The McPherson Tape: The UFO Hoax That Wasn’t (Or Was It?...No)
Written by UAP Files - Jimmy
Imagine this: It’s the late 80s. Camcorders are the cutting-edge tech of the moment, the X-Files is still a few years away, and America is knee-deep in UFO fascination. Somewhere in all this, a young filmmaker named Dean Alioto sets out to make a no-budget sci-fi horror film. What happens next is the stuff of conspiracy legend—a lost film, a mysterious fire, and a VHS tape that people swore was real.
The Tape That (Accidentally) Fooled the World
In 1989, Alioto, then a scrappy 24-year-old, shot a film called UFO Abduction—now better known as The McPherson Tape. The concept was simple: a family celebrating a birthday in a remote house suddenly finds themselves in the middle of a terrifying alien encounter. The whole thing was shot in a found-footage style, long before The Blair Witch Project made it mainstream.
The budget? A whopping $6,500—about enough to buy a used Ford Fiesta today (£5,018).
It was rough, grainy, and awkwardly improvised, but that’s precisely what made it feel real. If you stumbled upon it with no context, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was an actual home video of an alien abduction. And that’s exactly what happened.
A Fire, A Few VHS Copies, And A UFO Mystery Is Born
Right as Alioto was on the verge of securing a proper distribution deal, disaster struck: the master copy was destroyed in a warehouse fire. Just like that, his dream project was toast.
But a few VHS copies had already been made. And those copies found their way into the hands of UFO researchers and UFOlogists.
Because the tapes had no opening credits, no disclaimer, and no director’s name, people assumed they were watching actual leaked evidence of an alien abduction.
And the believers were convinced.
“I am not convinced that this thing is a hoax.”
— Donald Ware, Lt. Col., U.S. Army (retired)
Even renowned UFO researcher Stanton Friedman—a nuclear physicist and one of the most respected names in the UFO field—found the footage disturbingly authentic.
People copied the tape, swapped it at conventions, and whispered about its origins. TV specials used clips as “evidence” of alien encounters. Soon, The McPherson Tape was being treated like the Zapruder film of UFOlogy.
Alioto had unwittingly created the first found-footage UFO conspiracy theory.
Aliens, The Government, And A Second Attempt
It wasn’t until years later that Alioto even found out his film had taken on a second life. When he tried to set the record straight, many UFO enthusiasts refused to believe him.
So in 1998, he got a second shot. A TV network hired him to remake The McPherson Tape, this time as a slicker, more polished version called Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County. The updated film featured special effects, professional actors, and even an alien autopsy-style breakdown at the end.
But something weird happened: People still thought it was real.
“I had to go on national TV and debunk - I think I’m the only filmmaker ever to do that - my own movie” - Dean Alioto, UAP Files Podcast S3E13
The movie aired on UPN and immediately sparked a nationwide debate. Even with interviews from cast members admitting it was fiction, some viewers were convinced the network was covering up something far more sinister.
So, Was It Just A Hoax?
Alioto never set out to fool anyone—he was just an indie filmmaker making a cheap, but unique, horror flick. But his story proves something unsettling: some people will believe what they want to believe—especially when it comes to UFOs. Do your research people.
The McPherson Tape became a case study in how easy it is to manufacture belief, how myths can take on lives of their own, and how the best UFO stories are the ones we want to be true. The truth is out there. That’s a cliché, I know, but I believe it’s very true.
So, was it a hoax? A real abduction? Or just the world’s most accidental conspiracy? I think we all know now.
Regardless of what you believe, the truth is, the film created a new genre, captured the imagination of many and cemented a fantastic story in to UFOlogy forever.
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For a deeper dive into the story behind The McPherson Tape and Dean’s latest documentary The Alien Perspective, check out my interview with the filmmaker Dean Alioto: