1 00:00:02,169 --> 00:00:03,293 Narrator: They transform their appearance 2 00:00:03,421 --> 00:00:05,546 right before our eyes. 3 00:00:05,673 --> 00:00:06,797 Bruce fenton: They're able to go from being 4 00:00:06,924 --> 00:00:08,757 totally human-looking 5 00:00:08,884 --> 00:00:11,760 to dangerous beasts that tear people to pieces. 6 00:00:11,887 --> 00:00:15,014 -(man screams) -david childress: They turn into bats 7 00:00:15,141 --> 00:00:17,016 or a sudden mist and disappear. 8 00:00:17,143 --> 00:00:18,726 (woman screams) 9 00:00:18,853 --> 00:00:20,352 lynn picknett: The most terrifying thing 10 00:00:20,479 --> 00:00:21,687 is they can steal 11 00:00:21,814 --> 00:00:24,231 the face of a loved one 12 00:00:24,358 --> 00:00:26,275 and lure you to your doom. 13 00:00:26,402 --> 00:00:28,819 Narrator: Accounts of creatures able to morph 14 00:00:28,946 --> 00:00:30,863 from one form into another 15 00:00:30,990 --> 00:00:33,365 can be found all over the world 16 00:00:33,492 --> 00:00:35,492 and throughout history. 17 00:00:35,619 --> 00:00:37,745 Giorgio a. Tsoukalos: You have to ask the question, 18 00:00:37,872 --> 00:00:41,123 what is the core of truth behind those legends? 19 00:00:41,250 --> 00:00:44,126 Childress: When you look at all the different legends, 20 00:00:44,253 --> 00:00:46,420 we have a very strong connection between 21 00:00:46,547 --> 00:00:49,965 shape-shifters and extraterrestrials. 22 00:00:50,092 --> 00:00:53,052 Narrator: Is it possible that earth has been infiltrated 23 00:00:53,179 --> 00:00:56,680 by shape-shifting beings from another planet? 24 00:00:56,807 --> 00:00:58,766 William henry: What if there are millions of extraterrestrials 25 00:00:58,893 --> 00:01:00,392 that are walking amongst us and suddenly 26 00:01:00,519 --> 00:01:02,478 they reveal their true appearance? 27 00:01:04,523 --> 00:01:06,690 Narrator: There is a doorway 28 00:01:06,817 --> 00:01:09,568 in the universe. 29 00:01:09,695 --> 00:01:12,488 Beyond it is the promise of truth. 30 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:16,241 It demands we question everything 31 00:01:16,368 --> 00:01:18,535 we have ever been taught. 32 00:01:18,662 --> 00:01:22,915 The evidence is all around us. 33 00:01:23,042 --> 00:01:26,293 The future is right before our eyes. 34 00:01:26,420 --> 00:01:29,004 We are not alone. 35 00:01:29,131 --> 00:01:32,466 We have never been alone. 36 00:01:51,904 --> 00:01:53,529 Narrator: 22-year-old forestry worker 37 00:01:53,656 --> 00:01:55,239 travis walton 38 00:01:55,366 --> 00:01:56,907 is driving home after sundown 39 00:01:57,034 --> 00:01:59,076 with a group of coworkers when 40 00:01:59,203 --> 00:02:02,287 suddenly a strange light appears in the sky. 41 00:02:02,414 --> 00:02:04,456 I noticed, uh, some little glimmers 42 00:02:04,583 --> 00:02:06,041 of light coming through the trees. 43 00:02:06,168 --> 00:02:08,836 And the light seemed to be coming 44 00:02:08,963 --> 00:02:11,588 from higher than where ground level would be. 45 00:02:11,715 --> 00:02:14,424 It was only when we got to where 46 00:02:14,552 --> 00:02:16,510 this light was crossing the road 47 00:02:16,637 --> 00:02:19,638 that we had an unobstructed view of the craft. 48 00:02:19,765 --> 00:02:22,432 It was a clearly visible, 49 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,519 clearly defined metallic object, 50 00:02:25,646 --> 00:02:29,148 a disc hovering there, outlined against the sky. 51 00:02:29,275 --> 00:02:31,650 I threw open the door, thinking I'd get 52 00:02:31,777 --> 00:02:33,360 a closer look before it took off. 53 00:02:33,487 --> 00:02:36,405 As I got closer to it, the sound it was making, 54 00:02:36,532 --> 00:02:39,741 it was a sound you, you both heard and felt. 55 00:02:39,869 --> 00:02:42,286 And, uh, the crew said they could 56 00:02:42,413 --> 00:02:44,121 feel the vibration in the truck. 57 00:02:44,248 --> 00:02:46,290 They said it seemed like 58 00:02:46,417 --> 00:02:48,458 something was about to happen. 59 00:02:48,586 --> 00:02:51,378 And, uh, it was. (chuckles) 60 00:02:52,965 --> 00:02:55,090 that's when this energy hit me. 61 00:02:57,261 --> 00:03:00,470 The crew said that it was like I'd stepped on a land mine. 62 00:03:01,932 --> 00:03:03,765 Like an explosion 63 00:03:03,893 --> 00:03:06,351 so violent that, uh, 64 00:03:06,478 --> 00:03:08,645 they thought it, uh, it had killed me. 65 00:03:08,772 --> 00:03:12,816 When this beam of energy hit me, 66 00:03:12,943 --> 00:03:16,403 I felt like a physical blow, but with a sort of a... 67 00:03:16,530 --> 00:03:19,156 Tingling sort of an electric shock sort 68 00:03:19,283 --> 00:03:21,533 of feeling at the same time. 69 00:03:21,660 --> 00:03:25,996 I don't know whether I came to soon after I was taken aboard. 70 00:03:26,123 --> 00:03:28,790 But I know I was on some 71 00:03:28,918 --> 00:03:32,169 kind of an elevated gurney or operating table. 72 00:03:32,296 --> 00:03:34,713 I was looking straight into the-the face of this creature. 73 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:37,007 And I just flipped out. 74 00:03:39,678 --> 00:03:41,053 Michael salla: He sees these 75 00:03:41,180 --> 00:03:42,638 grey extraterrestrials around him, 76 00:03:42,765 --> 00:03:44,556 and he panics. 77 00:03:44,683 --> 00:03:47,893 And he begins to struggle very violently. 78 00:03:48,020 --> 00:03:50,020 And so those grey extraterrestrials 79 00:03:50,147 --> 00:03:52,856 leave that room. 80 00:03:52,983 --> 00:03:54,816 And then shortly afterwards, 81 00:03:54,944 --> 00:03:58,403 you have two human-looking extraterrestrials walking in. 82 00:03:58,530 --> 00:04:00,864 Walton: In the case of these 83 00:04:00,991 --> 00:04:02,991 human-looking ones, I started to 84 00:04:03,118 --> 00:04:06,495 have serious misgivings that, that this was a rescue. 85 00:04:06,622 --> 00:04:10,249 And that's when they put this mask over my face. 86 00:04:10,376 --> 00:04:12,209 And I just blacked out real quickly. 87 00:04:12,336 --> 00:04:15,170 Nick pope: Now the suspicion here 88 00:04:15,297 --> 00:04:18,465 was that actually these weren't different aliens. 89 00:04:18,592 --> 00:04:21,593 These were the same aliens, but they were capable 90 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:24,096 of shape-shifting into something else, 91 00:04:24,223 --> 00:04:27,432 specifically to calm him down. 92 00:04:27,559 --> 00:04:29,851 Narrator: Travis walton's story 93 00:04:29,979 --> 00:04:31,436 has become one of the most famous 94 00:04:31,563 --> 00:04:34,356 alien abduction cases ever reported, 95 00:04:34,483 --> 00:04:38,986 and was even adapted into a movie in 1993. 96 00:04:39,113 --> 00:04:42,823 But if true, was he abducted by beings 97 00:04:42,950 --> 00:04:46,034 that are able to shape-shift and mimic humans? 98 00:04:46,161 --> 00:04:50,038 While travis walton's account is extraordinary, 99 00:04:50,165 --> 00:04:52,833 it is not entirely unique. 100 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:55,252 Salla: There are many stories of these abductees, 101 00:04:55,379 --> 00:04:58,213 who see these non-human looking extraterrestrials, these greys, 102 00:04:58,340 --> 00:05:02,676 who then are replaced by beings that look human. 103 00:05:02,803 --> 00:05:05,012 And this seems to be extraterrestrials 104 00:05:05,139 --> 00:05:06,972 using this shape-shifting ability 105 00:05:07,099 --> 00:05:11,018 to make it look as though human extraterrestrials are there. 