Thereafter, the methods of the hypnotist came under criticism. One person in particular reproached him for working without a medical license and for leading the subject with too "directed" questions, which suggested certain answers. In other words, this critic accused him of practicing "fairground hypnotism," lacking in rigor. Another said of him that he "had wasted" this case. These criticisms are certainly not without foundation, which does not imply that they are harmless.

On December 17, 1992, Christian Jay succeeded in speaking by telephone with the victim of this strange incident, now married and a mother. She confirmed the reality of the events of June 11, since they remained engraved in her memory, missing time included. On the other hand, she had a very different opinion about the two hypnotic regressions that she was made to undergo. Here is what Christian Jay writes on this subject:

"I am sure that this form of investigation was perfectly disastrous for the advance of knowledge. Indeed, the conditions under which H.G. discovered what had happened to her were much more disturbing than the events themselves, and, as she clearly states it, she does not completely believe what she was made to reveal under hypnosis: She is, on the contrary, certain that it was fabricated for publicity purposes."

That the young woman has a bad memory of these two session is something which one can easily understand, more especially as the brief but noisy publicity created throughout the country made for her a situation difficult to bear.

But is it necessary to reject the information revealed by the hypnosis? Wouldn't the reputation of the hypnotist (definitely worsened by another incident, two years later) have influenced this judgment of the results themselves? After all, the relationship between the authenticity of the hypnotist and the results obtained may not be so clear. Even if it is necessary "to throw the two dwarves out with the bathwater" of the method, the loss of memory for two and a half hours continues to pose a problem. In the same way, the striking similarity between the account given under hypnosis by Helene and many other accounts obtained since by the same means (particularly in the United States) should not surprise us.

The thick file on American abductions is not completely a secret today, since "Communion" by Whitley Strieber was translated into French, and since at least two publications with a large circulation have mentioned the [UFO] conference in New York last year. But in 1976, the situation was quite different, and only three cases had made attracted significant attention beyond the average UFO sighting: They are the case of Betty and Barney Hill, briefly told in "France Dimanche" (No. 1093) in 1966; one of the 10 abduction cases in 1952 (case No. 3 on our list), which has few points in common with the Chatuzange-le-Goubet event; and finally, the story of Paulo Caetano told in the first book by Jean-Claude Bourret, "The New Wave of Flying Saucers" (France Empire, 1975)."

End of quotation.