite a lot of things have happened in the world since then. An invasion from the planet Mars, that at least is one thing that didn't happen. But in a way, you know, we have been invading Mars. If Mars hasn't exactly been invaded, well, it's certainly been investigated, not attacked, but thoroughly, very thoroughly studied. (00:42:16)

Observations of Mars had begun long before our broadcast, and even back then in 1938 it seemed plausible to many people that life could have developed on Mars just as it had on Earth. Peering through telescopes, scientists had seen, what? Well, first a planet that like our own Earth had polar ice caps. And before then, the general population wouldn't look to the stars for explanations of strange phenomenon. (00:44:02)

They would have instead turned to the supernatural. The historical records of the British Isles are the delight of historians around the world. The inhabitants of England and its surrounding home nations have written down details of their lives since literally before the Dark Ages. Among the details of ancient battles, marriages, births and deaths, weather reports, and the rulings of a court dispensed in the King's Justice, there are notes of a far less mundane variety. (00:44:41)

On the evening of September 4, 1665, the villagers going about their business in the Greater Massingham saw impossible lights in the sky. Dozens of people gathered to observe the lights, swooping around and surrounding the countryside for over an hour. It is possible what was seen in the sky in that long ago summer's evening was merely a series of shooting stars. (00:45:09)

Or, as one skeptic suggested, it was the light from the Great Fire of London, which was raging 100 miles to the south, reflecting off ice crystals within serious cloud formations. The following day, three strangers appeared in the village. They were very pale-skinned, perhaps not that unusual in a country known for its precipitation in short summers. However, they were also dressed from head to toe in black clothing. (00:45:37)

These three strangers made for the lone coaching inn and began asking questions about what they had seen in the sky the night before. Massingham only has a population of 900 souls today. 500 years ago, barely 200 people called the place home. And as such, it was an insular place, and not particularly welcoming to strangers whose first impressions was to conduct a belligerent interrogation. (00:46:04)

Before long, local hard man Giles Berkshire sat down his warm beer, walked the length of the inn, and informed these strangers that they were not welcome. The three men did not show emotion, as Berkshire followed them outside. But as the villager was in the middle of informing the strangers what would happen if he returned, he dropped to the ground, struck down not with a fist, but some sort of invisible force he later said felt like inside of his head was filling up with water. (00:46:35)

As the shocked patrons of the inn emptied out into the courtyard, one of the three strangers spoke, speak no more of what you have witnessed in the sky yesterday evening. And with that, they walked out of town towards the woods. A hunt for them, with every able-bodied male given chase with weapons and hounds, proved fruitless. Three men had vanished, and the villagers were left with a story about the night of the warlocks, that would be handed down to the present day. (00:47:11)

A similar story from the same year, this time from near the English-Scottish border, claimed two pale-skinned and darkly clad men attacked a farmer after being unsatisfied with his recollections of a shooting star earlier that month. The farmer also claimed that the men in black disappeared into the surrounding trees, but the explanation he offered was that they were clearly werewolves who had taken to all fours to evade him when he gave chase. (00:47:46)

It is possible that historical accounts of warlocks, werewolves, fairies, and other supernatural creatures with their dark clothing, blazing red eyes, and pasty white skin, were in fact accounts of visitations from men in black. Just how long have these ominous figures been creeping in the shadows and manipulating our understanding and interpretations of the unknown? Take for example Spring-Heeled Jack, an infamous figure from British folklore who terrorized a nation beginning with his first appearance in 1837. (00:48:31)

The sinister Spring-Heeled Jack, so called because of a reported ability to defy gravity and leap over entire buildings, was invariably described as clothed in black, with glowing red eyes, from behind a pale white face. Jack too would trick his way into homes pretending to be a policeman or an official before making and even carrying out threats of violence. (00:48:56)

Victorian era artists rendered those eyewitness descriptions in the form of a demonic figure, a snarling, hellbound monster ripped from the pages of a gothic horror novel. But isn't it possible that a modern day artist would take that same description, the black clothing, the pale skin, and draw something very close to our modern understanding of a man in black? There was one alleged incident from Britain in 1954 that perhaps provides a bridge between the supernatural and the supernatural. (00:49:31)

There was one alleged incident from Britain in 1954 that perhaps provides a bridge between the supernatural and a space age understanding of the MIB phenomenon. Kenauk Chase is a village in the northwest of England. During the daytime, the deep grey woodlands surrounding the thousand year old settlement provide a picturesque escape, a place for picnics and long walks with the dog. But when night falls, the woodland becomes a much more unsettling place for the few thousand people who call Kenauk home, as well as a barrier between the community and the brighter cities miles away. (00:50:06)

