John A. Keel - Searching For the String: Selected Writings of John A. Keel

SEARCHING FOR THE STRING

SEARCHING FOR THE STRING

SELECTED WRITINGS OF JOHN A. KEEL

EDITED BY ANDY COLVIN

METADISC PRODUCTIONS, SEATTLE

NEW SAUCERIAN BOOKS, POINT PLEASANT, WEST VIRGINIA

Books by John A. Keel

Jadoo!

Operation Trojan Horse

Strange Creatures From Time and Space

Our Haunted Planet

The Mothman Prophecies

The Eighth Tower

Strange Mutants From the 21st Century

Disneyland of the Gods

The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings

The Best of John Keel

Flying Saucer To the Center of Your Mind

The Outer Limits of the Twilight Zone

Searching For The String

Searching For the String: Selected Writings of John A. Keel

ISBN-13: 978-1499132120

ISBN-10: 1499132123

2014 New Saucerian Books Point Pleasant, West Virginia

PUBLISHED BY: Metadisc Productions and New Saucerian Books

FRONT COVER ILLUSTRATION: Garuda Rope Trick by E.E. Parker and Andy Colvin

BACK COVER ILLUSTRATION: Self-Portrait in Photo Booth by John Keel, New York City, 1966

CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTION

THE MAN FROM TWENTY-NINE PALMS

I had returned to my hotel room near Giant Rock, California, and had closed the door, when I heard a knock. I repressed a gasp of pleasure at seeing John Keel standing there...

Then I realized that it wasnt really he, but an almost perfect image of my friend. You look so much like John Keel, I said, that you could pass as John Keels brother!

As a matter of fact, I am, he replied. As I tried to recover from the surprise, he continued:

Nobody knows this, but John and I are identical twins. If I werent slightly balding, youd swear I was John himself. I guess that might be all right if I were he; I suppose he leads a pretty exciting life.

He explained why he had knocked. He had stopped at Twenty-Nine Palms not because of the 1970 flying saucer convention at Giant Rock, but for other reasons. He lived in Anaheim and was on his way north to attend an antique car show which explained the glistening, like new, 1950s Buick that was parked near the motel office. Then, you arent interested in UFOs like your brother John?

I very definitely am. I read all of Johns stuff. He sends me all of it. I also follow the subject in the papers, and occasionally buy a paperback about it. Oh, I must tell you why I happened to look you up. The desk clerk was looking at one of the magazines you gave him, and I noticed one of Johns articles in it. He gave me your room number. I remembered you from talking with John about his investigations in West Virginia.

I couldnt get over the amazing resemblance of Edgar Keel to John Keel, although the manner of speech was quite different. He talked much faster than John and had an odd, singsong tonal quality. He said he worked for the U.S. Department of the Interior I tried to pick his mind about John, who, although quite well known for his UFO investigations and writing, was still a rather mysterious figure, particularly in reference to his personal life. John lived in semi-isolation, either without a phone or with an unlisted number, and hinted that he was in other work besides writing.

Id rather let John tell you about his many other activities that those of you in UFO investigation never dream of. Suffice it to say that John writes on very many other subjects, under another name that you would be very familiar with if I mentioned it. And I might also add that he holds down a very important regular job that he doesnt publicize.

He handed me some typewritten pages. Anyhow, I must go, but you might be interested in this. I think this is a very good example of UFO sightings that may contain some validity. In fact, its my favorite of all the reports I have read in some time. With this he departed, and avoided shaking hands (as when he first greeted me) by a quick, nervous wave of his right arm toward his hat, which seemed to be in perfect adjustment.

Then I glanced at the report, closed the door, and sat down to read it. I couldnt help being curious about the sheets themselves. They appeared to be photocopies of typewriting, but with a very odd difference. The sheets seemed to be reproduced in color, for a spelling correction showed up in blue ink. One of the sheets had reproduced a cigarette burn on the original, with a distinct brown color around the burn. The 3-M Company had developed a color photocopier around that time, although it was not on the market in 1970. The new machine, which carries a very high price tag, is sold mainly for industrial and military applications

The report concerned an unidentified farmer of Walsh, IL, who would not give his name for fear of ridicule. On October 5, the farmer was ready to milk his cows when he noticed that the animals were agitated and extremely frightened. He looked all around for some cause of the commotion, but noted nothing abnormal. Then he saw one of them looking at the sky, and discovered a cloud-like object beaming a light toward the ground. Suddenly, another beam of light from the mysterious object shifted in his direction and enveloped him. I felt a tingling sensation come over me, which I could not explain, the report quoted him. While standing there in that circle of light, it just seemed as if I couldnt move. I wasnt exactly frightened in the usual sense, just sort of stunned, I suppose. Then the light went out, and the mysterious object disappeared at the same moment. Finding he could move again, and feeling normal, he turned his thoughts to the cows. It was then that he noted probably what was the most unusual facet of the incident: all five cows were on the wrong side of the barbed wire fence! Even in extreme fright, it seemed impossible for them to have jumped it

After pondering John Keels strange double (somehow I couldnt buy the twin-brother bit), I immediately called Keel, who made the following comments:

I was an only child, Gray. I have no brother named Edgar, and no sister named Mary (a mysterious Mary Keel has figured in a number of UFO episodes). Aside from the doppelgangers described in my book The Mothman Prophecies, two flesh-and-blood replicas have turned up over the years. One a dead ringer for me used to work in Greenwich Village as a waiter. Friends who saw him reacted, My God! Poor Keel is slinging hash! The other appeared in a news photo published several years ago. It showed a crowd of people in a subway after an accident; a man in the front of the crowd looked exactly like me. A friend of mine cut the picture out and carried it in his wallet for a long time, believing it was a photo of me.

Before I could reply, some beeping sounds, and then a series of clicks, temporarily interrupted our conversation. Theres the Silence Group again, I joked. I was tired, but I decided to take the ufological bull by the horns and bring up a remark that Jim Moseley had made.

Frankly, John, I began, Jim and I had a long talk about you. He had one impression about you, which I also get. You are a better researcher than us, and a highly talented writer, and you have covered a lot of ground in the UFO field in a short time. But I somehow feel you have some theories or some information that youre holding back from all of us. Now, I presume youre writing a book, and I probably will write one, too, about the Mothman cases and all the incredible Ohio Valley incidents. I know if you have something really new and fresh, you wouldnt want to blow it in front of some other writer or editor

I asked him point-blank how he had learned so much in so little time.