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from: Bl'1 0penEye, LondonW(lNlil(. Tel:0955
 IGATESSIGHTINGSOF
ED CRAFTAND ASKS:
EY. . S I N I S T E RSECRET
MILITARY F R PTANES?

FOs come in all shapesand sizes.but the underside of these

T T
I .f every now and then a particular shape craft, with one light in
u r aa*a t o t lec o m e o a rl rc u l a rl \ c o m- e acn corner. some w l t-
il mon. This has happened previously nessestell of a fourth light mounted in the
with disc-shaped and cigar-shaped objects, centre of the craft, in between the more vis- A Mony Flying
but is happening now with triangular- ible lights. The lights at the edges of the Triongles moy be
shaped craft. This type of craft is sometimes craft are generaily described as being red, nothing more thon
called The Silent Vulcan, but is more usu- while the central light is white. misidentified Sreclth .
allr'referred to as The Flying Triangle. Of course, many UFO sightings occur at bombers or ne\ /,
,,
.\s alwavs.there are some variations in night, and in the case of the Flying prototype fighrer : ;'
accounts from witnesses, but there are Triangle, it is the fact that the lights seemed oircroft. But
enough common features to suggest that to be flying in a triangular formation that is photogrophic
one n'pe of craft is involved. The Flying often the thing that first attracts the atten- evidence (insei) from
Triangle is generally described as being tion. But unlike aircraft lights, these do not
over 100 metres in diameter, and as being appear to flash.
black or grey in colour. The triangular
shape is most apparent when viewed from TH E FIR S T WAVE
belorv - in other words, the craft is fairly The first major wave of sightings involving
flat. and shaped rather like a slice of pizza. the Flying Triangle occurred in the Hudson
,\ significar-rtnumber of reports also talk Valley area of New York State in March
of' the object being wedge-shaped, or 1983. Witnessesreported 'flying wings', or
shaped like a boomerang. There are fre- 'V-shaped' UFOs. One eyewitness said the
quelrt reports of three lights mounted on craft was 'so huge it filled up the entire sky'.
 Over the next four years, hundreds of display. As a resuk, the Air Force decided
people in the Hudson Valley area claimed that it would only send r,rpaircraft if visual
to hav e s een lhis c ra fr. sightings were correlated by radar evidence.
But it was eventsin Belgium in 1990 that On the night of 30 March 1990, and in the
were to bring the Flying Triangle to world early hours of the following day, this is pre-
attention, and woulcl result in one of the ciselywhat happened.
most spectacular and well documented
UFO encounters of all time. RADAR E V ID E N C E
Since a wave of sightings that had The sightings were focused on the Wavre
occurred on 29 November 1989, Belgium repion, and manv of these reports spoke of
had been experiencins a lot of UFO actir three lights flying in a perfect triangular
ity, with many good-quality reports being formation. Many people clearlv sarv that
submitted by reliable rvitnesses. These these lights were on the underside of a
included trained observers such as military huge, triangular-shaped crafi. The object
personnel and members of the Belgian n'as picked up by two different ground

sffi radar bases,one operated by the Belgian

L
Air Force, and one by NAIO. As a result of
T h e f l y i n g tri o n g l e this, orders were given to scramble two F-I6
cleorly behoves in o woy fighters kept on Quick Reacrion Alert br.
the Belgian Air Force.
thqt is beyond fhe cutting
The fighters soon picked up rhe obiect
edge of our technology
on their radar, and then used the radar to
N i c k P o p e , M in istr y o f De fe n ce

,,r lock on to the craft. But somehow the craft

broke this lock on several occasions,and
.9

Fp
o

seemed to be able to move almost instantly

police force - the type of people who are from a hovering state to over a thousand f
U
less likely to rnisiclentifv a conventional kilometres per hour.
object or phenomenon. This evasive action suggests that the
Many of the sightings spoke of a larse, craft rvasunder intelligent control, but the
triangular-shaped object. As a resulr of this, acceleration involr.ecl in the manoeuvres
the Belgian Air Force asreecl to sendjets r.rp performed n'ould have killed any human
to inr,estigateshould a particularlv interest- occupants. The Beleiar-r Air Force was
ing sighting occur. quizzecl about these evelrts, and co-oper-
On one rather ernbarrassingoccasion, ated rr.ith a Belgian UFO research group in
aircraft \vere sent up to investigate, onlv to carrving out a detailed investigation.
find that the UFO sightings hacl been gen- The Chief of Operations of rhe Belgian
erated by people seeing lights from a laser

hoppen more frequently thon the scepticswould

cqre to odmit. The Flying Triongle siglrfings over
P
Belgium ore perhops the most fomsus instonce,
e
=- bur old Minisfry of Defunce files, ovoiloble qt the
g
.E Public Records Office ot Kew, reveol mony oiher
I
? cqses - including some instonces where the RAF
lounched iets to rry ond intercept UFOs.
 Two particular reports are
especially noteworthy; the first
was a siehting from RAF
Cosford in Shropshire. In this
case, an entire military guard
patrol reported seeing t4.
UFO pass directly over the
base.They made frantic checks
rvith duty Air Traffic
C orrtrol l ers,but drew a com -
pl ete bl ank - there w ere r t o air -
craft in the area.

S E C U R ITY TH R E A T
The rnost sensational report
submi tted that ni ght cam e
from the N'Ieteorological
Officer at RAF Shawbury,
r,r.hichis only a ferv kilometres
from RA.F Cosford. Har,ing
heard about the UFO sighting
at C osford, he w ent orrtsidet o
see if he coulcl see anything.
To his absolute amazement,
he saw a triangular-shaped
craft flying directly towards the
base, emitting a low, humming
Air Staff, Colonel Wilfred De Brouwer, A fhis obiecr wos sound. He estimated the size of the object
candidly admitted that they had assessed photogrophed over as being only a little smaller than aJumbo
that the UFO was a solid. structured craft. Togresk, Russio, in jet. The witness reported that the object
which had carried out an unauthorized 199O. Reports of then fired a beam of light at the ground,
penetration of Belgian airspace. In view of sightings of Flying and swept this beam from side to side, as if
the fact that military and political figures Triongles hove come it was lookir-rg for something. The ligh,t
routinely deny the existence of UFOs, this is from qll ocross then rvent out, and the craft passed slowly
quite an admission. Europe, os well qs overhead, almost directly over the base,
rhe US, Austroliq The Ministry of Defence launched a full
N IGHT S I G HT I N G S ond Jopon. investigation into these sightings in a
Three years later, the Flying Triangle put in
another appearance, this time over Britain.
Most of the sightings occurred in the early
hours of 31 March 1993 and, perhaps
because of the late hour, many of the wit-
nesseswere police officers on night patrol,
and service personnel on guard duty
arorurd military bases.
The descriptions were uncannily similar
to the Belgian sightings, with many people
reporting three lights moving in perfect for-
mation, rvhile others who had a closer view
reported that the lights simply marked the
edgesof a huge, triangular UFO.
A number of witnessesreported another
characteristic which has frequently been
reported in relation to the Flying Triangle -
a lorv, humming sound that appears to
come from the craft.
 '.t'
151
desperate attempt to find an explanation. 1*i

The Ministry had always maintained that -.'-l

-.J'
UFOs were 'of no defence significance', +'
but were now facing a dilemma. There was
no way in which they could continue to say
that these events were of no defence signif-
icance when numerous military witnesses
had reported an unidentified triangular
craft flying directly over two key military
establishments.
The Ministry tried to tie the sightings in
with some more mundane occurrence.
Assuming that at least 90 per cent of UFO
sightings have conventional explanations,

