94: The Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abduction | The Weirdest Story You'll Ever Hear
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Hey, it's your buddy AJ from the Y-Files. And Hecklefish. Right, and Hecklefish. We just wanted to tell you that if you want to start a podcast, Spotify makes it easy. It'd have to be easy for humans to understand it. Will you stop that? I'm just saying. Spotify for Podcasters lets you record and edit podcasts from your computer. I don't have a computer. Do you have a phone? Of course I have a phone. I'm not a savage. Well, with Spotify, you can record podcasts from your phone, too.

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November 30th, 1989, just after 3 a.m. New York City. Janet Kimball was driving over the Brooklyn Bridge when her car stalled and slowly rolled to a stop. After a couple of failed attempts to get the car started, Janet was hit by a bright light, bright enough that she had to shield her eyes. The light was coming from an apartment building. Janet thought maybe someone was shooting a movie, not unusual in New York City. Then she saw that the light was coming from a saucer-shaped craft hovering above the building.

Okay, it's a science fiction movie, Janet thought. But it wasn't a movie. This was happening for real. As Janet's eyes adjusted to the brightness, she saw something levitating in the light. Objects floating up to the saucer. When she focused, she realized they weren't objects. They were people.

Well, one of them was. In an instant, the light went out and the saucer plunged into the East River. There were 23 eyewitnesses to this event, including one of the highest ranking politicians in the world and people being transported to a UFO by a beam of light in the middle of New York City. That's not the weirdest part of the story.

November 30th, 1989, just after 3 a.m., New York City. As Linda Napolitano was falling asleep, she felt a strange numbness in her feet that started to creep up her legs. She opened her eyes and standing at the foot of her bed was a small, pale humanoid creature with a large round head and big black eyes.

From behind the curtains, another creature emerged, and then another. Four or five of these beings slowly and silently walked toward her bed. Linda screamed for her husband lying right next to her, but he didn't wake up. The numbness reached her neck, and she couldn't move.

She made another attempt to scream, but then she heard a voice in her mind say, be quiet. Then Linda felt herself levitating above the bed. She slowly floated from the bedroom to the living room, the creatures silently walking beside her. Then she floated through a window and through the safety bars on the outside of the window. She was then hovering outside her apartment 12 stories up. She remembers thinking, oh my God, I hope I don't fall. She was surrounded by a bright blue light.

The other creatures were also floating in the light. Slowly, they all ascended into the saucer-shaped craft. Once inside the ship, the humanoid creatures escorted Linda down a hallway that was lined with benches. As they passed various rooms, she heard the hiss of doors sliding open and closing again.

The creatures were quietly talking to each other, but they were speaking a language Linda didn't understand. Finally, they bring Linda to a bright room, and in the center of the room is a long table. Oh no, the dreaded long table! This sent Linda into a panic, and she started screaming. In her mind, she was screaming, what do you want from me? But the words that came out of her mouth were in an alien language. One of the beings put a hand over Linda's mouth.

Then she felt something in her nose. A long medical instrument was forced into her right nostril. You know, as far as alien probes go, a nostril isn't the worst option.

That's a good point. One of the creatures then moved very close to Linda and gently ran its hand through her hair and placed a warm hand on her cheek. She asked him, why am I here? He said, just for a visit. Instantly, Linda was able to move. She sat up on the table, heard a loud roar, and then she was sitting up in her bed. She tried to wake her husband, Steve, but he wasn't moving. Then a wave of panic washed over her. Her children died.

She bolted down the hall and into the bedroom shared by her two young sons. She called them, but they didn't respond. She grabbed Johnny, her youngest. She was sobbing as she shook him. He didn't wake up.

In the art world, Bud Hopkins was a big deal. His art is part of the permanent collections of the Guggenheim, the Whitney, the Met, the Museum of Modern Art, and the British Museum, and a few others. This is his art? Yep. Are you sure these weren't made by some kid in third grade? Yeah, I'm sure. He's a world-famous artist. I don't get it. Anybody could do this. What do you know about art? You know, I happen to be the proud owner of fish playing poker. Don't you mean dogs playing poker? What the hell are you talking about? Forget it.

