JOHN KEEL NOT AN AUTHORITY ON ANYTHING

In the third issue of his newsletter Anomaly (December 1969), John printed what he called “Three Letters of Undetermined Origin.”  Here’s how he prefaced them:

“During the past three years we have received many ‘crank’ letters and pieces of ‘anomalous mail.’  Some of these made direct threats against our person, while others were cleverly and carefully composed.  We turned a few of the more serious-sounding items over to the F.B.I.  We attempted to investigate other items through Postal Inspectors.  A total of four proved to be the work of mischievous ‘UFO buffs.’  The remainder are still unidentified or unsolved.  Individuals involved in our investigations also received unusual letters which we added to our collection.”

He published this letter with the apology “The letters on this paste-up were in various colors and do not reproduce well.”  They are, in fact, almost illegible; so here is the original, as well as the envelope, which John did not print.  He added the following note:

“This is a classic ‘crank’ letter.  In 1967, a young man on Long Island, a student at a New York Police Academy, was involved in UFO investigations and several ‘Men In Black’ cases.  He appeared on an interview program on station WBAB (Babylon, L.I.) under the pseudonym of ‘David Kimble.’  This letter, postmarked from Farmingdale, N.Y., Jan. 14, 1968, was sent to ‘David Kimble’ in care of WBAB.  Both the address on the envelope and the letter itself were composed by letters cut from magazine advertisements and attached to the paper with strips of scotch tape.  The letter was on a sheet of standard “Sphinx” bond.  We were unable to trace it.”

WBAB was, of course, the radio station where Jaye Paro worked; she probably passed the letter on to John.

Vincent Gaddis was one of the first wave of Forteans.  His book Mysterious Fires and Lights is a classic of the genre; and he was writing articles on UFOs even before Kenneth Arnold’s sighting (“Visitors from the Void,” Amazing Stories, June 1947).

Here’s a letter he wrote John in 1989, expressing his admiration for Disneyland of the Gods, and his regret that he couldn’t attend any meetings of the New York Fortean Society.

John was a great fan of Gaddis; and, as you can read here, Gaddis was a fan of Keel.

In Chapter 15 of The Mothman Prophecies, John describes some of the experiences of a contactee named “Jane.” “Jane” had several unusual encounters with a woman who eventually introduced her to that enigmatic gentleman, Mr. Apol.  According to John’s notes, the experiences that he attributed to “Jane” were actually those of Jaye Paro.  The woman told Jaye that her name was “Agar”; and Jaye sketched this portrait of her.  So, if you’ve ever wondered what that mysterious librarian looked like, here she is.

A number of drawings based on this sketch have been circulated; but Scarberry’s own version is less familiar.  This is from a photocopy in John’s files.

Many readers of The Mothman Prophecies will remember a disturbing “Man In Black” named “Tiny,” who visited a family in New Jersey in 1967.  (It’s in Chapter 8, if you want to look it up.)

John sent a detailed report of this encounter to other researchers shortly after it happened.  He included some details that didn’t make it into the book, such as Tiny’s penchant for sing-song recitations of verse.

One of these researchers, Charles Bowen (the editor of Flying Saucer Review), wrote back to say that Tiny reminded him of an unpleasant UFO buff who had visited him the year before.  Do we, then, have an explanation for one of these creepy visits?

I’ll reproduce the relevant section of the letter below.  After some reflection (and discussion with someone who knew Bowen’s visitor), I’ve decided to delete the name.  As you can gather, the man in question is not a healthy specimen, and nothing would be gained by naming him.  And don’t fret, the actual letter was not harmed in the deletion process.  It’s dated July 3, 1967.

Here’s a transcription, for those impatient with longhand.

TINY.  I am now seriously perturbed.  In November I received a letter from [deleted] who announced that he was flying over to England to do research in the British Museum (checking on a manuscript about vampires!).  [Deleted] who forever was bellyaching about being too hard up even to pay a sub for FSR.  He rang me on arrival, & I collected him at West Byfleet station on Saturday, Dec. 10.  I discovered him to be a huge young man — at a guess 240 lbs. — & about 6 ft. 3 ins., fair haired, very thin on top.  Wore a check shirt & ducks, riding high above his ankles, & thick soled shoes.  He had a shabby overcoat, & sported a Russian style of fur hat!  His speech was a monotonous, emotionless, expressionless, mechanical one-pitch perpetual motion.  He often broke into poetry by Milton & Edgar Allan Poe, reciting it as though he had learnt it computer fashion.  He drank the best part of a bottle of my Martini & got himself well sloshed — & ranted on about poor misunderstood Hitler etc. etc.  My family regarded him rather as they might do a cobra, & expressed a feeling of repugnance.  I thought he was a schizo.  On the Sunday, just before lunch, he said “And now may I look at your FSR files?”  I declined, lying that they were “At the office”.  After lunch he upped & went.  I saw him off, & have had one short letter since.  He flew back to De Kalb, Illinois, after only two or three days here.  What do you make of that?

