I recently started going over a few of the classic UFO encounter / alien abduction cases in order to update information. The following account pertains to one of the most documented cases in ufology. Betty Andreasson Luca, a devout Christian, claimed that she had been abducted by aliens and was taken before a being of 'intense light and love' called "the One." Her first abduction occurred during her childhood and culminated with an abduction experience that involved her whole family. The incident occurred on the night of January 25, 1967, in the town of South Ashburnham, Massachusetts. (NOTE: I've included my thoughts on this case at the end of the narrative):
Betty was in her kitchen around 6:30 PM on the night of her abduction. The rest of her family, seven children, her mother and father were in the living room. The lights in the house began to blink, and a red light beamed into the house through the kitchen window. Betty's kids were on edge after the lights blinked and she ran to quiet them.Startled by the red beam, Betty's father ran to look out of the kitchen window to see where the light was coming from. He was amazed to see five strange creatures heading toward their house in a hopping motion and startled when the creatures simply walk through the wooden door of the kitchen. In a moment, the entire family was put into a type of trance.
Betty's father was attended to by one of the creatures, while another began to have telepathic conversations with Betty. She and her father both thought that one of the creatures was the leader who was about five-feet tall. The other four were approximately a foot shorter. They had very wide eyes, small ears and noses, set in a pear-shaped head. There were only slits where their mouth should have been. They only communicated with their minds.
The five creatures wore a blue coverall with a wide belt. On their sleeves could be seen a logo of a bird. Three fingers were on their hands and their feet were shod with boots. They did not actually walk, but floated as they moved along. Betty later recalled that she was not frightened by their presence, but instead, felt rather calm.Meanwhile, Betty's mother and children were still in a state of suspended animation. When Betty seemed worried about them, the aliens released her 11-year-old daughter from the trance to assure her that no harm was being done to her family. Soon, Betty was taken by the aliens to a waiting craft, which rested on a hill outside of her home. Betty estimated the craft to be about 20 feet in diameter and saucer-shaped.
Betty recalls that after she was aboard the craft, it took off and joined a mother-ship. There she was subjected to a physical examination and the victim of tests by strange equipment. She was given one test which caused her pain, but resulted in being a religious awakening. She estimates that she was gone for four hours before being brought home by two of the aliens.
Returning home, she ran to see the rest of her family. They were yet in some kind of suspended state. All along, one of the aliens had waited behind with her family. Finally, they were released from the bonds of the trance and the aliens left. Betty had been hypnotized and told not to reveal any details of her experience. Though some of the details of her abduction were temporarily lost to her, some things she was able to recall. She remembered the power outage, the red beam of light coming into the house, and the aliens coming in.
Some eight years after her experience, she answered an ad from researcher Dr. J. Allen Hynek. He was soliciting for anyone who may have had an alien experience. The letter she sent to Hynek was rejected, however, being too bizarre to be believed. Two more years would transpire before her story would be investigated. The group of investigators included an electronics engineer, an aerospace engineer, and telecommunications specialist, a solar physicist, and a UFO investigator.Betty's case of alien abduction was very strange and contained much more information than the average case. For twelve months, Betty was involved in character analysis, polygraph examinations, psychiatric review, and fourteen sessions of regressive hypnosis.
The results of this analysis were presented in a 528 page review. The review basically stated that Betty and daughter were sane individuals, believing in their experience as presented.
Check out B.J. Booth's Interview with Betty Andreasson Luca at UFO Casebook
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The following are the exact transcripts from her hypnotic regression when Betty was regressed to her childhood during one of her first abduction experiences and her encounter with 'the One.'
We're coming up to this wall of glass and a big, big, big, big, big door. It's made out of glass.
Does it have hinges?
No. It is so big and there is - I can't explain it. It is door after door after door after door. He (the alien leading her) is stopping there and telling me to stop. I'm just stopping there. He says: "Now you shall enter the door to see the One." And he says, "Fear not."
