The True Story of the Worlds First Documented Alien Abduction: A Betrayal of Trust
Further, although their hypnosis had revealed that they had been captured and taken onboard a UFO where they endured a physical examination, they did not know if this was the objective truth. However, neither they nor Dr. Simon could adequately explain the two hours of amnesia that followed the period when the craft hovered over their car’s roof and emitted buzzing sounds that caused them to experience a strange tingling sensation. They refused to discuss the content of their hypnosis tapes, stating only that Dr. Simon’s hypnotherapy had relieved their traumatic amnesia. So intense was the public interest that the question and answer session following the Hills’ presentation lasted for more than an hour. Many participants spoke of their own UFO sightings.
In her diary Betty wrote:
After Lt. Brandt, Barney, and I had spoken, we opened up the session for questions. Barney told how the publicity about us had been published without our cooperation; we had hoped to maintain confidentiality about our experience, particularly the hypnosis sessions. The highlight of the evening was a question from the floor: “Tell me Mr. Hill, whether or not you are happy to be here.” I could see Barney was ill at ease, for this question could not be answered satisfactorily. I tugged at his coat and said to tell him the answer was yes. Barney turned to this man and said, “My wife says to say I am happy to be here, so I guess I am happy.” Everyone laughed heartily and the man left.
This statement seems to reflect Barney’s attitude toward any publicity surrounding the event. Initially, he insisted that it remain a secret between husband and wife. At Betty’s insistence, family and close friends became privy to the information. Then the Air Force, NICAP, physical scientists with an interest in UFOs, the Two-State UFO Study Group, and finally the media gained information about the encounter. Barney agreed to share information for the benefit of science and national security as long as it remained confidential. Despite Barney’s concerns, he participated as a reluctant adjunct to Betty, but continued to focus his energies primarily on the poverty program and civil rights. He always expressed apprehension because he felt the occupants onboard the UFO had threatened him in some way. Therefore, he feared for his own personal safety.
In a letter to Walter Webb dated November 27, 1965, Betty wrote, “After the news article in the Boston Traveler, we got in touch with Richard Hall [NICAP’s director], as you suggested. He said that he had never made those statements to the press in any way. He was going to publish some kind of statement about our sighting, but said that he would reconsider. Later, Admiral Knowles called him and he said that he had decided not to publish anything, at this time.” She added, “We feel that this is a good decision on Dick Hall’s part, for we would not want NICAP discredited in any way. Actually, we will always be very grateful to you and to NICAP for your help, encouragement and all. In a way, emotion- ally, this whole experience has been similar to a disaster, and we know that you have been there for us in piecing together the whole puzzle.”
On the evening of the Dover presentation, John Fuller was in the area interviewing witnesses to the local UFO flap that seemed to be playing out nightly in Southern New Hampshire’s towns. A local teenager and two Exeter police officers had observed a UFO at close range, and craft were seen hovering over power lines in Fremont and Exeter, and landing in the fields of area farms. Some sheared off the tops of trees, burned foliage, and left physical trace evidence on the ground. Average citizens going about their daily business observed landed craft and small beings that seemed to be collecting samples from vegetable gardens or water from local ponds. Fuller was exhilarated by the overwhelming public response to the UFO question, and wanted to interview the Hills for inclusion in The Incident at Exeter or perhaps another book about their experience. He and Walter Webb had coffee with Betty and Barney following their presentation, and he arranged to meet them for dinner to discuss their sighting and UFOs in general.
At dinner, Fuller presented the Hills with a cooperative book proposal that would satisfy the public’s interest in their case and set the record straight. Betty and Barney were upset by the inaccuracies in John Luttrell’s articles, and because confidentiality had already been violated on a grand scale, they decided to accept Fuller’s proposal. Fuller’s publicist, Ashley Famous Agency, Inc., drew up a contract between the Hills and Fuller stating that all would be named as joint authors in the publishing contract. The royalties would be divided with one third going to John Fuller and two thirds going to the Hills after the agent’s commission was deducted, but the copyright would be credited to John Fuller. Apparently the Hills desired the inclusion of Dr. Simon in the contract and refused to sign the first draft.
In a letter to Walter Webb dated November 27, 1965, Betty wrote that Dr. Simon had agreed to work with them and John Fuller in the writing of a nonfiction book about the entire experience, with an emphasis on the hypnosis and its meaning. She stated that Dr. Simon had been consulting with many top psychiatrists about the matter, and had indicated that he planned to contribute information on hypnosis and its characteristic use in lifting traumatic amnesia. He was willing to state that the Hills underwent a highly traumatic experience with a “flying vehicle.” But he would reserve judgment about the reality of their claim and leave “the explanations in the hands of the scientists.”
Betty wrote a letter to Dr. Simon dated December 27, 1965 to explain her position with regard to the contract.
Dear Dr. Simon,
I am sending you a copy of our agreement with John Fuller to write the book, and a copy of the contract with Dial Press for the publication and exploitation of the book for your consideration.
As for the royalties in the contract, John Fuller will receive one-third for writing the book. Usually, the writer receives one half, but he has offered two-thirds because of all the details involved in the costs of these.
