John Alva Keel, 79, a friend, Fortean, fierce fighter for his theories,
professionally a writer and journalist, has died. A fellow admirer of
Mothman and the anomalies all around us, such as the “name game,” is
gone.
Keel, who lived most of his life in New York City, passed away on
Friday, July 3, 2009, at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, after
some months in a nursing home near his Upper West Side apartment.
Born Alva John Kiehle in upstate New York on March 25, 1930, John
Keel began writing at a young age. Indeed, Keel’s first published story
was in a magician’s magazine at the age of 12.
Keel would go on to become a scriptwriter for radio and television, and
a stringer for newspapers. He later moved to Greenwich Village and
wrote for various men’s and speciality magazines.
Keel’s first published book was Jadoo in 1957, which was quickly
serialized in a men’s adventure magazine. The paperback is his account
of his journey of discovery to India to investigate the alleged activities
of fakirs and holy men who perform the Indian rope trick and who
survive being buried alive. In Jadoo, Keel also told of tracking a Yeti, an
Abominable Snowman, in the jungles of Asia.
professionally a writer and journalist, has died. A fellow admirer of
Mothman and the anomalies all around us, such as the “name game,” is
gone.
Keel, who lived most of his life in New York City, passed away on
Friday, July 3, 2009, at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, after
some months in a nursing home near his Upper West Side apartment.
Born Alva John Kiehle in upstate New York on March 25, 1930, John
Keel began writing at a young age. Indeed, Keel’s first published story
was in a magician’s magazine at the age of 12.
Keel would go on to become a scriptwriter for radio and television, and
a stringer for newspapers. He later moved to Greenwich Village and
wrote for various men’s and speciality magazines.
Keel’s first published book was Jadoo in 1957, which was quickly
serialized in a men’s adventure magazine. The paperback is his account
of his journey of discovery to India to investigate the alleged activities
of fakirs and holy men who perform the Indian rope trick and who
survive being buried alive. In Jadoo, Keel also told of tracking a Yeti, an
Abominable Snowman, in the jungles of Asia.
I’m sure many of you will have either read or heard the sad news that Fortean legend John
Keel has passed away.
This is, of course, very tragic news: Keel was without doubt one of the most influential,
thought-provoking and controversial characters within Forteana. Indeed, such was his
influence, importance, history and legend, it’s almost impossible to do the man justice in
terms of an obituary.
The Mothman Prophecies, UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse, Jadoo and more are all titles
that should be on the book-shelves of all Keel disciples - as well as on the shelves of those
who may now just be discovering his work for the very first time.
Agree with his views or disagree with them, no-one can doubt that without Keel the world of
Forteana would not be what it is today. Thanks in part to his skills as a writer who could
capture and captivate his audience, he made the world of the unexplained one that was
exciting, enthralling, disturbing, unsettling, adventurous, and much more, too.
Indeed, it was largely due to Keel’s written output that many of my views on the notion that
at least some of the cryptozoological beasts of our world have less (or more!) than mere
flesh-and-blood origins were originally formulated.
Tonight, I will be raising my glass to Keel - not with sadness, but with admiration for (and in
memory of) one of the most original thinkers within this odd and bizarre world we inhabit -
and I hope you’ll be doing likewise.
Keel has passed away.
This is, of course, very tragic news: Keel was without doubt one of the most influential,
thought-provoking and controversial characters within Forteana. Indeed, such was his
influence, importance, history and legend, it’s almost impossible to do the man justice in
terms of an obituary.
The Mothman Prophecies, UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse, Jadoo and more are all titles
that should be on the book-shelves of all Keel disciples - as well as on the shelves of those
who may now just be discovering his work for the very first time.
Agree with his views or disagree with them, no-one can doubt that without Keel the world of
Forteana would not be what it is today. Thanks in part to his skills as a writer who could
capture and captivate his audience, he made the world of the unexplained one that was
exciting, enthralling, disturbing, unsettling, adventurous, and much more, too.
Indeed, it was largely due to Keel’s written output that many of my views on the notion that
at least some of the cryptozoological beasts of our world have less (or more!) than mere
flesh-and-blood origins were originally formulated.
Tonight, I will be raising my glass to Keel - not with sadness, but with admiration for (and in
memory of) one of the most original thinkers within this odd and bizarre world we inhabit -
and I hope you’ll be doing likewise.
| JOHN KEEL 1930 - 2009 God Bless & Rest In Peace |
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JOHN KEEL meant so much to so many of us. Below are some of the thoughts of those who held Keel in deepest regards.
| Copyright © 2009 JFS |
John Keel is the very definition of an UFO investigator. He didn't wait for sightings to
come to him. He traveled the world in search of them. He journeyed to Egypt, the
Himalayas and to India? He investigated the southeast? But his home was in New
York. He loved the city but when not there he went to the far reaches of the globe in
search of mystery and the unexplained.
He had encounters with the enigmatic MiBs. He investigated cases throughout 50s,
60, 70s, and even into the 80s. He followed no one and because of that some people
in UFOlogy did not like his style - he never apologized for what he did.
