Help on Hoaxes- multiple "witness" cases

[sentry579]

It seems like most hoaxes collapse quickly under the weight of their own fantastic claims, typically even sooner when multiple conspirators are involved. Someone usually cracks under pressure, or just can't keep quiet. I'm researching a 1980 UFO multiple witness case, which skeptics Phil Klass, Gary Posner, Robert Sheaffer considered a probable hoax. I'm looking for examples of known hoaxes with multiple witnesses to compare against this case, whether mundane or UFO/paranormal.

Also, "hoax" may not be the best term here, as many hoaxes are essentially pranks. Maybe a better way to say it is:
What are some exposed cases of fraudulent claims made by more than one person?
Any suggestions or reading recommendations will be appreciated.

 

[MG1962]

Whats the case you are investigating?

 

[sentry579]

It's the Cash-Landrum case, but I'm not really trying to discuss it here. The three witnesses told a consistent story over several decades that only varied in smaller details. I'm trying to compare their profiles with known fakes.

 

[Voodoosix]

Rick Dyer and Matthew Whitton come to mind of recent years. there's Alex Retrov (aka Trevor Alexander, aka Trevor Hill, aka pharaoh Akhenaten) and his wife. the Jesus and Mary couple in Australia.

the "strange sounds from the sky" youtube hoax earlier this year has produced a plethora of people claiming to have witnessed an occurrence. even after the 1st videos purporting this "event" were shown to be hoaxes people are still claiming it is happening all over the world and continue to make videos and claiming it is happening. people have even claimed it witnessed by hundreds of people... in my town. of course they werent aware i lived there at the time the claim was made.

dont forget things like the Amityville horror and haunting in Connecticut tales being passed off by multiple witnesses which turned out to be false when looked into.

 

[sentry579]

Voodoosix, that's some good stuff! Most of these I was unfamiliar with, and I'll be checking each of them out.
The haunted house stories make me think of some of the miracle tourist sites where a team must maintain the performances, but that's drifting a bit far from my original scope.

 

[blue sock monkey]

Borley Rectory is a good example of a haunting with multiple hoaxers. Two of the hoaxers apparently used phoney paranormal events to cover up their illicit affair; a third trickster involved in this case was none other than ghost hunter Harry Price himself.

The damning 1956 report on Borley by the Society for Psychical Research is online here: http://www.harrypricewebsite.co.uk/Borley/PriceatBorley/HBR/hbr-contents.htm

And here is an insightful blog post about Marianne Foyster, who eventually confessed to faking some of the phenomena:
http://badpsychics.co.uk/badghosts/modules/news/article.php?storyid=77

 

[MG1962]

It's the Cash-Landrum case, but I'm not really trying to discuss it here. The three witnesses told a consistent story over several decades that only varied in smaller details. I'm trying to compare their profiles with known fakes.

Yeah I think I would look at insurance fraud cases. Assuming they are lying it seems the incident was created to sue the crap out of the US government

 

[Magic 9-Ball]

I believe the "The Fire in the Sky" - Travis Walton case also had multiple persons involved.

 

[Spektator]

The three Fox sisters collaborated in hoaxing ghostly phenomena, succeeding in fooling enough people to launch the Spiritualist movement in the U.S.A.

 

[yomero]

The miracle of the dancing sun at Fatima in 1917, attested by 30,000 to 100,000 persons.

I don't think it can be considered a hoax, rather mass delusion or the natural effects of prolonged staring at the sun.

ETA:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_of_the_Sun

 

[sentry579]

Borley Rectory is a good example of a haunting with multiple hoaxers. Two of the hoaxers apparently used phoney paranormal events to cover up their illicit affair; a third trickster involved in this case was none other than ghost hunter Harry Price himself.

Thanks for that, I'd not come across this one before. I've looked at your links, but am hoping you can answer a question. Did Price work with Marianne, or just exploit the mystery she caused?

 

[blue sock monkey]

Thanks for that, I'd not come across this one before. I've looked at your links, but am hoping you can answer a question. Did Price work with Marianne, or just exploit the mystery she caused?

As far as I know, Marianne Foyster never claimed to have worked with Price on the hoaxes; Price himself never confessed to his part in creating any of the phenomena. However, she was definitely in cahoots with her lover Frank Pearless (aka Francois d'Arles) in promoting the hoax.

The idea that Borley was haunted actually predated Marianne's residence there. Earlier residents contacted a newspaper for help in exploring some fairly innocuous phenomena and local tales; the newspaper arranged for Price to do some "investigating." He didn't find much then; after the Foysters moved in, Price's involvement intensified.

There is a book called Widow of Borley (Duckworth 1992) by Robert Wood which goes into detail on the weird combination of confabulation, deliberate hoaxing, inaccurate reporting, and gullibility that created the Borley legend, but I'm afraid I haven't read it yet, so am not sure how accurate it is--I looked into Borley primarily to draw a series of skeptical comics inspired by the case.

Here is another website skeptical about the Borley hauntings. It has lots of interesting information, but can be difficult to understand if you don't already know the basic outline of the story. http://www.foxearth.org.uk/BorleyRectory/index.html

Good luck with your project!

ETA: shameless self-promotion of my Borley comics at http://stripgenerator.com/booklet/1786/thin-man-20/

 

[Drewbot]

Of course the famous Patterson Gimlin bigfoot film had two or more co-conspirators. It also may be the most well documented case as far as radio transcripts, newspaper articles, and speaking engagements for the involved hoaxers.

 

[Stray Cat]

The Cottingley fairy photos may not have been exactly multiple witnesses, but the two sisters did get Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on board.

Also, more recently, the Jerusalem UFO over the Temple of the Rock hoax was, over subsequent weeks, claimed to have been seen by other witnesses who also made their own hoaxed videos of the event.

 

[Mehdimentio]

Crop circles are a classic.

 

[Stray Cat]

Crop circles are a classic.

Only on the whole, they aren't really "hoaxes" although it is a term usually banded around since the revelations of Doug & Dave.

 

[Mehdimentio]

Only on the whole, they aren't really "hoaxes" although it is a term usually banded around since the revelations of Doug & Dave.

More like boyish pranks, yeah.

 

[Stray Cat]

Carefully designed, well organised pieces of illegal landscape art made by dedicated artists and misinterpreted by the gullible.

 

[sentry579]

The crop circles, chinese lantern UFOs, photographic hoaxes , etc., may be created by multiple perpetrators, but they do not necessarily present themselves as witnesses. I'm interested in all kinds of hoaxes, but for now, just concentrating on cases where two or more people create a story and claim to have witnessed to a fictional event.

I thought it would be simple, but it gets murky as many frauds are exploiting existing legends. Once there's a report of the hoax in the media it gets even worse, especially when an inept, gullible or fraudulent investigator: becomes involved. As the media coverage builds, additional "witnesses" may come out of the woodwork claiming they had seen it too, but were initially reluctant to speak up.

Part of what I'm looking for in these cases is how the fraud or hoaxer behaves after the event. It seems only a few ever admit their guilt (mostly the pranksters). The majority cling to their story, as it the only thing that makes them newsworthy. They may want fame and fortune, but failing that, a little notoriety will do.

 

[nablator]

They may want fame and fortune, but failing that, a little notoriety will do.

Sometimes they do it just for fun, initially.

In Belgium, in 1990, Patrick Maréchal and his girlfriend Sabine testified together before SOBEPS to seeing and photographing the Petit Rechain UFO. Last year Patrick decided to come clean, stating that he photographed a Styrofoam model. The reason why he finally admitted the hoax is not clear, it may have something to do with a dispute with the professional photographer who claimed copyright, and earned substantial profits from selling publishing rights.