John Keel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John A. Keel
|
|
|---|---|
John Keel (1969).
|
|
| Born | March 25, 1930 |
| Died | July 3, 2009 (aged 79) New York, New York, United States
|
| Occupation |
|
John Alva Keel (born Alva John Kiehle on March 25, 1930 – died July 3, 2009) was an American journalist. He was a very important UFO researcher. He is best known for writing the book The Mothman Prophecies.
Contents
Early Life and Writing
John Keel was born in Hornell, New York. His father was a singer and bandleader. After his parents divorced, John lived with his grandparents. This was in Perry, New York.
He loved magic from a young age. His friends even called him "Houdini." He enjoyed reading about magic, science, and travel. When he was twelve, his first story was published. It appeared in a magazine for magicians.
At fourteen, he decided he wanted to be a writer. He wrote a column for a local newspaper. He also made his own science fiction magazine. He sent many stories to magazines in New York. By age sixteen, he had finished all the science classes at his school. He then left school to write full-time.
John Keel's Career
Starting as a Writer
At seventeen, John Keel moved to New York City. He wanted to become a professional writer. He lived in Greenwich Village. He became the editor of a poetry magazine. He wrote for newspapers and radio shows. He also wrote articles for popular magazines.
Working for the US Army
John Keel joined the US Army during the Korean War. Because he knew about radio and TV, he worked for the American Forces Network. This was a radio station in Frankfurt, Germany. He started by writing radio programs. Within a year, he was in charge of all productions. After two years, he took a civilian job with the Army.
He said that the Army trained him. He learned how to write propaganda. This is writing meant to influence people's thoughts.
Journalist and Author
After his military service, he worked as a foreign radio reporter. He reported from Paris, Berlin, Rome, and Egypt.
At age 24, he quit his job. He traveled for four years. He explored the Middle East and Southeast Asia. He looked for people who could do the Indian rope trick. He also investigated fakirs and yogis. He even tried to find the Yeti. This journey became his first book, Jadoo, published in 1957.
During the 1960s, he worked in television. He was a main writer for the game show Play Your Hunch. He also wrote for TV shows like Get Smart and The Monkees.
He wrote some novels using the name Harry Gibbs. In 1966, he wrote a fiction book called The Fickle Finger of Fate. It sold about 600,000 copies.
In 1966, he was asked to write about UFOs. His article was not published. But Keel became very interested in UFOs. He said he visited 20 states. He interviewed thousands of people who saw UFOs. He used this information for his book Operation Trojan Horse. He also visited Point Pleasant, West Virginia many times. He investigated sightings there. This led to his most famous book, The Mothman Prophecies (1975).
His ideas about UFOs appeared in magazines. These included Flying Saucer Review and Saga.
He also worked as an advisor. He helped the Library of Congress and other government offices. He was a member of the Screenwriters Guild.
Paranormal Research
Many people consider John Keel a very important UFO writer. He wrote books that many people read.
Richard Hatem, who wrote the movie The Mothman Prophecies, compared Keel to a famous writer. He called him the "Hunter S. Thompson of paranormal writers."
Men in Black
John Keel created the term men in black. He used it in an article for Saga magazine in 1967. These are mysterious figures. They are often said to visit people who report UFO sightings.
New Ideas About UFOs
At first, Keel hoped to prove that UFOs came from other planets. But after a year of research, he changed his mind. Other researchers like J. Allen Hynek and Jacques Vallée also reached similar ideas.
Keel wrote: "I stopped believing in the idea of aliens from other planets in 1967. My own research showed a surprising connection between psychic events and UFOs." He thought that UFOs might not be real objects from another planet. He believed we might see what we expect to see. We then understand these visions based on what we already believe.
In his books UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse and The Eighth Tower, Keel suggested something else. He thought a non-human or spiritual intelligence might be creating these events. This intelligence might want to spread certain beliefs. For example, stories of monsters, ghosts, and demons. Also, fairy tales, vampire legends, and mystery airships. He thought all these strange events might be a cover for a deeper phenomenon. He called UFO occupants "ultraterrestrials." He believed they were non-human beings. They could change their form as they wished.
In Our Haunted Planet, Keel thought about another idea. What if the "aliens" are not visitors at all? What if they are an advanced civilization already on Earth? They might or might not be human. He also considered the idea of beings from other dimensions.
Keel did not say what the final goal of this phenomenon was. But he believed that the UFO intelligence seemed very interested in humans.
The Mothman Prophecies Book
The Mothman Prophecies (1975) is John Keel's famous book. It tells about his investigation in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. People there reported seeing a huge, winged creature. This creature was called Mothman. A newspaper editor gave it that name.
The book became very popular. It was the basis for a movie in 2002. The movie starred Richard Gere and Laura Linney. Richard Gere played a character named John Klein. This was a play on Keel's name.
Keel liked how the director, Mark Pellington, made the movie. He said, "They put a lot of the book's ideas into the movie. There were small changes, but I have no real complaints. It's Hollywood, and it's done well."
Personal Life and Trivia
John Keel did not cook. He often ate at a restaurant called Edgar's. This was near his home in the Upper West Side of New York City.
One of his close friends was another paranormal researcher, Ivan T. Sanderson.
Keel's apartment was full of books. There were thousands of books stacked high. Papers were piled everywhere.
He lived in New York City for many years. He never married.
John Keel passed away on July 3, 2009. He was 79 years old.
He once had a business card. It read: "John A. Keel, Not an Authority on Anything."
In later versions of his book Jadoo, his publisher described him. They called him "a real-life Indiana Jones."
Works
Paranormal Research Books
- Jadoo (1957)
- Operation Trojan Horse (1970); also called Why UFOs (1978)
- Strange Creatures From Time And Space (1970); also called The Complete Guide To Mysterious Beings (1994)
- Our Haunted Planet (1971)
- The Flying Saucer Subculture (1973)
- The Mothman Prophecies (1975)
- The Eighth Tower (1975); published in Britain as The Cosmic Question (1978)
- Disneyland of the Gods (1988)
Fiction Book
- The Fickle Finger of Fate (Fawcett, 1966)
Selected Writings (Collections of Articles)
- The Best of John Keel (Paperback 2006)
- Flying Saucer to the Center of Your Mind: Selected Writings of John A. Keel (2013)
- The Outer Limits of the Twilight Zone: Selected Writings of John A. Keel (2013)
- Searching For the String: Selected Writings of John A. Keel (2014)
- The Great Phonograph in the Sky: Selected Writings of John A. Keel (2015)
- The Perspicacious Percipient: How to Investigate UFOs and Other Insane Urges - Selected Writings of John A. Keel (2015)
- The Passionate Percipient: Illusions I Have Known And Loved - Selected Writings of John A. Keel (2015)
- Pursuing the Addenda: Supernatural Reports From the Natural World (2016)
See also
In Spanish: John Keel para niños
