Messengers of Deception
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🎬 Book or film
Contents 7
| Type | Book, film or media |
|---|---|
| On the Timeline | 3 events, 1974–1989 |
Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults is a 1979 book by French-American scientist and UFO researcher Jacques Vallée. Rather than studying sightings, it examines contactees, UFO cults and the belief systems growing up around them. Vallée argues that UFOs are a real physical phenomenon used to affect human consciousness, that they may not come from outer space, and that human groups may be exploiting UFO beliefs for social and political ends. Its warnings about UFO cults gained new weight when two groups it discussed, the Raëlians and Heaven's Gate, later became widely known. It was reissued by Daily Grail Publishing in a re-edited edition with a new foreword.[1][3]
Background
Vallée, born in Pontoise, France, studied mathematics at the Sorbonne and astrophysics at Lille. He began as an astronomer at the Paris Observatory in 1961 and moved to the United States in 1962, working at the University of Texas at Austin. He took a PhD in computer science at Northwestern University in 1967. With his mentor J. Allen Hynek he studied UFOs for many years, and he was the real-life model for François Truffaut's character in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.[3] In the book he traces his interest to the 1954 European wave and to 1961, when, he says, French astronomers erased a tape on which his satellite-tracking team had recorded an unknown object, for fear of ridicule.[1]
Argument
Vallée divides the UFO problem into three aspects: physical, psychological and social. This book concentrates on the social.[1] His argument runs in several steps:[1]
- UFOs are real but not necessarily alien. He concludes that UFOs are real physical devices used to affect human consciousness, and that they may not be from outer space. He compares them to a television set: a physical object that also shapes what people believe and how they behave.
- A system of deception. He suggests the phenomenon deceives people by presenting its "occupants" as messengers from space. It works through a belief system that manipulates witnesses and contactees, uses sects and cults, and controls how supposed "space messages" reach the public.
- Human "manipulators." He gives the name "the Manipulators" to whoever causes the contacts and engineers their effects. He asks whether they might simply be humans with an advanced form of power, perhaps able to counterfeit an invasion from space. He suspects that groups on Earth are exploiting the deception, and that the data suggest people with a plan for social control.
- Belief matters regardless. He argues that, as with religious beliefs, the social effects of belief in flying saucers are real whether or not the underlying claims are true. So many people now believe contact is possible, or has secretly happened, that the belief itself has consequences.
The book is especially critical of contactee movements. From his interviews Vallée catalogues recurring themes: the abdication of human responsibility to space saviours, and racist claims that some humans descend from a "higher race." He notes that many alleged visitors were tall, fair, "Aryan" types. Other themes are the denial of human achievement in favour of ancient astronauts, citing the popularity of Erich von Däniken, and utopian schemes hostile to democracy. Among the groups he examines is the movement of Claude Vorilhon, "Raël" (see Raëlism), which he quotes calling for the elimination of elections.[1] He warns that whoever first harnesses the fear of cosmic forces and the emotions around UFO contact to a political purpose could exert "incredible spiritual blackmail."[1]
The reissue
Daily Grail Publishing later reissued the book, re-edited by Vallée and newly typeset. The Daily Grail, announcing the edition, pointed to the book's prescience. Two groups it identified, the Raëlians and the Heaven's Gate cult, later entered public consciousness for the very reasons Vallée had predicted, and its section on Heaven's Gate proved, sadly, "right on the mark."[3] In his new foreword, after more than 40 years of research, Vallée wrote that UFOs are physically real, a technology controlled by an unknown form of consciousness. He added that it would be dangerous to jump to conclusions about their origin, because the phenomenon carries images that can be manipulated to promote belief systems.[3] The reissue quoted Robert Anton Wilson calling the book "a smashing achievement."[3]
Related entries in the UAP timeline
The UAP timeline published with Michael Shellenberger's 2024 congressional testimony records views Vallée held around the time of the book:
- 16 June 1974. Vallée wondered whether his UFO discussions with Kit Green were a "cover" for the CIA's "newest gadgets" and whether he was being given disinformation. See Vallée's doubts about Kit Green (1974).[4]
- 1979. The year the book appeared, Vallée said he was "convinced" the government was still involved with UFOs. He said this went beyond collecting reports to monitoring UFO groups, staging false sightings and leaking false documents. See Vallée's 1979 conclusions on government involvement.[5]
- 17 September 1989. A decade later he wrote of a "large disinformation campaign" around UFOs, though he still could not find what it was covering. See Vallée on the disinformation campaign (1989).[6]
Notes on the earlier version of this article
- Reception and reissue date. The earlier version said the book has been described as a unique contribution to ufology and sociology, that some readers found its theories poorly supported, and that the reprint appeared in 2008. These points relied on a 2008 Boing Boing article that could not be read for this revision. The Daily Grail announcement read here does not give the year.[2][3]
On the UAP Timeline
- Vallée's doubts about Kit Green (1974) (16 June 1974) — Vallée wonders whether his UAP talks with Kit Green are a CIA cover story.
- Vallée's 1979 conclusions on government involvement (1979) — Vallée says he is convinced the government still monitors UAP groups and stages false sightings.
- Vallée on the disinformation campaign (1989) (17 September 1989) — Vallée writes there is a large disinformation campaign around UAP.
References
- "Messengers of Deception", Goodreads · goodreads.com · archived copy
- "Jacques Vallée's Messengers of Deception", Boing Boing (25 Jun 2008) · boingboing.net · archived copy
- "Messengers of Deception reprint", The Daily Grail · dailygrail.com · archived copy
- UAP timeline published with Michael Shellenberger's 2024 congressional testimony, entry for 16 June 1974 · oversight.house.gov
- UAP timeline (Shellenberger testimony), entry for 1979 (Vallée) · oversight.house.gov
- UAP timeline (Shellenberger testimony), entry for 17 September 1989 · oversight.house.gov
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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