Erich Von Däniken Invented ‘Ancient Aliens’, but He Still Prays Every Day

In the half-decade, since Erich von Däniken first published Chariots of the Gods? a lot has changed. His quasi-scientific theory that aliens helped guide some of the greatest achievements of ancient civilization has found a passionate audience around the world, thanks in part to the TV show he inspired, Ancient Aliens. One thing that hasn’t changed? Von Däniken still prays to God every day.

“I am a deep believer in God,” he tells Inverse. “’I’m one of these figures who prays every evening.”

Von Däniken is in Baltimore for AlienCon, a convention put on by The History Channel to celebrate the popular TV show (13 seasons and counting) with countless panels, meetups, and a costume contest party. Thousands of fans and believers from across the East coast are pouring into the Baltimore Convention Center. For von Däniken, it’s an affirmation that the path he set out on 50 years earlier was correct. How else do you explain the throngs of humanity packed into an underground amphitheater to hear him speak?

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