Behind every great man, there is a great ghost. For William Birnes, host of History Channel’s UFO Hunters and author of over 25 books on subjects ranging from human behavior to the paranormal, this statement proves true.
At Monday night’s lecture in the Penn Bookstore on his most recent book co-written with friend Joel Martin, The Haunting of 20th Century America, Birnes discussed the “spiritual underpinnings” of history in the United States. Birnescame to campus in order to shed light on the “world of unseen” and how foreign policy has been affected by UFOs and the paranormal.
Birnes admits his first encounter with the paranormal occurred as a small child in the 1950’s in New York where he saw a UFO, something he says “stays with you.” The event moved him to pursue “a whole side of history you’ll never get.” Later, Birnes witnessed the appearance of his mother’s ghost, something he argues isn’t uncommon in our world.
For Birnes, the paranormal is as “real as real can be, [there is] more paranormal than normal,” something he presented to a small three-person audience with various examples and theories. Birnes’ accounts included George Washington’s interaction with an alien life form at Valley Forge who promised him success in the American Revolution, Picasso’s connection to the paranormal and Benjamin Franklin’s belief in life on other planets. Birnes finds paranormal undertones in almost every aspect of history, including the Aryan race that came to earth from a different planet and became its first inhabitants — a theory that inspired the Nazi party. Birnes also argues that it’s “perfectly normal for people near death to see people from the other side.”
In Birnes’ opinion, ordinary things always has a “paranormal slant.” In our society, however, secrecy is key. If a president were to admit that UFOs are real, there would be a “torrent of complaints.” Perhaps, Birnes suggests, this is why the UFO discovery at Roswell, New Mexico has remained such a confidential topic. Birnes admits that in the government, “stuff leaks,” which makes confidentiality necessary.
His audience, though small, enjoyed his lecture.
Bambi Dudley, a worker for national UFO research organization Mutual UFO Network, said that she is “coming to believing in [the paranormal],” particularly after listening to Birnes’ lecture.