[Then Betty appeared to undergo an out-of-body experience!]
And I'm standing there and I'm coming out of myself! There's two of me! There's two of me there!
Are you looking at yourself?
Uh, huh.
Okay. Do you see the One yet?
The One? No.
Okay, go on.
I'm coming up to the door, and the little person is saying: "Now you shall enter the Great Door and see the glory of the One." And I'm standing face to face with that door.
[Betty now stood before the strange door. Again she described its appearance and her out-of-body experience.]
There's a big door there, and it is big, but it is strange. It is like deeper and deeper and deeper. And it's bright, really bright. And I have to stand before the door. But, before that, I came out of myself. I was just standing over there, and I was standing over here. There were two of me, but that one over there was stiff.
Have you tried to talk to your other self?
That won't work, because I'm over here, and that one is over there.
She looks exactly like you? Is she making motions to show you she is alive, like breathing, moving her arms?
No.
Would you say she looks like a wax museum piece or something?
No, it looks just like me.
All right, go on.
I was told to come forward. I went in the door, and it's very bright. I can't take you any further.
Why?
Because.
What do you mean, because?
I can't take you past this door.
Okay, I'll tell you what. You go past that door alone then for a few minutes, okay?
[Time and again, the hypnotist tried in different ways to induce Betty to tell him what was behind the door - all in vain.]
Sometime maybe, if you change your mind, would you tell me?
I can't change my mind. It is set.
What would happen to you if you did tell me?
I can't tell you. I'm sorry.
Okay, let's proceed to the first thing you can tell me. Fair enough?
Oh! [Betty's face glows with joy]
What's happening now?
I'm coming out of that door, and it was wonderful!
Did the One say something exciting?
I can't tell you. I'm sorry.
Would you say that the One was God?
Do you really know what God is?
I don't know. I was hoping that you had seen him and could therefore tell me.
I can't tell you about that.
Okay, let's proceed. What's happening now? You just came out of the room, and you feel great.
I come out of the door, and there is a tall white-haired man standing there and he's got on a long nightgown.
[The next session took place on May 15, 1980. Determined to find out what lay behind the Great Door, the hypnotist again brought Betty back in time to where she was standing before it.]
Where are you?
I'm before this huge great big door. It's glass. Layers and layers of glass.
What are you standing on?
Glass.
Let me ask you now: You're going to see the One now, right?
Yeah.
Why are you going to see the One?
Because it is time for me, they said, for me to go home to see the One.
All right, in other words, does this imply that the One is someone that you have seen before?
I don't remember.
Okay. Do you know why it is time to see the One? Why haven't you asked questions?
They haven't been there very often. Those little people haven't been there very much for me to ask.
Yeah, but they are asking you to do a lot of things, shall we say.
I know. But, I'm in their place. I can't do anything.
Okay. In a moment you're going to see the One, right? We don't want to waste the experience. We want to get the most out of it. So when you see the One, I want you to ask yourself: "What am I getting out of this? Why am I here? And, what will this mean to me later on in my life?" It's like any big experience a person is allowed to have. Okay? I want you to progress to where the door is open and you are seeing the One.
Oh!
[At that very moment, an indescribable smile came over Betty's face. The only adjective that the investigators could think of to describe it is rapturous. This expression of pure, unrestricted happiness remained on Betty's face as the hypnotist continued to question her.]
You seem happy. Why are you so happy?
It's just - ah, I just, I can't tell you about it.
All right. I know you can't tell me, but I want you to do a few things. I want you to ask yourself why you are being shown that which you are being shown. In other words, you weren't given this trip just for a free ride, so to speak. They want you to see what you are seeing. Does that make sense?
Yes.
All right. Now that you're there, ask yourself: "What am I getting out of this? Why am I here? What am I supposed to think about after I leave here?"
Oh, it matters not what I get from it.
What do you mean?
It's - words cannot explain it. It's wonderful. It's for everybody. I just can't tell you this.
