Nonfiction

Communion: A True Story

Communion: A True Story

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  • Create Date：2022-07-24 03:20:28
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Whitley Strieber
  • ISBN：B0B4F3NRCQ
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Summary

In the mid-80s， Whitley Strieber wrote Communion: A True Story， an account of his disturbing personal encounter with strange-looking nonhumans he called "The Visitors。" When published， the book became a bestseller， topping national nonfiction lists。 Its gripping story & vivid writing have made it a favorite source for science fiction writers & filmmakers。
Acknowledgments
Prelude: The Truth Behind the Curtain
The Invisible Forest: First Memories
Down the Cave of Mind: Hypnosis
The Color of the Dark: Insight
The Sky Beneath My Feet: A Journey Through My Past
Alliance of the Lost: Recollections of My Family
A Structure in the Air: Science， History & Secret Knowledge
Epilogue
Appendices

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Reviews

Nicole ，

This ended up being just ok for me。 I've heard people say its creepy， scared the crap out of them。。。I didn't feel that way。 But then none of this is ground breaking or new for me。。。it may have been back when it first came out。 I still thought it was interesting and it held my attention。。。it just wasn't surprising and doesn't really stand out for me。 This ended up being just ok for me。 I've heard people say its creepy， scared the crap out of them。。。I didn't feel that way。 But then none of this is ground breaking or new for me。。。it may have been back when it first came out。 I still thought it was interesting and it held my attention。。。it just wasn't surprising and doesn't really stand out for me。 。。。more

mono ，

omega - I should've know I'd like this considering I like the Illuminati， X-files， etc。 Strieber knows how to structure a story masterfully。 Two additional explanations I thought of were FBI drug interrogations， and solar flares。The bit about the future changing to a strange abstract mess is spot on， although to be fair most old people declare that about every new generation。 omega - I should've know I'd like this considering I like the Illuminati， X-files， etc。 Strieber knows how to structure a story masterfully。 Two additional explanations I thought of were FBI drug interrogations， and solar flares。The bit about the future changing to a strange abstract mess is spot on， although to be fair most old people declare that about every new generation。 。。。more

Luke J ，

80 percent chance it’s all made up。 19 percent chance he just went crazy。 1 percent chance it’s real。

Elizabeth ，

1

X ，

The book describes the author’s experiences of being abducted， assaulted and overall harassed by what appeared to being non-human intelligent beings。 Whitley Strieber began having garbled memories of being taken by these beings。 The thing he does well with the book is really give you a sense his overwhelming confusion about the entire situation。 Did it really happen？ Was it a dream？ A hallucination？ Misremembering something？ Then how does that reconcile to other memories of those times？ How does The book describes the author’s experiences of being abducted， assaulted and overall harassed by what appeared to being non-human intelligent beings。 Whitley Strieber began having garbled memories of being taken by these beings。 The thing he does well with the book is really give you a sense his overwhelming confusion about the entire situation。 Did it really happen？ Was it a dream？ A hallucination？ Misremembering something？ Then how does that reconcile to other memories of those times？ How does it reconcile with other people’s memories？ You get a real sense of his frustration at knowing something is wrong but not knowing what exactly or why。 The book focuses on a few interactions with the “Visitors” Whitley has and hypnosis session transcripts。 These are the most interesting parts of the book。 His memories become clearer， but still with large holes， about the interactions。 They take him to what appeared to be a ship， perform medical or sexual procedures on him， and then return him。 His family kind of knows something is wrong but feels like they’re being ordered to not interfere。 No real answers are given。 Who are they， what are they， why do they do this？ He then goes on a very wide speculation of what they might be: fairies， extraterrestrial explorers， inter-dimensional beings， demons， ghosts， psychological projections materialized… my favorite was the idea humans are essentially a pupae phase of life and when we die we turn into these beings。 This part of the books gets a little long winded and isn’t as interesting。 He also talks to people with similar experiences who have interpreted it differently。 Overall I found it compelling， especially the parts where there were third parties to corroborate part of his story。 The hypnosis transcripts really made you feel the vulnerability he and his wife were feeling。 The weirdness and vibe of it all made it feel more occult entities than interstellar explorers。 。。。more

Stephanie Sanders-Jacob ，

I don’t like giving star ratings to books about people’s supposed experiences， but if we’re looking at this as a piece of fiction， I’d give it three stars。 There were some really great insights and metaphors， but it felt bogged down by the transcriptions of conversations。 I’d rather just have it recounted to me in normal prose。 At times I felt it was a tedious book， and at other times it flowed and was truly interesting。 I was even scared at some points。 There are also some historical stories ab I don’t like giving star ratings to books about people’s supposed experiences， but if we’re looking at this as a piece of fiction， I’d give it three stars。 There were some really great insights and metaphors， but it felt bogged down by the transcriptions of conversations。 I’d rather just have it recounted to me in normal prose。 At times I felt it was a tedious book， and at other times it flowed and was truly interesting。 I was even scared at some points。 There are also some historical stories about alien encounters but nothing I hadn’t read in Jacques Vallée。 。。。more

