Birmingham UFO Group Case Report
Author: Dave Hodrien
Release Date: 28/07/2023
In late 2022 I got in touch with a lady named Janet Ames after reading a message from her on Facebook eluding to an abduction experience she had back in 1989. I got in touch with her via Messenger, and over the following months chatted about what had happened, eventually having a detailed telephone call in July 2023 to go over things in depth. This report documents the experience, as well as other events which took place in the weeks leading up to it.
Something Watching
Late in the spring of 1989 Janet lived in a house on Peel Street, Middlesbrough with her then husband, young daughter and son. She is unaware of exactly when it started, but she began to get anxious and frightened about going to bed at night, even with her husband right there in the room with her. This was accompanied by a feeling that she was being watched by an unseen presence in the room after dark. Janet did not tell him about how she was feeling, she could not understand where these emotions were coming from.
Within days she started waking up at roughly 3 am night after night. She says that she felt that there was one or more small figures standing in the room alongside the bed, but never saw these figures when she opened her eyes. It began happening so regularly that she would instinctively know what time it was even before checking the clock. She would never put the light on in the room as she did not want to wake her sleeping husband. She would just lie in the bed restless for a time, then drop back off to sleep.
During the daytime she began to feel tired and weak, possibly as a result of the disturbed nights she was having.
Many experiencers talk of a sense of being watched by something, especially in the run up to or at the start of contact experiences. It is interesting that Janet sensed the presence of one or more short figures in the room alongside the bed. These could potentially have been unseen Greys, which are usually around 4 feet in height, similar to how she described.
Glowing Orbs
Around the same time Janet began to occasionally see small glowing orbs of light in the room. On the first occasion it was also witnessed by her husband. They were both lying awake in bed with the light off. Suddenly Janet noticed a small white circle of light hovering over near the far wall of the room and about a foot below the ceiling. It seemed to be about the size of ten pence piece and was not moving at all. She pointed it out to her husband exclaiming “Oh what is that? Look at that!” Her husband looked and briefly saw the orb too before it blinked out in front of them.
She saw a similar orb on two other occasions, not always in the exact spot, but on these other occasions she did not point it out to her husband. However she was puzzled by what it was. She was convinced that it was not caused by something reflecting light onto the wall within the room.
Glowing white orbs are commonly reported by experiencers and are usually observed hovering or drifting around their home. The fact that her husband also saw the orb the first time it was seen shows it was something genuinely there, but exactly what it was cannot be confirmed. There are numerous theories on orbs ranging from ghostly phenomenon to the manifestation of energy linked with ETs, and there are possibly multiple explanations for them in different situations. Janet confirmed to me that on the nights she saw them the weather was fine, so they are unlikely to have been ball lightning.
Figure In The Bathroom
About a week after she started feeling anxious at night, Janet woke to hear the sound of male voices calling her name. The voices seemed to be directly inside her mind rather than coming from a particular location within the property. For an unknown reason she sensed that whoever was calling out wanted her to get out of bed, walk downstairs and open the back door of the house.
It was still fully dark but she was intrigued by the voices and went along with the feeling of what she was supposed to do. She quietly got out of bed in her nightgown and leaving her husband fast asleep crept downstairs. She went to the back door of the house and opened it.
Alongside the back door was a downstairs bathroom. The light was off but the door was open and she could see into it. Standing in the bath tub and leaning against the far corner she could see a man. He appeared to be wearing a rimmed hat and long brown coat, and he was smoking a cigarette. She could see him clearly enough to notice that he was looking right at her and smiling. His face looked strange as his cheeks seemed to be covered in pock marks.
This was the last thing she remembered from the night. Her next recollection was of waking up in the morning. She felt certain that it had not been a dream and that she had got up out of bed in the night and seen the figure. She was so convinced that it happened that after she was up she went downstairs and checked for footprints inside the bath tub. None were found but she was still certain it had taken place.
Like the orbs Janet was seeing, this bizarre incident may have multiple explanations. It is possible that Janet witnessed a ghostly apparition, and that for whatever reason this spirit wanted to make its presence known so called out to her. Another possibility is that this was directly related to contact, and that this was in fact an ET utilising a screen memory to mask its true appearance, although it does seem a very peculiar form for it to take.
