Jul 31, 2022 I Nick Redfern

When Government and Military Projects Get Involved in the Supernatural

If you've read the book Skinwalkers at the Pentagon, you'll know how the book is not just about the UFO phenomenon. It also reveals how the UFO phenomenon is tied in with the paranormal and the occult. Take a look at the summary information the book provides by Amazon: "Skinwalkers at the Pentagon unmasks the massive scope of the Pentagon’s landmark UFO study that ran from the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C. The Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program, or AAWSAP investigated the “Tic Tac” and other “nuts and bolts” UFO events, analyzed intrusions of UFOs onto US military bases, as well as probed the plethora of bizarre phenomena that government investigators encountered on Skinwalker Ranch. Written by two program insiders and a respected journalist, Skinwalkers at the Pentagon comes to a conclusion that has never before been revealed!" There's this, too:

"Encountering UFOs often led to the 'attachment' of strange phenomena to military personnel who visited the Ranch and brought “something” home to their families, resulting in frightening eruptions of paranormal events in their households that terrorized and sometimes injured their children." As you can see, the latter part shows how UFOs, government agencies and paranormal activity. It should be stress that the connections between the paranormal and government is nothing new - as I'll demonstrate now. We'll begin with a lesser-known organization called Operation Often. Its goal? Nothing less than learning how to harness what might be termed supernatural and demonic powers of the “weaponized” kind. And, MK-Ultra - the notorious "mind-control" program was a big part of Operation Often.

(Central Intelligence Agency) MK-Ultra and Operation Often: Secretly connected. The document shown above was declassified into the public domain by the terms of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

It all began in the latter part of the 1960s with one Dr. Sidney Gottleib. Having secured a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in the 1940s, Gottleib, in 1951, was offered the position of head of the Chemical Division of the CIA’s Technical Services Staff. Mind-control, hypnosis, the manipulation of the human mind, and the nurturing of “Manchurian Candidate”-style figures were very much the order of the day. It was work that Gottleib dedicated himself to for years. In 1968, however, life and work changed significantly for Gottleib. Welcome to the world of Operation Often.  Without doubt the brainchild of Gottleib, Operation Often was kick-started thanks to the then-Director of the CIA, Richard Helms. Gottleib very quickly convinced Helms that the CIA should explore the fields of the paranormal, the demonic, and the occult, to determine if, and how, they could be used against the likes of the former Soviet Union and the Chinese. An initial grant of $150,000 was quickly provided. Investigative writer Gordon Thomas says: “Operation Often was intended…to explore the world of black magic and the supernatural.” It did precisely that.

In no time at all, Operation Often became something of a secret order, one that was dominated by disturbing phenomena, the study of ancient and priceless books on the occult, and a long list of notable characters. As evidence of this, the personnel on-board with Operation Often were soon mixing with (among many others) fortune-tellers, mediums, psychics, demonologists, astrologers, Satanists, clairvoyants, and even those that practiced sacrificial rituals – such as the followers of Santeria. In essence, Gottleib and his team were looking to hit and pummel the Russians and the Chinese with hexes, curses, bad luck, ill health, and even death – and all by engaging in Faustian-like pacts with paranormal entities from dark and disturbing dimensions beyond ours. Volunteers on the program were placed into altered states of mind, in the hope that doing so might provoke out-of-body experiences which, then, would allow mind-to-mind contact with anything and everything that might be on the other side, such as demons, devils, and who knows what else? To what extent the program worked is open to debate. We do know that the group existed into the late 1970s, however.

A prestigious author of books on numerous aspects of the world of magic and sorcery – including How to be Your Own Astrologer, Diary of a Witch, and Cast Your Own SpellSybil Leek was a woman who moved almost effortlessly in the worlds of secret, occult-driven groups, and those of influential and famous figures with which such groups have become associated. She was born in Normacot, England in 1917 and has been referred to as “Britain’s most famous witch.” Leek was someone who became exposed to the “old ways” by her father, and while she was still a child. The magical properties of herbs, the ability of some animals to “shape-shift,” and matters relative to curses, invocations, and magical rites were all part of young Sybil’s life. They stayed with her until the day she died.

It wasn’t just her father who inspired Sybil; it was also her grandmother: she, too, was well acquainted with the world of the witch and matters of a sorcery-based nature. Her grandmother was also an expert in the field of astrology, something else which rubbed off on Sybil to a significant degree. She had an alternative education, too: her family preferred to home-school her, albeit not in regular subjects, but chiefly in matters relative to all-things of a psychic and divination nature. Interestingly, Sybil Leek did some brief for the Collins Elite in the early 1970s - a group we'll come to soon. All of this demonstrates that government agencies are not at all against digging deep into the worlds of the paranormal, the supernatural and the occult. In fact, some figures have positively waded into it.

Now, we'll dig into the domain of the Collins Elite. The idea that the U.S. Government has a highly classified, secret group which believes that the UFO phenomenon is one of demonic – rather than extraterrestrial – origins may sound outlandish and unlikely. It is, however, absolute fact. It goes by the name of the Collins Elite, although don’t expect the world of officialdom to confirm its existence. At least, not anytime soon. We know, however, that the group exists – and largely thanks to a man named Ray Boeche. He is both a UFO investigator (and a former state-director for the Mutual UFO Network, MUFON) and a priest. 

