Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00In the alien franchise, the Xenomorphs are murderous insectoids.
00:05In Doctor Who, the Salurians are core-dwelling reptilians.
00:10In the X-Files, the Greys are nightmare fuel.
00:13We've also seen shape-shifting parasites before, and humanoid overlords.
00:20But which alien archetype do you find most unsettling?
00:25Scientifically speaking, no one truly knows what aliens are going to look like,
00:31and any version of life that develops on other planets could well be drastically different from our own.
00:36With just a sample of one to build from, life on Earth, it's difficult to calculate or even predict
00:42what the rest of space could have in store, besides presumably infinite variety.
00:47However, there are those on Earth who claim to have already seen aliens, sometimes via an alien abduction.
00:53Survivors of these encounters have differing stories, but the most common themes include
00:58scientific experiments, invasive probing, and the taking of samples, sometimes via quite intimate means.
01:05While the overall narratives often overlap, however, what an alien physically looks like can vary.
01:11There apparently are different types to contend with, and with some surprises.
01:15For example, although the image of little green men has long been popular in society and science fiction,
01:21genuinely reported abduction cases rarely include such a creature.
01:25Other alien kinds are much more common in sightings.
01:28The greys are by far the most popular depiction among those claiming to have met with aliens in real life.
01:34They're described as having a generally humanoid composition and sharing certain characteristics with us,
01:40although they're often shorter, have larger heads, bigger, darker eyes, and a distinctly grey skin tone.
01:47This particular alien won't be unfamiliar to you.
01:50The greys are still today sci-fi favourites, and something of a worldwide phenomenon.
01:54Going from most abduction accounts, they don't usually speak as such,
01:58but instead communicate telepathically from their mind to yours.
02:02The greys aren't usually overly hostile, but they're not averse to causing an abductee pain, either,
02:07so long as they get the information they want.
02:10Similarly, the greys are said to be extremely intelligent, but lacking emotion.
02:15So, even if they're not ill-meaning, they are ruthless.
02:18As such, abductees claim that the greys will probe and take samples, seemingly in order to create hybrids.
02:24And their rise to become perhaps the archetype for what an alien should look like, at least during the 20th century,
02:30can be traced back to one of the most infamous abduction stories in history, that of Betty and Barney Hill in 1961,
02:37while it was the greys, too, who were supposedly at the centre of the Roswell Crash in 1947.
02:43According to a map remembered by Betty Hill, a map she claims to have seen as a projection inside an unknown alien ship,
02:50her greys, at least, came from the far-off binary star system of Zeta Reticuli.
02:55If true, they've travelled many, many light-years to become humankind's Alien 101.
03:01Another version of ETs, though, is much more animalistic to our eyes.
03:05Rather than smooth all over like the greys, they can be scaly, armoured, and less humanoid.
03:10They're variously known as the Archons, Saurians, or Draconians.
03:15And while descriptions differ in science fiction and in claimed real-world encounters,
03:19these beings are generally said to be a few feet taller than us.
03:23Again, the stories of them do differ, but they're usually said to be ancient, and far longer lived than we are.
03:30It's said that they walked the surface of Earth thousands, perhaps millions of years before humanity did,
03:35but were in fact forced underground by the arrival of another type of alien in our planet's distant past called the Anunnaki.
03:42In some retellings, the Anunnaki are closer to God than alien, and are alleged to have hailed from the lost planet Nibiru.
03:49But, whatever they were, they allegedly triggered these previous aliens to retreat and hide
03:54in a large, complex, and until now undiscovered cave system far below the Earth's crust.
04:01Of course, until now there is no real-world evidence of any such thing.
04:05And, indeed, it's a general idea that has gone on to fuel many a modern and dangerous conspiracy theory.
04:11However, some have also drawn comparison between these alternate aliens and the revered gods of ancient times.
04:18The Egyptians, for example, worshipped a god called Sobek that possessed a humanoid figure but the head of an alligator.
04:24While similar animal-human entities appear across other belief systems, too.
04:29Rumours of such creatures in the here and now could also relate to various claimed sightings of straight-up monsters all over the world map.
04:37In one case, there's the legend of the Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp in South Carolina,
04:42who's said to target unsuspecting passers-by and, in particular, stranded cars and their drivers.
04:48But, finally, and while the invading Greys and Saurians perhaps should be easy to spot in the open,
04:54so-called Nordic aliens probably wouldn't be.
04:58In fact, a defining characteristic of them is that they should seamlessly blend with humankind,
05:03because they're an extremely close physical match for us.
05:07In some cases, they're described as resembling the Norse gods, like Thor,
05:11who himself might be considered a Nordic alien were he to ever appear on our planet.
05:15Further Norse variations include the Pleiarens, which are said to have originated in a bright and bursting star cluster known as the Pleiades.
05:23While other alien types, humanoid or not, are generally painted as having a clearly frightening or unique appearance,
05:29Nordics are much subtler, which in itself perhaps makes them a little scarier,
05:34although they're widely said to be benevolent and good rather than evil.
05:38Like the Greys, Nordic aliens are said to heavily rely on psychic energy.
05:42They communicate telepathically and can also live for thousands of years or more.
05:47Again, then, they're presented as beings of infinite wisdom compared to humans.
05:51They're also at times linked with, or crossed over with, so-called Venusian aliens,
05:56said to come from Venus with startling beauty.
05:59It's as though, when they appear in alien encounter stories,
06:02Nordic and Venusian aliens are a reflection of humankind, usually at its best.
06:07And some versions of alien lore suggest that the Nordics do cross paths with the Greys.
06:12Here, the Greys are emotionless, but efficient,
06:15while Nordic aliens are emotionally astute and much more cognitively complex.
06:19Which is another reason why this type of alien, if it is out there, would be difficult to spot.
06:24Nordics wouldn't struggle with anything about the human way of life.
06:27In fact, they'd probably be better at it than even we are.
06:31Of course, such is the rich diversity of reported alien history, this still isn't all there is.
06:36Other, rarer and lesser-known alien varieties allegedly include a race known as the Arcturians.
06:42These are perhaps the ET type that is closest to the little green men stereotype,
06:47said to stand around five feet tall, with big ancient eyes and green skin.
06:52Another more obscure reported variety is the Avians,
06:55a bird-like species, often with a bluish colour,
06:58that features in some much-contested retellings of how the pyramids were built.
07:02Thankfully, both the Arcturians and the Avians are generally said to be kind and to come in peace,
07:08and often, allegedly, to help us lowly humans reach some kind of spiritual awakening.
07:13But what's your verdict?
07:15We know that alien abduction stories are becoming commonplace in the modern day.
07:19The scepticism that surrounds them perhaps isn't likely to disappear
07:23until an alien presence on Earth is officially recognized the world over.
07:27But until then, we have mounting descriptions to add colour, texture, mood and motivation
07:33to our ever-growing and shared mental image of what these things might be.
07:46Because those are the different types of aliens that you should know about.
07:50What do you think? Is there anything we missed?
07:53Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled,
07:56and make sure you subscribe and ring the bell for our latest content.