You can't? Okay, why can't you?
For one thing, it's too overwhelming and it is - it is indescribable. I just can't tell you. Besides it's just impossible for me to tell you.
All right. Are you capable, when looking around you, to tell yourself?
I see it.
Right. That which you can see, you have a grasp of even if you don't understand it.
I understand it. I'm sorry. I'm just sorry. I wish I could share it with you.
Were you told not to share it with me?
It is like even if I was able to speak it, I wouldn't be able to speak it. I can't. I'm sorry.
Were you specifically told not to speak it?
Partly, yeah.
How was it expressed to you?
I can't tell you those things. I'm sorry.
All right. Can we let the beings speak through you? Suppose you just relax, and I'll put my hand on your shoulder and with each number you will go deeper and deeper. When I reach three, you will just relax and allow the beings to speak through you. One, two, three.
[Betty began speaking in a strange tongue.]
Okay, Betty, can you explain to me so that I could understand what you have just said?
[Betty begins crying] Father loves the world so very much.
Yes?
And so many reject him.
Uh huh, okay. You said a lot of words. Can you explain more of what you said?
They will be felt by those who believe and have faith. They will feel the love radiating from them.
Okay, where are you now?
I'm where there is light.
And what do you see?
I cannot tell you this.
Okay, that's all right. Let me ask you. Do you feel much love, the same love, or any different degree of love now than you have before?
It's a greater love.
Okay. When will I understand all of the words that the being said through you?
When you allow the Spirit to come upon you and you are filled with that love.
Do you understand all the words that you have said?
I understand them, but they will not come forth.
Okay, I'm trying to understand. I'm not trying to ask you to divulge anything, all right? You understand them, but you can't express them?
They're in my heart.
More like a feeling than a concept?
They're in my heart, in my mind, in my body.
Okay, could you explain this to your children?
What children?
[During this hypnotic session, Betty was regressed to a childhood experience when she was single with no children.]
If you have children someday. The words that you spoke, while they had a message of love in them, did they also have a warning?
Yes. Those that do not have love have nothing. Love is the answer.
[Again the hypnotist failed to elicit the information that he sought regarding what Betty had experienced while behind the Great Door. With endless patience, he tried yet again.]
Okay. You've seen the One. Do you feel different about anything now than you did before?
Everything is so wonderful!
Is there anybody that you don't like?
No.
There are some people, shall we say, that aren't as nice as other people, right?
No, everybody is nice. They are just growing, that's all. If one doesn't understand another one, they are just growing, that's all.
Okay, just relax. You've been to see the One and now everything is a little nicer, right?
I understand that everything is one.
What do you mean?
Everything fits together. Everything is one. It's beautiful! No matter what it is!
[Betty's experience with the One ends here.]
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An Interview with Betty (Andreasson) Luca
- by Brent Raynes - Highly respected and one of the better known UFO “abductees,” the subject of five books by the distinguished Raymond E. Fowler, Betty Ann (Andreasson) Luca answers our questions. Furthermore, I suspect we’ll be hearing much more about Betty in the near future. She mentioned that the situation for her and her husband Bob is still ongoing, and that much of the information she received and collected from the Beings over the years has been given careful study, and that two researchers in particular have recently managed to “decipher part of the work, and uncover some very profound and important revelations.”Editor: Initially, back in 1967, you and members of your family suffered a very disturbing series of memories revolving around a certain experience that happened at your home in South Ashburnham, Massachusetts. For a good number of years afterwards you tried to interest someone in the UFO community to look into what had occurred, but it wasn’t until a team of investigators headed by Raymond E. Fowler that your situation got serious attention, correct? Can you describe what those early years was like, and the effect that it had on you and your family?
