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John Alva Keel (March 25, 1930) is a paranormal author.

Keel is one of the best known journalists writing about paranormal topics, including UFOs. He is also an investigator of these subjects.

His first book, Jadoo, was published before Keel was 30. Although it was well reviewed, it did not have a huge impact at the time. In it, Keel goes on site (as would continue to be the case throughout his career) to investigate "Jadoo", or Asian black magic. In what would become his characteristic first person style, Keel absolutely involves himself in the story. Here is Keel describing his life in the second chapter of that book:

"Peddling adventure is my businees, and at times, it's a mighty lean one. But the leaness is part of it. Going hungry and thirsty in weird places that aren't even marked on the map is part of it. So is getting chased by inhospitable tigers and being bitten by impolite snakes. My merchandise is the stuff that dreams are made of, from sleepless nights in torrid jungles to bone-freezing days climbing isolated peaks in the Himalayas."

If the tone of that paragraph sounds familiar, it may be that it reminds you of the voiceovers on Kolchak: The Night Stalker. It has been rumored that Kolchak, a reporter who encounters supernatural beings, was based on Keel. Of course, he's not the only one: Alva Keel was a character on Miracles who was involved with similar bizarre happenings, and Alan Bates played Alexander Leek (Keel spelled backwards) in a loose movie adaptation of Keel's The Mothman Prophecies. Richard Gere played John Klein in that movie, a character directly based on Keel.

The Mothman Prophecies was Keel's sixth book, but may be his most famous. While monster Paranormal Terminology#flap|flaps were nothing new, the "immersive investigation" techniques of John A. Keel uncovered a paranormal patchwork of events. From UFOs to Men-in-Black, to prophecies to the mysterious Indrid Cold, reality itself was in question. Many people might simply dismiss these stories, but according to the book, Keel wasn't just hearing them, he was experiencing them.

Since he was writing about these topics from a non-skeptical viewpoint, one might assume that he is embraced by advocates. However, Keel is a Fortean, a follower of Charles Fort. He doesn't uncritically accept or support the positions of people who believe in UFOs, magic, or Bigfoot. Nor does he align himself with those who oppose them. As Keel has said,

"Belief is the enemy."

When he postulated that UFOs were not aliens from outer space, that Bigfoot couldn't just be an unrecognized species, and that The Roswell Incident may have been sparked by the remains of a Japanese balloon bomb, he wasn't making friends with adherents.

His alternative explanations aren't about to get him a seat at the Skeptics' Table, either. Time travel, non-human Earthly intelligences and the idea of "cosmic pranksters" are all part of Keel's writings.

It is likely that his influence on both the paranormal community and Sci Fi works will continue to be felt for some time.

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