‘Chariots of the Gods’ author Erich von Däniken dies at 90

BERLIN– Erich von Däniken, the Swiss author whose bestselling books on the extraterrestrial origins of ancient civilizations earned him fame among paranormal enthusiasts and scorn in the scientific community, has died. He was 90 years old.

Von Däniken’s representatives announced on his website on Sunday that he had died the day before in a hospital in central Switzerland. His daughter Cornelia confirmed the information to the Swiss press agency SDA.

Von Däniken came to prominence in 1968 with the publication of his first book “Chariots of the Gods,” in which he claimed that the Mayans and ancient Egyptians were visited by extraterrestrial astronauts and trained in advanced technologies that allowed them to build giant pyramids.

This book sparked a growing interest in unexplained phenomena at a time when, thanks to conventional science, man was on the verge of taking his first steps on the Moon.

“Chariots of the Gods” was followed by more than two dozen similar books that sold 60 million copies in 32 languages, giving rise to a literary niche in which reality and fantasy mixed against all historical and scientific evidence.

While von Däniken managed to ignore his many criticisms, the former hotel waiter had a difficult relationship with money throughout his life and often came close to financial ruin.

Born in 1935, the son of a clothing manufacturer in Schaffhausen, northern Switzerland, von Däniken is said to have rebelled against his father’s strict Catholicism and the priests who instructed him at boarding school by developing his own alternatives to the biblical story of the origins of life.

After leaving school in 1954, von Däniken worked as a waiter and bartender for several years, during which he was repeatedly accused of fraud and served a few short stints in prison.

In 1964, he was appointed manager of a hotel in the exclusive resort of Davos and began writing his first book. Its publication and rapid commercial success were quickly followed by accusations of tax evasion and financial irregularities, for which he again spent time behind bars.

By the time he left prison, “Chariots of the Gods” was earning von Däniken a fortune and a second book “Gods of Outer Space” was ready for publication, allowing him to devote himself to his paranormal passion and travel the world in search of new mysteries to discover.

Throughout the 1970s, von Däniken undertook countless field trips to Egypt, India and especially Latin America, whose ancient cultures held a particular fascination for the amateur archaeologist.

He gave numerous lectures and established societies dedicated to promoting his theories, before pioneering the use of video and multimedia to reach an ever-widening audience hungry for a different telling of history.

No amount of criticism has dissuaded him and his fans from believing that Earth has been visited many times by beings from outer space and will be visited again in the future.

In 1991, von Däniken received the damning distinction of being the first recipient of the “Ig Nobel” Prize in Literature – for raising public awareness of science through dubious experiments or claims.

Even when confronted with fabricated evidence in a British television documentary – supposedly ancient pots turning out to be almost new – von Däniken insisted that, aside from minor discrepancies, his theories were fundamentally sound.

In 1985, von Däniken wrote “Neue Erinnerungen an die Zukunft” – “New Memories of the Future” – apparently to address his many critics: “I have admitted (my errors), but none of the foundations of my theories have yet been destroyed. »

Although his popularity declined in the English-speaking world in the 1980s, von Däniken’s books and films influenced a wave of semi-serious archaeological documentaries and many popular television shows, including “The X-Files,” which featured two FBI agents tasked with solving paranormal mysteries.

His last major venture, a theme park based on his books, failed after only a few years due to a lack of interest. The “Mystery Park” still exists, its artificial pyramids and otherworldly domes rotting away as tourists prefer to explore the charms of nearby Interlaken and the towering Swiss Alps that surround it.

Erich von Däniken is survived by his wife of 65 years, Elisabeth Skaja, Cornelia and two grandchildren.