How UFOs Conquered the World – the history of a modern myth w/@shuclarke

The UFO was born in America during the summer of 1947. A lone pilot saw nine mysterious objects that flew ‘like a saucer would if you skipped it across water’ and the media did the rest. Today, almost half the population of the Western world believe we are not alone. Millions of people claim to have seen a UFO. An alarming number reported being ‘abducted’ by aliens. And some are convinced there is a conspiracy by governments to hide ‘the truth’.

As a child during the 1970s, David Clarke wanted to believe. He joined a UFO society, went ‘skywatching’, and later, as a journalist, spent decades investigating sighting reports, unearthing Top Secret government files, and interviewing those who claim they have seen interplanetary craft and had met their occupants. He never found a crashed flying saucer, or received a visit from the sinister Men In Black. Instead he discovered something no less astonishing.

The event will also serve as the launch of David’s latest book (of the same title). The book describes David’s strange journey to the heart of the UFO phenomenon. He has close encounters with abductees, hoaxers and conspiracy theorists. He meets people who think aliens are angels (or demons). And he tracks down the boffins who ran the British government’s now defunct ‘UFO desk’ to find out what their investigations really uncovered. Along the way he reveals how the human will to believe turned the stuff of science fiction into the most enduring myth of modern times.​

Dr David Clarke is one of Britain’s leading writers on folklore and the supernatural. From 2008 he has acted as the consultant and spokesperson for The National Archives during the release of the Ministry of Defence’s records on UFOs (often referred to as ‘Britain’s Real X-Files’). He is an experienced broadcaster and has been an advisor for numerous radio and TV programmes including BBC Timewatch and Five’s Britain’s Closest Encounters. David teaches journalism and media law at Sheffield Hallam University and writes a monthly column for The Fortean Times magazine.