Latest / Journey to the Fringe / Manhattan Alien Abduction: The Floating Woman

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Manhattan Alien Abduction: The Floating Woman · Journey to the Fringe

0:03
From the unexplained to the mundane, come join
0:06
us on a Journey to the Fringe. Hello and welcome
0:15
to Journey to the Fringe, which I think we need
0:18
to take a little aside at this point and just
0:20
explain something to everyone. So we work on
0:24
a bit of a backlog, and right now it seems like,
0:28
likely, we were very needy for emails. And you
0:32
need to understand that we received emails from
0:35
you people well before we got into this point
0:38
of our podcasting life. And Michael, you get
0:43
a clear pass. You get a clear pass on all of
0:46
this. We love you. Thank you for sending your
0:48
email. We're very happy with everything. All
0:54
we can give you is this. Yes. And we're sorry.
1:01
We're also very sorry that you had to sit through
1:04
like at least a month of us complaining of getting
1:07
no emails That was just lucky That's good stuff
1:15
Michael Anyhow, yeah, we are you're very satiated
1:19
at this point podcast host Taylor and Chelsea
1:22
here today doing a Chelsea episode which I've
1:25
strangely been given a script for Yeah. So I'm
1:29
gonna turn it over to Taylor. Yes. This is his
1:33
episode. Okay. Don't start reading it. I'm kidding.
1:38
Okay. Okay. Audio one. Am don't stop it. No Okay,
1:43
you wait until I tell you to read that. Okay.
1:46
I am so excited for this episode. It's gonna
1:49
be a fun one It's gonna be a couple episodes
1:52
because shockingly I couldn't fit this all into
1:55
one episode every other podcast or YouTube that
1:59
I've seen about this does But we can't it's too
2:03
good of a story. We're too good of a podcast
2:06
Michaels here. So we're just gonna have three
2:09
episodes Linda Napolitano's 1989 Manhattan abduction
2:14
claim is one of the most famous and most controversial
2:18
alien abduction cases in UFO history. Her story
2:23
blends high strangeness, political intrigue,
2:26
and a web of alleged witnesses that continue
2:29
to divide believers and skeptics alike. It is
2:32
claimed to be one of the most credible and contested
2:36
in all of history, perfect for Journey to the
2:39
Fringe. Let's start the story out with Bud Hopkins,
2:44
a ufologist and the central investigator to this
2:47
story who definitely needs his own episode after
2:50
this. So I'm not really going to touch on anything
2:53
about him in this episode other than this. And
2:56
you guys will in the next six years learn about
2:59
him. Probably. I think that's a fair window for
3:01
us to put to ourselves. Yeah, it still feels
3:04
a little constrictive. I'm going to be honest.
3:07
Cause what if we don't do it? We're going to
3:11
forget about him. We probably will. So maybe
3:15
forget that you heard that. He's probably one
3:18
of the most renowned UFO investigators on alien
3:21
abduction experiences. He's investigated hundreds
3:25
of cases and wrote a bunch of books. Hopkins
3:28
wrote a book about this whole experience that
3:31
we're going to talk about with Lynda Napolitano
3:33
which is called Witness the True Story of the
3:36
Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abductions. There is a Netflix
3:39
documentary on this called the Manhattan Alien
3:43
Abduction. In April 1989, Bud Hopkins receives
3:47
a letter from Linda Napolitano. She's a resident
3:50
of New York and Linda had a lifelong interest
3:53
in UFOs and she wrote to him that she had begun
3:57
reading his book, Intruders, and had remembered
4:00
that 13 years earlier she had detected a bump
4:03
next to her nose. Of course. Don't you, every
4:07
now and then, remember the bump aside to anything
4:10
13 years prior? 13 years later. I'm like, oh
4:13
yeah, that bump in my nose. I remember it. When
4:16
I had that bump on my nose. I'm going to write
4:18
a letter to Bud Hopkins, of all people. It was
4:22
examined by a physician who insisted that she
4:24
had undergone nasal surgery. Linda claimed that
4:28
she had never had such a surgery and she even
4:31
checked with her mom who confirmed them. That
4:33
would be the source to check with. Hopkins took
4:36
an interest in the case because there was a potential
4:39
for medical evidence and because Linda lived
4:42
relatively close to Hopkins, which facilitated
4:45
their meeting. Linda visited Hopkins and discussed
4:49
her past experiences with him. She recalled some
4:52
pertinent earlier events in her life, but believed
4:54
that she was no longer directly involved with
4:57
any abduction phenomena. Linda then began attending
5:01
meetings of Hopkins's support group for abductees.
5:08
And on November 30th, 1989, Linda called Hopkins
5:13
and reported that she had been abducted during
5:16
the early morning hours of that day. And she
5:19
provided only a few details. So a few days later,
5:23
Hopkins insisted that she undergo regressive
5:26
hypnosis. Which is known that's what you do exactly
5:30
at the time of the abduction Just so that we're
5:33
all on the same page here Linda Napolitano. She
5:36
is in her 40s married mother of two That night,
5:41
Linda uncovers, during hypnosis, that she awoke
5:45
in her 12th floor Manhattan apartment sensing
5:48
a presence in her room, a strange numbness in
5:51
her feet that started to creep up her legs. She
5:53
opened her eyes and saw three small gray beings
5:57
standing beside her bed with large black eyes.
6:00
She gets a telepathic command to stay quiet,
6:03
followed by sudden parallel... Paralysis. Paralysis.
6:12
I believe that is a tool song. Paralysis. I believe
6:16
that's Italian for paralysis. Of course. They
6:20
did the paralysis song. This is so good. A blue
6:29
beam of light shining through her window lifted
6:32
her out of bed and from the bedroom She went
6:34
through the living room out the window and the
6:38
creatures followed alongside of her through the
6:41
window with safety bars outside 12 stories up
6:44
now levitating with all of the creatures in the
6:47
blue light she remembers thinking i hope i don't
6:50
fall and all four of them are transported into
6:53
a large oval reddish orange spacecraft hovering
6:57
near the brooklyn bridge which opens up and like
7:00
eats her like a clam Once inside the craft, she
7:05
describes being escorted down a hallway lined
7:08
with benches and she can hear like doors sliding
7:11
open and closed. The creatures are speaking to
7:14
each other quietly in a language she doesn't
7:17
understand. They then enter a room with a long
7:20
table in the middle. Linda panics, and in her
7:23
head, she thinks she's saying, what do you want
7:26
with me? But the words that come out of her mouth
7:28
are in an alien language. It's a language she
7:31
doesn't recognize. Chelsea, is it by chance a
7:34
telly? It might be. It might be German. It'll
7:36
be OK. Yeah. I mean, it's just that German doesn't
7:39
fit the theme so far that we've been going. I
7:41
mean, if she's just not recognizing it, it could
7:44
be. Who knows what language I'm just I'm just
7:46
curious if it's convenient to our episode to
7:48
this point It probably is as we know things to
7:52
be convenient to our episodes. That's how it
7:54
usually works. Yeah, so She's placed on an examination
7:58
table and a long medical instrument is forced
8:01
into her right nostril A creature then comes
8:04
close to Linda runs its hands through her hair
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and places a warm hand on her cheek I just don't
8:11
picture an alien's hand to be warm I don't know
8:14
why, but this one's a weird detail. It is described
8:18
as creepy, but they could have taken much worse
8:21
steps if they wanted it to be truly creepy. It's
8:23
true. And nobody did describe it as creepy. I
8:27
think you were. No, it just feels creepy. I agree.
8:29
I know. It could have been how you said it by
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this point. They're Italian, so they're just
8:36
handsy. I get it. Yes. Why am I here? I don't
8:41
know what language this is being spoken in and
8:43
instantly Linda was able to move. She hears a
8:46
loud roar and instantaneously is sitting up in
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her bed and she tries to wake her husband but
8:52
he won't wake up. She then runs down the hall
8:55
to her kids rooms who also will not wake up.
8:58
They're apparently in a translate state. Though
9:01
the experience would be traumatizing for anyone,
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Napolitano was reportedly not especially distraught
9:07
over what happened. She claims that she was just
9:10
used to what happening. Abductions were gaining
9:13
popularity at the time. Whitley Strieber's book
9:16
of his own abductions, Communion, had been published
9:20
only a few years before. Travis Walton's experience
9:24
has been common knowledge in UFO circles for
9:26
over a decade at that time, both cases of which
9:30
Napolitano was likely familiar being a UFO enthusiast.
9:34
However, even at 3am, Brooklyn is far from sleepy.
9:38
There are purported independent witnesses to
9:41
the subduction, some say a total of 23 witnesses.
9:45
If this were true, it was the first time in the
9:48
history of ufology that this has happened. Early
9:51
summer the next year another incident happens
9:53
to Linda She wakes up feeling something going
9:56
down her throat and starts to choke She goes
9:59
outside to the hallway and the whole family is
10:01
standing in the living room with nosebleeds The
10:04
aliens came back for her family Bud does the
10:07
hypnotizing on Linda's son as well who said he
10:11
was in a room that was all white and there were
10:13
two really tall men who were very mean. He goes
10:17
on to say that he had his own abduction experience
10:19
obviously after that and Bud is like well to
10:23
confirm this let's regress Linda but this is
10:27
kind of like just a side story to the whole thing
10:30
all in all This kind of just goes towards the
10:33
fact that Bud figures out that abduction experiences
10:37
likely include entire families. This is like
10:41
kind of a side thing, but you kind of need to
10:43
know like her whole family is having abduction
10:46
experiences. Not central to the story, though.
10:50
So let's talk about the bump on her nose. In
10:53
November 1991 a doctor whom Hopkins describes
10:56
as closely connected to Linda took an x -ray
11:00
of Linda's head because she knew about the story
11:03
of the nasal implant which is the bump on her
11:05
nose being called nasal implant now and because
11:08
Linda frequently spoke of the problem with her
11:11
nose they're like we're gonna do an x -ray The
11:14
x -ray was not developed immediately, but a few
11:17
days later the doctor brought it to Linda and
11:19
was very nervous and unwilling to discuss it.
11:22
Linda took it to Hopkins, who showed it to a
11:25
neurosurgeon friend of his, and the neurosurgeon
11:28
was astounded. A sizable, clearly non -natural
11:31
object could be seen in the nasal area. Hopkins
11:35
has shown a slide of the x -ray during his presentations
11:37
and the implant is strikingly apparent even to
11:41
a lay audience. The object has a shaft approximately
11:45
1 quarter inch long with a curly q wire structure
11:48
on each end. They did attempt to get it out of
11:51
Linda's nose. However, the object mysteriously
11:54
disappeared before removal. I couldn't track
11:57
down an actual picture of this x -ray. I meant
11:59
to go into the Netflix documentary and take a
12:02
picture just so I could show you, Taylor, but
12:04
I did not do that. To be fair, most of the time
12:07
when they're actually describing something like
12:09
that, they're lying. So that's... Well, there
12:11
is an x -ray. I know. I get that. So, Hopkins
12:17
refers to this image as the radiological smoking
12:21
gun of alien implants. You do see it in there.
12:25
There is an x -ray, apparently not anywhere else
12:28
but the Netflix documentary of all places. But
12:31
that is why we all believe in aliens now, right?
12:33
Netflix, yeah. Yeah, Netflix in this specific
12:36
one episode. Yeah, I mean, they are live streaming
12:39
the moon thing coming back to Earth, so... What's
12:43
it called again? Artemis? Artemis 2, yeah. Yeah,
12:47
okay, I was right. I just went with my gut instinct
12:49
on that one. So after working with Linda on her
12:52
experience, Bud receives a letter, which is the
12:57
audio number one that Taylor tried to read to
13:00
you at the beginning, but here's the proper place
13:03
and he's going to read this letter to you. Right,
13:06
right now? Yeah, right now. Dear Mr. Hopkins,
13:09
my partner and I are police officers. We have
13:12
been in serious dilemma because of our strict
13:14
profession and our lack of knowledge on this
13:16
subject. About 3 .30 a .m. in late November 1989,
13:20
we sat in our patrol car underneath the elevated
13:23
FDR drive. There it was, a strange oval, hovering
13:27
over the top of an apartment building, two to
13:29
three blocks from where we were sitting, a very
13:32
bright blue light coming out from the bottom
13:34
of it. I yelled for my partner, who was just
13:37
as excited as I was. We're going to get out of
13:40
the car, but what would we do for that poor little
13:44
girl or woman wearing a full white nightgown?
13:47
She was floating in mid -air in a bright beam
13:49
of whitish blue light, looking like an angel.
