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What really happened to Barney and Betty Hill in 1961 ? Image Credit: Pixabay / danielarealpeg
This year marks the 60th anniversary of one of the world's most compelling cases of alien abduction.
The idea of being taken aboard an alien spacecraft and examined by nameless entities for reasons unknown is an undoubtedly terrifying one, yet there are a surprising number of people who, at some points in their lives, claim to have undergone such an experience.
There is one abduction case in particular however that has, more than any other, served to define the field of abduction research - a story that is still hotly debated even today, 60 years on.
Betty and Barney Hill - who lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire - had been driving home from a vacation in Niagara Falls on September 19th, 1961 when the incident happened.
At around 10:30pm that evening, Betty spotted a strange bright light in the sky. As they drove along, it seemed to change size and move erratically, prompting them to stop at the roadside to take a look at it through binoculars.
Barney initially believed it to be an airliner until it suddenly changed direction, leading him to conclude that it was definitely not a plane. Unnerved, the couple got back in their car and resumed their journey
Things would soon take a sinister turn however when the object moved disconcertingly close to their car and seemed to be following them as they drove along a stretch of isolated rural road.
Eventually the UFO turned and descended towards them, forcing Barney to hit the breaks to avoid a collision. When he got out of the car with his binoculars for the second time, he was certain that he could see a number of 'humanoid figures' looking back at him from inside it.
He later claimed that they had been wearing black uniforms and caps.
Terrified, the couple got back in their car and attempted to flee, however the object had moved directly above their vehicle, producing a peculiar series of beeping and buzzing sounds.
They then experienced a period of missing time, after which they became aware that they had traveled some 35 miles along the road without recalling the journey.
After finally arriving home, the couple found physical signs that something had happened to them, such as strange marks on their car and damage to their clothes.
Later, under hypnosis, the couple recalled having been taken aboard the alien spacecraft and subjected to a medical examination.
Their story would ultimately capture the attention of not only the media, but also respected scientists and psychologists. It was a tale as terrifying as it was intriguing - could the Hills have really been abducted by extraterrestrial beings from another world or was there an alternative explanation ?
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