


“When [Paris Hilton] began extolling the apparently infinite perfection of her flawless no-tan-lines body, it was all I could do not to turn the proton blaster upon myself. Just as she began to describe her daily beauty routine, I opened the vacu-door and shoved her out,” explains Vortox, a visitor from the planet Runyon, in “The Weekly World News’ ” Aug. 2, 2002 report on the rejection of Paris Hilton by alien body snatchers.
The full details of this story, along with 25 years worth of other paranormal and bizarre reportings, are now available in the newly released “Batboy Lives,” a compilation of the most extraordinary headlines ever to grace the pages of the “Weekly World News.” The “WWN” is a newspaper that, as “Batboy Lives” author, David Perel, puts it, reports the stories that are “simply too scandalous, too risque, or too dangerous for so-called reputable news sources to print.” And now, thanks to “Batboy Lives,” there is no need to secretly read these “risque” stories in the checkout line at the supermarket, squinting from afar and attempting to look disinterested.
“Batboy Lives” gives both the conspiracy-theorist and the skeptic a chance to revel in historical UFO sightings, government cover-ups and supernatural happenings. Whether you believe these stories, or simply like to mock the people that do believe them, their wild popularity is indicative of their value as cultural commentary. For example, the “WWN” insider scoop on heaven is that you can “eat all you want