Jenny Randles
Encyclopedia
Jenny Randles is a British
author and former director of investigations with the British UFO Research Association
(BUFORA), serving in that role from 1982 through to 1994.
s and paranormal
phenomena. To date 50 of these have been published, ranging from her first UFOs: A British Viewpoint (1979) to Breaking the Time Barrier: The race to build the first time machine (2005). Subjects covered include crop circles, ESP
, life after death
, time anomalies and spontaneous human combustion
.
According to her publishers, Simon & Schuster
, Randles studied physics
and geology
at university
, has written articles for New Scientist
, and has sold more than 1.5 million copies of her fifty published books. It was stated in 1997 that her books had been published in 24 countries.
The same source states that she was the story consultant to the ITV
TV series Strange But True?
that ran between 1993 and 1997, and that she has also done documentary work for the BBC.
Randles is a regular contributor to the magazines Fortean Times
and The Skeptic
and has spoken at the UnConvention.
She was editor of Northern UFO News (a 12-20 page A5 journal detailing UFO activity within Northern England) from 1974 up to 2001.
commonly claimed by some witnesses of unidentified flying object
s and other similar paranormal
events. Randles has noted the strange calmness and lack of panic described by the witnesses, relative to the bizarre circumstances that they described and says that they described and defined the Oz factor as "the sensation of being isolated, or transported from the real world into a different environmental framework...where reality is but slightly different, [as in] the fairy tale
land of Oz
." She has further noted that "[t]he Oz factor certainly points to consciousness
as the focal point of the UFO encounter."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author and former director of investigations with the British UFO Research Association
British UFO Research Association
The British UFO Research Association or BUFORA is a UK organisation formerly registered as "BUFORA Ltd"; dedicated to investigating UFO phenomenon in the British Isles...
(BUFORA), serving in that role from 1982 through to 1994.
Career
Randles specializes in writing books on UFOUnidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
s and paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
phenomena. To date 50 of these have been published, ranging from her first UFOs: A British Viewpoint (1979) to Breaking the Time Barrier: The race to build the first time machine (2005). Subjects covered include crop circles, ESP
Extra-sensory perception
Extrasensory perception involves reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses but sensed with the mind. The term was coined by Frederic Myers, and adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities such as telepathy, clairaudience, and...
, life after death
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
, time anomalies and spontaneous human combustion
Spontaneous human combustion
Spontaneous human combustion describes reported cases of the burning of a living human body without an apparent external source of ignition...
.
According to her publishers, Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
, Randles studied physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
at university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, has written articles for New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
, and has sold more than 1.5 million copies of her fifty published books. It was stated in 1997 that her books had been published in 24 countries.
The same source states that she was the story consultant to the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
TV series Strange But True?
Strange But True?
Strange But True? was a British supernatural documentary television series, presented by Michael Aspel, which explored supernatural phenomena and unexplained mysteries. It was produced by LWT and broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV between 1993 and 1997...
that ran between 1993 and 1997, and that she has also done documentary work for the BBC.
Randles is a regular contributor to the magazines Fortean Times
Fortean Times
Fortean Times is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing and then I Feel Good Publishing , it is now published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. As of December 2010, its circulation was approximately 18,000...
and The Skeptic
The Skeptic
The Skeptic may refer to:*Skeptic - The magazine of The Skeptics Society, edited by Michael Shermer*Skeptic - A University of London literary magazine in the late 1950s under the editorship of Wen Su-Tung...
and has spoken at the UnConvention.
She was editor of Northern UFO News (a 12-20 page A5 journal detailing UFO activity within Northern England) from 1974 up to 2001.
Oz Factor
"Oz Factor" is a term invented by Randles in 1983 to describe the strange, seemingly altered state of consciousnessAltered state of consciousness
An altered state of consciousness , also named altered state of mind, is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking beta wave state. The expression was used as early as 1966 by Arnold M. Ludwig and brought into common usage from 1969 by Charles Tart: it describes induced...
commonly claimed by some witnesses of unidentified flying object
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
s and other similar paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
events. Randles has noted the strange calmness and lack of panic described by the witnesses, relative to the bizarre circumstances that they described and says that they described and defined the Oz factor as "the sensation of being isolated, or transported from the real world into a different environmental framework...where reality is but slightly different, [as in] the fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
land of Oz
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
." She has further noted that "[t]he Oz factor certainly points to consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
as the focal point of the UFO encounter."
Written works
Among Randles' numerous published books are the following:- The UFOs That Never Were, co-written with Andy J. Roberts and Dr. David Clarke (ISBN 1902809351) Reviewed
- UFO Retrievals: The Recovery of Alien Spacecraft (ISBN 0713724935)
- Breaking the Time Barrier: The Race to Build the First Time Machine
- Time Storms: The Amazing Evidence of Time Warps, Space Rifts and Time Travel
- Supernatural PenninesPenninesThe Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
- Spontaneous Human Combustion
- Beyond Explanation
- U.F.O. Conspiracy: From the Official Case Files of the World's Leading-Nations
- UFOs and How to See Them
- The Unexplained: Great Mysteries of the 20th Century
- Supernatural Isle of Man 2003 Robert Hale LTD ISBN 0-7090-7076-4
- The UFO Conspiracy: The First Forty Years
- The Paranormal Year
- Psychic Detectives
- Men in Black: Investigating the Truth Behind the Phenomenon
- Time Travel: Fact, Fiction and Possibility
- The Afterlife: An Investigation into the Mysteries of Life After Death
- Science and the UFOs
- Complete Book of UFOs, The: Investigation into Alien Contacts and Encounters
- Alien Contact : Window on Another World, co-written with Paul Whetnall, 1981
- UFO Study- updated (2007) edition can be found on Northern UFO News website (see below):
See also
- Time travelTime travelTime travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
- Unidentified flying objectUnidentified flying objectA term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
- List of major UFO movies/tv shows
- DerealizationDerealizationDerealization is an alteration in the perception or experience of the external world so that it seems unreal. Other symptoms include feeling as though one's environment is lacking in spontaneity, emotional coloring and depth. It is a dissociative symptom of many conditions, such as psychiatric and...
, a dissociative symptom that could account for the Oz effect.