106 00:05:11,145 --> 00:05:15,647 Narrator: In 2013, public policy polling 107 00:05:15,774 --> 00:05:19,026 released data that showed 12 million americans believe 108 00:05:19,153 --> 00:05:22,237 that shape-shifting beings live amongst us. 109 00:05:22,364 --> 00:05:26,158 Fenton: One of the most intriguing conspiracies today 110 00:05:26,285 --> 00:05:29,119 is that of the shape-shifting aliens. 111 00:05:29,246 --> 00:05:33,081 The idea that perhaps there is a class of entities on our world 112 00:05:33,208 --> 00:05:37,627 today that is able to represent itself as humans at will. 113 00:05:37,755 --> 00:05:40,005 These extraterrestrials that are 114 00:05:40,132 --> 00:05:42,341 hidden from the rest of the-the normal 115 00:05:42,468 --> 00:05:44,593 human society around them. 116 00:05:47,431 --> 00:05:50,474 Pope: There is a theory that there are aliens among us. 117 00:05:50,601 --> 00:05:52,934 Aliens in human form. 118 00:05:53,062 --> 00:05:56,063 That there's an advance guard, a fifth column. 119 00:05:56,190 --> 00:05:58,940 Call it what you like, but the idea that 120 00:05:59,068 --> 00:06:03,820 perhaps as a prelude to a full-scale alien invasion, 121 00:06:03,947 --> 00:06:08,492 they infiltrate, they get their people into positions of power. 122 00:06:08,619 --> 00:06:11,661 And one could be walking right past you and you wouldn't know. 123 00:06:11,789 --> 00:06:15,624 People think of disclosure as being the archetypal landing 124 00:06:15,751 --> 00:06:18,877 on the white house lawn, uh, spaceships in the sky. 125 00:06:19,004 --> 00:06:20,670 What if it's actually not that? 126 00:06:20,798 --> 00:06:24,216 What if aliens are already here? 127 00:06:25,719 --> 00:06:27,010 Narrator: While the notion that 128 00:06:27,137 --> 00:06:28,720 shape-shifting extraterrestrials 129 00:06:28,847 --> 00:06:31,431 are living among the human race 130 00:06:31,558 --> 00:06:34,559 may sound like something ripped from a science fiction movie, 131 00:06:34,686 --> 00:06:37,104 this concept was actually prevalent 132 00:06:37,231 --> 00:06:40,273 among people living thousands of years ago. 133 00:06:40,401 --> 00:06:42,567 In ancient times, 134 00:06:42,694 --> 00:06:44,694 nearly every culture across the globe 135 00:06:44,822 --> 00:06:48,198 described their gods as not only descending from the sky, 136 00:06:48,325 --> 00:06:52,702 but also having the ability to transform their appearance. 137 00:06:52,830 --> 00:06:56,081 Jonathan young: Shape-shifting has shown up 138 00:06:56,208 --> 00:06:58,875 throughout history in shamanic lore, 139 00:06:59,002 --> 00:07:00,043 in the great religions-- 140 00:07:00,170 --> 00:07:02,421 the olympians in greece, 141 00:07:02,548 --> 00:07:04,506 the hindu gods would change shape, 142 00:07:04,633 --> 00:07:07,259 the egyptian gods. 143 00:07:07,386 --> 00:07:10,095 There's something about this idea that 144 00:07:10,222 --> 00:07:13,014 particularly the gods can change into another person 145 00:07:13,142 --> 00:07:16,643 or become an animal. 146 00:07:16,770 --> 00:07:19,813 Ric rader: These stories are not just here to entertain us. 147 00:07:19,940 --> 00:07:22,232 They are here to make sense of our relationship 148 00:07:22,359 --> 00:07:24,901 to the world and to the gods. 149 00:07:25,028 --> 00:07:29,489 And that is not a world that we have a lot of control over. 150 00:07:29,616 --> 00:07:32,159 And that, ultimately, is a terrifying thing, 151 00:07:32,286 --> 00:07:33,910 because when they come down to our world 152 00:07:34,037 --> 00:07:36,163 in whatever shape they take, 153 00:07:36,290 --> 00:07:40,208 we are subject to the whims of the gods. 154 00:07:40,335 --> 00:07:43,336 Narrator: Are tales of shape-shifting beings 155 00:07:43,464 --> 00:07:46,006 a mere manifestation of a deep-seated fear 156 00:07:46,133 --> 00:07:49,259 that we are not in control of our own reality? 157 00:07:49,386 --> 00:07:51,970 Curiously, a common element 158 00:07:52,097 --> 00:07:54,556 found in many of these ancient stories 159 00:07:54,683 --> 00:07:57,100 is that the reason the gods changed shape 160 00:07:57,227 --> 00:08:01,271 was so that they could navigate the human world undetected. 161 00:08:01,398 --> 00:08:03,940 Rader: In order to traffic 162 00:08:04,067 --> 00:08:07,152 in the human world, the gods have to take on a human shape 163 00:08:07,279 --> 00:08:09,279 or something that exists in the human world. 164 00:08:09,406 --> 00:08:12,407 Zeus, in particular, um, 165 00:08:12,534 --> 00:08:16,620 wants to have sexual relations with human beings, 166 00:08:16,747 --> 00:08:18,622 with, uh, with women. 167 00:08:18,749 --> 00:08:22,542 Zeus takes the form of a bull, an especially beautiful bull 168 00:08:22,669 --> 00:08:26,338 which attracts the interest of europa, 169 00:08:26,465 --> 00:08:29,633 who was a phoenician princess. 170 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:31,343 Henry in the greek story, 171 00:08:31,470 --> 00:08:33,678 europa climbs aboard this bull. 172 00:08:33,805 --> 00:08:36,181 Together they cross over the mediterranean 173 00:08:36,308 --> 00:08:38,850 to the island of crete. 174 00:08:38,977 --> 00:08:42,103 Zeus shape-shifts back into himself as zeus the god, 175 00:08:42,231 --> 00:08:44,564 impregnates europa. 176 00:08:44,691 --> 00:08:47,234 So this is zeus using shape-shifting as a way 177 00:08:47,361 --> 00:08:51,071 to attract a human female and ultimately to create 178 00:08:51,198 --> 00:08:53,573 a new island civilization in crete. 179 00:08:53,700 --> 00:08:56,660 Rader: Zeus changes himself into a bull. 180 00:08:56,787 --> 00:08:59,162 Changes himself into an eagle. 181 00:08:59,289 --> 00:09:02,332 Changes himself into a golden rain shower. 182 00:09:02,459 --> 00:09:05,085 For practical reasons, 183 00:09:05,212 --> 00:09:07,295 the gods need to disguise themselves. 184 00:09:07,422 --> 00:09:11,132 Because if they show up in the human world undisguised, 185 00:09:11,260 --> 00:09:13,718 then it'll wreak havoc. 186 00:09:13,845 --> 00:09:16,137 And the limitation of our imagination 187 00:09:16,265 --> 00:09:18,431 is that they sort of look like us. 188 00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:20,684 They may not, we don't really know. 189 00:09:20,811 --> 00:09:24,854 They have to take a shape that our puny mortal minds 190 00:09:24,982 --> 00:09:27,065 are capable of comprehending. 191 00:09:27,192 --> 00:09:29,109 Tsoukalos: Throughout history, 192 00:09:29,236 --> 00:09:32,487 we have these stories of ancient gods 193 00:09:32,614 --> 00:09:35,574 being able to shape-shift. 194 00:09:35,701 --> 00:09:37,617 So you have to ask the question, 195 00:09:37,744 --> 00:09:41,621 what is the core of truth behind those legends? 196 00:09:41,748 --> 00:09:43,748 Narrator: Could there be some significance 197 00:09:43,875 --> 00:09:46,751 to the fact that in story after story, 198 00:09:46,878 --> 00:09:49,421 coming from all parts of the world, 199 00:09:49,548 --> 00:09:53,508 gods are said to change shape to interact with humans? 200 00:09:53,635 --> 00:09:56,261 Is it possible that at some point, 201 00:09:56,388 --> 00:09:58,305 the ancient people actually witnessed 202 00:09:58,432 --> 00:10:00,807 extraterrestrials changing shape? 