In this article I wish to draw attention to a strange property of the tryptamine psychedelics, especially N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which sets them apart from other psychedelics, namely, their ability to place users in touch with a realm that is apparently inhabited by discarnate entities of an intelligent nature. The investigation of such a possibility clearly takes us to (and perhaps beyond) the border of what is considered scientifically acceptable. Nevertheless, the phenomenon of apparent alien contact is so impressive to those who have experienced it, and the implications of such contact are so radical, that the evidence deserves serious investigation. First published 1992 in Thomas Lyttle (ed.): Psychedelic Monographs and Essays, Volume 6. Slightly revised 1997-07-25.