JOHN KEEL NOT AN AUTHORITY ON ANYTHING

Soko Here are five more definitions for you to contemplate. The inclusion of the Romani may seem out of place in this context, but some ufologists have linked them with UFOs, and John noted reports of “Gypsies” in Point Pleasant in the ’60s (in Chapter 12 of The Mothman Prophecies). Hydrogen sulfide is reported in many paranormal experiences; I don’t know what part fluorine plays here. “Swamp gas” was J. Allen Hynek’s controversial explanation for some UFO sightings in 1966. And lastly, John defines “God” for you! God, after all, drives a flying saucer.

All right, here are the next five definitions. John gives us good succinct definitions of eye burn and flaps, but, unfortunately, never got around to defining frequencies. I’ve never heard of the word “freezex”; my guess is that it’s a typo for “freezes.” For those interested in more ideas about the 4th dimension, I recommend Geometry, Relativity, and the Fourth Dimension, by Rudolf v.B. Rucker, which you can read here.

Here are the next five definitions from John’s unfinished UFO dictionary. The idea of etheric ships, I believe, was first suggested by Meade Layne. The Omega Group is defined later in the dictionary: “General term for hostile or malevolent ultra-terrestrials.” His definition of “The Third Eye” is certainly a provocative combination of elements.

John owned a copy of the familiar “ESP cards” developed by J. B. Rhine and Karl Zener at Duke University in the early 1930s; I assume he experimented with them. Here, as a footnote, is a scan of the box, as well as a deck from my own library: the edition distributed free by Zenith Radio Dealers in 1937, so listeners could participate in the “Zenith Foundation Telepathy Program,” aired on Sunday nights on CBS.

I’m giving you ten entries this time, since John never got around to defining five of them. The undefined terms may be frustrating, but I include them since they show what he thought was relevant. In this batch, among other things, he decisively equates ghosts with elementals and gives the first term taken from Richard Shaver’s vocabulary.

I’ve long been fascinated by Shaver’s elaborate mythology, particularly his paintings, based on the images he saw in rocks (long story). I’m one of the few discriminating art-lovers that owns one, so I’ll include a photo of it here as a footnote.

And here’s the Shaver painting: