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[00:02]
AJ Hecklefish
It was a cold October afternoon in 1974. Carl Higdon aimed his rifle at a bull elk and pulled the trigger. The gun didn't kick. The bullet slid out of the barrel, floated about 50ft, and dropped to the ground. Carl bent down to pick it up. Then a twig snapped behind him. He felt a tingle in the air like the static before a thunderstorm. He turned around. He was face to face with a creature. It smiled at him. Carl had no idea what it was, but it called itself Also. I've never been someone with a complicated skincare routine. I just wanted products that actually made a difference instead of promising the world. And that's exactly why I use one skin. I use their OS01 face moisturizer every day and their OS01 eye cream around my eyes. The moisturizer keeps my skin feeling hydrated without being greasy, and the eye cream has really helped that delicate skin feel smoother and firmer. What I like most is that Oneskin works differently. Their OS01 peptide was designed by longevity scientists to target what's known as zombie skin cells that contribute to visible signs of aging. So it's not just moisturizing your skin. You're supporting healthier looking skin as you age. Both products are dermatologist tested, fragrance free and safe for sensitive skin, and the results are backed by four peer reviewed clinical studies and more than 10,000 five star reviews. Born from over a decade of longevity research, Oneskin is helping you unlock your healthiest skin now as you age. For a limited time, try OneSkin with 15% off using code Y at OneSkin Co Y. That's 15% off OneSkin Co with Code Y and after you purchase, tell them we sent you. The thing was maybe 6 foot 2 with bowed legs and yellow skin. It smiled at Carl, showing a mouthful of square teeth, big, flat and blocky like two rows of dice. It had no chin and no neck. Its head was right on its shoulders, stiff hair stuck straight up like straw. It had two short antennae growing from its forehead, and it watched Karl through small, deep, hollow eyes. It wore a black coverall jumpsuit with belts across its torso and waist. It didn't have hands where one should have been. A thin metal rod extended from its sleeve like a drill, and something floated near the end of it. The creature spoke first.
[02:40]
Narrator/Host
How are you?
[02:42]
AJ Hecklefish
The words came out scrambled, like a vinyl record spinning backward, but Carl understood. He said he was doing pretty good. Carl Higdon wasn't supposed to be in the woods that day. He was a 41 year old oil rig foreman out of Rawlins, Wyoming. When a crew member called in sick that morning, Carl took the day off, borrowed the company truck and drove south to hunt elk. On the way in, he stopped to help two stranded men fix their truck. They thanked him by pointing him toward a good hunting spot deep in the Medicine Bow National Forest. His good deed sent them straight to Owso. The floating thing near Aso's drill was a clear cellophane pack, the kind you get gum or cold medicine in. It held four small pills. ASO asked Carl if he was hungry. He said he was. The pack floated from the drill toward Carl. ASO told him each pill would keep him fed for four days. But here's the thing about Carl. He didn't take pills. Not vitamins, not even an aspirin for a headache. Carl took one and put it in his mouth. And without a second thought, this isn't
[03:41]
Co-host/Commentator
going to end well. Let's hope that kill is more Pez candy and less Bill Cosby.
[03:46]
AJ Hecklefish
Then ASO asked Carl if he wanted to go with him. If Carl said, I guess so. This bothered Carl later. Not that a creature from space visited his planet, that he agreed to everything so easily. He didn't know what A wanted to show him. But leaving Earth was the last choice ASO let him make. Carl tried to lift his arms. He couldn't. He was strapped to a seat and pinned down. A large helmet weighed his head down. It reminded him of a football helmet, but this one had wires coming out of the top. The chair was inside a large glass box, maybe 7ft long on each side. Carl could see through it. He saw the clearing and his truck, but the elk were gone. Also pointed his metal drill at it, and the truck disappeared.
[04:43]
Co-host/Commentator
Oh, repo men have gotten scary good.
[04:48]
AJ Hecklefish
Then the box lifted off the ground and started to climb. Slowly at first. Then the trees fell away. The ridge, the stake. A few seconds later, the Earth was the size of a basketball. Then it was gone, and all that was left was Black and Carl and also weren't alone in the cube. The craft had four seats, and an alien that looked just like ASO sat in one of them. Carl's rifle was there, too, but out of reach. On the wall, Carl saw a control panel and a strange symbol he thought might be a map of the galaxy. Then Carl noticed a mirror mounted above his seat.
[05:21]
Co-host/Commentator
A mirror on the ceiling, huh? Pretty freaky.
[05:26]
AJ Hecklefish
In the. In the reflection behind his seat was the elk he shot at. Or tried to. The four elk were there, too, caged and frozen like not Moving at all. The ship was too small to hold all of this. But there they were. Also told Carl they were going to his home 163,000 light years away. Carl couldn't say how long they traveled. But as fast as Earth fell away, a new planet appeared. The planet was barren, almost empty in every direction. When the craft landed, Carl saw a tower. It reminded him of the Space Needle. But this wasn't Seattle, thank God.
[06:05]
Co-host/Commentator
Can you imagine? Abducted by an alien and he takes you to Seattle? That's like winning Iwanka's golden ticket. But it's for zoo factory making oatmeal.
[06:15]
AJ Hecklefish
No.
[06:16]
Co-host/Commentator
Okay, that's like getting into Hogwarts. And the sorting hat puts you in a county nothing. That's like finally hooking up with the cute girl at school and then you see her at the family picnic. These are jokes about disappointment.
[06:31]
AJ Hecklefish
I know what it is. On this planet, Carl learned he wasn't the only human ever taken. Five others were already there, and none of them looked surprised. I've spent a lot of time in crypto building mining rigs, writing blockchain code and ethereum contracts. So I get why people are curious about Bitcoin. And I like being able to point them toward the parts that actually matter. Bitcoin is often talked about as an investment, but it was built to be used with Cash App. You can actually do that. Send bitcoin instantly, pay it local square businesses that accept it, or move it to your own wallet whenever you want. It works more like real money and less like something locked in an account. I don't know about you, but I like knowing that my money is actually mine. For a limited time, new customers can get $10 added to their balance. Just use code Bitcoin10 when you sign up. And don't forget this part. Send at least $5 to a friend in the first two weeks. Terms apply. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's banking partners. Bitcoin services provided by Block Inc. Brand for additional information, see the bitcoin disclosures at Cash App legalpod. Karl covered his eyes, or tried to, while tears streamed down his face. The light from the top of the tower burned and his ears rang with a deep buzz like an electric razor. ASO stayed in the shade. Carl couldn't. So Carl did a very human thing and yelled at the aliens to shut the lights off. One of them answered,
[08:20]
Narrator/Host
your sun burns us.
[08:26]
AJ Hecklefish
So not a lot of sympathy from the aliens. At the base of the tower, Carl saw five figures standing In a circle. They were humans. Ordinary people in ordinary clothes. A gray haired man, a teenage boy. A couple of teenage girls. A younger girl, maybe 10 years old. They chatted with each other like they were killing time. Carl tried to get their attention, but they ignored him and nobody looked surprised. ASO guided him past them and into the tower. They got into an elevator. When the doors closed, Carl realized there were no buttons. They started moving anyway. When they stopped, the doors opened into a large empty room. Carl just stood there. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. A large glass panel emerged from the wall and floated in front of him. Still, Carl waited. Also moved to the far side of the panel. Turned around and looked at Carl through the glass. Then nothing. Three minutes passed. Then four. Also didn't say a word. The alien was studying Carl methodically, clinically. Carl knew that look. It's the look a doctor makes when studying a chart or an X ray, looking for fractures or a tumor.
[09:32]
Co-host/Commentator
I know that look. I give it at a Chinese buffet. I just stand there dead eyed, grinning in a homicidal like Private Pyle.
[09:39]
AJ Hecklefish
And that's why we never go to lunch.
[09:41]
Co-host/Commentator
I'm telling you, I got a reputation for appetizers. The busboy calls me the crab rangoona.
[09:48]
AJ Hecklefish
Carl didn't know what he was gonna get from this creature. Maybe a message for mankind or some sense of what this all meant. Instead, Karl got a judgment. You're not what we want. We'll take you back. No apology, no explanation. Just rejection. ASO walked him back to the ship and handed him his rifle.
[10:08]
Narrator/Host
This weapon is primitive, but I'd like to keep it.
[10:14]
AJ Hecklefish