13:52
She was then brought up into the bottom of that
13:54
very large oval, about three quarters the size
13:57
of the building across. This poor person was
14:00
escorted out of her window by three ugly but
14:02
smaller human -like creatures. After she was
14:05
up and in, The oval plunged into the river, not
14:09
far from the Brooklyn Bridge. Mr. Hopkins, the
14:11
oval never came up from under the river. The
14:15
guilt has lingered and we find it difficult living
14:18
with ourselves. My partner and I have been debating
14:20
if we should seek her out. We know the building
14:23
and we know the window. Perhaps she was just
14:25
a figment of our imagination. Is she alive and
14:28
well? We have to know. If we should decide to
14:30
seek this person out, we'll contact you again
14:32
with further information if we find her. And
14:35
I hope we do. Many thanks, police officers Dan
14:38
and Richard. Yeah, so that's a weird letter.
14:41
Yes, and that actually, it reminds me because
14:45
I, this year I finished reading the first iteration
14:49
of Where the Footprints End, and it specifically
14:52
has a section on the woman in white, which is
14:55
a very common trope going back in time for paranormal
14:59
encounters, which fully encapsulates what this
15:03
just was. Really? Interesting. And I believe
15:06
that there's been a lot of encounters with women
15:08
in white that I've heard of, not knowing that
15:12
that is in the book. I guess. So, after receiving
15:17
the letter, Hopkins promptly called Linda and
15:20
told her that she might expect a visit from two
15:23
policemen. A couple of weeks later, after Bud
15:25
receives this letter, he gets a call from Linda,
15:29
who is shaken. Around 11pm, Linda got a knock
15:32
on her door. Through the peephole, she saw two
15:35
men dressed in dark suits, and they showed their
15:38
badges and announced themselves as detectives.
15:41
She was not too surprised because she reports
15:43
that police frequently canvassed her apartment
15:46
complex looking for witnesses to crimes. These
15:49
police officers were named Richard and Dan from
15:51
the letter and the visit was strange. After they
15:54
arrived and entered her home, there was an emotional
15:57
greeting and they expressed relief that she was
15:59
alive. Linda said Richard was very nice but nervous
16:03
and Dan was quiet, distant, standoffish, maybe
16:07
even seemed a little angry. At some point during
16:10
their 30 -minute visit, Richard almost broke
16:12
down in tears. Linda asked Richard and Dan to
16:15
call Bud Hopkins but they said they didn't feel
16:18
comfortable even though they had already written
16:20
to him. And not long after this, Bud receives
16:23
another letter. And that's your audio too, Taylor.
16:27
Dear Bud, we're hoping that this audio tape is
16:30
satisfactory. We don't know how it will help,
16:32
but use it as you wish. We'll keep it in touch.
16:35
Thanks, Dana Richard. P .S. Linda is a darling
16:38
little lady. Obviously, accompanying this letter
16:41
is a tape included with audio where Richard recounts
16:44
the night Linda was taken and says they can't
16:47
be identified. I found this to be a super weird
16:50
detail, especially that they're saying use it
16:53
however you wish, I hope it helps. I can't find
16:56
an audio recording of this tape anywhere but
17:00
Netflix but I'm not sure exactly if it was an
17:03
actual recording or a reenactment of the recording
17:06
so no audio for you but the audio does exist
17:11
just recounting the story that they basically
17:14
wrote in the first one and a few weeks after
17:16
After he gets this audio, he gets a letter from
17:20
Dan. And this is audio number three, Taylor.
17:23
You're working really hard on this. Richard is
17:43
dealing with these very same feelings in his
17:45
own way. He remedies it by secretly watching
17:48
Linda. Bracket. I don't think she would like
17:54
to know that. End bracket. No, she would not.
17:59
Seeing Linda reinforces the reality of it all
18:02
and he doesn't feel crazy anymore. This doesn't
18:04
work for me. When I see Linda I tremble. I don't
18:07
see reminders. I will never forget what happened
18:09
for the rest of my life. That November incident
18:12
was the worst time of my life. Seeing a UFO wasn't
18:15
enough. We had to see some young woman being
18:17
taken. What were they going to do to her? What
18:21
could I do to help her? These thoughts were more
18:23
than I could take. Did Richard tell you about
18:26
our nightmares? Mr. Hopkins, I sleep with my
18:29
pistol beside my bed. If they can take Linda,
18:32
they can take me. Richie has the same fear. We
18:35
understand that you need us to come forward because
18:37
these people of yours are considered crazy. We
18:40
know they aren't crazy, but to be honest with
18:43
you, you're going to need more than two detectives
18:46
to figure out what the hell has been happening
18:48
to a lot of these people. Good luck in your investigation.
