On a September night in 1961, in the mountains of New Hampshire, Betty and Barney Hill encountered something they could not explain. What really happened that autumn night? Welcome to Strange Arrivals, where host Toby Ball will unravel one of history's most famous cases of alien abduction.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Driving through northern New Hampshire on a clear fall night in 1961, Betty and Barney Hill spotted a light in the sky that seemed to be following them. As they navigated mountain roads, the light came increasingly closer until the Hills found themselves face to face with a craft unlike any they had seen. Thus began one of the most famous encounters in UFO lore.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than two years after their UFO encounter in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Betty and Barney Hill underwent hypnosis therapy with renowned psychiatrist Dr. Benjamin Simon. These sessions revealed that there was more to the Hill's story than they had previously remembered. This story was all the more remarkable because it was so different from the stories of the early years of America's fascination with UFOs - the 1950s.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UFO culture of the 1950s revolved around two competing visions; one of contact with advanced beings from within our solar system and another focusing sightings of distant flying objects in the sky. Under hypnosis, the Hills told a story that differed from both of these narratives, one of capture and examination by truly alien beings.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While under hypnosis, Betty Hill told of being shown a star map by one of her alien captors. Years later, she sketched what she remembered of the map. This led a teacher named Marjorie Fish to create intricate models of the galaxy to determine the origin of the space craft, and set off a dispute about the accuracy of the map and the reality of their experience.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Betty and Barney Hill's memories of being abducted by aliens were recovered through hypnotic regression. But does this technique uncover actual memories, or something else? How does what we know now about memory formation and hypnosis change how we look at the Hills' story of capture aboard an alien craft?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Betty Hill had a series of intense dreams after her UFO encounter. How did these dreams inform the memories recovered during hypnosis sessions two years later? They way the Hills described the aliens they met changed over time, becoming less human. Why did the descriptions change and how did they finally arrive at a definitive answer to what these creatures looked like?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hills described their UFO encounter taking place over several miles, beginning with a bright light in the sky and ending with a craft hovering above a field. Nobody believes they were just making their story up. So what did they see that night as they drove through northern New Hampshire?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.