#g l*,
The Air Force hqs orrived of
lh e c o n c l u s i o nth o t q n u mb e r
o f q n o m q lo u s p h e n o me n o
hove been produced wirhin
Be l g i o n o i rsp o ce
Col. WilfredDe Brouwer,BelqionAir Force

they ran a detailed series of

checks, first looking for aircraft
wffi
A The Eorlv worning centre ot
*:i|r.,.,
- oertasecond ::"fi"':rir"'"*::i;#*5i*'l'H":i!-S
activity, airship flights or weather or'osexr' RAF Fylingdoles in Yorkshire,
i:"::ilJr"-:"';'
balloon launches. They even TYuratat^ Englond, frocked the re-entry into
z
lsYNlon-
checked with the Royal teesilar 3o'sor the Eorth's qlmosphere of debris
ll;i?, ","'ill-oraarzzsas
?;;:::t3li; a
Observatory at Greenwich to see if iil
from o Russion rockef, Cosmos
there might be an astronomical ,,,.
ree3
,33"
1993
Har 50-50
";.;?
eeslli$ar il.;;
rar
:r l;i:l3l;z;*;'"'"
J^'--.
5r'"'
iliililaelzzsae
"t''ll"]-^":;""^nnaissance .1.-"-** (t^'r'
Apr 2238. r'ur
zzJ6' Bur rnelr reporr (inser)
rheir report llnseU
^---- F *t: i."""1-
ur ocean.1eoco1la"is.1"lii"
r""r.1,.,,;1-- rr",;;""-:1.:::.'";,.*-,::i,.,.,1"":.,";,
explanation, such as unusual mete- ,,.,. ]"".1',:.'i;: ?r';",:""XlX"t""ili:;t' l'.:::".... could nor exploin how the
rhe UFo
u
;:[:
orite activiry but all their investiga-
ffi -"'"'"""'*H*:;'."--'"t"'.Ffii"Jj':i":i**Th'f":
n::"""X
n1"-= ::""1 ":l s
sishrins
ishri
ns h
hod
od l
rosred
o sred ror h
hours'
ours'
tions drew a blank. ffi'""r"," ll:fi :*l'".l,* di'.f
iilY*?TlT.iv""l#*lu:;:-.-t19.-
One theory was that the lights in
the sky were caused by the re-entry altitude seen at 1.10 a.m., the UFO sight-
into the earth's atmosphere of a ings had occurred over a period of several
Russian rocket. But while this event might hours. There lvas clear1r.1ro \vav in which
have explained a particular concentration sightings such as the one fiom RAF
Shawbury cor-rldbe explainecl like this, so
this theory had to be eliminated.

P R OTOTY P E P TA N E S
It has been sr-rggestedthat the Flying
Triangle ma1'be some sort of secret, proto-
tVpe craft. For many years now there have
been rumours of a hypersonic replacement
to the Lockheed SR-71Blackbird, and it is
alleged that this aircraft is called Aurora.
The Belsian Air Force has investigated
the possibility that the triansle seen in 1990
was an American F-117 Stealth fighter, but
had received a categoric assurancethat no
American aircraft was invoh,ed. It rvas
always unlikely - secret aircraft are tested

t:t;..::
 RIGHT TO KNOW
The Brirish Ministry of Defunce hos been
o
investigoting UFO sightings since lhe
o
l95Os, ond its reoson for foking on
o
o interest is to look for evidence of ony
o he defence
ro rhe defence*of the Unired
s
:
o The Ministry receives up fo 3OO
rrts eoch yeor, ond they cloim thot
per cenl of sightings con_be
-
-9o
!
o
Buf mony
,--

exclusiveh'in approved ranges and danger

areas. and would not fly into heavily
defencled airspace without proper diplo-
matic clear:rnce. Otherrvise, a diplomatic
inciclent is riskecl,rvith the possibilitv that
the :rircraft mav be intercepted, and the V One of the Belgion 30 March, and in the early hours of the next
se cl ct c r ali r r r adepr r l rl i ,. F-16 pilois who flew day. A rrd i f these U FO stori es had been
For similar reasons.the British Ministrt' ofter the UFOs felr pi cked up bv the nal i onal medi a. the slor ies
of Defence rejectecl t1-reidea that an thol he wos 'chosing rvor-rldhar,e appeared on... 1 April. \A4ro
American prototYpe urircrafi rr'as responsi- something thot's rvould pa,vmuch attention to a UFO story
ble. \{'hile go\rernments rr'ereunable to pro- ploying wirh us... it that appeared on April Fool's Day? Is this
vide an answer, \'\rerethe leal oper-atorsof hos complete conlrol coincidence, an elaborate hoax, or a sign
this craft enjoying their confi.rsion?Ther-eis over everything,' ond thertthe intelligence behind the craft has a
a n i n t er es t ing c on n e c ti o n b e trre e n th e cloimed rhor his senseof l-rlrmour?
sightings in Belgium ancl the L K: both colleoguesfelr the -\lthougl.r these rr'avesof Flving Triangle
u'avesof sightingsoccurred late at night on some woy. sightings :rr-cimportant, not least because
of tl-re rnilitarl'r'r,itnesses,and the National
Securitv implications, it should be remem-
berecl that sishtings of this object are
reported on an almost daily basis, often by
pilots. The casefiles of everv UFO group in

o
j
=
someof
In the next ls.izr, UFO FILE inue.stigates
!
d
the mosLhigh$ train.edand reliableqeuitnesses
o
to LIFOs- aircraft pilots.
-o
a

: , ji1:
 t was 4.20 a.m. when Ronald Seigel remembers. 'The language ,\rgeles - had just been subjected
Seigel was awoken by the seemed strange,almost iike to attack from rrhat manl'would
noise of his bedroom door English spoken backrvards.'Seigel, cail a psychic entitf
r creaking open. He heard still unable to move, looked at the For centuries,people from
footsteps approach the bed, and clock on his bedside table. 'This is cultures spanning the globe have
the sound of hear.ybreathing filled no dream,' he thought. described similar attacks. Usually
the room. Paralysedr'vithfeaq occurring at night, just before
Seigel could only lay back, SH AR ED E X P E R IE N C E falling asleep or waking up, these
smelling the musty odour of the Suddenly, the entity shifted its attacks invariably subject their
approaching entity. weight and straddlecl Seigel's body. terrified victims to complete
'There seemeclto be a murky The bed started to creak. 'There paralysis,a pressure on the chest
p res enc ein lhc ro o m.' Se i g e l was a texture of sexual and heightened sensualawareness.
recalls. 'I tried to throw off the intoxication. I started to lose Like so many other 'supernatural'
covers and get up, but I r'r,as consciousness. Suddenly the voice episodes,the universal similarity of
pinned to the bed. There was a stopped. I sensedthe intruder the experiences would suggesta
weight on my chest. My heart was moving slowly out of the room. genuine phenomenon, but where
pounding. I strained to breathe.' Cradually the pressure on my chest do these 'presences'come from?
Next, the creature touched his eased.'By now it was 4.30 a.m., If folklore and many of today's
neck and arm, and whispered in a n d R o nal d S ei gel- arr emi nent psychic investigatorsare to be
his ear. 'Each word rvasexpelled professor of psychology at the believed, these entities are
from a foul mouth of tobacco.' University of California, Los malevolent earth-bouncl spirits -
 the incubus is often blamed for the \A/hen we wake up in the
crushing weight on the chest and morning. this paralysisis usually
the feeling of sexual arousal that gone. But just occasionally
occurs during these attacks. something goes \\,rong with the
However, by looking elsewhere mechanism that keeps dreaming
for explanations for these universal and waking life apart. In such
ex periences.psychologists.
including Ronald Seigel, are
concentrating on the common, but
rarely talked about, phenomenon
of sleep paralysis.

ST E EP P A TTE R N S
Every night, whether we remember
it or not, each of us dreams. We
may forget the dreams in the
morning, but while the fantastic
scenesare going on, our brain is
extremelv actiYeand our body
completeiv paral,vsed.This
parah'sisis essentialbecause
otheru'ise rve rvould act or.lt our
dreams,lith disastrous
consequences.Normalh', the
musclesare completelv relaxed
and unresponsive to rvhat the
brain tells them to do. Onlv the
musclescontrolling the eyesand
the breathing are unaffected.

i:* \
demons and witches who attack us
in our sleep. One of the most
widespread folkloric traditions
involves the 'Old Hag', a term lll'
coined in Nerfoundland. Canada.
for the terri$ring figure often
encountered during night-time
attacks.And the same Old Hag
appears throughout the world. ,J r
Cermans call it 'Mare' (from which
the rr'ord'nightmare' originates),
Scandinaviansuse the name 'Mara', iii
and the Greeks,'Mora'.
t,
.\

D REA M TOVER , r . . i. 1
, i\
Another popular variation on the
Old Hag tradition is the incubus -
e
the 'demon lover' or spirit that =
E
indulges in sexual intercourse with
.9
the lir'rng. Derived from the Latin
incubaremeaning'to lie down on', +

=
 cases,we can feel the paralysis body can follow, and people
coming on just as we fall asleep or describe shaking or juddering,
wake up, and we cannot move, rippling and contorting.
speak or cry out. Strange lights can flicker around
This is s leeppa ra l y s i sa.rrd i s the room. These can be flashine
nearly alwaysaccompaniecl by a lights, little stars,or glowing shapes.
rapid heart rate, difficulq, in Occasionally,the whole room seems
trreathing and a feeling of terror. to be lit by an eerie glow and
The ordeal is all the more objects are surrounded by coloured
frightening becausethe sufferer is haloes or strange sparkles.
co ns c iousof his or h e r Bu t t hc most fri ghteni ngaspect
surroundings but trapped in what of sleep paralysisis the feeling of a
scientistscall a hypnogogic nearby presence. You may see
nothing - and have no reason for

