Whitley Strieber's Communion
Horror novelist Whitley Strieber woke to find grey beings in his cabin. Under hypnosis, he recalled lifelong contact with 'visitors.' His book Communion sold millions. The cover image became the iconic grey alien face.
On the night after Christmas 1985, horror novelist Whitley Strieber experienced something that would change his life and transform public perception of alien encounters. His account, published as the book Communion in 1987, introduced millions of readers to the concept of alien abduction and burned the image of the gray alien into popular consciousness.
The Writer Before the Experience
Whitley Strieber was already an established author before his encounter. He had written several successful horror novels, including The Wolfen and The Hunger, both of which were adapted into films. His work demonstrated skill in creating atmospheric dread and exploring the boundaries between human and other.
Strieber lived in New York City but maintained a cabin in upstate New York as a writing retreat. The isolated property in a rural area near the Catskill Mountains provided the solitude he needed for creative work. He had used the cabin for years without incident, a peaceful refuge from the demands of literary life.
Nothing in Strieber’s background suggested involvement with UFO phenomena. He was not a believer or researcher in the field. His horror fiction drew on werewolves, vampires, and other classic monsters rather than extraterrestrials. When the events of December 1985 occurred, they came entirely without preparation or expectation.
The Night of December 26, 1985
Strieber, his wife Anne, and their son were spending the holiday at the cabin. On the night of December 26, Strieber woke suddenly with a sense that something was wrong. His recollection of what followed was fragmented and disturbing.
He recalled seeing a figure in the bedroom, small with a large head and enormous dark eyes. More figures seemed to be present. Strieber experienced paralysis, unable to move or cry out. He had the sense of being taken from the cabin, though his memories of where he went remained confused and dreamlike.
At some point, he found himself in a different environment, surrounded by beings he would later call the Visitors. They performed some kind of examination on him, procedures he recalled as deeply intrusive and terrifying. Throughout the experience, Strieber felt simultaneously violated and strangely cared for, as if the beings, despite their frightening appearance, meant him no harm.
He woke in his bed with no physical evidence of the experience but with memories he could not dismiss. In the following days and weeks, anxiety and confusion plagued him. He began experiencing flashbacks, strange dreams, and a persistent sense that something profound had happened.
Seeking Answers Through Hypnosis
Unable to reconcile his fragmentary memories with his understanding of reality, Strieber sought help from medical and psychological professionals. After ruling out conventional explanations such as temporal lobe epilepsy or psychiatric illness, he underwent hypnotic regression therapy with experienced practitioners.
Under hypnosis, a more complete narrative emerged. Strieber recalled details of the December 26 experience that his conscious mind had blocked. More disturbingly, he recovered memories suggesting that the encounter was not isolated. Similar experiences appeared to have occurred throughout his life, extending back to childhood.
The hypnotic sessions revealed a pattern of contact spanning decades. Strieber recalled encounters at various ages, often following similar patterns: nighttime visitation, paralysis, examination by small beings with large eyes, and subsequent memory loss. What he had dismissed as childhood nightmares or strange dreams took on new significance as potential evidence of repeated contact.
The beings themselves came into clearer focus through the hypnotic exploration. Strieber described them as small in stature with thin bodies, gray skin, and disproportionately large heads dominated by enormous black eyes that seemed to convey both intelligence and emotional depth. Their communication appeared telepathic rather than verbal.
The Book and Its Impact
Strieber decided to write about his experiences despite the professional risk. A horror novelist claiming alien contact invited ridicule, and his publishers were uncertain how readers would respond. Nevertheless, Communion: A True Story was published in February 1987 by William Morrow and Company.
The response exceeded all expectations. Communion became an immediate bestseller, eventually selling millions of copies worldwide. The book resonated with readers who had experienced similar phenomena or who simply found the account compelling. Strieber’s skill as a writer made the narrative accessible even to skeptics.
The cover image, painted by Ted Seth Jacobs based on Strieber’s descriptions, became iconic. The alien face with its large almond-shaped black eyes, small nose and mouth, and gray skin defined the public image of extraterrestrial visitors for a generation. The cover became recognizable worldwide, appearing in parodies, references, and discussions of alien phenomena.
More significantly, Communion prompted thousands of people to come forward with their own accounts of similar experiences. Strieber received enormous quantities of mail from readers reporting abduction experiences, many of which echoed elements of his account. The book created a community of self-identified experiencers and sparked serious research into the abduction phenomenon.
The Visitors: Strieber’s Description
Strieber’s characterization of the beings he encountered departed from previous alien narratives in significant ways. He called them Visitors rather than aliens, avoiding assumptions about their origin or nature. He portrayed them as profoundly strange yet somehow familiar, terrifying yet not entirely malevolent.
The beings appeared in several forms. The most common were small humanoids with gray skin and enormous black eyes that Strieber described as reflective of profound intelligence and perhaps ancient wisdom. He also encountered taller beings with different characteristics and smaller entities that seemed mechanical or robotic.
Their technology appeared advanced beyond human understanding, yet Strieber experienced their procedures as somewhat crude in execution. The examinations were physically intrusive and emotionally overwhelming. Yet through it all, he sensed a relationship that extended beyond simple study, as if the Visitors had purposes he could not comprehend but that were somehow connected to human spiritual development.
Controversy and Criticism
Communion generated fierce debate that continues decades later. Skeptics proposed various explanations: sleep paralysis, vivid dreams, false memories created through hypnosis, or simple fabrication to sell books. Strieber’s background as a horror writer invited suspicion that he was crafting an elaborate fiction.
Supporters pointed to the consistency of abduction accounts across unconnected witnesses, the physical effects reported by some experiencers, and the psychological profiles of abductees, which typically did not suggest psychopathology. The sheer number of people reporting similar experiences argued against individual delusion.
Strieber himself remained uncertain about the ultimate nature of his experiences. He acknowledged that hypnotically recovered memories were fallible and that psychological explanations could not be entirely ruled out. At the same time, he maintained that something real had happened to him, whatever its ultimate explanation might be.
Continuing Work and Legacy
Strieber continued exploring the phenomenon through numerous subsequent books, including Transformation, Breakthrough, and The Secret School. He remained a prominent figure in UFO and paranormal communities, hosting podcasts and maintaining contact with researchers and experiencers.
His influence on popular culture proved permanent. The gray alien image he popularized became standard in films, television, and other media. The narrative structure of abduction experience he articulated, from bedroom visitation through paralysis and examination to fragmented memory, became the template for countless subsequent accounts.
Whether Whitley Strieber contacted beings from another world, accessed deep psychological experiences through altered states, or crafted an elaborate modern myth remains debated. What cannot be disputed is that Communion changed how humanity thinks about the possibility of non-human contact and gave form to fears and hopes that continue to shape our culture.
Sources
- Wikipedia search: “Whitley Strieber”
- CIA UFO/UAP Reading Room — Declassified CIA documents on UAP