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Spiritual Phenomena
Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO
A voyage of exploration―to the outer reaches of our inner lives.
UFOs are a myth, says David J. Halperin, but myths are real. The power and fascination of the UFO has nothing to do with space travel or life on other planets. It's about us, our longings and terrors, especially the greatest terror of all: the end of our existence. This is a book about UFOs that goes beyond believing in them or debunking them, to a fresh understanding of what they tell us about ourselves as individuals, as a culture, as a species.
In the 1960s Halperin was a teenage UFOlogist, convinced that flying saucers were real and that it was his life's mission to solve their mystery. He would become a professor of religious studies--traditions of heavenly journeys being his specialty. With Intimate Alien, he looks back to explore what UFOs once meant to him as a boy growing up in a home haunted by death, and what they still mean for millions, believers and deniers alike.
From the prehistoric Balkans to the deserts of New Mexico, from the Biblical visions of Ezekiel to modern abduction encounters, Intimate Alien traces the hidden story of the UFO. It's a human story from beginning to end, no less mysterious and fantastic for its earthliness. A collective cultural dream, UFOs transport us to the outer limits of that most alien yet intimate frontier: our own inner space.
UFOs are a myth, says David J. Halperin, but myths are real. The power and fascination of the UFO has nothing to do with space travel or life on other planets. It's about us, our longings and terrors, especially the greatest terror of all: the end of our existence. This is a book about UFOs that goes beyond believing in them or debunking them, to a fresh understanding of what they tell us about ourselves as individuals, as a culture, as a species.
In the 1960s Halperin was a teenage UFOlogist, convinced that flying saucers were real and that it was his life's mission to solve their mystery. He would become a professor of religious studies--traditions of heavenly journeys being his specialty. With Intimate Alien, he looks back to explore what UFOs once meant to him as a boy growing up in a home haunted by death, and what they still mean for millions, believers and deniers alike.
From the prehistoric Balkans to the deserts of New Mexico, from the Biblical visions of Ezekiel to modern abduction encounters, Intimate Alien traces the hidden story of the UFO. It's a human story from beginning to end, no less mysterious and fantastic for its earthliness. A collective cultural dream, UFOs transport us to the outer limits of that most alien yet intimate frontier: our own inner space.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published March 24, 2020
14 people are currently reading
200 people want to read
About the author
David Halperin
27 books21 followersOnce upon a time, I was a teen-age UFO investigator. Later I became a professor of religious studies — my specialty, religious traditions of heavenly ascent.
From 1976 through 2000, I taught Jewish history in the Religious Studies Department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Now retired from teaching, I live in North Carolina with my wife Rose.
I've written five non-fiction books on Jewish mysticism and messianism. Journal of a UFO Investigator is my first novel.
From 1976 through 2000, I taught Jewish history in the Religious Studies Department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Now retired from teaching, I live in North Carolina with my wife Rose.
I've written five non-fiction books on Jewish mysticism and messianism. Journal of a UFO Investigator is my first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 28, 2022
I encountered David J Halperin on an esoteric podcast, where he spoke about his research on Sabbatai Zevi, a 17th century kabbalist who claimed to be the Messiah, gathered a movement around him, was captured by the Ottomans and forced to convert to Islam. A fascinating story, but especially through Halperin's avuncular, meticulous, gently urbane telling. More recently I heard him on the skeptical podcast, Monster Talk, speaking about his book, INTIMATE ALIEN. In it, he starts with his own experience as a teenage UFO investigator in the 50s, and then considers aspects of the history of the UFO - phenomenon? - belief system? - including the Betty and Barney Hill abduction, Roswell, the Men In Black, and the Shaver mysteries. He's no true believer, and delineates non-extraterrestrial explanations wherever available, but he takes cues from Carl Jung (whose last book was about flying saucers) and Jacques Vallee, and his own background in religious studies to inquire into the deep psychological significance of these stories. He draws heavily on Jung's concept of archetypes, which might be a dealbreaker for some, but I was able to work around some of the more outré ideas about epigenetic memory to find stimulating parallels in his speculations on the Hill abduction in particular. Beautifully written, non-dogmatic and covering a lot of intellectual ground - Halperin even links back to his work on Zevi with an account of a strange encounter experienced by Zevi's follower Abraham Cardoza - this is one of the most thought provoking and delightful books on the UFO phenomenon I have read.
May 26, 2023
Ufology (yes, that’s actually a word) is a field of study that has never particularly interested me. Regarding stories of UFOs and aliens I am temperamentally skeptical, technically agnostic, and generally apathetic, yet I came across this review and mistakenly believed that I might also enjoy this book.