When the original sightings of Mothman were reported, he did not sit at home and
read about it. He went to Point Pleasant. Buy his book. It will take you into his world
of the weird, strange and some times emotionally draining.
When the Mothman appeared he was there! He experienced the Mibs; He experienced
the people and events as they unfolded before his eyes. He watched the bridge
collapsed and even tried to stop the event. The movie did not do the book justice.
Did the mothman suddenly appear in Port Pleasant? In my humble opinion he was
there always. I think that he had a home and we, as humans, were as much a threat
to him as the Mothman was terrifying to us. Think about it. What if he was a resident
of the abandoned ammo dump? What if exposure to the chemicals changed this living
creature? Now I do not know that, but as I read the book, saw the movie and talked
and wrote to John the more I started to think differently.
come to him. He traveled the world in search of them. He journeyed to Egypt, the
Himalayas and to India? He investigated the southeast? But his home was in New
York. He loved the city but when not there he went to the far reaches of the globe in
search of mystery and the unexplained.
He had encounters with the enigmatic MiBs. He investigated cases throughout 50s,
60, 70s, and even into the 80s. He followed no one and because of that some people
in UFOlogy did not like his style - he never apologized for what he did.
When the original sightings of Mothman were reported, he did not sit at home and
read about it. He went to Point Pleasant. Buy his book. It will take you into his world
of the weird, strange and some times emotionally draining.
When the Mothman appeared he was there! He experienced the Mibs; He experienced
the people and events as they unfolded before his eyes. He watched the bridge
collapsed and even tried to stop the event. The movie did not do the book justice.
Did the mothman suddenly appear in Port Pleasant? In my humble opinion he was
there always. I think that he had a home and we, as humans, were as much a threat
to him as the Mothman was terrifying to us. Think about it. What if he was a resident
of the abandoned ammo dump? What if exposure to the chemicals changed this living
creature? Now I do not know that, but as I read the book, saw the movie and talked
and wrote to John the more I started to think differently.
John Keel, journalist, author, fortean, and originator of some of the most unique theories
on UFOs and the paranormal, died on July 3rd in New York City. His influence on
generations of researchers is probably immeasurable.
Born Alva John Kiehle on March 25, 1930, Keel began writing at an early age. He was
producing a column in the local newspaper in Perry, New York by age 14, and moved to
New York City at 17 to pursue a career as an author and adventurer. He was drafted into
the U.S. Army in 1951 and worked for the Armed Forces Radio Network, where he once
broadcast a program from inside the Great Pyramid at Giza.
After his tour of duty was over, Keel set out on a trip through the middle east to visit
fakirs, magicians and occultists and wrote his first book about the experience, Jadoo,
published in 1957. Fate magazine gave Keel an early interest in the UFO enigma, and
together with Ivan Sanderson, they began to write a write a book on the subject in the
mid-1960s. They quickly found that their views were incompatible, and Keel began
research into what would later become seminal books such as The Eighth Tower and
UFOs, Operation Trojan Horse.
Keel first challenged the extraterrestrial hyposthesis with his idea of the “superspectrum,”
which theorized that UFOs were controlled by intelligences that moved freely between
wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, appearing and disappearing from the
infrared and the ultraviolet. Building on the ideas of little-known researchers like Meade
Layne and Trevor Constable, he also proposed the theory (and provided ample evidence
for this) that UFO entities were not from other planets, but were most likely native
intelligences that had been involved with mankind throughout history and prehistory, and
perhaps did not have our best interests in mind. These ideas were heresy to the ufological
partyline at the time, and continue to be, which is a testament to their originality and
implications.
In 1975, Keel rocked the paranormal community with the publication of The Mothman
Prophecies, which was his take on the strange events leading up to the Silver Bridge
disaster in Point Pleasant, West Virginia on December 15, 1967. In 1966, Keel began
investigating reports of a frightening creature in the area around the town. Dubbed
“Mothman,” the entity appeared as a headless human form sporting large wings and
on UFOs and the paranormal, died on July 3rd in New York City. His influence on
generations of researchers is probably immeasurable.
Born Alva John Kiehle on March 25, 1930, Keel began writing at an early age. He was
producing a column in the local newspaper in Perry, New York by age 14, and moved to
New York City at 17 to pursue a career as an author and adventurer. He was drafted into
the U.S. Army in 1951 and worked for the Armed Forces Radio Network, where he once
broadcast a program from inside the Great Pyramid at Giza.
After his tour of duty was over, Keel set out on a trip through the middle east to visit
fakirs, magicians and occultists and wrote his first book about the experience, Jadoo,
published in 1957. Fate magazine gave Keel an early interest in the UFO enigma, and
together with Ivan Sanderson, they began to write a write a book on the subject in the
mid-1960s. They quickly found that their views were incompatible, and Keel began
research into what would later become seminal books such as The Eighth Tower and
UFOs, Operation Trojan Horse.