33 your conviction - but you know

there is someone there in the
W h y [ i s ] o n e p o rfi cu l o r room with you. In many cases,the
htlllucinotory episode presence is actually visible (the =
_.9
experienced in eyesare often open during sleep
o

preference to qll paralysis) and can take on any :o

l

number of forms - human, animal,

other possibilifies?
demonic, even 'alien' - and can t
WilliomDement,Neurologist
apparently change shape at will. o

n\i 'a

,, AT IE N D R E A MS E

hallucination. This is a twilight state This 'visitor' experience has led a

between sleep and wakefulnessin number of researchersto conclude
which our dreams are so vivid, they that the classicalien abduction
E
seem alarmingly real. scenario is, in fact, nothing more I

For many sufferers, the first sign than sleep paralysis.In his paper E

o f s leep par aly s isi s a s tra rrg en o i s e . entitled Alien Dreamtime,retrred

Sometimes descpibedas a whining psychologist Robert Baker recounts up. There was somebodl quite
or humming, it can also sound like the tale of the well-known close to my bed. I coulcl see bv the
footsteps, the thrum of a motor, or abductee, \44ritley Strieber. huge, dark eyesr'r,hoit u'as...I
e ve n ' loud s c r eam i n ga n d h i g h 'In the wee hours of the night,' coul dn' t move.corrl dl rI cl '\ out .
p i tc hed laus ht er ' . Vi b ra ti o trso [ th e Strieber explains, 'I abrr-rptlywoke couldn't get awav... Everr muscle
in my body was stiff to the point of
't
o
o breaking. I could hardh'breathe.'
I
As Baker points out. if one
E
o comparesStrieber'srecollections
-
t
with Ronald Seigel's,there is not a
o
o
lot of difference berrveenthe two.
I
'The acconnts are, for irll practical
d
purposes,identical,' Baker states.
'The essentialand significant
difference is that the sleep
paral1'sis...r,ictimsgoing to
knorvledseable therapists are told
about sleep paralysisand
hallucinations, whereas those going
to believers in alien abduction are
told they have been abducted.'
Baker's sceptical vierv of alien
l abductions is that these are
nothing more than modern sleep
paral ysi smyths.The humm ing

i'=g
t ,,. '
 .

the colrtent fof these sleep

paralvsishalltrcinations] so
consistentlvthe same
rr.ithoutapparel)t regard
noises and eerie vibrations of sleep lirr crrltr,rre?'Hufford
paralysis become the alien crafi, corrr' l rrdcs that sci ent if ic
the Old Hag's caressing becomes research in tl-risarea has
the alien's probing, and the not e\,en begun to address
f loatin g a nd flying s ens aliol ls rhe qrresti on.but con cer ns
become the journey to the stars. i tscl l sol eh w i th arra lysing
The only problem with this the ph,vsiologicalprocesses
theory is that it does not account to be more to sleep palall'sis than of'sleep paralvsis.
lol all a bd rrctio n e xp er ienc es . the confused brain plaving tricks
There are nllmerous cases of on the sleeper. A TTE R N A TIV E R E A TITY?
rhr liqlrt a nd ma ss a hdr r c t ions . Hufforcl has been stnrck bv tl-re It mav be that there is a perfectly
some of which have beerr renrarkablv consistent content of 'normal' explanation to tirese
rvitnessed.And the same objections t he hellr r c i r r r r l i o r r sa r r d , i r r peculiar and harrorving
can be levelled asainst clairns that particulal, the Olcl Has attacks. experiences. C)r it may turn out
all'strpernatural' encounters are What he linds most curions is that that ther sprirrg florn arrother
the result of sleep paralysis. these attacks have been reported r e a l m - a c c c s s e dr i a t h e
from coLrntries ali over the r,vorld by s t r b c o r r s c i o r r sr n i r r d - t h a t i s a s r e a l
CONSISTENT CONTENT apparently normal and healthl' and ruriversal to those rvho
-\ more objectir.earrd level people. Moreor,er, manv of these experience it as the external world.
assessrnent of the sleep paralysis subjects have hacl r-ro contact rvith But ur-rtil the specific contents of
phenomenon is provided by the folklore traditions and disclaim anv sleep paralysis hallucinations have
behaviotrralscientistDavid.f. belief or interest in the paranormal. been thorouehly investigated and
Hufforcl. In his landmark book, In contrast to ordinarv b:rd explained, oLlr understanding of
The Terror -l-hatComesin the I'light, clreams, which var,v enormously in this particrrlal phelromenolr e sr
Hufford arglles that there appears colrtent, '\{hy,' asks Hufford, 'is urii rcrnairr
irrcompiete. ffi
 AS A TEENAGE PHENOMENON,
MATTHNW MRNNING MADE
HEADLINE NEWS WITH HIS
PSYCHIC EXPERIENCES.
Now, HE IS RECoGNIZED
INTERNATIONALLY AS A HEALER

TI I hen Matthew Manning was a little boy, he

flf wanted to be a farmei when he grew up. But in "€ ^#
I t February 19670when he wasjust 1I yearsold, &* As q young child did you think you
w Maniring became the centre of inexplicable
were sPeciol?
poltergeist activity. This lasted for ovei four years and No. If anything, I was something of an introvert. I was
changed his life forever. extremely shy and refused to speak to strangers.
Unlike many other victims supposedly affected by a
poltergeist's powerful forces, Manning eventually Whof sort of things hoppened during the
learned to channel the psychic energy he was creating poltergeist outbreqks?
and make it work for him. At first, this came through Furniture and objects moved around. Things started
in a series of extraordinary automatic drawings and to appear out of nowhere. Among them rvere a
writing. He documented his teenage experiences in couple of bread rolls, one of which is still kept in the
The Linh in 1973 and has since gone on to write four freezer at my parents' home! It was analvsedby a lab
more books about his psychic abilities.
which found that it had been baked after 1840. but
Nowadays, Manning devotes his skills to healing.
before 1914.
His years of exposurq to the media have made him
something of a showman, with his ponltailo sometimes
flamboyant clothes and chunky gold jewellery. But - How did you feel qboui whof wqs
,rs years of tests in scientific laboratories around the hoppening?
world have proved - there is It was disturbing, notjust for me but for the whole
nothing fake about Manning's family. We didn't know what was happening. Once my
abilities or his devotion to bed started to shake and lift up from the foot end.
his profession. Then it suddenly swung out. I don't think I actually
realized it had lifted off,the ground until it came
.( fn No Foith Required, crashing down in the middle of the room. That was
Monning writes obout the mony the time I was the most frightened.
scientific lests in which he hos
porticipoted over fhe yeors, Did the phenomenE occur onywhere other
ond his subsequenl thqn in your home?
concenlrotion on using his Yes.In 1971,when I was 15, the phenomena were
powers to heol people. witnessed by a large number of people - mostly fellow
pupils and teachers - at Oakham, my boarding school appearance of writing on the walls of my bedroom at
in Leicestershire. home. Between 3l July and 6 August 1971, 503
signatures, nearly all with a date, were scribbled
How did your school friends reoct? around the room, mainly on one wall, but also on the
At first, the other boys at school were frightened by ceiling and even in a lampshade.
the poltergeist activity. But they soon got used to it.
There were some very odd experiences though. I Did onyone witness this qutomotic writing
slept in a dorm with 25 other boys. My bunk-bed qs it hqppened?
would shift across the room. Sometimes there would Nobody was in the room when the writing
be chaos as objects shifted around the dorm. materialized - the doors and windows had been
Stones, crockery, cutlery came out of nowhere securely locked. Many of the names have since been
and whirled around. traced to the parish records for the area. The original
owner of the house - Robert Webbe, who died in
Whot did the feochers think of rhis? 1.733- had indicated through auromatic writing ro
There was so much disruption that the headmaster me that he would bring 'half-a-thousand signatures of
considered suspending me. It was out of control. But friends and family'.
then something happened.

