The Interrupted Journey: Still a Mystery

The Betty and Barney Hill case is the cornerstone of belief in Alien Abduction. The case is an enigma in many respects, and there is still research being done on its mysteries. Many skeptics have tried to diminish the importance of the case, putting it off as a racially charged issue because Betty was Caucasian and Barney a black man. It has been said that the two well respected individuals were suffering in a social sense because of their interracial marriage, and were seeking publicity to make themselves more acceptable in the community. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Barney was more or less a quiet, unassuming man, and although Betty was more outward going, she never sought notoriety, and has said many times since the case was broken nationally that she wished it has never happened. Some researchers make the mistake of saying this was the very first alien abduction case. It was not. However, it was the first to be made by two professional people that came to the knowledge of the general public. As you may know, it was made into a book, "The Interrupted Journey, " by investigative journalist John. G. Fuller, and it was a remarkable work of writing. Fuller also penned "Incident at Exeter," another UFO classic.

The Hill case was not made known for a number of years after it occurred. The Hills were aware of some missing time from the onset, and Betty even called in their sighting to Pease Air Force Base. Unknown to many, the base confirmed the UFO sighting.

The two abductees began to have nightmares. Betty dreamed of her and Barney being taken aboard a craft of some kind. A couple of local writers heard of the case, and interviewed the Hills, making a minute by minute time table of the night of the abduction. They discovered that there was two hours of time unaccounted for.

Former Air Force intelligence officer, Major James MacDonald, who had been present at the interview, and seeing the pain the two were going through, suggested to the Hills that they undergo regressive hypnosis, and procedure to release blocked memories. For this formidable task, and after research, the Hills chose Boston psychiatrist and neurologist, Dr. Benjamin Simon. After a precursory examination, the diagnosed the Hills as having an "anxiety syndrome," relating to the night of their sighting.

Betty and Barney were regressed separately, and were not aware of each other's sessions for quite some time. After six months of treatment, Dr. Simon stated that he felt the Hills had been abducted.

After the many sessions with Dr. Simon, the following details became evident. The Hills related that their car had stalled, and then the alien craft landed on the road in front of their vehicle, forming a kind of roadblock, hailing them down. They were taken into the craft, and given medical examinations by these aliens, and before being released, were ordered under hypnosis not to recount any of the details of their incident. The entities were described by the Hills as "...bald-headed alien beings, about five foot tall, with greyish skin, pear shaped heads and slanting cat-like eyes."-- This was the very first mention in UFO folklore of the so-called "greys." The Hills were taken into separate rooms during their examinations. These "tests" involved both physical and mental procedures.

Famed Ufologist J. Allen Hynek, after researching the case, made this statement:

"Under repeated hypnosis they independently revealed what had supposedly happened. The two stories agreed in considerable detail, although neither Betty nor Barney was privy to what the other had said under hypnosis until much later. Under hypnosis they stated that they had been taken separately aboard the craft, treated well by the occupants - rather as humans might treat experimental animals - and then released after having been given the hypnotic suggestion that they would remember nothing of that particular experience. The method of their release supposedly accounted for the amnesia, which was apparently broken only by counter-hypnosis."

Dr. Stanton Friedman spent many long hours with the Hills, discussing the case. He made this statement:

"By no stretch of the imagination could anyone who knows them conclude that they were nuts," he emphasizes. The Hills had been interviewed and questioned by others scientists and investigators; some under hypnosis, and all are in agreement on one important fact. The Hills did NOT make their story up, and the events put forward are based upon some REAL event. Although Barney and Betty were in an interracial marriage, which unfortunately cast an unfavorable shadow on them, we must remember that Betty had a Master's Degree in social work, and Barney served on the governor of New Hampshire's Civil Rights Commission. Both of them were well-respected by those who knew them or worked with them. What benefit they could have gained from such an elaborate hoax I cannot imagine. Although many so-called abductees have lost their livelihoods because of their stories, the Hills did not, and remained involved in previous activities to the extent that the interruptions of what happened allowed them."