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