Angelucci, Orfeo (1912-1993)

Orfeo Angelucci, one of the original group of men who claimed to have made contact with the extraterrestrial entities who came to earth following World War II (1939-45) and the explosion of atomic weapons, was born and raised in New Jersey. However, he was working in an aircraft plant in Oakland, California, when he initially made contact.

According to his story, on May 24, 1952, he was driving home from work when he saw a saucer, sensing a force a few minutes before seeing the large red ovoid object. As he approached it, two small green objects came from it. A voice spoke some word assuring him of their benign intent, reminded him of his first having seen a saucer some six years previously, and told him that they had been watching him through the years. They also materialized a cup full of a liquid that Angelucci drank. This mystical-like experience ended with a message of the extraterrestrial's love of humanity and Angelucci's primacy as the first human they had contacted.

Two months later a second contact occurred, and this time Angelucci actually entered the saucer, which he described as appearing like a large soap bubble. The interior was iridescent and he felt as if he were in a dream state. His visit ended in another mystical-like experience during which a blinding light projected him beyond time and space and his life became crystal clear. He came to understand the mystery of life and found himself lost in a timeless sea of bliss.

On August 3, Angelucci had a third encounter, a face-to-face meeting with some of the space people during which he was told of an impending war that would be followed by a New Age of brotherhood. Later that month he would tell his story at the flying saucer convention held in Los Angeles, California, but the mystical states and additional messages would continue. They became the subject of his 1955 book, The Secret of the Saucers.

Though, like all of the contactees, he was dismissed by the larger community of saucer buffs who were searching for a more nuts-and-bolts explanation of the flying saucers (soon to be dubbed unidentified flying objects), Angelucci became a celebrity among those people who responded to the accounts put forth by the contactees. They had no problem with reports of direct extraterrestrial encounters integrated with paranormal and mystical elements, and stories such as Angelucci's became the foundation of a set of new flying saucer religions.

After a decade on the lecture circuit, Angelucci faded into obscurity. His death on July 24, 1993, was briefly noted in the UFO community.

Sources:

Angelucci, Orfeo. The Secret of the Saucers. Amherst, Wis.: Amherst Press, 1955.

——. Son of the Sun. Los Angeles: DeVorss and Co., 1959.

Flammonde, Paris. The Age of Flying Saucers: Notes on a Projected History of Unidentified Flying Objects. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1971.

"Orfeo 'Orville' Angeleucci. Obituary." Trenton Times (August 4, 1993).