Episode 20: The Allagash Abductions
“We shouldn’t be here. I just—I just keep thinking, ‘I want to be back in the canoe.’”
Episode Transcript
Since the dawn of time, we have looked up at the night sky in wonderment. And as we did, a deep Black Sea of stars stared back. Almost as if it was beckoning us to set a course on it’s uncharted frontier.
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Here’s a bit of a fun fact for you all, Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences. With its inception dating back to 1000 BCE, humanity has long sought to understand the mysteries of our ever-expanding universe. Although, it did take over 5000 years, for us to make any real progress on this quest.
Between the Cold War and the space race, the USSR and the United States pushed each other to the furthest limit that mankind had ever seen. And in July of 1969, we finally set foot on the moon.
It was one small step for man, but one giant leap for mankind.
Since Commander Neil Armstrong first proclaimed those famous words, we have continued to make leaps and bounds in terms of intragalactic travel and our general understanding of the cosmos. But even still, one question remains: are we alone?
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There may be as many as 100 quintillion earth-like planets in our universe—each teeming with its own potential to support extraterrestrial life. But even so, we have yet to discover the existence of such a life form.
The skeptic in me nags that this is because we are truly alone in our existence. But my logical side begs me to see reason. Based on sheer probability alone, it’s incredibly unlikely that life doesn’t exist somewhere out there. And maybe, it’s closer than we think.
I’m Courtney Hayes and you’re listening to haunts. Stay tuned…
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Nestled into the woodlands of northern Maine sits the Allagash Wilderness Waterway—a 92 mile long system of streams, lakes, and rivers that serve as a wildlife habitat and recreational site.
As you can imagine, the Allagash wilderness is incredibly popular among outdoor enthusiasts. Between fishing, camping, and a handful of scenic tours there really isn’t much that the area doesn’t have to offer. Which is more or less exactly why the Allagash wilderness annually hosts approximately 3000 guests during the summer months alone.
But why are we talking about it on this podcast? Sure the Allagash wilderness is beautiful and serene, but is it haunted? Well, to be honest maybe so. Given the theories relating to flowing waters and their energetic connection to paranormal phenomena, I wouldn’t be surprised if something ghostly was lurking in those woods.
But as you may have guessed, ghosts are not the subject of this weeks episode. No instead, we are talking about a simple camping trip out in the Allagash wilderness that took place August of 1976.
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It was supposed to be a relaxing trip. Twin brothers, Jack and Jim Weiner, along with their college buddies Chuck Rak and Charlie Foltz had it all planned out. They had chartered a bush plane to fly them out into the wilderness area where they would spend about two weeks camping, fishing, and taking in the great outdoors.
A little R&R and bit of time spent in good company was all they were after. But just 4 days in, the trip would prove to be a bit more than they bargained for.
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In the words of Aaron Manke, context is everything. So before we dive head first into a story about UAP’s and Alien Abductions, I think we first need a bit of context on what a UAP even is.
You see, the crafts that most of us would call ufos are recognized by the US Government as unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAP’s for short. This new—not so improved—name was coined back in 2020 along with the established of a government task force under the same moniker.
Now UAP’s are typically defined by a distinct set of characteristics that they display. According to an assessment released by the OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, UAP’s often exhibit unusual flight characteristics, pose a safety of flight issue, and may present a challenge to US national security.
Chilling I know, but unsettling as it is, I implore you to keep those descriptions in mind as we discuss the following events:
It was on the second day of their trip when the twins, Chuck, and Charlie noticed a strange light in the sky. It was only visible for about 30 seconds—floating motionless above the trees. Then it sort of folded in on itself and disappeared from sight.
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Okay, I know what you’re probably thinking. That doesn’t at all fit the description of the national intelligence’s definition of a UAP. And for the most part, you would be right. The object wasn’t moving about erratically, nor was it openly threatening. Which is exactly why I ask that you remain skeptically open minded.
But before we go on saying that they made it up or that their eyes were playing tricks on them, you should know that this was just the inciting incident that would ultimately lead to decades of strange events. And not to mention, these four men were not the only witnesses.
According to one source at least, the spot they were in that night was one of the more trafficked areas of the Allagash wilderness. And as a result, a handful of other campers saw this strange light as well.
