John Keel, journalist, author, fortean, and originator of some of the most unique theories on UFOs and the paranormal, died on July 3rd in New York City. His influence on generations of researchers is probably immeasurable.
Born Alva John Kiehle on March 25, 1930, Keel began writing at an early age. He was producing a column in the local newspaper in Perry, New York by age 14, and moved to New York City at 17 to pursue a career as an author and adventurer. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951 and worked for the Armed Forces Radio Network, where he once broadcast a program from inside the Great Pyramid at Giza.
After his tour of duty was over, Keel set out on a trip through the middle east to visit fakirs, magicians and occultists and wrote his first book about the experience, Jadoo, published in 1957. Fate magazine gave Keel an early interest in the UFO enigma, and together with Ivan Sanderson, they began to write a book on the subject in the mid-1960s. They quickly found that their views were incompatible, and Keel began research into what would later become seminal books such as The Eighth Tower and UFOs, Operation Trojan Horse.
Keel first challenged the extraterrestrial hyposthesis with his idea of the “superspectrum,” which theorized that UFOs were controlled by intelligences that moved freely between wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, appearing and disappearing from the infrared and the ultraviolet. Building on the ideas of little-known researchers like Meade Layne and Trevor Constable, he also proposed the theory (and provided ample evidence for this) that UFO entities were not from other planets, but were most likely native intelligences that had been involved with mankind throughout history and prehistory, and perhaps did not have our best interests in mind. These ideas were heresy to the ufological partyline at the time, and continue to be, which is a testament to their originality and implications.
In 1975, Keel rocked the paranormal community with the publication of The Mothman Prophecies, which was his take on the strange events leading up to the Silver Bridge disaster in Point Pleasant, West Virginia on December 15, 1967. In 1966, Keel began investigating reports of a frightening creature in the area around the town. Dubbed “Mothman,” the entity appeared as a headless human form sporting large wings and glowing red “eyes” in the chest area. Mothman did not fly like any known bird, bat or insect, swooping down on unsuspecting motorists and teenagers, and taking off from the ground vertically without moving its “wings” before keeping pace with fleeing cars and disappearing.
Keel documented other weird goings-on in Point Pleasant for nearly two years, including poltergeist phenomena, strange visions, doppelgangers of Keel himself and a scary character who called himself Indrid Cold. Critics claimed that he took storytelling liberties in The Mothman Prophecies, changing events and timelines to suit his narrative, but the essential message of the book still rings true. As Keel stated in the text, “Once you have established a belief, the phenomenon adjusts its manifestations to support that belief and thereby escalate it.” This hypothesis has been tested numerous times since in other UFO “flap” areas, (such as events around the Dulce, New Mexico area in the late 1970s and the more recent Stephenville case) and continues to hold its own.
In the late 1980s, Keel founded the New York Fortean Society and continued to write and lecture periodically well into the late 1990s.
In 1999, I called Keel and asked for a quote for the release of a collection of articles from The Excluded Middle, my old magazine. He politely refused a few times, but finally offered “The truth is out there, but it’s nowhere in this book. Buy mine instead.” The quote went on the back cover of Wake Up Down There: The Excluded Middle Collection when it was published the next year. The title of that book and this blog is based on a strange phone conversation related by Keel in Mothman Prophecies.
In 2000, I finally visited Keel in New York and we had lunch before visiting the Museum of Natural History and a store that sold all manner of bones and skeletons. His comments on the hubris of some scientists and paranormal researchers were cantankerous but delivered with a smile, and he signed my copy of Jadoo.
P.S. In some sort of cosmic trickster way, Keel may have gotten a final laugh as my computer locked up and apparently died as I was writing this obituary. After a couple of tries, it miraculously resurrected itself. Long live Keel!
“In some sort of cosmic trickster way, Keel may have gotten a final laugh as my computer locked up and apparently died as I was writing this obituary. After a couple of tries, it miraculously resurrected itself. Long live Keel!”
Oh, so THAT is what happened! I should have known
Vaya con Dios, señor Keel (if that’s what you want to do, anyway)
John Keel was one of the most original thinkers in the UFO field and he has been sadly missed for some time…and he is even more missed now. British author Andrew Collins has said that his meeting of Keel was the highlight of his UFO career. Keel had been in declining health for decades and only been making sporadic treks out of his NY apartment as he could. In 2000 I spoke to him on the phone for about an hour and he was gracious and talkative. I had invited him to come to my home in Memphis and even offered to fly him down in a small plane—me as the pilot and him as copilot. (He hadn’t flown a plane in decades and liked the idea.) Sadly, he wanted to do it, but he just couldn’t do it due to his health. He shared his declining health issues perhaps because he knew I was an admirer of his work and the man. I have spoken to him only a few times, but his death leaves a hole in ufology that I fear can’t be filled. His books, as he confided with me as a fellow UFO writer with parallel ideas, never sold to the extent to where he could make much money, even though he wrote in the heyday of UFOlogy. I can’t bring myself to say the number of copies of his biggest books sold. His theories were shunned by many others in the field and he and his fellow ufologists didn’t get along too well. Of course, John didn’t listen to the ideas spewed by his fellow ufologists at the time, and he paid a price for it. Keel walked his own path to the end. I don’t think he ever wavered in his ideas about ufos and the underlying bizarreness in the entire field. But his ideas remain some of the most important ever put forth. You’ll be missed, John, and I hope you have attuned to the big electron–the EM spectrum–you perceived influencing those of us walking on earth. So sorry to see you go.
