This Summers' blockbuster hit movie "Contact" explored the probability of the existence of life on a planet other than our own. While the movie is based on the partly autobiographical book by the same name written by the late Dr. Carl Sagan, it was written as a novel rather than nonfiction. Interestingly enough it deals with a scientist who finds that after a lifetime of reliance on logic, scientific reasoning and a quest of for irrefutable proof, she finds she is unable to rely on these old friends when it comes to validating her own personal (dare we say spiritual?) journey into the cosmos. Budd Hopkins however, is no longer stargazing (or listening as the case might be) contemplating the probability of the existence of other beings and the spiritual significance - he KNOWS extra-terrestrials exist. If you have read any of his three books dealing with UFO's and the abduction phenomenon, you already know he makes it hard NOT to believe. But more on that later.

While Hopkins is known worldwide as a serious and respected UFO re-searcher, he is equally well known in other circles as a painter and sculptor. Painting, which he has been doing since the 1950's, is his "first love." He prefers to work with oils and acrylics to create his abstract pieces. His sculpture work is primarily in wood dealing with themes such as altars, temples and gateways. He recently completed a large stone and wood structure for a private client with a large gate and stone table and seats while at the same time preparing for a two week "one man show" in Provincetown. In addition to having been awarded several prestigious awards such as a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, his work is shown around the world and can be found in many collections including the Guggenheim, The Whitney and the Museum of Modern Art. He and his wife, Carol Rainey, a documentary film maker, live in New York City and also maintain a residence on Cape Cod.

In spite of a vague interest in the subject of UFO's sparked by a personal daylight sighting of a small round metallic craft over Cape Cod in 1964, Hopkins did not begin researching the subject in earnest until much later. For the next 11 years he did nothing actively in the UFO arena until a close acquaintance remarked offhandedly about sighting he had experienced in a well populated area of Northern New Jersey. This revelation prompted him to conduct his first, somewhat informal, investigation which was later published as an article in The Village Voice in early 1976. Because of the amount of publicity the case generated at the time, Hopkins began to receive additional reports of other cases involving "missing time." His first book titled "Missing Time" (Richard Marek Publishers) documented his first serious investigations into UFO's and this phenomenon experienced by many individuals who have reported similar experiences as his friend, but cannot remember exactly what happened over a one or two hour period. Hopkins' second career was launched.

While there are many who would have us believe that UFO sightings only occur in rural or unpopulated areas, the opposite is quite true. According to Hopkins there have been many UFO sightings in major metropolitan areas including Los Angeles, Paris, Washington, Rome and of course New York City. In fact, over the past six months he has received information about a number of sightings in the New York area two of which include video tape footage. The difficulty in all of these cases as well as hundreds of others, is the apparent lack of additional witnesses to corroborate a sighting. This is precisely what makes the subject of Hopkins' latest book "Witnessed" (Pocket Books) so unusual. Since it was written as a nonfiction piece and assuming we all agree with the maxim "truth is stranger than fiction," this book serves as a stunning example to the accuracy of the statement . Referred to in UFO circles as the "Linda Cortile or Brooklyn Bridge" case, the book seems to have more plot turns than the best written mystery novel when in fact it is simply a chronology of the events Hopkins experienced during his investigation of this case. Unlike any other of his cases to date, this 1989 abduction from an apartment building in downtown Manhattan was "witnessed" by a number of credible individuals, from a variety of different vantage points, on or around the Brooklyn Bridge that evening. As the story unfolds we are presented with revelations so unbelievable they could easily be dismissed as fiction but as Hopkins aptly points out "we all know the function of fiction is to be believable." The incredible nature of the facts of the case actually serve to enhance the credibility of the story. It seems to all those involved that this incident was intentionally orchestrated by the aliens to include a variety of reputable witnesses, but you will have to read the book on your own to learn more.