Keel first challenged the extraterrestrial hyposthesis with his idea of the “superspectrum,”
which theorized that UFOs were controlled by intelligences that moved freely between
wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, appearing and disappearing from the
infrared and the ultraviolet. Building on the ideas of little-known researchers like Meade
Layne and Trevor Constable, he also proposed the theory (and provided ample evidence
for this) that UFO entities were not from other planets, but were most likely native
intelligences that had been involved with mankind throughout history and prehistory, and
perhaps did not have our best interests in mind. These ideas were heresy to the ufological
partyline at the time, and continue to be, which is a testament to their originality and
implications.
In 1975, Keel rocked the paranormal community with the publication of The Mothman
Prophecies, which was his take on the strange events leading up to the Silver Bridge
disaster in Point Pleasant, West Virginia on December 15, 1967. In 1966, Keel began
investigating reports of a frightening creature in the area around the town. Dubbed
“Mothman,” the entity appeared as a headless human form sporting large wings and
| Courtesy of z.about.com/d/paranormal/1/0/v/Q/1/mothman.jpg |
MOTHMAN REVISITED: A TRIBUTE TO JOHN KEEL by Art Champoux
Originally published on UFO DIGEST at www.ufodigest.com/news/0307/mothman.html
Originally published on UFO DIGEST at www.ufodigest.com/news/0307/mothman.html
KEEL IS GONE by Nick Redfern
Originally published on NICK REDFERN'S"THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WOODS..." at monsterusa.blogspot.com/2009/07/john-keel-rip.html
Originally published on NICK REDFERN'S"THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WOODS..." at monsterusa.blogspot.com/2009/07/john-keel-rip.html
Now, think out of the box. The Mothman lived a solitary life and probably resided in a cave or similar hidden place of safety. Port Pleasant was a
small rural community and interaction between the locals and the creature were virtually non-existent. Then the town started to expand and
his once safe territory was being encroached by new development and the influx of thousands of new outsiders. Suddenly, your peaceful
existence was threatened, your territory overrun by civilization. Strange sounds like: music, heavy construction and the everyday sounds of
children and people invaded your thoughts and for the first time you experienced genuine fear.
Writing to John was a pleasure for me. He wrote of how he went to the sightings, questioned the witnesses and experienced their emotions
firsthand. Their passion and their fear gnawed at him, until he also felt caught up in the madness engulfing Port Pleasant.
When we understand that there are other living things that we share the earth with, then we should try to live in harmony with them. This is
contrary to our emotions. I think that fear breeds fear. Fear of the unknown is inherent to every living thing. I think John believed the Mothman
was an enigma that roamed this quaint little town and attempted to live in harmony with its residents.
Now I cannot prove any of this. But something started these sightings? What were they?
John went to investigate and discover what was going on. He received mysterious phone calls. He had afraid, but, equipped with an inquisitive
mind wanted to solve this mystery. But he did not. He came back with more questions than he started with. Perhaps the mysterious Mothman
felt isolated and threatened and simply fought back. Remember he was outnumbered and felt threatened! Did he destroy the bridge as a way
of fighting back? Now I know this is just speculation.
Emotion. Know what that means? To emote means to "move" or do something. Yell, scream or get up and act!! So what about the MiBs? Well
they have been around for centuries. They showed up in Celtic lore. They showed up in German folklore; always dressed in black, the color of
night. Remember when you were a child, the dark was scary and filled our minds with terror. Fear is the mind killer! There is an old adage in
psychology: What the mind conceives the mind believes.
Some believe that the mothman is still there. Some say it is gone. In truth nobody knows. There have been no more publicized sightings of the
Mothman but the original mystery continues. Maybe the Mothman simply found another cave, another sanctuary. But if we believe it is
there…then it is. If we do not then it isn't. Unless you actually encounter the Mothman or see a ghost, UFO or MiB then you won't believe.
The message to learn from Port Pleasant is that the town was warned of upcoming disasters and chose not to do anything about them. John
and others believed in the prophecies, but still no one acted.
Today, John Keel is now older and his health is failing.
If you or I had the chance to help people would we? Or would we fear being considered alarmists or worst crazy persons. There is always risk in
helping, as there is risk in living. Investigators like John are a dying breed.
I would. To risk nothing, try nothing or to give nothing is not living. John did not sit around. He risked, he helped people like me and
questioned everything.
Explore yourself, your world and leave your mind open to the strange world around you. John Keel did, and he discovered a world filled with
mystery and wonderment.
small rural community and interaction between the locals and the creature were virtually non-existent. Then the town started to expand and
his once safe territory was being encroached by new development and the influx of thousands of new outsiders. Suddenly, your peaceful
existence was threatened, your territory overrun by civilization. Strange sounds like: music, heavy construction and the everyday sounds of
children and people invaded your thoughts and for the first time you experienced genuine fear.
Writing to John was a pleasure for me. He wrote of how he went to the sightings, questioned the witnesses and experienced their emotions
firsthand. Their passion and their fear gnawed at him, until he also felt caught up in the madness engulfing Port Pleasant.
