Hangar 1: The UFO Files (2014) s02e03 Episode Script
Men in Black
male narrator: July 1987 an undisclosed military base in Utah.
Ventre: A soldier's patrolling this base adjacent to the desert, and suddenly he sees something big come rising over a mountain range.
Equitz: It's this brilliant, glowing object in the sky, a blue light that is burning so brightly, he can't actually make out what's under the light.
Ventre: And soon he's able to tell that this is some kind of almond-shaped aircraft about 100 feet across.
narrator: According to the witness, the mysterious craft hovered over the mountains.
At certain points, its lights dim, and it seems to vanish only to reappear moments later in a nearby location.
Equitz: He knows this isn't a military aircraft, because as part of his job, he would have been notified ahead of time about any kind of activity on the base, not to mention that his UFO appears to be somehow teleporting to different locations in the area.
narrator: Little does the soldier know that this will not be his only disturbing encounter of the evening.
Ventre: The soldier radios in to report the sighting, and this is when he gets his first hint that something's wrong.
As soon as he mentions the UFO, his superior stops replying to him, and someone else comes on the line.
[man speaking indistinctly over radio.]
It's a voice he's never heard before.
narrator: The soldier is ordered to abort his patrol and immediately report to the Provost Marshal's office.
Ventre: As soon as the soldier walks in, he's handcuffed, treated like a criminal.
Equitz: There's a general waiting for him, but not one that he knows from the base, and the general isn't alone.
He's accompanied by two mysterious men wearing identical black suits.
narrator: The soldier is taken to an isolated room where men in black suits proceed to interrogate him about the UFO sighting.
Equitz: These guys don't identify themselves as being from the military, law enforcement, intelligence agencies, or anything.
They just start in with the questions.
[clock ticking.]
Ventre: They grill him for hours about every detail of this UFO sighting.
[ticking continues.]
Keep in mind, the actual UFO sighting lasted a few minutes, but they keep asking him the same questions over and over again in excruciating detail.
Equitz: When they're finally finished, the soldier is ordered to never mention the sighting or his meeting with the two men in black.
narrator: One of the men in black takes him aside and whispers a final warning.
Ventre: He points out the desert surrounding the military base.
He tells the soldier if he doesn't heed their warning and keep his mouth shut about the UFO, "Well, this is a big desert.
"It would take a long time for someone to find your body out there.
" Equitz: It's only when he retires, after two decades of constantly looking over his shoulder for these mysterious men, that he finally reports the encounter.
Harzan: This is just one of perhaps 100 UFO cases in our files involving men in black, and the most consistent thing about these reports is just how inconsistent these various encounters could be.
Ventre: When you take all of these case files into account, it might be possible that there isn't just one single "men in black" entity.
When we talk about men in black, we could be talking about a lot of different things.
narrator: Reports of the men in black suddenly appearing in the aftermath of a UFO event have occurred since the 1950s.
They are said to intimidate UFO witnesses into silence about their encounters.
Who do these mystery men work for? And what is their ultimate agenda? MUFON opens its files to learn the identity of the men in black right now.
The Mutual UFO Network, known as MUFON, is an independent organization not bound to any government.
They investigate reports of UFO sightings from around the world.
Over the past five decades, they have collected more than 70,000 files, stored at a secure location known as Hangar 1.
Now, for the first time, MUFON is granting access to their vast archive.
These are the files of Hangar 1.
Stories of the men in black have been part of UFO lore for decades unidentified men who use fear and intimidation to threaten UFO witnesses.
Their identity remains a mystery, and in some instances, they may not even be human.
Equitz: Everyone's heard of the men in black, because the concept has become so ingrained in our pop culture, but if you look into their history, the men in black are a lot more mysterious and frightening than what you might see on the movie screen.
Speigel: The whole idea about the men in black is, who are they? Who are they working for? Why would they show up just to tell people to keep quiet about their UFO experience.
narrator: MUFON files reveal one harrowing event and its impact on the life of a young UFO witness.
May 1981 Laura Dent has just relocated with her parents to a farm in Union, Maine.
The remote property is secluded on 170 acres of land.
Equitz: Almost immediately, Laura has an uneasy feeling about her new home.
It's a beautiful farm, but it's a very isolated and lonely place, and within a few days, her life starts to get very strange.
Ventre: Laura's lying in bed one night, when she's startled by bright lights pulsing outside her window.
She looks through the window, and she sees a large, disc-shaped craft hovering over the farm.
And eventually, it just flies away.
Equitz: But the disc keeps returning, and on the third night, she's waiting with a pair of binoculars.
narrator: What she observes that night will forever change her life.
Equitz: She gets a good look at this mystery object with the binoculars, and it's clearly an aircraft of some kind.
It's a disc-shaped UFO, and it's hovering just a few meters above the ground, but that's not even the most incredible part.
narrator: Laura observes three small figures walking through the field beneath the UFO.
Suddenly she realizes they are not human.
Equitz: Aliens.
A group of alien creatures have just invaded the family farm not 100 yards away from Laura's front porch.
Moss: Soon they board the flying saucer, and it once again disappears.
Ventre: Of course, this girl is blown away by what she just witnessed.
Anyone would be.
narrator: Laura immediately tells her father and takes him to the porch to see the landing site.
Moss: Her father doesn't know why she's dragging him up there, but she points out a spot in the field, and they both see it.
narrator: A massive crop circle surrounded by several smaller markings is situated in the exact spot where Laura had witnessed the UFO.
Moss: Laura's excited to share this strange evidence with her father, but he doesn't react how she expected.
narrator: Laura's father doesn't say anything, but he quickly heads to the field and mows over the crop circle.
Equitz: Here's Laura's dad, confronted with something strange and frightening, and he doesn't want to acknowledge it.
Instead, he mows over the crop circle, erasing the evidence that anything happened.
She's pretty hurt by her father's response, and the next day, when her parents invite her out on a day trip, she decides to stay home in protest.
narrator: That afternoon, Laura's parents leave her alone on the farm but she does not remain alone for long.
Next Laura Dent's chilling encounter with the men in black.
And later from a clash with the FBI to the seizing of a Navy battleship, MUFON investigates the secret agenda of these mystery men.
Church: There's an ultimate authority that is very invested in denying the public our right to know the truth about UFOs.
narrator: More men in black when we return.
narrator: The MUFON archives in Hangar 1 describe frightening confrontations with mysterious men in black.
In 1981, Laura Dent tells her family about an extraterrestrial encounter on their farm a decision that places Laura in the crosshairs of the men in black.
Equitz: A day after witnessing this strange UFO event, Laura is left home alone on the family farm, but she's not alone for long.
Moss: She sees an old black sedan come rumbling up the driveway.
The first thing that Laura notices is that this car has no plates.
