Hermann, William J.

William J. Hermann, flying saucer contactee and channeler, emerged out of obscurity in 1978 after claiming to have had a series of sightings of a UFO over Charleston, South Carolina, beginning in November of 1977. On January 22, 1978, he was able to take nine photographs of the object. Two months later as he was out looking for more UFOs, the disc he had sighted earlier reappeared and came toward him. According to Hermann, it sent out a light beam that paralyzed him. He lost consciousness and awakened three hours later 15 miles away. He watched the UFO depart.

He called the police, who took him home. Several days later, after suffering from insomnia and general nervousness and unrest, he submitted to hypnosis under the guidance of James A. Harder, a UFO researcher associated with the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization, one of the prominent UFO research groups of the time. Under the hypnosis, he talked of being aboard the UFO. He was on an examination table being looked at by three humanoid creatures. They had large hairless heads, oversized eyes, pale skin, and red clothing.

One of the three spoke to him, but his mouth did not appear to move. He was given a brief tour of the spacecraft and then lost consciousness. He had learned that the beings were from Zeta Reticuli. They had been observing Earth for half a century. They were concerned about humanity's tendencies toward war and warned that our violent natures would destroy human civilization.

In the weeks following the hypnosis session, Hermann had other sightings and began channeling messages from the people who had abducted him. He also produced a metal bar that he claimed came from the aliens. It proved to be made of lead and antimony, similar in content to the material in an automobile battery. In May of 1979 Hermann claimed to have had a final contact with the saucer beings, who took him for a ride.

As his story was publicized, Hermann contacted Wendelle Stevens, a publisher of UFO contactee material, who coauthored a more complete account of his story, which was published in 1981. The volume circulated in the contactee subculture but was generally dismissed by ufologists as lacking any collaboration.

Sources:

Stevens, Wendelle C., and William James Hermann. UFO…Contact from Reticulum: A Report of the Investigation. Tucson, Ariz.: Wendelle Stevens, 1981.