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Sceptics have long told us that so-called alien abduction experiences can be reduced to neurological and psycho­logical mechanisms and responses. These researchers cite temporal lobe epilepsy, fantasy-proneness, false memory syndrome, sleep paralysis, psycho­pathology and electromagnetic allergens as explanations.

There have been a number of studies that on the face of it indicate that percipients belong to a group that is prone to fantasise. Nickell (1996) did a retrospective study on 13 abductees featured in John Mack’s book Abduction: Human encounters with aliens. He isolated seven fantasy-prone indicators based on Wilson and Barber’s “Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings” (1983). He studied what Mack had written about the abductees to see if any of the above applied to them.