 "The Greys have landed!" Alien mannequin at International UFO Museum & Research Center; Roswell, NM, USA Greys are the type of intelligent extraterrestrial life that appears most commonly in modern conspiracy theories, particularly UFO conspiracy theories and other UFO-related paranormal phenomena, especially the Abduction Phenomenon. They also appear in some science fiction and in the mythos of the Raelian movement.
Greys are generally described as short, slender humanoids with hairless grey skin (hence the name) and large heads with enormous black almond-shaped eyes and small (often lipless) mouths. It is interesting to note that this description resembles a neotenous human, i.e., a human with infant-like features. Others have compared the appearance of Greys to that of a fetus. According to some reports, they are regarded as hostile.
Greys appear to have replaced the notion of "little green men" as the stereotypical extraterrestrial.
Clearly Fictional Appearances
Greys made their first significant fictional appearance in the 1977 motion picture Close Encounters of the Third Kind, wherein the director, Steven Spielberg, used childlike aliens as a creative metaphor. However, Close Encounters of the Third Kind was not the first appearance of Greys.
There were earlier fictional precedents, however. "Bug-eyed" humanoid creatures, often with large heads and slender bodies, were common as science fiction villains. See, for example, these sketches by Wally Wood for the 1962 Mars Attacks trading cards: [1] (http://www.marsattacksfan.com/port2.gif)
Perhaps most notably in recent years, Greys were featured prominently on the TV series The X Files as a part of the central conspiracy of the series. Greys also make appearances (in one form or another) in the movies Men in Black, Independence Day, Signs and in television shows such as Babylon 5, as well as in the Deus Ex computer game. The TV series Stargate SG-1 identifies the Greys with the Norse gods.
Supposedly Genuine Appearances
Occultist Aleister Crowley claimed to have contacted beings called the "Enochian Angels", which bore a resemblence to Greys. [2] (http://www.boudillion.com/lam/lam.htm)
The Hill Abduction incident also involved creatures vaguely similar to Greys.
Harvard Medical School professor Dr. John Mack claims that many of his clients have had encounters with the greys. His books Abduction and Passport to the Cosmos describe his patient's spiritual transformations and awakening of higher consciousness as a result of their experiences.
Greys were also the extraterrestrials described in Whitley Strieber's book Communion about his abduction experiences, though Strieber asserts that the Greys are not extraterrestrials as such. Strieber holds forth a variety of unusual theories about the Greys' origins—such as the hypothesis that the Greys could be physical incarnations of the human subconsciousness.
Disputed Depictions
Xenu, the galactic ruler of Scientology mythology, is often depicted by critics of Scientology as a grey alien, although the Church of Scientology has never done so.
See also
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![[1]](http://www.marsattacksfan.com/port2.gif){kind=link}