Surveys done in recent years tell us that the majority of the public accepts the reality of UFO's. According to Hopkins "In a recent poll, 78% of the American people believe the US Government is concealing information about UFO's." If you are among those who believe this is the case, reading "Witness" will only serve to strengthen your belief. Among the witnesses purported to be involved in the case are several reasonably well known government officials as well as one of "world leader" status. What would be the risk then of going public with such information when according to Hopkins "fully 28% of the population believes we have already made contact with aliens already?" Many believe that "plausible deniability" of alien encounters allows the world order to continue to function smoothly. Keeping the reality "in the closet makes it more comfortable for people" says Hopkins "We plan long term with a sense of continuity about things. Essentially the economy and everything else we plan is predicated on the belief that there won't be any major changes-be pretty much the same world twenty years from now."

In spite of worldwide official denial of the existence of aliens, thousands of people from all countries, races and socio-economic backgrounds continue to come forward with their own stories of alien encounters. In his second book titled "Intruders: The Incredible Visitations at Copley Woods" (Random House) Hopkins took UFO sightings beyond the "sighting" experience and moved it into the realm of the "abduction" experience. While many may feel reasonably comfortable with the suggestion that benign visitors from another galaxy may be sight-seeing on earth, the issue becomes even more emotionally and politically charged when talk about abduction and experimentation begins. Since writing Intruders, Hopkins learned even more about "how incredibly intimately and deeply involved alien occupancy is" which is explored in more detail in Witnessed. At the very time when victims of a UFO experience need families and the public at large to believe and support them, the fear of any of this being true causes victims and family to retreat into a comforting cocoon of denial. After reading "Intruders" it is easy to understand how many abductees prefer to speak about their experiences in terms of them being only "dreams." While it may be little comfort to victims, Hopkins would like readers to know that he has "never seen any evidence that UFO occupants are evil or malevolent beings like so many movies would have us believe. While the outcomes of these events have a deleterious effect on some people does not mean that was intended, it's just a by-product of what they are doing."

Over the last 21 years, Hopkins has worked with over 600 such people doing extensive one-on-one, interviews and hypnotic sessions. In 1989 Hopkins founded the Intruders foundation (IF), a not for profit organization devoted to research and public education concerning the UFO abduction phenomenon. Under the auspices of IF, Hopkins has lectured to more than a thousand Psychiatrists and Psychotherapists on the subject of the abduction phenomenon as sort of an outreach program on behalf of it's victims. "What I do is not cheerful" he says. "People are suffering a great deal of trauma and side effects" as a result of their abduction experiences. "One ray of sunshine in all this is we do have an ever-growing number of mental health professionals who take this very seriously. In fact I have had eight psychiatrists come to me about their own abductions."

Though no story about UFO's would be quite complete without some mention about "evidence" and "proof" space considerations preclude a thorough debate on the subject so the following must suffice. Carl Sagan is said to have been a skeptic who would accept only solid physical rather than anecdotal evidence (including eyewitness testimony) as proof of alien existence and therein lies the problem of convincing the scientific community at large. "The issue of evidence is extremely important" says Hopkins "on the other hand, I've always defined proof as how much evidence it takes to persuade someone something is true. We have all kinds of evidence-more than one could even imagine. I think what we do have is extremely persuasive. If this were a court of law, and this level of evidence was presented regarding legal issues, you would have enough evidence to put someone in the electric chair! " While as a researcher Hopkins must approach each new case as a skeptic, scrutinize the individual facts and weigh the merits in the case, he says he realized a long ago that "I no longer have the luxury of disbelief." Hopkins takes no monetary payment for his UFO investigative work which is financed by book royalties, conference fees and of course his artistic endeavors. I couldn't help but ask him why he does this work, to which he responded "It's the biggest story of all time if its true! I can see the good that can be done by working with someone who has been going through a great deal of self doubt, mental torture and so forth. With a minimum effort on my part it seems I am able to do maximum good."

If you have any additional information that might prove helpful in Budd's New York investigations or to report your own UFO experience you can write to: Budd Hopkins, c/o IF (Intruders Foundation), Box 30233, NY, NY 10011

On Sunday November 2nd 1997, Budd Hopkins appeared as keynote speaker at the First Annual Long Island UFO Conference sponsored by the Eyes of Learning in Hicksville, NY.