There at the campground, still in the company of other curious spectators, Jim, Jack, Chuck, and Charlie must have felt safe and secure—even in spite of the bizarre siting. Yet only two days later, once the group had traveled to a more remote location, the seemingly harmless event took a sinister turn.
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It was August 20th, 1976 when our four companions started a roaring bonfire on the banks of Eagle Lake. Apparently, it had been so dark on that particular evening, that the group opted to build this fire to act as a sort of beacon in the darkness. Then, once the embers transformed into a roaring blaze, Jack, Jim, Chuck, and Charlie pushed their canoes out onto the water for a late night fishing excursion.
They had just paddled out to the center of the lake when Chuck Rak began to feel an undeniable sensation that someone was watching him from behind. So he turned around and what he saw stopped him in his tracks.
Quote: "I turned over my right shoulder…and I saw this large round globe of light that looked exactly like what we had seen two nights previously." End quote.
So there it was again. A bright strange light hovering above the trees. Only this time, these four men were entirely alone—left to their own devices to fend off the glowing orb.
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During an interview with Unsolved Mysteries, Jim Wiener described the anomaly. He likened the this globe to a miniature sun that was bright enough to mimic broad daylight. Which was troubling given how dark it had been when they first paddled out onto the lake.
The four men stared at the glowing sphere in what I can only imagine would have been a paralysis inducing terror. They stayed like that for a few eternity long moments then Charlie pulled out his flashlight.
Quote: "After looking at it for what seemed like several moments, we decided to signal this thing. That’s when Charlie picked up the flashlight and squeezed off a message–s.o.s." End quote.
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As it turned out, whoever—or should I say whatever—was operating the craft wasn’t exactly fluent in Morse Code. Because instead of flickering back, signaling in response, the anomaly began to approach them at a starling pace.
Now in a panic, the group began to paddle back to shore. But as I’m sure you guessed, their efforts were in vein. The craft was simply moving too quickly, and within a mere matter of seconds, the light was upon them. Then everything went black.
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The next thing the Chuck remembers is stepping out of the canoe, which was now somehow safely back onshore. They couldn’t quite remember how they got there, but they must’ve managed to outpace the glowing orb, right? I mean how else did they make it back to shore, only a stone’s throw away from their campsite?
The men were strangely calm as they made the short walk back to camp. Maybe they were traumatized or perhaps they were in a catatonic-like trance. there really is no way for us to say for certain, but there is one thing that we know for sure. They blazing fire that the group had built just before they departed had all but entirely burnt out.
Now let’s chew on that for a second. By the group’s best estimate, they had only been out of the lake for about 20 minutes when the ball of light chased them back to shore. So riddle me this, why is it that when they got back to camp, the roaring bon fire they had just built, had already devolved into nothing but a bed of embers?
Well, as you may have guessed, that was the groups first indication that they were missing a great deal of time.
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The group spent another 10 days in the Allagash wilderness. And while they all were immensely shaken, they decided that it would just be best to leave the bizarre incident behind them. So that’s exactly what they did for another 12 years. That is until their very own dreams forced them to face reality.
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The nightmares began with Jack.
It was over a decade later when Jack Wiener began to experience as sort of disturbed sleep. He would climb into bed at night, and once he closed his eyes, he would be tormented by recurring visions of, well, little gray men.
According Jack’s own accounts, the dreams would always begin with Jack finding himself strapped to a table in a brightly lit room where strange creatures, with long necks and large heads would poke and prod at his naked body. He would then awake drenched sweat— in what he describes as a state of shock.
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Now Jack wasn’t the only one who was experiencing these night terrors. In fact, his twin brother, Jim, was having the exact same dream.
Quote: "There were always certain elements of the dream that were the same– some type of creature, being helpless, being violated was a feeling I often woke up with." End quote.
It was when the twins found out that Chuck and Charlie were plagued by the same nightly visions that the group decided to take matters into their own hands. From their perspective, something had obviously happened to them 12 years ago on that faithful night, and they were bound and determined to get to the bottom of it.
