James Patrick Keith (September 21, 1949 – September 7, 1999) was an American author and

conspiracy theorist A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

, best known for the books ''Black Helicopters Over America'' and ''The Octopus'', co-written with Kenn Thomas, detailing theories around the death of reporter Danny Casolaro. After starting his career with writing and editing the zines ''Dharma Combat'' and ''Notes from the Hangar'', as well as contributing articles to ''Fate Magazine'', Keith became an editor at Steamshovel Press. He also authored 12 books covering topics such as

mind control Mind control may refer to: Psychology and neurology * Brainwashing, the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques * Brain–computer interface * Hypnosis * Neuroprosthetics, the technology of cont ...

, the New World Order, black helicopters, the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, United States, on April 19, 1995. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Perpetr ...

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on 1 ...

and

Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are government agents dressed in dark suits, who question, interrogate, harass, and threaten unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses to keep them silent about what they have ...

. Keith died at Washoe Medical Center in

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

at age 49, following a fall at the

Burning Man Burning Man is a week-long large-scale desert event focused on "community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance" held annually in the Western United States. The event's name comes from its ceremony on the penultimate night of the event: the ...

festival.

Early life

Jim Keith was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He became interested in

UFOs An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...

and the

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

from age 7, writing short stories and articles at age 10. Growing up, the 6’4” self-described radical

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

considered himself a member of the 1960s

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

. After avoiding the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

draft as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

, he left

Haight-Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called the Haight and the Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the countercultu ...

and hitchhiked to Klamath Falls in 1972. There he worked as a newspaper publisher, cable TV salesman, restaurant worker and at a lumber mill. He also contributed to small publications on science fiction, New Age and conspiracy topics.

Writing

Moving to

with his parents in 1980, Keith gained custody of his two daughters and home-schooled them. During this time, he worked out of the home on writing projects to make money, writing 6 hours a day. His first published work was The Gemstone File, written in three months and accepted by IllumiNet Press with a $250 advance. One week later, his work ''Secret and Suppressed'' was accepted by

Feral House Feral House is an American book publisher founded in 1989 by Adam Parfrey and based in Port Townsend, Washington. Feral House is known for its taboo and provocative publications, but has had significant influence in both underground circles an ...

with a $500 advance. Keith was also a member of the writing collective called Commander X, covering subjects such as free energy, the Philadelphia Experiment and alien conspiracies.

Death and controversy

On September 6, 1999, Keith injured his leg after stepping off a three-foot stage at the

festival. Thinking it was only a severe sprain, he went home. The next morning, he checked into the Washoe Medical center for treatment of a broken knee. Surgery was delayed due to issues with kidney function. At 8:10 PM on Tuesday, September 7, 1999, a blood clot released from his leg and entered his lung, an issue which proved fatal. In an article published three weeks after Keith's death, conspiracy theorists expressed suspicion that he was killed because he mentioned the name of a physician who declared

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

was pregnant at the time of her death.

Publications

Books

* ''Gemstone File'' (1992). . * ''Secret and Suppressed: Banned Ideas and Hidden History''. Venice, Calif.: Feral House (1993). . * ''Black Helicopters over America: Strikeforce for the New World Order'' (1994). . * ''Casebook on Alternative 3: UFOs, Secret Societies and World Control'' (1994). . * ''Saucers of the Illuminati'', published under pseudonym Jay Katz (1995). . * ''The Octopus: Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro'', with Kenn Thomas (1996). . * ''Okbomb! Conspiracy and Cover-Up'' (1996). . * ''Casebook on the Men in Black'' (1997). . * ''Mind Control, World Control: The Encyclopedia of Mind Control''. Adventures Unlimited Press (1997). . * ''Black Helicopters II: The End Game Strategy'' (1998). . * ''Biowarfare In America''. Lilburn, GA: Illuminet Press (1999). . * ''Mass Control: Engineering Human Consciousness'' (2003). .

Articles

* ''A Gemstone Darkly''; Steamshovel Press #4 (1992) * ''Whose Saucers Are They?''; Steamshovel Press #5 (1992) * ''Virtually Reality'' (Column); Steamshovel Press #7 (1993) * ''Virtually Reality'' (Column); Steamshovel Press #9 (1993) * ''Virtually Reality'' (Column); Steamshovel Press #10 (1994) * ''Virtually Reality: Oklahoma City, Turn Right'' (Column); Steamshovel Press #14 (1995)
''UFOs at the Edge of Reality'' (1995 lecture); Paranoia Magazine (2016)
* ''The Octopus: Wild Rumors'' (Book Excerpt); Steamshovel Press #15 (1996)
''Princess Diana Was Pregnant: Fayed's Physician Examined Her''; Nitro News (1999)

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/19991013062023/http://nitronews.com/keith.html ''Take $250 and an Implant: Company Foreshadows Future''; Nitro News (1999)
''Evidence of Device on Plane: Kennedy was Treading on Israeli Ground''; Nitro News (1999)

References

External links

* ttps://valsfa.com/valhalla/earlyday.htm ''The First Days'', personal note from Jim Schumacher (1999)
''Burning Down the House'', personal note from Dwain Kaiser (2000)
* ''Jim Keith, Burning Man and Wounded Knee'', by Adam Gorightly in Steamshovel Press #18 (2000) * ''Dimly Visible Through a Fog of Evasions: In Memory of a Friend'', by Wayne Henderson in Steamshovel Press #17 (2000)
Comments from friends and fans
* A collection of audio and video interviews from 1996 to 2000, including appearances with Art Bell and Jeff Rense {{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Jim American conspiracy theorists 1949 births 1999 deaths American writers