Whof wqs thot? SS rB Whqf kind of qttention did

this octivity bring?
One night, I was writing an essay I'mah e a le r - n o t a f a d t h The interest in me grew until it
for homework. I had my pen heale4not a spirituat"heale4 exploded into a media circus. By
poised above the paper. I couldn't not an eaangelical,crystalor the time I was 19, I was regularly
think what to write next and my appearing on national television.
eaencolour healer
mind had obviously drifted off. At that time, throush automatic
Then suddenly my hand went nU w ri ri ng. someonecal l i ng hi msell
* €
down on the paper and I started g # D r P enn senr me medi cal
writing. It stopped after a couple of sentences. diagnoses of people based on their date of birth.
I looked at what I'd written, but it clearly wasn't in
my handwriting and didn't seem to make any sense. Why did you stop giving such diognoses on
It had nothing whatsoever to do with what I was television?
supposed to be doing for homework. I was in Germany' around i974. The producer of the
TV show I was appearing on said he'd had a medical
How did you feel? problem diagnosed at hospital three days previously.
I was actually quite frightened. I felt that something He thought this would make a good demonstration of
had got in or through me. I remember tearing up the my powers. On the show, I made my diagnosis and
paper and throwing it in the bin. But what was the producer said it was spot on. But when he
interestins about the incident was that there was no checked with the hospital results later, he found that
poltergeist activity for about three days
afterwards. I later discovered that what had
happened was called automatic writing. This
was in some way releasing the energy that
had gone into moving objects and creating
the poltergeisractivity.

How did your life chonge qfier rhis?

I discovered I could switch myself on or off
like an electric light switch. As well as the
lvriting - and later drawing - I found I
couid see auras surrounding people.
I alrvavsfound it interesting doing the
drawings because I never knew until I had
finished what I was going to draw.

Whof wos the sfqngest fhing fhct

hoppened fo you during this time?
The most amazing phenomenon was the
 T

o
:
]
:
E

my diagnosis was totally wrong - I had just said what influencing blood cells and enzymes.They know that
he'thought was his condition. This made me wonder I can have an effect, and I know it when I feel the
whether what I was actually doing was tapping into energy flowing through me. B,vthe same token, I'd be
the subconsciousand reading minds. Perhaps I was an idiot to say all the healing results I get are only
sensing fear and feeding it back to people. I realized connected to what I do with my hands. I know that it
that this could have devastating consequences,so I has a lot to do with psychological pou,ers,the patient
stopped the TV appearances. thinking positively.

Whqr did you do next? Becquse of your reputotion, do you think

I became involved in a lot of scientific research. I was people might hove greoler expecfolions thqi
hooked up to electroencephalographs, to measure my they're going to get betfer?
brainwaves,electrocardiographs, to measure my heart Yes.But frankly, at the end of the day, none of this is
beat, and I was shut away in Faraday cages fdevices important. The only thing that I'm concerned about
used to screen out all electromagnetic waves] to is that somebody does get better. If that happens,
measure my electrical output. does it really matter how it's being brought about?

Did rhe scientistsfind onyrhing unusuol? Whor hoppens during q consultqfion?

They found that I had a brainwave pattern that they I often play music because I find it inspiring. I start by
had never seen before. It actually came from a part of placing my hand on the patient's shoulders. I find
my brain that is dormant in everybody else. In one that psychologicall,vthis already has an effect because
experiment, I was asked to project psychic energy it says,'I'm with you, I'm supporting vou, you're no
while instant photographs were taken of my head. Ionger alone.' Whoever I'm rvorking with, I'm very
The photos showed some sort of energy coming frpm careful about what I claim. I never use the word
me that grew stronger aftet several minutes. One of 'cure'. And I never impose my beliefs on others. One
the most controversial experiments found that I could thing I'm not is a faith healer. Healing can'work on a
kill cancerous cells. sceptical person and I alwaystell people that no faith
is required.
When did you foke up heoling full-rime?
In the late 1970s.People now come to me from all Whot do you think is hoppening when you
over the world, hoping I can treat problems that ore heqling someone?
orthodox medicine can't solve.I sometimesget up I find it terribly difficult to put into words. I suppose
to 2,000 letters a week asking for help. Obviously I feel what I'm doing is channelling some form of
I can't see everyone. I tend to favour those with universal, unconditional love. I suppose this is one of
life-threatening diseases.I also try and spend as much the reasons I've stopped doing scientific experiments.
time as I can with children or people with children. We tend to only accept what can be quantified and
measured. Nobody has quantified love in a science
How do you know thot your heoling skills lab, but we don't say it does not exist. We measure
reqlly do hqve on effect? Iove by the effect that it has on people's lives.And
I spent eight years doing experiments with scientists, that, in the end, is how I view my healing.
FF
 , lf+

3
€

*ffffii
s
ilr

{5"
===
o
n 2 S ept e m b e r 1 9 8 9 . \{ ' i l tre d administered a powerful coup.poudre, E
a poi- A Voodoo followers
Doricent, aged 17, rvas reunited sonous powder spell, which" sent Wilfred use copious omounts o

r v it h his t am il l i n h i s h o m e v i l l a g ei n ipto a coma. Shortly afterwards, he rvas of olcohol in on 3

3
=:-== southern Haiti. Teenagers often declared dead. qttempt to invite
re b el ar r d leav e hom e . b u r Wi l t-re d ' sc a s e possession by the
rra . d ilf er ent . He h a d b e e n d e a d l -o r I8 ZOMB IE S TA V E Voodoo spirir of
months. His family had witnessed his bur- The night following the funeral, \Arilfred's Dombolo Wddo. The
i a i a n d had a deat h c e rri frc a tero p ro v e i r. to mb w as broken i rrto and hi s body w as snqke is o symbol of
\\ ill^r ' edhad beerr a p ro m i s i rrgs tu d e n t, removed. The brrhorgare \A'ilfred a drug W6do's ossociollon
a rrd r , r asador ed b y h i s l fa m i l y . Bu t. i n made from the hallucinogenic plant that with weolth, luck
Ma rc h 1988.he s r r d d e n l yg re w v e ry i l l a n d Haitiarrs call concombreZombi (zombie's ond hoppiness.
-.,,,.
d i e d . His body bec a me h i d e o u s l ys w o l l e n c u cumber). and sl apped hi m back i nro
and gave off such a foul st€nch that his something approaching consciousness.
grieving father had to make hurried Wi l fred w as then transporredi n chai ns ro
arrangelnents for the funeral. .a remote mountain farm to work as a slave.
But Wilfred was not dead. Unbeknown After IB mon(hs - no one knorvs how -
to his father, he had been turned into a 'Wilfred made his way back ro his asron-
zombie - a 'living corpse'. Acting on i shed but del i ghted fami l y.
nenatf of enemies of Wilfred's father in a Lareq W i l fred tol d an ol d fri end rhat he
,ri
bitter land dispute, a",bahor (a Voodoo had been fully aware of everything that was
priest who practises black magic) had happening to him as hb was being
 strike down the healthy and make the dead
walk again?
Voodoo, known as Vodoun in Haiti, is
dominared by a belief in rhe loa- spirits of
the land, air, fire and water, afid also of
dead ancestors. Followers of Voodoo
believe that every aspect of life is
influenced by these loa, who are a manifes:
tation of God - Le Gran Maitre - and who
act as hi s i ntermedi ari esi n human af f air s.
;t+
VIOLENT S}IRITS
What makes Voodoo unique among
Caribbean religions is that a large part of
.g its belief systemis linked to the dark side of
human nature. Thi s i s refl ected in t he
9
activities of the Petro Loa- ill-tempered,
->
.9 menaciirg and vengeful spirits - who are
- extremely powerful. Petro loa will only
help if a promise of servrce ts
A Altesse, o powerful prepared for burial, but he could not - made to them. and will
Voodoo priesl, cloims speak or move a muscle. He recalled the take violent revenge if'
lo hove turned lid being nailed to the coffin and hearing that promise is not
hundreds of people h i s l -a mi l yc ry i n g a s h e w assl i pped i nto hi s fulfilled.
into zombies. He olso Haitian-style grave - a concrete tomb Some of these
odmifs thot mony of above the ground. Petro loa are
his viciims died from But he *as not the Wilfred of before. - called on as
suffocoiion becouse Dull and sullen, he would sometimes run
they were,left in their away.for no apparent reason. A medical
tombs too long. expert who exgmined Willred con-
c l u d e d rh a t h i s c o n d iti on w as
c o n s i s te n t w i th h a v i n g sul -
fered brain damage due to $l
lack of oxygen when he was
buried alive.
Wilfred's story sounds
more like a script for a
) Wilfred survived horror film, but is in'f,act
| 8 months os o j u s t o n e o [ h u n d re d s o [
zombie, but suffered c a s e s o f H a i ti a n s w h o
so btrdly from rhe have been turned into
experience rhot he zombie slaves.So what is
had to be imprisoned the basis of the V,oodoo
to preVent him priest's power. that
htrrming himself. i I enables him to

.g

->
.9
=
 =i
partners in black magic to carry out harm- o!
E
ful services in exchange for a substantial '.F:'l
vl

sacrifice. Usually, this iakes the form of a

pig, a goat, atrull or occasionally a corpse <r
o
from a cemetery. But there are also stories. -:
Y
that human sacrifice may be involved.
As recently as September 1994, shortly o0'

before the Americans invaded Haiti, a f.l

three-day Voodoo ceremony was allegedly l

held in''the ruling junta's riiilitary head- l

1
quarters to prevent the"US invasion going ,i

ahead. During the ceremony, the most

violent Petro loa were invoked, and uncon-
firmed reports claim that as many ds 13
people were offered as'sacrifice - includ-
ing a pregnant girl.
.
Perhaps it was coincidence,, but by mid-
October, three American GIs had commit
ted suicide, including Geraldo Luciano
who blew his brains out while, by all
accounts, happily plapng d game of cards.

