In 2009, the film titled The Fourth Kind introduced us to Dr. Abigail Tyler. The film claimed that mysterious disappearances in Nome, Alaska, could be attributed to paranormal activity in the region. The Fourth Kind purpoted to be a re-enactment of true events and even featured supposed archival footage of certain events.
According to The Fourth Kind, Dr. Abigail Tyler, a psychologist, used hypnosis to uncover memories of alien abduction from her patients. Tyler later discovers evidence suggesting that she might be a victim of an alien abduction. The Fourth Kind suffered negative reviews as the producers faced accusations that they lied about the film’s ‘true’ basis.
There is little evidence to suggest that Dr. Abigail Tyler ever existed
The ever-impressive Milla Jovovich played Dr. Abigail Tyler in The Fourth Kind. As the film starts, Milla introduces herself and her role before adding:
“This film is a dramatization of events that occurred October 1st though the 9th of 2000 in the Northern Alaskan town of Nome. To better explain the events of the story, the directors included actual archival footage through the film. This footage was provided from Nome psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler who has personally documented over sixty-five hours of video and audio material.”
However, investigations by several outlets didn’t find a Dr. Abigail Tyler from Alaska. A legitimate biography failed to surface while licensing bodies and associations asserted that they didn’t know of a Dr. Abigail Tyler.
In the film, Dr. Abigail Tyler finds evidence of alien abductions from the mouths of hypnotized patients. Her daughter, Ashley, gets abducted, and upon questioning, Dr. Tyler tells police that she’s been taken to the sky.
Nome, Alaska, is no stranger to disappearances, but after investigations into two dozen disappearances, the FBI found no evidence of alien activity. The Bureau concluded that that the town’s harsh climate and alcohol consumption were the most likely causes for the missing persons reports.
Therefore, most publications have concluded that Dr. Abigail Tyler is an imaginary character. In the film, Dr. Abigail Tyler suffered a neck injury that paralyzed her and confined her to a wheelchair. In the end, Dr. Tyler left Alaska for the East Coast to live out her days under hospice care.
Universal Pictures paid The Alaska Press Club for creating fake stories about Nome
To sell the story about paranormal activity in Nome, Universal Pictures created fake news articles to support the film’s narrative. The Alaska Press Club threatened to sue, but before the case went to court, Universal offered a settlement.
The film’s promoters created a website with fake news articles allegedly reported by publications in Alaska. Editor Nancy McGuire of The Nome Nugget was confused and angry after she saw a fake article attributed to her publication.
“I really was concerned about it because I didn’t write these things,” Nancy told Anchorage Daily News. Universal pledged to take down the fake articles, but by then, the damage was already done. The company couldn’t promise to take down articles made or shared by other internet users.
Despite the overwhelming evidence disproving the alleged ‘true’ events in The Fourth Kind, some people believe that there’s some truth behind the film’s narrative. Psychologist Chris French wrote on The Guardian:
“The reason I found this film so ‘disturbing’ was because experience shows that no matter how obvious a hoax may be to those capable of critical thinking, there will always be many who will accept at face value the film’s claim to be based on true events.”
“None of these events actually occurred, none of the ‘archival footage’ was real, and Dr. Abigail Taylor has never existed,” a piece on Overland reads.