theory

BERLIN — Erich von Däniken, the Swiss author whose best-selling books about the extraterrestrial origins of ancient civilizations brought him fame among paranormal enthusiasts and scorn from the scientific community, has died. He was 90.

On Sunday, Von Däniken’s representatives announced on his website that he had died the previous day in a hospital in central Switzerland.

Von Däniken rose to prominence in 1968 with the publication of his first book, “Chariots of the Gods?,” in which he claimed that the Mayans and ancient Egyptians were visited by alien astronauts and instructed in advanced technology that allowed them to build giant pyramids.

The book fueled a growing interest in unexplained phenomena at a time when, thanks to conventional science, humans were about to take their first steps on the Moon.

“Chariots of the Gods?” was followed by more than two dozen similar books, spawning a literary niche in which fact and fantasy were mixed together against all historical and scientific evidence.

Public broadcaster SRF reported that Von Däniken’s books had sold almost 70 million copies in more than 30 languages, making him one of the most widely read Swiss authors.

While Von Däniken managed to shrug off his many critics, the former hotel waiter had a troubled relationship with money throughout his life and frequently came close to financial ruin.

Born in 1935, the son of a clothing manufacturer in the northern Swiss town of Schaffhausen, Von Däniken is said to have rebelled against his father’s strict Catholicism and the priests who instructed him at boarding school by developing his own alternatives to the biblical account of the origins of life.

After leaving school in 1954, Von Däniken worked as a waiter and barkeeper for several years, during which he was repeatedly accused of fraud and served a couple of short stints in prison.

In 1964, he was appointed manager of a hotel in the exclusive resort town of Davos and began writing his first book. Its publication and rapid commercial success were quickly followed by accusations of tax dodging and financial impropriety, for which he again spent time behind bars.

By the time he left prison, “Chariots of the Gods?” was earning Von Däniken a fortune and a second book, “Gods from Outer Space,” was ready for publication, allowing him to commit himself to his paranormal passion and travel the world in search of new mysteries to uncover.

“Chariots of the Gods?” was made into a film in 1970 and was a huge box-office success, especially at drive-ins in the United States. It also received an Oscar nomination for best documentary feature, despite criticism of its pseudoscience and largely unsubstantiated claims about “ancient astronauts.”

Throughout the 1970s, Von Däniken undertook countless field trips to Egypt, India, and above all, Latin America, whose ancient cultures held a particular fascination for the amateur archaeologist.

He lectured widely and set up societies devoted to promoting his theories, later pioneering the use of video and multimedia to reach out to ever-larger audiences hungry for a different account of history.

No amount of criticism dissuaded him and his fans from believing that Earth has been visited repeatedly by beings from Outer Space, and will be again in the future.

Von Däniken gained the damning accolade of being the first recipient of the “Ig Nobel” prize for literature in 1991 — for raising the public awareness of science through questionable experiments or claims.

Even when confronted with fabricated evidence in a British television documentary — supposedly ancient pots were shown to be almost new — Von Däniken insisted that, minor discrepancies aside, his theories were essentially sound.

In 1985, Von Däniken wrote “Neue Erinnerungen an die Zukunft” — “New Memories of the Future” — ostensibly to address his many critics: “I have admitted [my mistakes], but not one of the foundations of my theories has yet been brought down.”

Although his popularity was waning in the English-speaking world by the 1980s, Von Däniken’s books and films influenced a wave of semi-serious archaeological documentaries and numerous popular television shows, including “In Search of …” and “The X-Files,” which featured two FBI agents tasked with solving paranormal mysteries, as well as the long-running cable series “Ancient Aliens.”

In 1998, Von Däniken revisited the subject in the book “Arrival of the Gods,” focusing on Peru’s mysterious Nazca lines. “‘Arrival of the Gods’ is a grotesque parody of scientific inquiry devoid of any intellectual credibility or literary merit whatsoever,” wrote British anthropologist and UC Santa Barbara professor Brian Fagan in a review for The Times. “The book is typical of the genre, with its haphazard and uncritical use of an astonishing range of sources from all parts of the world in order to fashion an implausible jigsaw puzzle the author claims is science.”

Von Däniken’s 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.

Erich von Däniken is survived by his wife of 65 years, Elisabeth Skaja; a daughter, Cornelia; and two grandchildren.

The Duffer Brothers have teased more details about their upcoming spin-off following Stranger Things’ epic finale

Warning – this article contains major spoilers for the Stranger Things finale

Stranger Things creators Ross and Matt Duffer have confirmed a popular fan theory about the Netflix show’s upcoming spin-off isn’t true.

The hit supernatural drama set in the 1980s concluded with an epic finale on Thursday (1st January) that brought an end to the Hawkins gang’s battle against Vecna (played by Jamie Campbell Bower) and the Upside Down.

During the epilogue, after a terrifying encounter with the Mind Flayer on Dimension X and an emotional farewell to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), we see where many of our favourite characters end up 18 months later.

After five seasons, Jim Hopper (David Harbour) and Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) finally get to sit down for a romantic dinner at Enzo’s, where Hopper proposes.

Joyce, of course, says yes, and they enjoy a swoon-worthy dance with some magical backing vocals that set audience hearts a-flutter all across the globe.

During the date, Hopper also suggests a move away from Hawkins after a friend in New York tipped him off to a position for chief of police opening up in Montauk.

Not only would it give Stranger Things’ fan-favourite couple a chance at a fresh start, but fans were also quick to guess that the haven in Long Island could be the perfect setting for the series’ confirmed spin-off series.

One X user said: “WAIT HOPPER WANTS TO GO TO MONTAUK?!!! #montauk that is where the whole story of Papa’s Dad started. Is that the spinoff town?!!!”

And another fan predicted: “Oh you caught that huh? Montauk is the Easter egg for the next spinoff.”

However, in a post-finale interview with Deadline, the Duffer Brothers have sadly confirmed this is not the case. Instead, the reference to Montauk is actually a cheeky allusion to Stranger Things’ origins, which was initially announced as a supernatural drama called Montauk back in 2015 before the location was changed to the fictional Hawkins, Indiana.

Ross Duffer confirmed there is indeed a hint towards the offshoot, but said: “I don’t know if I want to, but I will say, though, it’s not Hopper mentioning Montauk.

“There’s no Montauk spinoff. That was more of a wink to the fans, deep-cut fans that know that the show started as Montauk.”

Keeping their plans under wraps, the co-showrunner continued: “It’s obviously not Holly (Nell Fisher) and the kids or anything like that. It’s something much smaller than that.

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“We’ve said this before, the spinoff idea we have, it is early days, but it is an entirely new mythology.

“So, it is connected, and it is going to answer some questions that people have, and there’s some lingering questions that weren’t answered in the finale that will be answered in the spinoff. But at the end of the day, it’s got its own story and its own mythology.”

In an earlier interview with Variety, Ross also confirmed there will be some “connective tissue” between the shows, but maintained the spin-off won’t be like Star Wars with characters and locations crossing over.

Even so, the Duffers have confirmed there’s a hint towards the new series hidden somewhere in the finale, so fans had better get started on their next rewatch if they want to dig up some answers.

Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix.

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