She gets a feeling like something shady is happening, so she decides to hide.
narrator: Laura watches as the black car pulls alongside a field.
[car door opens.]
And then two men in black suits emerge.
They head directly to the area previously marked by a crop circle.
Equitz: Even though the crop circle has been mowed down, these men in black find its original location and start to search the surrounding area.
They take soil samples, grass samples.
They're snapping photos.
Ventre: Laura's watching these strange, uninvited visitors thoroughly combing over her property.
She has no idea why they're there.
And even though she's hiding, she suddenly starts to feel like she's being watched.
The next thing she knows, it's one day later, and she has no clue what happened.
Redfern: Directly after the MIB did appear, Laura had a 24-hour period of missing time which she simply could not account for.
Now, missing time is a staple part of alien-abduction stories, where people are taken away, experimented upon, and then brought back home, but very often their minds are completely wiped clean.
narrator: Laura is distressed about the missing time and the following day her confusion increases when she notices something strange on her hand.
Equitz: She looks down, and there's this triangle on her hand.
It looks like a birthmark, but she never had a birthmark there.
And when she touches it, she suddenly gets a vision of the men in black she'd witnessed the day before, warning her not to attempt to remove the mark and to never tell anyone what she saw.
Mathieson: The fact that something, perhaps, was communicating with her as she touched this place on her hand makes me think that there's some kind of implant technology involved.
I think about what we are studying in our own human science.
We are absolutely looking at implant technologies that would help us do everything from control our computers to communicate virtually with each other, literally using our minds.
Equitz: Laura is so frightened by these men in black, who may have actually implanted her with some kind of exotic technology, that she suffers in silence for decades before finally reporting the encounter to MUFON.
Tittl: This case is a great example of men in black appearing out of nowhere at the site of a UFO encounter and showing no hesitation to intimidate even a little girl and collecting as much information as they could about the UFO's landing.
But what's still very unclear is who they're working for.
Church: Whether these men in black answer to the government, big business, the media, or even an extraterrestrial race, in the end, it's all the same.
There's an ultimate authority that is very invested in denying the public our right to know the truth about UFOs.
narrator: Who is this ultimate authority, and what is their agenda? Equitz: The mystery of who are the men in black extends so far that it's actually been investigated by the government.
Speigel: Even FBI director J.
Edgar Hoover wanted to know what was behind the "men in black" phenomenon.
narrator: 1958, Oklahoma City A concerned citizen writes to the FBI about the harassment of UFO researchers by men wearing dark suits.
Surprisingly, the letter receives a high-level response.
Redfern: This letter finds its way to J.
Edgar Hoover, and amazingly, he responds right away.
"I'm instructing a special agent of our Oklahoma City office to contact you concerning the matter you mentioned.
" Equitz: J.
Edgar Hoover was already paranoid that the military is not sharing the truth about UFOs with him.
So, when this letter lands on his desk, he is eager to investigate.
narrator: December 1958 J.
Edgar Hoover instructs his agents to investigate reports of men in black.
Redfern: At this same time, Hoover is acquiring every periodical he can find that mentions the men in black, and he conducts an internal investigation just to make sure the men in black are not government agents.
And I think this shows that, A, the government believed these "men in black" claims to be real, and, B, the FBI considered the men in black a potential threat to the American public.
Equitz: It's really something when you consider that here we have America's top cop investigating with all the resources of the FBI, and in the end, all he can tell us is, the only thing we know for sure about the men in black is that they exist.
narrator: Is it possible that even the most powerful lawman in America, J.
Edgar Hoover, was unable to determine who these men in black are and who controls them? Equitz: How big of a potential threat are the men in black? Well, according to some accounts, big enough to push around the U.
S.
military.
narrator: When we return, a U.
S.
Navy vessel and its entire crew are commandeered by the men in black.
narrator: According to MUFON files in Hangar 1, stories of the men in black have been tied to UFO sightings for decades.
But who exactly are these mystery men, and how far does their shadowy reach extend? Equitz: How big of a potential threat are the men in black? According to one case in MUFON files, they're big enough to push around the U.
S.
military.
narrator: March 17, 1972 a U.
S.
Navy vessel is docked in Mayport, Florida.
Its entire crew is locked down, unable to leave, as a small group of men in black interrogate every sailor on board.
Equitz: This Navy ship has been commandeered by the men in black because of something that happened at sea the night before.
narrator: March 16, 1972 the Atlantic Ocean the ship is en route to its home port, when a lookout radios his commanding officer about strange activity in the sky.
Equitz: The commanding officer gets a message that there's something unusual in the sky over the ship, but at the same time, he's checking the radar, and it isn't showing anything.
narrator: The ship's master-at-arms is dispatched to confirm the sighting, but when he reaches the lookout's post, there is no one there.
Equitz: The lookout should, of course, be stationed at his post.
but for some reason, he's abandoned it.
Where did he go? The master-at-arms searches the ship and eventually finds him.
It's almost like he's hiding from something.
He's a younger sailor, and he's very rattled.
narrator: The master-at-arms orders the lookout to return to his post and show him the anomaly in the sky.
Ventre: The master-at-arms is probably thinking, "This kid is just going a little stir-crazy on the ship.
" And he says, "Okay, show me.
" And the kid immediately points out something in the sky, and sure enough there's a light up there, and it seems to be following the ship.
Equitz: He gets out a pair of binoculars for a closer look, and it comes into focus.
It's clearly an aircraft, and sure enough, he finds himself getting a close-up look at a flying saucer.
Ventre: The master-at-arms radios the commanding officers and confirms the lookout's sighting.
The crew is really starting to worry, because even though they can see this craft in the sky, it is not being picked up by their radar, and it appears to be pursuing them.
Equitz: Word of this UFO spreads through the ship pretty fast, and soon the crew is crowding around fighting for a look at this thing.
Ventre: Not only are they getting an amazing, clear look at the UFO, they grab some cameras and manage to get it all on film.
[camera shutter clicks.]
narrator: With the UFO confirmed, the ship's captain reports the sighting to their naval command.
Ventre: Here's this Navy crew realizing that they are part of something huge-- a shared close encounter with a UFO, backed up by film, photographs, everything.
They must be thinking that they're about to go down in history, but it doesn't take long for those hopes to get dashed.
Equitz: The captain's commanders order him to return to port immediately and forget about this UFO, as though it's no big deal that a flying saucer is right next to their ship.
narrator: The ship reaches port by morning, but once docked, no one is allowed ashore.
narrator: The experience soon takes an unexpected turn.
Ventre: The ship is boarded by a group of men in black suits.
The sailors don't know who they are, who they represent, but they see their superior officers deferring to these guys, so they follow suit.
narrator: The ship is locked down, and the men in black interrogate every sailor on board.
