http://hiperduct.ac.uk/the-writer-world-paragraphs-and-essays-answers John received, or at any rate saved, four letters from Carl Allen, otherwise known as Carlos Allende. The first of them is undated, and the postmark is illegible, but it seems to have been written in 1971. Allen had visited Jim and Coral Lorenzen, of the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO), and is responding to a letter from John that they had shown him.
In 1971, Allen was an almost mythical figure, as was the “Varo Edition.” There were rumors that neither really existed, and that various hoaxers were impersonating Allen.
Fred Lee Crisman, whom Allen mentions at one point, was a shadowy figure who, among other things, wrote to Amazing Stories about the Shaver Mystery, cooked up the Maury Island Incident, and was rumored to be one of the three tramps in Dallas when Kennedy was assassinated. Apparently John suspected he might have been Carl Allen as well. Dr. R. Leo Sprinkle was a ufologist (and contactee) on the faculty of the University of Wyoming; he died just a couple of months ago, on November 15.
ADDENDUM: Andrew Hochheim maintains a site about the Philadelphia Experiment, and has posted a couple of letters John wrote about Allen and the Varo edition, one to Robert Goerman, one to an unidentified recipient. You can see them here.
For some reason I am reminded of that line from the original Men In Black when agent K says to his new partner (who just delivered an alien baby) “Did anything about that seem unusual to you?” Even without reading it (which I did several times), the letter starts as typed then suddenly in mid sentence goes to hand written. Cursive, the printing, then cursive. I’m trying to recall, if I even knew, what John thought about this character and the whole Varo edition thing. I seem to remember he was not impressed. Can’t wait for more of this weird stuff! Thanks Doug and have a good New Year.
Comment by Clarence Carlson — January 5, 2022 @ 11:11 pm
Clarence — Thanks, Happy New Year to you too. I added a link to a couple of letters that John wrote about Allen and the Varo edition. In short, he considered Allen a well-intentioned schizophrenic, and thought the Varo office had perpetrated a hoax by taking his material more seriously than was warranted.
Comment by Doug — January 6, 2022 @ 8:24 am
Ah, yes, that puts the above letter in context. John was pretty good at separating the forest from the trees. Thanks for the link!
Comment by Clarence Carlson — January 7, 2022 @ 3:04 pm
Wow! What a ride on the Crazytown Express. I had missed the last few installments, and found quite the collection of nutball ramblings upon my return. Thanks, Doug, for linking those other letters. They reveal quite a lot about Moore & Co. and their dealings. Not to mention Colonel Carlos’s many adventures, some of which may even have been real. That site has a lot to say about Jessup too, which is interesting, but it’s hard to sift the facts from the wishful thinking or whatever is at work there. When Gray Barker seems to be the most reliable source of journalistic investigation, you know you are deep in the weeds.
Comment by ZR — February 7, 2022 @ 8:51 am