Halperin claims that his intention is neither to confirm nor debunk these stories (although it’s definitely closer to the latter). He is not interested in explaining in each case what actually happened, but instead what the underlying meaning might be—in the sense of a psychological or even religious meaning—to the people describing these unexplainable events and to the public at large. He leans heavily on Jungian ideas of archetypes and Universal Myth.
His own interest in UFOs at an early age he now regards as a psychological reaction to the chronic sickness and eventual death of his mother.
Some of Halperin’s reflections are certainly interesting and suggestive, but overall I found the entire enterprise unsatisfying. I guess I still find myself asking, “so what really happened?”
Halperin claims that his intention is neither to confirm nor debunk these stories (although it’s definitely closer to the latter). He is not interested in explaining in each case what actually happened, but instead what the underlying meaning might be—in the sense of a psychological or even religious meaning—to the people describing these unexplainable events and to the public at large. He leans heavily on Jungian ideas of archetypes and Universal Myth.
His own interest in UFOs at an early age he now regards as a psychological reaction to the chronic sickness and eventual death of his mother.
Some of Halperin’s reflections are certainly interesting and suggestive, but overall I found the entire enterprise unsatisfying. I guess I still find myself asking, “so what really happened?”
March 6, 2021
David J. Halperin joins a growing list of religion scholars (including Jeffrey Kripal and Diana Pasulka) taking on the question of UFOs. Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO,/i> approaches the mystery from a different angle than many of the scholars (who are few) that address the topic. A retired professor of biblical studies, Halperin brings a solid understanding of myth to the discussion. As I point out in my blog post about the book (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World), biblical scholars use the word “myth” to indicate something that is true, not something false. Myths are ways of expressing truths that defy literal explanation. This leads to a rich avenue to approach UFOs.
Halperin begins with a few well-known, and some less well-known, UFO cases. He discusses the prophet Ezekiel’s initial vision of a wheel within a wheel, up in the air, with the assurance of a solid scholarly background in the field. He then has a substantial discussion of the abduction phenomenon, and then winds up with Men in Black, Roswell, and John Lennon’s UFO sighting. Halperin doesn’t seek to debunk, nor does he believe in the physical reality of UFOs. Instead, his approach is Jungian and he considers the UFOs as coming from inside human minds, not outside human bodies.
Although written for general readers, there’s some profound stuff here. UFOs are seldom taken seriously by scholars with the notable exceptions of a few historians and religious studies specialists. Since religious studies tends to deal with issues that are outside mundane experience, it seems natural that scholars of that discipline might be well equipped to handle paranormal topics. This is a fascinating study of a topic just beginning to prod academic interest.
Halperin begins with a few well-known, and some less well-known, UFO cases. He discusses the prophet Ezekiel’s initial vision of a wheel within a wheel, up in the air, with the assurance of a solid scholarly background in the field. He then has a substantial discussion of the abduction phenomenon, and then winds up with Men in Black, Roswell, and John Lennon’s UFO sighting. Halperin doesn’t seek to debunk, nor does he believe in the physical reality of UFOs. Instead, his approach is Jungian and he considers the UFOs as coming from inside human minds, not outside human bodies.
Although written for general readers, there’s some profound stuff here. UFOs are seldom taken seriously by scholars with the notable exceptions of a few historians and religious studies specialists. Since religious studies tends to deal with issues that are outside mundane experience, it seems natural that scholars of that discipline might be well equipped to handle paranormal topics. This is a fascinating study of a topic just beginning to prod academic interest.
December 18, 2020
I gave this book one star because there is no way to give it zero stars. David Halperin gives no account of his own personal "UFO" sightings or experiences, so it is to be assumed he has never had one. This book is mostly irrelevant, by an author who theorizes that anyone who has ever spoken out about alien experiences and UFO sightings has created the experience "from within" their imagination.
December 27, 2022
Like so many of the books I enjoy the most, I found Intimate Alien merely by browsing shelves in the bookstore.
The UFO phenomenon, and its related conspiracy-theory literature, captured my attention just over ten years ago, in autumn 2012. The circumstances of my life, at the time I discovered and became fascinated with UFOs, resonate with Halperin's hypothesis in this book. That hypothesis, stated succinctly, is that the UFO experience and its mythology are essentially religious phenomena that address human beings' deepest anxieties and questions, primarily those surrounding the certainty of death.
This resonates with me not because I thought I would die in 2012, but because I was going through what--up until even now--was the most difficult, trying time of my life. Everything I'd taken for granted, as assumed, as given, came crashing down. The one thing I lacked in 2012 was certainty. In the midst of this uncertainty, about myself, my future, and my purpose, I discovered the UFO subculture as "accidently" as I discovered Halperin's book.
Like Halperin, I'm no longer a believer in UFOs, not in the colloquial sense, but I still believe that UFOs and the diverse stories surrounding them--like all stories--have meaning. I appreciate his courage and willingness to think critically and seriously about them, in an academic press no less!
I appreciate Halperin's tackling of the questions and ongoing fascination with UFOs in modern culture. Of course, his book was written and published well before the latest kerfuffle caused by the "admissions" about UFO's reality in the middle of the COVID shutdown. I'd be curious to know what he thinks of this latest iteration of the myth's advance. Or, perhaps, it's better to let this new chapter in the UFO story unfold and be left for others to interpret.
The UFO phenomenon, and its related conspiracy-theory literature, captured my attention just over ten years ago, in autumn 2012. The circumstances of my life, at the time I discovered and became fascinated with UFOs, resonate with Halperin's hypothesis in this book. That hypothesis, stated succinctly, is that the UFO experience and its mythology are essentially religious phenomena that address human beings' deepest anxieties and questions, primarily those surrounding the certainty of death.
This resonates with me not because I thought I would die in 2012, but because I was going through what--up until even now--was the most difficult, trying time of my life. Everything I'd taken for granted, as assumed, as given, came crashing down. The one thing I lacked in 2012 was certainty. In the midst of this uncertainty, about myself, my future, and my purpose, I discovered the UFO subculture as "accidently" as I discovered Halperin's book.
Like Halperin, I'm no longer a believer in UFOs, not in the colloquial sense, but I still believe that UFOs and the diverse stories surrounding them--like all stories--have meaning. I appreciate his courage and willingness to think critically and seriously about them, in an academic press no less!
I appreciate Halperin's tackling of the questions and ongoing fascination with UFOs in modern culture. Of course, his book was written and published well before the latest kerfuffle caused by the "admissions" about UFO's reality in the middle of the COVID shutdown. I'd be curious to know what he thinks of this latest iteration of the myth's advance. Or, perhaps, it's better to let this new chapter in the UFO story unfold and be left for others to interpret.
May 1, 2020
Author David Halperin investigates stories of UFO encounters not to settle the question of whether we've been visited by extraterrestrial beings but with the goal of identifying why those experiencing such encounters saw what they did. Halperin sets aside the arguments around what "really" happened, focusing instead on what the observers remember and report and what this means. What personal or collective trauma in combination with which myth or shared symbolism resulted in the specific vision of a flying saucer or strange lights or threatening men in dark suits? Even when facts are uncertain, stories still reveal truth.
Although I have limited interest in UFOs (beyond a brief obsession in my early teens which was an offshoot of my broader and longer-lasting love of the supernatural), as someone intrigued by the stories we tell ourselves and how these stories change over time, along with the slippery nature of memory, I found the premise of this book quite interesting.
Halperin observes that UFO sightings increase during times of cultural or historical upheaval, citing, for example, an increase in UFO sightings in Europe around the time the Berlin Wall fell. I wonder...are people seeing more UFOs during our current global pandemic? And if not, what are we seeing? How are our myths manifesting themselves during this crisis?
Although I have limited interest in UFOs (beyond a brief obsession in my early teens which was an offshoot of my broader and longer-lasting love of the supernatural), as someone intrigued by the stories we tell ourselves and how these stories change over time, along with the slippery nature of memory, I found the premise of this book quite interesting.
Halperin observes that UFO sightings increase during times of cultural or historical upheaval, citing, for example, an increase in UFO sightings in Europe around the time the Berlin Wall fell. I wonder...are people seeing more UFOs during our current global pandemic? And if not, what are we seeing? How are our myths manifesting themselves during this crisis?
April 10, 2021
Halperin's book which is supposed to be "the hidden story of the UFO," is written in an unnecessarily convoluted manner that makes for a really difficult read. While he tries to explain both the historical context for UFO sightings, abductions and the possible Jungian ideas behind the myths, he dilutes his explanations with a non-chronological narrative that tests a readers patience.
June 6, 2024
This is a simply outstanding book, written by a kind, wise, and wonderful scholar. It is delightful to read—insightful, witty, and compassionate. While I might disagree on some details, I agree with the big picture. Halperin almost exclusively focuses on what UFOs mean rather than what they are, which is understandable given his background. After all, Halperin is a professor of religious studies, not a scientifically minded person. But he is spot on in his take on the phenomenon as a numinous experience, as something that comes from within us. Hopefully, others will carry the torch and shed light on the caves of the unknown, whose contours Halperin so masterfully sketches in this book.