203 00:10:00,934 --> 00:10:02,934 Childress: We have many stories 204 00:10:03,061 --> 00:10:07,022 in the past, legends and myths of shape-shifting gods. 205 00:10:07,149 --> 00:10:09,316 The greeks have many stories with this. 206 00:10:09,443 --> 00:10:11,526 The hindus, the sumerians. 207 00:10:11,653 --> 00:10:14,070 All over the world, we have these stories. 208 00:10:14,197 --> 00:10:17,490 And you have to wonder if it might have something to do 209 00:10:17,618 --> 00:10:19,743 with shape-shifting extraterrestrials. 210 00:10:19,870 --> 00:10:23,830 The ancient astronaut theory tries to decipher 211 00:10:23,957 --> 00:10:29,044 misunderstood technology in mythological stories. 212 00:10:29,171 --> 00:10:33,590 This whole idea of shape-shifting 213 00:10:33,717 --> 00:10:37,260 is rooted solidly in the concept 214 00:10:37,387 --> 00:10:41,181 of misunderstood technology. 215 00:10:41,308 --> 00:10:44,309 Actual flesh-and-blood extraterrestrials 216 00:10:44,436 --> 00:10:46,853 were able to change their appearance 217 00:10:46,980 --> 00:10:49,481 with technology. 218 00:10:49,608 --> 00:10:53,109 Perhaps they had an invisibility cloak... 219 00:10:53,236 --> 00:10:56,237 Or they had a cloak with which they could change themselves 220 00:10:56,365 --> 00:10:58,531 into whatever they wanted. 221 00:10:58,659 --> 00:11:01,284 This was witnessed by the people, 222 00:11:01,411 --> 00:11:03,411 and this is how these stories came into existence. 223 00:11:03,538 --> 00:11:04,871 (owl hooting) 224 00:11:04,998 --> 00:11:06,873 narrator: If extraterrestrials inspired 225 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:09,542 the ancient stories of shape-shifting gods, 226 00:11:09,670 --> 00:11:12,712 as ancient astronaut theorists suggest, 227 00:11:12,839 --> 00:11:15,924 were they here only in the distant past, 228 00:11:16,051 --> 00:11:19,844 or have they remained with us for thousands of years? 229 00:11:19,971 --> 00:11:23,848 And what could be their reason for hiding among humans? 230 00:11:34,695 --> 00:11:38,071 Narrator: Here, hidden along the ocean floor, 231 00:11:38,198 --> 00:11:41,574 researchers discover a new and unusual creature-- 232 00:11:41,702 --> 00:11:43,868 the mimic octopus. 233 00:11:43,995 --> 00:11:46,413 This highly intelligent cephalopod 234 00:11:46,540 --> 00:11:48,790 is capable of not only instantly changing 235 00:11:48,917 --> 00:11:51,042 its color and skin texture, 236 00:11:51,169 --> 00:11:53,545 but it can also transform its body 237 00:11:53,672 --> 00:11:56,214 to take on the form of many other creatures. 238 00:11:58,051 --> 00:12:00,593 Kirsten fisher: The mimic octopus is remarkable. 239 00:12:00,721 --> 00:12:02,512 It's been known to mimic flounder, 240 00:12:02,639 --> 00:12:04,806 which are like flat fish that live on the bottom of the ocean. 241 00:12:07,477 --> 00:12:10,061 Sea snakes, with the striping. 242 00:12:10,188 --> 00:12:11,771 And then also lionfish, remarkably, 243 00:12:11,898 --> 00:12:13,773 which have all these, like, feathery appendages. 244 00:12:13,900 --> 00:12:16,359 It's been documented to essentially impersonate 245 00:12:16,486 --> 00:12:18,903 at least 15 different marine species. 246 00:12:20,574 --> 00:12:22,991 Narrator: With three hearts, nine brains, 247 00:12:23,118 --> 00:12:26,119 and roughly double the number of genes of a human, 248 00:12:26,246 --> 00:12:29,038 some scientists have speculated that the octopus 249 00:12:29,166 --> 00:12:31,666 may well be from another planet. 250 00:12:34,171 --> 00:12:36,880 In 2018, a group of 33 scientists proclaimed 251 00:12:37,007 --> 00:12:39,090 in a peer-reviewed paper 252 00:12:39,217 --> 00:12:43,470 that the octopus actually has alien dna 253 00:12:43,597 --> 00:12:46,473 and might have originated elsewhere. 254 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,267 Now, when we think about that, you have to think: Well, 255 00:12:49,394 --> 00:12:52,437 what might extraterrestrials actually be like? 256 00:12:52,564 --> 00:12:54,105 Could they be like the octopus? 257 00:12:54,232 --> 00:12:56,816 Could they in fact be shape-shifters? 258 00:12:56,943 --> 00:12:59,527 We automatically assume that extraterrestrials 259 00:12:59,654 --> 00:13:01,571 might be humanoid, that they might look like us, 260 00:13:01,698 --> 00:13:04,199 but the fact of the matter is that they could in fact 261 00:13:04,326 --> 00:13:06,242 be shape-shifters able to change their form 262 00:13:06,369 --> 00:13:08,161 into anything they want to be. 263 00:13:08,288 --> 00:13:11,873 Narrator: If the octopus is not indigenous to earth, 264 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,334 could that point to the possibility 265 00:13:14,461 --> 00:13:17,337 that intelligent alien beings have also arrived here 266 00:13:17,464 --> 00:13:20,507 that have the biological ability to shape-shift? 267 00:13:20,634 --> 00:13:23,426 Fisher: The evolution of things 268 00:13:23,553 --> 00:13:26,638 like crypsis, or the ability to camouflage oneself. 269 00:13:26,765 --> 00:13:28,723 On earth, 270 00:13:28,850 --> 00:13:30,850 we know the selective pressure for that 271 00:13:30,977 --> 00:13:34,062 is primarily sort of predator-prey relationships. 272 00:13:34,189 --> 00:13:36,272 Crypsis is basically a trait 273 00:13:36,399 --> 00:13:38,274 to escape detection by a predator, 274 00:13:38,401 --> 00:13:40,485 if you're an animal that gets eaten, 275 00:13:40,612 --> 00:13:42,445 or to escape detection by your prey, 276 00:13:42,572 --> 00:13:44,447 if you happen to be a predator. 277 00:13:44,574 --> 00:13:46,282 I think that selective pressure 278 00:13:46,409 --> 00:13:49,452 could certainly, um, drive the evolution of crypsis 279 00:13:49,579 --> 00:13:51,246 on other planets as well. 280 00:13:52,791 --> 00:13:54,624 Pope: Given that shape-shifting has 281 00:13:54,751 --> 00:13:57,961 a clear evolutionary benefit, 282 00:13:58,088 --> 00:14:01,422 it's certainly possible that this capability evolved 283 00:14:01,550 --> 00:14:04,884 not just here on earth, but elsewhere in the universe. 284 00:14:05,011 --> 00:14:07,470 It's perfectly possible there's other life out there, 285 00:14:07,597 --> 00:14:09,764 including intelligent life, 286 00:14:09,891 --> 00:14:14,519 civilizations that have the capability to shape-shift. 287 00:14:14,646 --> 00:14:16,646 We have to wonder if... 288 00:14:16,773 --> 00:14:18,690 This technology is something 289 00:14:18,817 --> 00:14:21,484 that-that they just naturally have 290 00:14:21,611 --> 00:14:25,280 as part of their biological dna, 291 00:14:25,407 --> 00:14:28,283 or are they using some technology 292 00:14:28,410 --> 00:14:30,827 that's doing this for them? 293 00:14:30,954 --> 00:14:32,871 So it could be either, 294 00:14:32,998 --> 00:14:34,998 and even a combination of both. 295 00:14:35,125 --> 00:14:38,501 Narrator: In the animal kingdom, the ability to shape-shift 296 00:14:38,628 --> 00:14:42,714 has evolved to conceal both the hunter and the hunted. 297 00:14:42,841 --> 00:14:45,091 But if shape-shifting extraterrestrials 298 00:14:45,218 --> 00:14:47,594 truly are hiding among us, 299 00:14:47,721 --> 00:14:50,805 did they evolve as prey or predators? 300 00:15:00,984 --> 00:15:03,192 A 25-year-old mother of three 301 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:05,778 is taken to a local physician 302 00:15:05,906 --> 00:15:09,240 after displaying increasingly bizarre behavior. 303 00:15:09,367 --> 00:15:11,326 She speaks in gibberish 304 00:15:11,453 --> 00:15:14,329 and complains of being plagued by disturbing visions 305 00:15:14,456 --> 00:15:16,581 and strange voices. 