Within Goodchild 2008
Why Did the Prediction Name Alabama?
The message mixed the Southern Hemisphere with Alabama, then offered several incompatible ways to interpret the place name.
On this page
- The Southern Hemisphere contradiction
- Alabama as a state, craft name or symbol
- Why location confusion did not rescue the forecast
Page outline Jump by section
Introduction
One of the most puzzling aspects of Blossom Goodchild’s failed October 2008 UFO prediction was not the promised three-day appearance itself, but the geographical reference embedded within it. The published message stated that a gigantic craft would appear “in the south of your hemisphere” before immediately adding, “We give to you the name of Alabama.” Those two statements were difficult to reconcile because Alabama is a US state in the Northern Hemisphere. Rather than clarifying the contradiction before the predicted date, Goodchild published several alternative explanations, each pointing in a different direction. These attempts to explain the reference created additional ambiguity, but they did not resolve the central problem: the prediction contained a location claim that conflicted with basic geography while remaining attached to an event that was supposed to be unmistakably visible worldwide.[Blossom Goodchild]blossomgoodchild.comBlossom Goodchild Eyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildBlossom GoodchildEyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildNovember 12, 2018…
Why Did the Prediction Name Alabama?
The original Federation of Light message was unusually specific compared with many UFO prophecies. It identified a precise date, described a massive craft, promised that it would remain visible for at least three days, and stated:
“It shall be in the south of your hemisphere… We give to you the name of Alabama.”
Taken literally, these statements are difficult to reconcile. Alabama is one of the southern states of the United States, but the United States lies entirely within the Northern Hemisphere. The wording therefore appeared internally inconsistent from the moment it was published.[Blossom Goodchild]blossomgoodchild.comBlossom Goodchild Eyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildBlossom GoodchildEyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildNovember 12, 2018…
Unlike a minor spelling error or vague symbolic language, the contradiction involved elementary geography. Readers did not need specialist knowledge to recognise that “the south of your hemisphere” and “Alabama” pointed in different directions.
The Southern Hemisphere Contradiction
The contradiction became more noticeable because the prediction otherwise relied on geographical precision. The message described the craft scanning across “many of your states,” suggesting an identifiable location rather than an abstract spiritual metaphor. Yet the accompanying place name could not be matched with the hemisphere described.[Blossom Goodchild]blossomgoodchild.comBlossom Goodchild Eyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildBlossom GoodchildEyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildNovember 12, 2018…
Goodchild acknowledged this problem in a note published alongside the prediction. Rather than correcting the text, she reported asking the Federation of Light about the discrepancy. According to her account, the reply was:
“In days of old, it used to be.”
No supporting explanation accompanied this statement. There is no accepted geological, historical or geographical framework in which the modern state of Alabama was formerly located in the Southern Hemisphere. Continental drift does move landmasses over geological time, but Alabama as a political entity has existed only since the nineteenth century, while North America has remained in the Northern Hemisphere throughout human history. The explanation therefore did not resolve the contradiction in any conventional sense.[Blossom Goodchild]blossomgoodchild.comBlossom Goodchild Eyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildBlossom GoodchildEyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildNovember 12, 2018…
Alabama as a State, Craft Name or Symbol
Rather than settling on one interpretation, Goodchild presented several possibilities.
She noted three separate ideas:
- Alabama as the US state. This was the obvious reading because Alabama is a well-known American state.
- Alabama as the name of the spacecraft. She suggested that “Alabama” might refer to the craft itself rather than its destination.
- Alabama because of NASA facilities. After researching the term, she observed that Alabama contains NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, implying there might be an indirect association with space exploration.[Blossom Goodchild]blossomgoodchild.comBlossom Goodchild Eyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildBlossom GoodchildEyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildNovember 12, 2018…
These interpretations point in different directions. If “Alabama” referred to a spacecraft’s name, then the geographical contradiction became irrelevant. If it referred to the US state, the Southern Hemisphere wording remained unexplained. If it referred symbolically to NASA’s presence, the prediction still failed to explain why the message explicitly used a geographical name immediately after describing a location.
Importantly, none of these alternatives appeared in the original message itself. They emerged afterwards as attempts to interpret wording that readers had already found confusing.
Why the Location Confusion Did Not Rescue the Forecast
Supporters sometimes argued that the Alabama wording had been misunderstood or translated imperfectly. However, even if one accepted that possibility, it did not materially affect the prediction’s testability.
The central claim remained that:
- an enormous craft would become openly visible;
- it would remain for approximately seventy-two hours;
- governments would be unable to conceal it;
- ordinary people would photograph and film it;
- the event would transform public awareness.[Blossom Goodchild]blossomgoodchild.comBlossom Goodchild Eyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildBlossom GoodchildEyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildNovember 12, 2018…
Those predictions were not dependent on identifying the correct interpretation of “Alabama.” Whether the craft appeared over the American South, Australia, South America or another region, an object described as globally significant and visible for three days would have generated overwhelming independent evidence.
For that reason, the geographical confusion did not provide an explanation for the prediction’s failure. At most, it showed that one component of the message was internally inconsistent before the forecast could even be tested.
What the Alabama Puzzle Reveals
The Alabama reference illustrates a broader pattern seen in failed prophecy claims. After an apparent contradiction becomes obvious, additional interpretations are introduced that expand the range of possible meanings instead of narrowing them.
In this case, the sequence moved from a seemingly specific geographical reference to multiple retrospective possibilities:
- a literal US location;
- an ancient geographical meaning;
- the name of a spacecraft;
- an indirect reference to NASA’s presence in Alabama.[Blossom Goodchild]blossomgoodchild.comBlossom Goodchild Eyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildBlossom GoodchildEyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildNovember 12, 2018…
Each interpretation reduced the precision of the original wording. Rather than strengthening the prediction, the growing ambiguity made it harder to determine what had actually been forecast.