Zach Meinerts ，

Despite the provocative “non-fiction” label， the events in this novel never happened。 I’m sure of it。 But I’d be lying if I said they didn’t spook me out。Too bad the book fell off hard at the end， with 70-odd pages of New Age gobblygook that I honestly just skimmed after a while。For that reason， I give “Communion” 3/5 stars （closer to a 2 than a 4）。

05450003081322 ，

"Thus， even if visitor experiences are an essentially mental phenomenon， to laugh at them or dismiss them as some known form of abnormal behavior when they obviously are not is in effect to be silent before the presence of the new。。。 Every time one decides either that is is psychological or real， one soon finds a theory that forcefully reopens the case in favor of the opposite notion。"Alien stuff is fun， and there's a reason so many people enjoy reading about it。 The feeling of almost being conv "Thus， even if visitor experiences are an essentially mental phenomenon， to laugh at them or dismiss them as some known form of abnormal behavior when they obviously are not is in effect to be silent before the presence of the new。。。 Every time one decides either that is is psychological or real， one soon finds a theory that forcefully reopens the case in favor of the opposite notion。"Alien stuff is fun， and there's a reason so many people enjoy reading about it。 The feeling of almost being convinced by a detail， then pulling back into skepticism。。。 This was a good， quick read without as much eye-rolling as I expected。 The author does an excellent job of ramping up the crazy slowly， and he allows ample space to explanations of terrestrial origin。 Feels a little dated， especially with the esoterica and cherry-picked world mythology stuff toward the back。 My stance？ I'm in favor of empathy， especially with people who have experienced traumas， and science isn't objective truth， but the search for it - so good science is always looking for the weird and new to test its theories against。 Abduction stories are great testing material， and for that they should be less stigmatized as a field of study so we can all figure out what the fuck is going on here。 All around， seems like a good place to start （and for me， end） with UFO literature。 。。。more

Granger ，

Not sure what to make of it。 Still remain skeptical regarding actual visitation， but I appreciated the thought exercise， and was struck by the idea of us being to the visitors like animals are to us， in terms of psychology， anxiety， and rights to ourselves versus being used by others。

Jimmy ，

I love reading so， of course， I enjoyed the book。 I don't know how to feel about it's contents， however。 I will say this: I hope the Strieber children are doing alright as adults。 I really really hope。 I love reading so， of course， I enjoyed the book。 I don't know how to feel about it's contents， however。 I will say this: I hope the Strieber children are doing alright as adults。 I really really hope。 。。。more

Jimmie Daniel ，

Very well written。 Of course， Mr。 Strieber is a novelist。 This is his own true story of alien abduction。 It is really creepy at times。

Pilge ，

Ludicrous

Jena ，

El autor narra su secuestro ocurrido en su cabaña campestre， el 4 de octubre de 1985， cuando varios humanoides rodean su cama y lo transportan a una sala de operaciones en donde toman muestras y operan。 Luego， lo abandonan en el bosque totalmente desnudo。 Como es costumbre en estos casos， los entes provocan en el secuestrado una amnesia total alrededor de los acontecimientos。 Tiene la sensación de que algo ocurrió， algo terrorífico que no recuerda。 Por esto， se somete a la hipnosis。 Lo interesan El autor narra su secuestro ocurrido en su cabaña campestre， el 4 de octubre de 1985， cuando varios humanoides rodean su cama y lo transportan a una sala de operaciones en donde toman muestras y operan。 Luego， lo abandonan en el bosque totalmente desnudo。 Como es costumbre en estos casos， los entes provocan en el secuestrado una amnesia total alrededor de los acontecimientos。 Tiene la sensación de que algo ocurrió， algo terrorífico que no recuerda。 Por esto， se somete a la hipnosis。 Lo interesante del libro es la conclusión a la que llega el autor （de risa loca）。 Piensa que las intenciones de los abductores no son del todo claras， pues no solamente quieren un intercambio superficial， lo que parecen buscar es algo muy profundo en la psique humana， en el alma， y no es otra cosa que una comunión。 Entonces， una se pregunta: ¿por qué toman muestras de semen， óvulos， sangre， tejido humano， realizan operaciones？ ¿Por qué， por qué， por qué？ En realidad， los abducidos son tomados como conejillos de indias， ¿no es cierto？ 。。。more