306 00:15:16,708 --> 00:15:18,541 Her family claims she is possessed 307 00:15:18,668 --> 00:15:20,543 by supernatural beings... 308 00:15:20,670 --> 00:15:22,545 Known as the jinn. 309 00:15:24,049 --> 00:15:25,757 Amir hussain: Jinn is an arabic term 310 00:15:25,884 --> 00:15:28,343 that means "to hide," "to conceal." 311 00:15:28,470 --> 00:15:32,513 the koran says that they are created of fire without smoke. 312 00:15:34,184 --> 00:15:37,185 Smokeless fire. 313 00:15:37,312 --> 00:15:41,064 It talks about the jinn being able to take animal form. 314 00:15:41,191 --> 00:15:43,650 It talks about the jinn being able to take the form 315 00:15:43,777 --> 00:15:46,569 of natural phenomena-- the wind, for example. 316 00:15:48,698 --> 00:15:51,616 And so you will have people to this day in the muslim world 317 00:15:51,743 --> 00:15:53,826 who will say that this person is possessed by jinn, 318 00:15:53,954 --> 00:15:57,997 that they're not physically ill, they're not mentally ill. 319 00:15:59,668 --> 00:16:02,251 Picknett: The jinn were allegedly created 320 00:16:02,379 --> 00:16:04,879 before humankind by god. 321 00:16:05,006 --> 00:16:07,966 They can take any shape to beguile you, 322 00:16:08,093 --> 00:16:10,051 and to tempt you. 323 00:16:10,178 --> 00:16:13,054 Because part of their role 324 00:16:13,181 --> 00:16:16,474 is to test humanity. 325 00:16:18,269 --> 00:16:20,520 Narrator: Encounters with the jinn 326 00:16:20,647 --> 00:16:23,314 are reported frequently in certain parts of the world, 327 00:16:23,441 --> 00:16:27,694 and millions of people continue to believe in their existence. 328 00:16:27,821 --> 00:16:30,655 Similar shape-shifting beings can also be found 329 00:16:30,782 --> 00:16:33,157 in other ancient traditions 330 00:16:33,284 --> 00:16:36,869 and are so common that modern mythologists have grouped them 331 00:16:36,997 --> 00:16:40,790 into a category called "trickster gods." 332 00:16:40,917 --> 00:16:45,003 young: The trickster is the god of transitions, of change. 333 00:16:45,130 --> 00:16:47,088 They're not always fun to encounter, 334 00:16:47,215 --> 00:16:49,424 because they-they pull the rug out from under us. 335 00:16:49,551 --> 00:16:52,719 They are in charge of mischief and mayhem. 336 00:16:54,723 --> 00:16:57,265 In the norse tradition, we have the trickster character 337 00:16:57,392 --> 00:16:58,599 known as loki. 338 00:16:58,727 --> 00:17:00,643 Loki is a shape-shifter. 339 00:17:00,770 --> 00:17:02,478 In some stories, he's a salmon, 340 00:17:02,605 --> 00:17:04,731 sometimes a fly. 341 00:17:04,858 --> 00:17:06,941 Deepak shimkhada: According to hindu mythology, 342 00:17:07,068 --> 00:17:09,777 danivas are demons. 343 00:17:09,904 --> 00:17:12,280 So they have special power 344 00:17:12,407 --> 00:17:14,323 to change shape, 345 00:17:14,451 --> 00:17:17,160 to delude others, 346 00:17:17,287 --> 00:17:19,328 to confuse others, 347 00:17:19,456 --> 00:17:22,457 to appear in any form they wish. 348 00:17:22,584 --> 00:17:25,251 Henry: We find this in the celtic fairy lore as well, 349 00:17:25,378 --> 00:17:27,754 where the fairies are able to shape-shift. 350 00:17:27,881 --> 00:17:29,964 But in their deepest and darkest sense, 351 00:17:30,091 --> 00:17:33,051 they're seeking to extract something from humanity. 352 00:17:33,178 --> 00:17:35,887 Fenton: Some of these encounters that we hear about 353 00:17:36,014 --> 00:17:38,056 with shape-shifting beings 354 00:17:38,183 --> 00:17:40,349 may be extraterrestrials. 355 00:17:40,477 --> 00:17:43,186 There are some good examples of this with the so-called "greys." 356 00:17:43,313 --> 00:17:45,188 there's one incident where... 357 00:17:45,315 --> 00:17:49,484 A large owl was seen that was about three foot high, and... 358 00:17:49,611 --> 00:17:51,611 The witness just thought this could not add up, 359 00:17:51,738 --> 00:17:54,030 and then suddenly it just changed back into a grey. 360 00:17:54,157 --> 00:17:55,782 Very strange. 361 00:17:55,909 --> 00:18:00,411 Deception runs through this whole phenomenon. 362 00:18:00,538 --> 00:18:03,081 The idea that the extraterrestrials 363 00:18:03,208 --> 00:18:06,250 are deceiving, seducing, tricking people. 364 00:18:06,377 --> 00:18:08,377 We see it in mythology. 365 00:18:08,505 --> 00:18:10,963 We see it in close encounters. 366 00:18:13,134 --> 00:18:14,801 Narrator: Is it possible 367 00:18:14,928 --> 00:18:16,803 that accounts of shape-shifting beings, 368 00:18:16,930 --> 00:18:19,555 both in the remote past and in modern times, 369 00:18:19,682 --> 00:18:23,476 are not the product of overactive imaginations... 370 00:18:23,603 --> 00:18:27,146 But actual encounters with extraterrestrials? 371 00:18:27,273 --> 00:18:29,107 But if so, 372 00:18:29,234 --> 00:18:32,360 do they have a sinister agenda? 373 00:18:32,487 --> 00:18:34,904 Perhaps further clues can be found by examining stories 374 00:18:35,031 --> 00:18:37,448 not of gods... 375 00:18:39,327 --> 00:18:41,452 ...But of monsters? 376 00:18:46,417 --> 00:18:49,252 (cawing) 377 00:18:51,131 --> 00:18:53,589 narrator: This picturesque transylvanian town 378 00:18:53,716 --> 00:18:56,968 is the birthplace of vlad tepes, 379 00:18:57,095 --> 00:18:59,428 otherwise known as vlad the impaler, 380 00:18:59,556 --> 00:19:01,430 or vlad dracula. 381 00:19:01,558 --> 00:19:04,350 This infamous romanian prince 382 00:19:04,477 --> 00:19:06,936 was known to drink the blood of his enemies, 383 00:19:07,063 --> 00:19:08,729 and inspired the title 384 00:19:08,857 --> 00:19:13,568 of bram stoker's 1897 vampire novel, dracula. 385 00:19:15,196 --> 00:19:18,781 In 2014, a tourist visiting a local church 386 00:19:18,908 --> 00:19:21,117 came across a painting so strange 387 00:19:21,244 --> 00:19:23,244 that she sent a photo of it 388 00:19:23,371 --> 00:19:26,789 to the israeli extraterrestrials and ufos research organization. 389 00:19:26,916 --> 00:19:28,583 Henry: In the hometown 390 00:19:28,710 --> 00:19:30,293 of vlad the impaler, 391 00:19:30,420 --> 00:19:33,379 upon whom the story of dracula the vampire is based, 392 00:19:33,506 --> 00:19:36,716 we find the church of the dominican monastery. 393 00:19:36,843 --> 00:19:40,219 And in this church is a 700-year-old painting 394 00:19:40,346 --> 00:19:43,306 that clearly portrays what most would identify 395 00:19:43,433 --> 00:19:45,808 as a circular craft, a ufo, 396 00:19:45,935 --> 00:19:50,354 hovering over a building that is thought to be the church. 397 00:19:50,481 --> 00:19:54,442 Fenton: We have this very strange jelly-mold-shaped saucer 398 00:19:54,569 --> 00:19:57,403 hovering over the ancestral home of the great figure 399 00:19:57,530 --> 00:20:01,324 that really has given rise to the idea of... 400 00:20:01,451 --> 00:20:03,868 You know, dracula the vampire. 401 00:20:03,995 --> 00:20:05,995 Now, is there a link here in some way 402 00:20:06,122 --> 00:20:09,498 with this vampire legend and extraterrestrials? 403 00:20:09,626 --> 00:20:12,668 Narrator: Is it possible that a 700-year-old painting 404 00:20:12,795 --> 00:20:15,338 in a church in transylvania provides a connection 405 00:20:15,465 --> 00:20:18,841 between vampires and aliens? 406 00:20:18,968 --> 00:20:22,803 Could it be that the stories of these shape-shifting entities 407 00:20:22,931 --> 00:20:25,306 that are said to morph from human form into bats, 408 00:20:25,433 --> 00:20:27,683 wolves and other creatures 409 00:20:27,810 --> 00:20:29,977 are based on real encounters? 