SECRE T gO CI E TIES
*"""-*,,.].,"@"sw1{-ry-*.E* *

In a country where the priests are often 100 per cent Voodoo - and neirly every-
local law-enforcers, 'and where poliqical one belieVesin zombies. But it is not thg
and judicial murders are commonplace, fdar of zombies that haunts most Haitians
no one can say with certainty whether - it is the fear of being turned jnto one.
fr
human sacrifice occurs or not....:
But there is no doubt that black magic - T HE L I V I NG DE A D
referred to as 'the work of the le.ft hand' -n There is no greater torment among the V Dr Froncois'Popo
is.practised by a number of sectsthat have " Voodoo faithful than the prospect of los- Doc' Duvolier ond his
splintered.off from the main Voodoo com- ing their souls, .which is what happens murderous secret
munities. These sects operate under the when you become a zombie - it is a sen- pofice Lsed Voodoo
strictest secqecyand are shunned by main- tence o[ living death. After 'resurrection' ond the threot of
stream Voodoo practitioners. by the bakor,which must happerrwithin a zombificolion os on
The most.infamous sects, the Bizango few days of burial to prevent death by suf- inslrument of
p
and the CotchorlCtris,are renown€d for mak- focation in the'coffin, the zdmbie's senses reprcssion during his
!
ing human sacrifices, calling rlp the dead are numb and he suffers flrom loss of mem- l4-yeor rule of terr.or .E
'o
to inflict harm on others and turning peo- ory and personaliry. Easy to manipulate, (19s7-7r1. a

ple into zombies - atlegedly as punishment he is then used as slave

social tiehaviour such
for way'rruard labour on remote plan-
as adultery or land theft. tations and construction
In the' remoter parts of sites, which are often
Haiti. Voodoo is very power- owned by the unscrupu-
ful - the priest at Wi'lfred lous bakor.
Dor i c e n t' s l o c a l c h u rc h . Some zombies. how-
P6r6 Clude, says that the ever, manage to escape
Haitians ur.i g0 per cent captivity. It is claimed
Catholic, l0 per cent that. the spell c.4n be
Protestant and ,reversed if rhe bakorwho
cast it dies, or if the zom-
''bie is fid salt. But, occa-
"'t :* sionally, the lack of ory-
gen ln the colnn causes
too much brain damage
for the zombie to be of
,lFfiJ

'''4il
 any use. \Arhen this happens, he is left to
roarn irr the forests.
I t i s r r o t c a s y l b l a z o m h i e l o r t 't t r r t t l o h i s
old way of life. Unlike Witfrecl.D.Pricent's
.lhmilies
r t 'c t 'p t i o r r w h e r r h e c a m e h o t n e .
a r r d v i l l a s e r s f r e q u e n t l y r e i e c t z o m b i "t * h 'o
r e t r r r n t o t h e f c r l d . T h e y a r e f e a r c d b e ca u se .
according to Vo<-rdoobeliefs, special powers
a r t ' a t l r i b t r l e d l o t h e r n . r v h i c h t h e y m a y u se
to seek revenge on those who have harmed
them. As a result, lhey face a life as social
.... =,
+ "+: .1tl
A Chr isfion goes to."
chur ch to tolk to God,' but
the Voodooist goes to
the hounfort [Voodoo
temple] to become him
HoitionVoodooProverb
{iia

q€
rd ,#
outcasts, f'orced to scrateh out an exrstellce
s o m e w h c r e b e r w e e r t l h e r e a l m s of the liv-
irrg arrd the dead.
.\Arhena relative dies, S6'mefamilies leave
nothi ng to charrce. Irr addi ti on t o per -
formi rff ri l ual s to sertclt l re spi ri ts of t he
-9o
dead safely on their way, a family rvill often
o
have the head of a dead relative removed
c
heforc brrri al .or l he heart pi erced wit h a
U stake, just in case he, or she, has been
E turned into a zombie. Another precaution
o
.E is to spray the bocly with br,rllets.

-.9
I
o P OW E R FU T P OIS ON
o
E The of being trtrned into a zombie
o "fear
suggeststhat Voodoo sorcer\/ is extrernely
6
-o porverfttl. But jr-rst hcirv potent is it?
A meri can anthropol ogi st and e t hno-
o
o
botar-ristDr \\'ade Davis has don.e extensive
U
lesearch on the zombie phenomenon. He
o
E believes that, part of the ar-lswerlies in the
o
poisonous potion that the bahor admms-
o ters l o hi s vi cti m to set the pl ocess of
3 'zombificationl. in motion. This poison \,,,
E
o made from a combination of h.r-ort
po
remains, poisonous plants and traces of
the l ethal B ouga toad arrd prrffer flsh - is
-. s
q

so l oxi c that i t onl l has to be ab sor bed

I
through the skin to be effective.
_-q In Davis' opinion, some Voodoo bakors
o
I are ski l l ed poi soners w ho knol r h ow t o
E
o
di spensethe ri ght amotrrl to{ deacllyir t gr e-
.9
: clients to slo'rv down the metabolism of
6
theii victims to the point where they
appear dead. Too much, arid it would not
be possible to revive the 'corpse'. After
burial, the bakorbreaks into the grave and
administgrs a strong antidote - the so-
called zombie cucumber
This may be [rue. but does it explain
Voodoo spells that rely on ritual rather
than poisonous potions for their effect?
Take the caseof WestIndies' record-break-
ing Test cricketer. Brian Lara. Early in
1 9 95. t he land a ro u n d L a ra ' s h o m e w a s
found scattered with an eerie assortmenl
of powders, black candles, chicken,heads
##
f f i , f fi
G
In Voodoo, good ond bod
ore olwqys found togethea
To get qt one you must first
peel qwoy the other strongly enough then it is more likely to
D o m i n i c S w o rd s. Vo o d o o Re se o r ch e r
happen.' But where does that leave non-
n\ ffi@ believers- especiallyscepticsfrom a differ-
ffitr ent cultural background: who have been
and entrails. It was thought to have been victims of a Voodoo hex?
the work of a notorious local practitioner V Vooiloo reprisols, V oodoo devoteesare convi ncedt hat t he
of Voodoo-styleblack magic. " including rituol power of their faith=?ffects us all, regard-
Lara, a supremely giFled batsman. fol- murders, reoched less=ofour beliefs..|. Gatfi.Dowling, a South
lowed his sensationallyprolific 1994season fever pitch during C ufrti na l ar* er' ,l o" rrndour ro hi s cosrwhen
with a string of low siores. Was this simply Hoiti's 1995 he discoveled a root - a svmbol of a
a s por t s m an' sdr a m a ti c l o s so f fo rm o r;h e presidentiol elecfions V oodoo curse - i n hi s.house.S oon af t er -
result o[ a Voodoo hex? which were o""rr."ri wards, Dowling suffered a ruptured appen-
Few question the powerful connection by UN peocekeepers dix, his wife caught chicken-pox, along
'and
between mind body. In his book, from fhe U5. with their baby, who also,contracted
Passageof Darkness(19S8);Dr Davis points Governmenls from measl es.To make mal tersw orse.h is eldest
out, '-Even d.oc.torsof the most traditi'onal neighbouring isl.onds son developed a serious respiratory infec-
sort admit the role psychologyplayson our refused to porticipote tion. Coincidencb? Perhaps. But it is
well-being)' He maintains that Voodob os observers for feor ible to know for certain.
appears to work because i1. forms such a '" of becoming
strong part of the Haitians' cultural expec- embroiled in fhese IIFE SENTENCE
ta ti ons . ' lf one b e l i e v e s i n s o m e rh i n g reprisols. One judge in New Orleans, where there is
a thriving Voodoo community amongj
immigrant Haitians, was not prepared t{
wait to find out. He recently convicted a
V oodoo practi ti oner of artemptedm ur der .
on the basis that he had obtained a Iock of
the j udge' s hai r w i th the i nren t iolr . . of
putting a hex on him. E..
C ri ti cs argue thal thi s ki nd of r esponse
is simply playing into the hands of an age-
old superstition. But some Voodoo
researcherS take a more open-minded
view. They are willing to believe that there
o might be at least a grain of truth in the
Haitian proverb that states,'the closer you
€e
:"* r'urnerabre
q
o
i:: :";J:r"il|"::.'. ffi
 n the early hours of a software fiorn Shimomura's d: ir: :.