An Examination
On another night soon afterwards Janet remembered seeing several people looking down at her. There was a woman in the middle with a man on either side. She only remembered seeing their faces and shoulders staring down at her. The lady drew most of her attention. She looked like she was in her late 40s. She had dark hair and was wearing a white coat.
Instead of speaking directly to her, the lady seemed to be discussing her with the men. At the time of the incident Janet says that she had dry skin on the base of her feet. The lady seemed to be upset by this and was mentioning how disgusting they looked.
This vision of the three people, which came to her mind like a dream while she slept, seemed to last between 5-10 minutes before ceasing. Janet does not recall any direct interaction during this time or exactly how it ended.
As this incident happened while she was asleep and Janet does not recall getting up out of bed at all there is of course the possibility it was just a dream. However the proximity of this incident to everything else that took place does make me wonder if it was another contact experience, and that the people she saw was another screen memory to mask what was really going on. As with many experiences of this nature it is hard to say for certain.
The Abduction
After everything that had been going on over the last few weeks Janet was quite anxious and upset. However she still decided to keep what had happened to herself. On the day of the incident, for an unknown reason, Janet felt the need to move the position of the bed across to the other side of the room alongside the window. That night she and her husband went to bed as normal.
At an unknown time she awoke during the night to find herself standing in the middle of the room facing the window. She was wearing her night gown. It was still fully dark, but the door was ajar and there was enough light coming in from the hall to see her surroundings. She was surprised to find that the curtains and the window were both open, and that outside it was very bad weather, with heavy rain and a strong gale blowing. She thought to herself “Oh no, the window is wide open and it’s raining hard and fast!” She was convinced that the window had been closed and curtains drawn when she went off to sleep.
Janet wanted to get back into bed but when she tried to move she found she could not. The extreme weather conditions outside frightened her and caused her to panic. But then she heard voices again calling her name, coaxing her towards the window. She began to move across the room towards the window, almost like she was under direct control. As she neared it she could see some flashing lights outside.
As she reached the window her vision was obscured by and extremely bright white light. She could see a large object of some kind off to her right. Then all of a sudden she was no longer standing in her bedroom. She now found herself standing in a dimly lit oval-shaped room, about 12 feet across. On the far side of this room was an elongated window. There was nothing visible through this.
Seated in front of her was a tall humanoid male being. He had long curled red coloured hair which was particularly striking. He wore a knee-length tunic, a brown coloured belt, tights with a criss-cross pattern on them and black boots. He had a number of firearms around his waist, and a knife stored down the edge of each of his boots. He had human-like facial features, but appeared to be quite tall, strong and muscular. For an unknown reason she felt comfortable with this being and trusted him, despite not knowing what was going on.
The being began speaking to her, although looking back at the experience Janet cannot remember much of what said. All she can recall is that at one point she was informed that he “came from under the earth.”
She then experienced a period of missing time. Her next recollection is of being in a lift of some kind. The being she had been with was standing on her right. There was another tall humanoid on her left. Both of them were holding onto her arms. They were both about 7 feet in height and towered over her. Unlike the initial being, the one on her left had a metallic helmet on which covered a lot of his head, but she could see dark hair protruding from it. Aside from this the uniform was identical.
Janet is unsure whether the lift ascended or descended, there was no real sense of movement. She thought to herself “Is this a dream? It all seems real. It is really happening. I feel my senses. I hear noises. I can smell. I see colours. I feel fear.”
When the lift doors opened she was led out onto a long corridor which headed off to the left and right. It had numerous doors coming off it. There were two other guards wearing identical uniforms standing either side of the open elevator doors.
Down the corridor to her right she suddenly noticed a drowsy looking man wearing pyjamas. He was being escorted across the corridor by two other tall humanoids who were holding him up. She then realised that she recognised the man! He lived on her street, about four doors down from her! She did not really know him, but it was still good to see a familiar face. Before she had a chance to shout out, he was taken into a doorway on the far side.
