Through the looking glass

 

“Tefatsfolket ser oss” (The Saucer People See Us) is a classical Swedish UFO-logy book, first published in 1973. It was reissued in 1980. The author, the late Staffan Stigsjöö, wrote three books about the UFO phenomenon, and this one seems to be the best. It could still have used much better editing, being somewhat eclectic and “stream of consciousness”. It´s also badly sourced and doesn´t contain a single footnote!

The book´s purpose is presumably to educate the reading public about the UFO phenomenon, and try to remove the stigma, ridicule and disinformation surrounding it. Stigsjöö believes in a nuts-and-bolts version of the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis. He is also open to Erich von Däniken´s speculations about ancient aliens. One of the main themes of the book is to debunk the Condon Committee, or rather the media reports about it, since Stigsjöö believes that the actual report was much more positive towards the existence of UFOs than the 20-page summary sent to the press. 

According to Stigsjöö, 30% of UFO observations are unexplained. J Allen Hynek and Jacques Vallee are prominently featured in the book. To give the UFO question an air of respectability, the author often references scientists (including astronomers), pilots and military personnel who either saw UFOs themselves or recommended UFO research. The book also translates a remarkable speech by a Ugandan diplomat before the UN General Assembly, demanding an international discussion about UFOs and the responsibility in case a space ship from a UN member-state accidentally damages an alien vessel.

Unsurprisingly, “Tefatsfolket ser oss” discusses several Swedish UFO cases, including the Anten case (a hoax according to mainstream media) and the weird case of “the Pollen King” Gösta Carlsson. There is also a Finnish case involving humanoid aliens. The author is extremely negative towards contactees, and dismisses their stories out of hand. He dislikes both the (easily disproven) tales of travels to Venus or Mars to meet aliens, and the religious message often associated with contactees. One medium attacked in the book claimed to channel the Ashtar Command (we deny responsibility).

Stigsjöö is extremely annoyed at both the Swedish military agency FOA and the US Air Force for their constant denials of the UFO phenomenon. He believes that material evidence, such as photos and debris, have been confiscated by the military in various nations. Does the US government know that the UFOs are real and extraterrestrial in origin? Stigsjöö isn´t entirely clear on the topic, vacillating between a conspiracy scenario and a more “moderate” explanation, the latter simply being that the officialdom are lazy and incapable of taking in the fantastic new reality of the saucer people. Nor is it entirely clear whether the author regards the UFOs/aliens as benign or hostile. He often mentions cases which at least imply a hostile intent, with witnesses being irradiated or burned. As for the conspiracy, its intent is to preserve society as we know it, since knowledge that we´re not alone might trigger a global panic. Or that´s at least what the establishment believes. 

Stigsjöö later moved in a more problematic direction. One of his later books was apparently disavowed by UFO-Sverige and AFU, the two leading ufology groups in Sweden. The man had also become paranoid, claiming that strange visitations, break-ins and noises had taken place in his flat. He feared being murdered and claimed to know the truth about the UFOs and an upcoming public "first contact" between aliens and humanity. This sounds very familiar, somehow!

Going back to ”Tefatsfolket ser oss”, the most interesting chapters deal with UFO observations before Kenneth Arnold´s classical observation of 1947. People have “always” seen strange lights in the sky, and many of them have moved around in a way strikingly similar to modern UFOs (and hence can´t be meteors or comets). When the book was first published, many were smitten by Erich von Däniken, but obviously *this* must be considered the weakest part of the book. People seeing “UFOs” throughout history isn´t the same thing as human culture being directly influenced by intelligent extraterrestrials, or the even wilder claim that humans themselves are from other planets. In this section, Stigsjöö makes a major gaffe, claiming that “Dzyan” is an ancient Indian holy book. Ahem, no, the Stanzas of Dzyan are a modern apocryphon only known from Madame Blavatsky´s “The Secret Doctrine”…

Perhaps Staffan Stigsjöö should have talked to the contactees, after all. Jokes aside, “Tefatsfolket ser oss” is a nostalgic blast from the past, when the UFO phenomenon looked much easier to solve…if you pretended the contactees and abductees didn´t exist. Today, the phenomenon is even unwieldier than before, and somewhat ironically, the “disclosure” of UFO information by the US military only adds to its complexity. The most striking feature of the situation in 2024 is how little progress has been made since 1973. We´re still not any closer to solving the mystery.

Unless the answer has been staring us in the eyes all along: the saucer people see us.