“The UFO business is emotional quicksand. The more you struggle with it, the deeper you sink.”
—John A. Keel
In the spirit of open discourse, I’d like to present several items that are troubling me. I know I’m several years behind these, as I was without Internet access from 2007 until 2011.
Life happened; I’ll spare you the details. I’m asking for help from anyone here willing to offer it.
1. What happened to investigator/author Martin Cannon?
2. What happened to investigator/author Philip Imbrogno?
I assume there’s no harm in asking questions. Here’s what little I do know.
Martin Cannon: I’m reasonably sure I’ve read everything he published, including interviews, comments on others’ websites, etc. Of course, I cannot be certain of this, but have read his primary works. I know he received threats, some apparently from official organizations, many from various individuals. Question: did he simply “drop out” of UFO/paranormal/mind-control research? If so, did he make any public statements in this regard? I’m aware he made some retractions of certain data in The Controllers, after determining some of his subjects were mentally ill. This is all I know.
Philip Imbrogno: I’ve read his Night Siege, Contact of the 5th Kind, and Interdimensional Universe. Plus have seen him interviewed on an old VHS, UFO Sightings: Photographic Evidence, and on TV during the Hudson Valley “black triangle” flap. As we all should know, forgive me, photographic evidence is worthless. Just because you snapped a shot of something unusual, doesn’t mean you’ve captured evidence of extraterrestrial presence. Not even close.
What I’ve gathered from the Internet are accusations that he faked certain background credits regarding education, military service, etc. Though I conversed (at Mothman Fest 2009 in Point Pleasant, WV) briefly with Imbrogno’s co-author, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, this probably predated the accusations.
The Internet tells me Imbrogno quit all investigation and was not responding to any inquiries. My guess is that he was barraged by e-mails and telephone calls, so cut these off.
Question: is Imbrogno still out there? Has he responded to these serious matters?
For what it’s worth, he wasn’t the most polished of writers, but that never prevented me (and many others) from enjoying his work. Perhaps I’m overly trusting, but Philip Imbrogno struck me as a serious researcher and a “nice guy.” No, I do not agree with everything he claimed, but I can say that about anyone working in this field.
I’d be grateful for any help in these matters.
Serious exploration of UFO/paranormal phenomena can in fact be hazardous on many levels (consider what “happened” to Jim Keith), and there can be heavy consequences for crossing certain barriers. There is data out there that wants to be forever hidden, often-times I’m sure for reasons that have nothing whatsoever (despite rumor and conspiracy-speak) to do with official cover-ups.
I have found that by publishing at all one is guaranteed to attract suspicion and/or malice. Nature of the beast, as the old saying goes. In America we are losing (in some cases giving away) liberties supposedly protected by the intellectual, passionate decrees of our founders. These documents bear absolute legal force.
Regarding the above questions I’ve posed, I know how quickly and badly life can hit. Perhaps both Cannon and Imbrogno got nailed especially hard, and had to make brutally tough decisions.
I don’t know.
Sometimes I wonder which is the genuine enigma:
UFOs/paranormal phenomena, or those who investigate and publish?
Undoubtedly, some of these embellish their prose and egos. Even the most famous, highly paid authors (in any genre) don’t lead exciting, glamorous lives. Why? Because any form of writing, done with one’s whole being, is damned hard work. As a long-time practitioner of fiction and nonfiction, I know this.
During my 1984-1989 gig with the legendary Horror Show magazine, I interviewed many best-selling authors whose revelations often stunned my then-unassuming sensibilities. (For example, Dean Koontz admitting to 18-hour workdays simply to fulfill the demands of his publisher. Sound easy? If someone offered you one million dollars to climb Mt. Everest, alone, could you actually do this? Sure . . . start climbing, pal.)
I am, usually, saddened when informed of tribulations suffered by my fellow scribblers-—whether I agree with their claims or not. To me, the scariest, most unpleasant moment in director Mark Pellington’s The Mothman Prophecies has little to do with ominous distorted voices or the entity itself. It is the scene where John Klein (Richard Gere) confronts Alexander Leek (Keel backward; nice touch), hauntingly portrayed by the late Alan Bateman.
KLEIN: But didn’t you need to know?
LEEK: In the end it all came down to one simple question. What was more important: having proof, or being alive?
We all thrash and struggle through those same dark trenches and the horror of blood. Some of us don’t make it out.