The Nine: The CIA's Classified Search for Egypt's Ancient Deities

Summary

The video examines claims that a group called “the Nine” has contacted humans across different eras and may be connected to Cold War parapsychology research, ancient Egyptian religion, and Islamic folklore. It presents these links as intriguing but unverified: the accounts may describe a real nonhuman intelligence, or they may reflect cultural ideas, memory, deception, or human interpretation.

Reported encounters and Puharich’s research

The documentary opens with Dr. Andrija Puharich, a researcher who said he had investigated paranormal phenomena for government-connected organizations. He later claimed that the CIA had tried to suppress his research and that he feared for his safety.

The video describes several reports of people encountering nine beings during near-death or other unusual experiences:

• Natalie Sudman, after an IED struck her vehicle in Iraq in 2007, said she encountered nine beings she interpreted as friendly guardians.
• Tina Angelie, after a 2012 car accident in Connecticut, described nine faceless figures around a table.
• A woman identified as JKS reported encountering nine figures during a serious illness and medical procedure in 1969. She described a life review and asked to return to raise her son.

The video traces Puharich’s account of a 1952 séance in Maine with Indian scholar D. G. Vinod. Puharich said Vinod entered a trance and spoke as “M,” representing nine “principles and forces” that worked together and influenced existence.

It also recounts a 1956 meeting in Mexico, where former missionaries Charles and Lillian Lawhead reportedly told Puharich that a young medium had been communicating with an entity called “M.” Puharich took this as a connection to the earlier séance.

Uri Geller, the phone call, and disputed interpretations

Puharich came to regard Israeli performer Uri Geller as a possible human channel for the Nine. The video notes that Geller had previously promoted a fabricated tabloid romance with actress Sophia Loren, which skeptics cite as a reason to question his credibility.

Puharich recounted a 1971 incident in Tel Aviv: a caller identifying herself as Yafa allegedly spoke in Hebrew with Geller’s friend Sarah Bersak. Puharich and another witness, Ila, reportedly remembered the call, while Geller and Bersak later said they did not.

Puharich interpreted the conflicting memories as possible evidence that the Nine had intervened. The video also presents a skeptical explanation: the call may have been staged, consistent with Geller’s earlier publicity stunts.

Geller later took part in testing at Stanford Research Institute (SRI). The video says a subsequently declassified SRI report judged his performance convincing, while emphasizing that skeptics continue to dispute his abilities.

The documentary links the story to John Keel’s “ultraterrestrial” hypothesis: that apparently different phenomena—such as UFOs, apparitions, and other anomalous experiences—might be expressions of a single intelligence able to shape perception or memory.

It also mentions a speculative model by neuroscientist Sultan Tarlatcha involving distant intelligences or future humans observing people across time. Combined with simulation theory, this raises the possibility that apparent “glitches” or altered memories could be part of an experiment. The video presents this as speculation, not established evidence.

Historical parallels

The video compares Puharich’s Nine with an account recorded in 18th-century Morocco. Ahmed bin Mubarak recorded teachings attributed to the Sufi scholar Abdul Aziz al-Dabbagh, describing a hidden spiritual assembly that governs worldly affairs.

Its senior structure includes a leader, seven “pivots,” and a spokesperson—nine central offices—within a much larger assembly said to include living and deceased people, angels, and jinn. The video notes that this account is outside mainstream Islamic doctrine and characterizes it as folk religious belief.

The video then connects the Nine to the Great Ennead of Heliopolis, an ancient Egyptian group of nine deities:

• Atum, the creator figure
• Shu and Tefnut
• Nut and Geb
• Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys

In a 1974 contact session involving Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, the Nine’s spokesperson reportedly identified himself as Atum. If accepted, the claim would link Puharich’s contact group to ancient Egyptian deities; the documentary does not establish that this identification is true.

Puharich, government interest, and historical cautionary cases

Puharich believed the Nine were powerful, but he also feared that government agencies might pose a danger. The video recounts a 1978 fire at his home in New York. Puharich suspected an attack connected to his research; his son later remained skeptical, saying his father had become highly paranoid.

The video notes that Geller and other people in Puharich’s circle did attract government scrutiny, while questioning whether that proves the CIA had contacted or controlled the Nine.

A further historical comparison comes from Ibn Taymiyyah, a 14th-century Muslim theologian. He reportedly described an apparent double of himself helping people in Turkey while he was imprisoned in Egypt. Ibn Taymiyyah thought the figure could have been a jinn imitating him; he rejected the suggestion that it was an angel because it falsely claimed his identity.

The documentary uses this account to suggest that, in some religious interpretations, nonhuman beings might help people while also deceiving them. It does not claim that Ibn Taymiyyah’s account identifies the Nine.

Overall conclusion

The video offers several possible interpretations of the Nine: extraterrestrials, jinn, demons, ancient deities, a hidden spiritual hierarchy, or a recurring human story about unseen powers that guide or govern the world. Folklorist Daniel Wojcik’s work is cited to suggest that Cold War contact stories often combined older religious motifs with the era’s language of science and space travel.

Its central caution is that even if something unusual occurred, claims about the beings’ identity, motives, and benevolence come largely from the contact accounts themselves. Contact would not, by itself, establish trustworthiness or prove the beings’ claims.

Speakers and sources featured or cited

• Documentary narrator — the main voice throughout.
• Andrija Puharich — quoted in an interview excerpt and discussed through his writings and research.
• Natalie Sudman — cited for her Iraq near-death experience.
• Tina Angelie — cited for her reported encounter after a car accident.
• JKS — an unidentified woman cited for her reported experience during illness and a medical procedure.
• D. G. Vinod — cited in Puharich’s account of the 1952 séance.
• Charles and Lillian Lawhead — cited in the account of the 1956 Mexico meeting.
• Uri Geller — discussed in relation to Puharich, the alleged phone call, and SRI testing.
• Sarah Bersak and Ila — named as witnesses to the alleged 1971 phone call.
• John Keel — cited for the ultraterrestrial hypothesis.
• Sultan Tarlatcha — cited for a speculative model involving observation across time.
• Ahmed bin Mubarak and Abdul Aziz al-Dabbagh — cited in connection with the Moroccan Sufi account.
• Gene Roddenberry — identified as a participant in a 1974 contact session.
• Ibn Taymiyyah — cited for the account of an apparent double attributed to a jinn.
• Daniel Wojcik — cited for an academic interpretation of early UFO and contact narratives.
• Stanford Research Institute (SRI) — represented through a research-film excerpt and a report described by the narrator.
• CIA and U.S. Department of Defense records — referred to as archival sources for government interest in parapsychological research.
• University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies — mentioned in connection with research into Sudman’s experience.
• Puharich’s son Andy and filmmaker Greg Malozi — cited regarding the 1978 house fire and later doubts about Puharich’s interpretation.