Now part of the pop culture zeitgeist, the notorious entities known as the Men in Black have purportedly made their presence known to a number of unwitting individuals over the years.
YouTube user Top5s has compiled a collection of eerie MIB cases which suggest that these mysterious 'beings' tasked with silencing UFO researchers are far more real than Hollywood would like you to think.
Included in the fantastic video are the seminal stories of Albert K. Bender, who is credited with introducing the MIBs to the world, and Maury Island incident witness Harold Dahl, who said he was visited by Men in Black following the famed 1947 UFO event.
However there is one tale in particular that stands out as truly head-scratching and one which seems to turn the MIB mystery on its head.
An esteemed folklore professor at Juilliard, Dr. Peter Rojcewicz stunned his colleagues when he confided in them that, years earlier, he had been visited by an MIB at the University of Pennsylvania library.
While reading a book on UFOs that was suggested by one of his fellow professors, Rojcewicz was taken aback when a pale, gaunt man dressed in classic MIB attire seemingly appeared out of nowhere and sat down next to him.
The mysterious man asked Rojcewicz for his thoughts on the UFO phenomenon and the professor casually dismissed the concept as something he didn't find particularly compelling.
This response caused the stranger to become enraged and he declared that "flying saucers are the most important fact of the century!"
Eventually, Rojcewicz calmed the man down and he left the table, but not without one last unsettling action.
As he was walking away, the MIB put his hand on Rojcewicz's shoulder and said, "go well on your purpose."
This exchange had a profound effect on the professor, who conceded that the entire experience terrified him and left him baffled by what had occurred.
What makes this case noteworthy is that, unlike almost all other MIB events, Rojcewicz's story suggests that the stranger was trying to encourage him to take an interest in the subject rather than dissuade his research.
It would appear that the visit worked, albeit perhaps in an unintended way, as the professor has since become one of the leading MIB researchers in the world, looking at the phenomenon from a folkloric and academic perspective.
In addition to the cases detailed in the video, Coast Insiders can learn more about the MIB phenomenon by checking out the 6/22/2011 edition of the program featuring Fortean researcher Nick Redfern.
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Source: YouTube