Kenauk Forest has been the backdrop for literally dozens of alleged paranormal events and folklore, with sightings of demons, werewolves, and vampires dating back to the dark ages. But among the tales of the undead and hellhounds, there are consistent stories of slender men, tall strangers dressed in black, who appear out of nowhere and strike terror. Slender men have been a part of global folklore dating back to over 1000 years. (00:50:38)

To the Celts, these fiendish figures were known as the Dark Men, the Vikings dubbed them the Branch Men, and the Saxons called these sinister figures the Tall Men. There have been many reported encounters with slender men in the woodlands and the wild winding paths surrounding Kenauk, but it wasn't until 1954 that a resident claimed one of these strangers entered her home under the guise of being a police inspector. (00:51:06)

He was abnormally tall and pale, the woman told her husband when he returned home that evening, and wore a jet black suit, tie, and a bright white dress shirt. The tall slender man dressed in black fired off questions about a light in the night sky the woman had witnessed the previous weekend, until after 20 minutes, he abruptly smiled and left. The woman watched the stranger walk slowly down the street, and rather than getting in one of the cars parked there, he continued to walk towards the woodlands. (00:51:42)

She watched in horror as the gentleman began to grow taller as he walked. By our estimation, the man was over 7 feet tall when he disappeared into the trees. Since the 1950s, Great Britain has had almost as many men in black sightings as the United States. Instead of claiming to be the only country in the world to have a man in black sighting, the British Secret Service has been the only country in the world to have a man in black sighting. (00:52:14)

Instead of claiming to work for the FBI or CIA, in Britain, the MIBs almost uniformly claim to have been dispatched on official business by the Ministry of Defense. (00:52:23)

The catch-all term for the various arms of the British Secret Services, including MI5, MI6, GCHQ, and various other agencies that are believed to exist. It has become common for former heads of the FBI and CIA to make public speeches, issue press releases, and give media interviews. Several have even gone on to write books or spend their retirements making regular appearances as talking heads on cable news. The British Secret Service, however, do things very differently. (00:53:02)

Despite the popularity of the character James Bond, the British government denied there even was such a thing as MI5 or MI6 for the first seven decades of its two largest spy agencies. All this extreme secrecy perhaps works to the benefit of the MIBs, who will seldom be pressed to give specifics about who they are and who they work for. The fact that they are not a British agent, or simply stating they are on the Ministry of Defense business, will be understood to be the limits of what a genuine British agent could disclose. (00:53:45)

Just after dawn on December 1st, 1987, a retired policeman set off for a walk across Likely Moor in Yorkshire in the northeast of England. As an amateur photographer, he was keen to take pictures of the freezing fog that engulfs the moors in the winter. As a precaution against getting lost, he always took a compass. Ninety minutes into the wilderness, he came across a startling figure. (00:54:22)

At a distance, the ex-cop noted that the figure was short, perhaps only four feet tall, with an oversized head and extremely elongated arms. He immediately snapped a photo, which has come to be regarded as one of the most convincing in the history of UFOlogy. After making a gesture with its hand that may have meant to convey, stay away, the creature turned and disappeared into the fog. (00:54:44)

The ex-cop gave chase, and came face to face with what he described as an aircraft that looked exactly like the classic depiction of a flying saucer. The craft took off in silence, leaving the man alone once more in the foggy moors. The ex-cop noted that his compass needle was spinning for many minutes after this encounter. The man contacted several famous British UFOlogists along with a local newspaper, critically explaining he wanted neither publicity nor the potential ridicule his claim would invite from his former colleagues at the British police. (00:55:30)

He insisted a pseudonym, Philip Spencer, be used and the village he lived in not be published. Nevertheless, less than a month after, there was a knock at Spencer's door. Two unsmiling men in dark suits thrust identification cards in Spencer's face as they pushed their way into his home. These mysterious men interviewed Spencer about the incident in the moor for over one hour. At the conclusion of their questioning, the two men demanded the photograph Spencer had taken be handed over. (00:56:02)

Spencer did so, but then the men also insisted on taking possession of the negative. (00:56:07)

Spencer found the men in black intimidating, but given his long career on the police force, this wasn't the first time he had been in a room with scary men, and so he told a white lie, that the negative had been entrusted to a friend for safekeeping. This was a half-truth. In fact, the negative was in the possession of noted UFOlogist Peter Hough, who was already conducting his own investigation into the encounter on the foggy moor. (00:56:31)

After the MIB's left, Spencer attempted to use his contacts in law enforcement to get information on exactly what department of the Ministry of Defense had paid him a visit. He was never given any answer. Neither did an attendee to a UFOlogist convention in London in 1993, who was intimidated for three days beginning with his arrival in the British capital of Euston train station. (00:56:55)