February morning in 1995, ma c h i n e arrd l eft hi m taunti ng $''.1

agents from the Federal voicemail messages. AJter that, the r Voluoble dolo con be effeciively :-
I Bureau of Investigation two became ernbroiled in a battle 'locked' insideo computerusing
-{
g
(FBI) sr-rrroundedthe Player's of wits that finallv ended with encryptionsoftwore,bur potient
Club, a group of luxury apartment Mitnick's arrest. progrommerswho enioy o chollenge
{
buildings in Raleigh, North con often find o woy in - somelimes $
Carolina. \{hen Kevin Mitnick, one N A T IO N AT S E C U R ITY wirh devosroringresulrs(inser)'
o f Am e|ic a' s m os t n o to ri o u s Kevin Mitnick first came to public ,, , ,,-,!==
computer hackers,emergeclfrom attention as a teenagerin 1982, tel ephonesw i tchi ngcentresin
h i s flar r lr e lr r t hor it i e ss w u n g i n to when,asa 'prank' he used a C al i forni a.l f he had w anted t o,
action and arrested him. It was the computer to accessthe US Air Mi tni ck coul d have accesse dt he
climax of a nationwide hunt by a Defense Command. By the time he nation's major stock exchange
team of'FBI ager-rts, computer was arrested, he was found to be in computersor mi l i tary contro l
scientistsand amateur sleuths, possessionof over 20,000 credit centresand hel d the w orl d to
h e a ded br c or npr r te rs e c u ri ty card details and numerous secret fi nanci alransom.A l though his
expert Tsutornn Shimomura. passr'vordsto sensitivecomputer court caseis still in process, i
Shimomura's obsessionrvith databasesaround the'rvorld. Mi rni ck coul d. theoreti cal l yb. e
catching Mitnick began rvhen the Mitnick had also acquired the sentencedto 100 yearsi n prison. i
hacker broke into his home abiliry to control the three central Mi tni ck i sj ust one of an ,
computer in December 1994. o ffi c e so f tel ephorrecompani esi n i nfamousband of anarchi c ,
Mitnick stole $l million worrh of New York City, and all the computer sci enti srs w ho have hit
i
,],.=
 the headlines in rccent le:rr-s. n o t c i r l r '\ t h e s a n r c s i r r i s t c r tl i r e a t
Another is Nlark Al>elc, alscr as \Iitrrick s. both shaled ir
knor'vn as Phiber Optik, r,r.hon'as 1 : r s c i n a t i o nr r i t l i t e l e 1 - l i r o ne
imprisoned on T.fanuarv 1994 for s v s t c n r s .L i k e \ I i t n i c k . - \ b e n e h a cl
targeting phorrc companies' cleviserlx'als of obtaininq- ilee
central colnputers. He rvas-jailed intelnatiorral calls br hacking ititc)
for a year ancl a dar, ltut rvas telecontmunication contlol
releasecl on 7 Novernber 1994. ccntres. This are:r ol conrputer
Althoush Abcne's crirnes clicl h a c k i n s i s k n c x r 'r r a s 'p h l e a ki n e ',
arrrl, [irt olrti,,n\ ]( !t\otr., il is rrol
appleciatccl bl the likes of Rritish
Telcconr ancl -\nrerican Tclephone
irncl Teleslaph. -\ntither, slightly
childish, -\ltene trick involved
'l'iling-' homc phones in the UK
to p:rv pirones in the US so that a
cornptrtelizeri r,oice dentanded ten
( c n l \ e \ e r '\ t i r n c t h e r e c e i vt'r u a s
' ',r'-t;ril*tb#
picked up.
..- hold thd:nrod!
\\Ihilc tl-ris rnav have been a

ffifi;;:*y.,
I
,.Wefe not mel.
relzrtivclv harmless prank,
phr-cakers have the abilitl' to 'steal'

Such o feot, cellular phone nrimbers and

possible, charge thcir calls to the orisinai
o\vllers bills. The,v can also

,.,,ffi'til re-route their dornestic phone

costs so that the amount shorvs up
 telephone-line connection
(rrrodcm) - offers new :
o p p o r t r r r r i t i e s a r r r l c h a l l e n g e s fo r
h a c k e r s l i k e M i t n i c k a n c l A b e ne .
Honre shoppirrg arrd banking
\ c r \ i ( ( 's a r e a l r e a d y a v a i l a h l e o ve r
thc Internet, gi r i rrg determi ned
computer fia t r d s l e r s t h e c h a n ce to
hljzrckbank accorurt and credit ' -
o
E carcl cletailsas the\r travel across
I
the inforrnation superhighway.A
report published bv the US
o
_s FecleralTrade (lornmission in May
1996 has sone as far as stating that
a job in \4lashinston. The juclge 'Cyberspircehas become the new
rejected this ofler and gave Abene
the maximum sentence pcissible.
Many pcople believe tl'rat the
S1L
phone companies hacl pressured IHocker s] per for m o
the.judee to make an example of useful function, fest i ng
Abene to detcr other rvould-be fhe security of
hackers and phreakers. sqfety-criticol '1..,'
Br r t \ t litn i c k a r r d A b e n e a r e j r r s t
g o v e rn me n f c o mP u f e r s
the tip rif thc icebers. With most
R i chord Longhurst,.nef mogozi ne
, , f lir e r r , r r 'l d 's l a r g e s t c o m p l r r r i e s
clepencling o1r .onllluters t() rLllt
t heil blr s i n e \ \ e s . t i r e s c o p e f o r
Mn\ ' r'
c ( ) nr l) ut er c r i n r e i s n r i n c l - b o g g l i n g . fiontier for scanr artists.'
\ nc l a: \ \ e l l o \ c i n t o t h e t i s t -\ccorcling to a recent survey
o
c L' nt ur \ , r t i l l t h e l a r - c e oll(llr( tr.rl lrr \JatIitqemelll
.a '
a t elec r ) r r r n r r r r r i c u t i o r g
r itints be the ( . ( , r r \ l l l t i u r ( r P . \ . I K b u s i r r e s se sl o st
o
o
= , ' t r lr r i, t r r r t . , 'I c r 1 , r 1 c 1j 1 1 1 a : iu'ouncl !-10 million a day in 1995.,,-::
.E thr-oughcomputer fraud.
I
T_tEl I_ r_J!_g
Y_
P.lry U\ cl- Examplesof this include the
E
o
The Internet - a netrvork of headlinc-hitting case of hackers
=
.9
o con)puters that calt be accessed by i rrterl eri ngw i th the magneti cst r ipS
d
anyone, anl,where in the rvorlcl, on slrpermarket loyalty cards to'
on, fbr exarnple,a neighbotrr's lvith the aid of a computer and a gi ve themsel vesexl ra bonus p oint s,
-
o
home telephone bill. Tl.resecr-irnes
.g
= a rc not t r eat ed lis htl r - s i rrc t'
o
A 1990, the cost of phreaking has
co sl U K t elephoDec o rn p a rri e a s rr
f Itern$rernainingto be deleled: 229&
{ estinratedf400 milliorr.
z
HAC K E R CT A M P-D O W N
Abene \ras particularly vocal about
his expkrits, cven broadcastinshis
techniqrres on a rr.eeklyNerv Ycrrk
radio shol'. This n-asone of thc
factors that brought l-rirnto the
attention of' the telephone
companies and causedl-ris
:, ff
downfall. In conrt, a fbrmer CIA
agent, realizins that Abene's
+ ::i
=

l a l e n t s\ v er eloo goo d to rr' a s tei rr

prison, offered to supervize him in
 l-!tt!11!ty.tllt{li l-qellr.i:'lli-ll-l.nlrirrlll
-rr'r]tlg

which can be used in exchange for ) A huge voriety of

goods, servicesor airline tickets. informotion exisls on lhe
. One particularly worrying trend, Inlernel, complete wirh full
a cc or ding t o c ons u l ta n tP e te r colour illustrqtions. Much of
Jenner who heads the rhis will be illegol, while some
international computer security will iust be offensive. So for,
division at Management there is no method for keeping
ConsultancyPA, is the growing potentiolly dongerous moteriql
. involvement of organized and off of rhe Internet, ond the
well-equipped criminals in system remoins open lo obuse.
't
. computer fraud.

