IT sounds like a case that only the X-Files detective Fox Mulder would be willing to accept. But a secret plot to harbour aliens at a remote military base in a desert in the United States is, it seems, a generally-held truth among British adults.
A new survey, published today, has revealed that almost half of those polled believe there is some truth in the legend of Area 51. The conspiracy theory holds that Groom Lake, in Nevada, was a covert base for extra-terrestrial studies, after a spaces
hip crashed there in the 1950s.
The online poll, taken to coincide with the UK cinema release of I Want to Believe, the second X-Files film, aimed to uncover the most popular conspiracy theories.
Stories about sophisticated space craft, "footage" of grey aliens, and testimonies from former employees passed down through the years, have all helped convince believers about the "Roswell incident".
And despite the horror of the 9/11 attacks, more than one in three (38 per cent) are sure the twin towers atrocity was part of a plot backed by the US government to create an excuse to invade Iraq and Afghanistan.
A third of respondents pointed to a "lack of debris" outside the Pentagon crash site as proof that all is not as it seems.
The Apollo Moon landing was also identified as a hoax by 40 per cent, who agreed with the long-held argument that the American flag could not have been pictured flapping in the wind as there would have been no breeze in space.
Another theory which has gained credibility is the belief that a royal plot was behind the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed. Letters from the princess to her butler – in which she apparently predicted her own death and were used as evidence in the recent inquest into the tragedy – convinced 28 per cent that the deaths were not accidental.
The survey also found that 61 per cent believe in aliens, 52 per cent think ghosts exist and 21 per cent believe in monsters.
It also revealed that 59 per cent believe they are psychic.
Others believe that the Church of Scientology, which has many film stars as members, controls Hollywood.
Dr James Boys, who lectures on conspiracy theories in political and social history at Richmond, the American International University, in London believes that people put their faith in outlandish theories to avoid confronting their own mortality.
He told The Scotsman: "It's a psychological defence mechanism to believe that things happen for a reason. To recognise that someone as beautiful as Diana or powerful as Kennedy can be snuffed out in an instant, is to recognise the same can happen to you."
But Prof Boys had a conspiracy theory of his own. "It is staggering that the Kennedy assassination is not on this list. I would not have said that the whole Area 51 thing is everyone's favourite conspiracy theory.
"In fact I would go so far as to say that it is suspiciously coincidental that Area 51 comes out on top in a poll timed with the release of The X-Files film.
"There is a distinct possibility that this is a public relations stunt, a conspiracy in itself."
Pete Johnson, the spokesman for 20th Century Fox in Scotland, said: "We commissioned the poll from experts and all conspiracy theories are open to interpretation. Everyone is interested in conspiracy theories."
