Reptilians (also calledarchons,[1]reptoids,[2]reptiloids,saurians,draconians,[3][4][5] orlizard people[6]) are supposedreptilian humanoids, which play a prominent role infantasy,science fiction,ufology, andconspiracy theories.[7][8] The idea of reptilians was popularised byDavid Icke, a conspiracy theorist who claimsshapeshifting reptilian aliens controlEarth by taking on human form and gaining political power to manipulate human societies. Icke has stated on multiple occasions that many world leaders were, or are possessed by, so-called reptilians.
Some conspiracy theorists espousing theextraterrestrial hypothesis claim they either come from theDraco constellation or theOrion constellation or are allies with nefarious extraterrestrials from the Orion constellation.
Others claim they areinterdimensional, coming from anotheruniverse ordimension.
Michael Barkun, professor of political science atSyracuse University, posits that the idea of a reptilian conspiracy originated in the fiction ofConan the Barbarian creatorRobert E. Howard, in his story "The Shadow Kingdom" (1929).[9] This story drew ontheosophical ideas of the "lost worlds" ofAtlantis andLemuria, particularlyHelena Blavatsky'sThe Secret Doctrine (1888), with its reference to"'dragon-men' who once had a mighty civilization on a Lemurian continent".[10][11]
Howard's "serpent men" were described as humanoids (with human bodies and snake heads) who were able to imitate humans at will, and who lived in underground passages and used their shapechanging and mind-control abilities to infiltrate humanity.[9]Clark Ashton Smith used Howard's "serpent men" in his stories, as well as themes fromH. P. Lovecraft, and he, Howard and Lovecraft together laid the basis for theCthulhu Mythos.[12]
In the 1940s, AmericanoccultistMaurice Doreal (also known as Claude Doggins)[13] wrote a pamphlet entitled "Mysteries of the Gobi" that described a "serpent race" with "bodies like man but...heads...like a great snake" and an ability to take human form.[14] These creatures also appeared in Doreal's poem "The Emerald Tablets", in which he referred to Emerald Tablets written by "Thoth, an Atlantean Priest king". Barkun asserts that "in all likelihood", Doreal's ideas came from "The Shadow Kingdom", and that in turn, "The Emerald Tablets" formed the basis forDavid Icke's book,Children of the Matrix (2001).[15]
Historian Edward Guimont has argued that the reptilian conspiracy theory, particularly as expounded by Icke, drew from earlierpseudohistorical legends developed during thecolonisation of Africa, particularly surroundingGreat Zimbabwe and themokele-mbembe.[16]
Alien abduction narratives sometimes allege contact with reptilian creatures.[17] One of the earliest reports was that ofAshland, Nebraska police officer Herbert Schirmer, who under hypnosis recalled being taken aboard aUFO in 1967 by humanoid beings with a slightly reptilian appearance, who wore a "winged serpent" emblem on the left side of their chests.[18][19] Skeptics consider his claims to be ahoax.[20]
According to British conspiracy theorist David Icke, who first published on this theme in his 1999 workThe Biggest Secret, tall, blood-drinking,shape-shifting reptilian humanoids from theAlpha Draconis star system, now hiding in underground bases, are the force behind a worldwideconspiracy against humanity.[21] He contends that most of the world's ancient and modern leaders are related to these reptilians, including theMerovingian dynasty, theRothschilds, theBush family and theBritish Royal family.[22] Icke's conspiracy theories now have supporters in up to 47 countries and he has given lectures to crowds of up to 6,000 people.[23][24]
American writer Vicki Santillano included Icke's conspiracy theory in her list of the 10 most popular conspiracy theories.[25] A poll of Americans in 2013 byPublic Policy Polling indicated that 4% of registered voters (±2.8%) believed in David Icke's ideas.[26]
On September 12, 2003, during theprovincial election campaign inOntario,Canada, theErnie Eves campaign issued a news release that called opponentDalton McGuinty an "evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet".[27] The words appeared at the end of the news release. Eves said the epithet was meant as a joke, and acknowledged the words were "over the top", but refused to apologize.[27]
In the closely-fought2008 U.S. Senate election inMinnesota between comedian and commentatorAl Franken and incumbent SenatorNorm Coleman, one of the ballots challenged by Coleman included a vote for Franken with "Lizard People" written in the space provided for write-in candidates.[28] Lucas Davenport, who later claimed to have written the gag ballot, said, "I don't know if you've heard the conspiracy theory about the Lizard Men; a friend of mine, we didn't like the candidates, so we were at first going to write in 'revolution', because we thought that was good and to the point. And then, we thought 'the Lizard People' would be even funnier."[29] Franken won the election after recount.
In February 2011, on theOpie and Anthony radio show, the comedianLouis C.K. jokingly asked formerU.S. Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld a number of times if he andDick Cheney were lizard people who enjoyed the taste of human flesh. Amused by Rumsfeld's refusal to directly answer the question, C.K. suggested it was a possible admission of guilt. He went on to further muse that perhaps those who are lizard people cannot lie about it; when asked if they are lizards, they either have to avoid answering the question or say yes.[30]
On March 4, 2013, a video depicting a security agent with unusual features guarding a speech by U.S. PresidentBarack Obama was spotlighted in aWired report about shapeshifting reptilian humanoids. This led to a tongue-in-cheek response from chiefNational Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden who said "any alleged program to guard the president with aliens or robots would likely have to be scaled back or eliminated inthe sequester".[31]
In October 2022,Dutch MPThierry Baudet, head of the far-rightForum for Democracy, said in an interview with the "Geopolitics and Empire" podcast that he believes that the world is "being governed by evil reptiles."[32]
Some adherents of theQAnon conspiracy theory have also borrowed from the reptilian conspiracy theory,[33] including elements shared inanti-Semitic conspiracy theories.[34]
Doreal's 'translation' of the tablets was used extensively by David Icke in his book on the reptilians,Children of the Matrix...Although Doreal and the others spoke of the serpent race as a confirmable historic reality, the idea almost certainly came from pulp fiction...In all likelihood, the notion of a shape-changing serpent race first came from the imagination of an obscure pulp fiction author, Robert E. Howard.