When we understand that there are other living things that we share the earth with, then we should try to live in harmony with them. This is
contrary to our emotions. I think that fear breeds fear. Fear of the unknown is inherent to every living thing. I think John believed the Mothman
was an enigma that roamed this quaint little town and attempted to live in harmony with its residents.
Now I cannot prove any of this. But something started these sightings? What were they?
John went to investigate and discover what was going on. He received mysterious phone calls. He had afraid, but, equipped with an inquisitive
mind wanted to solve this mystery. But he did not. He came back with more questions than he started with. Perhaps the mysterious Mothman
felt isolated and threatened and simply fought back. Remember he was outnumbered and felt threatened! Did he destroy the bridge as a way
of fighting back? Now I know this is just speculation.
Emotion. Know what that means? To emote means to "move" or do something. Yell, scream or get up and act!! So what about the MiBs? Well
they have been around for centuries. They showed up in Celtic lore. They showed up in German folklore; always dressed in black, the color of
night. Remember when you were a child, the dark was scary and filled our minds with terror. Fear is the mind killer! There is an old adage in
psychology: What the mind conceives the mind believes.
Some believe that the mothman is still there. Some say it is gone. In truth nobody knows. There have been no more publicized sightings of the
Mothman but the original mystery continues. Maybe the Mothman simply found another cave, another sanctuary. But if we believe it is
there…then it is. If we do not then it isn't. Unless you actually encounter the Mothman or see a ghost, UFO or MiB then you won't believe.
The message to learn from Port Pleasant is that the town was warned of upcoming disasters and chose not to do anything about them. John
and others believed in the prophecies, but still no one acted.
Today, John Keel is now older and his health is failing.
If you or I had the chance to help people would we? Or would we fear being considered alarmists or worst crazy persons. There is always risk in
helping, as there is risk in living. Investigators like John are a dying breed.
I would. To risk nothing, try nothing or to give nothing is not living. John did not sit around. He risked, he helped people like me and
questioned everything.
Explore yourself, your world and leave your mind open to the strange world around you. John Keel did, and he discovered a world filled with
mystery and wonderment.
JOHN KEEL 1930-2009 by Greg Bishop
Originally published on UFO MYSTIC at www.ufomystic.com/wake-up-down-there/john-keel-1930-2009
Originally published on UFO MYSTIC at www.ufomystic.com/wake-up-down-there/john-keel-1930-2009
glowing red “eyes” in the chest area. Mothman did not fly like any known bird, bat or insect, swooping down on unsuspecting motorists and
teenagers, and taking off from the ground vertically without moving its “wings” before keeping pace with fleeing cars and disappearing.
Keel documented other weird goings-on in Point Pleasant for nearly two years, including poltergeist phenomena, strange visions,
doppelgangers of Keel himself and a scary character who called himself Indrid Cold. Critics claimed that he took storytelling liberties in The
Mothman Prophecies, changing events and timelines to suit his narrative, but the essential message of the book still rings true. As Keel stated
in the text, “Once you have established a belief, the phenomenon adjusts its manifestations to support that belief and thereby escalate it.”
This hypothesis has been tested numerous times since in other UFO “flap” areas, (such as events around the Dulce, New Mexico area in the
late 1970s and the more recent Stephenville case) and continues to hold its own.
In the late 1980s, Keel founded the New York Fortean Society and continued to write and lecture periodically well into the late 1990s.
In 1999, I called Keel and asked for a quote for the release of a collection of articles from The Excluded Middle, my old magazine. He politely
refused a few times, but finally offered “The truth is out there, but it’s nowhere in this book. Buy mine instead.” The quote went on the back
cover of Wake Up Down There: The Excluded Middle Collection when it was published the next year. The title of that book and this blog is
based on a strange phone conversation related by Keel in Mothman Prophecies.
In 2000, I finally visited Keel in New York and we had lunch before visiting the Museum of Natural History and a store that sold all manner of
bones and skeletons. His comments on the hubris of some scientists and paranormal researchers were cantankerous but delivered with a
smile, and he signed my copy of Jadoo.
John A Keel will be sorely missed. See Loren Coleman’s excellent obit at Cryptomundo.
P.S. In some sort of cosmic trickster way, Keel may have gotten a final laugh as my computer locked up and apparently died as I was writing
this obituary. After a couple of tries, it miraculously resurrected itself. Long live Keel!
teenagers, and taking off from the ground vertically without moving its “wings” before keeping pace with fleeing cars and disappearing.
Keel documented other weird goings-on in Point Pleasant for nearly two years, including poltergeist phenomena, strange visions,
doppelgangers of Keel himself and a scary character who called himself Indrid Cold. Critics claimed that he took storytelling liberties in The
Mothman Prophecies, changing events and timelines to suit his narrative, but the essential message of the book still rings true. As Keel stated
in the text, “Once you have established a belief, the phenomenon adjusts its manifestations to support that belief and thereby escalate it.”
