Group Effort: The Barbara Hudson Story

It all began when Barbara Hudson was just fifteen years old. It was 1955, and she was woken from her sleep in the small hours - presumably looking blearily around her room until she caught sight of what had stirred her from her slumber. A tall man had entered her bedroom. Before she could react - his eyes released beams of light, striking her in her eyes. She felt all resistance drain from her body, and she entered a trance state. When the strange man extended his hand and asked her to follow, she obliged without hesitation. She followed the man into the living room of her house, where a grey mist had seemingly appeared. All of a sudden, Barbara found herself in something resembling an elevator, which was transporting her up to a strange room. When the doors opened, she found herself in a space adorned with '*many instruments and coloured lights*'. There was a screen on one of the walls of the room, displaying an image of the planet Earth. The screen was surrounded by more unnaturally tall beings sat at control panels. After being treated to this unearthly scene, she was given a meal comprised only of fruit before being led back through the elevator. She walked back through the grey mist and was returned to bed. Barbara Hudson had just become a contactee.

## The Exterminator from Saturn

Her next strange experience would take place in the early afternoon (after 13:00 specifically) of a day in the month of February, 1960. At this time, she was living with her parents in Manhattan in Apartment 3-B at 276 West 115th Street. She was sat on her bed, changing the diaper of the five-month-old daughter by the name of Debrah when the doorbell suddenly rang. She got up and walked to the door, opening it a few inches to check who exactly it was who had disturbed her - she had not been expecting anyone to call at that particular hour. Stood outside the door to her apartment was a man of approximately 6ft in height. He was described as being '*quite slender*' and was said to have worn a navy blue suit with a dark tie and a white shirt. Dark, wavy hair adorned his head and his eyes were deeply set. Even in the dim light of the apartment building's hall, his skin was noticeably fair. Dumbstruck, Barbara '*starred*' (sic) at the strange man for several seconds before he explained that he was the exterminator who had been sent by the management of the apartment. His job was apparently to spray the kitchen and the bathroom.

He was holding an insect sprayer, as well as a '*rather peculiar*' black briefcase. She opened the door for him and invited him in, only to have it later dawn on her that he was too well-dressed for his job. Besides, all the exterminators she'd seen had worn the name of their company on the front or back of their uniforms - something which this man lacked. Wordlessly, the weird character went to her kitchen and started spraying around the pipes near the sink. He seemed to know what he was doing, but Barbara was still nervous - wondering if he was really who he said he was and if not, what exactly he had in mind. What he had in mind - evidently - was her thoughts. He seemed to have read her mind. In that instant, he turned, smiled and approached Barbara where she was sitting with her daughter. He looked her directly in the eyes and told her '*not to be afraid*' and that he would do no harm. Turning back away from her, he walked across the room over to the night table near the bedroom door and picked up a book that was lying underneath it. How he knew what he was looking for, I cannot say.

The mysterious exterminator picked up the copy of George Adamski's *Flying Saucers Have Landed* and '*fondled it in both hands*' before asking Barbara if she believed what was in the book. She answered in the affirmative and asked why he had asked her. He didn't answer, but instead put the book down atop the nightstand and looked at Ms. Hudson with a '*sort of half smile*' - asking her which planet she thought the flying saucers originated from. She drew upon her knowledge of Adamski's testimony here, having just finished his book, and answered that they probably came from Mars and Venus. The exterminator asked her what she thought the occupants of the UFOs looked like, and she replied that they looked just like '*you or I*', and that either of them could've come from outer space and be passing among humanity unnoticed. The strange man grinned and leaned forward, kissing the shocked mother on the cheek, before turning and starting towards the door.

Seemingly entranced, Barbara went ahead of the mystery man and opened the door for him. Now standing outside her doorway once again, the man promised that he would see her again before walking away down the stairs. Once he reached the bottom of the staircase, he turned one final time and asked her - seemingly seriously this time, the smile having faded from his face, what planet she thought he had come from. She answered '*Mars*' without thinking, and laughed - presumably somewhat nervously. '*Would you believe Saturn?*' he replied before promptly leaving. Closing the door, Barbara suddenly felt a cold chill run down her body as she thought of his parting remark. She rushed over to the window to see if she could spy the strange man or the vehicle he had arrived in - but she saw nothing. He never left the building as far as she could see. It was almost as if he had '*demilitarized*' (sic). She would never see him again.