I. I am not allowed to. Then also pointed his drill arm at Carl's pocket. The pill pack floated out and up back to Auso. They gave Carl back his gun, but they took back their evidence. Suddenly the tower, the five humans and the blinding light were gone. Karl watched it all fall away from inside the ship. Then through the bottom of the ship. A blue light grew out of the darkness. Earth. Carl didn't know how long the journey took. But he was home. Karl floated out of the ship and down into the forest. He never walked. He floated. Auso and his ship were gone. Carl was alone. But he felt strange. Then he realized he didn't know where he was. He didn't know how he got there. He didn't know his own name. But even though the aliens didn't want him, they took something from him. And doctors still can't explain explain how. Central banks around the world have been quietly loading up on physical gold. Not paper gold, the actual metal sitting in vaults. China, Russia, India, Turkey. Dozens of others. They're rotating out of dollars and into gold. And some of them aren't exactly advertising it. Here's a number that should get your attention. 20 years ago the dollar made up 72% of global reserves. Today it's under 60%. A 30. That's not a rumor, that's IMF data. Now these aren't countries that hate America. They've just done the math on where the dollar's headed and they're positioning accordingly. And history says when the biggest holders of dollars start quietly heading for the exits, it's regular savers holding paper who get caught flat footed. Call Goldencrest Metals and get their free investor kit. It walks you through moving physical gold or silver into an IRA or 401k, tax and penalty free or buy and hold it with cash. You'll also get a free portfolio review. No pressure, no hard sell, just a straight conversation about what you're and right now Golden Crest is running a bonus up to $25,000 in free silver on qualifying purchases. Go to GoldenCrestMetals.comTheWifiles or text the word files to medals. That's 638257 GoldenCrestMetals.com TheWifiles or text the word files to Medals. The forest was more than a mile above sea level and wet snow covered most of the ground. His first step back on earth, Carl slipped on a rock. He fell down the hill and landed hard. He thought he dislocated his shoulder, but he wasn't sure. He suddenly had a splitting headache. He still didn't know his name, but something told him not to take any pills for the pain. That much he remembered. Carl wandered between the trees in a daze. Nothing was familiar. He walked right past his truck without recognizing it. He kept going. He walked a mile up the road. Then he turned around and came back. He went back to his truck. He still didn't know it was his, but something made him get inside. He heard a woman's voice crackling on the radio. He picked up the handset and asked for help. Around 6:30 that evening, Carl's boss heard a familiar voice come over the company cb. He asked Carl for his name and location. Carl couldn't give him either one.
[13:25]
Narrator/Host
I I don't know.
[13:29]
AJ Hecklefish
I'm so cold, carl said. He was sitting in a pickup with a funny stick in the middle. He was describing a stick shift. Carl drove stick his whole life, but he couldn't remember how it worked. The sheriff put together a search party and six men went into the forest after dark. During the search, they saw strange pulsing lights in the sky. Green, red and white, moving in formation, too high for a helicopter and too low for a plane. They hovered over the forest like they were also searching for something. The search party found Carl at 11:30 that night, soaking wet and shaking. He lived and worked in the area, so the men recognized him. But Carl insisted he didn't know any of them. He didn't recognize his own wife, who joined the search. And when Carl finally spoke, he said only four words. They took my elk. Carl got to the hospital in Rawlins at 2:30 in the morning. His eyes were bloodshot and stinging. He complained about the painful bright lights. He couldn't keep his balance. And through it all, he still had no idea who he was. Doctors examined him and put his X rays up on the light board. Years earlier, Carl had tuberculosis so badly that scars showed up on every chest X ray he ever took. That night they didn't. The scans were clean. Carl's kidney stones were gone, too. He had them for years. They were bothering him earlier that week. But after that night, he never got a kidney stone again. Something healed Carl, and the doctors had no idea what could have done it. But they agreed on one. Something happened to Carl Higdon, but it wasn't all good news. Carl had no appetite. That worried the doctors. His wife pushed him to eat, but Carl refused. Then Sunday morning, he woke up starving. He tore through his breakfast. Then he ate more and more and more. He ate everything in the house and complained there wasn't enough food. It was the first thing Carl ate since he swallowed Also's alien food pill. Doctors didn't believe Carl's story of being abducted. They couldn't find any proof of it in his body. But they found the proof in his pocket. While Carl was in the hospital, his wife, Marjorie, went through his hunting clothes. She folded his pants. She hung his wet shirt out to dry. When she picked up his jacket, she realized it was inside out. The sleeves were pulled all the way through. As she straightened the jacket, a bullet fell from the pocket. It had been fired. She was the wife of a hunter. She was no stranger to bullets. And she knew the difference between a bullet that was fired and one that wasn't. But something was wrong about this one. Carl's rifle fired 7 millimeter magnum bullets. Carl liked to point out that a 7 millimeter magnum could punch clean through a telephone pole. But the bullet in Carl's jacket was Peeled back and turned inside out. The lead core was missing. Only the copper jacket was left. The police couldn't explain it, so the bullet went to Dr. Walter Walker, a metallurgy consultant. Walker said the bullet hit something extremely hard with tremendous force. That means something was in the air 50ft in front of Carl on that mountain. The bullet went into storage at the University of Wyoming. Then it disappeared. And then there's the truck. The two men Carl helped on the drive in knew where he was headed. The search party knew where his truck was supposed to be parked at the end of a logging road. But it wasn't there. They found it three miles away, sunk to the axles in a mud hole.
[16:47]
Co-host/Commentator
That sounds like one of those Southern sayings when someone's in big trouble. Boy, I messed up so bad that it just sunk to the axles in the mud hole. You're right.
[16:55]
AJ Hecklefish
It kind of does.
[16:56]
Co-host/Commentator
They got the best aims. I'm so. I'm in so much trouble. I'm crapping hymnals and praying in cursive. It's so hot out, I'm dangling lower than a fat granny's porch swing. I'm so hungover, I'm blinking in Morse code and apologizing the furniture.
[17:12]
AJ Hecklefish
This was rugged country. Carl's two wheel drive truck had no business going there. The searchers couldn't even drive it out. They had to tow it. And the men who found it all agreed on one thing. That truck didn't get there on its own. But there were no tire tracks. Not from the truck, not from anything that could have dragged it there. The truck just appeared in the mud. To the men on that mountain, the bullet and the truck were proof that something happened to Carl. They couldn't say what, but Carl eventually got his answer. Carl Higdon learned exactly why the aliens wanted an undamaged human body and exactly how they planned to use it. Between writing episodes, editing, and everything in between, I'm lucky to get five hours sleep at night. But if I'm only getting a little bit of sleep, it needs to actually be good sleep. Not tossing and turning, not waking up more tired than when I lay down. So lately, I've been looking into upgrading my mattress. And Brooklyn Bedding is the one that actually caught my attention. And here's why. These aren't some imported beds with a logo slapped on it. Brooklyn Bedding designs and builds the mattresses themselves in their own factory in Arizona. No middlemen, no gimmicks. Just people who know what they're doing. And you can tell the difference Supportive without being stiff. Doesn't sleep hot. Doesn't fall apart after a year. Like other mass produced mattresses, they've got options for pretty much every kind of sleeper too. Side sleepers hot sleepers, hard to find sizes. Plus a 120 night trial. If you want to test it out risk free, go to Brooklyn betting.com and use my promo code the Y files at checkout to get 30% off site wide during the back to school sale. That's BrooklynBetting.com and promo code the Y files for 30% off site wide exclusive with my code BrooklynBetting.com promo code the Wilds. Carl was right about the symbol on the wall of the ship. It was a map of auso's solar system. Nine planets circling one volatile star. Auso's planet was harsh and dying. Its sun burned so hot that auso's kind had to wear special coveralls outside. The oceans used to be full of life, but now nothing could survive in the water. This was a critical part of the food chain that collapsed. There wasn't enough food on their world. So aosa's people went looking for others. They came to Earth, but not to make contact and not to share knowledge. AUSO told Carl exactly what it was doing in those woods that afternoon. It was searching for food. Also was like Carl. He was a hunter. Carl remembered none of this. At first. His memory came back in pieces. And it started when his daughter walked into his hotel room. He knew her face. And then his wife came back to him. Then the broad strokes of the hunting trip. But when Carl reached for what happened on the alien planet, he hit a wall. So Marjorie called Dr. Sprinkle.
[20:02]
Co-host/Commentator
She called the ice cream man.
[20:04]
AJ Hecklefish
That was Mr. Frosty.
[20:05]
Co-host/Commentator
Ah, that's right.
[20:06]
AJ Hecklefish
Dr. Leo Sprinkle was a psychologist at the University of Wyoming, and he was a hypnotist.
[20:11]
Co-host/Commentator
Dr. Sprinkle's research partner was Dr. Jimmy's. They had a falling out over regional terminology.
[20:17]
AJ Hecklefish
Okay. Eight days after the encounter, Sprinkle drove down to the Higdon home. His family gathered around and Rick Kenyon, a local art teacher, sat nearby with sketchpad. Sprinkle swung a pendulum and guided Carl deep into his subconscious. Once Carl was under, some memories came back. As Carl talked, Kenyon drew the creature Carl described. That sketch became the face of this case. Every picture of ASO you've ever seen started in that living room. Every time Sprinkle guided him down, Carl stopped at the same place the elk. Finally, the wall broke and his memories rushed back all at Once, the elk in the cage, the tower, the other humans, and the thing ASO told him. On that barren planet, ASO hunted animals, collected them and carried them home to breed them for food. Animals like elk and animals like Carl.
[21:08]
Co-host/Commentator
Soylent Greenest People.
[21:10]
AJ Hecklefish
Right.
[21:10]
Co-host/Commentator
Then It's a cookbook. Feed me, Seymour.
[21:14]
AJ Hecklefish
Are you done?
[21:14]
Co-host/Commentator
God, I hear a lot of quotes about aliens eating people. My favorite is, in his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over a thousand years. Remember that one?
[21:26]
AJ Hecklefish
