A Rough Guide to Extra-Terrestrial Visitors

In the half-century or so during which people have claimed to have had direct contact with extra-terrestrials (ETs) in UFOs, there has been a striking similarity in all the descriptions of the alien beings.

If the reports are to be believed, three major types of alien appear to be visiting the planet Earth in UFOs and interacting with us. Each is described below.

Who Are The Nordic (also sometimes known as Venusians or Pleiadians) Aliens?

The Nordic types of alien were very common in the 1950s but are much less so now. Human-like in appearance, they are described as blonde-haired and very tall. They seem to be benevolent ETs and often issue warnings to the human race about the possible dangers in our development of technology. In a sense, they appear to represent almost perfect humans and are curiously reminiscent of Hitler's "Master Race" stereotypes. In fact, bizarrely, some of the reports of those who claim to have had alien encounters them describe them as German-speaking and at least one alien abductee reported being carted off in a UFO by Nordic aliens who spoke German and wore Nazi uniforms, complete with Swastikas!

It is interesting to speculate on whether Germany's reputation for scientific achievement and the known advances in rocketry made by the Germans in World War Two in some way shaped the 1950s notion of what an advanced alien race should look like. Billy Meier, the (German-speaking) Swiss contactee, also describes being contacted by Nordic aliens.

The Grey Aliens And Alien Encounters

Greys are the aliens most commonly encountered in modern alien encounter reports. Their appearance is now familiar to most of us: small, bulbous-headed, with large, slanting eyes and thin limbs, they represent our modern idea of "the alien." Some have suggested that Stephen Spielberg's classic UFO film, Close Encounters, launched the image of the Grey alien into popular consciousness and that this is what accounts for the preponderance of "Grey" sightings in recent decades.

There were certainly reports of extra-terrestrials matching the Grey description before this, however. Barney and Betty Hill, two of the more famous ET abductees, claimed to have been whisked away in a UFO by aliens matching the Grey description, who then performed experiments on the couple before erasing their memories. Only hypnosis allowed the two to remember what had happened. Betty Hill later drew a star map which she said one of the aliens had shown to her when she asked where they came from. This was later identified as corresponding to the Zeta Reticuli star system, leading many to believe that this is the home of the Greys.

Some of those who claim to have seen alien bodies, either stored in secret military facilities, or at the scene of a UFO crash - such as that in Roswell, New Mexico - have offered descriptions of the corpses which correspond perfectly to that of the Grey alien in UFO contact reports.

Who Are The Reptilian Aliens?

Reptilians are the bad guys in the ET parade. As the name suggests, they are lizard-like in appearance, though still humanoid in form, and are usually described as having creepy red eyes. Many reports agree that they are malevolent ETs and harbour some sinister agenda for the future of the human race and the planet Earth.

Certain authors believe that the Reptilians are capable of altering their own appearance - shape-shifting - and, in this way, can give themselves a seemingly human form. This has given rise to the belief that Reptilian extra-terrestrials are infiltrating human society, securing themselves in positions of influence, in order to advance their dark plans, which may involve some future subjugation or even annihilation of the human race.

Former BBC Sports presenter David Icke is among the more prominent of the Reptilian conspiracy theorists. He is of the opinion that many of the world's top politicians, including Tony Blair and George Bush are, in fact, reptilian aliens, shape-shifted into human form!

It should be pointed out that some believe the Reptilians are not extra-terrestrial at all but represent a forgotten strain of terrestrial evolution - a highly evolved dinosaur, in effect - which survived by retreating from the surface of the Earth to live somewhere deep inside it.

What Can We Gather About Alien Forms?

Although not all descriptions of extra-terrestrials by those who claim to have seen them fit into one of these three categories, the vast majority do.

Whether this is because the aliens were real, or because some cultural influence was shaping our perceptions of what aliens ought to look like, can certainly be debated but, chances are, if you ever think you've seen an alien in a UFO, it will probably look like one of these.