Betty Ann Luca: When my 1967 UFO encounter happened, only a small portion of memory was attained at the time by me, even though other members of my family were present such as my father, mother and seven children. However, three days after the experience, my eleven year old daughter Becky came to me concerning short dreams she was having of the unusual Beings in our house. Many years later my father had recall of the initial visit from the Beings, but had not wanted to get involved and was concerned for my welfare over me telling others about it. He was on Disability and feared the government would hurt him somehow through his Social Security.
This is how my UFO experience actually came to be public. There was a Von Daniken article in the rag- tag paper called The Enquirer. In it he was reporting about ancient crafts. I was moved to write a letter to the newspaper about Von Daniken’s story, and the Enquirer sent my letter back and stamped it in red, UFO! Which surprised me for I knew nothing about UFOs. Then a few years later an article appeared in a local newspaper asking anyone that had a sighting to contact a Dr. Hynek of CUFOS, Center for UFO Studies. I remembered the red stamped ufo on my return letter from the Enquirer and thought to send him everything I had remembered of my odd experience. So I sent the information I remembered of the silence, the blinking orange red lights outside the pantry window, and description of the Beings coming into my kitchen. Dr. Hynek filed my letter away for two years until a Massachusetts volunteer group of researchers wanting to study any humanoid UFO case in their area, contacted CUFOS and requested if there were any such cases. That’s when he sent my letter and address to them. I was contacted by Jules Vailencourt by telephone, and he later visited us to see if we were willing to find out what happened. And that’s how it all began. Jules would drive us to Beverly, to the hypnotist’s office. We were questioned concerning what we remembered, then Dr. Edlestien hypnotized us, and after each session we were questioned some more. Each session was about an hour or more and by the time we returned home we were exhausted and at times had to take a nap from the long day. At times I was left in subliminal hypnosis and through the week began to have very strong flash backs occur. Which scared me! I wanted to quit and expressed it over the phone to Jules. He pleaded with me to please continue. That others had experienced things that I had happen. Because the memories I was remembering seemed like science fiction, I asked if there was any way it could be checked or verified, to see if I was imagining, lying, or going insane from the detailed experience flooding my mind. If so I would need help! This opened the door for lie detector tests to be used on both my daughter and I, and spontaneous psychiatric checks to take place. Which made the investigators happy, for they wanted to do this, but did not know how to approach the issue without adding more stress to the situation of what happened to us.
Later when the Andreasson Affair was published there was a whirlwind of media coverage! It was exceptionally frantic when Raymond Fowler, my new husband Bob, and I had to promote the A.A. book on radio and television, and newspaper/magazine interviews across the country. All the attention was scarey. I was somewhat shy, and didn’t like to be known as the lady who had a weird thing happen to her! In the earlier years after I had sent the letter to Dr. Hynek I felt relieved and everything returned to normal family life. We had a mini farm with Molly our cow, calves, pigs and chickens and large garden to care for, besides seven children and my first husband’s father who’d had a stroke and was living with us. And then after an anniversary party, my now ex-husband had too much to drink, was incarcerated over night and disappeared the next day for many months. That was when the investigation of my case began, and some months later my two sons died in an automobile accident.
Editor: As the hypnotic exploration continued, repressed memories that extended back to childhood events were also recovered. There were certainly many startling revelations. Ray Fowler even began to recognize symptoms of the UFO abduction experience within himself and his own family. How did this evolving situation change things for you?
Betty Ann Luca: Yes, Dr. Edelstien tried to take me back to a childhood experience. And did break through to an area that was dark. It was silent and three gray forms stood motionless in a misty darkness. I became extremely fearful over what I saw. Dr. Edelstein quickly pulled me out of hypnosis, and did not want to pursue the experience any further than what had been recalled, due to such a strong emotional response from me at the time. It would be many years later that hypnotist Fred Max would manage to take me safely back to my childhood encounters with the grey Beings. As Ray Fowler began to recall his and his families own UFO experiences, he wanted to delve deeper into the repressed memories, however his wife was not comfortable with it. For she also had witnessed disturbing and unusual things take place with Ray. Ray tried to comfort her misgivings concerning the possibility of family involvement with the phenomena. Just knowing she was fearful for her families safety, I felt uncomfortable each time I had to call Ray and report another unusual experience happening to us.
