Alternate Perceptions Magazine, November 2021
Kay Coggin, UFO historian/archivist
by: Brent Raynes
Kay Coggin with Dr. Jacques Vallee
Bio: Historical reports shed light on mysterious events, aerial phenomena and strange beings throughout written history. When humans started to record their experiences, whether on stone, papyrus, or other means, they have included strange events, aerial phenomena, supernatural sights, and weird beings. Historical archives have accumulated these experiences covering many centuries and countries, and through these archives we have discovered a catalogue of events long forgotten. Charles Fort, a trailblazer in researching anomalous phenomena, proved that there is much more to our world than we can presume. In the past few decades, there has been an explosion of online resources to further our research into the history of these strange sightings through newspapers, books, diaries, etc. This has opened a field of research for both Ufologist and Fortean alike. These historical records add to our understanding by finding patterns and similar experiences that can be used to better understand more current Fortean events. Kay Coggin has been interested in UFOs and all kinds of Fortean events for much of her life. After discovering her knack for research abilities through several years of genealogy work for family and friends, she joined Magonia Exchange. She now contributes archival Fortean articles to authors and researchers from around the world. She is semi-retired from the healthcare field. She lives in Georgia with her husband and two rescue animals.
Brent Raynes: Kay, please tell us a little about yourself and how you got started in this kind of research.
Kay Coggin: I am a retired nurse from Mississippi. I had a sighting as a child that always intrigued me. I worked on genealogy through the years and was very good at it. I would see strange reports in newspapers and other ephemera I was working on and started saving them. I joined Magonia Exchange in 2009 and shared some of my "savings." Over the years, I have assisted with research on articles and books with Ufologists around the world. It is a hobby I very much enjoy.
Brent Raynes: Do you have your own pet theory or idea as to what may be going on?
Kay Coggin: I believe all Fortean and true UFO events are all part of the same mechanism. After reading Vallee's books, I agree with him that it is not "them" but an "it." I do not know it's purpose and we probably will never know. It may be a slow tweaking of mankind or of individuals as experiences seem to change a person's thoughts and perceptions.
Brent Raynes: Have you any future projects or plans?
Kay Coggin: I just want to keep helping anyone with research and make all my research as public as possible. I do not "horde" reports. I might be open to doing a conference or a speaking role in the future (after Covid!).
Brent Raynes: Have you written a book (or any books) as of yet?
Kay Coggin: No, but uthors have used my research materials in books, magazines and online articles. I am hoping that I can assist with more books in the future
Brent Raynes: What do you feel about the current state of UFO and paranormal studies?
Kay Coggin: I think the internet has caused an explosion in Fortean research of all kinds. Some good, some bad. I feel strongly about the sharing of information which is one reason I am glad to be a member of Magonia and Fortean Exchanges. Every day more archives are placed on the web increasing the databases for researchers. I do think some researchers and web forums are too quick to pin labels on events and not waiting to see patterns or more evidence emerge.
Some of Kay’s collected stories:
Tale of Strange Happening in Seventies Was Related By the Late Joseph Leger
STRANGE things are said to have happened out on the Montreal Road in by-gone days, but few stranger than the following occurrence, which is recounted by Mr. Hilaire Leger of 26 Cobourg Street whose early days were spent on a farm near St. Joseph village.
“I am giving you the facts as they were related to me by my father. The thing is supposed to have happened sometime in the early seventies. One day my father had occasion to drive to Ottawa and he took my sister-in-law with him.
“When they were returning late at night my sister-in-law, believing she heard a noise on the road behind them, turned to see what it was. There, immediately behind them was a team of horses with their noses resting on the back of the buggy. They were pulling an empty wagon. There was no sign of a driver.
Vanishing Act
“There was perhaps nothing remarkable about the team of horses being there, minus their driver, but what happened during the next few moments was remarkable. My father had reached a point on the road a little beyond Green’s Creek, where there were several high stacks of cedar poles piled by the roadside. Beyond the piles was a thick bush through which, under ordinary circumstances, it would be impossible for a team of horses to pass.
“At the moment my sister-in-law looked round, the driverless horses veered to the right and soared clear over the cedar piles in the same fashion that Santa Claus and his reindeer are pictured flying through the air. When they reached the bush they vanished entirely from sight. My father was not a drinking man nor was he given to making up yarns. He stuck to that story to his dying day.” Source: The Ottawa Citizen (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
Date: Saturday, February 1, 1932, page 2.
Source: The Commerce Journal, Commerce, Texas
Date: November 13, 1931
“What the Indians Saw"
Source: The Morning Democrat (Davenport, Iowa)
Date: June 18, 1892