Return of the Jedi?
[21:27]
Co-host/Commentator
Yeah, that was Secret Po. He was talking about the sand anus that ate Boba Fett.
[21:32]
AJ Hecklefish
Okay, that's enough.
[21:33]
Co-host/Commentator
You know, I wish Boba Fett stayed in that anus.
[21:35]
AJ Hecklefish
Yeah, me too. Anyway, the pill Carl swallowed wasn't a kindness. It was feed. The kind you give livestock to keep it healthy in transit. The examination in the tower wasn't a scientific curiosity. It was a meat inspection. Then Carl understood why he'd been rejected. Years earlier, Carl had a vasectomy. You're not good breeding stock if you can't breed. Carl wasn't prime. He wasn't even select. He was worthless. Carl went into those woods at the top of the food chain. He came out knowing he wasn't at the top anymore. But Carl wasn't the only human on that planet. Five others stood at the base of that tower, and nobody knows what happened to them. As for the rest of us, either we didn't make the cut or we're still waiting to be examined. A hunter goes into the woods looking for food. Instead of being an apex predator, the hunter becomes prey. It's a good story, but is it true? Well, in a case like this, most of the evidence is just the witness account. Carl Higdon was an oil informant, not a writer or performer. Marjorie wrote a book about the case, but they never really cashed in. He gave interviews for years until his death in 2022. And in all that time, his story never changed. Not the dropping bullet. Not Oso's appearance. Not the glass cube, the tower, or the exam. In 1978, Charles McQuiston ran recordings of Higdon's voice through a machine he co invented, the Psychological Stress Evaluator, A voice stressed lie detector used by police departments. McQuiston found no signs of deception. He stopped short of confirming an alien encounter. But he believes something extraordinary happened to Higdon. But one caveat, and it's a big voice. Stress analysis is shaky science. Later government studies found that these machines catch lies at about the rate of A coin flip. So McQuiston's verdict tells us Carl probably believes his own story. But it can't tell us if the story is true. Now the hard part. The core of Carl's story appeared within days. But many details only came out after Carl met Dr. Sprinkle, after he was hypnotized. And hypnosis is also a problem. Dr. Sprinkle was a real psychologist at a real university. And by every account he was honest and careful. But hypnosis is unreliable. Under hypnosis the mind fills gaps. It borrows from movies, from dreams, from things you read. A person can come out of hypnosis sure of details that their own brain manufactured. Honesty is not the same as accuracy and we can't fully separate the two. So the five other people, the examination behind the glass, the idea of breeding us for food, all of it comes from hypnosis. A process that we know garbles in manufacturers memories. But there is some actual evidence. Everything Carl said and did before 6:30 that evening happened hours before anyone mentioned hypnosis. The bullet was already in his pocket, the truck was in the mud, and a man who drove stick shift to Seoul Life was already on the radio unable to name the thing in the middle of his own truck. Whatever scrambled Carl Higdon's brain that night, it wasn't hypnosis. But there's no second witness to the ship. No one else saw also. But the strange lights in the sky that night, the search team really did see those. And they saw them before their own vehicles started moving. So it wasn't headlights. Same with the truck. It really was three miles from where it should have been in rough mucky terrain and it had to be towed out. But some first hand accounts say it was stuck in deep ruts, not in a bog without tire tracks. Either way, the searchers agree the truck couldn't have got there on its own. The bullet is a sticky piece of evidence too. It really was inside out and the lead core really was missing. Dr. Walker said it hit something extremely hard. But he stopped short of calling it anything alien. The hospital evidence is also interesting. Doctors found no drugs or alcohol in Carl's system and they said his distress seemed honest. But I couldn't find proof that his kidney stones melted or scars vanished. X rays can be inexact, especially in the 1970s. It's possible the scars didn't show up on one scan even though they were still there. The trip to the planet I can't prove. The story also told I can't prove. But something Physical happened to Carl Higdon on that mountain, and nobody's ever explained it. The truck, the bullet, the flashing lights, the changed man. There's no simple way to explain any of that. But here's what's unique about Carl's story. Every alien abduction story you've ever heard is underneath a story about being chosen. They picked you. You mattered. They wanted you. It's terrifying. But there's a strange comfort in being special. Carl's is the only abduction case I know of that's about being rejected. Something came a long way, looked a human being over head to toe, ran a bunch of tests and decided he wasn't worth keeping and sent him home like a dented can put back on the shelf. The abduction isn't the scary part. The judgment is the quiet possibility that we're already on a list somewhere, already accounted for, already graded. So the worst news isn't always that you were taken. It's that you were sent back
[26:38]
Narrator/Host
foreign.
[26:44]
AJ Hecklefish
Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. My name is aj. That's Hecklefish.
[26:48]
Co-host/Commentator
Yeah. If a smiling yellow guy with a drill for a hand offers you a pill, you say no less. Assorted Camo didn't use your judgment.
[26:55]
AJ Hecklefish
This has been the Y Files. If you had fun or learned something, do him a favor. Subscribe, Comment, like, share. I know I'm a broken record, but that stuff really helps the channel. Like most topics we cover here, today's is recommended by you. Someone sent me that sketch. No, I think Gino did a story hour on this one, and I was fascinated by the sketch. The drill arm, it's just. It's a chicken dinner all day long. Anyway, if you got a story you want to hear, go to the yfilehouse.com tips or send us an email. Catch us in chat. You can find us. Now, if you enjoy the stories I tell in the Y Files, check out my other show on the channel called the Basement. That's a conversation show where I chat with the interesting people behind the episodes. Some of them you know, some you don't. But they're all people I find fascinating. We have experts on topics like moon landing, jfk, conspiracy, dmt, laser code. That was Danny Gomer. Lots of people from the intelligence community, lots of people from the physics community, UFO community, Lots of communities. You like it? It's random stuff. And if there's someone you'd like to see on the show, let me know. I'm always looking for good guests. Remember, the Wild Files is also a podcast, so everything you See here gets posted on Spotify and I guess pretty much everywhere you get your podcasts. But on Spotify, you can see the video, too. What's important is you can take us on the road. I upload at least twice a week. Episodes, Campfire stories, interviews. It's called the White Files Operation podcast. It's available everywhere. Now. If you need more Wildfiles in your life, check out our 24.7stream of the Wildfiles backstage over there. We run episodes back to back with some fun content in between, and the live chat is hilarious. It's more fun than the videos. Special thanks to our patrons who make this channel possible. Every episode of the Wife Files is dedicated to our Patreon members. I couldn't do any of this without your support, so thank you. And if you'd like to support the channel, join this community, keep us going. Consider becoming a member on Patreon for as little as three bucks a month. Get access to perks like seeing videos early with no commercials, exclusive merch, plus two private live streams every week just for you. Now, the whole Y Files team is on those, so you get to see us as people. And you can turn your camera on and interact with us as well. I was just thinking of some of the interactions we've had. They're entertaining. You can show up just for those. Anyway, I think it's the best perk there is. Another great way to support the channel is grab something from the WI Fi store.
[29:09]
Co-host/Commentator
Grab a headquarters T shirt. Oh, one of these fistable coffee bugs that you can stick your fist in or your drill arm or your little nub or whatever. You just slide in. Yeah, but reject you. Grab a hoodie, Set my face on it. I'll get one of these adorable scre. Ah, look at that. Look at that. Get a squeezy stuffed animal. Heck of his, doctor.
[29:25]
AJ Hecklefish
But if you're gonna buy merch, become a member on YouTube. YouTube members get 10% off everything in the Wildfile store, and it's only $3. So if you're gonna spend $40 on merch, join, become a member. It pays for itself, and then you can just cancel. I think you still get charged, but maybe not. But the point is, I don't care. It's there to save you money, not making you money. All that revenue goes to the team. I don't care. Touch it.
[29:46]
Co-host/Commentator
Yeah. Keep that secret under your door. Whatever you got there, keep it in there.
[29:50]
AJ Hecklefish
Those are the plugs. And that's going to do it. Until next time, be safe, be kind know that you are appreciated.
[30:13]
Narrator/Host
I play Polypius in Area 51 a secret code inside the Bible said I was I love my UFOs and paranormal fun as well as music song singing like I should but then another conspiracy theory becomes the truth, my friends and it never ends no, it never ends. I feel the crab cat and got stuck inside mel's home with mk ultra of being only 2 aware did Stanley Kubrick fake the moon landing alone on a film set where the shadow people there the Roswell aliens just fought the smiling man I'm told and his name was cold I can't believe. With me all I ever wanted was to just hear the truth all through the night. The madman s and the solar stones still come to Agatha the secret city underground mysterious Number stations Planet Circle 2 Project Stargate and what the dark watchers found. Leave I'm dancing with the fish on Thursday night with they Japan. Be all through the night. Thursday next week they change you and weapons happy after the night. Because she is a camel and camels love to dance when the feeling is right Always in time.