Editor: Now, all of these years later, where have the memories and revelations taken you?
Betty Ann Luca: After all the experiences, exposure, and integration of this other dimension of reality, I feel more aware of life, its complexities, and how like a river it flows calmly onward to awaken the human race toward spiritual harmony.
Editor: What do you possibly foresee as the future for humankind with regards to the ongoing UFO contact phenomenon?
Betty Ann Luca: The more we learn of the unknown the greater understanding of who we are emerges. Facing new and unusual experiences enhances our spiritual development. Why, and what for, such contact takes place, may open a door to greater knowledge of the hidden world that surrounds us. Man is resilient and can survive as long as he recognizes there are certain forces that exist, that may or may not be controlled, whether physical or spiritual, good or bad. They rest in God’s hands, whose Will is greater than ours.
Editor: What role do you feel that your Christian faith has played in your rising above the initial trauma of the 1967 “abduction” and the positive spiritual level which you’ve arrived at since?
Betty Ann Luca: My Christian belief is and has been the most important thing in my life, since I was sixteen, when I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. I believed the Beings I experienced to be angelic. Although the 1967 encounter was strange, and the grey Beings were not as I envisioned an angel to look like. It did not frighten me when they entered my home. For I knew and know I am in the Lord’s care. I was at a positive level back then, and it has been enhanced now for many years. First, through belief in the word of God. Second from all the visitations. And third seeing most all the information the Beings have related to me has been coming to pass.
Editor: Do you think that the UFO phenomenon can be adequately addressed as a physical hard “nuts and bolts” science alone, or do you feel that spirituality must also be included in this quest?
Betty Ann Luca: No, I don’t think the UFO phenomenon can be adequately addressed alone as physical hard “nuts and bolts” science. When God made heaven and earth it was first spiritually made. Heaven and earth was spirit. But it was without a form and was void. There was actually no visible form and it was empty. It was only after the spiritual image was created that a physical form followed which was filled with substance to complete the work. When we see the “nuts and bolts,” we are looking at the forms without realizing it exists because of Spirit. Nothing can exist until it is spirit. The spiritual part of the UFO phenomena is not considered because we look at the material form only. The spirit rests within the finished product. Faith is spiritual. As the scripture says, faith is the substance hoped for, the evidence not seen. Faith is the power of spirit that creates form and substance into existence. Anything that has become was first spirit, thought, word, or idea. Most definitely, in order to understand the UFO phenomenon, spirituality must be present. - mysterious-america
NOTE: this case continues to confound me. I have reservations about Luca's story for several reasons, but the inclusion of a religious deity by an abductee, who has a very strong religious psyche, sends up my radar. She was taken up into the heavens by angelic-like beings, met God, and was even given a holy book that later disappeared. Spirituality is one thing...but Betty's scenario does seem to go a bit overboard. Nonetheless, she does seem sincere in all of her interviews and has convinced many experts in the field. Here is an interesting blog by Regan Lee that discusses the validity of Betty Andreasson Luca's claims Did Betty Andreasson Luca Lie?. In 2007, Bob Luca, Jr. forwarded a letter to UFO Updates titled More wrinkles in a convoluted tale, where he claims that Betty's story was simply a hoax...Lon
Sources:
The Andreasson Affair: The Documented Investigation of a Woman's Abduction Aboard a Ufo
ufos.about.com
cufos.org
The Andreasson Affair, Phase Two: The Continuing Investigation of a Woman's Abduction by Alien Beings
ufocasebook.com
factfictionandconjecture.ca
Watchers, The
near-death.com
Interview with Raymond E. Fowler - Rosemary Ellen Guiley - C. Visionary Living, Inc. 2007
mysterious-america.net
Glimpses of Other Realities: High Strangeness (Volume II)
