The voice then began to recite a series of numbers meaninglessly。 My friend thought it was some kind of gag and hung up。〃
Finally I asked him if he had ever had any really odd encounters with peculiar strangers。 He looked at me bewildered and astonished。
〃There's one that's always bothered me。 It happened around the time of that phone call thing。 One night when I was walking home to my apartment I became aware of a man following me。 When I looked at him； he stopped and grinned at me 。。。 but there was an air of evil about him。 I can't pinpoint it exactly。〃
〃Was he possibly seme kind of sex deviate？〃 I suggested。
〃No 。。。 I don't think so。 He was short and slight； and wore a black coat and black trousers。 His face was dark and foreign…looking。 I don't know why； but that evil grin is burned into my memory。〃
Don said he hurried into his apartment and never saw the man again。 A mere chance encounter on a busy New York street。 Perhaps。
The foolishly grinning man is a staple item in psychic lore。 Black…suited with a dark plexion and craggy foreign face； he has been described to me in many places by many people。
As for strange phone calls； I have investigated so many that I am now practically a telephone engineer。 They are hard to nail down because there are so many cranks； hoaxers； and 〃phone phreaks〃 out there today。 But the calls that interest me most fall into patterns that exclude natural explanations。
At 8 A。M。 on March 24； 1961； two women in Prospect； Oregon； a town of about three hundred people； were talking together on the phone when suddenly a strange man's voice broke into the line and snapped； 〃Wake up down there！〃 One of the ladies regarded this as an affront and she proceeded to express a very strong opinion。 The voice started to rattle on in a rapid…fire language that sounded like Spanish but the line seemed to be dead。 The two women could not hear each other。 After the man suddenly stopped； the line became live again。
The next day； at the same hour； the women were on the phone again； and again the strange voice interrupted with； 〃Wake up down there！〃
This time the women listened quietly as the voice said something in the foreign language； and then it recited the numbers forty and twenty…five over and over。 No one in Prospect spoke Spanish。 There was no accounting for the incident。
Voices counting off meaningless numbers also cut in on TV reception in UFO flap areas。 Usually people who experience this sort of thing dismiss it as police calls or the work of some Ham radio operator。 They don't realize that TV sound is broadcast on FM channels reserved for the purpose and there is little chance that a shortwave or CB （Citizen's Band） transmission could interfere。
But the phenomenon is not always restricted to electrical apparatus。 After I published a couple of pieces about it I received dozens of letters from people throughout the country recounting their own experiences。 To my surprise； most of these people had heard the voices late at night； usually waking them up with a sharp mand。 For example； a man in the Southwest claimed he had been jarred awake on several different nights by the sound of a deep male voice ordering； 〃Wake up； number 491！〃 A woman in Ohio heard the voice while driving； 〃873。。。。 You are 873。〃 And another woman in Kansas wrote； 〃Please tell me who these people are that keep reading numbers to me。 They sound as if they are standing right next to me but there is no one there。〃
Do we all have a number tattooed in our brains？ Hardly。 There are three billion people so some of them should be numbered 2；834；689；357。 But all of the numbers that have e to my attention contain only two or three digits。
Another version of this phenomenon are the Morse code…like beeps that blast out of car radios； telephones； and TV sets when UFOs are active。 On January 31； 1968； a woman in California called me long distance to tell me of a string of unusual events around her home。 Her phone was 〃going crazy；〃 the house lights were flashing on and off periodically and the electricians couldn't find the source of the problem； and other weird things were happening。 As she talked I recognized certain patterns which suggested that a repeatable experiment might be possible。 So I gave her some advice which would have sounded insane to anyone overhearing the conversation。 I instructed her to go outside at exactly 9 P。M。 that night with a flashlight and if she saw anything in the sky to signal to it。
The next day she called me back excitedly。 Her husband； who had been skeptical of the whole UFO business； had been converted； she announced； with delight。 She had followed my instructions and； sure enough； at 9 P。M。 that night a large orange sphere appeared directly over her home。 She flashed the light three times but there was no response from the object。 After a few moments it scurried off。 She and her husband re…entered the house where the television was on。 As soon as they entered the living room three loud； very loud beeps shot out of the TV set。 Her husband was pletely flabbergasted。
I have given the same crazy advice to other UFO sighters； always with similar results。 Sometimes after watching an object their telephones will suddenly ring 。。。 and there will be no one on the line。 Or their doorbells will ring by themselves。
Obviously these things are manifestations within the electro…magnetic （EM） spectrum。 The voices； however； seem to e from a more mysterious superspectrum。
In hypnosis there is a simple technique called post…hypnotic suggestion。 The hypnotist can tell his subject that fifteen minutes after he es out of bis trance he will suddenly feel an impulse to climb up on a chair and crow like a rooster。 When the subject is brought out of his trance he behaves normally for fifteen minutes； then he suddenly climbs onto a chair and crows。 He can't explain why he did it。 It seemed like a rational action at the moment。
There is a kind of post…hypnotic suggestion involved in many UFO and psychic incidents。 The witness is driving along a road late at night。 He hears a beeping sound and lapses into a trance 。。。 as if he had been preconditioned to lose consciousness at the sound of the beep。 Later； he awakes to the sound of another series of beeps。 Now he finds he is some distance from his original point and he's baffled about what happened in the intervening minutes… or hours…for he can't remember a thing。
Several variations of this hypnosis…inducing tactic occur。 Some witnesses see an approaching aerial object with numbers clearly marked on it。 As they study the numbers they lapse into a trance。 In some cases； ancient lettering like Greek or Chinese appears on the object。 The effect is the same。 Months； even years； later the same percipient may again see the same numbers or letters on an object； or even on a set of license plates or a sign； and again falls into a deep trance。
III
The U。S。 Air Force and the CIA were blamed for the many weird telephone problems that plagued the tiny bands of UFO investigators around the country in the 1960s。 They were convinced that the government was out to get them。 But these things have been happening from the earliest days of the modern UFO age when； in June 1947； before the air force or the CIA were even mitted to UFO investigation； pilot Kenneth Arnold was checking into the Maury Island sightings in Taa。 He and a fellow pilot ran their investigation from a hotel and some unidentified person repeatedly called the local newspapers and told reporters everything that was transpiring in that hotel room。 Arnold tore the place apart looking for hidden microphones； but there didn't seem to be any。
The official air force report on the sighting of a Florida scoutmaster； Sonny Desvergers； in 1952； states： 〃Captain Corney ＇an air force intelligence officer＇ was asked about the facts of supposedly anonymous threatening telephone calls that Mr。 Desvergers had received。 He stated that Desvergers had called him approximately two weeks ago and stated that he had been receiving