A REVIEW OF MIBS (Men In Black): A HISTORY

" A lot of people of heard of "something" about MIBS without really knowing any

of the details."

"MONSTERS: Giants and Little Men From Mars"

 DELL Publications (paperback) (C) 1975

 Written by: Daniel Cohen

The purpose of this file is to aquaint users with MIBs history, how they are

related to the coverup allegations, along with associated reference material

and names of files which contain more current thoughts on the subject. Sysops

are encouraged to add in the files contained on their systems at the bottom of

the file, and any other additional reference material which would be useful in

helping others in their personal research.

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Chapter 10 "The Men in Black and Other Terrors"

When the Condon Committee was sampling public attitudes toward UFOs they gave

this statement to a cross section of the American Public: A government agency

maintains a Top Secret file of UFO reports that are deliberately withheld from

the public." THe respondents were supposed to answer TRUE or FALSE. A

substantial majority, sixty-one percent, thought that the statement was true

while only thirty-one percent said it was false. Among teenagers, the

credibility gap was even wider -- 73 percent believed the statement to be true.

General opinion studies conducted by the Condon Committee, and other surveys

about UFO's came up with the rather paradoxal fact that there were more people

who believed in a conspiracy of silence about UFOs than believed in UFOs in the

first place.

It has  often been said that we Americans today are a bit paranoid; that we

always tend to believe that something is out to get us, or something is being

kept from us. It certainly seems that we were a bit paranoid about UFOs.

Most people thought vaguely in terms of an Air Force conspiracy or a CIA

conspiracy or even of a world-wide scientific conspiracy. It was generally

acknowledged that the reason behind such a conspiracy was a desire on the part

of those in power to hide the "truth" fro the public because people would panic

if they knew that we really were being visit by superior creatures from another

world. COnspiracy theorists constantly harkened back to the old "War of the

WOrlds" broadcast, and the panic it started.

Such a belief, however, is rather too simple for the true connoisseur of

conspiracies. He has long ago rejected the simple, straightforward Air Force -

CIA - science establishment - cover-up as too obvious, and really rather

ridiculous. The conspiracy connoisseur pointed out quite correctlyl that no

government or group, no matter how powerful, could possibly supress so much

sensational information for so long -- no earthly group that is.

If the extraterrestrials WANTED to make themselves known then they would land

in a central place, and all the feeble earthly cover-up would simply be blown

away. It is out of this sort of background that the legend of the Men in Black

arose. It concerns strange little men in dark suits who drive around in big

shiny cars and harass people who claimed to have seen a UFO.

The origin of the Men in Black legend can be pin-pointed fairly exactly. Back

in 1953 a man by the name of Albert K. Bender was runnong an organization

called the International Flying Suacer Bureau (IFSB) and editing a little

publication called "Space Review" that was dedicated to news of flying saucers.

The IFSB had a small membership despite its rather grandoise title, and "Space

Review" reached at best, no more than a few hundred readers. But they were all

deeply devoted to the idea that flying saucers were craft from outer soace. In

common with other ture believers, these saucer buffs were convinced that they

were in possession of a great truth, while most of the rest of the world

remained in darkness and ignorance. They felt very important , and thus it was

with a sense of surprise, even shock, that they opened up the October 1953

issue of "Space Review" and found two unexpected announcments:

   "LATE BULLETIN. A source which the IFSB considers very reliable has informed

us that the investigation of the flying soucer mystery and the solution is

approaching its final stages."

   "This same source to whom we had referred data, which had come into our

possession, suggested that it was not the proper method and time to publish the

data in 'Space Review'."

   The second and more shocking item read:

   "STATEMENT OF IMPORTANCE: 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 order from a higher source. We would like to print the full story

in "Space REview", but because of the nature of the information we are very

sorry that we have been advised in the negative."

   The statement ended with the ominous sentence, "We advice those engaged in

saucer work to please be very cautious." Bender then suspended the publication

of "Space Review", and siddolved the IFSB.

The tone of the announcemnets would have been familiar to anyone who had much

experience with occult organizations. Occultists often claim they are in the

possession of some great secret which, for equally secret reasons, they cannot

reveal. Even the appeal, "please be very cautious" was not unique. It made

those engaged in "saucer work" feel more important . After all, who is going to

bother to persecute you if you are just wasting your time?

SHortly after Bender closed down his magazine and organization he gave an

interview to a local paper which he asserted the he had been visited by "three

men wearing dark suits" who had order him "emphatically" to stop publishing

material about flying saucers. Bender said that he had been "scared to death"

and that he "acutally couldn't eat for a couple of days." Some of Bender's

former associates tried to press for a more satisfactory explanation, but to

all questions he replied either cryptically or not at all.