Your disciple, Dr. Greg Little, or Greg Kline in German as you called me.
John Keel was my hero. From the very beginning of my interest in fortean subjects in the late 60s, Keel more than any other author, instilled in me an out-of-the-box way of looking at the many mysteries in the natural world. I have read most, if not all of his many books several times and consider Operation Trojan Horse to ne aurguable the best book ever written on UFOs. I loosely modeled my own approach to investigating the San Luis Valley after his Pt. Pleasant/Mothman work. His idea of taking a specific geographic area and investigating ALL unusual events, was light-years ahead of his time and an approach only attempted by a few investigators to date. His ultraterrestrial hypothesis
and the observation that UFOs and various paranormal phenomena were only here “to confound us,” has prompted me to take his thinking to the next level. I have just completed my first “beyond” the mysterious valley book, “Stalking the Tricksters,” which will be dedicated to his memory. Keel, more than any other author steered my thinking to where it is today
I have one interesting Keel story:
I lived a mere four blocks from Keel in NYC for 6 years and never knew it. I did see him a couple of times walking in the Murray Hill area, but was too insecure to bother him. I finally got up the courage to invite him to be a speaker at my “Emergence Conference” my brother and I had planned for October 2001. I called him and asked if he would consider coming down to Chiapas. Much to my surprise, he agreed and we talked at length. At one point he asked me if I was “ready to end up in jail.” I was taken aback and asked him what he was talking about. He answered: “If I go down to your conference, I’m going to get you in a lot of trouble, and you might end up in jail.” He sounded serious! I told him it was worth the risk. The unfortunate events of 911 caused us to cancel the conference, but Keel had agreed to present, and my conversation with him about all things fortean is one of the highlights of my investigative process.
He was an unsung hero that didn’t receive a fraction of the respect and admiration he deserved. He will be greatly missed by those of us who aren’t satisfied with simple answers to difficult questions
John Keel, I don’t hesitate to say, was formative in my teens when I read his ‘Haunted Planet’ for the very first time. He has always been one of my heroes, and he will always be.
John wrote the preface to my 1998 book ‘Free Energy Pioneer: John Worrelll Keely’. I owe that to my late - and also deeply missed - publisher Ron Bonds, of IllumiNet Press, one of the most decent publishers I have ever met and one who was genuinly interested in what you did as a writer and researcher in the Fortean Arcana.
When my book was finished, and he suggested someone do a preface, I immediately said ‘John Keel’. I know there was a slight chance that it might work out, as Ron had republished several of Keel’s titles at that time(Our haunted Planet, Disneyland of the Gods which contained new materials). To my eternal joy, Keel did write the preface, after having read the draft of my book.
I talked to John a number of times over the phone (I am living in Europe) and at one time I suggested he’d do a follow up on his ‘Mothman Prophecies’. My suggestion to which I heard him chuckling at the other end of the transatlantic line, and saying about the title of the book: “The Return Of Mothman!” It gave me goosepimples. Just imagine: a new Keel title!
In the end it was not to be and Keel has passed on to the Disneyland Of The Gods, as Phyllis Benjamin of INFO so aptly put it.
Although I never met him, he will be deeply missed. His passing marks the end of an era.
In honour of a most original thinker, researcher and author, click following the link to an old Keel article (published in 1967) titled: “Who Was That 6-Inch-High Animated Tin Can I Saw You With Last Night?”: http://seektress.com/tincan2.htm
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Jul 06 2009 
July 6th, 2009 at 8:19 am
“In some sort of cosmic trickster way, Keel may have gotten a final laugh as my computer locked up and apparently died as I was writing this obituary. After a couple of tries, it miraculously resurrected itself. Long live Keel!”
Oh, so THAT is what happened! I should have known
Vaya con Dios, señor Keel (if that’s what you want to do, anyway)
July 6th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Who is the leader of Forteana now?
John has once again stepped ahead of us and shed his mortal coil. I’ve heard and read he was in poor health.
RIP John Keel, See you on the other side!
July 6th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Interesting, today I decided to learn the Carolan tune “Mrs. Keel”, a rather solemn and thoughtful piece.