Summary5 min read

Podcast Summary:

The Why Files: Operation Podcast
Episode: The Hunter Who Became the Hunted | Carl Higdon Abduction
Date: July 31, 2026
Host: The Why Files (AJ Hecklefish & Co-host)

Overview

This episode dives into the strange and chilling case of Carl Higdon, an oil rig foreman who, in 1974, claimed to have been abducted by aliens while hunting elk in Wyoming. The hosts explore the event, evidence, and fallout—with their characteristic blend of detailed research and sardonic humor. The story becomes less about being chosen by mysterious visitors, and more about being rejected after a bizarre and unsettling examination.

Key Discussion Points & Timeline

1. The Encounter in the Forest

[00:02–04:43]

Setting: October 1974, Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming.
Strange Event: Carl’s rifle malfunctions; the bullet floats and falls out (00:02).
First Contact: Carl meets a bizarre being—yellow-skinned, bowed legs, no chin/neck, square teeth, and a drill-tipped rod instead of a hand. The being identifies itself as "ASO" (00:35).
Alien Communication: Despite garbled speech, Carl understands ASO (02:41).
Alien Offer: ASO presents Carl with floating pills as food. Carl, who never takes pills, tries one (03:40).

“He felt a tingle in the air like the static before a thunderstorm… He was face to face with a creature. It smiled at him.”
— AJ Hecklefish [00:02]

2. Abduction and Journey

[04:43–06:05]

Lost Agency: ASO invites Carl aboard; Carl finds himself immobilized and inside a glass cube (03:46).
The Ship: Other ASO-like beings and the elk inside the cube (05:25).
Destination: ASO tells Carl they're traveling 163,000 light years to his home planet (05:25).

“Then the box lifted off the ground and started to climb… A few seconds later, the Earth was the size of a basketball. Then it was gone.”
— AJ Hecklefish [04:47]

3. Alien World and Inspection

[06:05–10:13]

Alien Planet: An arid, hostile world with a Space Needle-like tower (06:05).
Other Humans: Carl sees five other seemingly unperturbed humans (08:26).
Examination: In a tower via button-less elevator, Carl stands behind glass as ASO examines him (09:32).
Judgment: ASO determines Carl is “not what we want,” returns his rifle, but retrieves the alien food pill (10:08).

“You’re not what we want. We’ll take you back.”
— AJ Hecklefish, quoting ASO [09:48]

4. Return to Earth and Aftereffects

[10:13–13:28]

Return: Carl floats out of the ship, disoriented with memory loss (10:13).
Confusion: He cannot remember his own name, how to operate his truck, or even recognize his wife (13:25).
Search & Rescue: Local authorities and his boss find him after spotting mysterious colored lights in the night sky (13:28).

“He was sitting in a pickup with a funny stick in the middle. He was describing a stick shift. Carl drove stick his whole life, but he couldn’t remember how it worked.”
— AJ Hecklefish [13:28]

5. Medical Mysteries and Physical Evidence

[13:28–16:47]

Physical Changes: Old tuberculosis scars and kidney stones disappear (13:28).
Strange Appetite: Carl initially won’t eat, then is suddenly ravenous—the first meal since the alien pill (13:28).
Material Evidence: His wife finds a fired bullet in his jacket, peeled back and missing its lead core—a forensic mystery (13:28). The bullet later vanishes from university storage.
Misdirected Truck: Carl’s truck is found three miles from expected location, axle-deep in mud, with no tracks around it (16:47).

