The Shameless Psychic and his Prophecy of Lies

A classic UFO Watchdog article (c) by Royce Myers, III

 Part V

Morton's biography pulled from his Delphi Associates website had far too many claims relating to the infamous secret/not-so-secret United States Air Force facility known as Area 51 (when printed for reference Morton's biography was 10 pages in length with much of the information rehashed several times).

Much of the information rebutting Morton's area 51 claims can be found at the UFO Mind website. (Good luck finding it. -Ed.) The site was maintained by Glenn Campbell of the Area 51 Research Center and has been frozen but can still be viewed. Campbell has lived on and off for some time in Rachel, Nevada which is located near the Area 51 base. Campbell has thoroughly researched the base and has self published "Area 51 - Viewer's Guide," one of the most definitive works about the base

Campbell is a well known critic of Morton and his claims. UFOWATCHDOG.COM encourages readers to refer to Campbell's UFO Mind website for more information on Morton, especially a piece written by Campbell regarding his television talk show experience with Morton.

CLAIM: Probably the most amazing thing about Area 51 is the fact that this is literally the only place in the world where you can go out and actually see flying saucers on a timetable basis. You can literally go out there on a Wednesday night between about seven and one a.m. and you'll see these things flying up and down the valley. It's absolutely amazing. On even a bad night you'll have ten, eleven, twelve sightings. On a good night--and I've been out there with friends of mine camping--on a good night the sky will just rip open with these things. You'll see anywhere between twenty to forty objects in a night testing over the base for anywhere from fifteen and forty minutes at a time. You'll see these objects flying up and down the valley. We've had people where these objects have flown right over their heads as they've gotten out and fumbled for their cameras, and then shot away. " (Stated by Morton on the video, "UFOs and the Alien Presence, 1990)

FACT: While many strange objects have been seen near Area 51, this level of activity is unheard of. During a visit to the infamous base in 1996, UFOWATCHDOG.COM asked area residents about the sightings, past and present, and they stated they have never seen this level of alleged UFO activity. When asked about Morton, most people either rolled their eyes or had never heard of him. One person stated, "Oh, yeah. The ninety-nine dollar guy."

A former television producer claiming to have worked with Morton was contacted. The person asked for anonymity and told of taking one of Morton's $99.00 tours of Area 51:

"It was a f*****g joke. Excuse the language, but Sean poured on the theatrics and had people believing that airplanes and satellites were UFOs. When I pointed this out to him in front of the group that went out on the tour, Sean got this dead serious look on his face and exclaimed, 'That's what they want you to think! Don't you get it?' I thought I was going to puke, totally insane. The guy is the biggest con I've ever met. I was working with the guy and he still charged me for the tour. A couple of guys from my crew went with him and told me about the same thing. I never thought it was going to be as bad as they told me."

While Morton was giving one of his Area 51 tours, Glenn Campbell and a writer for Popular Science happened to be on the hill next to Morton's tour group watching. The following was published in the March 1994 issue of Popular Science:

"Last March, three chilly airplane watchers with binoculars atop White Sides Mountain at this magic hour [4:45am] were tracking a 737 airliner approaching Groom Lake, as a fourth member of their group thawed out in his truck below. Parked on a knoll, he was next to a vanload of UFO seekers. They were lead by tour operator Sean Morton, whose leaflet described him as 'the world's foremost UFO researcher.'

"Morton donned a horned Viking helmet and from time to time pointed to the sky, exclaiming: 'Look at that one!' The airplane watcher trained his binoculars in the same direction but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Later, Morton's group became excited by what they perceived as an entire formation of UFOs; the airplane watcher's lenses revealed only stars. Finally, as the morning's first 737 made its gentle approach toward Groom Lake at 4:45, the UFO enthusiasts rejoiced at Old Faithful's appearance. Everyone had seen exactly what they hoped for."

