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Jim Keith
open-in-new
<h2 id="early-life">Early life</h2> <p>Jim Keith was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He became interested in <a href="/facts/Unidentified_flying_object/EcXogHdh">UFOs</a> and the <a href="/facts/Occult/G59eqens">occult</a> from age 7, writing short stories and articles at age 10. Growing up, the 6’4” self-described radical <a href="/facts/Libertarianism/IWNllND8">libertarian</a> considered himself a member of the 1960s <a href="/facts/Counterculture_of_the_1960s/BjyVc83W">counterculture</a>. After avoiding the <a href="/facts/Vietnam_War/W0gfbGTE">Vietnam War</a> draft as a <a href="/facts/Conscientious_objector/ovN3dAja">conscientious objector</a>, he left <a href="/facts/Haight-Ashbury/dUTQ4zFn">Haight-Ashbury</a> and hitchhiked to <a href="/facts/Klamath_Falls,_Oregon/Rsgu9Gnp">Klamath Falls</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="writing">Writing</h2> <p>Moving to <a href="/facts/Reno,_Nevada/Vvwy80oF">Reno</a> with his parents in 1980, Keith gained custody of his two daughters and <a href="/facts/Homeschooling/AHETe1Uo">home-schooled</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Gemstone_File/c7ENYR53">The Gemstone File</a>, written in three months and accepted by IllumiNet Press with a $250 advance. One week later, his work <i>Secret and Suppressed</i> was accepted by <a href="/facts/Feral_House/jGSEJnjM">Feral House</a> with a $500 advance.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p><p>Keith was also a member of the writing collective called Commander X, covering subjects such as <a href="/facts/Free_energy_suppression_conspiracy_theory/nktr6ocn">free energy</a>, the <a href="/facts/Philadelphia_Experiment/V44HzceD">Philadelphia Experiment</a> and <a href="/facts/UFO_conspiracy_theories/qcLF5lVe">alien conspiracies</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="death-and-controversy">Death and controversy</h2> <p>On September 6, 1999, Keith injured his leg after stepping off a three-foot stage at the <a href="/facts/Burning_Man/bfvsJGbR">Burning Man</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p>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 <a href="/facts/Diana,_Princess_of_Wales/nNq36PRL">Princess Diana</a> was pregnant at the time of her death.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="publications">Publications</h2> <h3>Books</h3> <ul><li><i>Gemstone File</i> (1992). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0962653454.</li> <li><i>Secret and Suppressed: Banned Ideas and Hidden History</i>. Venice, Calif.: Feral House (1993). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0922915148.</li> <li><i>Black Helicopters over America: Strikeforce for the New World Order</i> (1994). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1881532057.</li> <li><i>Casebook on Alternative 3: UFOs, Secret Societies and World Control</i> (1994). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0962653497.</li> <li><i>Saucers of the Illuminati</i>, published under pseudonym Jay Katz (1995). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 193188224X.</li> <li><i>The Octopus: Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro</i>, with Kenn Thomas (1996). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0922915393.</li> <li><i>Okbomb! Conspiracy and Cover-Up</i> (1996). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1881532089.</li> <li><i>Casebook on the Men in Black</i> (1997). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1881532119.</li> <li><i>Mind Control, World Control: The Encyclopedia of Mind Control</i>. Adventures Unlimited Press (1997). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0932813453.</li> <li><i>Black Helicopters II: The End Game Strategy</i> (1998). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1881532143.</li> <li><i>Biowarfare In America</i>. Lilburn, GA: Illuminet Press (1999). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1881532216.</li> <li><i>Mass Control: Engineering Human Consciousness</i> (2003). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1881532208.</li></ul> <h3>Articles</h3> <ul><li>A Gemstone Darkly; Steamshovel Press #4 (1992)</li> <li>Whose Saucers Are They?; Steamshovel Press #5 (1992)</li> <li>Virtually Reality (Column); Steamshovel Press #7 (1993)</li> <li>Virtually Reality (Column); Steamshovel Press #9 (1993)</li> <li>Virtually Reality (Column); Steamshovel Press #10 (1994)</li> <li>Virtually Reality: Oklahoma City, Turn Right (Column); Steamshovel Press #14 (1995)</li> <li><a href="https://www.paranoiamagazine.com/2016/05/ufos-edge-reality-lecture-jim-keith/"><i>UFOs at the Edge of Reality</i> (1995 lecture); Paranoia Magazine (2016)</a></li> <li>The Octopus: Wild Rumors (Book Excerpt); Steamshovel Press #15 (1996)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19991013062023/http://nitronews.com/keith.html"><i>Princess Diana Was Pregnant: Fayed's Physician Examined Her</i>; Nitro News (1999)</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19991013062023/http://nitronews.com/keith.html"><i>Subverting Sex: Sex Experiments of Alfred Kinse</i>y; Nitro News (1999)</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19991013062023/http://nitronews.com/keith.html"><i>Take $250 and an Implant: Company Foreshadows Future</i>; Nitro News (1999)</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19991013062023/http://nitronews.com/keith.html"><i>Evidence of Device on Plane: Kennedy was Treading on Israeli Ground</i>; Nitro News (1999)</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19991217113155/http://www.konformist.com/1999/icke-keith.htm"><i>The Biggest Secret: The Book that will Change the World</i>, by David Icke (book review); The Konformist (1999)</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://valsfa.com/valhalla/jpktarot.htm"><i>The Tarot Card Incident</i>, personal note from Larry Parr (1999)</a></li> <li><a href="https://valsfa.com/valhalla/earlyday.htm"><i>The First Days</i>, personal note from Jim Schumacher (1999)</a></li> <li><a href="https://valsfa.com/valhalla/jpkdk.htm"><i>Burning Down the House</i>, personal note from Dwain Kaiser (2000)</a></li> <li>Jim Keith, Burning Man and Wounded Knee, by Adam Gorightly in Steamshovel Press #18 (2000)</li> <li>Dimly Visible Through a Fog of Evasions: In Memory of a Friend, by Wayne Henderson in Steamshovel Press #17 (2000)</li> <li><a href="https://www.umsl.edu/~thomaskp/things10.htm">Comments from friends and fans</a></li> <li>A collection of audio and video interviews from 1996 to 2000, including appearances with Art Bell and Jeff Rense</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Sion, Mike (June 26, 1995). "Black copters no laughing matter to Reno-area writer". Reno Gazette-Journal. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved February 25, 2023. <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119728260/black-copters-no-laughing-matter-to-reno/" target="_blank">https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119728260/black-copters-no-laughing-matter-to-reno/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Sion, Mike (June 26, 1995). "Black copters no laughing matter to Reno-area writer". Reno Gazette-Journal. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved February 25, 2023. <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119728260/black-copters-no-laughing-matter-to-reno/" target="_blank">https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119728260/black-copters-no-laughing-matter-to-reno/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Sterling, Robert (September 1999). "Jim Keith 1949–1999". The Konformist. Archived from the original on October 12, 1999. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19991012053321/http://konformist.com/1999/jkeith.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/19991012053321/http://konformist.com/1999/jkeith.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Sterling, Robert (September 1999). "Jim Keith 1949–1999". The Konformist. Archived from the original on October 12, 1999. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19991012053321/http://konformist.com/1999/jkeith.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/19991012053321/http://konformist.com/1999/jkeith.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Damon, Anjeanette (September 28, 1999). "Rumors abound in death of conspiracy theorist". Reno Gazette-Journal. pp. 1B, 4B. <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112839412/rumors-abound-in-death-of-conspiracy/" target="_blank">https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112839412/rumors-abound-in-death-of-conspiracy/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>