So in 1988, Jim attended a UFO conference hosted by one Raymond Fowler. Now as a quick aside, Fowler is an American Author known predominantly on for his investigative literature on unidentified flying objects.
Simply put, he was somewhat of an expert when it came to the topic of UFOs, and if his claims were true, Fowler was an abductee himself. He even went on to write a book, entitled UFO Testament: Anatomy of an Abductee—which of course I will have linked in today’s show notes.
Now, it was for these reasons, the Jim approached Fowler after the conference, and asked him for a bit of guidance when it came to his own abduction. And we’ll you may want to hold onto your hats before I tell you what he suggested.
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Regressive hypnosis is a process by which repressed memories can be examined and explored through the use of hypnotherapy. Surely you can see where I’m going with this right?
In the weeks that followed the conference, the Allagash four each consented to several sessions of regressive hypnosis. And as unconventional as this practice may be, it’s worth mentioning that these sessions had some pretty compelling results.
You see, the twins, Chuck, and Charlie were each separated for individual sessions with an experienced hypnotherapist. Then immediately following their session, they each participated in a polygraph test that they all past with flying colors.
Now again, both of these measures are relatively unconventional and unreliable ways of separating fact from fiction. But even so, these four men independently told the same harrowing story and as it seemed they were telling the truth.
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Their story went something like this: the men were taken from their canoe—lifted into the air by a pillar of white light—and brought into some sort of advanced craft that was piloted by humanoid yet inhuman creatures.
Their abductors stripped them of their clothes and strapped each of them to a cold metal table where the beings then began to exam their naked bodies and collect samples of their skin and bodily fluids.
Then the men were returned to their canoe and their memories were erased. That is until that very moment, when they each sat alone in a stuffy office, reliving the traumatic events.
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Okay, I can’t lie to you. As compelling as this story may have seemed up until now, it goes without saying that these Allagash abductions have faced their fair share of scrutiny as the decades passed. So before we end today’s episode, it’s only fitting that I bring some skepticism back into this narrative.
Namely, Chuck Rak later recanted the story that he had shared during regressive hypnosis. Claiming that, instead, he and his companions made the entire story up prior to their hypnotherapy sessions in the hopes that they could make millions off of the fabricated events.
Now, it’s worth mentioning that a number of documentaries, shows, and books were made covering this topic. Not to mention polygraph tests, and hypnotic trances a relatively easy to fake. So maybe they did make the whole thing up in the hopes that they could strike it rich. Although, even Chuck Rak had to admit quote: "we made very little."
But regardless of the millions that they did or didn’t make, it may also be worth noting that the Allagash four had a bit of a falling out as a direct result of how outspoken Chuck had been in the years following the hypnosis sessions.
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Now, if that wasn’t enough to cast doubt onto this once close knit group, then you should know, that their story the tendency of changing over the years. In the beginning, interviews consisted predominantly of vague descriptions of the spacecraft, and their abductors.
But as the years passed, small fluff piece interviews turned into full fledged documentaries the most notable of which being an unsolved mysteries special on the Allagash incident itself. And with the larger, more mainstream coverage, well those vague descriptions somehow turned into more detailed accounts.
Which of course begs the question, were the Allagash Four truly tormented by a close encounter with extraterrestrial beings? Or was their story simply just another story?
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Quote: "It’s like a doctor’s office. I get that, it’s cold like a doctor’s office is cold. They put the panel over your chest. Then they scrape your arms and your chest, your legs and thighs. We shouldn’t be here. I just—I just keep thinking, "I want to be back in the canoe."
An excerpt from the hypnotic regression of Charlie Foltz, circa 1988.
Sources
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Read UFO Testament: Anatomy of an Abductee here: https://amzn.to/43DJ7j0
https://anymystery.com/allagash-abductions-the-complete-story/#The_Investigation
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/The_Allagash_Abductions
https://unsolved.com/gallery/allagash-abductees/
https://sci.esa.int/web/gaia/-/53196-the-oldest-sky-maps
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_astronomy
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_analog#Estimated_frequency
https://www.maine.gov/dacf/parks/water_activities/aww-river-conditions.shtml
https://www.ufocasebook.com/Allagash.html
https://q1065.fm/the-allagash-abductions-documentary-video/
https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf