Feb 16 2009

Tujunga UFOs

Check out the latest edition of Tim Binnall’s Binnall of America for a massive, near-4-hour interview that Tim has conducted with Ann Druffel, on the subject of her recently re-published (via Anomalist Books) title: The Tujunga Canyon Contacts.

And here’s Tim to tell you all about it…

Ann Druffel (Part 1 of 3)
The Tujunga Canyon Contacts
1 Hour, 36 Minutes

BoA:Audio’s longest interview (nearly 4 hours) sees our first-ever 3-part “miniseries” featuring esteemed Ufologist Ann Druffel. Here in Part One, we’ll be covering The Tujunga Canyon Contacts from a number of angles. This recently re-issued book, which Ann co-wrote with D. Scott Rogo, was only the second alien abduction book ever written, when it was originally released in 1980.

Ann will tell us how she got involved in the case, how the world of Ufology and abductions met in the 1970’s, the “contagen” effect of the abductions discussed in the book, Ann’s unique and groundbreaking theory on abductions and how she applies other aspects of the phenomenon to her hypothesis, details of the book including how she felt about one of the abductee’s inability to break through memory blocks, the alleged “cancer cure” given to one of the abductees by the “aliens,” and tons more. We’ll also remember two key figures in Ann’s life, her mentor Idabel Epperson, who was head of the Southern California NICAP chapter, and her co-author D. Scott Rogo, noted parapsychologist who was murdered in 1990.

In the subsequent two weeks, we’ll be discussing, at length, Ann’s masterful chronicle of UFO history Firestorm: Dr. James E. MacDonald’s Fight for UFO Science, which covers the critical “MacDonald years” in Ufology: 1966 to 1971. Full preview @ the bottom of this page and the end of this week’s episode.

Full Preview: We kick things off with some bio/background on Ann Druffel. She begins by detailing her childhood UFO sighting, in 1945, which was the impetus for her interest in the phenomenon. This leads to Ann recounting how her active career in UFO research began in 1957, when she joined the then-newly formed NICAP organization.

We then dive into discussion on The Tujunga Canyon Contacts and Ann begins by explaining how the tenor of Ufology had begun to undergo a radical sea change of reports in 1973. She then gives us a thumbnail look at how she ended up investigating the Tujunga stories, the evolution of the published work on the unique abduction case, and how this all led to her subsequent book How to Defend Yourself Against Alien Abduction. We then find out about how there was a stark contrast in the reaction of the UFO community to the two different books.

This segues into Ann putting forth her theory on what abductions truly are and how they may have nothing to do with UFOs. Returning the discussion on the Tujunga cases, we talk about the “contagen” effect that seemed to be at work with these cases, something which the authors’ point out had never, up to that point, been reported before, and find out if, since the publication of the book, more cases of “contageous” abductions have occurred.

Looking at a specific element to the book, we talk about one of the abductees, Jan Whitley, and the repeated attempts to unlock her blocked memories via hypnosis, all of which failed, and we find out Ann’s reaction, as a researcher, to this sort of obstacle. This leads to Ann discussing one big problem with contemporary abduction research done via hypnosis. That observation segues into us getting Ann’s opinion on whether abduction research via hypnosis has progressed or regressed in the last 30 years since Tujunga was published. From there we talk about how, much like with UFOs in general, the ETH has become synonymous with abductions, despite little actual proof that ETs are perpetrating the events.

Up next we discuss what Ann calls the “Tujunga Canyon UFO Milleau” which is the observation that that part of California is a hot spot for not just UFO activity but an assortment of esoteric anomalies. This segues into an observation made at the close of the book, that perhaps abductions befall people in atypical living situations and lifestyles because that is what may interest the intelligence behind the abductions and we ponder if this theory has been borne out over the last three decades since the book was published. We then look another interesting sidestory within the Tujunga Canyon Contacts and that is an alleged “cancer cure” purportedly given to one of the abductees by the ETs.

Since the original re-issue of Tujunga was in 1988, we find out from Ann if there have been any developments in the case since then and she details how it laid the groundwork for her subsequent book How To Defend Yourself Against Alien Abductions. She talks about how, in recent years, there has been a renaissance and re-examination of her work with “resisters” by the abduction community.

Delving some more into Ann’s alternative theory to abductions, we get her take on how many reported abductions are really done at the hands of ETs or “aliens.” She also explains her hypothesis that “alien abductions” are just the American-ized version of long-told stories of ancient encounters with interdimensional entities. We also find out where Ann sees actual UFOs fitting into her abduction theory.

Looking at one specific incident from the Tegunja Canyon Contacts, we talk about the “reststop encounter” of Jan, Emily, and Emily’s young son and find out if the youngster ever had any abduction experiences later on in his life. This segues into discussion of Ann’s abduction theory and if she has looked at or applied the “generational” hypothesis, popular in abduction research, to her theory. We also find out how Ann reconciles the “alien implant” aspect of abduction research with her theories on abductions.

Looking at some of the key players who influenced Ann’s career and the Tujunga book, Ann talks about former California NICAP director Idabel Epperson, whom she calls a “mentor” in the book. Ann recalls the NICAP LA meetings which were held in Idabel’s home and what the atmosphere there was like when researchers like J. Allen Hynek and James McDonald were in town and visited the group. She recounts in fascinating detail how she ended up being a part of the LA NICAP group, what is was like being a woman in the field during those early days, and how Idabel Epperson shaped her research. Ann also teases that she is working on her memoirs, which will surely shed new light on early Ufological history. She also talks about the transition of the LA group from NICAP to MUFON in 1971.

Wrapping up our discussion on the Tujunga Canyon Contacts, we discuss Ann’s co-author on the book, the late D. Scott Rogo. We first talk about his shocking murder in 1990 and the amazing story of how psychic information led to the capture of one of his murderers. Ann then talks about her experience working with Rogo on the Tujunga book. And, closing out this portion of the interview, we find out where folks can pick up a copy of this remarkable and historic abduction book.

This interview was recorded over the course of two days, 1.24.9 and 1.28.9

This entry was posted on Monday, February 16th, 2009 at 6:37 am and is filed under Abductions, Alien Encounters, Anomalous Phenomena, Audio, Author Interviews, Beliefs, Books, Breaking News, Close Encounters, Evidence, Eyewitness Accounts, Media Appearances, The Redfern Files, UFO Sightings, UFOlogists, UFOlogy. You can follow responses via RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your site.
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