DOROTHY IZATT by Graham Conway

Amongst the followers of UFOs and related phenomena can be found the fairly rare person who was lucky and successful enough to capture a picture of what is accepted as an Unidentified Flying Object. An even smaller number managed to achieve this feat on movie film. All these people covet and proudly display what is for them a once in a lifetime accomplishment.However, for Dorothy Izatt of Vancouver this performance can be duplicated at very regular intervals, and at the time of writing she has taken 8,250 feet of color film, which represents 105 Super 8 films. This has been acquired during the last three years.

At present further filming seems rather futile as apparently, with a few exceptions, duplication is the net result. It is the film images, the circumstances that surround them, and principally the movie maker, where obviously a closely woven mystery lies, that I propose to discuss.

If you met Dorothy on the street or in her home, you would detect little that would provide clues to the fact that she possesses many unusual qualities. She is a neat, courteous, contained person, who speaks quietly and convincingly about what she knows. She displays the conviction of one who has "been there," and if you don't wish to believe what she tells you, well that's your tough luck because you Missed out, brother.

It quickly becomes apparent that she does not have all the answers to the many unanswered questions that surround her, and Dorothy constantly seeks the opinions of others to match and weigh against her own . Her earliest unusual recollection was when she was seven years old, was confined with mumps, and saw pictures on the wall of her room.

In 1952 - at that time she was living in Hong Kong - she and her husband saw a gold colored object very briefly in the sky. The very next night the servants came down from the roof in a great state of agitation, describing the viewing of the same, or a similar object. Ever since her youth she has experienced vivid dreams where she was apparently an observer of a vehicle type, that we refer to as a saucer. Other craft of various sizes were also at this "airport." The occupants she does not recall as being unusual, by earthly standards.

Other dream sequences she locates as being in Egypt. They were equally "real." The people she met were dressed in gold, with a leopard on a leash.

The present sequence of events commenced in July, 1975, and have continued without interruption ever since. At that time Dorothy, who is a deeply religious member of the Catholic faith, went to her room at 4 p.m. to light a candle and meditate, as was her custom. She had an urge to go to the window as she felt that something was watching. In the sky was an object that she describes as a "gorgeous diamond." It appeared to be spinning and began to move in and out of the clouds. That same evening she had an urge to go to the window again around 7:30, and this time saw what she calls the mother ship. She remained watching one hour. During this time she tried some simple experiments. Taking a flashlight she waved it up and down, then sideways, then zigzag. The craft responded with identical movements. This same craft appeared the following two nights. Very concerned about what she was seeing, Dorothy confided in her son when he came to visit. This time they both watched the object. He returned the fourth night with binoculars. Shortly after this she discovered that whenever "they" were in the vicinity a beam of light shone into her eyes. She describes it as feeling warm. It also became apparent that some sort of communication system had been established, as Dorothy could ask questions and either receive replies or see movement from the craft she was watching.

One morning at 4:30 she saw 30 small objects leave the mother ship. Although she phoned the airport and the Vancouver Province news paper , no other reports were available. The ship she saw on a regular basis displayed a monitoring device that enabled the operator to see and hear what was taking place at any particular spot. Dorothy was horrified by the implications of this device. She was shown various shaped craft that were used for different purposes.

Some time later when visiting friends and relating these events to a skeptic who was present, she was successful in commanding a vehicle to execute certain maneuvers in the sky. Later on in her home she achieved again, for the same person, a matching display of "command performance" in the sky.

By this time she was beginning to question how sound in mind she might actually be. So she phoned a well known radio personality whose talk shows had dealt with this sort of topic on a number of previous occasions. She had a lengthy conversation with the producer who decided to visit her home. As a result of what transpired that night, the producer stated that the only way anyone was going to believe Dorothy was seeing what she claimed, was through being able to produce evidence. In the opinion of the producer, a movie camera might achieve very satisfactory results. Sometime previously Dorothy had bought a movie camera for her husband - a relatively simple instrument, with a load, aim, shoot principle. It was a Keystone X1 200 and initially the film used was Ektachrome. Later, for a variety of reasons a change was made to Kodachrome film.

Success from the word go inspired continued attempts. Of these many hours of patient nearly all were spent looking south from a bedroom window that provides an elevation of perhaps 20 feet. This view will nearly always include in the foreground three or four street lights, sometimes the neighbor's house lights opposite, and occasionally the moon, or head lights from cars. When showing any film, Dorothy is always quick to identify to the viewer these extra lights as they appear.