This hypothesis has been tested numerous times since in other UFO “flap” areas, (such as events around the Dulce, New Mexico area in the
late 1970s and the more recent Stephenville case) and continues to hold its own.
In the late 1980s, Keel founded the New York Fortean Society and continued to write and lecture periodically well into the late 1990s.
In 1999, I called Keel and asked for a quote for the release of a collection of articles from The Excluded Middle, my old magazine. He politely
refused a few times, but finally offered “The truth is out there, but it’s nowhere in this book. Buy mine instead.” The quote went on the back
cover of Wake Up Down There: The Excluded Middle Collection when it was published the next year. The title of that book and this blog is
based on a strange phone conversation related by Keel in Mothman Prophecies.
In 2000, I finally visited Keel in New York and we had lunch before visiting the Museum of Natural History and a store that sold all manner of
bones and skeletons. His comments on the hubris of some scientists and paranormal researchers were cantankerous but delivered with a
smile, and he signed my copy of Jadoo.
John A Keel will be sorely missed. See Loren Coleman’s excellent obit at Cryptomundo.
P.S. In some sort of cosmic trickster way, Keel may have gotten a final laugh as my computer locked up and apparently died as I was writing
this obituary. After a couple of tries, it miraculously resurrected itself. Long live Keel!
JOHN A. KEEL HAS DIED by Loren Coleman
Originally published on CRYPTOMUNDO at www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/keel-obit
Originally published on CRYPTOMUNDO at www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/keel-obit
In 1994, John A. Keel made a rare appearance at a birthday celebration held in his
honor among a few of his closest friends. Pictured are J. Antonio Huneeus, Keel, and
Loren Coleman. Photo by Patrick Huyghe.
honor among a few of his closest friends. Pictured are J. Antonio Huneeus, Keel, and
Loren Coleman. Photo by Patrick Huyghe.
John A. Keel’s non-fiction look at the very real unplanned twists in life were recorded in his 1966 novel, The Fickle Finger of Fate. It is a rare
book, and few realize that Keel wrote this book.
Keel was an early admirer of Charles Fort (1874-1932), and while still doing the mainstream writing, began authoring articles for England’s
Flying Saucer Review (FSR) and a long series of columns for Saga.
Further influenced by Fortean Ivan T. Sanderson and ufologist Aimé Michel, in early 1966, John Keel commenced a full-time investigation of
monster, aerial and paranormal phenomena. Over a four-year period, Keel interviewed thousands of people in over twenty U.S. states,
especially in the Ohio River Valley of the United States. More than 2,000 books were reviewed in the course of his investigation, in addition to
thousands of magazines, newsletters, and newspapers. Keel also subscribed to several newspaper-clipping services, which often generated up
to 150 clippings for a single day during the 1966 and 1967 UFO “wave.” Besides FSR, Keel wrote for several magazines including Saga with one
1967 article “UFO Agents of Terror” referring to the Men in Black. He also wrote one of the first articles on Mothman in FSR, during this same
time period.
Like other contemporary 1960s researchers such as J. Allen Hynek and Jacques Vallée, Keel was initially hopeful that he could somehow validate
the prevailing nuts-and-bolts, extraterrestrial visitation hypothesis for UFOs. However, a year into his investigations, Keel realized that the
extraterrestrial hypothesis was untenable and did not explain, for him, based within his personality and belief systems, all the answers.
book, and few realize that Keel wrote this book.
Keel was an early admirer of Charles Fort (1874-1932), and while still doing the mainstream writing, began authoring articles for England’s
Flying Saucer Review (FSR) and a long series of columns for Saga.
Further influenced by Fortean Ivan T. Sanderson and ufologist Aimé Michel, in early 1966, John Keel commenced a full-time investigation of
monster, aerial and paranormal phenomena. Over a four-year period, Keel interviewed thousands of people in over twenty U.S. states,
especially in the Ohio River Valley of the United States. More than 2,000 books were reviewed in the course of his investigation, in addition to
thousands of magazines, newsletters, and newspapers. Keel also subscribed to several newspaper-clipping services, which often generated up
to 150 clippings for a single day during the 1966 and 1967 UFO “wave.” Besides FSR, Keel wrote for several magazines including Saga with one
1967 article “UFO Agents of Terror” referring to the Men in Black. He also wrote one of the first articles on Mothman in FSR, during this same
time period.
Like other contemporary 1960s researchers such as J. Allen Hynek and Jacques Vallée, Keel was initially hopeful that he could somehow validate
the prevailing nuts-and-bolts, extraterrestrial visitation hypothesis for UFOs. However, a year into his investigations, Keel realized that the
extraterrestrial hypothesis was untenable and did not explain, for him, based within his personality and belief systems, all the answers.
Keel’s insights also included his view of cryptozoology.
I grew to know Keel after being introduced to him through mutual friends Brad Steiger and Ivan Sanderson. I
worked closely with Keel on contributing as yet-unpublished material of mine for his book, Strange Creatures
from Time and Space (1970), which would influence my and Jerome Clark’s first two books The Unidentified
(1975) and Creatures from the Outer Edge (1978).
