Bormujos The “Special File” continues with a summation of recent “Men in Black” cases. John describes their appearance and behavior, rejects the idea that they’re affiliated with any government agency, and urges witnesses to report any encounters or harassment to the police or F.B.I. I assume this was written for some UFO magazine or newsletter, but I don’t know which.
The next item in John’s “Special File” is a letter to Mary Hyre, written January 8, 1968, and following up on a telephone conversation from the night before. The Faye and Connie mentioned here are Mary Hyre’s sister, Faye Carpenter, and her daughter Connie, one of the first Mothman witnesses. “Jack Brown,” supposedly a Man In Black, and most certainly a disturbing character, has been making further trouble in Point Pleasant. Lester Holly was a UFO buff in the area.
I’ve had several requests for Jaye Paro’s article on Mount Misery, so I’m posting it here, since it’s probably hard to find now. It appeared in the July 1969 issue of Beyond magazine (see here for notes on her other articles). I previously posted the picture of Ms. Paro, and the shot of the strange creature, which to me looks like one of her friends in a costume. Here’s the rest, a lively collection of UFO sightings, forteana, and folklore from Long Island. I included the vintage ads, for fans of vintage ads.
Next in the file is a letter to Park and Mabel McDaniel, the parents of Linda Scarberry, one of the original Mothman witnesses. John warns them that he’s been receiving reports of a Keel double. He also mentions a visit to Lester Holly, a UFO buff in Ravenswood.
John also includes a clipping from the N.Y. Daily News, about the abduction of a young girl, which he marks as a “Probable MIB Case.” I apologize for the vintage photocopy, which has faded badly.
It’s a new year, and John writes Mary Hyre a letter about his reactions to the Silver Bridge collapse. He’s puzzled by phone disruptions in Point Pleasant, and curious about reports of a man in a plaid coat. Gray Barker, not surprisingly, denies any knowledge of “Jack Brown.” John hasn’t had much work, and is considering, reluctantly, writing something for the National Enquirer.
After the bridge collapse, a few days after Christmas, John reports on another Man In Black in West Virginia, “Jack Brown,” who may be familiar to readers of The Mothman Prophecies. One detail that didn’t make into the book: the unusual Mr. Brown seems more interested in John Keel and Mary Hyre than in UFOs. (John, by the way, did not have a romantic relationship with Mary Hyre). I don’t know why he had to cover for his activities over the holidays. He had a complicated life!
John had not been keeping a detailed record, so he had a lot to catch up on.
There was, first of all, the collapse of the Silver Bridge, which he notes briefly here (there’s more later), along with some of the other events in Point Pleasant, including babies born to Connie Carpenter and Linda Scarberry. Lia was one of the aliens Jaye Paro claimed contact with. The fact that John identifies Dan Drasin raises another question: who did he expect to read these notes?
Then “The Tale Continues” with more reports, taking us into early January. He gives a talk in Atlanta, stops in Point Pleasant, and meets Lynn Catoe in Washington. Ms. Catoe was then compiling a UFO bibliography for the Library of Congress; they started dating shortly after this, which I mention only because she returns in these files. He kept a picture of her, dated June 1968:
Helen Oglemyer made up with her husband, after Appell and Agar appeared to him; Louise doesn’t know how she got to Bermuda; and Jaye Paro has more stories, including the return of Lt. Davis and Col. Dalton. Despite earlier reports that Appell was retiring, he’s still apparently on duty.
John writes Mary Hyre a week after his last letter. He rounds up the latest rumors for her: that he’s a CIA agent, that he was abducted by a UFO. Dan is Dan Drasin, a filmmaker who went to Point Pleasant with John several times; Gray is Gray Barker, fellow ufologist. The trip to Georgia mentioned at the end was to give a talk in Atlanta.
John’s file continues with a letter to Mary Hyre, the reporter for the Athens (Ohio) Messenger, who kept him informed on the strange doings in Point Pleasant, WV. The letter is a response to one of hers, dated November 1.
I find it disturbing, mostly because he’s accepted so many of his contactees’ stories (particularly Jaye Paro’s). So please remember: this is early in his career, and he reconsidered later. He also had a premonition that a disaster was coming to Point Pleasant; the Silver Bridge would collapse a few weeks later. I assume he marked that passage afterwards.
ADDENDUM: I should have added a key to some of these people. Here it is! Mabel is Mabel McDaniel, mother of Linda Scarberry, one of the original Mothman witnesses. Mrs. Thomas is Virginia Thomas, who had a Mothman sighting the day before John’s letter (11/2/67). Mrs. Bowen is mentioned in one of Mary Hyre’s letters, as a possible contactee; I don’t know her first name. Mrs. Lilly is probably either Jackie Lilly or Doris Lilly, both of whom reported odd experiences. Gray B. is Gray Barker (see the last installment for his odd “Grunt” letter), and Dan D. is Dan Drasin, a filmmaker who made a few trips to Point Pleasant with John. Mary Hyre mentioned Ralph Manchin in her letter; neither she nor John knew who he was.
Before we continue with John’s notes, here are a few pointers for readers:
1. These are John’s raw notes of his investigations, recorded as they happened in 1967. He used much of the material for The Mothman Prophecies, but not all of it. They don’t represent his final thoughts on anything; he had just started researching UFOs, after leaving a career as a TV writer, and was trying to figure things out.
2. Just as John was not an authority on anything, I’m not an authority on John. And my posting of his notes doesn’t mean that I agree with his conclusions, or can defend them. I try to clarify obscure and topical references if I can. Other than that, you’re on your own!
3. However, I do suggest you not read this for evidence of aliens. It’s probably most interesting as a record of one man grappling with a strange subject, and of a strange time and place.
And so, we move on to October 23, 1967. It was, as John says, “a busy day on the phone.” Jaye Paro reports an encounter with the Men In Black; Helen Oglemyer lets John speak with one of them, an entity named Argo; Jaye calls back and John talks with Agar; and Jaye calls at 1 am to report that Apol/Appell has taken LSD and is “acting strangely.” (He has, of course, acted strangely before.) It’s not clear from John’s notes if he talked directly with Argo and Agar, or if Helen and Jaye acted as interpreters.
At the end, John mentions an odd letter from Gray Barker; I posted it earlier here, since John had kept it in another file.
The Barbara mentioned here is Barbara Hudson, who was dating James Moseley.