Kylene Henderson ，

I hadn’t thought about this book in years， but it recently came to mind。 I’ll be honest， I can’t remember any of the writing or details， but I can tell you I’ve never been more scared of a book in my life。 I legitimately couldn’t sleep。 Maybe I’ll have to give it another shot and see if it gives me the same vibe。

Rayne ，

a fun read indeed

SLW ，

I appreciate Strieber's hesitancy to say that these were "definitely aliens"， or that the experiences were "definitely psychological induced"。 That being said， the book is not well written。 The chapter Triad went on way too long and became tedious and boring。 It's worth the read as a whole if you're genuinely interested in the subject of possible encounters with unknown entities， other than that I wouldn't bother。 I appreciate Strieber's hesitancy to say that these were "definitely aliens"， or that the experiences were "definitely psychological induced"。 That being said， the book is not well written。 The chapter Triad went on way too long and became tedious and boring。 It's worth the read as a whole if you're genuinely interested in the subject of possible encounters with unknown entities， other than that I wouldn't bother。 。。。more

Joshua Byrd ，

There's something about owls and aliens。。。 There's something about owls and aliens。。。 。。。more

Riq Hoelle ，

Not a true story。

Ali ，

My actual rating falls between 3。5* and 3。75* - rounded up to balance out the people who decided that since they don't believe something like that could have happened， the book can only deserve 1*。Now， I'm not even trying to judge how much of the book was true。 For the entire reading process I've looked at it through the exact same lense as any "found footage" horror film。 Ended up liking it better than "Blair Witch Project"。 The mental state of the abduction victim is extremely well described。 My actual rating falls between 3。5* and 3。75* - rounded up to balance out the people who decided that since they don't believe something like that could have happened， the book can only deserve 1*。Now， I'm not even trying to judge how much of the book was true。 For the entire reading process I've looked at it through the exact same lense as any "found footage" horror film。 Ended up liking it better than "Blair Witch Project"。 The mental state of the abduction victim is extremely well described。 He's constantly jumping between: sheer terror， some twisted sort of love， the relief that some weirder part of his life make sense now， the fear for his family， and even the a weird but in the end understandable wish to experience another visit just to have a proof it was real。 It gets confusing at times， jumping back-and-forth in time definitely doesn't make it better， but does it sound more realistic that way？ Absolutely。 So I'm on fence whether or not it could have used some more editing to clear this out， or if that would make some more unbelievable fragments sound more dishonest。 Because， of course it gets unbelievable as soon as more memories get unlocked。 At this point it seemed like he wanted to blame his visitors for everything that had ever scared him throughout his childhood， and while I've never been to Texas， I'm pretty sure there are more disturbing things out there for a kid to see than possibly aliens。 At this point if the writing style felt any less confession-like， I'd have just laughed at him。 Instead， I've genuinely felt bad for the man whose brain had been messed up with so badly that he doesn't even hate his tormentors anymore。The conversation between the support group was just as touching， even though - or maybe rather: because - some of the members had trouble talking about their experiences， some didn't want to go back to those moments yet still felt the need to seek contact with someone else who'd been through something similar。The parts where he was pondering on the nature of these beings were really interesting， made it a good reading club material - there will be a lot food for discussion afterwards。 This could be a reason for me to try another one of the series， too。 Not too soon though， I need a break from this style。 。。。more

Aurora Dimitre ，

the epilogue was pretty good

bogna ，

could have been a blog post， ain't nobody got time for this could have been a blog post， ain't nobody got time for this 。。。more

Zanna ✧。｡*♡ ，

I read this way-back-when， when it first came out。 I loved it！ It was scary and also fascinating。 I'm still interested in the idea of alien contact， so sue me。 I know it's fringe and there are many naysayers。 But there is no shame in my game。 "I'm not saying it was aliens。。。 but it was aliens。" 🤣👽 I read this way-back-when， when it first came out。 I loved it！ It was scary and also fascinating。 I'm still interested in the idea of alien contact， so sue me。 I know it's fringe and there are many naysayers。 But there is no shame in my game。 "I'm not saying it was aliens。。。 but it was aliens。" 🤣👽 。。。more

Hunter Spears ，

What a ride。 I’m not really sure what to think， but I’ve definitely never read anything like this before and doing I will ever find anything like it again。 Definitely has instilled a sense of fear in me that no fictional horror story has ever even approached。 Again， I’m not certain where I stand on this， and I think Strieber would say that that is okay， but I would definitely recommend this book at the very least because of its uniqueness。I devoured the first third of the book， but it becomes a What a ride。 I’m not really sure what to think， but I’ve definitely never read anything like this before and doing I will ever find anything like it again。 Definitely has instilled a sense of fear in me that no fictional horror story has ever even approached。 Again， I’m not certain where I stand on this， and I think Strieber would say that that is okay， but I would definitely recommend this book at the very least because of its uniqueness。I devoured the first third of the book， but it becomes a bit too heady and dry for me in the mid sections， but I think the final 50 pages bring it back to a similar level of intrigue that I experienced in the beginning。All in all， there are definitely parts of this book I expect will stick with me for quite some time。 。。。more