Bud Hopkins was not just a well-known artist. He also made a name for himself as a UFO investigator. He was one of the leading experts on alien abduction experiences. He investigated hundreds of cases. He wrote several books, including the bestseller Intruders and Missing Time. He even hosted support groups in his home for witnesses and survivors. Okay, you won me over. This guy sounds all right. He was a good guy.

He was well-respected and well-liked, and everyone who knew him said he was kind, compassionate, and intelligent. Because of his reputation and open-door policy, he got a lot of mail. But a letter he received in February 1991 stood out from the others. Dear Mr. Hawkins,

My partner and I are police officers. We'd been in a serious dilemma because of our strict profession and our lack of knowledge on this subject. About 3.30 a.m. in late November 1989, we sat in our patrol car underneath the elevated FDR drive. There it was, a strange oval hovering over the top of an apartment building two or three blocks from where we were sitting, a very bright blue light coming from the bottom of it.

I yelled for my partner, who was just as excited as I was. We were going to get out of the car, but what could we do for that poor little girl or woman wearing the full white nightgown? She was floating in the air in a bright beam of whitish-blue light, looking like an angel. She was then brought up into the bottom of that very large oval, about three-quarters the size of the building across. This poor person was escorted out of a window by three ugly but smaller human-like creatures.

After she was up and in, the oval plunged into the river, not far from the Brooklyn Bridge.

Mr. Hopkins, the oval never came up from under the river. The guilt has lingered and we find it difficult living with ourselves. My partner and I have been debating if we should seek her out. We know the building and we know the window. Perhaps she was just a figment of our imagination. If she isn't, is she alive and well? We have to know. If we should decide to seek this personnel, we'll contact you again with further information if we do find her. And I hope we do.

Many thanks, police officers Dan and Richard. Bud Hopkins was amazed. He knew the woman referenced in the letter. She'd been coming to his support groups. It was Linda Napolitano. This was the first time Bud Hopkins had accounts of the same event from different people. About two weeks later, Linda called. She was agitated. She had just had a visit from two police detectives named Richard and Dan. The visit was strange.

It was almost 11 at night when Linda heard the knock on her door. Through the peephole, she saw two men dressed in dark suits. They showed her badges and announced themselves as detectives. She let them in. It was Richard and Dan, the men who sent the letter to Bud Hopkins. Linda said Dan was a bit standoffish and distant, but Richard was very nice, if a bit nervous. At some point during their 30-minute conversation, Richard almost broke down in tears. He said,

Linda retold her experience and how her husband and children were put into such a deep sleep that she couldn't wake them up for a few hours. She actually put a mirror under her son's nose to make sure he was alive. How does looking up a kid's nose prove he's alive? What was she checking for, booger mortis?

No, not Booger Mortis. She was checking to see if he fogged a mirror. Ah, that makes more sense. Linda asked Richard and Dan to call Bud Hopkins, but they said they weren't comfortable doing that. The men left, and Linda thought that was the end of it. Then Bud Hopkins received another letter. Dear Bud, we're hoping that this audio tape is satisfactory. We don't know how it will help, but use it as you wish. We'll keep in touch. Thanks. Dan and Richard. P.S. Linda is a darn little lady.

Along with the letter was a cassette tape. The recording was Richard alone. The tape begins mid-sentence. "You know, your feelings on the whole matter, I understand. As far as this tape is concerned, I've written everything down so that it'll be easier to express on tape. Please excuse my reading voice. The subject matter was the strangest ever in my line of work."

Linda is a nice person. We saw it through all the discomfort she felt. Linda expressed the deep importance of our reaching you. After actually seeing her and speaking with her, we could see just how frightened and sincere she was. What we saw actually happened, and I hope that it doesn't drive me nuts. Richard went on to recount the events of the night Linda was taken. Even though Richard didn't want to publicly confirm the story, he thought an audio recording would be useful to Bud. We'll never forget the look on her face.