 CLAIM: Regarding UFOs at Area 51, "These craft could be seen from nearby Highway 375, which, thanks to Morton's efforts, was later renamed THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL HIGHWAY by the state of Nevada." Also, "Morton began to lead the media charge to uncover this amazing secret."

CLAIM: "...he was the first to film the facility. He spent many cold, frightening nights alone and camouflaged, watching the base, always fearing detection by the Black Helicopters that ominously patrol the perimeter." And, "When Sean went public with his discovery, the mountain top, now known as "Morton's Peak" and "Freedom Ridge" atop Whitesides mountain, became global news, and forced the military to spend millions of dollars in a campaign, vehemently opposed by the public, to confiscate the location without having to go through the US Congress."

CLAIM: "...when I interviewed people who had claimed to have worked at 'The Ranch', as it was called, and I would ask them to describe it to me to prove their veracity, as I was probably the only person alive who had actually seen the place without having worked there."

FACT: UFOWATCHDOG.COM was unable to locate any evidence to show that Morton led any kind of media charge regarding Area 51 other than Morton's own words and his two Montel television appearances. No evidence was located that his efforts led to Nevada State renaming Highway 375. As for "Morton's Peak," no reference other than that found on Morton's biography has been found to verify this claim. Who exactly found the vantage point commonly known as Freedom Ridge is up for debate, but it was likely not Morton. If anyone led any kind of media charge, it was Glenn Campbell who also states that Morton has never been to Freedom Ridge and has never spent the night there. It appears that Morton tried to cash in on Area 51 during the time it was receiving major publicity.

Also, Morton was not "the first person to film the facility." There were several photos taken of the facility long before Morton ever knew it was there, most notably by pilot turned UFO conspiracy advocate John Lear.

Morton made an extraordinary claim of having been buzzed by a UFO out near Area 51 and claimed to have received some kind of radiation burns from the alleged UFO. In his Delphi e-list, Morton stated the following: "I brought a friend of mine who worked for the LA TIMES, Shannon Sands. While she was driving towards the road ahead of us in the rain and fog, my friend Jeff and I had an encounter with a glowing disk which nearly hit our car! We chased after it on foot, and got close enough to get pretty toasted by it. When we got BACK to the main road, the rain and fog had lifted and about 20 people watched the disk bounce around the valley for nearly 1/2 and hour. Shannon then wrote a story which wound up on the FRONT PAGE, Feb. 26, 1991, and this marked the FIRST NATIONAL COVERAGE OF AREA 51." [76]

The article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times (Ed. Link is no longer there.) is anything but an earth shattering piece of national coverage on Area 51. Also, in the article there is absolutely no mention of the "glowing disk" Morton alleges everyone saw. It is interesting to hear Morton's version of receiving burns after alleging to observe a flying disc at close range. This story changes from Morton claiming to have been within 150-feet of the alleged disc, to Morton being "a few hundred yards" away from it. The article only refers to Morton and an associate running off into the brush and then returning with claims of seeing UFOs.

As for bringing national attention to the base, Las Vegas investigative journalist George Knapp was without a doubt the first person to do such. Knapp, in 1989, interviewed a man claiming to have been a scientist working on UFOs for the government. Of course, those somewhat familiar with UFOlogy will recognize the name of Bob Lazar, the man behind the now infamous story.

When asked about the claim that the L.A. Times story was the first to bring national attention to the base, Knapp stated, "This story is close to two years after my first reports about the base. After my stuff ran, I was visited and interviewed by more media people than I can count."
 

MISC. CLAIMS

CLAIM: "In the fall of 1989 he was a member of a team of scientists that ultra-sounded the DULCE ARCHELETA MESA on the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation in Northern New Mexico. Using nearly 75 hours of CRAY SUPERCOMPUTER time worth tens of millions of dollars, they proved beyond any doubt that an underground base exists under the Mesa. I have video tape of the CRAY analysis which has never before been seen in public."

FACT: No evidence was found to support this claim. Though Morton would probably be willing to provide the video tape...for a price.

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