Alien abduction
Alien abduction is a catch-all term for a class of paranormal phenomena in which sufferers report being removed from the Earth by extraterrestrialss, subjected to various experiments or indignities, and returned. Many of the accounts report conversations in the experiencers' native language by means of telepathy. Alien abductions are therefore generally associated with UFOs.While few scientists believe the phenomenon literally occurs as reported, there is no doubt that many thousands of people have experiences they themselves believe are abductions. Stigma and self-doubt may be obstacles to more widespread study and/or reporting. Psychological alternative explanations of the abduction phenomenon have included hallucination, false memories (such as the ones medically shown to be produced by hypnosis), near-sleep mental states (hypnogogic states and sleep paralysis), and temporary schizophrenia. Abduction claimants do not always attempt to explain the why or how of the phenomenon, but some take independent research interest in it themselves and explain its lack of greater awareness as the result of either extraterrestrial or governmental interest in coverup.
Common features of alien abduction experiences include the feeling of paralysis, the sense of having been transported immaterially, frequently through a beam of light; the sense of having been surgically probed or implanted with devices, the freezing or slowing of time, and sexual contact or manipulation by the aliens. Local support groups for experiencers of the phenomenon are not uncommon.
The alien abduction phenomenon has been the subject of conspiracy theory and as such has become a staple of popular science fiction works such as The X-Files.
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