Truman Bethurum

Who was Truman Bethurum?

Truman Bethurum was the second of the well known 1950s contactees; individuals who claimed to have spoken with people from other inhabited planets and entered or ridden in their space craft. His experiences led him to visit and discuss the issue with George Adamski.

Bethurum was born in Gavalin, California, and in the early 1950s worked as a mechanic on a road-building crew and as a spiritual advisor. In 1953 Bethurum first published magazine and newspaper accounts of being contacted on eleven separate occasions by the human crew of a landed space ship, and repeatedly conversing with its voluptuous female captain, Aura Rhanes. Saucer and crew, who spoke colloquial English, came from the unknown planet Clarion, which from the earth, always remains out of sight. A 1954 book, Aboard a Flying Saucer, gave much details of Bethurum's suffering at the hands of skeptics and much detail of Clarion and its people

Most contactees of this period became leaders in new paradigm movements to inform people of extraterrestrial intelligent life, including George Adamski, George Van Tassel, Daniel Fry, George King and many others. Mr Bethurum made it known that the space people had asked him to consider creating a place of learning for those who were interested in considering the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligent life, with Mr Bethurum as facilitator. The Sanctuary of Thought, a philosophical group, was subsequently created near Prescott, Arizona. Mr Bethurum claimed to possess physical evidence such as unique items given to him by Captain Aura Rhanes.