Ventre: Not only do they grill everyone on board, they also search the ship from top to bottom and confiscate every camera in the place, and the sailors just have to stand there, as every piece of evidence is snatched away from them.
Equitz: What is going on here? I mean, a few guys in dark suits can just board a Navy battleship and start to boss everyone around, and the crew actually listens to them.
I mean, who in the world would have the power to do this? narrator: After hours of interrogation, the crew is finally released, with a warning to never discuss what they saw or their encounter with the men in black.
Harzan: It took 40 years for one of these crewmen to report this incident to MUFON.
I think that's a testament to just how intimidating these men in black can be.
Equitz: These guys aren't FBI or government agents, and yet they have authority over the military.
Maybe they report to a shadow government that wants to suppress all evidence of UFO encounters.
narrator: But just how far will the men in black go to enforce their agenda? Harzan: MUFON has investigated cases that show how quickly an encounter with men in black can escalate.
narrator: Coming up A man who knows too much finds himself in danger of being permanently silenced.
And later MUFON files reveal a new theory about the men in black's true motives.
Equitz: Maybe to the men in black, we are just lab rats in a giant experiment that we don't fully understand.
narrator: When we return.
narrator: MUFON files contain reports of mysterious men in black who intimidate witnesses of UFO activity.
A strange encounter on a New England farm reveals that they may possess inhuman powers.
And a naval incident off the coast of Florida demonstrates that the men in black are powerful enough to take on the U.
S.
military.
But one case illustrates just how far they are willing to go to physically intimidate and threaten UFO whistle-blowers.
Equitz: It doesn't matter if you're a four-star general or an average Joe on the street.
Anyone can become a target.
Harzan: A lot of these reports detail just how quickly an encounter with men in black can turn someone's life upside down.
We have one story that starts out with a man simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
narrator: Louisiana, 1983 Shortly after moving to a new town, Mike Reynolds strikes up a conversation that will change his life forever.
Tittl: One of the first people Mike meets is a retired Air Force major They hit it off right away.
Eventually the major reveals that he had spent his entire military career working at the infamous Area 51 in Nevada.
narrator: At the time, Area 51 is believed by many to be a hub of extraterrestrial reverse engineering.
Moss: Of course, the major was sworn to secrecy about Area 51 when he was in the military, but now that he's getting older, he's starting to have mixed feelings about his work out there.
Well, Mike is very interested in this, and the major takes him aside and starts to spill the beans on everything.
Equitz: Suddenly Mike is getting an earful of highly classified secrets.
The major tells Mike that Area 51 houses recovered alien UFOs and that the military has been reverse engineering this technology for years.
Tittl: And then he tells Mike that he's written a manuscript that is going to reveal everything.
Equitz: It hits Mike.
This is his calling.
He's going to help the major publish his exposé and tell the world the truth about UFOs.
Moss: Mike offers to buy the publishing rights on the spot.
narrator: With the major's rights secured, Mike schedules a series of media appearances.
[static whirring, indistinct chatter.]
Tittl: Mike books a local radio interview, and the general manager of the station seems excited to be part of this.
[telephone ringing.]
narrator: But the night before the interview, the station manager calls to tell Mike about a disturbing encounter with a group of men in black suits.
Tittl: These men in black showed up at the radio station and told the manager to cancel the interview.
They didn't identify themselves as representing any specific agency.
They simply told the manager to cancel the interview, and they did it in a very threatening way.
narrator: The intimidation works, and the interview is canceled.
Equitz: Mike is unsettled by the station manager's story, but not enough to quit.
He's still gonna get this book published.
And a few days later, Mike heads off to Houston to meet with a friend in publishing.
narrator: While driving to Houston, Mike soon notices two black cars that appear to be following him.
Tittl: The drive is almost 300 miles, but every time Mike looks in his rearview mirror, those same two cars are on his tail.
narrator: That evening Mike arrives at his Houston hotel.
But before he can even check in, he is stopped.
Tittl: He's heading into his hotel.
He's got to get ready for his big meeting the next day, when two men wearing black business suits appear out of nowhere.
Moss: These men in black were very grim, stone-faced.
They sort of surround Mike and really get in his face, just short of physically detaining him.
narrator: The men do not identify themselves.
They stare into Mike's eyes and coldly declare that he is not to publish the book.
Moss: These mysterious, strange men are trying to influence Mike, and he still has no idea why or even who they are.
And when he questions them, they don't reply.
They simply restate their demand, worded exactly the same way each time.
Redfern: In many of these encounters, men in black are described as having an almost robotic way of speaking-- stoic, to the point, and repetitive.
Now, does this mean there's something inhuman about them, or are these mannerisms another tool of psychological intimidation.
Tittl: After a few minutes of this weird encounter, the men leave.
Mike feels slightly dazed.
He doesn't seem to remember actually seeing them walk or drive away.
They're just sort of gone.
Moss: Mike is disturbed by this encounter, but he has no plans to quit.
He checks into his room, and a few hours later, he remembers that he left the major's manuscript in the trunk of his car.
Tittl: Mike walks out to the parking lot to grab the manuscript.
He opens his trunk, and it's gone.
But when he turns around, that's when he gets the real surprise.
Moss: The men in black are right there, almost pinning Mike against his car.
It's the middle of the night.
There's nobody else around.
And this time they tell Mike in no uncertain terms, "Stop your actions, or your family will suffer.
" Tittl: And that's when Mike decides to take their advice.
He abandons the project and heads home.
Equitz: The major must've been paid a visit too, because when Mike returns home, the major won't speak to him about anything, and his manuscript is never published by anyone.
Church: We see this time and time again, and they know how to expertly target witnesses.
They will continue to escalate and, in this case, threatening a man's family until they get what they want, and what they want is for the public to keep going about their business and not ask any questions about UFOs.
narrator: Hangar 1 files reveal that these encounters also occur in other parts of the world.
Could there be a connection? When we return, one young girl's 1962 encounter could take us closer to unlocking the men in black's secret agenda.
narrator: Inside Hangar 1, MUFON files reveal terrifying encounters between UFO witnesses and the men in black.
But some cases reveal a very different side to these mysterious strangers that leads many to question what their real agenda might be.
Redfern: Not every "men in black" story involves witnesses being terrorized by menacing men in dark suits.
Some of these encounters can be more subdued.
narrator: 1962, Somerset, England 16-year-old Anne Henson is woken late one summer night by strange lights outside her window.
Redfern: Anne goes to her window for a closer look and sees what she describes as a circle of light with rays coming from it.
Anne watches this bright craft hovering about in the sky, darting back and forth between her home and some nearby hills.
It's glowing, cycling through many bright colors, and generally acting very playfully.
narrator: Anne observes the UFO's actions all night until it finally disappears at dawn.