February 12, 2023
Parallelomania is the process of mistakenly perceiving similarities and fashioning analogies where they don’t necessarily exist. It’s a product of a fertile, active and usually knowledgeable mind that’s stretching itself a little too far in its workings and free-associations. It’s classified as a kind of mania—and might lead down some blind alleys—but it’s a hell of a lot of fun when done right.
Author David J. Halperin invokes the term as a kind of caveat in the early going of his Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO. He uses it warn us that many times when people see UFOs, they’re projecting something about their inner states, turmoil, or their psychological scars left over from childhood. But that people across cultures and across the world recognize the phenomenon of the alien points to a deeper shared racial memory. And that those who both believe firmly in UFOs and reject their existence out of hand are compliments in some larger ritual about belief and doubt.
He makes himself and his own experience with Ufology which began in his childhood the fulcrum around which the study moves. At the time when he first discovered pulp sci-fi and conspiracy culture, reading to his heart’s content in his bedroom, his mother was dying slowly a room away. Why did something so remote and obscure seem to be staring Halperin in the face when his mother’s obvious deterioration seemed to be happening a galaxy away?
It's a painful question and a deep one, but the book has “intimate” in its title for a reason. Still, despite its autobiographical nature, this is not a solipsistic book, but a book about the life of a man who’s had a lifelong engagement with ideas. He also brilliantly marshals his own knowledge of ancient Judaica, midrash, and exegetical texts to tie religion to the UFO culture in a novel and complimentary way. At no point does he assert to know whether or not there is in fact a god, or whether UFOs exist. It’s refreshing to encounter such an open mind, which is also so expert at sieving out the unimportant debris from the finer bits of gold.
His consummate handle on pop culture also means that ufology’s break into the bigtime is likewise treated at some length. Movies as wide-eyed and innocent in their view of extraterrestrials as E.T. are considered alongside more distrusting, even paranoid works like the popular cult hit, The X-Files. Halperin’s treatment of the Men in Black franchise brings things back full circle, to an innocent trusting of authority so total that men erasing memories are the heroes.
Intimate Alien is ultimately a brilliant wide-ranging book, at once a great personal memoir, sociological bit of both field- and deskwork, and a metaphysical inquiry. Highest recommendation for skeptics, believers, Christians, Jews, doubters, and scientists and SF fans of all stripes.
Author David J. Halperin invokes the term as a kind of caveat in the early going of his Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO. He uses it warn us that many times when people see UFOs, they’re projecting something about their inner states, turmoil, or their psychological scars left over from childhood. But that people across cultures and across the world recognize the phenomenon of the alien points to a deeper shared racial memory. And that those who both believe firmly in UFOs and reject their existence out of hand are compliments in some larger ritual about belief and doubt.
He makes himself and his own experience with Ufology which began in his childhood the fulcrum around which the study moves. At the time when he first discovered pulp sci-fi and conspiracy culture, reading to his heart’s content in his bedroom, his mother was dying slowly a room away. Why did something so remote and obscure seem to be staring Halperin in the face when his mother’s obvious deterioration seemed to be happening a galaxy away?
It's a painful question and a deep one, but the book has “intimate” in its title for a reason. Still, despite its autobiographical nature, this is not a solipsistic book, but a book about the life of a man who’s had a lifelong engagement with ideas. He also brilliantly marshals his own knowledge of ancient Judaica, midrash, and exegetical texts to tie religion to the UFO culture in a novel and complimentary way. At no point does he assert to know whether or not there is in fact a god, or whether UFOs exist. It’s refreshing to encounter such an open mind, which is also so expert at sieving out the unimportant debris from the finer bits of gold.
His consummate handle on pop culture also means that ufology’s break into the bigtime is likewise treated at some length. Movies as wide-eyed and innocent in their view of extraterrestrials as E.T. are considered alongside more distrusting, even paranoid works like the popular cult hit, The X-Files. Halperin’s treatment of the Men in Black franchise brings things back full circle, to an innocent trusting of authority so total that men erasing memories are the heroes.
Intimate Alien is ultimately a brilliant wide-ranging book, at once a great personal memoir, sociological bit of both field- and deskwork, and a metaphysical inquiry. Highest recommendation for skeptics, believers, Christians, Jews, doubters, and scientists and SF fans of all stripes.