Your maps received, but nothing of New Jersey (Wanaque) or W. Virginia, etc.

Yours ever Charles.

ADDENDUM:  The original title of this post was “Were Some ‘Men In Black’ Ufologists With Asperger’s?”  I called it that because the man I interviewed about Bowen’s visitor described him as having Asperger’s.  But I received some angry responses from readers with Asperger’s, objecting to what they saw as a stereotype, so I’ve changed the title.  My interest was not in a diagnosis, anyway; but in the evidence that there may be an identification for a classic MIB case.  Charles Bowen certainly thought so.  So if I offended anyone with Asperger’s, I apologize; I didn’t mean to imply that the man in question is typical: he may indeed be somewhere on the autism spectrum, but clearly has a number of other problems.

“Bamboozle” was another of John’s ad mailers from the ’80s.  Ads from “Jakeel” and “Specialized Research” are, of course, from the Keel himself.  And here it is, in all four pages of its magnificence!

Have you been yearning for a “Keel For King” bumper sticker? I thought so. Print this out and paste it to your vehicle. The original was redder; but the scanner has a mind of its own. I think this dates from 1970, but I’m not sure. John apparently handed them out, along with lapel buttons, at an IUNFO Fortfest in 1973. Any further information is welcome!

This letter from Mary Hyre (postmarked March 25, 1968) informed John Keel about yet another strange visitor to her office.  It was a two-page letter; the second page concerns some of the personal and financial troubles of Point Pleasant residents, so I won’t reproduce it here.

And here’s a transcript, in case you have trouble reading the original.  I’ve corrected a few obvious typos, but have otherwise faithfully noted her spontaneous style:

Dear John:

Received your letter this week, was very happying that you are ok.  With so many strange things happening I worry about you when I don’t hear from you, although I realize that you have more to do than write letters.

I had another strange visitor this week who said he first came to my office and couldn’t find and then came to the house even Scotty thought he acted funny and looked very strange he said he was an electronics engineer and worked in Newark, Ohio, but he home was in Michigan and was transferred to Newark.

I cannot tell you the color of his hair I guess it was white, but a odd shade and never did I see any hair that looked like it.  I had this book that you had sent me about the convention on a table and noticed and nearly went wild when he saw it and wanted to buy it, but I wouldn’t let him have it.

He wore glasses and when he took them off and when he did I am sure he noted the strange look on my face, because he had the funniest eyes I ever saw they were back in head and the smallest I have ever seen and the color I could not tell you.

The first question he ask me was just how well I knew the John Keel.  I said well I know him, and replied just how well and told him I did think that it was anyone business just who my close friends or how close they were.

He said well do you know him well enough to speak to him and told I spoke to everyone and that doesn’t mean that I was the best of friend to them.  He said did you ever get in his car and go anywhere.  I told him again that was not a matter of discussion with anyone and that did not have to answer to anyone where I went.

He then said is this John Keel an investigator or a writer and told him he would have to ask you.  He tried to trick me by saying how you going with me and show just where John Keel saw this objects and told him I couldn’t because I didn’t know where she may have been.

He tried several times for me to go with him and to give him names of people who had been with you, but I told I didn’t follow you around to see who talked with.

He also claimed he knew a girl that I knew in Columbus.  His license number is J.V.0911 Michigan plates.  He said that he has been interested in ufo’s for 20 years, but with his glasses on he looked 55 or 60, but with them off he looked about 35 his appearance changed completely with them off why I cannot say.

This one comes from a copy of The Mothman Prophecies (the IllumiNet edition).

John Keel and Ivan Sanderson met — at least, officially — in 1962. Here’s the initial exchange of letters.

Sanderson’s papers, I understand, have found an online home here.  Good news!