The conference's keynote speaker had barely disembarked when he was surrounded by three odd-looking men dressed in old-fashioned dark clothing. After staring at him for several uncomfortable seconds, one of the men in black asked where could he find the very train that they were stood next to. And given the obvious answer, fixed the man with a glare, and he walked away. The UFOlogist continued his journey to the Central London Hotel, where the UFO conference would be taking place. (00:57:27)

He was accompanied by a group of men, who were dressed in black, and wearing a white suit. The UFOlogist continued his journey to the Central London Hotel, where the UFO conference would be taking place. And was alarmed to find the three men in black sitting in the hotel lobby, staring at him. The ridiculous question at the train station was clearly a means to ensure that the UFOlogist would remember these three men. (00:57:51)

Setting up a sense of shock when he saw them at the hotel. These are the sort of psychological tactics taught by secret service agencies, of course. And many believe that the MIBs are government agents of some description or some secret designation. We know that it is a possible, perhaps likely, explanation for at least some MIB encounters in the UK. In 1999, upon the death of his grandfather, who had sworn him to secrecy, a British man made a very specific Freedom of Information request to the National Archives. (00:58:24)

His grandfather had served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, and while returning from a dogfight with the Germans over the English Channel, he encountered a circular UFO that matched his Spitfire plane for speed for several minutes. The craft looked nothing like the pilot had seen before, and had accelerated away at speeds not even experimental jet engines could come close to. (00:58:46)

His report, the World War II veteran told his grandson, had been passed on to the legendary wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself, who had promptly classified the incident as top secret for a half century. Given the extraordinary specificity of the request, where the grandson noted the pilot's name, rank, plane, the date, the commanding officer's name, and even exact phrases used in his grandfather's original report, the British National Archives released a huge amount of declassified information about the incident. (00:59:13)

The report was published in the British National Archives in 1999, and was published in the British National Archives in 1999. (00:59:22)

The British National Archives released a huge amount of declassified information about the incident. Because of this, we know other British aircraft had encountered the flying disc over the English Channel that day. And that Churchill took the reports of his pilots very serious. He even discussed them with US General Dwight Eisenhower. Among the thousands of words released by the British government was this quote from Churchill, This event should be immediately classified. It would create mass panic among the general population, and destroy one's belief in the church. (00:59:54)

Would Churchill have used such dramatic words if he believed the mysterious craft was merely a new type of Nazi aircraft? That's unlikely. But what is clear, though, is that the least accountable sections of British government have been less than forthcoming with the full truth about UFOs for a very, very long time. And with that, another Churchill quote comes to mind. Some truths are so precious they must be protected by a bodyguard of lies. (01:00:22)

Those bodyguards may have been the very men who came calling on people like Philip Spencer and Albert Bender, and purposefully spook UFOlogists in their living rooms or London hotel lobbies. And, if the 1665 accounts from Greater Mazzagam are to be believed, perhaps these bodyguards of truth have been on the job for a very, very long time. No single theory will ever account for every encounter with the Men in Black, and nor should we look for a catch-all explanation for a phenomenon that spans centuries as well as continents. (01:01:03)

Of the hundreds of reported visitations by alleged MIBs, a percentage will undoubtedly be the work of hoaxers and attention seekers. But those types of hoaxes are quickly debunked by UFOlogists. Take, for example, the supposed footage of two MIBs recorded in a Canadian hotel in 2012. That alleged MIB sighting was exposed almost immediately as the work of a man who worked in the hotel and who was a regular patron of the hotel. (01:01:29)

What we are left with then, once the hoaxes have been dismissed from MIB lore, is a binary choice. Due to the undeniable fact that the world governments, including those of the United States and Great Britain, set up protocols to stifle public interest in UFOs, we have to accept the high probability that many of the MIB encounters were the work of secret security agencies. (01:01:49)

That these were all just hoaxes, and that the MIBs were not the only ones who were involved in the conspiracy theory, that these MIB encounters were the work of secret security agencies. That these governments would use such intimidating and mafia-like tactics on everyday citizens is galling, and it strongly underlies that the investigation of UFOs by civilians is crucial if we are to ever reach a full understanding of the truth. (01:02:12)

And then there's the other MIB accounts, the ones that are not explained by the existences of secret government agencies. In those cases, the best explanation we have to consider is Albert Bender's assertion that at least some of the Men in Black do not merely know about an alien presence on Earth, but they are, in fact, the aliens themselves. (01:02:38)

Thanks for watching! (01:03:05)