Angelucci, Orfeo (19121993)
Orfeo Angelucci, one of the original group of men who
claimed to have made contact with the extraterrestrial entities
who came to earth following World War II (193945) and the
explosion of atomic weapons, was born and raised in New Jersey.
However, he was working in an aircraft plant in Oakland,
California, when he initially made contact.
According to his story, on May 24, 1952, he was driving
home from work when he saw a saucer, sensing a force a few
minutes before seeing the large red ovoid object. As he approached
it, two small green objects came from it. A voice
spoke some word assuring him of their benign intent, reminded
him of his first having seen a saucer some six years previously,
and told him that they had been watching him through the
years. They also materialized a cup full of a liquid that Angelucci
drank. This mystical-like experience ended with a message
of the extraterrestrials love of humanity and Angeluccis primacy
as the first human they had contacted.
Two months later a second contact occurred, and this time
Angelucci actually entered the saucer, which he described as
appearing like a large soap bubble. The interior was iridescent
and he felt as if he were in a dream state. His visit ended in another
mystical-like experience during which a blinding light
projected him beyond time and space and his life became crystal
clear. He came to understand the mystery of life and found
himself lost in a timeless sea of bliss.
On August 3, Angelucci had a third encounter, a face-to-face
meeting with some of the space people during which he was
told of an impending war that would be followed by a New Age
of brotherhood. Later that month he would tell his story at the
flying saucer convention held in Los Angeles, California, but
the mystical states and additional messages would continue.
They became the subject of his 1955 book, The Secret of the Saucers.
Though, like all of the contactees, he was dismissed by the
larger community of saucer buffs who were searching for a
more nuts-and-bolts explanation of the flying saucers (soon to
be dubbed unidentified flying objects), Angelucci became a celebrity
among those people who responded to the accounts put
forth by the contactees. They had no problem with reports of
direct extraterrestrial encounters integrated with paranormal
and mystical elements, and stories such as Angeluccis became
the foundation of a set of new flying saucer religions.
After a decade on the lecture circuit, Angelucci faded into
obscurity. His death on July 24, 1993, was briefly noted in the
UFO community.
Sources
Angelucci, Orfeo. The Secret of the Saucers. Amherst, Wis.
Amherst Press, 1955.
Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology 5th Ed. Angelucci, Orfeo
55
. Son of the Sun. Los Angeles DeVorss and Co., 1959.
Flammonde, Paris. The Age of Flying Saucers Notes on a Projected
History of Unidentified Flying Objects. New York Hawthorn
Books, 1971.
Orfeo Orville Angeleucci. Obituary. Trenton Times (August
4, 1993).
