A man on the edge of panic

“The Eighth Tower” is marketed as a companion volume to John Keel's classic “The Mothman Prophecies”. The two books feel very different, however. “The Eighth Tower” is better written and somewhat more theoretical, but precisely for that reason feels very bland in comparison with the Mothman book, which to a large extent is based on Keel's own investigations of paranormal events in New York City and West Virginia. Those who want vintage Keel should read “The Mothman Prophecies”…

Keel believes that all (?) paranormal phenomena are connected to something he calls the superspectrum, a kind of impersonal cosmic energy which penetrates our mundane reality at every level. Most aliens, monsters, demons or gods that emerge from the superspectrum are really our own thought-forms. People with clairvoyant abilities can tap into the superspectrum, and in rare cases even predict the future (since time as we know it doesn't exist there), but most of the “messages” coming out of the spectrum are pure gibberish. Keel also has a more sinister and paranoid theory, however. He claims that we are being remote-controlled or brain-washed by the superspectrum for ulterior purposes. Perhaps we are somebody's property, or are being bred for food by the Cosmos? (Reminds me of Gurdjieff's idea that the Moon eats people.)

In a particularly paranoid moment, Keel suggests that paranormal manifestations are under the control of a super-computer from Atlantis known as The Eighth Tower. The inhabitants of Atlantis are long gone, but their computer still works, creating strange new religions (including Christianity and Islam) as it goes along. The last century or so, the computer has gone haywire, which explains the myriad paranormal events which are meaningless or insane! It's not entirely clear whether Keel really believes this (he probably doesn't), but he clearly feels that there is *something* very strange going on in the cosmos, something neither science nor established religion has captured.

In his more pessimistic moments, Keel suggests that maybe God is crazy, if there is such a creature at all. In his less paranoid moods, the author suggests that there may still be hope. The modern world has begun to see through the lies of dogmatic, establishment religion. In the near future, science will discover the superspectrum, making it possible for humans to consciously change their negative thought-forms into positive ones, and by knowing how the spectrum operates, turn it into a force for good. However, I think the dark side plays a more prominent role in Keel's speculations, perhaps because of his personal experiences in Point Pleasant and elsewhere (detailed in “The Mothman Prophecies”). I must say that his attacks on Christianity and the Darwinian theory of evolution are both extremely silly, suggesting that he never bothered reading the relevant literature…

It's strange that the author, who presumably had studied occult literature, never claims that the superspectrum is the lower astral (otherwise known as Purgatory and Hell), while the good manifestations – which clearly exist – are the work of higher forces. At bottom, John Keel was a man constantly on the edge of panic. Perhaps he had been too touched by the infernal forces. I hope the author (who is deceased) eventually found some rest, far away from the Eighth Tower…