JFK-UFO conspiracy theories
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JFK-UFO conspiracy theories are conspiracy theories that merge John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories with UFO conspiracy theories. By the 1990s, such theories were prominent both in conspiracy literature and popular fiction.[1]
In contrast to conspiracy literature, fact-based sources roundly reject such theories.
Background[edit]
On June 24, 1947, American civilian pilot Kenneth Arnold gave interviews about having witnessed a number of flying discs.[2] Weeks later, on July 28, Arnold investigated the Maury Island incident, where he came to believe he was target of wiretapping.[3] Arnold interviewed a Maury Island boat operator who allegedly had been warned not to discuss his sighting by men in black suits.[3] By 1949, conspiracy theorists such Donald Keyhoe were publicly alleging that the US Government was covering-up the existence of flying discs.[4]
On November 22, 1963, United States President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade.[5] The Dallas Police Department arrested Oswald 70 minutes after the initial shooting and charged him under Texas state law with the murder of Kennedy and that of J. D. Tippit, a Dallas police officer. At 11:21 a.m. November 24, 1963, as live television cameras were covering his transfer from the city jail to the county jail, Oswald was fatally shot in the basement of Dallas Police Headquarters by nightclub operator Jack Ruby. By 1966, conspiracy theorists such as Mark Lane were publicly alleging that elements with the US government may have been responsible for the assassination.[6][7]
In the years following the assassination, UFOs were sometimes cited. In a 1964 article titled "Marksmanship in Dallas", Revilo P. Oliver raised the satirical scenario that "the person killed was not Kennedy but a double and the real Kennedy is now a guest aboard a flying saucer, on which he is heroically negotiating with Martians or Saturnians to save The World".[8] When Oliver testified before the Warren Commission, his satire was discussed.[9] Writing in 1971, conspiracy author Paris Flammonde recounted speculation that extraterrestrials might have been responsible for Kennedy's death.[10]
JFK-UFO conspiracy theories[edit]
JFK-UFO conspiracy theories first emerged in the writings of the UFO conspiracy community.[11][12] In 1987, UFO conspiracy author William Moore authored "The Strange Case of the Maury Island Saucer", allegedly linking the Maury Island UFO incident to the trial of Clay Shaw for the Kennedy assassination.[13] In 1991, UFO conspiracy author Bill Cooper published the influential conspiracy work Behold a Pale Horse which claimed that Kennedy was killed after he "informed Majestic 12 that he intended to reveal the presence of aliens to the American people".[14][15]
By the 1990s, fringe conspiracy theories were being incorporated into popular fiction. On September 21, 1996, the fictional TV series Dark Skies premiered with a premise of a Kennedy assassination to cover-up the existence of aliens.[16][17] Weeks later, on November 17, 1996, The X-Files aired a episode titled "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" with a similar plot line.[18]
Fueled by popular culture, more conspiracy theorists began linking UFOs to JFK. Jim Marrs was a JFK conspiracy theorist who served as a primary advisor to the film JFK. By 1997, Marrs's writings encompassed the UFO conspiracy theory as well. In 1999, conspiracy theorist Kenn Thomas authored a book speculating that Kennedy was killed to protect UFO secrets.[19] That same year, John Keel speculated about a JFK-UFO conspiracy. [20]
In 2011, paranormal author William Lester claimed to have uncovered a memo linking Kennedy to UFO disclosure attempts.[21][22] In 2017, TV conspiracy show NASA's Unexplained Files aired an episode titled "JFK UFO Conspiracy" discussing that memo.[23]
In September 2021, conspiracy author Nick Redfern claimed that Marilyn Monroe was killed to cover-up UFO secrets she learned from President Kennedy.[24] The following month, fictional TV series American Horror Story: Double Feature similarly included Monroe and Kennedy being killed over their UFO knowledge.[25]
References[edit]
- ↑ Jacobson, Mark (September 4, 2018). "Pale Horse Rider: William Cooper, the Rise of Conspiracy, and the Fall of Trust in America". Penguin – via Google Books.
- ↑ Garber, Megan (June 15, 2014). "The Man Who Introduced the World to Flying Saucers". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Arnold "The Coming of the Saucers" (1952)
- ↑ "Saturday Night Uforia: Donald Keyhoe-True Magazine "The Flying Saucers Are Real"". www.saturdaynightuforia.com.
- ↑ Stokes 1979, p. 21.
- ↑ Rush to Judgment
- ↑ Lane, Mark; Trevor-Roper, Hugh Redwald (December 9, 1966). "Rush to Judgment: A Critique of the Warren Commission's Inquiry Into the Murders of President John F. Kennedy, Officer J. D. Tippit, and Lee Harvey Oswald". Holt, Rinehart & Winston – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Marxmanship in Dallas". www.kenrahn.com. American Opinion, Volume VII, No. 2, February 1964, pp. 13-28
- ↑ Commission, United States Warren (December 6, 1964). "Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Hearings Before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy". U.S. Government Printing Office – via Google Books.
- ↑ Flammonde, Paris (December 6, 1971). "The Age of Flying Saucers: Notes on a Projected History of Unidentified Flying Objects". Hawthorn Books – via Google Books.
- ↑ "8 Jul 1976, Page 31 - Lebanon Daily News at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "5 Mar 1978, 10 - The News Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Moore, William L. (December 6, 1987). "The Strange Case of the Maury Island Saucer". W.L. Moore Publications, 4219 W. Olive, Suite 247 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Goldberg, Robert Alan (October 1, 2008). "Enemies Within: The Culture of Conspiracy in Modern America". Yale University Press – via Google Books.
- ↑ Cooper, William (April 11, 2012). "Behold a Pale Horse". Light Technology Publishing – via Google Books.
- ↑ Edgerton, Gary R.; Rollins, Peter C. (September 15, 2021). "Television Histories: Shaping Collective Memory in the Media Age". University Press of Kentucky – via Google Books.
- ↑ Gulyas, Aaron (June 11, 2015). "The Paranormal and the Paranoid: Conspiratorial Science Fiction Television". Rowman & Littlefield – via Google Books.
- ↑ Jacobson, Mark (September 4, 2018). "Pale Horse Rider: William Cooper, the Rise of Conspiracy, and the Fall of Trust in America". Penguin – via Google Books.
- ↑ Maury Island UFO: The Crisman Conspiracy, IllumiNet, US, 1999, paperback ISBN 1-881532-19-4
- ↑ Keel, John A. (December 6, 1999). "Our Haunted Planet". Galde Press, Inc. – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Is that JFK memo to the CIA about UFOs real?". NBC News.
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=txQMEAAAQBAJ
- ↑ "JFK UFO Conspiracy". April 12, 2017 – via IMDb.
- ↑ Celebretainment, By. "Marilyn Monroe assassinated over UFO knowledge, book claims". WFMZ.com.
- ↑ "AHS: Double Feature Rewrites JFK and Marilyn Monroe's Deaths". CBR. October 8, 2021.
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