Redfern: She has no idea what she's just seen, but naturally she's fascinated.
The next night, she stays awake, hoping it will make a second appearance, and it actually does.
narrator: On the second night, Anne begins to track the exact movements of the UFO.
Tittl: It goes on like this-- the mysterious glowing craft just showing up a few nights a week, and Anne continues to track its progress.
Well, eventually she decides it's time to call in the professionals.
narrator: Anne's parents encourage her to write a letter to the Royal Air Force describing the encounters.
Several weeks later, there is a knock on her door.
Redfern: One evening after contacting the RAF, a man arrives at Anne's house.
She's thrilled that someone is actually responding to her letter, but she also remembers being a bit disappointed that this visitor was not wearing a military uniform.
narrator: She describes the man as serious and quiet.
He is wearing a black suit and tie.
Redfern: Years later, Anne Henson remembers that this visitor never actually identified himself as being from their local RAF base.
She simply assumed that's where he came from.
Equitz: Anne's parents agree to let her host this visitor, hoping that he can provide some answers.
Redfern: They watch the sky for hours with no sign of the UFO.
The whole time he barely says a word.
He just sits there, waiting and waiting.
When the sun finally rises, he leaves.
Anne feels embarrassed that she wasted his time, but surprisingly, the next night he shows up again, and he keeps coming back.
narrator: Finally, one night something appears in the sky.
Redfern: Anne's UFO comes back.
She's thrilled that she now has a witness to this, but according to Anne, the man in black barely reacts.
He snaps a few pictures of the flying light, acting like it's no big deal.
[camera shutter clicks.]
Tittl: The UFO is still flying around outside the window, but after taking a few pictures, the man in black gets up, takes his camera, along with Anne's notes and graphs, and promptly leaves.
She never sees him again.
Equitz: Think about this-- It seems like this man in black wasn't as interested in the UFO itself as he was about simply verifying that Anne did, in fact, see something.
Redfern: In 1993, a number of British military files were declassified.
And using these files, we've been able to learn everything about Anne's "man in black" encounter.
narrator: According to government files, Anne Henson was indeed visited on several occasions by a sergeant from the Royal Air Force.
Tittl: This case suggests that the men in black may have some official connection to the government or military.
But this man's behavior is still quite unusual and indicates that in some instances, they may be more interested in gathering witness information rather than intimidating them.
Redfern: So, in this case, we've been able to definitively tie a government organization to a "man in black" encounter, but this doesn't necessarily mean that all men in black can be explained away so neatly.
Equitz: From Anne Henson's story, we see that she wasn't harmed or threatened by her encounter, but there are many other cases that suggest the last thing you ever want to do is invite a man in black into your house.
narrator: When we return a London couple's home is invaded and their encounter reveals what could be the true agenda behind the men in black.
narrator: MUFON files contain stories of the infamous men in black--unknown agents who prevent UFO witnesses from publicly revealing their encounters.
Tittl: There have been countless claims that the men in black may be of alien origin, but, at the same time, could also fit into a government disinformation campaign.
There are cases like Mike Reynolds' account, where no matter what their origin, the men in black appear to be highly threatening.
And then there are stories like Anne Henson's, where the men in black only seemed interested in observing her encounter.
Bara: With all these wildly different case files, it makes sense that when we say "men in black," we may actually be talking about multiple groups without even knowing it.
narrator: MUFON files suggest that perhaps some men in black are not as interested in UFO encounters as they are in studying the witnesses themselves.
Equitz: There's a very chilling alternate explanation to some of these reports, and that's maybe, to the men in black, we are just lab rats in a giant experiment that we don't fully understand.
Redfern: There are these cases where it appears that they're actually trying to gather information, and that's exactly what happened when a good friend of mine came home to find a man in black waiting in his living room.
narrator: 1980, London, England a Notting Hill couple, Colin and Mary, approach their apartment building on a brisk evening, but before they can enter, they find themselves immersed in a pool of light.
Redfern: Suddenly, it's like someone shining a spotlight down on them.
They look up and were shocked to see this bright, pulsing, ethereal UFO hovering overhead.
And as they're trying to understand just what they're looking at, the UFO starts to change in front of their very eyes.
narrator: The couple look up as the UFO proceeds to shape-shift, taking on a sleek triangular design before racing away into the night sky.
Equitz: Once the UFO zooms away, the couple heads into their apartment.
They're eager to discuss what they just saw, but when they open the door, they're faced with another disturbing surprise.
Someone is inside their apartment waiting for them.
narrator: A stranger in a black suit is sitting in the living room as though he is expecting the couple.
Redfern: In all the excitement, Colin's girlfriend, Mary, neglected to tell him about this visitor who had shown up earlier, claiming to be visiting a friend who lived upstairs.
He explained that his friend wasn't home yet and asked if he could wait in Colin and Mary's apartment.
Equitz: This strange man had shown up earlier and asked to wait inside the house, and Mary, against her better judgment, just did whatever he asked.
She can't even remember why she did it.
It's like her mind was clouded.
narrator: But what exactly does this man in black want? Redfern: Colin and Mary are now sitting in their living room with this odd stranger in a black suit, and they start to talk about what they just witnessed outside-- a shape-shifting UFO above the building.
Equitz: This guy doesn't laugh at their claim.
He also doesn't show any amazement or skepticism, but he's very interested in hearing every detail about what they witnessed.
Redfern: Mary would later describe that she felt like he was mentally grading them-- not their descriptions of the UFO, but their reactions to it.
narrator: Colin and Mary feel oddly compelled to tell the man everything about their sighting.
Redfern: When they finish their story, the man says that he's decided not to wait for his friend after all and excuses himself, never to be seen again.
Equitz: Of course, later they find out their neighbor had not been expecting any friend that evening.
Redfern: This challenges a lot of our previous assumptions about the men in black.
We tend to believe that they're focused on either suppressing or learning more about UFO events and that witnesses are merely a tool to accomplish these ends.
But what if it's the witnesses themselves who are the true focus of the men in black? narrator: Does the man in black's arrival before the UFO indicate that Colin and Mary's sighting was somehow preordained? Could it be that the man in black was trying to gauge the couple's reaction? Were they subjects in some kind of experiment? Equitz: If the men in black have some kind of greater plan, then it could be that we are just pawns in their agenda.
narrator: Do some men in black report to an alien authority sent to test our reaction to extraterrestrial visits? Or is the confusion caused by these men in black part of a government disinformation campaign to suppress credible evidence of UFOs? Equitz: These are just the cases we know about from those who were brave enough to come forward, but what about the ones we never get to hear? How many others are out there with similar experiences but too afraid to report them? narrator: Whether alien or human, it seems clear that the men in black do exist and function in multiple ways.
While much about the men in black remains a mystery, the unpredictable pattern of their appearances suggests that if you ever witness a UFO, you might soon find the men in black on your doorstep.