This state of affairs created soncsiderable confusions amoung the flying saucer

buffs. What were they to think about sucah a strange story> Some were openly

skeptical of Bender's tale. They said that his publication and organization

were losing money and the tale of the three visitors who "ordered" him to stop

publishing was just a face-saving gesture. Yet, as the years went by the "three

Men in Black" began to sound more rspectable and they took on a life of their

own. Some' were Bender's friends first thought that the Men in Black were from

Air Force or the CIA, and indeed Bender's original statments do seem to sound

like government agents. But after a while the Men in Black begun to assume a

more extraterrestrial, even supernatural air.

Finally in 1963, a full decade after he first told of his mysterious visitors,

Alber Bender elaborated further in a book called "Flying Sauvers adn the Three

Men in Black." It was a strange, confused and virutally unreadable book that

revealed very little in the way of hard facts, but did significantly enhance

the reutation of the Men in Black as extraterrestrials. The book also

introduced into the lore "three beautful women, dressed in tight white

unigorms." Like thei r mail couterparts in black, the women in white had

"glowing eys."

But even before the publication of Bender's book in 1963, the Men in Black (or

MIBSs as they are know to insiders) had already been reported to be vising

others besides Albert Bender. By now they have been reported so often that they

have become an established part of the UFO history. The Men in Black, naturally

enough, wear black suits. They also usually wear sunglasses, presumably to

disguise their "glowing eyes". Most of them are reported to be short and

delicately built with olive complexions and dark, straight hair. They are often

described as "Gypsies" or "Orientals". Most MIBS are reported to travel in

groups of three and usually ride around in shiny new black cars -- often

Cadillacs. These cars are even supposed to "smell new." SOmetimes the MIBs pose

as investigators from the CIA or some other government agancy. They may flash

official-looking credentials, but these can never be checked out. Occassionally

the MIBs display badges with strange emblems on them, or have unrecognizable

symbols painted on their cars. The purpose of the visits seems to be to get

people who have seen UFOs to stop talking about them, or somehow to confuse and

frighten the witnesses.

People who worry about MIBs tend to lump all sorts of mysterious visitors into

the category, even if they don't wear black, have glowing eyes or show any of

the familiar MIB characteristics. The primary qualification for the Men in

Black is that they be of unknown origin, and that they appear to act oddly and

vaguely menancing.

Some of those who write about UFO's and other strange pehomena rather casually

mention "countless" cases where people have been visited by Men in Black. In

reality these "countless" cases are difficult to pin down. In fact, there

really seems to be a rather small number of MIB cases where there are any

details available at all.

The impression given by the writers is that the publicized cases represent only

"the tip of the iceberg." Beyond these, say the writers, are many "more

sensational" cases, the details of which cannot be revealed for a variety of

reasons. In any event solid evidence for a vast number of MIB cases is lacking.

But we are, after all, dealing with beliefs as much as with reality, and

impression is an important one.

Often the MIB cases that we know of are not quite as sensational as Albert

Bender's three visitors, but they are unsettling nevetheless. Take the case of

California highway inspector Rex Heflin. On August 3, 1965, Heflin claimed to

have taken a series of Polaroid photos of a UFO from his car while parked near

the Santa Ana Freeway. The pictures were quite clear and they showd an object

shaped rather like a straw hat apparenlty floating above the ground. These

pictures got a great deal of publicity, and are still among the most requently

repreinted UFO photos. Heflin's story was investigated by the Air Force shortly

after it bacome known. It was also looke into by investigators fot the Condon

Committee durring their inquiry. (The committee investigator produced a pretty

fair imitation of the photos by suspending the lens cap of his camera in front

of his car with a thread and photograph it through the car window). In

addition, a host of unofficial UFO groups tackled the case in their own way.

There was considerable suspicion on the part of official investigators that the

photos had been faked, but this was difficult to prove or disprove without the

original prints. Being Poaroid photos there were no negative.

Heflin said that he had turned over three of the four originals to a man (or

two men, the stories differ) who calimed that he represented the North American

Air Defense Command (NORAD). NORAD denied that they had ever sent out an

investigator or indeed that they had the slightest interst in the photos. The

mysterious person who is alleged to have taken the phots has never been

identified.

On October 11, 1967, over two years after Heflin's original sighting, but while

the Condon investigation was going on, Heflin reported another encounter with

mysterious visitors. A man who said that he was Captain C. H. Edmonds of the

Space Systems Division, Systems Command, a unit of the Air Force that had been

involved in the first investigation of his UFO photos, came to his home. During

the interview the man who called himself Captain Edmonds asked Heflin if he

wanted his original photos back. When Heflin said no, the man was "visibly

relieved." Inexplicably, the man then began discussin the Bermuda Triangle.