Altogether, I personally have viewed eight different films on two occasions. They are rewarding, but hard to watch for an extended period. The films I saw had been selected by Dorothy as she felt they contained something of particular visual value. After seeing them all, I had to agree she was correct. Some of the images captured are not only impressive but, to put it mildly, rather extraordinary. Principally, the projected light sequences that have been filmed show a dark blue pulsating object, filmed at an unknown distance but whose elevation could no doubt be estimated from known heights of familiar objects in the centre foreground. A similarly shaped red dot executes flight patterns and pulsations that come close to that of its blue partner. The star of the show is what the film-maker refers to as her "golden ball." For sheer spectacle this UFO (if that is what it is) takes some beating. Not only does it come in close, or so it would appear, but it radiates energy to such a remarkable extent that I felt convinced that if I approached the screen I could surely feel the heat that was being emitted. The energy output is seen as waving hair-like lines that stand out from this shimmering sphere. These lights proceed across the screen generally at a fairly slow pace, pulsating on and off as they go. Sometimes the red and blue might be seen on the screen together. At other times a light will appear to elongate as if its intention was to spawn another craft (amoeba fashion) then change and revert to its original sphere. Another short scene captures a third object as it passes close to the camera on a horizontal or vertical plane . Suddenly the viewer is dazzled by a flash of light and he/she mentally dismisses this as overexposure for some reason. Dorothy chuckles and patiently rewinds the film, frame by frame, until on the screen is the outlined path of the object you were watching proceed at what seemed to be a snail's pace, a second before. Only on this single frame of film is captured what can best be described as a lighting-type maneuver, with each stop, and next movement, then stop again, shown as a necklace of beads made from light. Always the pattern outlined is complete on the screen. It never runs off.

The majority of the film sequences that I viewed were shot at night. Those taken by day were in my opinion nowhere near as impressive as the evening shots. Other films contain similar "overexposure" frames, here and there. But incredibly the single frame projected sometimes contains completely irrelevant material.

One such amazing scene appears to be of a bay or lake, filmed from behind some bushes in the foreground, with a road of sand and then some buildings leading to a shoreline. Another scene shows a body of water upon what appears to be a bridge, dock, wharf or some construction in white. A finger of land reaches across the background, with the sky above it. All this is viewed slightly out of focus. It is more impressive on the screen than seen on a 4x5 still "blow up." Two separate films show "exposure" frames that in one case identifies as a domed craft moving past the camera lens in the right foreground. This solid-looking saucer is outlined in lights of various colors in the manner of a neon sign. Then another frame shows what can be best described as a long row of large boots marching towards the viewer. I am tempted to compare this image to that of an animated Disney cartoon, or alternatively to the familiar bumper sticker, where a large pair of upturned boot soles dominate the sticker, with the distorted owner leaning backwards, and a message that says, "Keep on Truckin'." Only in this instance, no written message is discernible. Yet another movie "still" shows very clearly the lower extremities of what might be the landing gear of the classic Adamski-type saucer. Certainly the lower bulges are evident. This shot was taken by someone from ground level and creates an impression of shining, solid, metallic immensity. The visual height appears to be at least 20 feet from the ground to the base of the craft. Conversely, this picture when reproduced as still blow-ups; shows greater clarity than on the screen. One other striking peculiarity in this particular shot is that the UFO depicted is quite obviously rotating slowly, as the vehicle is seen from four separate angles. The dominant color in this four-angle shot is gold.

Dorothy quite some time ago asked, "What are you like?" The answer comes to her in a series of three-dimensional faces that float in head and shoulder parade through her open bedroom door and across the ceiling as she attempts to go to sleep. So "real" are they that when above her bed, she can see up their nostrils. These people are in some cases Michelangelo ''types''. Others have pointed ears, domed heads, sunken or bulging eyes. Some are black. She has also witnessed monkeys and platypus in the parade. Figures crowded in to such an alarming extent that Dorothy asked that they be removed or reduced in number and proximity. This request was promptly complied with. But even now the hall light is left on to reduce the vividness of the faces that appear in the night.

Another impressive phenomenon is the appearance of the classic saucer-shaped craft (two pie plates on top of each other) this being viewed '' through'' the bedroom ceiling! A friend interested in the paranormal suggested that under certain conditions the witness may be looking into another dimension. He felt that an attempt with a flash camera might be worthwhile. It was. An image was recorded of a recognizable and fairly extensive section of a saucer craft. Similar success has been achieved with faces. In one, the face of a King Tut-type pharaoh is visible.

