On the night of September 19, 1961, the Betty and Barney Hill had just finished a trip to Canada and were driving back to their home in New Hampshire, USA. Both felt a bit tired after several days of travel. Around 10:30 p.m., they suddenly noticed a bright light near the moon. Barney immediately pointed it out to Betty, and they both watched it for a while, but could not identify what it was. At first, they assumed it was a star. Later, however, they noticed the light was moving, and realized it was an unidentified flying object (UFO). Barney stopped the car to get a better look, but the object appeared to be getting closer.
At this point, they realized something was wrong and quickly returned to the car, leaving the area in haste. During the drive, Betty used binoculars and saw that the light was a flying saucer. She even claimed she could see windows and figures inside. Throughout the journey, they heard a continuous buzzing sound. They then began to feel disoriented and confused, and when they regained full awareness, two hours had passed.
When they arrived home, Barney’s shoes were damaged, and Betty’s dress was torn, with an unidentified pink powder on it. Their car’s trunk had strange glowing circular marks, and a compass placed near them would lose its directional accuracy.
Two days later, the Hills reported their experience to an Air Force base. An investigating officer reportedly stated that Air Force radar had also detected an unidentified flying object at the time. Six days later, Betty contacted NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena), a UFO research organization. NICAP soon sent investigator Webb to examine the case. After the investigation, it was concluded that the couple had indeed encountered a UFO. Following this, Betty began having the same nightmare for five consecutive nights, in which she and her husband were taken aboard a flying saucer and subjected to various examinations by aliens.
What Betty and Barney Hill discovered under hypnosis
Because both individuals were in poor mental condition afterward, the following year the Hills visited Boston psychiatrist Dr. Benjamin Simon for hypnotherapy.
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Under hypnosis, they recalled the missing two-hour period. In Barney’s recollection, due to fear and anger, he spent most of the time struggling and shouting.
According to recorded hypnosis sessions, several aliens surrounded them. They were about five feet tall and wore blue uniforms. Their appearance was similar to humans but with differences in head structure: no hair, no ears, but ear-like openings on the sides of the head. Their faces were flat, with very small mouths and noses, and unusually large eyes.
The two were then taken aboard the craft and separated into different rooms. Betty described being examined: “The examiners gave us a physical examination. They placed her on a table and examined her eyes, ears, nose, and throat. Then they placed her on another table and said they wanted to examine her nervous system. They tried to insert a needle-like instrument into her navel, but she felt pain, so they stopped. Barney said his examination was similar, but they were more interested in his bones.”
Under hypnosis, Betty later drew the star system where the aliens supposedly lived: twelve large stars connected by lines, and three smaller stars arranged in a triangle. She explained that solid lines represented “regular trade routes” between planets, while dashed lines indicated rarely traveled routes. She also said this information had been explained to her by the alien “leader.”
At the time, the case caused a major sensation, but astronomers could not find any star system matching her drawing, and concluded that the system she depicted did not exist. However, years later, astronomers discovered a star system called Zeta Reticuli, located about 39 light-years from Earth, and were surprised to note similarities between this system and the star map Betty had drawn during hypnosis, which corresponded to references in the Zeta Reticuli hypothesis.
It was considered remarkable that Betty, who had no background in astronomy, could have drawn such a star map. Supporters of the case viewed this as evidence of its authenticity.