EA S Y MO N EY
Organizations as diverse as the
Mafia and the IRA need money to
support their criminal activities,
and computer fraud is a relatively
low-risk way of raising large sums
of money. They can do this by i-
'| -]
coercing a company employee into tvd];E7l |r!l!#3 lffi t& I t-@
..il;-i;fr;E'*
interfering with the computer
sy-stemand diverting money to a n- tu b Fr d E&d +b

false bank account, or by 'planting' ---

***4,

one ol their members in the - ) tu t@@r -

company to do it for them. 'The

people perpetrating these crimes
rarely get caught,' saysJenner.This equipment - and a few corrupt
is because it is extremelv difficult British Telecom employees - the
to track down, let alone prosecute, so-called 'hole in the wall gang'
the person committing the crime. planned to hack into the
:._.
.; However, this is not always the telephone lines running between be dispensed- could be obtained
I; case.One of the most audacious cash dispensersand central in this way. The PIN numbers
examplesof cybercrime came to banking computers. could then be decrvpted. and
.; ..-ji.-, public attention in October 1996 Hundreds of thousands of loaded on to a nerv bank card.
with rhe arrest of seven compurer customer PIN numbers - the Using a network of inter national
iJ-1;ii/
criminals. Using relatively secret four digit figures that have thieves,money could be obtained
unsophisticatedcomputer to be typed in before money can from machines across tl-reglobe.
Police claimed that the heist could
have crippled the UK's financial
institutions, had it sncceeded.

D A TA FR E E -FOR -A rt_
At the moment. con-rputerfraud
seems to be a problem that only
affects the profits of big businesses.
But as more and more people
connect to the Internet,
cybercrime could end up being a
problem that affects everyone.
The Internet provides a forum
for anyone to publish any
information they want, irrespective
.,
,.i ,iuuri
of the legality. Hundreds of
I thousandsof documents exist on

.i the Internet, which could prove

lethal if they got into the wrong
E]
,-:ffi consultant from Manchester,
married with two children, was
convicted of dorvnloading child
pornography from the Internet to
his home computer. He was fined
f9,500. His arrest rvaspart of a
massivepolice s\roop codenamed,
Operation Starburst,rvhich
involved police forces from seven
c o n n tri e s .incl udi ng the U S ,
LER Cermanv and Hong Kong.
Pover fitfi#,ffi YoIt,ftsa frta SE tF -R E G U TA TION
r Inl Yet poiicint tlte Internet to stop on-
rEr line c lr ilr l p o r r r o q r a p h y i s a
rCu
mamnloih - some n'ould say
rLa
rffi irnpossible - task. One of the main
problenrs is that different laws
Cautiou: applr' in cliff-erent countries, and
Tith thir the hrternet does nol fall under the
injurS!!l
juri-s6li61i6r.r
of anv one place. If one
corlntrv clecides to crack down on
3IZZ300 I
f69-s0 child pornographr', paedophiles
can sirr-rph transfer their material to
another countrl rlhere the laws are
more lenient. \Iaterial can then be

ff
hands. Instructions for creating
crude and sophisticated explosives
tl .rtre
- even atomic bombs - can be Todop the electronic
found, as well as ordering details w olls going up
for firearms and other dangerous everywhere on the
weapons. Methods for committing N e t or e the cleqr esf determined and skilled enough.
su i ci d eex is t ,as well a s i n s tru c ti o n s proof of the loss of trust Renegade hackers like Kevin
on how to perpetrate and - Mi rni ck are al rr' avs
prepared to
o n d comm unity
literally - get awaywith murder. chal l errgethe so-cal l edexpert sand
s- ' .- - $ h -6mu16, C omputer S ci enti st
You can even find advice on how break their'ur-rbreakable'systems.
to change your identity and fake iln \F p But, given that so much dangerous
vour own death. material exists on the Internet, are
The abundance of illegal uploaded olt to the Internet and hackerslike Mitnick the real
information on the Internet irccessedbv anvone, anl,where in cy'bercriminals?If their high-
creates the ideal breeding ground the rrorid. Unsuspecting users can profile computer skills keep the
for would-be criminals. And with sometimes str-rmbleacrossthis kind experts on their toes and drives
tens of millions of people alreacly of r.rraterialaccidentally. this area of computer technology
on-line, the chances of catching hr the caseof online forward, perhaps the increase in
the criminal element of this p a e d o p h i l ia.some progressi s securi tyknow l edgecan be use d t o
sprawling communication network being made by the use of bani sh l he si ni ster.anonymous
is practically nil. allon\'lriolls' tip-offs'. Anyone who information off of
finds paedophile material on the the Net - before it
POL ICI NG T HE NET Internet can contact special gets out of control
Another example of the groups who passthe information
communicatiotr'free-for-all' is the on to the relevant authorities, and
proliferation of child pornographv so far this is proving fairly In lhe next zssue,SCIENCE
on the Internet. In November successful.However, there are FRONTIERSinuesligrtleshou our
1995, Christopher Sharp, a many ways of disguising increasing dependenty on computer
48-year-oldmanagement u n s a v o u rymateri al i f a person i s technologl could ultimately proae fataL
 SIBLT.

N ETIC
Ri,'f ITCTROMAG
E APO NSB E I N G T E S T E D
A N UN S U S P E C T I N G
c? DavroGuYarr
STIGATESONE
ctArMsrN
OF AN ANSWER

A nlony Verney looked forward r,r'ith

excitement to his retirement.
T,ogether with his wife Doreen, he
had bought an idyllic woodcutter's
:,rinrural Kent, England. But things
r ot wor k out a s p l a n n e dfo r th e Ve rn e v s
- the elder ly c oup l e h a d n o t c o u n te d o n
being guinea pigs for a horriFying experi-
li:t:f:f::irl, ment in microwave weaponry courtesy of
th e B r it is h gov er n m e n t.
In th.
l"r s um m er of
t he, ,I--er o f 1983,
1 9 8 3 . Gil
th e c ouple r et ir e d to th e i r
Snsel and Gretel horne.
Cottage dated back
the Battle of Waterloo

b e g an per m eat in g th ro u g h
ilie' building. By October,
ih€,,rvolume increased and,
a ccor ding to V e rn e y .
 up through the ground.' For the rrt
davsand ni ghts.the coupl e barel ysl ept .
\\' i rhi rr three neeks, the bombard- m ent

ern \vere l i t up ar ni ght w i th srrang epinl

and yellow lights, casting eerie sl
among the w oodl and trees.

POTICE DENIATS
Decidine to locate the source of ':
ming, the Verneysset out late at rr!
24 November. It proved to be a fu-tilb
cise, as the souncl seemed to move aiound. r.
H ow ever.duri ng thei r foray.they ran inr o a
police patrol not far from their cottagd!:
was 1 a.m., and the policemen cled
heard the sounds. But when Verney
an official complaint at the police
the following day, he rvas told it *ur,';ini
matter for the oolice' and to
I
.9 Environmental Health Department:::,,'',:l$
D espi te repeated attempts to p
€ matter before the council. Vernev reii
n no response.Frustrated and debilitate
(,o next contacted an acousticseneineer
.9 a local firm in Maidstone. Arriving at
o
'b cottage that same evening, the e
E obtained a very strong reading ofthe vi
ti ons. C oni erned, he al erted
o
l
E nvi ronmental H eal rh D epartmenr to t he
 :a;:r:i:r:l:t ilrl,.:l:,,]i,'1,,i.:.:lrr:.r'
."ll:
:::,'.' '' ' .",1,'l.
r*i:,:t,,::.ill
problem, but they again refused to get
lin,Vo!1e0, At this point, Verney reported
i*ii:;;:ii;ii !,it;
was becoming intolerable inside

'1* .;{:'\o- i
iAhbour, meanwhile, had told the ft; ?t'-a--,-
- t-

,about an odd btrilcling that had I:i+,se

r ec t ed c lo s e b y . tw o o r th re e l e a rs
usly. The two-storey building, sur-
mded by high hedges, had no windows
the first floor, and reminded Verney
,:L,ip{,,German Army bunkers built during
!r,;@rta WarIL
oddly, the ground floor windows
1;1t.'...,.1.',1'tost
w€re protected by thick net curtains typical
. of those used to protect specialgovernment
ildings from bomb blasts.Verrreyalsodis-
fea{ that the telephone number of the
tding was 'classified'. This building was,
felt, the origin of the disturbances

