As the 50-year mark of arguably the most renowned alien abduction nears, the city of Pascagoula will be hosting an event to honor those involved.
Parker and Charles Hickson, now both deceased, claimed to have been abducted by a UFO in a Pascagoula shipyard on the evening of Oct. 11, 1973. After both men left law enforcement puzzled by passing multiple lie detector tests, media from all around the world flooded into the Mississippi coastal town to cover what became dubbed as the “Pascagoula Abduction.”
To honor Parker and Hickson, who never wavered in their story, officials with Main Street Pascagoula have scheduled a downtown get-together for Friday, Oct. 20 from 6-9 p.m. The event will feature food, music, a bar crawl, and a ceremony celebrating the life of Parker. Parker passed away in August after a hard battle with kidney cancer.
“The city of Pascagoula is saddened by the recent passing of Calvin Parker, one of the famous men known for being abducted by aliens in Pascagoula,” a portion of the invitation reads. “This year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of this local legend. Alien costumes are welcomed and encouraged! We invite you all to join us for this celebration of not only a favorite local story but to celebrate the life of Calvin Parker.”
As former government officials – including Pentagon intelligence officer David Grusch – continue to assert that the U.S. has knowledge of extraterrestrial life and could even be in possession of alien spacecraft, believers point back to the Pascagoula Abduction as one of the most credible instances of humans being taken on-board by aliens.
Parker and Hickson claimed that at about 9 p.m., as they were fishing in an abandoned shipyard on the west bank of the Pascagoula River, they saw a long, football-shaped craft with three aliens or robots levitating in front of them. Suddenly, both felt paralyzed, and the creatures were said to have grabbed them with possibly mitten-shaped or crab-like claws. Some of the creatures were described as having bullet-shaped heads, carrot-like noses and ears, and slits for mouths.
Once inside the craft, both men were allegedly examined by a large, robotic eye before being returned to the riverbank. The two men, who had been injured during the incident, made the decision to go to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and explain what had happened.
Amid initial skepticism from deputies, a secret recording device was hidden in the room with Parker and Hickson. The two maintained their story even when alone, which along with passing polygraphs, led police to believe that something did happen that night.
The Pascagoula Abduction went on to flood popular culture with songs and movies based on the event. Years later, Parker and Hickson even wrote their own books on what they saw that night in 1973.
“It made headlines around the world. In my archive here, I have hundreds and hundreds of newspaper clippings in many different languages,” recounted Philip Mantle, the publisher of Parker’s 2018 book Pascagoula-The Closest Encounter: My Story.
“The Pascagoula Abduction also made its way into popular culture. For example, Fleetwood Mac recorded a song in 1976 and called it ‘Hypnotized,’ and it is partially based on Charlie and Calvin’s story. Italian TV station RAI made a two-part TV movie about it. Charlie and Calvin had no idea that this would happen.”
While SuperTalk Mississippi was never able to get in touch with Parker – who came to be “haunted by journalists” as he just wanted to live a normal life, according to Mantle – a talk show under the media company’s umbrella did interview Hickson prior to his death in 2011.
Hickson told the same story he had been telling for nearly four decades with every detail remaining the same, but when asked if the aliens had been in contact with him since the abduction, he provided an eerie answer.
“Well yeah, but I’m not going to talk about it,” he said.
The 50th anniversary event honoring the Pascagoula Abduction will be free to the public and will be held on Delmas Avenue in downtown Pascagoula.