Keel’s impact is far-reaching. Keel’s book, Strange Creatures from Time and Space was the inspiration for Craig
Woolheater’s interest in Bigfoot and eventually would stimulate the creation of Cryptomundo.
Love him or hate him, John Keel was popular and one of the most widely read and influential Fortean authors of
the late 20th century. Although his own thoughts about aerial, monster, and associated anomalous phenomena
gradually evolved during the 1960s, Keel remained one of ufology’s most original and controversial researchers.
I grew to know Keel after being introduced to him through mutual friends Brad Steiger and Ivan Sanderson. I
worked closely with Keel on contributing as yet-unpublished material of mine for his book, Strange Creatures
from Time and Space (1970), which would influence my and Jerome Clark’s first two books The Unidentified
(1975) and Creatures from the Outer Edge (1978).
Keel’s impact is far-reaching. Keel’s book, Strange Creatures from Time and Space was the inspiration for Craig
Woolheater’s interest in Bigfoot and eventually would stimulate the creation of Cryptomundo.
Love him or hate him, John Keel was popular and one of the most widely read and influential Fortean authors of
the late 20th century. Although his own thoughts about aerial, monster, and associated anomalous phenomena
gradually evolved during the 1960s, Keel remained one of ufology’s most original and controversial researchers.
It was Keel’s second book, UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse (1970), that alerted the general public that many aspects of contemporary UFO
reports, including humanoid encounters, often paralleled certain ancient folklore and religious encounters. Keel also argued that there is a direct
relationship between UFOs and elemental phenomena. Keel informed me often that he did not consider himself a “ufologist,” but a
“demonologist.”
“Ufology is just another name for demonology,” John Keel told me, a week before the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center,
which occurred just a couple of miles from where he lives.
…as noted in Mothman and Other Curious Encounters, page 114, (NY: Paraview, 2002).
As Keel himself wrote, “I abandoned the extraterrestrial hypothesis in 1967 when my own field investigations disclosed an astonishing overlap
between psychic phenomena and UFOs… The objects and apparitions do not necessarily originate on another planet and may not even exist as
permanent constructions of matter. It is more likely that we see what we want to see and interpret such visions according to our contemporary
beliefs.”
In UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse (1970), Keel argued that a non-human or spiritual intelligence source has staged whole events over a long
period of time in order to propagate and reinforce certain erroneous belief systems (mirroring Vallée). Keel conjectured that ultimately all
anomalies, such as fairies, 1897 mystery airships, 1930s phantom aeroplanes, mystery helicopters, creatures, poltergeists, balls of light, and
UFOs, are a cover for the real phenomenon.
It was during this time period that Keel maintained an enormous and active correspondence with other researchers around the world. For
example, I, Loren Coleman, was introduced to my now long-time friend Jerry Clark by John Keel, via letters. These exchanges between Keel and
his fellow writers and researchers, even as intellectual disagreements and different paths took many of us on varied journeys, cemented 40
years of solid friendships among a small group of dedicated Fortean writers.
reports, including humanoid encounters, often paralleled certain ancient folklore and religious encounters. Keel also argued that there is a direct
relationship between UFOs and elemental phenomena. Keel informed me often that he did not consider himself a “ufologist,” but a
“demonologist.”
“Ufology is just another name for demonology,” John Keel told me, a week before the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center,
which occurred just a couple of miles from where he lives.
…as noted in Mothman and Other Curious Encounters, page 114, (NY: Paraview, 2002).
As Keel himself wrote, “I abandoned the extraterrestrial hypothesis in 1967 when my own field investigations disclosed an astonishing overlap
between psychic phenomena and UFOs… The objects and apparitions do not necessarily originate on another planet and may not even exist as
permanent constructions of matter. It is more likely that we see what we want to see and interpret such visions according to our contemporary
beliefs.”
In UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse (1970), Keel argued that a non-human or spiritual intelligence source has staged whole events over a long
period of time in order to propagate and reinforce certain erroneous belief systems (mirroring Vallée). Keel conjectured that ultimately all
anomalies, such as fairies, 1897 mystery airships, 1930s phantom aeroplanes, mystery helicopters, creatures, poltergeists, balls of light, and
UFOs, are a cover for the real phenomenon.
It was during this time period that Keel maintained an enormous and active correspondence with other researchers around the world. For
example, I, Loren Coleman, was introduced to my now long-time friend Jerry Clark by John Keel, via letters. These exchanges between Keel and
his fellow writers and researchers, even as intellectual disagreements and different paths took many of us on varied journeys, cemented 40
years of solid friendships among a small group of dedicated Fortean writers.
other paranormal entities.” (The UFO Encyclopedia, Volume 1: UFOs in the 1980s, page 148, NY: Agogee, 1990).
After years of writing parts of the story in various articles and other books, in 1975, Keel published The Mothman Prophecies, an account of
his 1966-1967 investigation of sightings of the Mothman, a “winged weirdie” reported in and around Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
Keel corresponded with Ivan T. Sanderson, quietly for months, trying to determine what kind of bird might be involved with the sightings. It
was later, as Keel more fully revealed the tale of the sightings and concurrent phenomena, that other elements came into the mix.
