Beyond the Veil Magazine

The Buff Ledge Abduction

Issue #43: July 1982

On the evening of August 7, 1968, two employees of Buff Ledge summer camp in Vermont had an experience that would not fully emerge for a decade. Michael Lapp, sixteen, and Janet Cornell, nineteen, witnessed something extraordinary over Lake Champlain.

Under hypnotic regression years later, both recalled details of an alien abduction that neither had consciously remembered.

The Evening

Buff Ledge Camp occupied a peninsula jutting into Lake Champlain near Burlington, Vermont. That August evening, most staff and campers had departed for a swim meet at another location. Michael and Janet remained behind, sitting on the camp dock as the sun set.

They observed a bright light approaching across the lake. It descended and appeared to split into multiple smaller lights. One of these approached the dock.

Michael’s conscious memory ended at this point. Janet recalled nothing unusual about the evening at all.

Both later realised they had experienced missing time: a period of approximately an hour they could not account for.

The Investigation

The case came to the attention of researchers in 1978, when Michael contacted UFO investigator Walter Webb. He had been troubled for years by fragmentary memories and nightmares about the 1968 incident.

Webb located Janet Cornell, who had not been in contact with Michael since 1968. She initially had no memory of the UFO sighting but agreed to undergo hypnotic regression.

What emerged from separate hypnosis sessions was remarkable. Without contact or collaboration, both witnesses recalled the same events.

The Regression

Under hypnosis, Michael described a small craft approaching the dock. Small, humanoid beings emerged. He and Janet were taken aboard a larger craft and subjected to medical examination.

He described the beings as approximately four feet tall, with grey skin, large heads, and enormous dark eyes. They communicated without speaking, apparently through telepathy.

Janet’s hypnotic recollections matched Michael’s account in significant details. She described the same beings, the same craft, and the same examination procedures.

Neither witness claims to have read abduction literature before their regressions. Yet both described beings matching descriptions reported in other cases, including the Betty and Barney Hill encounter.

The Evidence

Corroborating the Buff Ledge abduction is challenging:

No Physical Evidence: Neither witness retained physical marks or objects from the experience.

Hypnotic Regression: The detailed accounts emerged only under hypnosis, a controversial method that some researchers believe can create false memories.

Separation of Witnesses: Michael and Janet had not been in contact for ten years before their regressions. They could not have collaborated on their accounts.

Consistent Details: Despite the separation, both described the same beings, procedures, and experiences. The probability of coincidental matching is low.

The Debate

Sceptics raise several objections:

Hypnotic Confabulation: Under hypnosis, subjects may unconsciously construct narratives from cultural influences, dreams, and imagination. The “memories” may not be memories at all.

Cultural Contamination: By 1978, UFO abduction stories had received some media coverage. The witnesses may have absorbed these narratives unconsciously.

Motivation: Researchers may inadvertently guide subjects toward expected narratives through their questions.

Believers counter:

Independent Corroboration: Two witnesses describing the same events independently is strong evidence. False memories are typically individual, not shared.

Consistent With Other Cases: The witnesses described beings similar to those in the Betty and Barney Hill case, suggesting either genuine phenomena or a shared underlying experience.

Reluctant Witnesses: Neither Michael nor Janet sought publicity. They did not profit from their accounts. They seem genuinely troubled by their experiences.

The Implications

If the Buff Ledge abduction occurred as remembered, the implications are profound. It suggests that:

• Non-human intelligences visit Earth
• They can abduct humans without detection
• They can erase or suppress memories of the encounter
• Their interest in us includes physical examination

These are extraordinary claims. The evidence is not conclusive. But the case remains one of the most carefully investigated abduction accounts on record.

Whatever happened at Buff Ledge in 1968, Michael Lapp and Janet Cornell believe it was real. The hour they lost has never been recovered. And the memories that emerged under hypnosis have never faded.

Readers who have experienced missing time or unusual encounters are invited to contact our research department. All correspondence will be treated confidentially.