“The bullet in Carl’s jacket was peeled back and turned inside out. The lead core was missing. Only the copper jacket was left… something was in the air 50ft in front of Carl on that mountain.”
— AJ Hecklefish [13:28]

6. The Deeper Truth Revealed

[17:12–21:32]

ASO’s Motive: Under hypnosis with Dr. Leo Sprinkle, Carl recalls ASO’s planet is dying, and ASO is a hunter searching for food and breeding stock (20:06).
Meat Inspection: The examination was to assess Carl as livestock—and he’s rejected due to a prior vasectomy. The pill was meant as livestock feed (21:08).
Existential Twist: The hosts muse on rejection vs. selection in alien abduction lore.

“He went into those woods at the top of the food chain. He came out knowing he wasn’t at the top anymore.”
— AJ Hecklefish [21:32]

7. Evaluating the Case: Fact, Memory, and Myth

[21:32–26:38]

Witness Integrity: Carl’s story never changes; a psychological stress test finds no deception, but such tests are scientifically iffy (23:08).
Hypnosis Caveats: Under hypnosis, memory blurs with fantasy; critical story elements come from these sessions (24:00).
Physical Evidence: The bullet and truck are confirmed anomalies. Medical claims about healing are less firm (24:50).
No Second Witness: Only the strange lights in the sky corroborate something unusual; most direct alien claims rely solely on Carl.

“Every alien abduction story you’ve ever heard is underneath a story about being chosen… Carl’s is the only abduction case I know of that’s about being rejected.”
— AJ Hecklefish [25:45]

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

“Let’s hope that pill is more Pez candy and less Bill Cosby.”
— Co-host/Commentator [03:40]
“That’s like getting into Hogwarts and the sorting hat puts you in a county nothing.”
— Co-host/Commentator [06:05]
“Soylent Greenest People.”
— Co-host/Commentator, referencing Carl as food [21:08]
“You’re not good breeding stock if you can’t breed.”
— AJ Hecklefish [21:32]
“The abduction isn’t the scary part. The judgment is—the quiet possibility that we’re already on a list somewhere, already accounted for, already graded. So the worst news isn’t always that you were taken. It’s that you were sent back.”
— AJ Hecklefish [26:25]

Critical Analysis & Skepticism

[24:00–26:38]

Host AJ discusses the reliability problems with hypnosis and lie detector technology. Key story elements may be imagined or confabulated, yet some physical phenomena remain unexplained.
The hosts highlight that unique among abduction lore, Carl’s story centers not on special selection, but on being "sent back"—a twist on the standard trope.

Additional Insights

Unexplained Evidence: The episode emphasizes that no one can explain the bullet, the truck’s location, or Carl’s amnesia—while cautioning that clinical records on some medical claims don’t survive.
Existential Twist: The unsettling notion that humans might be “inspected” as mere livestock by visiting extraterrestrials, and that rejection is as meaningful as selection.

Conclusion

The hosts leave the listener with the haunting possibility that alien visitations might not be about enlightenment or contact, but about species assessment and livestock management. Uniquely, they note Carl’s story stands out because in the cosmic audit, he was found wanting.

For Further Exploration:

Timestamps for Deep Dives:
- Introduction & Alien Description: [00:02–02:39]
- Trip to Alien World: [05:25–08:19]
- Medical and Physical Evidence: [13:28–16:47]
- Hypnosis and Deeper Revelations: [17:12–21:32]
- Critical Skepticism: [24:00–26:38]

Episode’s playful tone, humorous analogies, and skeptical eye help ground this eerie tale of cosmic predation and human vulnerability.

