Betty and Barney Hill

The Incident

On the night of September 19-20 of 1961, Betty and Barney Hill were taken by beings from another world. They were driving home from Montreal, Canada, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, when they experienced something they could not explain. In an effort to explain their increased anxiety and frightful dreams, Betty and Barney underwent hypnosis regression.

What was thought to be a satellite trailing their vehicle turned out to be a UFO, which would eventually kidnap them. Betty and Barney were examined as their clothes were removed, hair samples were taken, their nails were clipped, and their skin was scrapped for samples. Betty was given a pregnancy test with a 4-6 inch long needle. In the 1960s, Betty described a medical procedure done to her by the strange beings that did not exist until 20 years later. They described grey beings walking them into a metallic disc and erasing their memories.

When Betty and Barney finally arrived home, they realized their watches had stopped working and two hours from their drive could not be accounted for.

Emotional Impact

The Hill's story was not made public until years after it happened. They received no benefit from coming forward with their claims, especially in the 1960s. Barney Hill died in 1969. Betty admitted that she believed Barney could not come to terms with what had happened to them.

In a November 1973 letter to Charles Hickson, one of two shipyard workers abducted in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Betty wrote:

"I know from experience the emotional impact, the pressure of all this. To me, at times, it was almost unbearable, I tried to tell myself that it did not happen, to get relief from the pressure, but then I would know that I was trying to kid myself."

Betty explained to Hickson how she had watched him talk about his experience on television. She further wrote, "Last night when you were talking I was sitting on my couch, crying in sympathy for you. I woke up crying during the night and have been crying for you and Calvin Parker and for Barney and myself."

The Aftermath

A film starring James Earl Jones and Estelle Parsons was made on the Hill's case. It aired on television in October of 1975 and is titled The UFO Incident. Since then, several books have been written about what happened that night in 1961. It has piqued the interest of so many for nearly six decades. The Betty and Barney Hill case is often regarded as the first widely reported alien abduction in history.