Ventre: A soldier's patrolling this base adjacent to the desert, and suddenly he sees something big come rising over a mountain range.
Equitz: It's this brilliant, glowing object in the sky, a blue light that is burning so brightly, he can't actually make out what's under the light.
Ventre: And soon he's able to tell that this is some kind of almond-shaped aircraft about 100 feet across.
narrator: According to the witness, the mysterious craft hovered over the mountains.
At certain points, its lights dim, and it seems to vanish only to reappear moments later in a nearby location.
Equitz: He knows this isn't a military aircraft, because as part of his job, he would have been notified ahead of time about any kind of activity on the base, not to mention that his UFO appears to be somehow teleporting to different locations in the area.
narrator: Little does the soldier know that this will not be his only disturbing encounter of the evening.
Ventre: The soldier radios in to report the sighting, and this is when he gets his first hint that something's wrong.
As soon as he mentions the UFO, his superior stops replying to him, and someone else comes on the line.
[man speaking indistinctly over radio.]
It's a voice he's never heard before.
narrator: The soldier is ordered to abort his patrol and immediately report to the Provost Marshal's office.
Ventre: As soon as the soldier walks in, he's handcuffed, treated like a criminal.
Equitz: There's a general waiting for him, but not one that he knows from the base, and the general isn't alone.
He's accompanied by two mysterious men wearing identical black suits.
narrator: The soldier is taken to an isolated room where men in black suits proceed to interrogate him about the UFO sighting.
Equitz: These guys don't identify themselves as being from the military, law enforcement, intelligence agencies, or anything.
They just start in with the questions.
[clock ticking.]
Ventre: They grill him for hours about every detail of this UFO sighting.
[ticking continues.]
Keep in mind, the actual UFO sighting lasted a few minutes, but they keep asking him the same questions over and over again in excruciating detail.
Equitz: When they're finally finished, the soldier is ordered to never mention the sighting or his meeting with the two men in black.
narrator: One of the men in black takes him aside and whispers a final warning.
Ventre: He points out the desert surrounding the military base.
He tells the soldier if he doesn't heed their warning and keep his mouth shut about the UFO, "Well, this is a big desert.
"It would take a long time for someone to find your body out there.
" Equitz: It's only when he retires, after two decades of constantly looking over his shoulder for these mysterious men, that he finally reports the encounter.
Harzan: This is just one of perhaps 100 UFO cases in our files involving men in black, and the most consistent thing about these reports is just how inconsistent these various encounters could be.
Ventre: When you take all of these case files into account, it might be possible that there isn't just one single "men in black" entity.
When we talk about men in black, we could be talking about a lot of different things.
narrator: Reports of the men in black suddenly appearing in the aftermath of a UFO event have occurred since the 1950s.
They are said to intimidate UFO witnesses into silence about their encounters.
Who do these mystery men work for? And what is their ultimate agenda? MUFON opens its files to learn the identity of the men in black right now.
The Mutual UFO Network, known as MUFON, is an independent organization not bound to any government.
They investigate reports of UFO sightings from around the world.
Over the past five decades, they have collected more than 70,000 files, stored at a secure location known as Hangar 1.
Now, for the first time, MUFON is granting access to their vast archive.
These are the files of Hangar 1.
Stories of the men in black have been part of UFO lore for decades unidentified men who use fear and intimidation to threaten UFO witnesses.
Their identity remains a mystery, and in some instances, they may not even be human.
Equitz: Everyone's heard of the men in black, because the concept has become so ingrained in our pop culture, but if you look into their history, the men in black are a lot more mysterious and frightening than what you might see on the movie screen.
Speigel: The whole idea about the men in black is, who are they? Who are they working for? Why would they show up just to tell people to keep quiet about their UFO experience.
narrator: MUFON files reveal one harrowing event and its impact on the life of a young UFO witness.
May 1981 Laura Dent has just relocated with her parents to a farm in Union, Maine.
The remote property is secluded on 170 acres of land.
Equitz: Almost immediately, Laura has an uneasy feeling about her new home.
It's a beautiful farm, but it's a very isolated and lonely place, and within a few days, her life starts to get very strange.
Ventre: Laura's lying in bed one night, when she's startled by bright lights pulsing outside her window.
She looks through the window, and she sees a large, disc-shaped craft hovering over the farm.
And eventually, it just flies away.
Equitz: But the disc keeps returning, and on the third night, she's waiting with a pair of binoculars.
narrator: What she observes that night will forever change her life.
Equitz: She gets a good look at this mystery object with the binoculars, and it's clearly an aircraft of some kind.
It's a disc-shaped UFO, and it's hovering just a few meters above the ground, but that's not even the most incredible part.
narrator: Laura observes three small figures walking through the field beneath the UFO.
Suddenly she realizes they are not human.
Equitz: Aliens.
A group of alien creatures have just invaded the family farm not 100 yards away from Laura's front porch.
Moss: Soon they board the flying saucer, and it once again disappears.
Ventre: Of course, this girl is blown away by what she just witnessed.
Anyone would be.
narrator: Laura immediately tells her father and takes him to the porch to see the landing site.
Moss: Her father doesn't know why she's dragging him up there, but she points out a spot in the field, and they both see it.
narrator: A massive crop circle surrounded by several smaller markings is situated in the exact spot where Laura had witnessed the UFO.
Moss: Laura's excited to share this strange evidence with her father, but he doesn't react how she expected.
narrator: Laura's father doesn't say anything, but he quickly heads to the field and mows over the crop circle.
Equitz: Here's Laura's dad, confronted with something strange and frightening, and he doesn't want to acknowledge it.
Instead, he mows over the crop circle, erasing the evidence that anything happened.
She's pretty hurt by her father's response, and the next day, when her parents invite her out on a day trip, she decides to stay home in protest.
narrator: That afternoon, Laura's parents leave her alone on the farm but she does not remain alone for long.
Next Laura Dent's chilling encounter with the men in black.
And later from a clash with the FBI to the seizing of a Navy battleship, MUFON investigates the secret agenda of these mystery men.
Church: There's an ultimate authority that is very invested in denying the public our right to know the truth about UFOs.
narrator: More men in black when we return.
narrator: The MUFON archives in Hangar 1 describe frightening confrontations with mysterious men in black.
In 1981, Laura Dent tells her family about an extraterrestrial encounter on their farm a decision that places Laura in the crosshairs of the men in black.
Equitz: A day after witnessing this strange UFO event, Laura is left home alone on the family farm, but she's not alone for long.
Moss: She sees an old black sedan come rumbling up the driveway.
The first thing that Laura notices is that this car has no plates.
She gets a feeling like something shady is happening, so she decides to hide.
narrator: Laura watches as the black car pulls alongside a field.