410 00:20:30,104 --> 00:20:33,439 While bram stoker's dracula is a work of fiction, 411 00:20:33,566 --> 00:20:36,609 it is inspired by historical events. 412 00:20:36,736 --> 00:20:38,527 Picknett: In the classic vampire story, 413 00:20:38,655 --> 00:20:42,156 from bram stoker's dracula, the late 19th century, 414 00:20:42,283 --> 00:20:45,952 he did do some research into the romanian traditions. 415 00:20:46,079 --> 00:20:47,703 As I say, they're very complicated, 416 00:20:47,830 --> 00:20:49,247 and they-they tend to... 417 00:20:49,374 --> 00:20:51,082 To differ village from village even. 418 00:20:51,209 --> 00:20:53,918 So were there ever such things, 419 00:20:54,045 --> 00:20:56,837 paranormally speaking, as vampires? 420 00:20:56,965 --> 00:20:59,423 For a time-- 421 00:20:59,550 --> 00:21:02,843 15th, 16th, 17th, into the 18th century-- 422 00:21:02,971 --> 00:21:06,389 in certain parts of the world, vampires did exist. 423 00:21:17,610 --> 00:21:19,610 Narrator: During the construction 424 00:21:19,737 --> 00:21:22,405 of a roadway just outside this small town, 425 00:21:22,532 --> 00:21:25,116 a shocking discovery is made. 426 00:21:25,243 --> 00:21:27,994 Workers unearth a burial ground 427 00:21:28,121 --> 00:21:31,622 that provides a gruesome window into the past. 428 00:21:31,749 --> 00:21:36,877 It contains four skeletons, all decapitated. 429 00:21:37,005 --> 00:21:39,046 Recently in poland, 430 00:21:39,173 --> 00:21:43,092 some graves were found that had unusual characteristics. 431 00:21:43,219 --> 00:21:48,681 The remains had the heads removed and placed on the legs. 432 00:21:48,808 --> 00:21:52,727 This was evidence of a ritual execution. 433 00:21:52,854 --> 00:21:54,395 Some theorists think 434 00:21:54,522 --> 00:21:57,440 these might've been suspected vampires. 435 00:21:57,567 --> 00:22:00,359 Narrator: Archaeologists estimate 436 00:22:00,486 --> 00:22:03,154 these burials date back to the 16th century, 437 00:22:03,281 --> 00:22:05,156 and according to the traditions 438 00:22:05,283 --> 00:22:07,408 that existed in poland at that time, 439 00:22:07,535 --> 00:22:10,494 keeping the head separated from the body would prevent 440 00:22:10,621 --> 00:22:13,456 the undead from coming back to life. 441 00:22:13,583 --> 00:22:18,294 Similar vampire graves have been found throughout europe, 442 00:22:18,421 --> 00:22:20,713 some even containing bodies 443 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:23,674 with stakes driven through the hearts. 444 00:22:23,801 --> 00:22:26,552 When we think about vampires, 445 00:22:26,679 --> 00:22:30,056 we think of bram stoker's dracula, uh, 446 00:22:30,183 --> 00:22:33,768 or indeed, hollywood portrayals of vampires. 447 00:22:33,895 --> 00:22:36,520 -(bats squeaking) -but for the peoples of europe, 448 00:22:36,647 --> 00:22:38,356 particularly in eastern europe, 449 00:22:38,483 --> 00:22:40,524 the idea of vampires was a very frightening 450 00:22:40,651 --> 00:22:44,612 and very real supernatural phenomena 451 00:22:44,739 --> 00:22:49,367 which was something that they had to guard themselves against, 452 00:22:49,494 --> 00:22:52,078 because the vampires were shape-shifters. 453 00:22:52,205 --> 00:22:55,081 And the most frightening thing about these was 454 00:22:55,208 --> 00:22:57,750 that they had to sustain their existence 455 00:22:57,877 --> 00:23:03,255 by drinking the blood of animals or human beings. 456 00:23:06,386 --> 00:23:08,094 Narrator: While the modern concept 457 00:23:08,221 --> 00:23:11,347 of the vampire was informed by european folklore, 458 00:23:11,474 --> 00:23:13,557 similar shape-shifting beings 459 00:23:13,684 --> 00:23:15,684 with a thirst for blood have been reported 460 00:23:15,812 --> 00:23:17,686 throughout the ancient world, 461 00:23:17,814 --> 00:23:21,941 like the rakshasas described in the sanskrit texts of india. 462 00:23:22,068 --> 00:23:24,151 Shimkhada: In hindu scriptures, 463 00:23:24,278 --> 00:23:28,906 rakshasas have special power to change shape. 464 00:23:29,033 --> 00:23:32,576 Rakshasa is a flesh-eating demon. 465 00:23:32,703 --> 00:23:35,204 That rakshasa loves to eat flesh. 466 00:23:37,583 --> 00:23:39,959 Fenton: All across the globe, we have mythology 467 00:23:40,086 --> 00:23:43,003 that represents some kind of vampiric-type entities. 468 00:23:43,131 --> 00:23:46,215 There's the ekimmu in the sumerian texts. 469 00:23:46,342 --> 00:23:48,801 There's the jiangshi in china. 470 00:23:48,928 --> 00:23:50,803 All these classes of entities that seem to be 471 00:23:50,930 --> 00:23:53,305 in some way interested in human blood. 472 00:23:53,433 --> 00:23:55,599 But is there a real route to this? 473 00:23:55,726 --> 00:23:57,518 You know, is there some kind of entity 474 00:23:57,645 --> 00:23:59,228 that's interested in human blood? 475 00:24:00,773 --> 00:24:02,773 Narrator: Could these bloodthirsty abominations 476 00:24:02,900 --> 00:24:05,317 be more than just fantasy? 477 00:24:05,445 --> 00:24:08,821 As far as ancient astronaut theorists are concerned, 478 00:24:08,948 --> 00:24:11,532 the centuries-old tales of vampires 479 00:24:11,659 --> 00:24:15,744 bear striking similarities to a very modern phenomenon-- 480 00:24:15,872 --> 00:24:18,497 accounts of alien abduction. 481 00:24:18,624 --> 00:24:21,041 Bill birnes: When we talk about vampire 482 00:24:21,169 --> 00:24:24,086 experiences, we break them down into, 483 00:24:24,213 --> 00:24:25,963 there is the sighting. 484 00:24:26,090 --> 00:24:29,717 Then there is the trapping of one's own mind 485 00:24:29,844 --> 00:24:34,054 and the luring of the person into the vampire. 486 00:24:34,182 --> 00:24:36,849 But aliens abductions are exactly the same way. 487 00:24:38,811 --> 00:24:41,437 Abductees report 488 00:24:41,564 --> 00:24:45,399 they are transfixed by a light, a figure approaches them. 489 00:24:45,526 --> 00:24:50,946 The figure engages with them, and the figure takes them away. 490 00:24:51,073 --> 00:24:53,991 Pope: Central to alien abductions is the idea 491 00:24:54,118 --> 00:24:56,869 of some sort of medical procedure. 492 00:24:56,996 --> 00:25:00,080 Uh, some people say that dna is taken, 493 00:25:00,208 --> 00:25:03,667 but in other cases, blood seems to have been removed. 494 00:25:03,794 --> 00:25:06,712 Very often, the person is immobilized 495 00:25:06,839 --> 00:25:08,589 in these abduction reports. 496 00:25:08,716 --> 00:25:11,342 And yet, when you look at the vedic texts, 497 00:25:11,469 --> 00:25:14,011 the chinese legends, the european legends, 498 00:25:14,138 --> 00:25:17,139 one can draw these links between vampires 499 00:25:17,266 --> 00:25:19,266 and ufos and abductions. 500 00:25:20,978 --> 00:25:22,853 Childress: We have a very strong connection 501 00:25:22,980 --> 00:25:26,065 between vampires and extraterrestrials. 502 00:25:26,192 --> 00:25:29,276 Is it possible that extraterrestrials 503 00:25:29,403 --> 00:25:31,904 somehow need our blood? 504 00:25:32,031 --> 00:25:33,572 (hissing) 505 00:25:33,699 --> 00:25:36,242 narrator: If stories of vampires 506 00:25:36,369 --> 00:25:39,036 have been inspired by extraterrestrial encounters, 507 00:25:39,163 --> 00:25:41,997 as ancient astronaut theorists suggest, 508 00:25:42,124 --> 00:25:45,834 might they reveal that blood plays an essential role 509 00:25:45,962 --> 00:25:47,545 in the ability to shape-shift? 