January 28, 2024
I approached this book very excited to see what unique perspective Halperin brought to the topic of UFOs and the collective psychology of their varied believers and victims. I came away a bit conflicted in how I felt he pursued and whether or not he accomplished that goal. Like a lot of other recent writing on UFOs (at least that I’ve read), Halperin does an exceptional job tying the phenomenon and emergence of UFOs and various related phenomena to the vagaries of culture and the psychology of individuals. And for the most part the connections and ideas that he draws make a lot of sense and seem to have a lot of insight into the phenomenon and the ways that people operate. But these connections also often felt…too easy, particularly with regard to the broad historical connections that he draws, which focus (sensibly) on his own areas of religious expertise but do little to account for a broader range of cultures and their experiences of “alien” phenomena. The overall approach of the book feels comfortable and interesting, certainly; but in the specifics it just feels too easy at times for it to feel wholly convincing. I enjoyed reading this, and learned some really interesting things about some of the people involved in some of the very specific details and emergence of the UFO/Men in Black phenomenon as a whole, but didn’t come away feeling like I’d added some great new knowledge to my overall assessment of the culture.
May 11, 2021
This is not the enthusiastic “the aliens are here” run of the mill. If you picked this book up expecting amazing stories of aliens from outer space you will likely be disappointed. It is, however, a level headed attempt to seek out the “meaning”, as he puts it, of fantastic sightings of UFOs, MIB and aliens. In doing so Halperin seeks out origins to the stories to a level of which i was previously unaware: flying saucers before Arnold and the Mothman before Keel.
It is first when Halperin tries to explain what the experiences are that he loses me in a logic of recollection narrative memories over generations. To me that is to replace one fantastic explanation (deep space origin of ufos) with another equally fantastic (generational memories). To me the recollection of memories from generations past appear akin to recollection of earlier lifes. Still, it is a read well worth doing.
It is first when Halperin tries to explain what the experiences are that he loses me in a logic of recollection narrative memories over generations. To me that is to replace one fantastic explanation (deep space origin of ufos) with another equally fantastic (generational memories). To me the recollection of memories from generations past appear akin to recollection of earlier lifes. Still, it is a read well worth doing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2023
"It's curious that the latest cinematic iteration of the theme, released in June 2019, is entitled not Men in Black 4 but Men in Black: International– as if the number 3 has a special significance, marking a limit that ought not to be surpassed."
This footnote is a great example of my main problem with this book. The movie was called MIB: International instead of MIB 4, quite simply, because it's an attempted reboot of the franchise with new characters, not because there's some profound Jungian archetype underlying it. This is emblematic of how the author crams events into arbitrary interpretations in order to support his main thesis, with scarcely more solid evidence than the literal accounting of events he attempts to analyze.
This footnote is a great example of my main problem with this book. The movie was called MIB: International instead of MIB 4, quite simply, because it's an attempted reboot of the franchise with new characters, not because there's some profound Jungian archetype underlying it. This is emblematic of how the author crams events into arbitrary interpretations in order to support his main thesis, with scarcely more solid evidence than the literal accounting of events he attempts to analyze.
September 20, 2021
This was an excellently written book that takes a good look at the UFO phenomenon and attempts to explain it through understanding human mythology building. Loved it. Sounds boring but it was not.
August 22, 2024
An interesting perspective that got me interested in Jungian theories and dreams. I do think some of it was a bit of a stretch. Like, Barney Hill's experience being chalked up to just being about the generational trauma of slavery is just as unlikely as there being SS Soldier shaped aliens on the ship, although I did think the detail of how enslaved people must have thought the slave ships were alien was interesting, and how much of the activity - poking, prodding, opening your jaw, removing your teeth, experimenting - that happened on those ships does mirror what people report happening during abductions. This book really made me think about UFOs and their place in the collective imagination. Worthy read.
June 18, 2025
Parts of this were a little too woo/Jungian for me and I thought the author made a couple very out there leaps, but on the whole I thought this was a fascinating and very down to earth (ha ha) book explaining the lure of UFOs belief and the way UFO sightings function as present-day religious apparitions. This is both very compassionate to the how and why of belief in UFOs and the extraterrestrial without buying into conspiracy theorizing.
October 11, 2023
FS: “This is a book about UFOS. Most such books try to make a case for UFOs' physical existence as visitors from other planets or possibly other dimensions.“
LS: “We can't follow it or know what it is. We can only gaze on it, and marvel.”
Chapters: 10
Library/Hardcover
LS: “We can't follow it or know what it is. We can only gaze on it, and marvel.”
Chapters: 10
Library/Hardcover
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews