FIVE FILMS BASED ON REAL-LIFE UFO INCIDENTS

“The UFO Incident”: This 1975 made-for-TV movie was based on the Betty and Barney Hill abduction. Living in rural New Hampshire at the time, Betty and Barney Hill claimed to have been abducted by aliens on September 19, 1961. According to the Hills, they were driving home on Route 3 when they saw a large, brightly lit object in the sky, which proceeded to follow them and descend on their car. As they tried to escape they soon realized that they had mysteriously traveled 35 miles and lost approximately two hours of time. They eventually discover their "lost time" through regressive hypnosis. 

Their experience was the first widely publicized claim of an alien abduction, which inspired several books and film scripts. One of which was “The UFO Incident,” which starred Estelle Parsons and James Earl Jones. According to the rumor mill, the Betty and Barney Hill abduction story will again hit the big screens. The new film will be based on the book "Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience."

Richard Gere in The Mothman Prophecies

“The Mothman Prophecies”: This 2002 film is based on events that took place between November 15, 1966 to December 15, 1967 in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. During this time, an alien creature was spotted by several citizens. The creature (called Mothman) is described as a seven foot bird-like creature with evil, red eyes. Although many books and movies have been written about the creature and the events that took place, “The Mothman Prophecies” is the most popular. Richard Gere plays a reporter (John Klein) who investigates a series of strange events related to Mothman sightings in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Klein arrives in the small town at the center of the sightings and starts to receive strange phone calls from the creature. 

D.B. Sweeney as Travis Walton (left). Real-life Travis Walton (right).

D.B. Sweeney in Fire in the Sky.

“Fire in the Sky”: This 1993 film is based on the book, The Travis Walton experience. In the book, Arizona logger, Travis Walton describes how he was abducted by a UFO on November 5, 1975 in rural Arizona, as his friends watched in horror. One of the few UFO abductions with multiple witnesses, his friends reported his abduction, but were met with strong skepticism. The film shows the alleged abduction event and its aftermath on the life of Travis Walton and his friends.

Jason Connery and A.J. Cook in Night Skies.

“Night Skies”: The 2007 film is based on a series of events known as “the Phoenix Lights,” which took place on March 13, 1997. On this day, thousands of people in Arizona, Nevada, and the Mexican State of Senora witnessed bright lights in a variety of patterns. Many witnesses recorded the UFOs using personal camcorders and camera phones. Night Skies is reported through hypnosis-therapy by one of the alleged witnesses and abductees. The film had a micro-budget with a relatively unknown cast, qualifying it for a sci-fi/horror B-flick. 

Milla Jovovich in The Fourth Kind

"The Fourth Kind"- Released in 2009, "The Fourth Kind" is an alien abduction film loosely based on real life events in Nome, Alaska. Nome, Alaska became well-known for the mysterious disappearance of 24 people between the 1960s and 2004, which caused the FBI to investigate. The FBI concluded that most of the disappearances were alcohol related. Of course Hollywood later attributed the disappearances to alien abductions. See my review of The Fourth Kind here. 

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Courtney Henderson is a writer and editor for Airport Management Degrees. In her spare time, she likes to write guest articles for various websites on various topics of interest. If you'd like Courtney to write a guest post on your blog, she can be reached at courtney@airportmanagementdegrees.com.