If he had anything to do with it I’m certainly grateful. Here’s a link to a cheesy midi, but it’s a beautiful tune:
http://pybertra.free.fr/ceol/carolan.htm
July 6th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
John Keel was one of the most original thinkers in the UFO field and he has been sadly missed for some time…and he is even more missed now. British author Andrew Collins has said that his meeting of Keel was the highlight of his UFO career. Keel had been in declining health for decades and only been making sporadic treks out of his NY apartment as he could. In 2000 I spoke to him on the phone for about an hour and he was gracious and talkative. I had invited him to come to my home in Memphis and even offered to fly him down in a small plane—me as the pilot and him as copilot. (He hadn’t flown a plane in decades and liked the idea.) Sadly, he wanted to do it, but he just couldn’t do it due to his health. He shared his declining health issues perhaps because he knew I was an admirer of his work and the man. I have spoken to him only a few times, but his death leaves a hole in ufology that I fear can’t be filled. His books, as he confided with me as a fellow UFO writer with parallel ideas, never sold to the extent to where he could make much money, even though he wrote in the heyday of UFOlogy. I can’t bring myself to say the number of copies of his biggest books sold. His theories were shunned by many others in the field and he and his fellow ufologists didn’t get along too well. Of course, John didn’t listen to the ideas spewed by his fellow ufologists at the time, and he paid a price for it. Keel walked his own path to the end. I don’t think he ever wavered in his ideas about ufos and the underlying bizarreness in the entire field. But his ideas remain some of the most important ever put forth. You’ll be missed, John, and I hope you have attuned to the big electron–the EM spectrum–you perceived influencing those of us walking on earth. So sorry to see you go.
Your disciple, Dr. Greg Little, or Greg Kline in German as you called me.
July 7th, 2009 at 1:39 am
John Keel was my hero. From the very beginning of my interest in fortean subjects in the late 60s, Keel more than any other author, instilled in me an out-of-the-box way of looking at the many mysteries in the natural world. I have read most, if not all of his many books several times and consider Operation Trojan Horse to ne aurguable the best book ever written on UFOs. I loosely modeled my own approach to investigating the San Luis Valley after his Pt. Pleasant/Mothman work. His idea of taking a specific geographic area and investigating ALL unusual events, was light-years ahead of his time and an approach only attempted by a few investigators to date. His ultraterrestrial hypothesis
and the observation that UFOs and various paranormal phenomena were only here “to confound us,” has prompted me to take his thinking to the next level. I have just completed my first “beyond” the mysterious valley book, “Stalking the Tricksters,” which will be dedicated to his memory. Keel, more than any other author steered my thinking to where it is today
I have one interesting Keel story:
I lived a mere four blocks from Keel in NYC for 6 years and never knew it. I did see him a couple of times walking in the Murray Hill area, but was too insecure to bother him. I finally got up the courage to invite him to be a speaker at my “Emergence Conference” my brother and I had planned for October 2001. I called him and asked if he would consider coming down to Chiapas. Much to my surprise, he agreed and we talked at length. At one point he asked me if I was “ready to end up in jail.” I was taken aback and asked him what he was talking about. He answered: “If I go down to your conference, I’m going to get you in a lot of trouble, and you might end up in jail.” He sounded serious! I told him it was worth the risk. The unfortunate events of 911 caused us to cancel the conference, but Keel had agreed to present, and my conversation with him about all things fortean is one of the highlights of my investigative process.
He was an unsung hero that didn’t receive a fraction of the respect and admiration he deserved. He will be greatly missed by those of us who aren’t satisfied with simple answers to difficult questions
July 7th, 2009 at 2:15 am
I cut my Fortean teeth on Strange
Creatures From Time And Space
more than forty years ago. Like its
author, an enduring classic.
July 7th, 2009 at 5:15 am
John Keel, I don’t hesitate to say, was formative in my teens when I read his ‘Haunted Planet’ for the very first time. He has always been one of my heroes, and he will always be.
John wrote the preface to my 1998 book ‘Free Energy Pioneer: John Worrelll Keely’. I owe that to my late - and also deeply missed - publisher Ron Bonds, of IllumiNet Press, one of the most decent publishers I have ever met and one who was genuinly interested in what you did as a writer and researcher in the Fortean Arcana.
When my book was finished, and he suggested someone do a preface, I immediately said ‘John Keel’. I know there was a slight chance that it might work out, as Ron had republished several of Keel’s titles at that time(Our haunted Planet, Disneyland of the Gods which contained new materials). To my eternal joy, Keel did write the preface, after having read the draft of my book.
I talked to John a number of times over the phone (I am living in Europe) and at one time I suggested he’d do a follow up on his ‘Mothman Prophecies’. My suggestion to which I heard him chuckling at the other end of the transatlantic line, and saying about the title of the book: “The Return Of Mothman!” It gave me goosepimples. Just imagine: a new Keel title!
In the end it was not to be and Keel has passed on to the Disneyland Of The Gods, as Phyllis Benjamin of INFO so aptly put it.
Although I never met him, he will be deeply missed. His passing marks the end of an era.
In honour of a most original thinker, researcher and author, click following the link to an old Keel article (published in 1967) titled: “Who Was That 6-Inch-High Animated Tin Can I Saw You With Last Night?”: http://seektress.com/tincan2.htm
Sincere regards,
Theo Paijmans
July 7th, 2009 at 7:01 am
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