Loading summary

Transcript52 lines

[00:02]
AJ Hecklefish
It was a cold October afternoon in 1974. Carl Higdon aimed his rifle at a bull elk and pulled the trigger. The gun didn't kick. The bullet slid out of the barrel, floated about 50ft, and dropped to the ground. Carl bent down to pick it up. Then a twig snapped behind him. He felt a tingle in the air like the static before a thunderstorm. He turned around. He was face to face with a creature. It smiled at him. Carl had no idea what it was, but it called itself Also. I've never been someone with a complicated skincare routine. I just wanted products that actually made a difference instead of promising the world. And that's exactly why I use one skin. I use their OS01 face moisturizer every day and their OS01 eye cream around my eyes. The moisturizer keeps my skin feeling hydrated without being greasy, and the eye cream has really helped that delicate skin feel smoother and firmer. What I like most is that Oneskin works differently. Their OS01 peptide was designed by longevity scientists to target what's known as zombie skin cells that contribute to visible signs of aging. So it's not just moisturizing your skin. You're supporting healthier looking skin as you age. Both products are dermatologist tested, fragrance free and safe for sensitive skin, and the results are backed by four peer reviewed clinical studies and more than 10,000 five star reviews. Born from over a decade of longevity research, Oneskin is helping you unlock your healthiest skin now as you age. For a limited time, try OneSkin with 15% off using code Y at OneSkin Co Y. That's 15% off OneSkin Co with Code Y and after you purchase, tell them we sent you. The thing was maybe 6 foot 2 with bowed legs and yellow skin. It smiled at Carl, showing a mouthful of square teeth, big, flat and blocky like two rows of dice. It had no chin and no neck. Its head was right on its shoulders, stiff hair stuck straight up like straw. It had two short antennae growing from its forehead, and it watched Karl through small, deep, hollow eyes. It wore a black coverall jumpsuit with belts across its torso and waist. It didn't have hands where one should have been. A thin metal rod extended from its sleeve like a drill, and something floated near the end of it. The creature spoke first.
[02:40]
Narrator/Host
How are you?
[02:42]
AJ Hecklefish
The words came out scrambled, like a vinyl record spinning backward, but Carl understood. He said he was doing pretty good. Carl Higdon wasn't supposed to be in the woods that day. He was a 41 year old oil rig foreman out of Rawlins, Wyoming. When a crew member called in sick that morning, Carl took the day off, borrowed the company truck and drove south to hunt elk. On the way in, he stopped to help two stranded men fix their truck. They thanked him by pointing him toward a good hunting spot deep in the Medicine Bow National Forest. His good deed sent them straight to Owso. The floating thing near Aso's drill was a clear cellophane pack, the kind you get gum or cold medicine in. It held four small pills. ASO asked Carl if he was hungry. He said he was. The pack floated from the drill toward Carl. ASO told him each pill would keep him fed for four days. But here's the thing about Carl. He didn't take pills. Not vitamins, not even an aspirin for a headache. Carl took one and put it in his mouth. And without a second thought, this isn't
[03:41]
Co-host/Commentator
going to end well. Let's hope that kill is more Pez candy and less Bill Cosby.
[03:46]
AJ Hecklefish
Then ASO asked Carl if he wanted to go with him. If Carl said, I guess so. This bothered Carl later. Not that a creature from space visited his planet, that he agreed to everything so easily. He didn't know what A wanted to show him. But leaving Earth was the last choice ASO let him make. Carl tried to lift his arms. He couldn't. He was strapped to a seat and pinned down. A large helmet weighed his head down. It reminded him of a football helmet, but this one had wires coming out of the top. The chair was inside a large glass box, maybe 7ft long on each side. Carl could see through it. He saw the clearing and his truck, but the elk were gone. Also pointed his metal drill at it, and the truck disappeared.
[04:43]
Co-host/Commentator
Oh, repo men have gotten scary good.
[04:48]
AJ Hecklefish
Then the box lifted off the ground and started to climb. Slowly at first. Then the trees fell away. The ridge, the stake. A few seconds later, the Earth was the size of a basketball. Then it was gone, and all that was left was Black and Carl and also weren't alone in the cube. The craft had four seats, and an alien that looked just like ASO sat in one of them. Carl's rifle was there, too, but out of reach. On the wall, Carl saw a control panel and a strange symbol he thought might be a map of the galaxy. Then Carl noticed a mirror mounted above his seat.
[05:21]
Co-host/Commentator
A mirror on the ceiling, huh? Pretty freaky.
[05:26]
AJ Hecklefish
In the. In the reflection behind his seat was the elk he shot at. Or tried to. The four elk were there, too, caged and frozen like not Moving at all. The ship was too small to hold all of this. But there they were. Also told Carl they were going to his home 163,000 light years away. Carl couldn't say how long they traveled. But as fast as Earth fell away, a new planet appeared. The planet was barren, almost empty in every direction. When the craft landed, Carl saw a tower. It reminded him of the Space Needle. But this wasn't Seattle, thank God.
[06:05]
Co-host/Commentator
Can you imagine? Abducted by an alien and he takes you to Seattle? That's like winning Iwanka's golden ticket. But it's for zoo factory making oatmeal.
[06:15]
AJ Hecklefish
No.
[06:16]
Co-host/Commentator
Okay, that's like getting into Hogwarts. And the sorting hat puts you in a county nothing. That's like finally hooking up with the cute girl at school and then you see her at the family picnic. These are jokes about disappointment.
[06:31]
AJ Hecklefish
I know what it is. On this planet, Carl learned he wasn't the only human ever taken. Five others were already there, and none of them looked surprised. I've spent a lot of time in crypto building mining rigs, writing blockchain code and ethereum contracts. So I get why people are curious about Bitcoin. And I like being able to point them toward the parts that actually matter. Bitcoin is often talked about as an investment, but it was built to be used with Cash App. You can actually do that. Send bitcoin instantly, pay it local square businesses that accept it, or move it to your own wallet whenever you want. It works more like real money and less like something locked in an account. I don't know about you, but I like knowing that my money is actually mine. For a limited time, new customers can get $10 added to their balance. Just use code Bitcoin10 when you sign up. And don't forget this part. Send at least $5 to a friend in the first two weeks. Terms apply. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's banking partners. Bitcoin services provided by Block Inc. Brand for additional information, see the bitcoin disclosures at Cash App legalpod. Karl covered his eyes, or tried to, while tears streamed down his face. The light from the top of the tower burned and his ears rang with a deep buzz like an electric razor. ASO stayed in the shade. Carl couldn't. So Carl did a very human thing and yelled at the aliens to shut the lights off. One of them answered,
[08:20]
Narrator/Host
your sun burns us.
[08:26]
AJ Hecklefish
So not a lot of sympathy from the aliens. At the base of the tower, Carl saw five figures standing In a circle. They were humans. Ordinary people in ordinary clothes. A gray haired man, a teenage boy. A couple of teenage girls. A younger girl, maybe 10 years old. They chatted with each other like they were killing time. Carl tried to get their attention, but they ignored him and nobody looked surprised. ASO guided him past them and into the tower. They got into an elevator. When the doors closed, Carl realized there were no buttons. They started moving anyway. When they stopped, the doors opened into a large empty room. Carl just stood there. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. A large glass panel emerged from the wall and floated in front of him. Still, Carl waited. Also moved to the far side of the panel. Turned around and looked at Carl through the glass. Then nothing. Three minutes passed. Then four. Also didn't say a word. The alien was studying Carl methodically, clinically. Carl knew that look. It's the look a doctor makes when studying a chart or an X ray, looking for fractures or a tumor.
[09:32]
Co-host/Commentator
I know that look. I give it at a Chinese buffet. I just stand there dead eyed, grinning in a homicidal like Private Pyle.
[09:39]
AJ Hecklefish
And that's why we never go to lunch.
[09:41]
Co-host/Commentator
I'm telling you, I got a reputation for appetizers. The busboy calls me the crab rangoona.
[09:48]
AJ Hecklefish
Carl didn't know what he was gonna get from this creature. Maybe a message for mankind or some sense of what this all meant. Instead, Karl got a judgment. You're not what we want. We'll take you back. No apology, no explanation. Just rejection. ASO walked him back to the ship and handed him his rifle.
[10:08]
Narrator/Host
This weapon is primitive, but I'd like to keep it.
[10:14]
AJ Hecklefish
