Somewhat bafflingly, the first night I meet the Women Who Know they are all dressed in a mix of scarlet sequins, strappy sandals and reading glasses. No natty metallic headgear, at least. Paola explains that this opening night Lady In Red event is all about visual impact. I didn’t get the memo though, so am sporting a green maxi dress. “I hope I don’t alienate anyone,” I say. Paola doesn’t laugh.

I’m escorted around the room as she explains her reasons for keeping this event female-focused. “Male UFO conventions are like carnivals – the biggest speakers act like rock stars. Here’s someone you should meet – he’s A-list in the UFO world.” She introduces me to Stan, who is wearing a beige suit and brown shoes.

“Stan is the world’s best-documented repeat abduction victim,” she explains.

I can’t help but notice that Stan is a man. I subtly draw this to Paola’s attention by pointing at him and shouting, “But Stan’s a man!”

“It’s actually Stan’s wife, Lisa, who’s here to read extracts from her new book, Extraterrestrial Contact: A Spouse’s Point Of View.”

“How do you document an alien abduction?” I ask Stan. He whips out his book, Answers, and shows me a blurry photo of a dark living room with a little alien head poking round the door. “This was taken in our house – we call him Grandpa Grey.”

“An alien lives in your house?”

“Of course not!” scoffs Stan. “He just comes to visit.”

Stan produces his iPhone. “This is a video of the alien listening device we found in our hallway last month,” he says. Lisa nods again, sagely. I squint at the tiny, flashing object on the screen. “I can show you a photo of my implant later too, if you like.”

My inner Scully chuckles wryly as I decline this kind offer. The score so far: Scepticism 1 – Aliens 0. I wonder if even Lisa truly buys it. But then Stan does conform to my upsidedown-colander-hat-wearing male UFO fans prejudice. The isn’t the feminine intuition I’m here for.

A tiny blonde with a Manchester accent has been eavesdropping. “You’re the British journalist!” she exclaims. I sneak a glance at my programme – this is British expat Tracie Austin, author and presenter of TV show Let’s Talk Paranormal. “I’ve interviewed hundreds of people about their abductions for my new book, Alien Encounters In The Western United States. There’s a whole family of abductees in Houston. The aliens still try to talk to them telepathically, but they’ve invented special hats to stop them,” Tracie says.

“Can I have their contact details? I’d like to know what their special hats are made of,” I ask.

“I‘ve lost their email address. And I’m not sure they live there anymore. Plus, people don’t like being identified – it’s the stigma, you know. The world thinks they’re mad.”

“Do you think they’re mad? Because they sound a bit mad.”

“Of course not,” she says. “I saw my first UFO back in 1987, in London – a flashing, spinning cone-shape. It changed my life. I turned my back on music, and made the paranormal my life’s work. I’m working as a timeshare saleswoman at the minute, based in Las Vegas, but once my show is back on air, I’ll give that up to concentrate on my TV career.”

“You said your first sighting – so there have been more?”

“All the time. I’ve been abducted once too, maybe twice. I’ve probably got an implant, right here,” Tracie points to the top of her head. She describes her abductors – ETs straight out of central casting. “They have grey-green skin, upside-down teardrop-shaped heads, almond eyes and three spindly fingers. Sometimes four. Occasionally, five,” she says. “They’re what we call Greys.” She shows me a drawing of one on her iPhone.“They floated me up through the ceiling, onto their craft. They laid me on a table and examined me, but didn’t hurt me,” she explains. Tracie wells up as she describes her emotional parting with the Alien In Charge. “He looked me deep in the eyes, and did this...” Tracie draws a heart in the air and sighs.

Is Anybody Out There?