Dorothy added that when taking these pictures in her bedroom with flash the whole room is left, covered with a "frosting" effect that lasts for upwards of two minutes. This frosting covers everything - walls, ceiling, furniture, etc. Bedroom images usually appear when the witness is either dropping off to sleep or waking up from her nightly rest. She is often able to hear the noise of the craft she sees, describing it as a high pitched hum or radio noise.

Apparently attempts have been made to communicate through written messages. Some nights on waking she has viewed lines of writing that were, to her, indecipherable. First there were hieroglyphics, then something that resembled Hebrew; then Roman Latin, and finally English. The print was illuminated by surrounding light and could not be totally read before it faded away.

This talented and composed lady has spent several thousand dollars of her own money on recording what she is still continuing to see. A number of recognized research authorities in the western world have had access to her carefully recorded films and notes. Theories are innumerable, answers are few. Dorothy displays irritation when requests are forthcoming for further samples of this or that. Her confidence in the experts' ability to extract a solution is quite obviously shaken. Her religion is her pillar of strength and her confidence in what is happening to her is strengthened by the continuing discovery that other people elsewhere have, and are undergoing wholly or in part, identical experiences. Friends who have seen what has transpired over the years state that it seems as if some sort of an educational program is involved. The recorded images are becoming clearer and stronger. Only time will tell how far the "instructor" intends to take his pupil along this unusual path.

COMMENTARY: Dorothy demonstrates talents that fall within the boundaries of what the investigator would describe as psychic. Of her own family, for example, her father and all seven girls possess this ability to varying degrees. She can demonstrate success in psychometry and palm reading, is able to see human and plant auras and predict by touch alone what is on the underside surface of a marked card. She recently discovered, through casual experiments with her granddaughter's assistance, that she can detect colors by the warmth that is released from their surface. The paper used in this was of the cheapest variety. Astral travel is also a fairly common event for her. But as with many of these experiences, they are not always cultivated, nor appreciated when they occur.

For instance, a few years ago her fame for accuracy at palm reading spread at her place of work to such an extent that associates, including management, were lined up at her desk for readings. The results were pain, discomfort and depression for her.

One night when in the kitchen making hot chocolate for her husband, she commented to him upon the beauty and intricacy of the patterns that circulated within the radio waves when the microwave oven is turned on. That was the first time she was aware that no one else could see them but her!

In seeking further confirmation of what has been described so far I am drawn to CUFOR vol. 4, no. 6, where in the Letters section Paul Montague describes a cylindrical object seen by his mother and aunt while driving in Richmond, BC on Sept. 24, 1975, at 7:45 p.m. The craft traveled along just over the tree tops. This sighting occurred only a stone's throw from where Mrs. Izatt lived at that time. Coincidence? Opposite to where Mrs. Izatt now lives is a Dutch couple. The lady of the house arose one morning at 2:30 AM and witnessed an object hovering over Dorothy's house. She called her husband who also saw it. The object appeared two nights in a row. A month later a mauve-colored light (machine?) was again seen hovering. over Dorothy's home, again two nights in a row. Coincidence?

Postscript July 1996 To date, Dorothy Izatt has taken 350 movies on 8mm colour film. She has frequently been asked to use other peoples cameras in an attempt to establish if she can achieve the same results. The answer is YES. She recalls using her son's camera, a polaroid, a cam corder and last but not least, a T.V. camera, belonging to the film crew of "Unsolved Mysteries". In each of these cases, with other peoples equipment, Dorothy produced her usual mystifying results.

In 1989, a group of interested technical people were gathered together to produce a documentary. As a result of their combined efforts a 48 minute video was created, describing her background and achievements. Regrettably, due to legal problems, this interesting footage can not be made available to the public. At present time a book has been written that will present to the public what they clearly wish to know about Dorothy and her accomplishments. This fact is evidenced by the 600 phone calls and equal number of letters that arrived after the North American airing of her interview on the T.V. show "That's Incredible".

Although Dorothy is no longer as active in her film pursuits, she is however as determined to pass on the message that she perceives is being made available. To those researchers in all fields of enquiry, she hopes they will bring the same zeal to bear, that she has demonstrated in the past 25 years.

Graham Conway