I. I am not allowed to. Then also pointed his drill arm at Carl's pocket. The pill pack floated out and up back to Auso. They gave Carl back his gun, but they took back their evidence. Suddenly the tower, the five humans and the blinding light were gone. Karl watched it all fall away from inside the ship. Then through the bottom of the ship. A blue light grew out of the darkness. Earth. Carl didn't know how long the journey took. But he was home. Karl floated out of the ship and down into the forest. He never walked. He floated. Auso and his ship were gone. Carl was alone. But he felt strange. Then he realized he didn't know where he was. He didn't know how he got there. He didn't know his own name. But even though the aliens didn't want him, they took something from him. And doctors still can't explain explain how. Central banks around the world have been quietly loading up on physical gold. Not paper gold, the actual metal sitting in vaults. China, Russia, India, Turkey. Dozens of others. They're rotating out of dollars and into gold. And some of them aren't exactly advertising it. Here's a number that should get your attention. 20 years ago the dollar made up 72% of global reserves. Today it's under 60%. A 30. That's not a rumor, that's IMF data. Now these aren't countries that hate America. They've just done the math on where the dollar's headed and they're positioning accordingly. And history says when the biggest holders of dollars start quietly heading for the exits, it's regular savers holding paper who get caught flat footed. Call Goldencrest Metals and get their free investor kit. It walks you through moving physical gold or silver into an IRA or 401k, tax and penalty free or buy and hold it with cash. You'll also get a free portfolio review. No pressure, no hard sell, just a straight conversation about what you're and right now Golden Crest is running a bonus up to $25,000 in free silver on qualifying purchases. Go to GoldenCrestMetals.comTheWifiles or text the word files to medals. That's 638257 GoldenCrestMetals.com TheWifiles or text the word files to Medals. The forest was more than a mile above sea level and wet snow covered most of the ground. His first step back on earth, Carl slipped on a rock. He fell down the hill and landed hard. He thought he dislocated his shoulder, but he wasn't sure. He suddenly had a splitting headache. He still didn't know his name, but something told him not to take any pills for the pain. That much he remembered. Carl wandered between the trees in a daze. Nothing was familiar. He walked right past his truck without recognizing it. He kept going. He walked a mile up the road. Then he turned around and came back. He went back to his truck. He still didn't know it was his, but something made him get inside. He heard a woman's voice crackling on the radio. He picked up the handset and asked for help. Around 6:30 that evening, Carl's boss heard a familiar voice come over the company cb. He asked Carl for his name and location. Carl couldn't give him either one.
[13:25]
Narrator/Host
I I don't know.
[13:29]
AJ Hecklefish
I'm so cold, carl said. He was sitting in a pickup with a funny stick in the middle. He was describing a stick shift. Carl drove stick his whole life, but he couldn't remember how it worked. The sheriff put together a search party and six men went into the forest after dark. During the search, they saw strange pulsing lights in the sky. Green, red and white, moving in formation, too high for a helicopter and too low for a plane. They hovered over the forest like they were also searching for something. The search party found Carl at 11:30 that night, soaking wet and shaking. He lived and worked in the area, so the men recognized him. But Carl insisted he didn't know any of them. He didn't recognize his own wife, who joined the search. And when Carl finally spoke, he said only four words. They took my elk. Carl got to the hospital in Rawlins at 2:30 in the morning. His eyes were bloodshot and stinging. He complained about the painful bright lights. He couldn't keep his balance. And through it all, he still had no idea who he was. Doctors examined him and put his X rays up on the light board. Years earlier, Carl had tuberculosis so badly that scars showed up on every chest X ray he ever took. That night they didn't. The scans were clean. Carl's kidney stones were gone, too. He had them for years. They were bothering him earlier that week. But after that night, he never got a kidney stone again. Something healed Carl, and the doctors had no idea what could have done it. But they agreed on one. Something happened to Carl Higdon, but it wasn't all good news. Carl had no appetite. That worried the doctors. His wife pushed him to eat, but Carl refused. Then Sunday morning, he woke up starving. He tore through his breakfast. Then he ate more and more and more. He ate everything in the house and complained there wasn't enough food. It was the first thing Carl ate since he swallowed Also's alien food pill. Doctors didn't believe Carl's story of being abducted. They couldn't find any proof of it in his body. But they found the proof in his pocket. While Carl was in the hospital, his wife, Marjorie, went through his hunting clothes. She folded his pants. She hung his wet shirt out to dry. When she picked up his jacket, she realized it was inside out. The sleeves were pulled all the way through. As she straightened the jacket, a bullet fell from the pocket. It had been fired. She was the wife of a hunter. She was no stranger to bullets. And she knew the difference between a bullet that was fired and one that wasn't. But something was wrong about this one. Carl's rifle fired 7 millimeter magnum bullets. Carl liked to point out that a 7 millimeter magnum could punch clean through a telephone pole. But the bullet in Carl's jacket was Peeled back and turned inside out. The lead core was missing. Only the copper jacket was left. The police couldn't explain it, so the bullet went to Dr. Walter Walker, a metallurgy consultant. Walker said the bullet hit something extremely hard with tremendous force. That means something was in the air 50ft in front of Carl on that mountain. The bullet went into storage at the University of Wyoming. Then it disappeared. And then there's the truck. The two men Carl helped on the drive in knew where he was headed. The search party knew where his truck was supposed to be parked at the end of a logging road. But it wasn't there. They found it three miles away, sunk to the axles in a mud hole.
[16:47]
Co-host/Commentator
That sounds like one of those Southern sayings when someone's in big trouble. Boy, I messed up so bad that it just sunk to the axles in the mud hole. You're right.
[16:55]
AJ Hecklefish
It kind of does.
[16:56]
Co-host/Commentator
They got the best aims. I'm so. I'm in so much trouble. I'm crapping hymnals and praying in cursive. It's so hot out, I'm dangling lower than a fat granny's porch swing. I'm so hungover, I'm blinking in Morse code and apologizing the furniture.
[17:12]
AJ Hecklefish
This was rugged country. Carl's two wheel drive truck had no business going there. The searchers couldn't even drive it out. They had to tow it. And the men who found it all agreed on one thing. That truck didn't get there on its own. But there were no tire tracks. Not from the truck, not from anything that could have dragged it there. The truck just appeared in the mud. To the men on that mountain, the bullet and the truck were proof that something happened to Carl. They couldn't say what, but Carl eventually got his answer. Carl Higdon learned exactly why the aliens wanted an undamaged human body and exactly how they planned to use it. Between writing episodes, editing, and everything in between, I'm lucky to get five hours sleep at night. But if I'm only getting a little bit of sleep, it needs to actually be good sleep. Not tossing and turning, not waking up more tired than when I lay down. So lately, I've been looking into upgrading my mattress. And Brooklyn Bedding is the one that actually caught my attention. And here's why. These aren't some imported beds with a logo slapped on it. Brooklyn Bedding designs and builds the mattresses themselves in their own factory in Arizona. No middlemen, no gimmicks. Just people who know what they're doing. And you can tell the difference Supportive without being stiff. Doesn't sleep hot. Doesn't fall apart after a year. Like other mass produced mattresses, they've got options for pretty much every kind of sleeper too. Side sleepers hot sleepers, hard to find sizes. Plus a 120 night trial. If you want to test it out risk free, go to Brooklyn betting.com and use my promo code the Y files at checkout to get 30% off site wide during the back to school sale. That's BrooklynBetting.com and promo code the Y files for 30% off site wide exclusive with my code BrooklynBetting.com promo code the Wilds. Carl was right about the symbol on the wall of the ship. It was a map of auso's solar system. Nine planets circling one volatile star. Auso's planet was harsh and dying. Its sun burned so hot that auso's kind had to wear special coveralls outside. The oceans used to be full of life, but now nothing could survive in the water. This was a critical part of the food chain that collapsed. There wasn't enough food on their world. So aosa's people went looking for others. They came to Earth, but not to make contact and not to share knowledge. AUSO told Carl exactly what it was doing in those woods that afternoon. It was searching for food. Also was like Carl. He was a hunter. Carl remembered none of this. At first. His memory came back in pieces. And it started when his daughter walked into his hotel room. He knew her face. And then his wife came back to him. Then the broad strokes of the hunting trip. But when Carl reached for what happened on the alien planet, he hit a wall. So Marjorie called Dr. Sprinkle.
[20:02]
Co-host/Commentator
She called the ice cream man.
[20:04]
AJ Hecklefish
That was Mr. Frosty.
[20:05]
Co-host/Commentator
Ah, that's right.
[20:06]
AJ Hecklefish
Dr. Leo Sprinkle was a psychologist at the University of Wyoming, and he was a hypnotist.
[20:11]
Co-host/Commentator
Dr. Sprinkle's research partner was Dr. Jimmy's. They had a falling out over regional terminology.
[20:17]
AJ Hecklefish
Okay. Eight days after the encounter, Sprinkle drove down to the Higdon home. His family gathered around and Rick Kenyon, a local art teacher, sat nearby with sketchpad. Sprinkle swung a pendulum and guided Carl deep into his subconscious. Once Carl was under, some memories came back. As Carl talked, Kenyon drew the creature Carl described. That sketch became the face of this case. Every picture of ASO you've ever seen started in that living room. Every time Sprinkle guided him down, Carl stopped at the same place the elk. Finally, the wall broke and his memories rushed back all at Once, the elk in the cage, the tower, the other humans, and the thing ASO told him. On that barren planet, ASO hunted animals, collected them and carried them home to breed them for food. Animals like elk and animals like Carl.
[21:08]
Co-host/Commentator
Soylent Greenest People.
[21:10]
AJ Hecklefish
Right.
[21:10]
Co-host/Commentator
Then It's a cookbook. Feed me, Seymour.
[21:14]
AJ Hecklefish
Are you done?
[21:14]
Co-host/Commentator
God, I hear a lot of quotes about aliens eating people. My favorite is, in his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over a thousand years. Remember that one?
[21:26]
AJ Hecklefish