510 00:25:47,672 --> 00:25:49,713 Perhaps further clues can be found 511 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:52,174 by examining humanity's own efforts 512 00:25:52,301 --> 00:25:54,677 to transform life on earth 513 00:25:54,804 --> 00:25:57,263 through the manipulation of dna. 514 00:26:09,527 --> 00:26:11,443 Narrator: Archeologists excavating 515 00:26:11,571 --> 00:26:14,029 a stone age settlement known as "star carr" 516 00:26:14,156 --> 00:26:16,407 make an extraordinary discovery. 517 00:26:16,534 --> 00:26:18,576 Under layers of dense peat, 518 00:26:18,703 --> 00:26:20,995 they uncover a ritualistic headdress 519 00:26:21,122 --> 00:26:23,247 that is 11,000 years old-- 520 00:26:23,374 --> 00:26:27,543 one that would have been worn by a shaman or priest. 521 00:26:27,670 --> 00:26:31,755 As long as there's been people, there's been the idea 522 00:26:31,882 --> 00:26:34,717 that certain people, certain special people, 523 00:26:34,844 --> 00:26:37,386 can shift their shape. 524 00:26:37,513 --> 00:26:42,641 And the priests of the ancient magical world, the shamans, 525 00:26:42,768 --> 00:26:46,186 allegedly had the ability to shift their shape 526 00:26:46,314 --> 00:26:48,439 into an animal. 527 00:26:48,566 --> 00:26:52,109 Narrator: Curiously, in recent years, 528 00:26:52,236 --> 00:26:54,236 the site and its surrounding region 529 00:26:54,363 --> 00:26:57,948 have become renowned for reports of a horrific shape-shifter, 530 00:26:58,075 --> 00:27:03,245 known... As the flixton werewolf. 531 00:27:03,372 --> 00:27:07,416 A number of very odd experiences have been occurring there 532 00:27:07,543 --> 00:27:09,668 over the last 50 years or so. 533 00:27:09,795 --> 00:27:14,173 These include the appearance of a strange biped 534 00:27:14,300 --> 00:27:18,093 with either a canine or wolf-like head. 535 00:27:18,220 --> 00:27:19,928 -(growling) -in other words, 536 00:27:20,056 --> 00:27:22,931 half wolf, half human. 537 00:27:23,059 --> 00:27:24,975 And in addition to this, 538 00:27:25,102 --> 00:27:27,186 there have been many strange sightings 539 00:27:27,313 --> 00:27:30,564 of mysterious light forms and structured craft, 540 00:27:30,691 --> 00:27:34,068 ufos, in the same vicinity. 541 00:27:34,195 --> 00:27:36,654 We have ufo activity 542 00:27:36,781 --> 00:27:40,199 and what would be werewolf activity in europe, 543 00:27:40,326 --> 00:27:43,577 particularly in yorkshire. 544 00:27:43,704 --> 00:27:47,247 And so, we have to wonder, is there some connection 545 00:27:47,375 --> 00:27:50,084 between ufo activity and these shape-shifters? 546 00:27:50,211 --> 00:27:51,752 It would seem so. 547 00:27:51,879 --> 00:27:54,630 Narrator: In 2016, 548 00:27:54,757 --> 00:27:58,425 nearly a dozen sightings of the flixton werewolf were reported 549 00:27:58,552 --> 00:28:02,930 in the nearby town of hull, just 50 miles south of star carr. 550 00:28:03,057 --> 00:28:06,183 Witnesses claimed to have seen the creature 551 00:28:06,310 --> 00:28:09,812 feasting on the blood and flesh of local dogs, 552 00:28:09,939 --> 00:28:12,231 leaving residents gripped by terror. 553 00:28:13,651 --> 00:28:15,442 Collins: For the peoples of europe, 554 00:28:15,569 --> 00:28:19,321 in the past, this was a very real threat. 555 00:28:19,448 --> 00:28:23,158 It was believed that there were certain individuals 556 00:28:23,285 --> 00:28:25,994 that could transform themselves, shape-shift, 557 00:28:26,122 --> 00:28:27,871 into a particular animal, 558 00:28:27,998 --> 00:28:30,541 -most obviously a wolf. -(howling) 559 00:28:30,668 --> 00:28:34,420 and whilst these individuals were in the form of a werewolf, 560 00:28:34,547 --> 00:28:38,298 it was believed that to sustain their existence, 561 00:28:38,426 --> 00:28:42,594 they had to have the blood and life force 562 00:28:42,722 --> 00:28:45,889 of either animals or human beings. 563 00:28:48,853 --> 00:28:51,437 Narrator: Among the many stories 564 00:28:51,564 --> 00:28:54,648 of shape-shifting beings-- from vampires 565 00:28:54,775 --> 00:28:58,610 to werewolves and even modern alien abduction accounts-- 566 00:28:58,738 --> 00:29:02,489 a recurring theme is the need for blood. 567 00:29:02,616 --> 00:29:05,993 And as far as ancient astronaut theorists are concerned, 568 00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:09,621 it's very possible that these beings need something contained 569 00:29:09,749 --> 00:29:12,666 within the blood in order to shape-shift-- 570 00:29:12,793 --> 00:29:15,085 dna. 571 00:29:15,212 --> 00:29:17,296 Fenton: Now, could it be that in some way, 572 00:29:17,423 --> 00:29:20,758 this shape-shifting ability could be harnessed 573 00:29:20,885 --> 00:29:24,344 by blending of the genes of a species 574 00:29:24,472 --> 00:29:25,929 to just morph into whatever 575 00:29:26,056 --> 00:29:28,682 you need to look like instantaneously? 576 00:29:28,809 --> 00:29:32,770 Howe: The priority is genetic harvesting, 577 00:29:32,897 --> 00:29:35,272 because they can mix and match genes 578 00:29:35,399 --> 00:29:37,816 at a sophisticated level, 579 00:29:37,943 --> 00:29:42,654 and make any body container that they want, 580 00:29:42,782 --> 00:29:46,658 and then, they can use it as camouflage. 581 00:29:46,786 --> 00:29:50,204 And so one of our greatest questions is, 582 00:29:50,331 --> 00:29:55,459 "who walks around on our planet, looks human, but is not?" 583 00:29:55,586 --> 00:29:57,920 narrator: If there really are 584 00:29:58,047 --> 00:30:01,006 alien shape-shifters here on earth, 585 00:30:01,133 --> 00:30:06,303 might they require dna in order to mimic a human or animal form? 586 00:30:06,430 --> 00:30:09,097 Over the past 30 years, 587 00:30:09,225 --> 00:30:11,725 advances in gene-splicing technology 588 00:30:11,852 --> 00:30:15,062 have allowed humanity to begin experimenting with cloning 589 00:30:15,189 --> 00:30:18,357 and transforming earthly creatures. 590 00:30:20,611 --> 00:30:24,488 In 2019, researchers in china announced 591 00:30:24,615 --> 00:30:26,615 they had created the first hybrid embryos 592 00:30:26,742 --> 00:30:29,618 that are part human and part monkey. 593 00:30:29,745 --> 00:30:32,830 Similar experiments have been done around the world, 594 00:30:32,957 --> 00:30:36,625 crossing human dna with pigs, sheep, 595 00:30:36,752 --> 00:30:41,755 and soon, mice and rats. 596 00:30:41,882 --> 00:30:44,174 Amy teitel: We are seeing modern technology 597 00:30:44,301 --> 00:30:47,177 able to create these kinds of cross-species. 598 00:30:47,304 --> 00:30:49,012 So what geneticists are able 599 00:30:49,139 --> 00:30:52,224 to do is actually clip pieces of a dna strand, 600 00:30:52,351 --> 00:30:55,644 insert a new strand in to complete the sequence, and then, 601 00:30:55,771 --> 00:30:58,063 put that back into a cell. 602 00:30:58,190 --> 00:31:00,983 When it's able to grow and become an embryo, 603 00:31:01,110 --> 00:31:03,026 and then grow into a full being, 604 00:31:03,153 --> 00:31:05,904 it has this different dna sequence in it. 605 00:31:06,031 --> 00:31:07,698 Michael dennin: When you think about what 606 00:31:07,825 --> 00:31:09,491 we already know about gene editing, 607 00:31:09,618 --> 00:31:12,119 first of all, you know, the technology's possible. 