It was as a result of his almost unique connections to two issues that most might assume are wholly unconnected that led Ray Boeche to be exposed to the clandestine world of the Collins Elite. And, it all began in late 1991, when Boeche was contacted by two scientists who were undertaking work for the Pentagon: they had been secretly contracted to come on-board with the Collins Elite. The purpose of their work was to research the UFO phenomenon, and even to try and make contact with the entities behind the same phenomenon, via psychic, mind to mind means. As their work progressed, however, it became more and more clear to the pair – and to the rest of their colleagues - that the large-headed, black-eyed aliens the Collins Elite assumed they were in contact with were nothing of the sort. They were, the group concluded, nothing less than deceptive demons. And, as a result, they quickly sought out Ray Boeche, due to his knowledge of both the UFO phenomenon and demonology. A meeting was set for November 25, 1991 in Lincoln, Nebraska’s Cornhusker Hotel – Nebraska being Boeche’s home state.

(Nick Redfern) "Final Events" - The story of how UFOs, government agencies and the paranormal came together

Ray Boeche was definitely the ideal person for the two physicists to speak with, as he had long ago discarded the idea that UFOs were extraterrestrial in origin and was firmly in the demonic camp. As Boeche was told by his sources, the Collins Elite did not refer to the creatures as aliens or demons, but as “Non-Human Entities,” or NHEs. And, in no time at all, it became very clear to them that by trying to psychically contact the NHEs they had “opened” a “doorway” to menacing creatures from a hellish realm that masqueraded as extraterrestrials to get their grips into the heart of the U.S. Government – a kind of supernatural “Trojan Horse,” one might be justified in saying. As Boeche listened, he was told that there had been a number of deaths in the program, bizarre runs of bad luck occurred, and unexplained illnesses blighted those on the program – all of which collectively led the Collins Elite to believe they were under demonic attack and had been, essentially, “cursed.” With their scientific background, they wanted guidance from someone well-versed in matters relative to the concept of Hell, the devil, and demonic hierarchies. Boeche was shocked but willing to help. Indeed, he was consulted by the group on a couple of occasions, something which made it very clear to him that the Collins Elite – as well as cleared people in the Pentagon - were deeply concerned about the “door” they had opened and which was showing no signs of closing anytime soon.

Additional revelations demonstrated that, by 1991, the Collins Elite had already existed for several decades. However, there was concern on its part that something dark and deadly was on the horizon, hence why the secret group opened its doors to Boeche – to a degree, at least. Further research into the strange and unsettling world of the Collins Elite has shown that the late President Ronald Reagan was briefed on the work of the Collins Elite, as were senior personnel in the National Security Agency, the CIA, and Naval Intelligence. Ancient manuscripts – such as Reginald C. Thompson’s Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia; Edward Langton’s Essentials of Demonology; and John Deacon and John Walker’s 1601 publication, Dialogical Discourses of Spirits and Devils – were carefully studied and scrutinized, to allow the Collins Elite to have a better understanding of what it was they were dealing with. As time progressed, however, the Collins Elite became less of a government think-tank and more and more of a secret society. For example, the members of the group cultivated links with senior and influential figures in the clergy; specifically those that had links to the very heart of the Vatican itself. Archaeologists – particularly so those who were deeply conversant with ancient Middle Eastern history, legend, folklore and mythology – were secretly contracted and consulted to further knowledge on the nature and intent of the demonic threat. 

The Collins Elite made approaches – apparently, successful approaches – to a number of U.S. presidents, including the late President Ronald Reagan, a man who had a deep interest in both UFOs and “End Times” scenarios, both of which were (and still are) integral portions of the belief-systems of the Collins Elite. Shadowy meetings with some of the world’s most powerful people in the business world were arranged – chiefly to ensure massive, “under the table” funding for the group and in a fashion that would ensure budgetary data would not reach the likes of Congress, something which could have potentially blown the whole thing wide open. Today, the Collins Elite still exists – despite the widespread denials of the U.S. Government that it has ever existed. And, in the 21st Century, the group is a definitive secret society. 

Now, onto none other than Aleister Crowley. The "Great Beast" who died in 1947, was the subject of sensitive files that are said to have been destroyed, but which may not have been. In this case, the records were said to have originated with MI5, which is the U.K.’s equivalent of the FBI. Richard B. Spence, of the International Spy Museum, has done his utmost to try and unravel the connections between Crowley and the intelligence community. Spence says of Crowley: “He was such a disreputable and even evil character in the public mind that arguably no responsible official would think of employing him. But the very fact that he seemed such an improbable spy was perhaps the best recommendation for using him.” Another theory is that during the Second World War, British Intelligence planned on using the world of the occult to try and prevent the Nazis from invading the U.K.  

Nick Redfern

Nick Redfern works full time as a writer, lecturer, and journalist. He writes about a wide range of unsolved mysteries, including Bigfoot, UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster, alien encounters, and government conspiracies. Nick has written 41 books, writes for Mysterious Universe and has appeared on numerous television shows on the The History Channel, National Geographic Channel and SyFy Channel.

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