From Newsgroup: alt.obituaries

The Wikipedes (at least initially from a German-language
source) report the death of Erich Von Daniken,born April 14th 1935,
on January 10th 2026.

In about 1973 I watched a television special called
"In Search of Ancient Astronauts" that amounted to an
extended commercial for Von Daniken's "Chariots of the
Gods?" which I subsequently purchased,trusting the
dramatic representations of its significance on the show;
I later got his second book,"Gods From Outer Space",
not knowing he had written it while in prison for fraud.

I did not keep up with his subsequent writings as I was
clued in to the dubious nature of his contentions,but
I know he stayed a fad for some years afterward,CotG
printings shifting the cover headline from "Featured
on TV as 'In Search of Ancient Astronauts' to 'Now
A Major Motion Picture From Sun International'" when
the theatrical version of the disinfomercial was
released.

He kept promoting his theories but is now at last
deceased.

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.
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From Newsgroup: alt.obituaries

On Sun, 11 Jan 2026 18:50:50 -0000 (UTC), Louis Epstein <le@lekno.ws> wrote: >source) report the death of Erich Von Daniken

(using Tor Browser 15.0.3) https://duckduckgo.com/?q=erich+von+daniken+chariots&ia=web&assist=true

Erich von Daniken, the Swiss author known for his controversial theories on >ancient astronauts, passed away on January 10, 2026, at the age of 90. His >daughter confirmed that he died of old age in a hospital in Interlaken, >Switzerland. bluewin.ch swissinfo.ch
Erich von Daniken's Death
Erich von Daniken, the Swiss author known for his controversial theories on >ancient astronauts, passed away on January 10, 2026, at the age of 90. His >daughter confirmed that he died of old age in a hospital located in Interlaken,
Switzerland.
Legacy and Impact
Notable Works
Chariots of the Gods? (1968): This book is his most famous work, which sparked
a science-fiction boom and sold millions of copies.
Total Publications: Von Daniken authored 49 books, which collectively sold
around 75 million copies and were translated into over 30 languages.
Controversial Theories
Von Daniken's ideas, which suggest that extraterrestrial beings influenced early
human civilizations, have been widely criticized and dismissed by the scientific
community. His work is often categorized as pseudoscience.
Career Highlights
He gained fame as a publicist and researcher, transitioning from an amateur to
a well-known figure in the field of pseudoscientific literature.
He founded a theme park called Jungfrau Park, which opened in 2003 and focused
on various mysteries of the world.
Erich von Daniken's contributions to literature and popular culture continue to
be a topic of discussion, despite the controversies surrounding his theories. >Wikipedia swissinfo.ch

[end quoted "search assist"]

all dead people are saints (a.k.a. aliens, ufos, light-orbs, beings, etc.)

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From Newsgroup: alt.obituaries

On Sun, 11 Jan 2026 18:50:50 -0000 (UTC), Louis Epstein wrote:

The Wikipedes (at least initially from a German-language
source) report the death of Erich Von Daniken,born April 14th 1935,
on January 10th 2026.

I've read several of Von D|nniken's books and really liked how he looked
at things. Maybe far fetched, but still, I was/am a fan of the AAS
(Ancient Astronaut Society). Sad to see him go, but OTOH 90 is a
respectable age.
--
s|b
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From Newsgroup: alt.obituaries

s|b <me@privacy.invalid> wrote:

On Sun, 11 Jan 2026 18:50:50 -0000 (UTC), Louis Epstein wrote:

The Wikipedes (at least initially from a German-language
source) report the death of Erich Von Daniken,born April 14th 1935,
on January 10th 2026.

I've read several of Von D|nniken's books and really liked how he looked
at things. Maybe far fetched, but still, I was/am a fan of the AAS
(Ancient Astronaut Society). Sad to see him go, but OTOH 90 is a
respectable age.

I was fascinated with CotG when I was a kid, along with many other
rather wild theories. It wasn't until the age of 13 or 14 that I
began to grow a sense of skepticism about such things.
--
Mark Shaw moc TOD liamg TA wahsnm ========================================================================
"Anyway, we delivered the bomb."
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From Newsgroup: alt.obituaries

Louis Epstein <le@lekno.ws> wrote:

He kept promoting his theories but is now at last
deceased.

Is there proof? Possibly he was taken away by UFOs.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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From Newsgroup: alt.obituaries

On Sun, 11 Jan 2026 21:48:00 -0000 (UTC), Mark Shaw wrote:

I was fascinated with CotG when I was a kid, along with many other
rather wild theories. It wasn't until the age of 13 or 14 that I
began to grow a sense of skepticism about such things.