This is an area near the island of Bermuda where a number of mysterious

disappearances of airplanes and shops have been reported. These disappearances

have been linked by some to UFOs, though the connection does not seem very

convincing.

While this strange interview was going on Heflin said that he saw a car parked

in the street. It had some sort of lettering on the front door but he could not

make it out. To quote the Condon Report description of the indicent, "In the

back seat could be seen a figure and a violet (not blue) glow, which the

witness attributed to instrument dials. He believed he was being photographed

or recorded. In the meantime his FM multiplex radio was playing in the living

room and during the questioning it made several loud audible pops." All

attempts by the Air Foece, various civilian researchers and the Condon

Committee itself to find "Captain C. H. Edmonds" failed. As far as can be

determined, no such person has ever existed.

A much more bizarre story was supposedly told by an unnamed family who had

sighted a UFO. Sometime after the sighting they said that they were visited by

a very strange individual. Ivan Sanderson, who reported the incident in his

book "Univited Visitors", decribed the individual thus:

  "almost seven feet tall, with a small head, dead white skin, enormous frame,

but pipe stem limbs." This oddity said he was an insurance investigator and

that he was looking for someone who had the same name as the husband of this

family. He indicated that the man he was looking for had inherited a great deal

of money. Continued Sanderson, "This weird individual just appeared out of the

night wearing a strange fur hat with a vizor and only a light jacket. He

flashed an official-looking card on entry but put it away immediately. Late on

when he removed his jacket he discolsed an official looking gold shield on his

shirt which he instantly covered with his hand and removed."

The strange visitor asked some personal questions about the family, but nothing

at all about the UFOs. The creepiest part of the whole affair came when the

eldest daughter of the family notices that the "investigator's" tight pants had

ridden up his skinny leg, and she saw a green wire running out of his sock, up

his leg and into his flesh at two points. After the interview the

"investigator" got into a large black car which contained at least two other

persons, and seemed to appear on an old dirt road that led from the woods. The

car drove off into the night with its headlights off.

In addition to scaring and intimidating people, visits of MIBs are also

supposed to produce a variety of unpleasant physical symptoms. Bender said he

suffered from headaches, lapses of memory and was plagued by strange odors

following the first visit of the Men in Black. Others who say they have had

similar visitations have made similar complaints.

Another eerie thing attributed to MIB types, it the ability to lok like anyone

they want to. Some UFO researchers claim that MIBs have bee posing as THEM in

order to silence potential witnesses. John Keel, who has written a number of

UFO books, said that he had encountered people who refused to believe that he

was who he said he was. "Later contactees (those who say the are somehow or

another in contact with the space people) began to whisper to local UFO

investigators that the real John Keel had been kidnaped by a flying saucer and

that a cunning android who looked just like me had been substituted in my

place. Incredible though it may sound, this was taken very seriously, and later

even some of mymore rational correspondents admitted that they carefully

compared the signatures on my current letters with prerumor letters they had

received."

As we said earlier, each era tries to explain strange encounters in terms of

its own system of beliefs. I have been struck by the similarity of some of

these MIB cases with medieval tales of encounters with the devil or some of his

demons. The devil, for example, was very often described as a man dressed in

black. The ability to change shape and appear in any form was commonly

attributed to demons, who were able to take the shape of a victim's friends and

neighbors and evenassume the likeness of angels and saints. Many of those who

said that they had met the devil complained of the same range of physcial

symptoms reported byt those who encountered the MIBs.

The shiny new cars associated with MIBs is reminiscent of the Haitian belief in

an evil society of sorcerers called "zobops". Haitians say that if you see a

big new car going along the road without a driver is under control of the

"zobops", and you had better not try to interfer with it.

Now, I am not trying to imply that the MIBS are agents of the devil, or vice

versa, anymore then I would try to say that the little green men from Mars were

really the fairy folk of past generations. It is just that our visions and

fears often remain the same over the ages, and only our explanations for them

change.

Of course, encounters with the devil during the Middle Ages were generally more

frightening and overpowering experiences than current experiences with MIBs.

Everybody believed in the devil, while today everybody does not believe in the

creatures from outer space. Medieval society took devil stories in dead

earnest, and anyone who made such a report might find himself facing a painful

death at the stake. The worst one can expect from reorting an MIB encounter is

a certain amount of disbelief and ridicule. In general, MIB tales are

considered too bizarre even to be reported in local newspapers. They are

published only in magazines and books put out for and by UFO enthusiasts.

Usually such publications are privately printed and are read by only a few

hundred. A few book, however, have been issued by major publishers and have

reached a far wider aydience. These cases are also occasionaly discussed on

radio and TV talk shows, so the information gets around more widely than one

might think. A lot of people of heard of "something" about MIBS without really

knowing any of the details.