## Enter the Group

She had now already had two strange experiences with men from other worlds, but her next encounter would be the one that would finally cement the idea of entering into the 1960s UFO scene in her mind. One night – date unknown – three weird men showed up at her New York apartment. It seems that the exterminator was not among them, or else I presume she would’ve recognised them. The men told her that she had been chosen to become a member of a secretive outlet called ‘*The Group*’. Having none of this from the odd trio, she threatened to call the police – until they confessed that they were ‘*something to do with UFOs*’. Still going against her better judgement, but now more curious than afraid, Barbara followed the men out to their car and allowed them to take her for a drive. She was taken to a remote area on Long Island, and the men had shown her all sorts of strange gadgets throughout her journey. When they reached their destination, they left the car and Barbara saw some kind of compound hidden away in the secluded locale. They entered the compound and there she met the rest of The Group. This group was apparently comprised of men and women from all over the United States, as well as extraterrestrial beings. They had all joined forces to reveal the truth of the flying saucer mystery. Evidently, this disclosure never took place, and the mysterious group lived on only in Hudson’s testimony. The Group ordered her to attend one of Jim Moseley’s UFO conventions (presumably the meeting that took place in New York in 1967) so that they could ‘*keep an eye on things*’. She did just this, and went above and beyond her duty with Moseley – seeing as she later had a romantic relationship with the investigator according to Timothy Green Beckley.

## Barking up the Wrong Tree

Unfortunately, most mainstream coverage of the Barbara Hudson story comes to us through the notoriously unreliable mouth of one Gray Barker. Gray Barker was born on May 2nd, 1925 - and would go on to become a prolific author in the field of 1960s ufology. He covered the Mothman case in his 1970 book '*The Silver Bridge*' and popularised the Men in Black phenomenon through his coverage of the experiences of Albert K Bender (a book which was later contradicted by testimony published by Bender himself). He is known to have been responsible for confounding John Keel with a network of hoaxes, and to have played a part in the fabrication of the Lost Creek UFO Film. Gray Barker met her at one of George Van Tassel’s *Giant Rock Flying Saucer Conventions*, and there she, Barker and Beckley became an inseparable trio. Barker described her as having ‘*radiated both a dainty femininity and a certain sexiness*’, as well as an ‘*aura of mystery*’ – which was only built upon among the community when Gray claimed to have witnessed her doppelganger among them at the Giant Rock Convention. She ultimately ended up accompanying Moseley, Beckley, Barker and others to Point Pleasant to investigate the then-current Mothman flap – a trip which Barker discussed in *The Silver Bridge*.

He claims to have been '*enough impressed*' by his meetings with Ms Hudson that he decided to devote an entire chapter to her in *The Silver Bridge*. However, having read the chapter I am disappointed to announce that it spends the majority of its runtime telling the story of some unnamed reporter watching an amorous couple and some freaky children around the TNT Area of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The only real mysterious event reported in this chapter is Barbara's supposed encounter with a '*strange, gaunt man*' lurking in the dark in the abandoned power-plant which she was visiting in the company of Timothy Green Beckley, Jim Moseley and others. This man was supposedly weeping while humming the something resembling the *Gone with the Wind* record. He was watching the other researchers and paid no attention to Hudson. One of her Saturnians, or a fanciful addition by Mr. Barker? We shall never know.

## Titanic Questions

According to a Twitter correspondence between two members of the Magonia Research Group to which I belong, there is an entry in the annals of the CIA's *Project Stargate* archive which indicates that extraterrestrial entities were observed in a base on Saturn's moon Titan. This observation was made on the 20th of November, 1986, and these beings were described as looking '*no different than native earthlings*'. Two male technicians were seen sitting at what appeared to be a control panel, and there was an attractive female entity stood behind them with brown hair that went down to her shoulders. She seemed to be wearing a pale green garment compared to a smock or lab-coat, and appeared to be in a supervisory role. Did this *Stargate* participant witness the same Saturnians that made their presence known to Barbara Hudson all those years ago?

## Sources

'A Visitor from Saturn?' by Barbara Hudson

'A is for Adamski' by Adam Gorightly and Greg Bishop

'Gray Barker at Giant Rock' by Gray Barker

'The Silver Bridge' by Gray Barker

'GRAY BARKER WAS A MASTER HOAXER' by Bob Weaver for *The Hur Herald*

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