[car door opens.]
And then two men in black suits emerge.
They head directly to the area previously marked by a crop circle.
Equitz: Even though the crop circle has been mowed down, these men in black find its original location and start to search the surrounding area.
They take soil samples, grass samples.
They're snapping photos.
Ventre: Laura's watching these strange, uninvited visitors thoroughly combing over her property.
She has no idea why they're there.
And even though she's hiding, she suddenly starts to feel like she's being watched.
The next thing she knows, it's one day later, and she has no clue what happened.
Redfern: Directly after the MIB did appear, Laura had a 24-hour period of missing time which she simply could not account for.
Now, missing time is a staple part of alien-abduction stories, where people are taken away, experimented upon, and then brought back home, but very often their minds are completely wiped clean.
narrator: Laura is distressed about the missing time and the following day her confusion increases when she notices something strange on her hand.
Equitz: She looks down, and there's this triangle on her hand.
It looks like a birthmark, but she never had a birthmark there.
And when she touches it, she suddenly gets a vision of the men in black she'd witnessed the day before, warning her not to attempt to remove the mark and to never tell anyone what she saw.
Mathieson: The fact that something, perhaps, was communicating with her as she touched this place on her hand makes me think that there's some kind of implant technology involved.
I think about what we are studying in our own human science.
We are absolutely looking at implant technologies that would help us do everything from control our computers to communicate virtually with each other, literally using our minds.
Equitz: Laura is so frightened by these men in black, who may have actually implanted her with some kind of exotic technology, that she suffers in silence for decades before finally reporting the encounter to MUFON.
Tittl: This case is a great example of men in black appearing out of nowhere at the site of a UFO encounter and showing no hesitation to intimidate even a little girl and collecting as much information as they could about the UFO's landing.
But what's still very unclear is who they're working for.
Church: Whether these men in black answer to the government, big business, the media, or even an extraterrestrial race, in the end, it's all the same.
There's an ultimate authority that is very invested in denying the public our right to know the truth about UFOs.
narrator: Who is this ultimate authority, and what is their agenda? Equitz: The mystery of who are the men in black extends so far that it's actually been investigated by the government.
Speigel: Even FBI director J.
Edgar Hoover wanted to know what was behind the "men in black" phenomenon.
narrator: 1958, Oklahoma City A concerned citizen writes to the FBI about the harassment of UFO researchers by men wearing dark suits.
Surprisingly, the letter receives a high-level response.
Redfern: This letter finds its way to J.
Edgar Hoover, and amazingly, he responds right away.
"I'm instructing a special agent of our Oklahoma City office to contact you concerning the matter you mentioned.
" Equitz: J.
Edgar Hoover was already paranoid that the military is not sharing the truth about UFOs with him.
So, when this letter lands on his desk, he is eager to investigate.
narrator: December 1958 J.
Edgar Hoover instructs his agents to investigate reports of men in black.
Redfern: At this same time, Hoover is acquiring every periodical he can find that mentions the men in black, and he conducts an internal investigation just to make sure the men in black are not government agents.
And I think this shows that, A, the government believed these "men in black" claims to be real, and, B, the FBI considered the men in black a potential threat to the American public.
Equitz: It's really something when you consider that here we have America's top cop investigating with all the resources of the FBI, and in the end, all he can tell us is, the only thing we know for sure about the men in black is that they exist.
narrator: Is it possible that even the most powerful lawman in America, J.
Edgar Hoover, was unable to determine who these men in black are and who controls them? Equitz: How big of a potential threat are the men in black? Well, according to some accounts, big enough to push around the U.
S.
military.
narrator: When we return, a U.
S.
Navy vessel and its entire crew are commandeered by the men in black.
narrator: According to MUFON files in Hangar 1, stories of the men in black have been tied to UFO sightings for decades.
But who exactly are these mystery men, and how far does their shadowy reach extend? Equitz: How big of a potential threat are the men in black? According to one case in MUFON files, they're big enough to push around the U.
S.
military.
narrator: March 17, 1972 a U.
S.
Navy vessel is docked in Mayport, Florida.
Its entire crew is locked down, unable to leave, as a small group of men in black interrogate every sailor on board.
Equitz: This Navy ship has been commandeered by the men in black because of something that happened at sea the night before.
narrator: March 16, 1972 the Atlantic Ocean the ship is en route to its home port, when a lookout radios his commanding officer about strange activity in the sky.
Equitz: The commanding officer gets a message that there's something unusual in the sky over the ship, but at the same time, he's checking the radar, and it isn't showing anything.
narrator: The ship's master-at-arms is dispatched to confirm the sighting, but when he reaches the lookout's post, there is no one there.
Equitz: The lookout should, of course, be stationed at his post.
but for some reason, he's abandoned it.
Where did he go? The master-at-arms searches the ship and eventually finds him.
It's almost like he's hiding from something.
He's a younger sailor, and he's very rattled.
narrator: The master-at-arms orders the lookout to return to his post and show him the anomaly in the sky.
Ventre: The master-at-arms is probably thinking, "This kid is just going a little stir-crazy on the ship.
" And he says, "Okay, show me.
" And the kid immediately points out something in the sky, and sure enough there's a light up there, and it seems to be following the ship.
Equitz: He gets out a pair of binoculars for a closer look, and it comes into focus.
It's clearly an aircraft, and sure enough, he finds himself getting a close-up look at a flying saucer.
Ventre: The master-at-arms radios the commanding officers and confirms the lookout's sighting.
The crew is really starting to worry, because even though they can see this craft in the sky, it is not being picked up by their radar, and it appears to be pursuing them.
Equitz: Word of this UFO spreads through the ship pretty fast, and soon the crew is crowding around fighting for a look at this thing.
Ventre: Not only are they getting an amazing, clear look at the UFO, they grab some cameras and manage to get it all on film.
[camera shutter clicks.]
narrator: With the UFO confirmed, the ship's captain reports the sighting to their naval command.
Ventre: Here's this Navy crew realizing that they are part of something huge-- a shared close encounter with a UFO, backed up by film, photographs, everything.
They must be thinking that they're about to go down in history, but it doesn't take long for those hopes to get dashed.
Equitz: The captain's commanders order him to return to port immediately and forget about this UFO, as though it's no big deal that a flying saucer is right next to their ship.
narrator: The ship reaches port by morning, but once docked, no one is allowed ashore.
narrator: The experience soon takes an unexpected turn.
Ventre: The ship is boarded by a group of men in black suits.
The sailors don't know who they are, who they represent, but they see their superior officers deferring to these guys, so they follow suit.
narrator: The ship is locked down, and the men in black interrogate every sailor on board.
Ventre: Not only do they grill everyone on board, they also search the ship from top to bottom and confiscate every camera in the place, and the sailors just have to stand there, as every piece of evidence is snatched away from them.
Equitz: What is going on here? I mean, a few guys in dark suits can just board a Navy battleship and start to boss everyone around, and the crew actually listens to them.
I mean, who in the world would have the power to do this? narrator: After hours of interrogation, the crew is finally released, with a warning to never discuss what they saw or their encounter with the men in black.
Harzan: It took 40 years for one of these crewmen to report this incident to MUFON.
I think that's a testament to just how intimidating these men in black can be.
Equitz: These guys aren't FBI or government agents, and yet they have authority over the military.
Maybe they report to a shadow government that wants to suppress all evidence of UFO encounters.
narrator: But just how far will the men in black go to enforce their agenda? Harzan: MUFON has investigated cases that show how quickly an encounter with men in black can escalate.
narrator: Coming up A man who knows too much finds himself in danger of being permanently silenced.
And later MUFON files reveal a new theory about the men in black's true motives.
Equitz: Maybe to the men in black, we are just lab rats in a giant experiment that we don't fully understand.
narrator: When we return.
narrator: MUFON files contain reports of mysterious men in black who intimidate witnesses of UFO activity.
A strange encounter on a New England farm reveals that they may possess inhuman powers.
And a naval incident off the coast of Florida demonstrates that the men in black are powerful enough to take on the U.
S.
military.
But one case illustrates just how far they are willing to go to physically intimidate and threaten UFO whistle-blowers.
Equitz: It doesn't matter if you're a four-star general or an average Joe on the street.
Anyone can become a target.
Harzan: A lot of these reports detail just how quickly an encounter with men in black can turn someone's life upside down.
We have one story that starts out with a man simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
narrator: Louisiana, 1983 Shortly after moving to a new town, Mike Reynolds strikes up a conversation that will change his life forever.
Tittl: One of the first people Mike meets is a retired Air Force major They hit it off right away.
Eventually the major reveals that he had spent his entire military career working at the infamous Area 51 in Nevada.
narrator: At the time, Area 51 is believed by many to be a hub of extraterrestrial reverse engineering.
Moss: Of course, the major was sworn to secrecy about Area 51 when he was in the military, but now that he's getting older, he's starting to have mixed feelings about his work out there.
Well, Mike is very interested in this, and the major takes him aside and starts to spill the beans on everything.
Equitz: Suddenly Mike is getting an earful of highly classified secrets.
The major tells Mike that Area 51 houses recovered alien UFOs and that the military has been reverse engineering this technology for years.
Tittl: And then he tells Mike that he's written a manuscript that is going to reveal everything.
Equitz: It hits Mike.
This is his calling.
He's going to help the major publish his exposé and tell the world the truth about UFOs.
Moss: Mike offers to buy the publishing rights on the spot.
narrator: With the major's rights secured, Mike schedules a series of media appearances.
[static whirring, indistinct chatter.]
Tittl: Mike books a local radio interview, and the general manager of the station seems excited to be part of this.
[telephone ringing.]
narrator: But the night before the interview, the station manager calls to tell Mike about a disturbing encounter with a group of men in black suits.
Tittl: These men in black showed up at the radio station and told the manager to cancel the interview.
They didn't identify themselves as representing any specific agency.
They simply told the manager to cancel the interview, and they did it in a very threatening way.
narrator: The intimidation works, and the interview is canceled.
Equitz: Mike is unsettled by the station manager's story, but not enough to quit.
He's still gonna get this book published.
And a few days later, Mike heads off to Houston to meet with a friend in publishing.
narrator: While driving to Houston, Mike soon notices two black cars that appear to be following him.
Tittl: The drive is almost 300 miles, but every time Mike looks in his rearview mirror, those same two cars are on his tail.
narrator: That evening Mike arrives at his Houston hotel.
But before he can even check in, he is stopped.
Tittl: He's heading into his hotel.
He's got to get ready for his big meeting the next day, when two men wearing black business suits appear out of nowhere.
Moss: These men in black were very grim, stone-faced.
They sort of surround Mike and really get in his face, just short of physically detaining him.
narrator: The men do not identify themselves.
They stare into Mike's eyes and coldly declare that he is not to publish the book.
Moss: These mysterious, strange men are trying to influence Mike, and he still has no idea why or even who they are.
And when he questions them, they don't reply.
They simply restate their demand, worded exactly the same way each time.
Redfern: In many of these encounters, men in black are described as having an almost robotic way of speaking-- stoic, to the point, and repetitive.
Now, does this mean there's something inhuman about them, or are these mannerisms another tool of psychological intimidation.
Tittl: After a few minutes of this weird encounter, the men leave.
Mike feels slightly dazed.
He doesn't seem to remember actually seeing them walk or drive away.
They're just sort of gone.
Moss: Mike is disturbed by this encounter, but he has no plans to quit.
He checks into his room, and a few hours later, he remembers that he left the major's manuscript in the trunk of his car.
Tittl: Mike walks out to the parking lot to grab the manuscript.
He opens his trunk, and it's gone.
But when he turns around, that's when he gets the real surprise.
Moss: The men in black are right there, almost pinning Mike against his car.
It's the middle of the night.
There's nobody else around.
And this time they tell Mike in no uncertain terms, "Stop your actions, or your family will suffer.
" Tittl: And that's when Mike decides to take their advice.
He abandons the project and heads home.
Equitz: The major must've been paid a visit too, because when Mike returns home, the major won't speak to him about anything, and his manuscript is never published by anyone.
Church: We see this time and time again, and they know how to expertly target witnesses.
They will continue to escalate and, in this case, threatening a man's family until they get what they want, and what they want is for the public to keep going about their business and not ask any questions about UFOs.
narrator: Hangar 1 files reveal that these encounters also occur in other parts of the world.
Could there be a connection? When we return, one young girl's 1962 encounter could take us closer to unlocking the men in black's secret agenda.
narrator: Inside Hangar 1, MUFON files reveal terrifying encounters between UFO witnesses and the men in black.
But some cases reveal a very different side to these mysterious strangers that leads many to question what their real agenda might be.
Redfern: Not every "men in black" story involves witnesses being terrorized by menacing men in dark suits.
Some of these encounters can be more subdued.
narrator: 1962, Somerset, England 16-year-old Anne Henson is woken late one summer night by strange lights outside her window.
Redfern: Anne goes to her window for a closer look and sees what she describes as a circle of light with rays coming from it.
Anne watches this bright craft hovering about in the sky, darting back and forth between her home and some nearby hills.
It's glowing, cycling through many bright colors, and generally acting very playfully.
narrator: Anne observes the UFO's actions all night until it finally disappears at dawn.
Redfern: She has no idea what she's just seen, but naturally she's fascinated.
