The abduction of Betty and Barney Hill
The account
A couple taken aboard a spacecraft, examined by big-eyed beings, with a star map as proof.
What investigators found
The memories surfaced under hypnosis, years later. Skeptics point to the influence of Betty's dreams and of TV shows of the period.
The story
On the night of September 19, 1961, Betty and Barney Hill were driving home from vacation on a New Hampshire road when they saw a light that seemed to follow them. They got home hours later than they should have, with no memory of what had happened along the way.
In 1964, under hypnosis with psychiatrist Benjamin Simon, the two said they had been taken aboard a craft and examined by gray-skinned beings. Betty drew a star map she had seen inside. The case became a book and a film and defined the image of the "Gray" alien. The psychiatrist himself did not believe it was a real abduction, but the couple stood by their story for the rest of their lives.