Pure white with no expression. A white marmite doll hanging in the air. With my binoculars, I could see three of the ugliest creatures I ever saw. I don't know what they were. They weren't human. Their heads were all out of proportion with no air. The eyes were very large, very large eyes. Those buggers were escorting her into the craft.

Thank you, bud, for keeping her in good hands. I don't know what you're going to do with this tape, but I do know it's all I can do for you, bud, for Linda and all the other people like her. Please respect the importance of our credibility at work. We just can't be identified. We'd be laughed at. Thank you, bud. Richard and Dan were struggling to process what they saw. Richard was doing okay, but Dan? His sanity began to unravel.

A few weeks after Bud Hopkins received the audio tape from Richard, he received a letter from Dan.

Dear Mr. Hopkins, my name is Danny. You're acquainted with my partner, Richard. I decided to get in touch with you after a long fishing trip. Fishing trip? Oh, I don't like this guy at all. Wait, be quiet and let the man talk. I'm not depressed anymore because Linda's alive. However, anger, fear, and embarrassment set in. Richard is dealing with these very same feelings in his own way. He remedies it by secretly watching Linda. I don't think she would like to know that.

Seeing Linda reinforces the reality of it all and he doesn't feel crazy anymore. This doesn't work for me. When I see Linda, I tremble. I don't need reminders. I'll never forget what happened for the rest of my life. Now, Linda did say she saw a white van parked near her building and she felt like she was being followed and watched.

That November incident was the worst time of my life. See, the UFO wasn't enough. We had to see some young woman being taken. What were they going to do to her? What could I do to help her? These thoughts were more than I could take it. Did Richie tell you about our nightmares? Mr. Hopkins, I sleep with my pistol beside my bed. If they could take Linda, they could take me. Richie has the same fear.

We understand that you need us to come forward because these people you use are considered crazy. We know they aren't crazy. But to be honest with you, you're going to need more than two detectives to figure out what the hell has been happening to a lot of people. Good luck in your investigations. If you ever stumble upon good tangible evidence, be careful whom you give it to. There's an obvious cover-up going on. Thanks for taking the time to read this very long letter. Sincerely,

This is when Bud Hopkins decided that he had to track down Richard and Dan. He went to precincts all over the city and put up flyers. No cops came forward. But that's not surprising because Richard and Dan, they weren't cops. Bud Hopkins didn't tell Linda that Richard and Dan lied about being detectives. He wanted to wait and see what else he could find out. A few weeks later, Bud received another letter.

Dear Mr. Hopkins, We write to you once again because of the utmost importance of what has to be said. There is much more involved. We were given permission to reveal more facts from a third party also involved in the November 1989 incident. This third party is a very important person and often speaks to many corners of the globe.

Eventually, we learn that this third witness is Javier Perez de Cuellar, the Secretary General of the United Nations. He's one of the highest profile and most important political officials in the world. Richard and Dan were working as a security detail for the Secretary General, driving him to the heliport downtown. When they got close to Linda's building, their car died. Then the three of them saw everything that happened. De Cuellar said that under no circumstances he to be identified.

So Richard and Dan pretended to be cops. Secretary General de Cuellar was happy to hear that Linda was safe, but he wanted no more to do with this. Richard and Dan, however, continued to struggle emotionally. A few weeks later, on April 29th, 1991, Linda was on her way to the supermarket when she heard someone call her name. She turned and

and saw Richard. They made small talk, then Richard pointed to a black luxury car parked nearby, its rear door open. He asked Linda to take a ride so they can talk.

Linda said she had too many errands to run, but Richard was welcome to come to her apartment later that evening to talk. Richard said he couldn't do that and asked her to reconsider. Linda apologized again and renewed the invitation for Richard to come by later. Then Richard's face turned dark and he grabbed her. Dan jumped out of the car and said, come on, cutie, he's got you. They shoved her into the car and Richard held her down while Dan jumped in the driver's seat. Then the car tore away from the curb and disappeared into traffic.