There is one incident which bared certain similarities to the traditional MIB

case that did receuve very wide publicity. This is the story of the "kidnaping"

of Betty and Barney Hill. While most of the MIB cases do not appear directly to

involve a UFO, this one does. The couple was driving to their home in

Portsmouth, New Hampshire, from Canado on the night of September 19, 1961. They

were on an isolated stretch of road when they spotted what they thought was a

flying saucer above them. The followed two completly blank hours in their

lives. They could remember nothing from the time they saw the UFO until a time

two hours later when they found themselves in their car several miles down the

road from where they had seen the UFO. For months after this experience both of

the Hills suffered from severe psychological distress. Finally they consulted a

psychiatrist, who hynotized them, and under hypnosis the Hills revealed a

strange story of being kidnaped and taken aboard a flyin saucer.

The Hills didn't rush out and try to get publicity about their experience or

write a book about it. In fact, they were remarkably quiet. But the incident

did ultimately come to the attention of author John Fuller, who had already

written an extremely popular UFO book. With the co-operation of the Hills and

of their psychiatrist, Fuller produced another best seller, "The Interrupted

Journey", which was first serialized in the now defunct Look magazine.

Though the book is carefully hedged with qualifications that the experience

described might be a hallucination or a dream rahter tha a "totally real and

true experience," the distinct impression left by "The Interrupted Hourney" on

thousands of readers was that the experience was a "totally real and true" one.

The people or entities that were supposed to be controlling the spaceship that

kidnaped the Hills can be squeezed into the Men in Black lore. Barney Hill

described on of his captors as looking like "a red-headed Irishman," hardly an

MIB type. But another wore "a shiny black coat," with a black scarf thrown

about his neck.

Under hynosis Hill  drew a picture of "the leader" of his abductors. It is a

strange insectlike face with a wide, thin mouth and huge slanting eyes that

seem to go halfway around the creatur's head. The eyes were the most

frightening part of the saucer inhabitant's strange physiognomy. Once during a

hypnotic session with the psychiatrist Barny Hill cried out in terror, "Oh,

those eyes! They're in my brain!" Glowing eyes, you will recall, are considered

of of the key characteristics of the typical Man in Black.

Unlike many of the books written by or about people who say that they had

encountered the inhabitants of UFOs, "The Interrupted Journey" carries real

conviction. One gets thefeeling that the Hills and Fuller are intelligent,

cincere and sane people who really believe that what they descrobed is what

actually did happen.

So this idea was planted in the minds of thousands of readers of "the

Interrupted Journey": UFO's can land, the extraterrestrials can kidnap ordinary

people, subject them to a degrading and almost brutal examination and then wipe

all memory of the incident from their minds, leaving behind only an unexplained

sense of anxiety bordering on panic.

Well, what does all of this mean? Are we being invaded by some weird bunch of

extraterrestrials who havei in the words of the old "Shadow" radio show, "the

power to cloud men's minds"? Frankly the evidence does not support such an

alarming conclusion.

Are all the stories hoaxes and hallucinations? Psychiatrists could certainly

have a field day with many of these accounts. Symptoms such as loss of memory,

severe anxiety and other unpleasant reactions strongly suggest that many of

those who report such experiences are in a disturbed psychological state,

though they would claim the disturbance was caused by the encounter with the

strange visitor. In any event they do not make the most reliable of witnesses.

SOme of the other stories are almost certainly sheer fiction, made up either by

some practical koker or by a writer of senstaional books.

Whether all the stories are real or unreal is not a question that we can answer

conclusively here. The point is that we Americans are building a mythology for

ourselves, just as the Europeans did with their tales of dragons, ogres and

elves, and just as all people have done in all parts of the world in all ages.

We have often prided outselves on being a practical hardheaded, no-nonsense

sort of people who were immune to the irrational fears an superstitious notions

of less clear-sighte and realistic folk. This proposition is demonstrably

untrue. And perhaps we are better off for it. Our monsters, our space people,

even if they don't exist, if indeed they are rather silly, also make life more

interesting and exciting.

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Additional notes:

Please take into consideration the above was written in 1975 prior to the

calvacade of reported abductions and sightings which are occuring today. To

view the progrees of this "myth", the following material may be of interest.

"Excalibur Briefing"

Thomas E. Bearden

Strawberry Hill Press (C) 1980

MIBS from a paranormal point of view.

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"UFO's and Their Mission Impossible"

Dr. Clifford Wilson

Signet Press (C)

MIBS and abductions in contrast to medeival possesions and early occult

phenomena in the 1800's.

"Flying Saucers on The Attack"

Harold T. Wilkins

Ace Books (C) 195?

A good account of the Albert K. Bender incident including views towards the

MIBs durring the era it all started.

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Please feel free to add to the reference list when circulating the file.

  -- Linda Murphy