The book was contemporarily adapted into a 2002 movie directed by Mark Pellington, starring Richard Gere, Debra Messing, Laura Linney and
Alan Bates.
Two parts of Keel’s personality were played by Gere and Bates. Bates’s character was “Leek,” which was “Keel” spelled backwards, and Gere’s
character was a newspaperman, “John Klein,” also a play on Keel’s name. Because Keel was ill at the time, Sony/Screen Gems cut back Keel’s
schedule of public appearances to only a few televised ones. I assisted Keel by becoming the movie’s publicity spokesperson on 400 radio
shows, and appeared with Keel in the David Grabias documentary Search For The Mothman, which is in the Deluxe DVD of The Mothman
Prophecies.
Keel often played, with tongue-in-cheek, on the Men-In-Black interest swirling around his work.
At the time of the release of the movie, a rumor circulated that Keel had died. On January 14, 2002, a story rapidly made the rounds via the
web that John A. Keel had just died.
I quickly put the rumor to rest by calling Keel, and confirming that Keel was, indeed, still alive, although Keel quipped that everyone should be
told, “his funeral is on Saturday and he will be wearing black.” Keel told me that this happened to him at least once before, in 1967.
In recent years, Keel’s appearances would be few and far between. But his sense of humor never left him, including wearing an all white suit to
the Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, West Virginia for the unveiling of the new Mothman replica.
Keel suffered a heart attack sometime before October 13, 2006. He admitted himself to New York City’s Lenox Hill Hospital on Friday the 13th
of October, and underwent successful heart surgery on October 16, 2006. Keel then was moved from the hospital to a rehabilitation center on
October 26, 2006, as his close New York friend Doug Skinner told me soon afterward. Skinner became invaluable in assisting Keel, and passing
along messages to and from Keel’s old friends.
Keel’s impact cannot be underestimated, especially in terms of his analysis of patterns. His work on “windows” (specific hotspots of combined
phenomenal appearances), “waves” (cyclic appearances of the phenomena), and the “Wednesday phenomenon” (the theory that a
disproportionate number of UFO events occur on that day of the week) are deeply influential across time and space. Generations of readers of
Fortean literature often do not even realize that Keel’s writings may be behind “name game” discussions or authors’ speculations on the fact
that a certain location on a ridge might have a high rate of strange events occurring there after the 21st of the month on a Wednesday in a
high-frequency month such as April. Keel was there first trying to look at such patterns.
The popular cultural influence of Keel has been enormous. It shall take future academic studies to fully realize his reach among the subculture
that respects and are denizens of his ongoing intellectual playground.
On July 6, 2009, as word swept through the Internet, from Phyllis Benjamin at INFO and others, that Keel had passed away last Friday,
tributes and sorrow were shared online in overwhelming fashion from his followers, fans, and friends.
John A. Keel will be missed.
John A. Keel Bibliography
Jadoo. (NY: Tower, 1957)
The Fickle Finger of Fate. (Greenwich, CT: Fawcett, 1966)
UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse. (NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1970) (reprint, Atlanta: Illuminet Press, 1996)
Strange Creatures From Time and Space. (Greenwich, CT: Fawcett Gold Medal, 1970)
Our Haunted Planet. (1971) (rev., Lakeville, MN: Galde Press, 1999)
The Mothman Prophecies: An Investigation into the Mysterious American Visits of the Infamous Feathery Garuda. (NY: Saturday Review
Press/E. P. Dutton, 1975; NY: Signet, 1975), (rev.. NY: Tor, 2002)
The Eighth Tower. (NY: Saturday Review Press/E. P. Dutton, 1975)
Disneyland of the Gods. (NY: Amok Press, 1988) (reprint, Atlanta: Illuminet Press, 1996)
The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings. (NY: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1994) (rev. edition of Strange Creatures from Time
and Space)
The Best of John Keel. (Lakeville, MN: Galde Press, 2006)
After years of writing parts of the story in various articles and other books, in 1975, Keel published The Mothman Prophecies, an account of
his 1966-1967 investigation of sightings of the Mothman, a “winged weirdie” reported in and around Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
Keel corresponded with Ivan T. Sanderson, quietly for months, trying to determine what kind of bird might be involved with the sightings. It
was later, as Keel more fully revealed the tale of the sightings and concurrent phenomena, that other elements came into the mix.
The book was contemporarily adapted into a 2002 movie directed by Mark Pellington, starring Richard Gere, Debra Messing, Laura Linney and
Alan Bates.
Two parts of Keel’s personality were played by Gere and Bates. Bates’s character was “Leek,” which was “Keel” spelled backwards, and Gere’s
character was a newspaperman, “John Klein,” also a play on Keel’s name. Because Keel was ill at the time, Sony/Screen Gems cut back Keel’s
schedule of public appearances to only a few televised ones. I assisted Keel by becoming the movie’s publicity spokesperson on 400 radio
shows, and appeared with Keel in the David Grabias documentary Search For The Mothman, which is in the Deluxe DVD of The Mothman
Prophecies.