While driving, Richard and Dan interrogated Linda. They demanded to know who she was working for, if she was working for the government, any government, if she was working for the aliens. Linda denied all of this through sobs. Then Dan got angry and told her to stop crying. And he said, you're one of them, aren't you? He thought she was an alien. She denied this, too. Then Dan started to get really angry. He pulled into a rest stop.

Dan demanded that she take off her shoes so he could examine her feet. What is this force podiatry? Just go with it. It'll make sense later. OK, they want to see a feet. Go on. Though she feels ridiculous, Linda complies and shows them her feet. She knew that if she didn't do this willingly, they would just force her. For almost four hours, they drove around and asked Linda questions.

Who were the aliens? Where did they come from? What did they do when they took her? Where did they go? She answered again and again that she was only partly conscious and couldn't remember anything. Finally, they dropped her off at her building. Richard apologized, but Linda said she never wanted to see them again. To try and get more details, Bud Hopkins conducted a hypnosis session with Linda. They learned that the car was a Rolls Royce. It had a blue United Nations sticker and diplomatic plates.

and there was a second car that followed them, a Mercedes. Linda was able to remember a couple of numbers from the plate. Using this information and calling in a favor from a friend, Bud Hopkins confirmed that the Rolls Royce belonged to the Secretary General.

A few weeks later, Linda heard her name called again. It was Richard. She ran. He chased. Eventually, she was able to get away from him and into her apartment building. A few months went by without incident. But then Bud Hopkins received another letter from Dan. And if you thought this story was wild before...

Much has happened since I last contacted you. Dan apologized for what they did to Linda. He said there's no excuse, but he and Richard are under a tremendous amount of stress. It turned out that Richard, Dan, and Secretary General de Cuellar had a shared memory that was triggered by the events of the past few months. After the UFO plunged into the river, the three men suddenly found themselves on a beach. Nearby, they saw Linda and three aliens digging in the sand.

They could hear them speaking a foreign language.

In alien language. Linda and the aliens then walked up to the men. Linda's face was blank, but she held up a dead fish and yelled at them, "Look and see what you've done!" Then one of the beings said, "Lady of the Sands." The men noticed the aliens had no toes. "Gah!" Told ya. "I do respect her for sticking up for that fish though. That was solid." Linda and the aliens then walked toward the water and suddenly Richard, Dan, and DeQuaer were back near their car.

Though the Secretary General was on the roof of the car. Dan and Richard helped him down. Um... Hmm? You making this up? Nope. This was all witnessed by multiple people. In the letter, Dan gets annoyed.

When we questioned Linda last April, we knew she was withholding information. I actually was frightened and didn't know what our intentions were. The fact remains, we still don't know who she is. We were led to believe that she is the Lady of the Sands, whoever that is. Whatever the case, we need to know who she is. As for me, Linda is a pain in the rump. I dislike admitting that. She could fly to the moon in her spacecraft and the distance wouldn't be far enough as far as I'm concerned.

On a good day, I think about having a heart-to-heart talk with Linda. Linda would never consent to such a meeting, but we will meet in the near future. Linda says she isn't different. Bud, she is different and I'm going to find out the difference. If you can, prepare Linda for a visit from me. I don't want her running off again. Please start trying to find us. And please tell Linda we honestly didn't kill that fish. Thank you, Bud. Danny."

So Bud hypnotized Linda again to see if she could remember any of this. Did she remember? She did. All of it. She said they were taking samples of the sand to see if they could figure out why the fish were dying. She also remembered being called Lady of the Sands, but she had no idea what that meant. Bud then read her Dan's letter that said he would be coming for her. And on October 15th, in broad daylight, Dan grabbed her and shoved her into his car. This time he was alone and he was out of his mind.

