Charles Hickson
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 👤 Person
Contents 4
| Type | Person |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Hickson |
| On the Timeline | 2 events, 1973–1979 |
Charles Hickson (1931–2011) was a Mississippi shipyard worker and Korean War veteran who, with his co-worker Calvin Parker, reported being taken aboard a craft by strange beings while fishing on the Pascagoula River on 11 October 1973, one of the most famous alien abduction claims.[1][2]
The 1973 encounter
Hickson, then 45, said he and Parker heard a whirring sound and saw blue lights, then an oval craft about 30 to 40 feet across. He described three beings with wrinkled grey skin and pincer-like hands that floated the men aboard, where he was examined by a device like a large eye. When the men reported the event to the Jackson County sheriff's office, officers secretly recorded them alone in a room; the tape captured their apparent fear, and the sheriff's captain came to believe them.[1][3]
A local polygraph examiner concluded that Hickson told the truth as he believed it, and astronomer J. Allen Hynek and engineer James Harder, who interviewed him, said they believed the experience was real. Skeptic Philip Klass, however, noted that Hickson declined a test by a more experienced examiner and argued the case was a hoax.[1][4]
Later life
Hickson appeared on national television, including The Dick Cavett Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and in 1983 self-published UFO Contact at Pascagoula, in which he also described later contacts. He remained convinced of his experience until his death from a heart attack in September 2011, aged 80.[1][5]
On the UAP Timeline
- Pascagoula abduction (11 October 1973) — Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker say they were taken aboard a craft near Pascagoula, Mississippi.
- Mississippi UFO resolution (1979) (February 1979) — A Mississippi resolution calling for a Senate UAP investigation dies in committee.
References
- Pascagoula abduction — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Mississippi man who said he was abducted by aliens dies", Reuters (13 Sep 2011) · reuters.com · archived copy
- "The men claimed they were abducted by aliens. In Mississippi, police believed them", The Washington Post (2019) · washingtonpost.com · archived copy
- Joe Nickell and James McGaha, "Famous Alien Abduction in Pascagoula: Reinvestigating a Cold Case", Skeptical Inquirer (2012) · cdn.centerforinquiry.org · archived copy
- Lynn Picknett, The Mammoth Book of UFOs — Google Books · books.google.com · archived copy
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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