Within the wider story of Blossom Goodchild’s unsuccessful 2008 mass-sighting prediction, the Alabama reference therefore stands out not because it caused the prophecy to fail, but because it demonstrated how an apparently concrete detail became increasingly flexible once its literal meaning proved problematic. The prediction’s decisive failure remained the absence of the promised three-day public appearance, while the unresolved geographical contradiction served as an early indication that the message itself lacked internal consistency.
Amazon book picks
Further Reading
Books and field guides related to Why Did the Prediction Name Alabama?. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.
When Prophecy Fails
The study reported in this volume grew out of some theoretical work, one phase of which bore specifically on the behavior of individuals...
The Demon-Haunted World
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the renowned astronomer and author of Cosmos comes a “powerful [and] stirring defense of informed ration...
Escaping the Rabbit Hole
Revised and updated for the first time in 2023—Now includes strategies for debunking conspiracies regarding the coronavirus pandemic, ele...
Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me)
Why is it so hard to say "I made a mistake"-and really believe it? When we make mistakes, cling to outdated attitudes, or mistreat other...
eBay marketplace picks
Marketplace Samples
Live-tested eBay searches with available results related to this page.
Selected fromUFO poster oneBay.co.uk.
Current eBay listing
VINTAGE UFO FLYING SAUCERS COMIC ADVERTISING A2 POSTER PRINT
Current eBay listing
I Want To Believe UFO Poster Giclée Fine Art Heavyweight Print
Endnotes
1.
Source: blossomgoodchild.com
Title: Blossom Goodchild Eyes To The Skies | Blossom Goodchild
Link:https://www.blossomgoodchild.com/eyes-to-the-skies/
Source snippet
Blossom GoodchildEyes To The Skies | Blossom GoodchildNovember 12, 2018...
Published: November 12, 2018
2.
Source: blossomgoodchild.com
Title: Blossom Goodchild Channelling Indexes | Blossom Goodchild
Link:https://www.blossomgoodchild.com/channelling-indexes/
3.
Source: unexplained-mysteries.com
Title: Blossom Goodchild
Link:https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/135864-blossom-goodchild/page/6/
4.
Source: unexplained-mysteries.com
Title: Blossom Goodchild
Link:https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/135864-blossom-goodchild/?comment=2507317&do=findComment
5.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Blossom Goodchild clarifies October 14th
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFyK2N4RG_o
Source snippet
BLOSSOM GOODCHILD Looks back at October 14th...
6.
Source: youtube.com
Title: BLOSSOM GOODCHILD Looks back at October 14th
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cc8xdji3dQ
Source snippet
Federation of Light Blossom Goodchild October 14 2008...
7.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFoNrToXhgU
Source snippet
Blossom Goodchild UFO prediction THE SIMPLE & MOST GRATIFYING KNOWING - Blossom Goodchild & the Federation of Light -January 05, 2019...
Published: January 5, 2019
Additional References
8.
Source: religiondispatches.org
Title: Religion Dispatches Aliens To Arrive in Alabama Today! | Religion Dispatches
Link:https://religiondispatches.org/2008/10/14/aliens-arrive-alabama-today
Source snippet
Religion DispatchesOctober 14, 2008 — ALIENS TO ARRIVE IN ALABAMA TODAY! Ben Brazil Published on October 14, 2008 Last Updated October...
Published: October 14, 2008
9.
Source: whalesinspace.com
Title: October 14th UFO Over Alabama – Comments and Observations – Whales In Space
Link:https://whalesinspace.com/2008/10/14/october-14th-ufo-over-alabama-comments-and-observations/
Source snippet
October 14, 2008 — OCTOBER 14TH UFO OVER ALABAMA – COMMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS RK Posted on October 14, 2008 Posted in Aliens, Exobiology...
Published: October 14, 2008
10.
Source: goldenageofgaia.com
Title: oct 14 2008 the day that promised a global shift in culture
Link:https://goldenageofgaia.com/2011/09/17/oct-14-2008-the-day-that-promised-a-global-shift-in-culture/
Source snippet
14, 2008: The Day that Promised a Global Shift in CultureSeptember 17, 2011 — OCT. 14, 2008: THE DAY THAT PROMISED A GLOBAL SHIFT IN CULT...
Published: September 17, 2011
11.
Source: prophecynews.co.uk
Title: Federation of Light UFO fails to materialize
Link:https://www.prophecynews.co.uk/world/1026-federation-of-light-ufo-fails-to-materialize
Source snippet
October 14, 2008 — Federation of Light UFO fails to materialize | | | World Written by Chris Perver Tuesday, 14 October 2008 13:17 1st Ki...
Published: October 14, 2008
12.
Source: youtube.com
Title: October 14th uncovered and Blossom Good Child & Federation Of Light 2
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FOuLWKidZA
Source snippet
ASHTAR COMMAND, THE FEDERATION OF LIGHT, BLOSSOM GOODCHILD AND OCTOBER 14TH 2008 PART 3...
13.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb0uoqaq4Gs
Source snippet
October 14th uncovered and Blossom GoodChild & Federation Of Light 2...
14.
Source: religiousforums.com
Link:https://www.religiousforums.com/threads/alabama-football-success-due-to-aliens.71487/
15.
Source: prophecynews.co.uk
Title: Medium ‘predicts’ televised UFO sighting on 14th of October
Link:https://www.prophecynews.co.uk/world/989-medium-predicts-televised-ufo-sighting-on-14th-of-october
16.
Source: nature.com
Title: Spotlight on Alabama | Nature
Link:https://www.nature.com/articles/nj0208
17.
Source: nature.com
Title: Spotlight on Alabama | Nature
Link:https://www.nature.com/articles/nj0211