Which came first?

One of the main arguments used by debunkers about why everybodies stories are similar as regards to abductions the sightings of aliens and ufo's is the widespread coverage of media i.e films books newspapers that everybody is influenced by this material and so everybodies stories are similar! I was wondering as greys are seen as the most popular image of an alien lifeform when was the first reported sighting of a grey and when were they introduced to the populas by the media the reason i ask this is because if there were various sightings of the same entity before knowledge of there appearence became widespread surely this is pretty solid evidence that they are real and not created in peoples imaginations!

Good question. Perhaps the earliest well-publicised abduction case involves Betty and Barney Hill, who claimed to be abducted on September 20, 1961.

It has been subsequently suggested that Betty's account of the physical appearance of the aliens involved (no ears, small mouths and noses) was at least partially influenced or later altered to reflect the depiction of an alien on a recent episode of The Outer Limits. Skeptics argue that her early accounts of the alien indicate a far more humanoid appearance - hair, 'friendly' human-like eyes and prominent noses and that her account was updated for the published account of the abduction 'The Interrupted Journey' released in 1966, which portrays a more familiar image of not-quite-traditional-gray-aliens-but-pretty-close-nonetheless.

Click here for more info.

Whilst this position can be and is contended fiercely, it does posit an argument that our expectations regarding what aliens should look like may be shaped by media and subsequently public opinion.

Personally, I think that our perception of the stereotypical gray aliens reflects humanities expectations and fears of its own future. Grays are shorter than us and are often (though not always) portrayed as less phsyically capable - reflecting our assumption that, with the advent of technology, our need for physical faculties will diminish. They have large eyes and large heads for acquiring and quickly processing information and for creating increasingly advanced technology, as we assume we shall continue to do. Having said that, if aliens do exist and look exactly as they are described by a majority of abductees, I won't be too surprised.

Here is a well-written though perhaps overly critical (as opposed to skeptical) article that attempts to trace the origins of the gray aliens through media representations and popular culture from the 1900s until now.

Also, this is a succint and well-reasoned article outlining the Hill case and the evidence for and against its veracity.

Originally posted by Whiterabbit29
One of the main arguments used by debunkers about why everybodies stories are similar as regards to abductions the sightings of aliens and ufo's is the widespread coverage of media i.e films books newspapers that everybody is influenced by this material and so everybodies stories are similar! I was wondering as greys are seen as the most popular image of an alien lifeform when was the first reported sighting of a grey and when were they introduced to the populas by the media the reason i ask this is because if there were various sightings of the same entity before knowledge of there appearence became widespread surely this is pretty solid evidence that they are real and not created in peoples imaginations!

I have in the past stumbled across images of ancient art which depicts beings that look remarkably similar to greys.

IMO, the image of the grey alien is the most popular because:-

A. They exist; and
B. That's what they look like

The problem with much of the ancient art though, is that we may be misinterpreting symbolism.

For example, in many self-proclaimed, UFO paintings, the UFO is actually a rather well known stylized representation of the sun and/or moon. There are of course, some which are far more interesting, such as those with the hat-shaped UFOs in tapestries, etc. or even a disc with a beam of light shooting down on biblical characters.

ufoartwork.com... is an excellent site for this...

As mentioned, the Hill case is pretty much the start of the "greys" alien cases, or at least well documented cases. Check the "Best Cases" thread at the top of the forum here, for an in-depth look at it (shameless plug)...

The Outer Limits argument is pretty weak, and the later details were due to hypnotic regression of seing the aliens closer, vs. remembered sightings of them (aliens) just in or near the craft. Since then, there have been many accounts of greys, even by those who would not have been privy to knowing about them in the media, etc. in remote areas, places without tv, etc. etc. Prior to the Hill Case, what few accounts there are, are usually of the Venusian women variety, hehe...