Suddenly Janet heard shouting coming from a room just to the right of her on the far side of the corridor. She was led across the corridor into this room. At this point the being who had initially spoke to her walked off down the corridor, leaving her with the other male.
Inside the room there was a lady wearing a long black cloak who appeared to be shouting orders at other figures in the room. She was very slender and tall with long blonde hair. Janet remembers thinking how beautiful she looked. Janet does not think she communicated directly with her or even acknowledged her presence.
After a short while the being alongside her led her back out of the room. At this moment she seemed to experience another gap in her memory. She was now in another room lying down on a table. The room was very brightly lit, with white walls and ceiling. It was square in shape, approximately 22 feet across. It looked very clean and clinical.
The table was centre left of one of the sides. It appeared to be black in colour, but had a thin white sheet draped over it, through which the underlying colour could be seen. It was raised about three feet off the floor. Janet thinks that she was now unclothed but cannot be certain. She found that she could not move from the neck downwards, she could only turn her head to look around the room. Her body felt extremely heavy and weighed down.
Opposite her on the far side of the room was a wide open doorway through which nothing in particular could be seen. To her right she could see a small window and an open doorway. Again nothing specific could be seen through them. When she turned her head and looked to her left she was surprised to see a number of worktops, cupboards and what looked like sink taps.
Between these and the edge of the table stood another tall male being. He was wearing a white coat, and looked very strong and powerful. His head and hands were large, but his features were human-like. Janet though to herself “He is the doctor”, perhaps because of the clothing he was wearing and the clinical environment she was in. Even though she had already been interacting with numerous other similar beings for an unknown reason she was extremely frightened of this one in particular, and as a result she actively tried not to look directly at him. This could have been because of the anticipation of what he may do and the fact that she was unable to run away.
She sensed the presence of another couple of beings behind her head, but was unable to arc her head enough to see them clearly. She then heard the words “Relax, you must relax now, relax!” inside her mind. She started to feel very hot and slightly drowsy, and found it difficult to breathe, which caused her to get angry about the situation. In reaction to this she shouted out “Don’t! Please don’t! You can’t do this! Stop!” However the being alongside her appeared not to react to this in any way.
He then began to examine her using a number of different instruments. She felt objects touching her, but actively tried to look away from what was happening. This seemed to go on for quite a period of time, at least 30 minutes she thinks. At one point in proceedings she was rolled onto her right side by the being, who was quite forceful.
After a while she watched as the being beside her handed what appeared to be a large syringe with a long needle to one of the unseen figures behind her head. She was then lifted and forced into a sitting up position. She then felt a sharp stab of pain in the back of her head, which she assumed was the point of the needle. At the shock of this she jumped, and suddenly found herself back home in her own bed. She was pouring with sweat, short of breath and shaking. What she had just gone through felt much more vivid and real than a normal nightmare. It felt like it had just taken place and that she had then been returned to the house.
In shock at what had happened she began to quietly cry as her husband continued to sleep alongside her. She does not recall getting up out of the bed. Instead she began to feel extremely drowsy, and assumes that she then dropped off to sleep.
In the morning when she awoke she felt extremely weak and tired. Her head ached, especially around the back where she had felt the stabbing pain. She felt the location but could not feel any lumps under her hair. Janet did not tell her husband what had happened as she thought he would not understand or would just put it down to a bad dream.
Soon afterwards she decided to write down everything that happened so that she would not forget any of the details. Janet kindly sent me photographs of these notes, which have been referenced to aid in the writing of this report.
Although she did not know much about the contact phenomenon at this point, she had heard of alien abduction, and wondered if this is what had taken place. She decided to get in touch with the British UFO Research Association (BUFORA) and send them the details of the incident. A lady got back in touch with her, and they began to make plans to meet and discuss what had happened in more depth. However this never happened in the end as the lady sadly passed away, and Janet did not get back in touch to make alternative arrangements.
Aside from this, Janet kept the incident entirely to herself right up until 2021, during which she spoke of the incident with her daughter. To her knowledge she has not had any further contact experiences, but as a result of what happened now has a fascination with the subject.