The next night, she stays awake, hoping it will make a second appearance, and it actually does.
narrator: On the second night, Anne begins to track the exact movements of the UFO.
Tittl: It goes on like this-- the mysterious glowing craft just showing up a few nights a week, and Anne continues to track its progress.
Well, eventually she decides it's time to call in the professionals.
narrator: Anne's parents encourage her to write a letter to the Royal Air Force describing the encounters.
Several weeks later, there is a knock on her door.
Redfern: One evening after contacting the RAF, a man arrives at Anne's house.
She's thrilled that someone is actually responding to her letter, but she also remembers being a bit disappointed that this visitor was not wearing a military uniform.
narrator: She describes the man as serious and quiet.
He is wearing a black suit and tie.
Redfern: Years later, Anne Henson remembers that this visitor never actually identified himself as being from their local RAF base.
She simply assumed that's where he came from.
Equitz: Anne's parents agree to let her host this visitor, hoping that he can provide some answers.
Redfern: They watch the sky for hours with no sign of the UFO.
The whole time he barely says a word.
He just sits there, waiting and waiting.
When the sun finally rises, he leaves.
Anne feels embarrassed that she wasted his time, but surprisingly, the next night he shows up again, and he keeps coming back.
narrator: Finally, one night something appears in the sky.
Redfern: Anne's UFO comes back.
She's thrilled that she now has a witness to this, but according to Anne, the man in black barely reacts.
He snaps a few pictures of the flying light, acting like it's no big deal.
[camera shutter clicks.]
Tittl: The UFO is still flying around outside the window, but after taking a few pictures, the man in black gets up, takes his camera, along with Anne's notes and graphs, and promptly leaves.
She never sees him again.
Equitz: Think about this-- It seems like this man in black wasn't as interested in the UFO itself as he was about simply verifying that Anne did, in fact, see something.
Redfern: In 1993, a number of British military files were declassified.
And using these files, we've been able to learn everything about Anne's "man in black" encounter.
narrator: According to government files, Anne Henson was indeed visited on several occasions by a sergeant from the Royal Air Force.
Tittl: This case suggests that the men in black may have some official connection to the government or military.
But this man's behavior is still quite unusual and indicates that in some instances, they may be more interested in gathering witness information rather than intimidating them.
Redfern: So, in this case, we've been able to definitively tie a government organization to a "man in black" encounter, but this doesn't necessarily mean that all men in black can be explained away so neatly.
Equitz: From Anne Henson's story, we see that she wasn't harmed or threatened by her encounter, but there are many other cases that suggest the last thing you ever want to do is invite a man in black into your house.
narrator: When we return a London couple's home is invaded and their encounter reveals what could be the true agenda behind the men in black.
narrator: MUFON files contain stories of the infamous men in black--unknown agents who prevent UFO witnesses from publicly revealing their encounters.
Tittl: There have been countless claims that the men in black may be of alien origin, but, at the same time, could also fit into a government disinformation campaign.
There are cases like Mike Reynolds' account, where no matter what their origin, the men in black appear to be highly threatening.
And then there are stories like Anne Henson's, where the men in black only seemed interested in observing her encounter.
Bara: With all these wildly different case files, it makes sense that when we say "men in black," we may actually be talking about multiple groups without even knowing it.
narrator: MUFON files suggest that perhaps some men in black are not as interested in UFO encounters as they are in studying the witnesses themselves.
Equitz: There's a very chilling alternate explanation to some of these reports, and that's maybe, to the men in black, we are just lab rats in a giant experiment that we don't fully understand.
Redfern: There are these cases where it appears that they're actually trying to gather information, and that's exactly what happened when a good friend of mine came home to find a man in black waiting in his living room.
narrator: 1980, London, England a Notting Hill couple, Colin and Mary, approach their apartment building on a brisk evening, but before they can enter, they find themselves immersed in a pool of light.
Redfern: Suddenly, it's like someone shining a spotlight down on them.
They look up and were shocked to see this bright, pulsing, ethereal UFO hovering overhead.
And as they're trying to understand just what they're looking at, the UFO starts to change in front of their very eyes.
narrator: The couple look up as the UFO proceeds to shape-shift, taking on a sleek triangular design before racing away into the night sky.
Equitz: Once the UFO zooms away, the couple heads into their apartment.
They're eager to discuss what they just saw, but when they open the door, they're faced with another disturbing surprise.
Someone is inside their apartment waiting for them.
narrator: A stranger in a black suit is sitting in the living room as though he is expecting the couple.
Redfern: In all the excitement, Colin's girlfriend, Mary, neglected to tell him about this visitor who had shown up earlier, claiming to be visiting a friend who lived upstairs.
He explained that his friend wasn't home yet and asked if he could wait in Colin and Mary's apartment.
Equitz: This strange man had shown up earlier and asked to wait inside the house, and Mary, against her better judgment, just did whatever he asked.
She can't even remember why she did it.
It's like her mind was clouded.
narrator: But what exactly does this man in black want? Redfern: Colin and Mary are now sitting in their living room with this odd stranger in a black suit, and they start to talk about what they just witnessed outside-- a shape-shifting UFO above the building.
Equitz: This guy doesn't laugh at their claim.
He also doesn't show any amazement or skepticism, but he's very interested in hearing every detail about what they witnessed.
Redfern: Mary would later describe that she felt like he was mentally grading them-- not their descriptions of the UFO, but their reactions to it.
narrator: Colin and Mary feel oddly compelled to tell the man everything about their sighting.
Redfern: When they finish their story, the man says that he's decided not to wait for his friend after all and excuses himself, never to be seen again.
Equitz: Of course, later they find out their neighbor had not been expecting any friend that evening.
Redfern: This challenges a lot of our previous assumptions about the men in black.
We tend to believe that they're focused on either suppressing or learning more about UFO events and that witnesses are merely a tool to accomplish these ends.
But what if it's the witnesses themselves who are the true focus of the men in black? narrator: Does the man in black's arrival before the UFO indicate that Colin and Mary's sighting was somehow preordained? Could it be that the man in black was trying to gauge the couple's reaction? Were they subjects in some kind of experiment? Equitz: If the men in black have some kind of greater plan, then it could be that we are just pawns in their agenda.
narrator: Do some men in black report to an alien authority sent to test our reaction to extraterrestrial visits? Or is the confusion caused by these men in black part of a government disinformation campaign to suppress credible evidence of UFOs? Equitz: These are just the cases we know about from those who were brave enough to come forward, but what about the ones we never get to hear? How many others are out there with similar experiences but too afraid to report them? narrator: Whether alien or human, it seems clear that the men in black do exist and function in multiple ways.
While much about the men in black remains a mystery, the unpredictable pattern of their appearances suggests that if you ever witness a UFO, you might soon find the men in black on your doorstep.