Dan drove for a while and then pulled the car over. He whispered to Linda, come here, half-breed, then kissed her all over his face. Ugh, this guy. Yeah, he's gross. They kept driving and periodically he would grab her knee. She would resist and he would say things like, oh, you're a tough one. They eventually arrived at a beach house on Long Island. By now, Linda stopped resisting. She figured whatever Dan wanted to happen was just going to happen and resisting would just...

make it worse. Always resist, ladies. Yeah, give yourself a fighting chance. Plus, bruises, scratches, and other evidence can help find the perp. Anyway, when they got into the house, Dan kissed her all over her face again. He told her to make herself at home, and he went to the kitchen to make coffee. She looked for a phone. There wasn't one. She looked for some identifying information so she could learn Dan's last name.

Oh, no. Oh, no.

She could see the anger in Dan's eyes, so Linda offered to put it on over her clothes. Dan agreed. Dan then goes white and says, oh my God, it was you. Dan then dropped to his knees and started crying. Linda gently put a hand on his shoulder, and then she bolted for the door and out onto the beach. Get it, girl. She ran as fast as she could. She could hear Dan screaming behind her, and he was getting closer. Finally, he grabbed her, and instead of hurting her, he started gently rocking her back and forth.

He said, isn't this nice? We'll go far away and make a new family. Linda said she didn't want a new family. Dan snapped. He shoved Linda's face into the sand and yelled, dig more holes, lady of the sands. He tried to kiss her. He grabbed her clothes. Linda screamed for help, but the beach was deserted. Finally, Dan yanked Linda to her feet and said, let's clean your face. He dragged her by her hair and shoved her head under the water. Then Linda blacked out.

Dan held Linda underwater, but luckily the undertow grabbed her and helped her to break free. She crawled back onto the beach, but she was so exhausted that she didn't care what happened to her. But Dan didn't try to drown her again. Instead, he sat next to her, cradled her in his arms, and rocked her back and forth again. Yikes, this guy's a few fries short of a happy meal. Oh yeah, he's lost it. But then Linda turns around, and standing in the doorway of the beach house is Richard.

Richard yelled for Dan to get off her, then help them into the house. He calmed Dan down and persuaded him to go upstairs and get cleaned up. Once everything was calm, Richard took Linda home. A few days later, Bud Hopkins receives a letter from Richard. Dear Mr. Hopkins, I was angered and saddened about the whole incident that took place on October 15th concerning Linda and Dan. Linda is very special to me and Dan is my closest friend.

But I want my friend back, but he just isn't the same. Richard also included a couple of pictures that Dan took of Linda while she was running on the beach. And in this letter, Richard explained that Dan was getting psychiatric help. What had driven Dan over the edge was the fact that Linda had been speaking to them telepathically. Wait, what? But when Dan and Richard grabbed her off the street the first time,

She said to them telepathically, be kind, don't hurt me. And this was very unsettling for Dan. Oh, but this Richard guy doesn't find that weird. Nope, because when they were on the beach with the aliens, Richard telepathically told Linda how much he loved her. And she telepathically returned his feelings. Oh, it is romance now? If that's what you want to call it. Well, you told me this story had everything and boy howdy, you weren't just whistling Dixie.

Told ya. She is kind and giving. Does Linda have this effect on others? Are we the unusual ones? I could tell you this. If she were the ugliest woman around, I would care for her just the same.

Alright, sounds like he's pretty well settled by now. Yeah, and that's a good thing because a few days later, he went to see Linda. And now we turn the story up to 11.

On Thursday, November 21st, Linda was on her way to the post office when Richard appeared. They spent most of the day together, and Richard confessed his love for her. Linda also had feelings for Richard, but she was married and had a family. She was conflicted, though when he kissed her, she didn't resist. Uh-oh, Linda got a groove back.

So they talked about their childhoods, things they had in common. Richard was very interested in Linda's son, Johnny. He said he always felt like he had a son, even though he didn't. The following day, Bud receives a letter from Richard. Jeez, does this guy get paid by the letter or what? Dear Mr. Hopkins, the meeting yesterday between Linda and I went very well. She was very relaxed and comfortable. She sure was. Stop it. Sorry. Linda is a very interesting person. There's no wondering why, considering what she may be.

