Truman Bethurum
Encyclopedia
Truman Bethurum was the second of the classic 1950s contactees
, individuals who claimed to have spoken with humanoid aliens and entered or ridden on their flying saucer
s. His revelations seemed fairly directly inspired by his immediate forerunner, George Adamski
.
Bethurum was born in Gavalin, California, and in the early 1950s worked as a mechanic on a road-building crew. Unlike most road-crew members, however, he moonlighted as a fortune teller and spiritual
advisor. In 1953 Bethurum first published magazine and newspaper (Redondo Beach
Daily Breeze, September 25, 1953) accounts of being contacted about a dozen different times by the humanoid crew of a landed flying saucer, and repeatedly conversing with its stunningly lovely female captain, Aura Rhanes. Saucer and crew, who spoke colloquial English, came from the unknown planet
Clarion, which from the earth
, in abject defiance of the laws of planetary motion, always remains out of sight behind our moon
. A subsequent 1954 book, Aboard a Flying Saucer, gave more details of Bethurum's suffering at the hands of skeptics, but few other details of Clarion and its people.
Most contactees of this period became (or already were) leaders of new religious movements, including George Adamski
, George Van Tassel
, Daniel Fry
, George King
and many others. Bethurum followed the same pattern, quitting his job and telling followers - immediately after the publication of his book - that the space people had commanded him to create a religious commune
, with himself as spiritual leader. A commune, the Sanctuary of Thought, was subsequently created near Prescott, Arizona. While Bethurum and his group have a few followers to this day, most self-proclaimed UFO researchers of the 1950s dismissed him as a charlatan--- he refused lie-detector examinations, and also refused to provide physical evidence he claimed to possess, such as supposedly unique items given to him by Captain Aura Rhanes.
Some of Bethurum's later books include The Voice of the Planet Clarion
(1957), Facing Reality (1958), and The People of the Planet Clarion (1970), published after his death. The first 44 pages of the final book are an autobiography of Bethurum covering his life up to 1953. In this last book he also mentions that astronomer
s had told him that Clarion could not possibly orbit
either sun
or earth in such a way as to remain behind the moon as seen from earth, and that Captain Rhanes must have meant to say Clarion is in the same orbit as our earth, but always behind the sun from our viewpoint. It has been known since the 1960s that no planet exists in either spot. Earlier, in 1954, Bethurum had told audiences during his lectures that Rhanes probably meant Clarion was in another solar system
.
An afterword to The People of the Planet Clarion by artist Columba Krebs, who helped Bethurum with all three of his later books, notes that Bethurum seemed obsessed by Captain Rhanes, and had hired a secretary who (according to Bethurum) resembled her very closely. Bethurum himself repeatedly remarked in his many public lectures that his second wife had divorced him in 1955 mainly due to jealousy of Captain Rhanes. He later married a third time, with the wedding taking place at one of George Van Tassel's yearly Giant Rock Spacecraft Conventions.
Contactees
Contactees are persons who claim to have experienced contact with extraterrestrials. Contactees have typically reported that they were given messages or profound wisdom by extraterrestrial beings...
, individuals who claimed to have spoken with humanoid aliens and entered or ridden on their flying saucer
Flying saucer
A flying saucer is a type of unidentified flying object sometimes believed to be of alien origin with a disc or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either...
s. His revelations seemed fairly directly inspired by his immediate forerunner, George Adamski
George Adamski
George Adamski was a Polish-born American citizen who became widely known in ufology circles, and to some degree in popular culture, after he claimed to have photographed ships from other planets, met with friendly Nordic alien "Space Brothers", and to have taken flights with them...
.
Bethurum was born in Gavalin, California, and in the early 1950s worked as a mechanic on a road-building crew. Unlike most road-crew members, however, he moonlighted as a fortune teller and spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
advisor. In 1953 Bethurum first published magazine and newspaper (Redondo Beach
Daily Breeze, September 25, 1953) accounts of being contacted about a dozen different times by the humanoid crew of a landed flying saucer, and repeatedly conversing with its stunningly lovely female captain, Aura Rhanes. Saucer and crew, who spoke colloquial English, came from the unknown planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
Clarion, which from the earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, in abject defiance of the laws of planetary motion, always remains out of sight behind our moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. A subsequent 1954 book, Aboard a Flying Saucer, gave more details of Bethurum's suffering at the hands of skeptics, but few other details of Clarion and its people.
Most contactees of this period became (or already were) leaders of new religious movements, including George Adamski
George Adamski
George Adamski was a Polish-born American citizen who became widely known in ufology circles, and to some degree in popular culture, after he claimed to have photographed ships from other planets, met with friendly Nordic alien "Space Brothers", and to have taken flights with them...
, George Van Tassel
George Van Tassel
George Van Tassel was an American contactee, ufologist, and paranormal research leader who commenced building the Integratron in 1958 in Landers, California.- History :...
, Daniel Fry
Daniel Fry
Daniel William Fry was an American contactee who claimed he had multiple contacts with an alien and took a ride in a remotely piloted alien spacecraft on July 4, 1949....
, George King
George King (Aetherius Society)
George King was Founder-President of The Aetherius Society, a UFO religion. He was also an inventor, author, lecturer and spiritual teacher.-Early years:...
and many others. Bethurum followed the same pattern, quitting his job and telling followers - immediately after the publication of his book - that the space people had commanded him to create a religious commune
Commune
Commune may refer to:In society:* Commune, a human community in which resources are shared* Commune , a township or municipality* One of the Communes of France* An Italian Comune...
, with himself as spiritual leader. A commune, the Sanctuary of Thought, was subsequently created near Prescott, Arizona. While Bethurum and his group have a few followers to this day, most self-proclaimed UFO researchers of the 1950s dismissed him as a charlatan--- he refused lie-detector examinations, and also refused to provide physical evidence he claimed to possess, such as supposedly unique items given to him by Captain Aura Rhanes.
Some of Bethurum's later books include The Voice of the Planet Clarion
(1957), Facing Reality (1958), and The People of the Planet Clarion (1970), published after his death. The first 44 pages of the final book are an autobiography of Bethurum covering his life up to 1953. In this last book he also mentions that astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
s had told him that Clarion could not possibly orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
either sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
or earth in such a way as to remain behind the moon as seen from earth, and that Captain Rhanes must have meant to say Clarion is in the same orbit as our earth, but always behind the sun from our viewpoint. It has been known since the 1960s that no planet exists in either spot. Earlier, in 1954, Bethurum had told audiences during his lectures that Rhanes probably meant Clarion was in another solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
.
An afterword to The People of the Planet Clarion by artist Columba Krebs, who helped Bethurum with all three of his later books, notes that Bethurum seemed obsessed by Captain Rhanes, and had hired a secretary who (according to Bethurum) resembled her very closely. Bethurum himself repeatedly remarked in his many public lectures that his second wife had divorced him in 1955 mainly due to jealousy of Captain Rhanes. He later married a third time, with the wedding taking place at one of George Van Tassel's yearly Giant Rock Spacecraft Conventions.