This is an extremely detailed experience, and one which has clearly affected Janet deeply on an enduring basis. Although there are some unusual aspects to it, such as the appearance of the beings and the way in which she was led round different rooms, there are many elements which have similarities with other contact experiences I have investigated directly or are aware of.
Could this just have been a very unusual, unpleasant and vivid dream? While this cannot be entirely ruled out due to the fact that it did occur during the night while she was in bed, there are numerous aspects which point away from this explanation. Firstly Janet says that it felt a lot more vivid and real than any dream she has had before or since. Her senses were on high alert, she could hear, smell and feel things just like being wide awake.
This alone could be explained by lucid dreaming. But she also endured numerous after effects – her head ached, especially around the location where she feels she was stabbed with a needle. She felt very weak and tired. These are commonly reported after effects of abduction experiences.
Then there is the fact that many of the aspects of the incident coincide with other abduction experiences on record. The bright white light she saw followed by finding herself in another location. The gaps in her memory while travelling to/from this other location and sometimes moving from place to place within the location itself. The flattened table in a clinical environment bare of furnishings. The fact that she was largely paralyzed at this point, yet had been able to walk around prior to this. The examination procedure she endured.
The beings themselves were rather strange. Although abductees regularly encounter humanoids, often referred to as Nordics, the beings Janet met with did not appear to be these. They were all extremely tall, large, strong and muscular. This of course makes it very unlikely that they were human, despite having human-like facial features. I have dealt with numerous cases involving humanoid looking beings, but none which match this description exactly. It is possible that there are other cases of these on record which I have not yet come across.
It is of course possible that the appearance of these beings was again a screen memory, but if this were the case why would the beings appear in this manner? Surely it would make more sense for them to just appear as normal humans?
If Janet was abducted, then it is certainly possible that the initial location she found herself in was aboard a craft, although she never saw this from the outside. She did see flashing lights outside the bedroom window, which suggests that there may have been a craft waiting for her. Perhaps she was then taken to another larger craft, or even a building somewhere. Many people have described very similar surroundings while being taken.
What could the initial being have meant when he informed Janet that he came from “under the earth”? Was he implying that he (and potentially his race) live underground here on the planet? Or could he instead have meant that he lived underground on another planet? This is something which dwells on Janet’s mind.
At one point during the experience Janet saw one of her neighbours wearing pyjamas and in a drowsy state. This suggests that they had abducted him at the same time, and potentially others too, out of sight in the numerous rooms Janet saw coming off the corridor. I have investigated numerous cases where abductees have seen others aboard craft in a drowsy or even completely “switched off” state.
The extensive examination procedure which Janet was forced to endure against her will is extremely commonly reported, and in these situations individuals are often paralyzed from the neck downward, probably to prevent them from fighting back against what is happening. Many have reported having cold and sometimes painful metallic instruments used on them, or having injections just like the one which Janet described.
It is improbable that she was instantly transported back home the moment she had this injection in the back of her head. However her memories could have been removed from this point, so this was the last clear and very upsetting moment she could remember when she came round.
Due to the many similarities of Janet's experience with other abduction accounts on record, and the after effects she experienced, I cannot simply dismiss this incident as a vivid dream, and I feel there is the genuine possibility it took place.
Conclusions
Janet comes across as a very trustworthy witness. It is clear that the experience affected her deeply, enough to get in touch with BUFORA soon after it happened. The details provided are very specific, and do not come across as a made up story. If she was going to fabricate an abduction experience, why not just go with Greys, the most commonly described type of being, instead of these unusual large humanoids?
The series of events which Janet (and her ex-husband) experienced within several weeks of one another are fascinating and have many aspects which fit with other contact cases I have investigated over the years.
Although the abduction experience is an odd one, with the unusual appearance of the beings, and the fact Janet was taken from room to room for an unknown purpose before being examined, I feel it is certainly possible that it did take place as she remembers.
Janet seems very well adjusted to what has happened. She informed me that these days she is more inquisitive about the experience than frightened, although obviously at the time she was terrified. I would like to thank her for allowing me to share the details to aid in our understanding of this on-going phenomenon.
If you have any information relating to what took place, or know of any other experiences involving this particular type/species please get in touch.
Copyright Dave Hodrien 2023