Return of the Jedi?
[21:27]
Co-host/Commentator
Yeah, that was Secret Po. He was talking about the sand anus that ate Boba Fett.
[21:32]
AJ Hecklefish
Okay, that's enough.
[21:33]
Co-host/Commentator
You know, I wish Boba Fett stayed in that anus.
[21:35]
AJ Hecklefish
Yeah, me too. Anyway, the pill Carl swallowed wasn't a kindness. It was feed. The kind you give livestock to keep it healthy in transit. The examination in the tower wasn't a scientific curiosity. It was a meat inspection. Then Carl understood why he'd been rejected. Years earlier, Carl had a vasectomy. You're not good breeding stock if you can't breed. Carl wasn't prime. He wasn't even select. He was worthless. Carl went into those woods at the top of the food chain. He came out knowing he wasn't at the top anymore. But Carl wasn't the only human on that planet. Five others stood at the base of that tower, and nobody knows what happened to them. As for the rest of us, either we didn't make the cut or we're still waiting to be examined. A hunter goes into the woods looking for food. Instead of being an apex predator, the hunter becomes prey. It's a good story, but is it true? Well, in a case like this, most of the evidence is just the witness account. Carl Higdon was an oil informant, not a writer or performer. Marjorie wrote a book about the case, but they never really cashed in. He gave interviews for years until his death in 2022. And in all that time, his story never changed. Not the dropping bullet. Not Oso's appearance. Not the glass cube, the tower, or the exam. In 1978, Charles McQuiston ran recordings of Higdon's voice through a machine he co invented, the Psychological Stress Evaluator, A voice stressed lie detector used by police departments. McQuiston found no signs of deception. He stopped short of confirming an alien encounter. But he believes something extraordinary happened to Higdon. But one caveat, and it's a big voice. Stress analysis is shaky science. Later government studies found that these machines catch lies at about the rate of A coin flip. So McQuiston's verdict tells us Carl probably believes his own story. But it can't tell us if the story is true. Now the hard part. The core of Carl's story appeared within days. But many details only came out after Carl met Dr. Sprinkle, after he was hypnotized. And hypnosis is also a problem. Dr. Sprinkle was a real psychologist at a real university. And by every account he was honest and careful. But hypnosis is unreliable. Under hypnosis the mind fills gaps. It borrows from movies, from dreams, from things you read. A person can come out of hypnosis sure of details that their own brain manufactured. Honesty is not the same as accuracy and we can't fully separate the two. So the five other people, the examination behind the glass, the idea of breeding us for food, all of it comes from hypnosis. A process that we know garbles in manufacturers memories. But there is some actual evidence. Everything Carl said and did before 6:30 that evening happened hours before anyone mentioned hypnosis. The bullet was already in his pocket, the truck was in the mud, and a man who drove stick shift to Seoul Life was already on the radio unable to name the thing in the middle of his own truck. Whatever scrambled Carl Higdon's brain that night, it wasn't hypnosis. But there's no second witness to the ship. No one else saw also. But the strange lights in the sky that night, the search team really did see those. And they saw them before their own vehicles started moving. So it wasn't headlights. Same with the truck. It really was three miles from where it should have been in rough mucky terrain and it had to be towed out. But some first hand accounts say it was stuck in deep ruts, not in a bog without tire tracks. Either way, the searchers agree the truck couldn't have got there on its own. The bullet is a sticky piece of evidence too. It really was inside out and the lead core really was missing. Dr. Walker said it hit something extremely hard. But he stopped short of calling it anything alien. The hospital evidence is also interesting. Doctors found no drugs or alcohol in Carl's system and they said his distress seemed honest. But I couldn't find proof that his kidney stones melted or scars vanished. X rays can be inexact, especially in the 1970s. It's possible the scars didn't show up on one scan even though they were still there. The trip to the planet I can't prove. The story also told I can't prove. But something Physical happened to Carl Higdon on that mountain, and nobody's ever explained it. The truck, the bullet, the flashing lights, the changed man. There's no simple way to explain any of that. But here's what's unique about Carl's story. Every alien abduction story you've ever heard is underneath a story about being chosen. They picked you. You mattered. They wanted you. It's terrifying. But there's a strange comfort in being special. Carl's is the only abduction case I know of that's about being rejected. Something came a long way, looked a human being over head to toe, ran a bunch of tests and decided he wasn't worth keeping and sent him home like a dented can put back on the shelf. The abduction isn't the scary part. The judgment is the quiet possibility that we're already on a list somewhere, already accounted for, already graded. So the worst news isn't always that you were taken. It's that you were sent back
[26:38]
Narrator/Host
foreign.
[26:44]
AJ Hecklefish
Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. My name is aj. That's Hecklefish.
[26:48]
Co-host/Commentator
Yeah. If a smiling yellow guy with a drill for a hand offers you a pill, you say no less. Assorted Camo didn't use your judgment.
[26:55]
AJ Hecklefish
This has been the Y Files. If you had fun or learned something, do him a favor. Subscribe, Comment, like, share. I know I'm a broken record, but that stuff really helps the channel. Like most topics we cover here, today's is recommended by you. Someone sent me that sketch. No, I think Gino did a story hour on this one, and I was fascinated by the sketch. The drill arm, it's just. It's a chicken dinner all day long. Anyway, if you got a story you want to hear, go to the yfilehouse.com tips or send us an email. Catch us in chat. You can find us. Now, if you enjoy the stories I tell in the Y Files, check out my other show on the channel called the Basement. That's a conversation show where I chat with the interesting people behind the episodes. Some of them you know, some you don't. But they're all people I find fascinating. We have experts on topics like moon landing, jfk, conspiracy, dmt, laser code. That was Danny Gomer. Lots of people from the intelligence community, lots of people from the physics community, UFO community, Lots of communities. You like it? It's random stuff. And if there's someone you'd like to see on the show, let me know. I'm always looking for good guests. Remember, the Wild Files is also a podcast, so everything you See here gets posted on Spotify and I guess pretty much everywhere you get your podcasts. But on Spotify, you can see the video, too. What's important is you can take us on the road. I upload at least twice a week. Episodes, Campfire stories, interviews. It's called the White Files Operation podcast. It's available everywhere. Now. If you need more Wildfiles in your life, check out our 24.7stream of the Wildfiles backstage over there. We run episodes back to back with some fun content in between, and the live chat is hilarious. It's more fun than the videos. Special thanks to our patrons who make this channel possible. Every episode of the Wife Files is dedicated to our Patreon members. I couldn't do any of this without your support, so thank you. And if you'd like to support the channel, join this community, keep us going. Consider becoming a member on Patreon for as little as three bucks a month. Get access to perks like seeing videos early with no commercials, exclusive merch, plus two private live streams every week just for you. Now, the whole Y Files team is on those, so you get to see us as people. And you can turn your camera on and interact with us as well. I was just thinking of some of the interactions we've had. They're entertaining. You can show up just for those. Anyway, I think it's the best perk there is. Another great way to support the channel is grab something from the WI Fi store.
[29:09]
Co-host/Commentator
Grab a headquarters T shirt. Oh, one of these fistable coffee bugs that you can stick your fist in or your drill arm or your little nub or whatever. You just slide in. Yeah, but reject you. Grab a hoodie, Set my face on it. I'll get one of these adorable scre. Ah, look at that. Look at that. Get a squeezy stuffed animal. Heck of his, doctor.
[29:25]
AJ Hecklefish
But if you're gonna buy merch, become a member on YouTube. YouTube members get 10% off everything in the Wildfile store, and it's only $3. So if you're gonna spend $40 on merch, join, become a member. It pays for itself, and then you can just cancel. I think you still get charged, but maybe not. But the point is, I don't care. It's there to save you money, not making you money. All that revenue goes to the team. I don't care. Touch it.
[29:46]
Co-host/Commentator
Yeah. Keep that secret under your door. Whatever you got there, keep it in there.
[29:50]
AJ Hecklefish
Those are the plugs. And that's going to do it. Until next time, be safe, be kind know that you are appreciated.
[30:13]
Narrator/Host
I play Polypius in Area 51 a secret code inside the Bible said I was I love my UFOs and paranormal fun as well as music song singing like I should but then another conspiracy theory becomes the truth, my friends and it never ends no, it never ends. I feel the crab cat and got stuck inside mel's home with mk ultra of being only 2 aware did Stanley Kubrick fake the moon landing alone on a film set where the shadow people there the Roswell aliens just fought the smiling man I'm told and his name was cold I can't believe. With me all I ever wanted was to just hear the truth all through the night. The madman s and the solar stones still come to Agatha the secret city underground mysterious Number stations Planet Circle 2 Project Stargate and what the dark watchers found. Leave I'm dancing with the fish on Thursday night with they Japan. Be all through the night. Thursday next week they change you and weapons happy after the night. Because she is a camel and camels love to dance when the feeling is right Always in time.