George P. Hansen is an author and theorist known for applying the “trickster” concept to UFOs and paranormal phenomena, arguing that the phenomenon’s defining trait is boundary disruption—social, psychological, and epistemic. In ufology, Hansen is frequently cited in high-strangeness circles that interpret the persistence of absurdity, contradiction, and ambiguity as intrinsic rather than incidental.

Hansen’s work draws on social theory, anthropology, and the study of taboo, positioning UFO discourse as a cultural boundary zone where scientific norms, religious impulses, and narrative contagion interact. His orientation favors meta-explanation: how the phenomenon behaves in society, rather than what it “is” in a purely physical sense.

Hansen’s ufology career is primarily theoretical and synthetic. He maps parallels across UFOs, poltergeists, psychic phenomena, and folklore, arguing that these categories may share a structural logic that undermines stable interpretation and produces recurring cycles of belief, debunking, and renewed mystery.

In early work, Hansen developed the conceptual apparatus that later became identified with his name: the idea that anomalous phenomena systematically evade institutional capture and destabilize conventional categories.

His prominence grew as high-strangeness ufology expanded and as audiences sought frameworks that explain why UFO evidence often seems simultaneously compelling and inconclusive. Hansen became a key reference point for “the phenomenon is slippery by nature” arguments.

In later work, Hansen’s ideas continued circulating in podcasts, books, and online discussion spaces focused on consciousness, liminality, and trickster dynamics. He remains influential in interpretive camps that resist reduction to either pure misidentification or pure extraterrestrial technology.

• Trickster model: Provided a durable interpretive vocabulary for ambiguity, absurdity, and contradiction.
• Cross-phenomena synthesis: Linked ufology to broader paranormal and folkloric patterns.
• Institutional critique: Emphasized taboo, stigma, and boundary policing as central dynamics.

Hansen is not defined by a single case; his “cases” are patterns across many reports and traditions. He is frequently referenced when discussing why seemingly strong UFO episodes later fragment into contradictory accounts.

He generally treats the phenomenon as an agent-like or system-like process that manipulates meaning and social boundaries. Whether interpreted literally or metaphorically, the “trickster” framing emphasizes that the phenomenon produces disruption, ambiguity, and interpretive instability.

Critics argue that trickster framing can become an all-explaining narrative that is difficult to test. Supporters argue that the model is valuable precisely because it addresses long-standing ufological frustrations: the persistence of anomalies alongside chronic evidentiary ambiguity.

Hansen is heavily cited in high-strangeness podcasts, books, and meta-ufology debates. His work influences how many modern audiences interpret the phenomenon’s behavior—less as a set of objects and more as a complex interaction with observers and institutions.

Hansen’s legacy is conceptual: he helped normalize the view that UFO phenomena may be fundamentally liminal and that social dynamics are part of the “data,” not just noise.