18:52
If you ever stumble upon good, tangible evidence,
18:55
be faithful to whomever you give it to. There's
18:58
an obvious cover up going on. Thanks for taking
19:01
the time to read this very long letter. sincerely
19:04
Danny that is not a long letter but Hopkins is
19:09
like I better track these guys down so he goes
19:12
around to the police stations but to no avail
19:15
what makes him think they would just be like
19:18
oh Danny and Richard those crazy guys that saw
19:21
a UFO yeah but also Richard up until this point
19:25
who Danny had to say like a briefed Richard goes
19:29
a little hard. I need to take myself back from
19:31
this. Anyhow, figuring they're not actual police
19:37
officers, he decides to wait it out. And boy,
19:41
does that pay off because he gets another letter.
19:44
Danny and Richard just can't help themselves
19:46
from sending Bud Hopkins letters. And that's
19:50
audio number four, Taylor. Dear Mr. Hopkins,
19:54
we are writing to you once again. because of
19:57
the utmost importance of what has to be said.
20:01
There's much more involved. We were given permission
20:04
to reveal more facts from a third party also
20:07
involved in the November 1989 incident. This
20:10
third party is a very important person and often
20:14
speaks to many corners of the globe. Many, many
20:18
weird dashes. Turns out the official was rumored
20:23
to be the UN secretary general Javier Perez de
20:26
Cuellar. Richard and Dan were working as a security
20:30
detail for the secretary general and on that
20:33
night in question they were taking him to the
20:36
heliport downtown when their car died on the
20:39
way. And guess what? This third man writes Hopkins
20:42
a letter and it discussed ecological danger to
20:45
the planet and Linda indicating that aliens were
20:49
involved in ending the Cold War. The letter ended
20:52
with a warning to Hopkins to stop searching for
20:55
the third man because it could potentially do
20:58
harm to world peace. And this is where I'm going
21:02
to end this episode. And I must warn you at this
21:05
point, we're just getting started on the story.
21:09
And you know what? I'm not going to ask your
21:11
opinion at this point. Well, let's do it. Let's
21:13
let's take a gander at what you think at this
21:15
point. It's hard to say just because they are
21:18
anonymous. They're not anonymous letters, but
21:21
they are recurring letters with somebody who
21:23
can't really check where they're coming from.
21:26
OK, like he's not he's not fact checking that
21:29
these guys or police and they're the fact that
21:33
they've written this many letters in such a short
21:35
period of time I mean it may be the 90s but I
21:38
can't remember the last time I wrote a letter
21:40
much less four letters in a year to one particular
21:43
yeah well it is the 90s I mean we're writing
21:46
chain letters we're writing to everybody yeah
21:49
maybe they just didn't want to be cursed I don't
21:51
yeah yeah but it just seems weird and so just
21:54
to recap right now we have Linda who's been abducted
21:58
gets the the hypnosis regression to figure out
22:01
what's going on and we do have the x -ray showing
22:06
the implant in her nose. We have an audio recording
22:10
of another witness and we actually do have, we
22:13
haven't talked about it yet, but we have a total
22:16
of 23 witnesses who did see the UFO, some saw
22:21
Linda coming out of her window and I know this
22:25
is a little late to be asking you about this.
22:27
Have you heard of this story before? I have and
22:30
I do still think that it's It's important to
22:32
say that we don't know Linda's coming out the
22:34
window. We know a woman in white, which is a
22:37
weird trope within the UFO community, is coming
22:39
out the window. Okay, fair enough. Could be Linda.
22:41
We just don't know for sure. Fair enough. Linda
22:44
did go out a window by her account, but it could
22:47
be a different window. She says she did. Yes.
22:49
No, I'm just saying she said she did. Okay. Well,
22:56
that's where we're going to end this one and
22:58
we'll see you back here next week to finish the
23:01
story. Okay, and just to keep it fair, you all
23:05
need to forward this to at least four people
23:07
you know, or you will be cursed because it does
23:11
seem on topic for what we're doing right now.
23:14
Anyhow, I have been Taylor here with Chelsea.
23:17
We are Journey to the Fringe. Thank you all for
23:18
listening. We'll see you next week. I will just
23:20
put an aside here. I think Michael is exempt
23:22
from that. Okay, bye. Michael is exempt. Bye.
23:27
Thank you for listening to Journey to the Fringe.
23:30
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episode.