Angelucci, Orfeo

Orfeo Angelucci (1912–1993) was an American who became one of the most well-known UFO contactees of the 1950s. 

Background: He worked as a low-level technician at the Lockheed aircraft plant in Burbank, California — a detail that lent a degree of blue-collar credibility to his accounts, distinguishing him from more sensationalist figures of the era.

Contact Claims: Angelucci claimed to have had a series of extraordinary encounters beginning in 1952, including:

• Being approached by a glowing disc near Los Angeles
• Receiving communications from benevolent, Christ-like extraterrestrial beings
• Being physically transported aboard a spacecraft
• Experiencing visions of other worlds and dimensions

His experiences had a strongly spiritual and mystical character, blending UFO contact with themes of cosmic brotherhood, love, and spiritual evolution — quite different from the more threatening alien narratives that would become common later.

Writing: He described his experiences in his 1955 book The Secret of the Saucers, which became a classic text within the early UFO contactee movement. He also wrote Son of the Sun (1959).

Significance: Angelucci was part of a broader wave of 1950s contactees (alongside figures like George Adamski and Truman Bethurum) whose accounts reflected Cold War anxieties and a longing for spiritual guidance. His writings influenced the development of UFO religion and New Age spirituality.