Keel often played, with tongue-in-cheek, on the Men-In-Black interest swirling around his work.
At the time of the release of the movie, a rumor circulated that Keel had died. On January 14, 2002, a story rapidly made the rounds via the
web that John A. Keel had just died.
I quickly put the rumor to rest by calling Keel, and confirming that Keel was, indeed, still alive, although Keel quipped that everyone should be
told, “his funeral is on Saturday and he will be wearing black.” Keel told me that this happened to him at least once before, in 1967.
In recent years, Keel’s appearances would be few and far between. But his sense of humor never left him, including wearing an all white suit to
the Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, West Virginia for the unveiling of the new Mothman replica.
Keel suffered a heart attack sometime before October 13, 2006. He admitted himself to New York City’s Lenox Hill Hospital on Friday the 13th
of October, and underwent successful heart surgery on October 16, 2006. Keel then was moved from the hospital to a rehabilitation center on
October 26, 2006, as his close New York friend Doug Skinner told me soon afterward. Skinner became invaluable in assisting Keel, and passing
along messages to and from Keel’s old friends.
Keel’s impact cannot be underestimated, especially in terms of his analysis of patterns. His work on “windows” (specific hotspots of combined
phenomenal appearances), “waves” (cyclic appearances of the phenomena), and the “Wednesday phenomenon” (the theory that a
disproportionate number of UFO events occur on that day of the week) are deeply influential across time and space. Generations of readers of
Fortean literature often do not even realize that Keel’s writings may be behind “name game” discussions or authors’ speculations on the fact
that a certain location on a ridge might have a high rate of strange events occurring there after the 21st of the month on a Wednesday in a
high-frequency month such as April. Keel was there first trying to look at such patterns.
The popular cultural influence of Keel has been enormous. It shall take future academic studies to fully realize his reach among the subculture
that respects and are denizens of his ongoing intellectual playground.
On July 6, 2009, as word swept through the Internet, from Phyllis Benjamin at INFO and others, that Keel had passed away last Friday,
tributes and sorrow were shared online in overwhelming fashion from his followers, fans, and friends.
John A. Keel will be missed.
John A. Keel Bibliography
Jadoo. (NY: Tower, 1957)
The Fickle Finger of Fate. (Greenwich, CT: Fawcett, 1966)
UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse. (NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1970) (reprint, Atlanta: Illuminet Press, 1996)
Strange Creatures From Time and Space. (Greenwich, CT: Fawcett Gold Medal, 1970)
Our Haunted Planet. (1971) (rev., Lakeville, MN: Galde Press, 1999)
The Mothman Prophecies: An Investigation into the Mysterious American Visits of the Infamous Feathery Garuda. (NY: Saturday Review
Press/E. P. Dutton, 1975; NY: Signet, 1975), (rev.. NY: Tor, 2002)
The Eighth Tower. (NY: Saturday Review Press/E. P. Dutton, 1975)
Disneyland of the Gods. (NY: Amok Press, 1988) (reprint, Atlanta: Illuminet Press, 1996)
The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings. (NY: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1994) (rev. edition of Strange Creatures from Time
and Space)
The Best of John Keel. (Lakeville, MN: Galde Press, 2006)
In Our Haunted Planet (1971), Keel coined the term “ultraterrestrials” to describe the
UFO occupants. He discussed the seldom-considered possibility that the alien “visitors”
to Earth are not visitors at all, but an advanced Earth civilization, which may or may not
be human. Keel took no position on the ultimate purpose of the phenomenon other
than that the UFO intelligence seems to have a long-standing interest in interacting with
the human race.
UFO historian Jerome Clark wrote that Keel was “a radical theorist who believes that
UFOs are ‘ultraterrestrial’ rather than extraterrrestrial. By that he means they are shape-
changing phenomena from another order of existence. These ultraterrestials are
basically hostile to, or at least contemptuous of, human beings and manipulate them in
various wasy for example by staging ‘miracles’ which inspire unfounded religious beliefs.
Ultraterrestrials and their minions may manifest as monsters, space people, ghosts and
UFO occupants. He discussed the seldom-considered possibility that the alien “visitors”
to Earth are not visitors at all, but an advanced Earth civilization, which may or may not
be human. Keel took no position on the ultimate purpose of the phenomenon other
than that the UFO intelligence seems to have a long-standing interest in interacting with
the human race.
UFO historian Jerome Clark wrote that Keel was “a radical theorist who believes that
UFOs are ‘ultraterrestrial’ rather than extraterrrestrial. By that he means they are shape-
changing phenomena from another order of existence. These ultraterrestials are
basically hostile to, or at least contemptuous of, human beings and manipulate them in
various wasy for example by staging ‘miracles’ which inspire unfounded religious beliefs.
Ultraterrestrials and their minions may manifest as monsters, space people, ghosts and
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