As we have always agreed, we are willing to share our two- thirds of the royalties with you on a one-third basis, i.e. 1/3 to you, 1/3 to Barney, and 1/3 to me; and the full terms of the contracts will be equally binding to the three of us.
The basis of the two-thirds royalty depends on our willingness to take a six- or 12-month leave of absence from our employment to exploit the sale of the book. If and when we sign the contract, we will legally be agreeing to do whatever Ashley Films and Dial Press ask in exploiting, as long as it is not illegal, immoral, or defamatory to us. We are not sure what all this will mean, but we will be expected to go on lecture tours with some TV and radio appearances, as well as autographing books in Macy’s basement.
So, we are asking you to study these contracts as to whether or not they would be satisfactory to you. If not, we are wondering if some agreement could be reached where you would be willing to receive some percentage of the royalties, after deduction of expenses, on the basis that we attempt to arrange with the writer and publisher that you would retain some legal rights whereby you might be able to lecture at Medical Societies and retain their fees; also the right to publish your findings in scientific journals; also we would need to work out some kind of agreement as to TV, radio, and public appearances. I assume that if you are not included in these contracts, then you are free to make your own contracts in this matter.
If this book is to be published, the important thing involved is time. John must have it completed by June 1st. Barney and I are ambivalent about the whole thing, for we did not realize so much would be involved, such as the loss of our salaries during the exploitation period. We have no way of predicting the sales of the book, but we have been talking to writers and it is our understanding that books are not a way to “get rich in a hurry,” but can be fine as a supplemental income.
We will meet with you on January 7th to discuss all of these things.
Sincerely,
John Fuller had entered into a deal with Dial Press that awarded a $10,000 advance to be issued in thirds: one third upon signing the con- tract, one third upon delivery of a partial manuscript, and the final third upon completion of the manuscript. Throughout the next four months the lawyers and principals ironed out the minute details of the contractual agreement. The major disagreements centered on the sharing of royalties, the ownership and confidentiality of the hypnosis tapes, and the ideas and conclusions expressed by John Fuller. In fact, at one point before the contract was signed, Dr. Simon was nearly ousted from the project because his “proposed contract was entirely unsatisfactory to the Hills and that they simply would not accept it.” The Hills’ lawyers wrote, “They are more ready to withdraw from further negotiations with Dr. Simon because some of the terms of the proposed contract, which our clients consider to be vital, are terms that your client knew beforehand that our clients would not accept, because they definitely told him so on several prior occasions. Our clients are still desirous of working with your client, and for that reason, authorize us to make the following counter proposal. If it should turn out to be unacceptable to your client, then our clients, unless other terms can be agreed upon, are prepared to proceed without Dr. Simon’s further help. This our clients would deeply regret, but at the present time, no alternative seems to be available.”
The task of writing The Interrupted Journey was lengthy and difficult for John Fuller. Dr. Simon’s revisions, comments, and corrections to Fuller’s work were even longer than the manuscript itself. He was forced to revise and rewrite the text to comply with Dr. Simon’s professional opinion regarding hypnosis and the possibility of false memory production. This shattered many of Fuller’s preconceptions regarding the characteristics of hypnosis. He also cautioned Fuller against the use of sensationalism, which put Fuller somewhere between a rock and a hard place. The publisher wanted a sensational book, but the psychiatrist, who had editing privileges, rejected this notion. With all of the haggling, it is a wonder that the book was ever completed. In the end, Fuller did not meet the June 1 deadline, and came under pressure from the publisher. But finally, after a copious amount of rewriting, the book was published.
Patient confidentiality was a major issue. Dr. Simon wanted the tape recordings to remain his exclusive property, but the Hills insisted that the ownership of the tapes should be held jointly. The Hills agreed to release Dr. Simon of the patient-physician relationship only where John Fuller was concerned for the purpose of publishing the book. However, Fuller was to take temporary control of the tape recordings for the purpose of completing a manuscript. Then, the original tapes and any copies made of them would be promptly returned to their owners at the completion of the manuscript.
Finally, the principals agreed that Dr. Simon had the sole right to approve or disapprove of all medical statements or conclusions contained in the manuscript. To further protect the rights of the principals, they agreed to refrain from individually writing, dramatizing, or collaborating with a third party to write or dramatize any material pertaining to the events or incidents in the manuscript without the prior written consent of the principals. Therefore, Fuller, the Hills, and Simon were prohibited from expressing their personal or professional opinions regarding the UFO encounter and the abduction in written form without the written consent of all surviving principals.
In all, the hardcover and paperback versions of The Interrupted Journey sold nearly 300,000 copies and made its way to the top of The New York Times best-seller list. Foreign rights for the publication of the book were sold in England, France, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Yugoslavia, and Japan. Dial Press published the hardcover copy of the book, and later, Dell published the paperback version. Later still, Berkley bought the rights to the paperback, and in the mid-1980s, Dell purchased the rights again. In all, the book was available on the market from 1966 until approximately 1988. It is currently out of print.