Hermann, William J.
William J. Hermann, flying saucer contactee and channeler,
emerged out of obscurity in 1978 after claiming to have had a
series of sightings of a UFO over Charleston, South Carolina,
beginning in November of 1977. On January 22, 1978, he was
able to take nine photographs of the object. Two months later
as he was out looking for more UFOs, the disc he had sighted
earlier reappeared and came toward him. According to Hermann,
it sent out a light beam that paralyzed him. He lost consciousness
and awakened three hours later 15 miles away. He
watched the UFO depart.
He called the police, who took him home. Several days later,
after suffering from insomnia and general nervousness and unrest,
he submitted to hypnosis under the guidance of James A.
Harder, a UFO researcher associated with the Aerial Phenomena
Research Organization, one of the prominent UFO research
groups of the time. Under the hypnosis, he talked of being
aboard the UFO. He was on an examination table being looked
at by three humanoid creatures. They had large hairless heads,
oversized eyes, pale skin, and red clothing.
One of the three spoke to him, but his mouth did not appear
to move. He was given a brief tour of the spacecraft and then
lost consciousness. He had learned that the beings were from
Zeta Reticuli. They had been observing Earth for half a century.
They were concerned about humanitys tendencies toward war
and warned that our violent natures would destroy human civilization.
In the weeks following the hypnosis session, Hermann had
other sightings and began channeling messages from the people
who had abducted him. He also produced a metal bar that
he claimed came from the aliens. It proved to be made of lead
and antimony, similar in content to the material in an automobile
battery. In May of 1979 Hermann claimed to have had a
final contact with the saucer beings, who took him for a ride.
As his story was publicized, Hermann contacted Wendelle
Stevens, a publisher of UFO contactee material, who coauthored
a more complete account of his story, which was published
in 1981. The volume circulated in the contactee subculture
but was generally dismissed by ufologists as lacking any
collaboration.
Sources
Stevens, Wendelle C., and William James Hermann.
UFO. . .Contact from Reticulum A Report of the Investigation. Tucson,
Ariz. Wendelle Stevens, 1981.
