In the December, 2015 Minnesota MUFON meeting, we had a video presentaion, followed by a discussion to mark the 35th anniversary of the Rendlesham forest/Bentwaters/Woodbridge encounter in the UK, at Christmastime in 1980. In this case the military base was visited by a series of UFO encounters in which one or more UFOs landed in the woods a few miles from the east gate of the base. During the event, two airmen observed the UFO at very close range. At one point one of the witnesses approached and touched the object, observing the exterior of the craft in detail. At another point one or more of the witnesses were apparently taken inside of the object. Subesequently, the two airmen described very different impressions of the object and of their interactions with it, even though they had both been close to the same object and had observed it closely at the same time.
Subsequent to the MN MUFON meeting, I received a question by e-mail asking how, in the Rendlesham Forest case or any other otherworldly experience, different people appear to perceive/experience very different things as part of the same event.
In short, I wish I knew the answer. I think we can only speculate on the reason (triggers, mechanisms, etc.) that perceptions seem to vary between witnesses. But we've noted repeatedly how this seems to occur in many high strangeness UFO cases. I suspect the answer could cut to the core of the close phenomenon.
Whitley Strieber has some major examples of it in his books. I'm going from memory here, but I recall him pointing out in Communion that in some of his encounters, different witnesses had very different perceptions of many of the events in his book. Similarly, in many multiple witness cases, I've noted that different witnesses seem to have widely varying descriptions of the UFO. In many close sightings and encounters, the UFO seems to be in a place and time in which it could not possibly remain unseen, such as hovering over a busy freeway, over downtown, etc. Yet apparently few if any additional people notice it.
In a lot of events of the fourth kind, there appears to be an interaction between the phenomenon and the consciousness of the experiencer. Perhaps this is some kind of metaphysical or parapsychological effect, a transformation of the experiencer's reality. Alternatively, it could simply be selective human perception. Several classic case studies where witnesses observing a crime (or some other event) show that subsequent descriptions of the event vary widely.
Seeing a robber running from the bank, witnesses might have very different descriptions of what the robber was wearing. Seeing a UFO, witnesses often have very different descriptions of the object, even though they all saw the same thing. In many ways, I think this just boils down to human interpretation of whatever events they have witnessed. Another example that often amazes me. Every so often, I will see a movie or a television show that I saw once before as a kid. When I see it again as an adult, the show looks very different from what I remember from so many years before. It seems like a different show, yet I know it is the sameone I observed many years before.
To me, this just goes to show the plasticity in our memory and perception. In the case of the Bentwaters encounter(s), it may be that Penniston and Burroughs had different connections with the phenomenon. In the first event, one was knocked to the ground - and may have been taken inside the object, while the other was outside looking closely at the glyphs on the exterior of the craft. If I recall correctly, Penniston remembered the object as being black, triangular, with lettering/glyphs on the side. Burroughs remembered the object as a large ball or mass of light. In the second encounter, Penniston and another security crewman ran toward the object. Penniston disappeared into the light while the other airman apparently went to ground - tripping or diving over a log on the forest floor. Again, the two men seemed to have different descriptions of the object.
Since we really don't know what is going on in the CE4/AN4 phenomenon, it is nearly impossible to say what the actual triggers or mechanisms are for the difference in perceptions between one witness and another. This is another one of those fascinating questions in the mystery of UFOs, anomalies and close encounters.
Why do different people look at the same event and observe very different things? Ultimately, I can only say I wish I knew the answer.
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