Alien Abductions: Creating a Modern Phenomenon [Hardcover]

Terry Matheson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1998

Extra-terrestrials regularly abduct humans from Earth, often performing bizarre surgeries and experiments on their subjects, according to the popular and profitable "nonfiction" offered by major publishing houses. Books by John Fuller, Budd Hopkins, David Jacobs, Whitley Strieber, and others have helped shape contemporary belief in alien beings. Science fiction scholar Terry Matheson reveals that the alien abduction literary genre has been a part of our history for decades, but was never taken seriously until recent times. He explains that traditional aliens were friendly or merely curious quite different from today's ugly, fierce, sinister creatures.Abduction narratives and individual accounts have evolved and changed, and the new aliens seem to symbolise growing fears that our technology is out of control. Actual accounts from abduction victims and evidence collected, Matheson stresses, are often greatly enhanced by the best-selling authors who market the stories, or are directly linked to well-known fantasy and sci-fi films released or broadcast prior to the alleged abductions. "Alien Abductions" also draws a parallel to the way societal myths are made, and that in these narratives we see a new myth in the making.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Matheson, an English professor at the University of Saskatchewan, attempts to unpack alien abduction narratives. By examining the structure, narrative and tone used by such writers as John Fuller and John Mack, he finds that early accounts tended to portray extraterrestrials as benign, while more recent depictions present aliens with "intellects vast, cool and unsympathetic," in the words of H.G. Wells. Matheson discusses how authors try to establish their credibility with tactics such as including an introduction by a presumably impartial observer or detailed verbatim transcripts of hypnosis-induced accounts. In published abductee reports, he says, the abductees are presented as coming from normal backgrounds, often bewildered by their experience. A concluding chapter suggests that abductees create aliens as projections of themselves, seen as advanced slaves of a joyless technology. Believers (roughly half the population, according to some surveys) are likely to have read many of the accounts analyzed here and may find Matheson's critical remarks unwelcome. The more skeptical may consider his summaries tedious, preferring Carl Sagan's balanced and inclusive book, The Demon-Haunted World.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In the growing collection of pseudoscientific works on alien abductions, Matheson provides a refreshingly rational breath of fresh air. He takes an unusual approach by using a literary rather than strictly scientific analysis of the stories. Working with narratives from various abduction accounts, Matheson shows how those accounts have been used, reinterpreted, and sometimes deliberately altered by different authors. He uses such books as Whitley Strieber's Communion (1987) and Raymond Fowler's The Allagash Abductions (1993) to demonstrate how the stories have evolved over time, building on one another and evolving their own internal logic. The stories reflect society, and many blatantly "borrow" from images in the popular media. Although the examination of inconsistencies in the accounts is illuminating, the more fascinating aspect of the work is Matheson's interpretation of the stories as an arising new mythos that describes and interprets our modern culture. He believes that as society has become increasingly depersonalizing and coldly technological, so have the reports of the abductions. Eric Robbins

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books; 1St Edition edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573922447
• ISBN-13: 978-1573922449
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,271,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful analysis., May 12, 2000

By 

Michael Bulger (Rochester, NY, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alien Abductions: Creating a Modern Phenomenon (Hardcover)

There are aspects of Terry Matheson's approach that are a touch disingenuous. For example, early on the author claims that he is less concerned with the physical reality or unreality of the individual accounts that make up the abduction phenomenon than he is with the thematic development of these accounts over time. In a sense, this is accurate, in that the major thrust of this book is that the abduction phenomenon represents a modern form of mythmaking, and that by documenting the history of these accounts as they emerge we can gain insight into myth and folklore in general. In another sense, however, such a thrust seems to go hand-in-hand with an assumption that there is no physical reality to abduction phenomena, and that abductees and the well-meaning (or perhaps just self-aggrandizing) popular writers who disseminate the legend are participants in a grand game of make-believe. That Matheson makes just such an assumption is, I think, obvious throughout the book. The hemming and hawing that goes on, to the effect that we may need to "discard" our notions of what is real and what is not, amounts to little more than a fey attempt at postmodernist baloney.

The text itself involves analyses of the works of Raymond Fowler, Whitley Strieber, Budd Hopkins, John Mack, and others who have taken the lead in popularizing the abduction phenomenon. Matheson deconstructs the narratives of each of these writers quite well; the effect is much the same as has been accomplished by deconstructions of biblical texts. I imagine that Matheson's efforts will have about as much of an influence on true believers, however, as those who have pointed out the blatant inconsistencies in the bible have had on Christian fundamentalists. For those straddling the fence, however, this is a valuable book that can in all likelihood substitute for reading the actual source material.

While "Alien Abductions" probably qualifies as a debunking effort, Matheson often shows restraint in his criticisms; somehow, while never degenerating into name-calling or other nastiness, Matheson effectively conveys the level of delusion embodied by both the abductees and the abduction "researchers." The book makes for a quick read and I highly recommend it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The most interesting approach to the abduction myths, January 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Alien Abductions: Creating a Modern Phenomenon (Hardcover)

Matheson's analysis of the meaning of abduction myths is the most interesting aspect of the book. His tracing the history and development of the myths is fascinating. I was reminded of the very interesting analysis that has been done of the phenomenon of urban legends. The text was only disappointing when he related the details of individual abduction stories. Rather than wishing that he had abreviated these sections, I wish he would have elaborated more, and provided more direct quotation of the texts he was analyzing. I suspect some publisher told him to avoid burdening the reader with too much information -- but his analysis needed to move more slowly in those areas. Still, this is a minor complaint since the thesis is fascinating. The human capacity for myth-making is a lot more interesting (not to mention, a lot more credible) than aliens who buzz around in search of human reproductive tissue.