Table of Contents

• The Herbert Hopkins Encounter

• This Week in Weirdness

• Lore and Legends: The Men in Black and Black Eyed …

• Reader Story: Blue Angels

The Herbert Hopkins Encounter

In the world of UFO lore and high strangeness, few stories are as chilling and convincingly detailed as the encounter reported by Dr. Herbert Hopkins in 1976. A respected physician and hypnotist living in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, Hopkins was involved in a local investigation into an alleged UFO encounter when he found himself face to face with an incredibly strange “man”.

It began one quiet September evening when Hopkins was home alone. His wife and children were out, and he was reviewing the details of a case involving a man who claimed a UFO had landed near his home. Suddenly, the phone rang. The caller claimed to be a representative of a New Jersey UFO organization, and asked if he could come speak to Hopkins about the case.

Hopkins agreed and almost immediately afterward, there was a knock at the door.

Hopkins later described feeling a strange sense of disorientation when he realized how quickly the visitor had arrived. He had just hung up the phone, yet the man was already at his front door. There had been no sound of a car pulling up, no footsteps on the porch, just the knock.

Standing outside was a man dressed in a black suit, with a black hat, black tie, and black gloves. His skin was pale, almost colorless. His lips were bright red, as if he were wearing lipstick, and he appeared to be completely hairless with no eyebrows, no eyelashes, and no stubble. Hopkins invited him in (for some strange reason).

The man spoke slowly, in a flat, mechanical tone. He asked Hopkins to destroy all evidence of the UFO case he was working on. Then the visitor rubbed his gloved hand across his lips and said, in the same emotionless voice: “my energy is running low.”

He then stood up awkwardly, as though struggling to coordinate his body, and made his way to the door, saying he must leave. Hopkins watched as the man left the house and descended the front steps, but no car waited in the driveway. The stranger simply vanished into the night.

After the encounter, Hopkins felt deeply shaken. He experienced missing time and could not recall portions of the evening clearly. Overwhelmed by fear, he followed the man’s suggestion and destroyed all the case materials. He would later say he felt manipulated or hypnotized into compliance.

The Hopkins case is often cited as one of the clearest examples of the “supernatural” type of MIB, not just human agents of a secret organization, but something entirely other. The being’s unnatural movements, lack of basic human understanding, and apparent energy depletion suggest a non-human intelligence attempting to mimic human behavior, and failing just enough to terrify.

This Week in Weirdness

• There’s a new Bigfoot video out of Colorado

• Scientists have proven we’re not living in a simulation

• A Russian tourist leapt to his death claiming he was being chased by a ghost

• A new cattle mutilation has been reported in Argentina

• A politician in Pennsylvania is attempting to repeal laws against Tarot readings

Lore and Legends: The Men in Black and Black Eyed Kids

The Men in Black: Enforcers of Silence?

Originally rooted in UFO lore, the Men in Black (MIB) are typically described as pale-skinned, emotionless men wearing black suits, dark glasses, and outdated hats. They arrive unexpectedly after a sighting or encounter, often warning witnesses not to speak about what they’ve seen. Their behavior is cold, robotic, and unnerving, sometimes humorous in its strangeness, but more often terrifying.

Over the years, reports have divided the MIB into two distinct categories:

1. Government-Type MIBs

These figures appear to be human intelligence agents, connected, perhaps, to shadowy departments within actual government agencies. They may present identification, arrive in black cars, and ask invasive questions. While intimidating, these MIBs still operate within the bounds of plausible reality. Some believe they are tasked with containing information about extraterrestrial or anomalous events, possibly to prevent public panic or to protect classified technology.

2. Supernatural or Non-Human MIBs

Then there are the stranger ones: MIBs who don’t seem human at all. These entities are described as awkward, glitchy, and unnatural, with plastic-like skin, mechanical speech, and a lack of understanding of common objects. They may suddenly vanish, or appear in places with no explanation. These reports suggest that at least some MIBs may not be agents at all, but otherworldly beings in disguise, either extraterrestrials themselves, or something else entirely.

Witnesses often report feelings of nausea, mind fog, or electronic disturbances during or after encounters. In some cases, even recalling the event triggers anxiety, sleep paralysis, or nightmares.

The Black-Eyed Kids

Less institutional but just as chilling are the tales of the Black-Eyed Kids (BEKs). They are mysterious children or teenagers who appear at night, knock on doors, and ask to be let inside. They are usually between 8 and 16 years old, wear drab clothing, and speak in strangely formal or robotic tones. Their most disturbing feature: completely black eyes, with no sclera, iris, or pupil.

The standard script involves them asking to use the phone, wait for a ride, or to come inside to warm up. But something always feels off. Witnesses report overwhelming feelings of fear or dread, even before they notice the eyes. Animals often react violently. And the children become increasingly insistent, sometimes threatening, if denied entry.

Some theories link BEKs to vampiric lore, citing the need for permission to enter. Others speculate they are demons, interdimensional beings, child MIBs, or even a psychic manifestation of fear itself. Unlike the MIBs, who intimidate in calculated ways, BEKs unsettle through deep primal instinct, the sense that whatever these children are, they’re not human.

Reader Story: Blue Angels

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