I see Von D|nniken as the skeptic. (-;
--
s|b
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From Newsgroup: alt.obituaries

James Lileks marks the occasion: https://jameslileks.substack.com/p/the-truth-about-the-ancient-astronauts?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=73911&post_id=184337250&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=131lq&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Erich von D|nniken, popular author of a series of books about
"ancient astronauts," passed away on the tenth of January. His
most famous work was "Chariot of the Gods?, a book that surely
did not need the question mark. You can just respond "No," and
move on to the next subject. You probably remember his thesis:
mankind was visited by aliens long ago, and they taught us
things before heading back to the stars, never to return. You
probably don't know this: next Friday you can to his theme park
to get drunk and dance. But we'll get to that.
I'm sure I found the idea intriguing as a kid, because these
unfalsifiable conjectures fire the young imagination. Look at
that ancient stone carving, it looks just like an astronaut in
a capsule with a control panel wearing a pressurized space
suit! Or it's a lizard in a pot. I can't say it didn't happen,
but if it did, it probably went like this:
The ship descends, all the humans drop the ground gibbering
and bowing: the gods have arrived! Didn't have that on the
bingo card. Everyone bows down. The aliens give each other that
look: every time. Always with the bowing.
"Okay, get up, we have work to do. No, we don't want you to
cut up a cow for us. No myrrh, we're allergic."
"Yes my lord god! I mean no. What do your greatness commandeth?"
"We're going to build pyramids."
"Pyramids."
"Yes. Big square buildings with pointy tops. Here's how." (Hands
over the plans) Now, we want you to build many of them. We
really like pyramids. We gave these plans to some guys on the
other side of the water, and they've already started. When we
get back we will see who built the most, and whose are taller."
The other aliens are trying to hold back laughter, which the
humans interpret as a sign of goodness and benevolence. Then
the aliens get back in the ship and take off, and let their
laughter loose. Those idiots will be building pyramids for a
thousand years, thinking we'll be back some day and measure
them and hand out trophies.
The same year as Chariots? Came out, we had 2001: A Space
Odyssey, which also had some extraterrestrial intervention.
You know, the monkeys and the monolith.
There was some guy in charge of dropping off the monolith on
Sol-3. The alien equivalent of appliance installers delivered
it overnight, made sure it was level, turned it on, and left.
In the middle of the night the lead monkey had a strange dream
asking him how satisfied he was with the monolith delivery, on
a scale of 1 to 5 stars. He knew not what this meant, but was
compelled to visit the spot the next day, whereupon the Monolith
activated its Smart Rays and started to impart Knowledge to
the stinking, lice-ridden hominids. The guy in charge of Sol-3
marked the job as COMPLETED and moved on to placing a monolith
on a watery planet inhabited by translucent turtles. A few
years later the boss asks for a report on the monkeys, and he
checks out how it's going. Uh oh.
Project Manager: the Smart Rays have been working for the
desired interval; how goes it? Are they building homes and
cultivating crops?
Employee: uh - maybe? I haven't checked the entire planet.
Project Manager: so what are they doing?
Employee: well, uh, the ones that listened to the Monolith
picked up some bones and beat the other monkeys to death and
stole their berries.
Project Manager: (Silence)
Employee: I can write up a ticket and see if the Rays need
adjusting
Project Manager: they're beating the other monkeys to death
Employee: well they did learn to sharpen the bones.
Project Manager: to dig in the earth and plant?
Employee: actually no, there's been some stabbing. Well quite
a lot actually.
Project Manager: great. Fantastic. Now we have to intercept
these morons when they get space travel and send them a Big
Baby. Don't ask what that means. I don't know. It's above my
pay grade.
Anyway. The ABC obit for Erich von D|nniken ended thus:
His last major venture, a theme park based on his books, failed
after just a few years due to lack of interest. The "Mystery
Park" still stands, its man-made pyramids and otherworldly
domes rotting as tourists prefer to explore the charms of the
nearby town of Interlaken and the imposing Swiss Alps that
surround it.
I wouldn't say it's rotting.
[Photo: Google Earth view, or view from ancient astronauts
returning to see how it's going]
The Mayan pyramid is now a nightclub, according to Google. It
opens on weekends. No human sacrifice, as far as I can tell,
although it's possible you could meet someone who would later
rip your heart out, so to speak.
--
Mark Shaw moc TOD liamg TA wahsnm ========================================================================
"Anyway, we delivered the bomb."
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