Richard gave an update about Dan, who had taken a turn for the worse and was now in a mental facility. Then Richard dropped a bomb. He said that since he was 10 years old, he had been dreaming about a girl. He felt like they grew up together. Richard and the girl didn't know each other's names, so they made up names. He called her Baby Ann, and she called him Mickey. Over the years...

Richard's relationship suffered because no matter who he dated, he only had feelings for Baby Ann, who he thought was a figment of his imagination. The older he got, the more Richard dreamed about Baby Ann. When they were in their 20s, they were in love and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Then he would wake up. Richard stopped dreaming of Baby Ann for 20 years. Then that early morning in November 1989, he saw Baby Ann hovering in a beam of blue light.

And I was poetic. I thought so too.

So Bud asked Linda if she had any imaginary friends when she was a child. She said, yes, his name was Mickey. And now that you mention it, Mickey looked a lot like Richard. And so did her son, Johnny. Linda was shocked when she read Richard's letter, but she didn't want to get into whether Richard was Johnny's father. And Bud didn't press the issue. Richard didn't involve himself in Linda's life very much after that. But she did receive a creepy letter from Dan writing from a mental institution.

By the time this Christmas greeting reaches you, I will have managed to get out of this place successfully. Did you believe I would let you go so easy? It seemed like yesterday when I hated you. Until I think about looking into those big, deep brown eyes of yours. Then the hate goes away. I can't wait to watch you move as you walk by. I'm gonna inscribe our names with my lips on that full heart-shaped mouth.

He goes on to say that he's going to take her somewhere far away and that she'll make a beautiful bride. Danny.

As far as we know, Dan never showed up, but Linda was paranoid for years. And as Linda's experiences finally tapered off, her son Johnny started talking about weird dreams where little men would take him to a round room and talk to him without moving their lips. I remember how Linda said the aliens put something in her nostril. Well, whenever Johnny would have these bad dreams, he'd wake up with a bloody nose.

Well, I told you this was a doozy. This story is basically a summary of Bud Hopkins' book, Witness, The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abductions. I put links below where you can buy the book or read it online for free. We only scratched the surface. All this and we just scratched the surface? Oh yeah. This book is over 400 pages of interviews, transcripts from hypnosis sessions, even pictures. This has been called the most important UFO case of the 20th century.

But is it true? An article written by investigators George Hansen, Richard Butler, and Joseph Steffula challenges the story. They interviewed Linda and did a lot of legwork and say they've debunked it. I'll challenge their arguments and see if we can figure out if the story is true. The first problem we have is that the only real witness is Linda. She's the only person who saw Richard and Dan. That's right.

they did send Bud audio tapes and other people have heard those tapes. Same with the woman whose car stalled on the Brooklyn Bridge, Janet Kimball. People have spoken to her and have seen her speaking with Bud. But handwriting analysis was done on her letter and the handwriting is a match for Linda's. Linda also claimed her cousin Connie was with her when someone tried to kidnap her. Bud asked to speak to Connie. A couple of days later, Connie called. When Bud hung up the phone, he had a sour look on his face.

His wife asked him what was wrong. He said, Linda just called me pretending to be Connie. We're told that Secretary General de Cuellar met with Bud at O'Hare Airport and confirmed the story, though he wouldn't speak publicly. But nobody witnessed this meeting. And de Cuellar's representatives have said that he was home asleep that night.

His office even issued a statement forcefully denying anything like this happened. But what else is the secretary general of the United Nations going to say? I was kidnapped by aliens, woke up on a beach, saw the Lady of the Sands and then was beamed back to the roof of my car. Well, when you put it that way, the story starts to sound far fetched. Plus, the actual way security and transport are handled for a diplomat of this level is not remotely close to what's described in the book.

Why didn't Linda report any of this to the police? She was kidnapped multiple times, assaulted, almost killed. She feared for her safety and the safety of her family. Bud even asked her to go to the police. She wouldn't. When the other investigators interviewed Linda and her husband Steve...