608 00:31:12,246 --> 00:31:14,830 So it is certainly well within the realm of possibility 609 00:31:14,957 --> 00:31:18,041 that an advanced civilization, an alien civilization, 610 00:31:18,168 --> 00:31:19,668 would have skills in gene editing 611 00:31:19,795 --> 00:31:22,296 far surpassing what we have now, 612 00:31:22,423 --> 00:31:24,756 and could really do things that are actually unimaginable 613 00:31:24,884 --> 00:31:27,843 and outside the scope of what we're thinking. 614 00:31:30,431 --> 00:31:33,265 Narrator: Could it be that the genetic modifications 615 00:31:33,392 --> 00:31:37,185 that scientists are now able to achieve in a laboratory 616 00:31:37,313 --> 00:31:41,815 were perfected thousands of years ago by extraterrestrials? 617 00:31:41,942 --> 00:31:45,402 For ancient astronaut theorists, this possibility 618 00:31:45,529 --> 00:31:48,572 raises another intriguing question-- 619 00:31:48,699 --> 00:31:51,450 could they similarly alter the dna 620 00:31:51,577 --> 00:31:53,869 of humans? 621 00:31:59,835 --> 00:32:02,419 Narrator: The southwest region of France is home 622 00:32:02,546 --> 00:32:04,838 to some of the earliest examples of prehistoric art 623 00:32:04,965 --> 00:32:06,423 ever discovered. 624 00:32:06,550 --> 00:32:08,383 The caves of lascaux, 625 00:32:08,510 --> 00:32:11,219 niaux, and pech merle 626 00:32:11,347 --> 00:32:13,013 all contain rock paintings 627 00:32:13,140 --> 00:32:17,100 that date back more than 15,000 years. 628 00:32:17,227 --> 00:32:22,564 But among the ancient cave art, one image stands apart. 629 00:32:22,691 --> 00:32:26,151 Tucked inside the trois-frères cave is the depiction 630 00:32:26,278 --> 00:32:30,447 of a mysterious figure known simply as "the sorcerer." 631 00:32:30,574 --> 00:32:33,867 young: In the south of France, a cave 632 00:32:33,994 --> 00:32:36,119 was discovered with an image, believed to be something 633 00:32:36,246 --> 00:32:38,872 like 15,000 years old. 634 00:32:38,999 --> 00:32:43,126 This might be the very earliest image we have of a deity. 635 00:32:43,253 --> 00:32:45,671 It's a stag, but it's a human inside, 636 00:32:45,798 --> 00:32:49,049 so it seems to depict a shamanic ritual leader 637 00:32:49,176 --> 00:32:52,970 channeling animal powers. 638 00:32:53,097 --> 00:32:56,098 Collins: It has the body of a deer, 639 00:32:56,225 --> 00:32:59,559 uh, it has the eyes of an owl, 640 00:32:59,687 --> 00:33:02,896 it has the tail possibly of a horse, 641 00:33:03,023 --> 00:33:05,899 but it's quite clearly standing on human legs 642 00:33:06,026 --> 00:33:08,944 and has humanlike arms. 643 00:33:09,071 --> 00:33:11,488 And although it's been interpreted 644 00:33:11,615 --> 00:33:14,199 perhaps as the first god, 645 00:33:14,326 --> 00:33:18,704 more likely is that it represents a shaman, 646 00:33:18,831 --> 00:33:23,917 who has transformed, uh, into one or more animals, 647 00:33:24,044 --> 00:33:27,254 to move through the supernatural realms 648 00:33:27,381 --> 00:33:31,216 that the shaman is thought to have taken. 649 00:33:31,343 --> 00:33:34,261 Narrator: While there is no written record 650 00:33:34,388 --> 00:33:38,473 to definitively identify cave art from 15,000 years ago, 651 00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:42,060 in the american southwest, the notion of shamans 652 00:33:42,187 --> 00:33:44,354 transforming themselves into shape-shifters 653 00:33:44,481 --> 00:33:47,524 is still prevalent today. 654 00:33:58,078 --> 00:34:01,747 This 500-acre expanse has been plagued 655 00:34:01,874 --> 00:34:05,333 by reports of strange phenomena for decades. 656 00:34:05,461 --> 00:34:07,794 Phenomena that include both 657 00:34:07,921 --> 00:34:11,631 ufo sightings and accounts of a shape-shifting monster. 658 00:34:13,302 --> 00:34:15,093 Any paranormal activity 659 00:34:15,220 --> 00:34:18,180 that you can imagine has happened, allegedly, 660 00:34:18,307 --> 00:34:20,223 at this skinwalker ranch. 661 00:34:20,350 --> 00:34:22,434 You've seen ufos. 662 00:34:22,561 --> 00:34:24,853 They have seen different creatures. 663 00:34:24,980 --> 00:34:29,608 They have seen weird things happening up in the sky. 664 00:34:29,735 --> 00:34:33,653 There is a history that not only goes back 665 00:34:33,781 --> 00:34:37,282 over the past 100 years, but over the past 1,000 years 666 00:34:37,409 --> 00:34:40,410 of activity happening in that area, 667 00:34:40,537 --> 00:34:43,288 some of which is connected to navajo legends. 668 00:34:43,415 --> 00:34:46,708 Tales of shape-shifters called 669 00:34:46,835 --> 00:34:48,877 skinwalkers have existed 670 00:34:49,004 --> 00:34:51,838 since time immemorial. 671 00:34:54,426 --> 00:34:56,426 Narrator: In the oral traditions of both 672 00:34:56,553 --> 00:34:59,012 the local navajo and ute populations, 673 00:34:59,139 --> 00:35:01,807 the shape-shifter for which skinwalker ranch is named 674 00:35:01,934 --> 00:35:04,768 has inhabited the area for centuries. 675 00:35:04,895 --> 00:35:07,938 But the story behind this creature 676 00:35:08,065 --> 00:35:11,233 is different from that of other shape-shifters. 677 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:15,070 According to the navajo, the skinwalker is a human, 678 00:35:15,197 --> 00:35:19,324 who has attained the ability to transform his body. 679 00:35:19,451 --> 00:35:23,954 A "skinwalker" is the name that is given 680 00:35:24,081 --> 00:35:28,625 to a navajo shaman or witch 681 00:35:28,752 --> 00:35:31,545 when they are in a supernatural form. 682 00:35:31,672 --> 00:35:36,133 Very often a skinwalker will be a wolf, 683 00:35:36,260 --> 00:35:38,218 but it can be other animals as well. 684 00:35:38,345 --> 00:35:41,179 The native tradition concerning the skinwalkers 685 00:35:41,306 --> 00:35:44,724 is that these are actual people that, 686 00:35:44,852 --> 00:35:48,311 uh, have gained a certain type of power. 687 00:35:48,438 --> 00:35:50,814 They were given certain abilities 688 00:35:50,941 --> 00:35:54,067 and shape-changing and magic. 689 00:35:56,196 --> 00:35:58,363 Narrator: When it comes to how the skinwalker is able 690 00:35:58,490 --> 00:36:01,575 to change shape, the navajo have a similar notion 691 00:36:01,702 --> 00:36:03,702 to that of ancient astronaut theorists. 692 00:36:03,829 --> 00:36:07,831 They believe it is connected to dna. 693 00:36:07,958 --> 00:36:10,917 Dover: Our view on it 694 00:36:11,044 --> 00:36:14,796 is that they're manipulating the dna of their own body. 695 00:36:14,923 --> 00:36:16,756 They do change shape. 696 00:36:16,884 --> 00:36:20,677 And it's usually an animal that they have the skin for. 697 00:36:20,804 --> 00:36:25,182 And they'll use the skin and with a-a combination of chants, 698 00:36:25,309 --> 00:36:27,142 actually turn into that animal. 699 00:36:27,269 --> 00:36:28,768 And interestingly enough, 700 00:36:28,896 --> 00:36:31,730 in navajo tradition, 701 00:36:31,857 --> 00:36:34,357 you are taught early on as a child, 702 00:36:34,484 --> 00:36:37,444 you don't leave your fingernail clippings, 703 00:36:37,571 --> 00:36:39,613 you don't spit on the ground and not cover it up. 704 00:36:39,740 --> 00:36:43,450 All of this has to do with the transmission of dna. 705 00:36:46,622 --> 00:36:48,538 Narrator: If extraterrestrials are 706 00:36:48,665 --> 00:36:51,082 harvesting dna in order to shape-shift, 707 00:36:51,210 --> 00:36:54,169 as some ancient astronaut theorists suggest, 708 00:36:54,296 --> 00:36:57,005 is it possible that they could also bestow humans 709 00:36:57,132 --> 00:36:59,841 with this same ability? 