Short description: Supposed alien abduction in 1987 Ilkley Moor on a clear evening There was an alleged UFO incident on Ilkley Moor on 1 December 1987.[1] A retired police officer claimed that he was abducted by aliens while on a morning walk and briefly held on their craft before being returned to the moor.[2] The man took a photograph of the moor which he said shows one of the aliens that abducted him.[2] The photograph subsequently became a news story in the United Kingdom .[1] It has been cited as one of the strongest pieces of evidence that we have that extra-terrestrials have visited Earth.[1][3] It has also been described as “incredibly blurry”.[4] Skeptics have dismissed the incident as a hoax, saying that the photograph shows something else, such as a man or a cardboard cut-out.[2][5] ## Contents * 1 Background * 2 Incident * 3 Initial aftermath * 4 Account changed under hypnosis * 5 Legacy * 6 See also * 7 References ## Background Ilkley Moor is an area of moorland between Ilkley and Keighley in West Yorkshire, England .[1] It is well-known as the inspiration for the song On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at.[1] It is also known for its carved rocks, particularly the Swastika Stone.[1] There have been many UFO sightings on the moor.[2][3][4] Sceptics have suggested that this is because of the nearby proximity of Menwith Hill airforce base and Leeds Bradford Airport.[2][4][5] Philip Spencer (a pseudonym[6][7]) had moved from London to remote West Yorkshire with his wife and child in order to be closer to his wife’s family following his retirement from the police force.[8] On the morning of 1 December 1987 Spencer began walking across Ilkley Moor to visit his father-in-law in East Morton.[8] He had taken a camera with him as well as a compass, in case there was fog.[2] ## Incident According to Spencer, he was walking up a small hill when he noticed an odd-looking figure just up the trail ahead of him.[2] It was dark green and about four feet tall[2] with an oversized head and long, thin arms.[9] The creature made a gesture at Spencer, which he took to be a gesture telling him to stay away, but he took out his camera and took a picture of it.[2][9] The creature then ran away and Spencer followed it.[9] He lost the creature in the fog but then saw a craft rise from the moor and disappear into the sky.[8] He described the craft as being of a whitish colour and consisted of two saucer shaped parts that were attached, with one being on top of the other.[8] There was also a loud hum.[8] He did not take a photograph of the craft.[2][5] Rather than continue with his planned route, Spencer headed to another town that was about a half hour away.[9] When he arrived he discovered that it was about two hours later in the day than he expected it to be.[9] Additionally, the compass that he had taken with him was pointed in the opposite direction than it should have.[8] ## Initial aftermath In the days following the alleged incident Spencer made contact with UFO researchers Jenny Randles and Peter Hough.[9] Hough claimed to have been “extremely sceptical” at first but later came to believe Spencer.[6] Spencer handed over the copyright of the photo to Hough.[10] Although the story quickly made the news Spencer insisted on keeping his anonymity.[6][9] Various write-ups of the case have made it clear that Spencer did not make any money from the story.[5] As well as examining the site, Hough sent the photograph to a number of experts.[2] A wildlife photographer who examined the photograph said that it was not from any known animal.[5] Experts from the Kodak laboratory in Hemel Hempstead said that they could not detect any evidence of tampering.[5] Bruce Maccabee a US Navy optics expert and ufologist concluded that the photograph was “too grainy for proper testing”.[8][5] According to ufologist Nick Redfern, Spencer was hassled by the Ministry of Defence a few days after the incident on the moor.[11] He says that they opened a file on Spencer and sent two Men in black to his home to intimidate him into silence.[11] ## Account changed under hypnosis While the photograph was being examined Spencer claimed that he experienced strange dreams.[2] Following Hough’s advice he attended a session of regressive hypnotherapy.[8] This was carried out by Jim Singleton on 16 March 1988.[8] Under hypnosis Spencer’s original account of the incident changed.[10] Singleton has called it a “genuine recall”.[6] Spencer now recalled that upon seeing the creature on the hill he was instantly paralysed.[2] He was then lifted up a few feet and pulled into the craft.[2] When he entered the craft a voice told him to be calm.[2][8] A group of green aliens then performed medical experiments on him, inserting items into his nose and mouth.[2][8] He was given a tour of the craft [2][10] and shown a film.