Steve was very quiet. He had trouble answering a lot of the questions, but Linda would then jump in to help him remember. Steve left the interview way early, even though Linda asked him to stay. Maybe it's unrelated, but their marriage didn't work out. Linda liked books about aliens and UFOs. She contacted Bud shortly after reading his book Intruders. And if her story sounds like it came from a science fiction novel, that's because maybe it did.

Just a few months before Linda contacted Bud Hopkins, the sci-fi novel Night Eyes was released. There are some similarities to Linda's case. Linda was taken to a UFO hovering over her high-rise apartment building in New York City.

Sarah was taken by a UFO hovering over her high-rise apartment building in New York City. Dan and Richard claimed to have been on a stakeout and were involved in a UFO abduction during early morning hours. The same thing happened to two government agents in Night Eyes. During the kidnapping, Dan took Linda to a safe house on the beach. During the kidnapping in Night Eyes, Derek took Wendy to a safe house on the beach. There are a few other coincidences, but some I think are a stretch.

but these stood out to me as a little too similar. Debunkers often bring up that Linda's building is visible from the loading dock of the New York Post,

At 3 a.m., the loading dock is packed with dozens of workers loading trucks. Nobody reported seeing a UFO or anything strange. But investigators only interviewed the manager, who spends a lot of his shift indoors. And while the dock does have excellent visibility of Linda's building, the area where the papers are being loaded? You can't see her building at all. Bud said that in 10 years, Linda's story never changed. But...

that's not true. People who've seen her speak at conventions said the details have changed over time. Linda claimed she would receive 50% of the book sales of a movie deal or anything else that would come from the story. She later denied this. Then she said she did say it, but she was intentionally lying. Then

Then she said she received a percentage, but it was just a token, as she described it. But none of that's true. Linda got between 15 and 25 percent of the book, the movie rights or anything else that came from her story. But if Linda is perpetrating a hoax, she's got a lot of people involved. Bud Hopkins has multiple witnesses on audio tape and video, and these have been confirmed by other people.

But Linda has made other wild claims. Like she said she was abducted by aliens with John Gotti. The Dapper Don. She said other crazy things, like she might be part alien. Her red blood cells are immortal. She's descended from Joan of Arc. She was a professional singer in a well-known pop band. She said she met with Cardinal O'Connor. She was summoned to a private meeting with the Pope.

She said she was in World Trade Center on 9-11 when the planes hit. Bud Hopkins knew she made these claims, but he chose to leave them out of the book. It's best not to irritate a notorious crime boss. Hey, that's always good advice. Now, supporters of Bud Hopkins say he's a top-notch investigator.

I disagree. Bud only interviewed and hypnotized people who could support his premise. In an alien abduction story, the most important people to speak to are the ones who can disprove the story. Bud didn't like to speak to those people. In fact, when dealing with debunkers, Bud would get defensive and angry. Even Bud's wife, Carol, felt his investigations lacked objectivity. What was important to Bud was getting the story, not necessarily objecting.

finding the truth. He hated people debunking his stories, so he wasn't going to do it to someone else. Personally, I think Bud Hopkins was a compassionate, kind, and empathetic person. After all, he had a UFO abduction support group meeting in his house every week. If you made a claim that you were taken by aliens, Bud wanted to believe you. He wanted to help you. I think his heart was in the right place, but that left him impressionable. Was

Was Linda hoaxing him for attention, for money? She went from housewife to rock star in the UFO community, and she loved the attention. Now, I know this story sounds crazy, but crazy doesn't mean false. It's been 30 years and not a single person has come forward claiming they were part of a hoax. But we have to admit, the story, it's a lot. All of it comes down to Linda, and there's no middle ground. Either all this happened or none of it. So you're going to have to pick a side.

I've given you as much information as I can, and as always, what you believe is ultimately up to you. But whether you believe the story is real or a hoax, you can't be proved wrong.

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