A couple who claimed that they were abducted by aliens in 1961. They are considered the first modern abductees--many of their claims have been repeated by other people who claim to have been abducted by UFOs.

On September 19, 1961, the Hills were returning to their home in New Hampshire after a vacation when they saw a light in the sky that was traveling in an unusual and erratic manner. As they moved on toward the White Mountains, they noticed that the light had grown in size and now appeared to be following their car. At last, the light appeared directly in front of their car, and Barney Hill stopped the vehicle and got out.

He observed the light through a pair of binoculars; he saw a number of figures moving behind a double-row of windows. Betty Hill, however, stayed in the car and was unable to get a good look at the UFO or at any figures inside. When the light began to descend, Barney Hill ran to the car, shouting to his wife, "They are going to capture us!" The Hills drove away as quickly as possible, but they heard a loud beeping noise and immediately began to grow sleepy.

They awoke two hours later, at a location that was about 35 miles away from where they'd been. They reported their experience to Pease Air Force Base the next day and were later interviewed by an investigator from the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. Betty Hill began to have nightmares about a group of men stopping their car, taking them into a flying saucer, and taking samples of their hair and skin.

Both of the Hills began to visit Dr. Benjamin Simon, a psychiatrist and hypnotherapist in Boston, who hypnotized them several times over a period of six months. Under hypnosis, the Hills were able to remember more details of their abduction, and Betty drew a star chart which supposedly showed where the aliens came from--a controversial and not-entirely-accepted-by-all-researchers report drew comparisons between Betty's chart and some stars around Zeta Reticuli.

Dr. Simon himself has said that he believes that the Hills involuntarily invented the story while they were hypnotized, and Betty also doubts whether the incident actually happened (Barney died of a cerebral hemorrhage back in 1969).

Research from the UFO Folklore Center (http://www.qtm.net/~geibdan/a1999/hills/)