"Haley, Leah. Ceto's New Friends. Greenleaf, 1994. 8 1/2 x 11 HC, 32pp.
"My jaw dropped so far down when I saw this that my belly button hurt for a week (though it might have been a sinking feeling in the pit of my gut causing the pain, I admit). This is a book for ultra-young readers by abductee/author Leah Haley (Lost was the Key). It has a total of 281 words in the text. It's apparent intention is to introduce toddlers to alien abductions early (say, age 3 or so), before they find out the hard way -- later in life -- via trauma, ruined lives, etc., and to make the introduction a friendly one, in which the toddlers apply their innate trust in all things and all beings to the very monsters who are going to stick long needles into their bellies, ram huge contraptions up their behinds, empty their brains, make them pregnant and then rip out the fetuses, cut them, scrape them, inflict unspeakable pain on them and tell them (if anything at all) 'it is necessary that we do this.'
"Of course, none of those things ever happen to the two tykes in the book -- and that's what strikes me as being the ultimate Big Lie that one could ever inflict upon a totally impressionable mind: the idea that the greys are our friends. Sorry folks -- I think it's a bad idea to fill tiny little heads with Santa Claus just because you want to see 'em glow with happy anticipation around Christmastime. It's bad to stuff Jesus, heaven and hell into all-trusting minds. And it's certainly bad to lie to infants about alien interaction with humans.
"This is the most unfortunate development in UFOlogy in many years, certain to create numerous traumas of it's own for some of it's innocent little readers -- as they find out first hand what the greys really do with humans. This book is an appalling artifact -- we recommend it only for extremely open-minded adults. Keep it locked up like you keep your handguns locked up, so that the kiddies don't blow their heads off. $18.95"
Selected text
"Annie and Seth wanted to go for a ride, so they hurried toward the big silver ball in the sky."They all joined hands.
"They saw a big white light shoot out of the spaceship. Ceto said, 'Let us step into the light.'
"The light took them up into Ceto's spaceship.
"Ceto taught Annie and Seth how to float in the air.
"He taught them how to talk with their eyes.
"He let them punch bright colored buttons."
BOOK TEACHES PRESCHOOLERS ABOUT EXTRATERRESTRIALS
DESPITE MILITARY ATTEMPTS TO SILENCE AUTHOR; SPARKS DEBATE AMONG PSYCHOLOGISTS
COLUMBUS, Miss., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Ignoring what she says were "threats at gunpoint" to keep silent about her abductions by "chalky-colored creatures with big black eyes," an educator has published an illustrated book to ease young children's fears about extraterrestrials.
Based on author Leah Haley's personal experiences, Ceto's New Friends ($18.95, Greenleaf Publications, 601-328-8152), has psychologists debating the wisdom of depicting "ETs" as friendly.
"Had I been taught about aliens as a child, I would have suffered less trauma from my encounters," says Haley, who was declared sane by all three therapists she saw to seek a "cure" for memories of abductions by aliens. "The government's policy for blacking out news of these experiences causes a lot of fear." Sacramento psychologist Richard Boylan, a founder of the Association of Clinical Close Encounter Therapists, says, "It's an excellent tool for helping children assimilate these bizarre experiences and a valuable aid to parents who are trying to understand. I highly recommend it."
But a well-known abduction researcher would not endorse Lost Was the Key (Haley's nonfiction account for adults) for fear his name might be connected with her children's book. "Teaching children that ETs are friendly is like teaching them to take candy from strangers," he says.
"Children can run from strangers," Haley counters, "but not from aliens. Abductions occur despite all efforts to prevent them. Why not ease the trauma they cause?" She is no stranger to trauma. Following one encounter, she says, uniformed men seized her, took her to a military base, drugged her, interrogated her, threatened her with guns, and ordered, "You did not see a spaceship, do you understand?!" Two masters degrees and a CPA license did not keep her from being fired when she told university officials she would not teach classes on that base.
Going public has ruined Haley's marriage and several friendships, but she insists, "They'll have to kill me to shut me up." Because some bookstores carry no books about UFOs and aliens, she offers a free catalog. Write: P.O. Box 70563, Tuscaloosa, AL 35407-0563.
Ceto's New Friends, $18.95
Lost Was the Key, $19.95.
Marc Davenport
Greenleaf Publications
601-328-8152
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