Alien implants is a term used in Ufology

Ufology

Ufology is a neologism coined to describe the collective efforts of those who study reports and associated evidence of unidentified flying objects . UFOs have been subject to various investigations over the years by governments, independent groups, and scientists...

 to describe a physical object placed in someone's body after they have been abducted by aliens. Claimed abilities of the implants range from telepresence

Telepresence

Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance of being present, or to have an effect, via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location....

 to mind control

Mind control

Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...

 to biotelemetry

Biotelemetry

Biotelemetry involves the application of telemetry in the medical field to remotely monitor various vital signs of ambulatory patients.-Application:...

 (the latter akin to humans tagging wild animals for study). As with UFO subjects in general, the idea of "alien implants" has seen very little attention from mainstream scientists because of a lack of verifiable evidence.

History of implant claims

According to researcher Peter Rogerson (who is generally skeptical of alien abduction claims), the idea of allegedly genuine alien implants can be traced back to the 1950s, as part of the so-called "Shaver Mystery" -- claims that the "Dero", a sinister civilization beneath the earth, was kidnapping people for torture. Rogerson writes:

the March 1957 edition of the Long John Nebel

Long John Nebel

Long John Nebel was an influential New York City talk radio show host.From the mid 1950s until his death in 1978, Nebel was a hugely popular all-night radio host, with millions of regular listeners and what Donald Bain described as "a fanatically loyal following" to his syndicated program, which...

 radio show featured John Robinson, a sidekick of Jim Moseley reporting a dramatically spooky, if not very plausible, abduction tale. The gist of it was that in 1944 Robinson had a neighbour named Steve Brodie who one day saw (in Robinson's apartment) a copy of one of Ray Palmer

Raymond A. Palmer

Raymond Arthur Palmer was the influential editor of Amazing Stories from 1938 through 1949, when he left publisher Ziff-Davis to publish and edit Fate Magazine, and eventually many other magazines and books through his own publishing houses, including Amherst Press and Palmer Publications...

's magazines featuring the Dero. Brodie yelled out "He speaks of the Dero!", and proceeded to tell Robinson how he had been prospecting out west with a companion in 1938. One day they encountered two mysterious cowled figures who paralyzed Brodie by pointing a rod-like device at him. When the companion tried to flee, they fired at him and Brodie heard him scream, and smelled burnt flesh. When one of the figures placed 'small earphones' behind his ears he lost consciousness. From time to time he came to, in a place which fellow prisoners told him was the cave of the Dero. Each time his brain began to clear, the cowled one adjusted the earphones and he lost consciousness again.

He eventually came to, walking the streets of Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 two years later. Brodie showed Robinson scarred patches behind his ears, a little smaller than a silver dollar. Since his ordeal Brodie claimed he was unable to eat meat ... Time passed; Robinson left the apartment but on returning for a visit found that Brodie had disappeared. Another neighbour told Robinson that he had seen Brodie in Arizona, wandering about like a zombie

Zombie

Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...

. We are presumably supposed to conclude that he was back under the control of the Dero.

It is in this unlikely tale that we first encounter the implants (behind the ears, as in Invasion of the Martians) and other abductionist staples such as the paralyzing rods and the doorway amnesia.

In later years, the claims of people like Budd Hopkins

Budd Hopkins

Budd Hopkins was an American painter, sculptor, and prominent figure in abduction phenomenon, and related UFO research.-Life:Born in 1931 and raised in Wheeling, West Virginia...

 and David Michael Jacobs

David Michael Jacobs

David Michael Jacobs is an American historian and recently retired Associate Professor of History at Temple University, specializing in twentieth century American history and culture. He is well known in the field of Ufology for his research into alleged alien abductions and UFOs.-Career:Jacobs...

 would popularize alien abduction ideas in general, including reports of unusual "implants" associated with abductions. Dr. John E. Mack, claims in his book Abduction that "I have myself studied a 1/2- to 3/4-inch thin, wiry object that was given to me by one of my clients, a twenty-four-year-old woman, after it came out of her nose following an abduction experience." An examination of the object revealed it consisted of a twisted fiber of carbon, silicon, oxygen and other trace elements, but no nitrogen.

Usage in popular culture

Alien implants have featured in fictionalized treatments of the alien abduction scenario, such as in the popular 1990s television program The X-Files

The X-Files

The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...

and an episode of the ABC comedy drama Castle

Castle (TV series)

Castle is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on ABC on March 9, 2009. The series is produced by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios. On January 10, 2011, Castle was renewed for a fourth season...

. A third-season episode of House, M.D. featured an object that Chase believed to be an alien implant in a patient's neck, but turned out to be a fragment of a medical pin.

External links

• http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/journalism/ufo97.html Scientific Analysis of an "Alien Implant" by paranormal researcher Dr. Susan Blackmore
• http://titania.antville.org/stories/1853193/ Video of an alleged Alien Implant being surgically removed.