UFO Northwest: How Washington State Spawned the Men in Black
Wed, Oct 16
|Old Redmond Schoolhouse
In collaboration with the Redmond Historical Society, Humanities Washington and the Friends of the Redmond Library.
Time & Location
Oct 16, 2024, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Old Redmond Schoolhouse, 16600 NE 80th St, Redmond, WA 98052, USA
About the Event
Join a fascinating discussion of a Washington story that shapes our current UFO narratives, from 1950s pulp magazines to the ubiquitous X-Files and Men in Black film franchises. Screenwriter and attorney, Steve Edmiston will describe the event and the aftermath of the "Maury Island Incident."
On August 1, 1947, the tragic crash of a B-25 bomber in Washington State triggered an FBI investigation of “The Maury Island Incident”—an infamous Northwest UFO sighting, and history’s first alleged encounter with the so-called “Men in Black.”
The FBI’s records from 1947, which were sealed for decades, reveal Cold War fears, jurisdictional disputes, cover-ups, false confessions, a courageous FBI Special Agent, and the hands-on involvement of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
Relying on the FBI records, this talk exposes a Washington story that shapes our current UFO narratives, from 1950s pulp magazines to the ubiquitous X-Files and Men in Black film franchises. Also examined: how the Northwest’s unique position in UFO history is challenged by others that assert contradictory narratives.
Speaker bio:
Steve Edmiston (he/him) is a business and entertainment lawyer with Bracepoint Law, and an indie film screenwriter and producer. Edmiston has keynoted for the Pacific Northwest History Conference, Washington State Historical Museum, McMenamins History Pubs, film festivals, conferences, and business groups. He was the screenwriter and co-producer of “The Maury Island Incident,” a short film chronicling the true story of Harold Dahl and his alleged 1947 sighting of a UFO over Puget Sound.
Edmiston lives in Des Moines.
