REASONABLE DOUBT, UNREASONABLE BELIEF

Philip Mantle and Irena McCammon Scott. Beyond Reasonable Doubt: The Pascagoula Alien Abduction, Flying Disk Press, 2023.

Another year, another book from the Flying Disk Press about the Pascagoula alien abduction of 11 October 1973, experienced by Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of this event, this book repeats the accounts of the two prime witnesses and the sightings across the river on the same night by a Mr and Mrs Blair. 

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Regression hypnosis is used to tease out more information from Mrs Blair, and from Calvin Parker. Plus, we get further eyewitness reports of UFOs in and around the area on the night in question.

What lets down the book is that there is little critical analysis of these sightings, for instance one sighting by passengers in a car of a light following them sounds like the misidentification of the moon. There is no attempt to correlate the different sightings, and some are many miles from the location of the abduction. And, we all know the dangers and pitfalls of using hypnotic regression. The only firm evidence are photographs of puncture marks on Charles Hickson’s arm and Calvin Parker’s foot, that are used to bolster their testimony that they felt being pricked or scratched by the humanoids.

Like many UFO books, no other explanations are given for these stories. As an example, there is no mention of Dr. Joe Nickell’s theory that Hickson entered a hypnagogic state accompanied by sleep paralysis, or even that the aliens were Russian secret agents who emerged from a mini-submarine to spy on US naval vessels put forward at: laststandonzombieisland.com/2022/06/16/goula-sub-sighting-of-sorts/

Since there is no attempt to provide alternative theories or explanations, however outlandish or mundane, it is disingenuous of the authors to say they have provided enough material for ‘the reader to draw their own conclusion’ when only the pro-alien abduction narrative is given.

To sum up, this book does as the publisher’s publicity claims, provide evidence that if taken to court it would prove beyond reasonable doubt ‘that something truly extraordinary took place that October night in 1973' What caused that extraordinary event/story is something else entirely. It’s a bit like proving a murder was witnessed but there is no body and no sign of the murderer.

In his Foreword, Calvin Parker admits: "Exactly what took place is still open to debate, but I can tell you that it was no weather balloon or swamp gas (smiles). All I can hope for is that I can find the answers to the questions I have been asking myself and others since that night in 1973. What or who was it that abducted Charlie and me that night? What was the object witnessed by all the good people in this book and where did it come from?"

Calvin passed away on 24 August 2023 without getting any definitive answer to his questions, and this book acts as a fitting tribute to his story. Furthermore, this volume is not riddled with typographical errors as in other Flying Disk Press books and is illustrated with a good range of photographs, documents and newspaper cuttings.

Nigel Watson