John A. Keel WHY UFOS

to the extent that we can fulfill our enigmatic use to them.The Reverend Arthur Ford is one of America's bestknowntrance mediums. For most of his life he has servedas an instrument for an entity who calls himself Fletcher. In1928, Fletcher announced that Harry Houdini (who haddied in 1926) was on hand and had a message which hewanted conveyed to his widow, Beatrice. The message wasin a code once used by the Houdinis in a mind-reading act.This code was known only to the couple and had neverbeen published or revealed to anyone. Fletcher, throughFord, was able to give precise details of this secret code,and Mrs. Houdini later confirmed that the message had tocome from her husband. This was only one of Ford's manycoups. In the fall of 1967, Ford went into a trance onCanadian television and produced a message for BishopJames Pike from his deceased son. Bishop Pike, who waspresent at this televised seance, avowed that the messageseemed authentic and seemed to come from the familiarpersonality of his son. This well-publicized seancelaunched a major revival of spiritualism in the UnitedStates.Reverend Ford travels in high circles but has nevermade any material gain from his peculiar gift. He givesfreely of his time—and Fletcher's advice from the otherside—at seances all over the country. Mrs. Ruth Montgomery,the well-known author and Washington reporter,tells of the time that Reverend Ford visited her inWashington and lapsed into a trance so she could askFletcher for some advice on his behalf. Reverend Ford wasthen in the process of moving and wanted to know what heshould do with some of his things. Fletcher seemed totallydisinterested in Ford's problems, Mrs. Montgomeryreported, and when she asked if Ford should visit a clinicfor a checkup, Fletcher snapped, "He'd better dosomething. If he doesn't, I can't work through him muchlonger."Although Reverend Ford had voluntarily submitted hisperson to Fletcher's use for nearly half a century, the entitywas apparently completely disinterested in his problemsand welfare.This is, alas, rather typical. Even the most helpfulentities seem more dedicated to the job of communicatingthan to any kind of involvement with those to whom (orthrough whom) they are communicating. The bizarrehistory of psychic phenomena is filled with Fletchers.