710 00:36:59,968 --> 00:37:04,179 And might the skinwalker be evidence of alien intervention? 711 00:37:04,306 --> 00:37:06,389 While it may sound farfetched, 712 00:37:06,516 --> 00:37:09,184 former navajo police officer jonathan dover 713 00:37:09,311 --> 00:37:13,438 is certain that the being called the skinwalker is real. 714 00:37:13,565 --> 00:37:17,525 I spent, uh, 31 years in law enforcement. 715 00:37:17,653 --> 00:37:22,113 We've had many, many incidences where people have seen them 716 00:37:22,241 --> 00:37:25,033 chasing their vehicles as their vehicles are traveling 717 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:28,328 at 60, 65 miles an hour, 718 00:37:28,455 --> 00:37:31,539 and having a human figure running behind you. 719 00:37:31,667 --> 00:37:33,500 (crickets chirping) 720 00:37:33,627 --> 00:37:37,003 I've had police officers arrest people 721 00:37:37,130 --> 00:37:40,590 and had them in handcuffs, they get to the station, 722 00:37:40,717 --> 00:37:43,593 they hadn't stopped anywhere and the person is gone. 723 00:37:43,720 --> 00:37:47,097 Whether we have an alien presence, 724 00:37:47,224 --> 00:37:50,392 we don't know for sure, but there's enough 725 00:37:50,519 --> 00:37:52,435 information there that I would say 726 00:37:52,562 --> 00:37:54,271 don't take it lightly just because 727 00:37:54,398 --> 00:37:56,147 it's a different culture. 728 00:37:56,275 --> 00:37:58,817 Narrator: Is the strange figure that was 729 00:37:58,944 --> 00:38:03,488 depicted on a cave wall in France 15,000 years ago 730 00:38:03,615 --> 00:38:06,992 alive and well in the american southwest? 731 00:38:07,119 --> 00:38:10,620 Have there always been shape-shifters among us, 732 00:38:10,747 --> 00:38:14,165 both alien and human? 733 00:38:14,293 --> 00:38:17,752 And is it possible that new scientific developments 734 00:38:17,879 --> 00:38:21,214 are leading towards a future in which we could become... 735 00:38:21,341 --> 00:38:23,508 The shape-shifters? 736 00:38:36,773 --> 00:38:40,317 Narrator: Scientists developing shape-shifting technology 737 00:38:40,444 --> 00:38:44,738 announce their latest and most incredible creation-- 738 00:38:44,865 --> 00:38:47,449 lattices that can transform in response 739 00:38:47,576 --> 00:38:49,617 to changes in temperature. 740 00:38:49,745 --> 00:38:51,911 When researchers demonstrate 741 00:38:52,039 --> 00:38:54,039 the material's remarkable metamorphosis, 742 00:38:54,166 --> 00:38:57,542 as if by magic, the flat mesh morphs 743 00:38:57,669 --> 00:38:59,169 into a three-dimensional face 744 00:38:59,296 --> 00:39:01,463 of 19th century mathematician 745 00:39:01,590 --> 00:39:03,757 carl friedrich gauss. 746 00:39:03,884 --> 00:39:07,927 This has been used to take a flat sort of structure 747 00:39:08,055 --> 00:39:10,847 and turn it to look like a human face or other interesting 748 00:39:10,974 --> 00:39:12,515 sort of three-dimensional shape. 749 00:39:13,643 --> 00:39:15,268 When you talk about 750 00:39:15,395 --> 00:39:17,687 shape-shifting technologies, what you're seeing 751 00:39:17,814 --> 00:39:20,523 right now is our ability to control materials 752 00:39:20,650 --> 00:39:22,525 is really at a transformative point. 753 00:39:22,652 --> 00:39:24,736 Narrator: In the near future, 754 00:39:24,863 --> 00:39:26,863 shape-shifting materials like this 755 00:39:26,990 --> 00:39:29,657 could be utilized in many ways, 756 00:39:29,785 --> 00:39:33,286 from constructing smart fabrics and self-repairing electronics 757 00:39:33,413 --> 00:39:36,373 to ushering in the next generation of robotics 758 00:39:36,500 --> 00:39:38,708 and high-tech medical equipment. 759 00:39:38,835 --> 00:39:40,877 But ancient astronaut theorists 760 00:39:41,004 --> 00:39:43,505 see an even more profound possibility. 761 00:39:43,632 --> 00:39:45,423 That these advancements 762 00:39:45,550 --> 00:39:47,759 combined with our growing understanding 763 00:39:47,886 --> 00:39:51,805 of dna manipulation will unlock the potential for humans 764 00:39:51,932 --> 00:39:54,974 to harness the power of shape-shifting. 765 00:39:57,312 --> 00:39:59,187 In science fiction, one of the-the great ideas 766 00:39:59,314 --> 00:40:01,064 was the idea of being able to-to shape-shift. 767 00:40:01,191 --> 00:40:04,484 To change the color of your skin or 768 00:40:04,611 --> 00:40:07,362 to change your form to turn into something else. 769 00:40:07,489 --> 00:40:09,906 And now high-tech companies are actually working on this today. 770 00:40:10,033 --> 00:40:12,700 Fenton: In nature we see animals that can 771 00:40:12,828 --> 00:40:16,079 suddenly shift colors, change their shapes. 772 00:40:16,206 --> 00:40:19,249 Could it be that in some way this ability could be harnessed 773 00:40:19,376 --> 00:40:21,626 and used in technologies? 774 00:40:21,753 --> 00:40:25,255 Or perhaps in even a-a cybernetic blending 775 00:40:25,382 --> 00:40:28,133 of the genes of a species like this with a technology, 776 00:40:28,260 --> 00:40:31,928 allowing us to have these rapid shape-shifts, to just 777 00:40:32,055 --> 00:40:35,515 morph into whatever you need to look like instantaneously? 778 00:40:35,642 --> 00:40:41,312 Human technology is advancing here by leaps and bounds. 779 00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:46,985 By all accounts, we already have pretty much 780 00:40:47,112 --> 00:40:51,489 optical invisibility, or certainly camouflage so good 781 00:40:51,616 --> 00:40:53,867 that it's-it's almost indistinguishable. 782 00:40:53,994 --> 00:40:56,077 I mean, some of this is, of course, so classified, 783 00:40:56,204 --> 00:40:59,330 we won't get to hear about it for years, but... 784 00:40:59,458 --> 00:41:02,167 But if you're reading hints about it here and there, 785 00:41:02,294 --> 00:41:06,754 you can bet that it already exists. 786 00:41:06,882 --> 00:41:10,842 We now have technology that is equal to what we see 787 00:41:10,969 --> 00:41:13,887 the gods using in these ancient stories. 788 00:41:14,014 --> 00:41:17,807 And now we're faced with a new reality. 789 00:41:17,934 --> 00:41:19,976 What if suddenly we realize that there are, 790 00:41:20,103 --> 00:41:22,604 are thousands, hundreds of thousands, 791 00:41:22,731 --> 00:41:24,147 maybe millions of extraterrestrials that are 792 00:41:24,274 --> 00:41:26,399 walking amongst us and suddenly 793 00:41:26,526 --> 00:41:28,902 they reveal themselves for their true appearance? 794 00:41:31,573 --> 00:41:34,699 Narrator: As humanity begins to harness the extraordinary abilities 795 00:41:34,826 --> 00:41:38,703 that ancient peoples associated with the gods, 796 00:41:38,830 --> 00:41:41,831 will we awaken to an incredible new reality? 797 00:41:41,958 --> 00:41:44,083 One in which we will not only 798 00:41:44,211 --> 00:41:46,252 achieve the power to shape-shift, 799 00:41:46,379 --> 00:41:49,422 but in the process, will discover that humans 800 00:41:49,549 --> 00:41:53,051 are not the only intelligent species on earth? 801 00:41:53,178 --> 00:41:55,887 Perhaps a reunion with our alien ancestors 802 00:41:56,014 --> 00:41:58,640 will only happen when we are finally 803 00:41:58,767 --> 00:42:02,852 able to open our eyes and see 804 00:42:02,979 --> 00:42:05,522 that they are all around us. 805 00:42:05,649 --> 00:42:07,941 Captioning provided by a+e networks