A Spanish Close Encounter Re-examined

Ian Ridpath
Magonia 22, May 1986.

Every UFO researcher knows that the dazzling planet Venus is the single most common culprit in UFO sightings, yet It still catches out people who should know better. I found the following example in The Encyclopaedia of UFOs, edited by Ronald Story, where it appears under the heading 'Serena Encounter' as an example of a genuine close encounter of the first kind, in which (according to the case investigators) the UFO seemed to exhibit intelligent control and produced electromagnetic and physiological effects.

Notes on Hypnogogic Imagery

Keith Basterfield

Magonia 22, May 1986

The hypnagogic state, on the awake/sleep interface, has received scant attention from professionals. The most detailed review of the state, conducted by Schacter (1976) noted that "There are no standard experimental procedures, comprehensive theoretical systems or well-know empirical controversies" (p.152). Holt (1964.), Hebb (1968) and Tart (1969) all noted the lack of discussion in the psychological literature on the subject.

The Phantom Hitch-hiker on Public Transport

Michael Goss
Magonia 22, May 1986

Just when you thought it was safe to bring your car out of the garage ... the Phantom Hitch-hiker is back on the road again. And this footloose, footweary spectral traveller of the world's highways is still going through the timeless routine of hitching rides from unsuspecting motorists - by preference friends of the narrator's friends - and vanishing with the same spectral ease that foaf-lorists everywhere have come to expect.

The Case of the Little Man of Renève

Hilary Evans
Magonia 22, May 1986

If, ten years ago [1976], you had been a subscriber to the highly reputed Phenomenes Spatiaux, you would have been pleased to find that dramatic sightings were not confined to the sensational media. For here was a case which, while there were no indications of a UFO, certainly seemed to involve an entity not of this world. As so frequently happens, the case dated from thirty years earlier; though as happens less rarely, the witness gave interesting reasons for the delay, as we shall see.

The Nazi's Occult Mentors

Roger Sandell
Magonia 22, May 1986

Jacques Bergier and Louis Pawels’ The Dawn of Magic, first published in 1960, originated many themes that have continued to recur in popular works on occultism and pseudo-science. Not the least influential section of this book was one that reinterpreted the history of Nazi Germany and proclaimed that occult beliefs, ritual magic and contacts with secret societies were central to the thinking of Hitler and his entourage.