I drove up to Clarksburg, West Virginia, on Monday, September 6, 2004. I spent Tuesday through Saturday morning immersed in the decades-old files of Gray Barker, impresario of the Three Men in Black, the Philadelphia Experiment, and other myths and legends almost too numerous to list. “Gray Barker … [Read more...]
The Philadelphia Experiment – The Fury of an Invisible Man
Of course he was insane. Now: having said this, have we said anything worth knowing? That’s what I can’t quite figure out. The earliest letter relevant to Carl Allen in the Barker files is dated 22 July 1954. The latest is 22 December 1985—almost a year after Barker died. These are two of … [Read more...]
The Philadelphia Experiment – “Amigo, I Do Not Underestimate You”
Will a biography of Carl Allen, a.k.a. Carlos Allende, ever be written? I doubt it. In the events of his life there’s not much of interest. Mystery shrouds his one great achievement—the creation of a myth that’s spawned at least one novel, at least two purportedly non-fiction books and two … [Read more...]
“The Philadelphia Experiment” – The Book, the Movie
“It’s a good Grade B movie,” a friend of mine told me several years ago when I admitted I’d never seen the 1984 film “The Philadelphia Experiment.” Accordingly, I rented a video and sat down in front of the TV. I had two questions on my mind as I watched: first, would the film make any … [Read more...]
The Philadelphia Experiment – “Almost As If She Vanished”
One of the more curious items in the Gray Barker Collection is a letter, on NASA stationery, addressed to “Dr. Karl Merditt Allenstein, 1316 Leishmann Strasse, New Kensington, PA.” The letter is dated August 6, 1975, and is obviously a response to an inquiry. It’s also obvious that the said … [Read more...]