,5,PlClONS AROUSED
no one in authority to turn to, Verney
to London to hire his own record-
ipment. Explaining the sitr,ratiorrto
rs of a shop specializing in elec-
. tronic appliances, Verney was told by the
two s hop as s is ta n ts'.[t s o u n d s a s rh o u g h

. Def enc e. ' A f t er a s h o rt c o n v e rs a ti o n .

tronics scientist and a date was set for

hnician to visit the cottage.
ar r anged, th e e l e c l ro rri c ss c i e n ti s t.
we qhall refer to as 'Mr D', arrived
;lottage on 18 January 1984. Ten

minutes after \Ir D set up his equipment,

Yernev rvas astonished by the arrival of a
local Environmental Health officer.
Appearing agitated, the officer remarked ro
the scientist, 'So you're Mr D?' and pro-
ceeded to cross-examinethe scientiston his
equipment. He left shortly afterwards.
Following his departure, Mr D and the
Verneys began a vigil, hoping to capture
necessarydata to prove what was going on.
Most unusually, it was a quiet evening, with
THE LOC B(
no humming noises or ground I'ibrations.
H:ffi By 10 p.m., Mr D decided to return home,
ilifi:i;iliifltri#"1iJs.:l*"'$til"'*#fr'iffi
"';l'i
and packecl up his equiprnent. Artonv
fr#F'#*#IH*$'H
tj#;x*n*+l**xmfl Verney drove him back to London. Shortlr'
r after they left, the noise and vibrations
il,#I*i*t+*H***i*1"*:*"j"*":ili:'fr'H:i-?ffi
lldt 3 5&m th ndt
drt
began in earnest, and Doreen Veruev suf-
fr! ddild fered a nisht of 'bombardrnent'.

ildeis'fsr" ::#ffi :#
6-ff*:*'lnt*:r;lllliilir.ls,#'#ff After seven months of suffering, the
;ffi*#ift{"{'*' Verneys reluctantly decided to sell their
*'i**i'ru'Upf
j:ffi l[f;.$'5mg-g5"tff
il"$H
ffiis**m:;119,;1 i". ito tt"tY'oe
H'llffi :H:'[i*r';x-Sin':"i;ii*r;wsr:
t:H,*'""#$;::X
opdttid &en'
to cl6' d'
hk lty acdd
eould

pwnv i! ss(
. weil to vi'*
 home. Sale of the property was set for com-
pletion on 24 May i984. In his diary for 20
May, Verney recounted the night was hell,
with the noise at its highest level ever, and
vibrations tearing through the grounds at
frightening velocity. The cottage was liter-
ally shaking in its foundations, and did so
until 7 a.m.
Pitifully debilitated, the Verneysmoved to
Sussex,where they devoted the rest of their
lives trying to discover who was responsible
for their cruel treatment. Prime \Iinisters

33 tt
l n my o p i n i o n, the
V e rn e y cq se w o s bqd timing.
He wqsn'f o lorget - he wqs
i u st co u g h t u n w i ttingly in
o milifory experiment
Reseorcrer
Dr ArmenViciorion,Conspirocy
li it':
lir ':
lif. ,
lFl . , ' ,,
= Thatcher and Major, and a iro:t of otirer
.Y Ministers and government depar-tnrent-\.
(J
= were extensivelyquestioned.\\hert he rras
6
quizzed, the Deputy Chief C,onstabie of Gerrrrarrr.to pl epare pi l ots for torture
o
Kent Police stated that the issiresraised the elent tl'reir planes crashed behii
=
br t he \c r r t r r '. d i d r o L e n e n r \ l i n e . . H o l l o r c l p e r s o n a l l y o b s e r vr
f all r r it h i r r r h c i r r r i . d i c - \ \TO per.orrnel' corrnrl si ngi n agony'
t ior t t , l K r r r : Police.' l e.rrl r of rhe el ectl omagneti ctorture.
Pr-ilateir. i'Io\fc\ er. thc
\ c l nr r \ \\crr tuld flri. MEDICAL BACK.UP
\ \ n: . t r t \ [ u D i r r t e l l i - The \-ernevs' medical records
genc e n r a t t e r . T h e gr-irn picture of their sufferin$i,
\ [ oD t .l l i i n r . r r t o d e r t i I983. shortly be[ore the activity
it . and the \-ernevs couple received a clean bill of healtlfil
borh \\ e nt to tl-reir their local health centre. Yet, bv eailil
sraves in 19t!16riith the Doreen was suffering from severestornaah
nratter unresolr-ed. cramps and vomiting. the first symptomsof
It r to u l d be very radiation sickness. By August, she-:.
eAS\ to disrniss the admitted to a London hosoital su
A Dorgle Cottoge seems \-elnevs claim. :rs thntasvrr'ere it not for from ovarian cancer. She later had a
on unlikely lorgef for o the fact thirt urr.rchof their story has been ber ofstrokes and spent the rest ofhei
coverl militory operotion, authenticated.-\ 90-minute tape recording as a semi-invalid and in severe pain..::.:,:,,,:L
olthough fhere is the of the noisesrecordeclinJanuary 1984was Antony Verney fared little
chonce thot it wqs analvsed bv Frecl Holroyd, a former Army medical records from 1984 docu
torgeted inodverfently. intelligence officer. Holroyd stated that the tinuous pain and a disturbed
Antony Verney, ifs owner sounds corresponded to 'white noise' in Within a yeaq he had permanent
during fhe mid-l98Os, the audible spectnlm of microwaves. his soine. and lost all his teeth.
wos convinced lhe source The Verneys are not alone in be
of the microwove ofiock ET E C T R O MA G N ET IC TOR TU R E sets for microwave and other electriiij
wos fhe neighbouring Holroyd also pointed out that the technol- netic weapons. One of the best
form (inset), olthough, not ogy involved in producing these sounds mented casesis the civil rights activists
surprisingly, the owners was used in a NATO (North Atlantic demonstrated outside the
deny ir. Treaty Organization) installation in West C ommon nucl ear bomber a
 Microwaveweaponssystem (no. l) 1972

dctivists of Britain in 1985. In a dossier prepared by Another case involves Robert Strom, an
, lhe U5 fbrmer activist,Kim Besly,details of alleged emplovee of the Boeing Corporation - a
in Britoin, microwave assaults directed at the peace major US defence contractor. His life was
o hdve been campaigners are fully catalogued. Victims' cut short after contracting leukaemia as the
d'by o microwove symptoms include retinal bleeding, nau- result of exposlrre to Electromagnetic Pulse
on in I985. Their sea, nosebleeds, dizziness, palpitations, (EMP) radiation. Strom alleged that, in
could be eosily and heaclaches. 1983, Boeing set him the task of firing an
but for the The list of srrnptoms \\'ere rer-ierled ltv EMP simulatcir hundreds of times a day as
I'Cvidence- one of th e N o b e l Pri z e n orni nee D r R obel t part of a secret experiment to test the haz-
msi for exomple, Becker, a medical scientist rrho alscr alclsof E\'IP exposure.In 1990,Boeing set-
os suffering analysed the recordings made br' \-elner tlecl the crrseout of corrrt fbr $500.000.
ofter and others. Dr Becker concluded: '\lrs
winter's Besly'speople certainly fit r,vellinside of the SECRET MILITA R Y P R OJECT
r the bose. EM field exDosuresvndrome...' Lr par:rllcl. Bc.reingrier-e also operating a
secret L S -{ir For-ceprograntlne at a missile
site in Lrcliilur. -\rother Boeing employee,
Jim Dalton. rias erposed to EMP radiation
that senelated 600,000natts r,vithinfeet of
n'here he rrorked. The exposure of Boeing
staff tci this radiation was trot accidental. As
far back as 1971, Boeing knew there were
consiclerable risks involved. At that time,
Boeirrs medical stalf wrote they were 'in a
unique position to evaluate some aspectsof
the biological effects on man'.
These experiments, and many more
besides,provided the necessary'science'tc-r
develop anti-personnel electromagnetic
weapons. This new-age armoury has manv
benefits for the military and intelligence
E
community. Foremost, perhaps, is that they
o
o
= are invisible and deniable. \Arhetherused on
.g the battlefield or in the bungalow elecrro-
_.q magnetic weaponsare destined to become a
I

::ffiT-ffi:';ryjifl m
":ffi:.::,1"'''