John G. Fuller Fueled 60s UFO Craze

Every seacoaster knows about the unidentified lights that shocked a young Norman Muscarello and baffled Exeter police officers in the early 1960s. And you’ve certainly heard tales of Portsmouth’s Betty and Barney Hill who, after Betty saw a light in the sky, came to believe they had been abducted and examined by small uniformed men from outer space. 

What you may not know is that both The Incident at Exeter and The Interrupted Journey, the two books that brought this region UFO fame,  were written by the same freelance journalist from Connecticut who had a passion for the paranormal. Before he mastered the nonfiction bestseller, John Grant Fuller Jr. (1913-1990) was a playwright, a documentary filmmaker, and a columnist for the Saturday Review.  Fuller wrote and produced TV shows including “Du Pont Show of the Week,” “The Garry Moore Show,” and “Candid Camera.” 

Before the flying saucers, Fuller’s only book-length work was a study of price-fixing in the electrical industry. Then came reports of a UFO inNew Hampshire. Fuller became interested in what he called “the rash of sightings” in the Exeter area and wrote a short piece for the Saturday Review 

Fuller began the year 1966 with “Outer Space Ghost Story.” His article about The strange lights over Exeter, NH appeared in LOOK magazine. That article was abridged in the May 1966 issue of Reader’s Digest, reaching millions. The story was then expanded in True magazine in August, this time titled “Incident at Exeter.” Fuller’s book-length version by the same name arrived that summer, even as he was wrapping up the manuscript of The Interrupted Journey.

The Hills had seen their UFO back in 1961, but it had taken years for them, through hypnosis sessions, to work out what they believed (although their doctor disagreed) was an alien abduction. Fuller heard about the Hills from Derry, NH, newspaper editor Conrad Quimby, and quickly signed the couple to a book contract.
The Hill story would follow a similar path of magazine excerpts and book sales. Their story became embedded in UFO culture. Fuller wrote a third book on the topic, Aliens In The Skies: The New UFO Battle of the Scientists (1969) before the topic was played out. Fuller wrote a number of popular nonfiction books on topics including nuclear power, a chemical plant explosion, a killer virus, and the rock band The Who. He also focused on paranormal topics including ghosts and faith healers.

Copyright J. Dennis Robinson, all rights reserved.