Interesting article by Nick Redfern on a story related by John Keel… was this a case of a scopolamine type drug (known as “Devil’s Breath” in Columbia from the Borrachero tree) being used to make someone do something against their will?
Mention the name of John Keel to anyone with an interest in UFOs, cryptozoology, and the paranormal, and doing so will likely provoke imagery of Keel’s research into two areas he was particularly known for investigating: (a) Mothman and (b) the Men in Black.
There is, however, one case that Keel only briefly touched upon in his all-time classic, The Mothman Prophecies, but which is of such genuine high-strangeness that it is definitely worthy of further study and commentary. It was a story that surfaced in late October 1971, and reached the eyes and ears of the United States’ media. This was hardly surprising since – in a curious fashion – it involved none other than President Richard Nixon.
The story – which Keel presents in his book, in verbatim form from a newspaper article – revolves around a woman named Shirley Cromartie. She was a mother of three, who – the press revealed – held a security clearance in the Florida White House and who found herself plunged into a profoundly strange situation.
The media began, on October 23, 1971: “A part-time housekeeper at President Nixon’s Key Biscayne retreat has testified she was put in a hypnotic daze by a stranger who told her to shoplift four dresses.”
The press continued that Mrs. Cromartie “…pleaded no contest Thursday and was given a suspended sentence after law enforcement officers and a psychiatrist testified they believed she was telling the truth. Mrs. Cromartie holds a security clearance to work in the Florida White House, according to testimony.”
Read the entire article at Mysterious Universe: