E.T. Disappearance Syndrome 2 : The Joan Howard Letter 1972

Here is a letter that was published in the May 1972 issue of FORUM, one of several periodicals edited and published by Ray Palmer during those times. In the book 'Sight Unseen', published 2003 and co-written with Carol Rainey, Budd Hopkins states that in about 1983 he had a conversation with David Jacobs, in which they agreed that alien capabilities had to include invisibility capabilities. He then goes on to claim that in 1983: '..to suggest in published articles or even in public lectures that the UFO occupants possessed a technology of invisibility was to court disbelief and rejection... Finally , it was David Jacobs, perhaps the bravest and most forthcoming researcher in the field, who broke the ice. At a UFO conference.. in 1990, he presented the first carefully researched paper on the subject... Several years later I presented a paper on the subject at a conference in Virginia...' [For the complete text see Chapter 10 of the book]

Budd Hopkins states as if it is a matter of fact that: '..This is the historical background for the subject we have been considering...'

According to the Hopkins' version of E.T. encounter research history no one seriously considered that the aliens had invisibility capabilities before himself and David Jacobs discussed it in 1983. Could it be that these two men are so hugely knowledgeable about UFO and alien encounter history that they thought they would be able to justify this big claim? Could it be that they are just too egotistic to consider the possibility that others might have thought of and written about these matters before they did? Could it be that they are ignorant of the 'contactee' and many other accounts before 1983 that referred to disappearing alien entities, as well as objects made to disappear by otherworldly beings? The glaringly wrong statement by Mr.Hopkins: '..This is the historical background for the subject we have been considering...' brings these sort of questions to my mind.

No, Mr.Hopkins, you are very wrong - the historical background does not begin with yourself and your friend Mr.Jacobs...

Joan Howard 1972: '..Over a period of time I have found quite a few cases where persons experiencing either mental or physical contacts, or both, have seen and heard not merely similar, but exactly the same things. This includes types of dress of "space" people, facial characteristics, especially eyes, coloring of eyes, hair, and height. Also hieroglyphic-type writing or printing, and certain things that take place in the space of a few seconds during a physical contact. Including the vanishing act. I have seen this myself.....'