[2] The film showed apocalyptic imagery, including nuclear explosions, famines and floods.[2] Spencer was then shown a second film.[2] He has never revealed the contents of the second film, saying that the aliens who abducted him do not want humanity to know.[2] Following this Spencer was returned to Ilkley Moor, where he then took the famous photograph.[2] He claimed that the alien was actually waving goodbye to him, not telling him to stay away, as in his original account.[2] ## Legacy The Ilkley Moor incident generated headlines in the UK at the time and remains one of the country’s most famous UFO sightings.[2] Nick Pope, a journalist who previously worked at the ‘UFO desk’ of the Ministry of Defence included this event in a 2011 list of "Top 10 UFO incidents in the UK".[12] It has been cited as one of the most persuasive UFO incidents to ever occur.[1][3] Skeptics have claimed that the whole incident is a hoax.[2] They have said that the photograph is so blurry that it is far from proof of any alien visitors to Earth.[5] They have argued that the “alien” in the photograph could easily be a man or a cardboard cut-out.[5] Sceptics have also asked why Spencer did not take a photograph of the craft, noting that such a photograph would be more difficult to fake.[2][5] Sceptics have also dismissed the supposed physical evidence of the broken compass, saying that it is easy to manually wreck compasses.[5] ## See also * UFO sightings in the United Kingdom ## References 1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "'Picture Post: When Ilkley Moor became an alien landing site'". The Yorkshire Post. 13 October 2014. https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/picture-post-when-ilkley-moor-became-alien-landing-site-1832740. 2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 Sweeney, Matty. ""Ilkley Moor Alien Photograph"". http://www.theparanormalguide.com/blog/ilkley-moor-alien-photograph. 3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Alien Evidence Re-investigated". 'The Telegraph & Argus'. 29 August 1998. https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/8073980.alien-evidence-re-investigated/. 4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Coulson, Jim (6 October 2020). "'Alien And UFO Sightings In Yorkshire And Lancashire'". 'Northern Life Magazine'. https://northernlifemagazine.co.uk/alien-and-ufo-sightings-in-yorkshire-and-lancashire/. 5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 "'The Ilkley Moor Monster: A Watertight Story'". http://www.theironskeptic.com/articles/moor/moor.htm. 6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Harley, Gill. "'Alien encounter on a wild moor'". http://www.beamsinvestigations.org/14-01-1995 ilkley moor alien photo [SE] 1828.jpg. 7. ↑ Redfern, Nick (2018). "Top Secret Alien Abduction Files: What the Government Doesn't Want You to Know". Red Wheel Weiser. p. 130. ISBN 978-1633411043. https://books.google.com/books?id=EZlUDwAAQBAJ. Retrieved 12 December 2021. 8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 "Ilkley Moor Alien". https://www.ufoweeklynews.com/ufo-sightings/ilkley-moor-alien. 9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Redfern, Nick (2018). "Top Secret Alien Abduction Files: What the Government Doesn't Want You to Know". Red Wheel Weiser. p. 131. ISBN 9781633411043. https://books.google.com/books?id=EZlUDwAAQBAJ. Retrieved 12 December 2021. 10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Redfern, Nick (2018). "Top Secret Alien Abduction Files: What the Government Doesn't Want You to Know". Red Wheel Weiser. p. 132. ISBN 9781633411043. https://books.google.com/books?id=EZlUDwAAQBAJ. Retrieved 12 December 2021. 11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Redfern, Nick (2018). "Top Secret Alien Abduction Files: What the Government Doesn't Want You to Know". Red Wheel Weiser. p. 129. ISBN 9781633411043. https://books.google.com/books?id=EZlUDwAAQBAJ. Retrieved 12 December 2021. 12. ↑ Pope, Nick (29 June 2011). "Top 10 UFO incidents in the UK". Daily Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/ufo/8603822/Top-10-UFO-incidents-in-the-UK.html. * v * t * e UFOs * Ufology * Index of ufology articles Claimed sightings| | General| * List of reported UFO sightings * Sightings in outer space | Pre-20th century| * Tulli Papyrus (possibly 15th century B.C.) * Ezekiel's Wheel (circa 622–570 B.C.) * 1561 celestial phenomenon over Nuremberg * 1566 celestial phenomenon over Basel * José Bonilla observation (1883) * Aurora (1897) 20th century| * Los Angeles (1942) * Kenneth Arnold (1947) * Roswell (1947) * Mantell (1948) * Chiles-Whitted (1948) * Gorman Dogfight (1948) * Mariana (1950) * McMinnville photographs (1950) * Sperry (1950) * Lubbock Lights (1951) * Carson Sink (1952) * Nash-Fortenberry (1952) * Washington, D.C. 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