Reptilians
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 📖 Term
Contents 7
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| Type | Term |
|---|---|
| Also known as | reptilian, lizard people, reptoids |
| On the Timeline | 1 event, 1991 |
Reptilians, also called reptoids, reptiloids, saurians, draconians, archons or lizard people, are reptile-like humanoids found in fantasy, science fiction, ufology and conspiracy theories.[1] The idea that shape-shifting reptilian aliens secretly control the Earth was popularised by the British conspiracy theorist David Icke. He has claimed many times that world leaders are, or were, reptilians or possessed by them.[1] The theory has roots in pulp fiction and occult writing. It has been taken up by some QAnon adherents alongside antisemitic conspiracy theories, and it is also widely used as a joke.[1]
Origins
Michael Barkun, a political scientist at Syracuse University, traces the idea to "The Shadow Kingdom" (1929) by Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian.[1] The story drew on Theosophical tales of lost Atlantis and Lemuria, especially Helena Blavatsky's The Secret Doctrine (1888) with its "dragon-men" of a Lemurian civilisation. Howard's "serpent men," with human bodies and snake heads, could imitate humans at will, lived underground and used shape-changing and mind control to infiltrate humanity. Clark Ashton Smith borrowed them, and with H. P. Lovecraft, the three writers laid the basis of the Cthulhu Mythos.[1]
In the 1940s the American occultist Maurice Doreal (Claude Doggins) described a "serpent race" with "bodies like man but...heads...like a great snake" in his pamphlet "Mysteries of the Gobi." They also appear in his "Emerald Tablets," supposedly written by "Thoth, an Atlantean Priest king." Barkun thinks Doreal "in all likelihood" took the idea from Howard, and that the "Emerald Tablets" in turn formed the basis of Icke's Children of the Matrix (2001).[1] Historian Edward Guimont has argued that Icke's version also drew on pseudo-historical legends from the colonisation of Africa, especially those surrounding Great Zimbabwe and the mokele-mbembe.[1]
In abduction reports
Some alien abduction accounts describe reptilian beings. One of the earliest was that of Herbert Schirmer, a police officer in Ashland, Nebraska. Under hypnosis he recalled being taken aboard a UFO in 1967 by humanoids with a slightly reptilian look, wearing a "winged serpent" emblem on their chests. Skeptics consider his account a hoax.[1] More recently, digitally altered videos of people with blinking reptilian eyes have been passed off on social media as proof that reptilians live among us.[1] Reptilians also feature, alongside greys, in later conspiracy lore. See Valdamar Valerian's Matrix books and Dulce.
David Icke
In The Biggest Secret (1999), Icke claimed that tall, blood-drinking, shape-shifting reptilian humanoids from the Alpha Draconis star system, now hiding in underground bases, drive a worldwide conspiracy against humanity. He claimed that most of the world's ancient and modern leaders, including royal and political dynasties, are related to them.[1] His ideas have supporters in up to 47 countries, and he has lectured to crowds of up to 6,000.[1] Writer Vicki Santillano listed his theory among the ten most popular conspiracy theories. A 2013 Public Policy Polling survey found that 4 percent (±2.8 percent) of American registered voters believed his ideas.[1] Some QAnon adherents have borrowed from the reptilian theory, including elements shared with antisemitic conspiracy theories.[1]
In politics and popular culture
- Ontario, 2003. During the provincial election, Premier Ernie Eves's Progressive Conservative campaign issued a news release calling opponent Dalton McGuinty an "evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet." Eves called it a joke and "over the top" but did not apologise.[1]
- Minnesota, 2008. In the close Senate race between Al Franken and Norm Coleman, one ballot challenged in the recount had "Lizard People" written in. Its author later said he and a friend thought it would be funnier than "revolution."[1]
- The White House, 2013. After a video of an odd-looking presidential security agent was featured by Wired, a National Security Council spokeswoman joked that any program to guard the president "with aliens or robots" would probably be cut in the budget sequester.[1]
- The Netherlands, 2022. A far-right Dutch MP said in a podcast interview that he believed the world was "being governed by evil reptiles."[1]
Reptilian beings appear widely in fiction, from the TV series V and Doctor Who's Silurians to the film They Live.[1] See also men in black and ancient astronauts.
Notes on the earlier version of this article
The earlier version's points are supported by the source read here and have been kept and expanded.[1]
On the UAP Timeline
- Valdamar Valerian's Matrix books (January 1991) — A writer using a pseudonym publishes books claiming 'grey aliens' are involved in human affairs.
References
- Reptilian conspiracy theory — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
Facts in this article are drawn in part from the Wikipedia article “Reptilian conspiracy theory”, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
This page was last edited on 31 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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