Dana Redfield

Background and Religious Context

Dana Redfield is an American contactee and author whose work centers on personal accounts of alleged extraterrestrial contact and abduction. Her Mormon upbringing significantly influenced her interpretation of her extraordinary experiences, as she herself acknowledges in her published works. Some researchers in UFO studies have noted that Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has been theorized by some UFOlogists to have been an alien contactee—a perspective that provides cultural and spiritual context for Redfield's own understanding of her experiences.

Claimed Abduction Experiences

Through hypnotic regression work conducted during intensive therapy, Redfield recalled a detailed sequence of events she believes constitute an alien abduction. According to her recollections, she found herself aboard what may have been an extraterrestrial spacecraft. She describes a room with a high, dome-shaped ceiling and recalls being subjected to a medical examination. The entities conducting this examination included small grey beings and a notably taller creature resembling a praying mantis. These recovered memories formed the foundation of her later writings and public discussions of her experiences.

Physically, Redfield has reported waking with unexplained scarring. Most remarkably, she recounts awakening to discover a small, round object that had apparently been implanted beneath the skin on the back of her hand. Within days, this object seemingly dissolved into her body, leaving behind only the memory of the encounter and its physical trace.

Literary Works and Artistic Expression

Redfield chose to process and share her experiences through visionary fiction and symbolic language. Her primary published work, Summoned: Encounters with Alien Intelligence, employs fable, allegory, parable, and poetry to convey her understanding of alien contact. The book includes a foreword by journalist Linda Moulton Howe, a prominent figure in UFO research and journalism. A companion work, Ezekiel's Chariot, continues her exploration of extraterrestrial contact themes. Through these publications, Redfield attempted to communicate experiences that she recognizes resist conventional narrative or scientific description.

Intellectual Honesty and Psychological Complexity

Redfield's approach to her own testimony stands out for its intellectual candor. She is explicitly aware of the possibility that some of her experiences could be delusional or psychological in nature. Rather than presenting her accounts as absolute proof, she describes undergoing "intensive therapy and hypnotic regression" to examine her memories critically. This acknowledgment of psychological complexity—that extraordinary experiences might coexist with ordinary psychological processes—reflects a more nuanced stance than many contactees have historically adopted. She has stated confidence in sharing her story after this thorough self-examination, but without claiming certainty beyond doubt.

Role in UFO Research and Popular Culture

Redfield has been featured in mainstream press coverage of the abduction phenomenon, including a 1996 article in the Deseret News titled "Abductees Aren't as Alone as They Think," which situated her experiences within the broader context of reported alien abduction cases in American culture. Her willingness to engage with both academic scrutiny and popular interest in UFO phenomenology has contributed to the documented record of contactee and abductee testimonies from the post-Cold War era.