The strange case of the shared alien abduction experiences of Clare Holcomb and Diana Graves, 1991

"CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE CHILLING KIND" On Dec. 15, 1991, at 7:30 p.m., Holcomb was returning from nearby Winchester, Va., when a pair of low-flying bright lights demanded her attention. What seemed like a moment later, Holcomb was driving five miles further down the road and feeling nauseated. She arrived home more than an hour later than usual, her ear lobes were inflamed and bleeding, and her pierced earrings had been inserted backwards. "I assumed I had had a nervous breakdown," she says. The memory, which Holcomb retrieved about a year ago, sparked flashbacks of regular abductions -- sometimes weekly -- dating back to childhood. The flashbacks, which Holcomb illustrates in ink drawings, feature short, pale beings with hollow eyes and long fingers without joints. Many scenes are set in high-tech modules. And many memories feature Graves. Even though the women grew up far apart -- Holcomb in Virginia, Graves in England and Rhode Island -- they believe they were abducted together as children and are certain they were fated by alien forces to meet again as adults. Eight years ago, Graves, who owns Moonraker, placed a newspaper ad for a farmhand, Holcomb answered. "We could never have met under normal circumstances," says Holcomb, who is divorced and has a grown son. "We have countless memories of childhood instances in `their' presence." Six months after Holcomb began remembering her abductions, Graves began having flashbacks, too. These days, the women say they are frequently abducted together. "They've threatened that someday they'll take us and we're not coming back," says Graves, a policy analyst for the U.S. Forest Service. Until now, neither woman has spoken publicly about the abductions: They fear ridicule from disbelievers and retribution from the aliens. But both feel now is the time to talk, though they can't articulate why. How do these women live fearing they"ll be snatched at any moment? Both have sought professional help. A year ago, Holcomb consulted David Ruxer, a Fairfax, Va., clinical psychologist who has treated a dozen UFO abductees. Ruxer says abductees often display anxiety, depression and flashbacks, symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress. "It's not really a post-traumatic stress because it is an on-going stress," he says. "The difference is this person is telling you it happened last night, it's going to happen tomorrow. You struggle for another model." Ruxer says abductees come to him for hypnosis to recover suppressed memories, or for a safe place to talk about their experience.