Karlee Krauser ，

I have mixed feelings on this。 My thoughts on this。。"autobiographical" are as follows:1。 I find it rather suspicious that Whitley Strieber is also a horror author。 An author that just happens to write a story about himself being abducted by aliens and calling it true。。。 hmm。。I don't know。2。 I do at least appreciate the fact that Whitley （if he is in fact being truthful） does acknowledge that these experiences could possibly be his own mind and that he cannot say with certainty that there are rea I have mixed feelings on this。 My thoughts on this。。"autobiographical" are as follows:1。 I find it rather suspicious that Whitley Strieber is also a horror author。 An author that just happens to write a story about himself being abducted by aliens and calling it true。。。 hmm。。I don't know。2。 I do at least appreciate the fact that Whitley （if he is in fact being truthful） does acknowledge that these experiences could possibly be his own mind and that he cannot say with certainty that there are real physical aliens。 I feel at least is honest; that he cannot completely state things as fact， but simply what his own mind feels he has experienced。3。 The first part of the story， where he is mostly recounting his experiences really gripped me。 On the flip side， as I continued to read I felt that the book began to really become more monotonous and boring。4。 Whitley does bring up a lot of alien "government covered it up" stories。 While there may be some truth to these。。。I doubt if we would ever really know。 After all， if the government does cover up something up， there is really no way to know what the government's motive was to cover up said situation。5。 I said this once， but I'll say it again， MONOTONOUS。All in all， I won't say this book was a complete waste of time because there were a few very interesting parts。 I'm also not going to say it WASN'T a waste of time。 Honestly it depends upon whether or not Whitley was telling the truth， and we will never know。 。。。more

Alistair Cross ，

Communion， Whitley Streiber， 1987My favorite quote: “Humanity could be clutching the frail barque of an outmoded worldview while the wind of the mind is swaying the stars into very real craft， and out of them is coming… a faint call for help from a lady in a flowered dress。” -- Which pretty much sums up the mindset and writing style of Whitley Streiber。 I’ve read Communion and I have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about here， so … Most interesting characters: The aliens， of course。 If my s Communion， Whitley Streiber， 1987My favorite quote: “Humanity could be clutching the frail barque of an outmoded worldview while the wind of the mind is swaying the stars into very real craft， and out of them is coming… a faint call for help from a lady in a flowered dress。” -- Which pretty much sums up the mindset and writing style of Whitley Streiber。 I’ve read Communion and I have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about here， so … Most interesting characters: The aliens， of course。 If my sources are correct （and y sources， I mean the interwebs） Communion was one of the UFO accounts that helped cement the idea that aliens were bug-eyed little gray genderless beings who enjoy eating ice cream and probing folks。 So， yeah， naturally， they’re the best characters in Communion。 Not that Whitley Streiber isn’t， ahem， quite a character himselfOpening scene: Whitley Streiber， acting like he’s all normal and stuff （Spoiler alert: he’s totally setting us up for the super weird stuff -- acting like he’s all normal in the beginning is Whitley Streiber’s way of lulling us into a false sense that he’s not a whack-job。 Spoiler alert: Which he kinda is）The gist: Horror author and “ufologist，” Whitley Streiber claims to have been abducted by aliens from a remote cabin during a skiing trip in upstate New York。 This is his account of the event -- and its lingering effectsGreatest strengths: For being so silly， Communion is actually really spooky， too。 Standout achievements: Communion kinda made me wish aliens were real。 Until then， I never really cared one way or the other， but the way Whitley Streiber tells it kinda gave me probe-envyFun Facts: I know people who know Whitley Streiber。 Thus I’m keeping my opinions on the authenticity of his abduction to myselfOther media: Communion was made into a movie starring Christopher Walken who， from what I hear， did a pretty good job accurately portraying Whitley Streiber -- at least the way Whitley wanted to be portrayedAdditional thoughts: After a while I just pretended Communion was a work of fiction -- I liked it a lot better after that。 Don’t get me wrong -- it isn’t that I don’t think Whitley Streiber isn’t interesting enough to warrant an alien abduction like he claimed in Communion， but it just reads better when you pretend he’s not realHit or Miss: Sigh。 It’s a mixed bagHaunt me: alistaircross。comRead Communion: https://amzn。to/3Is2dhJ 。。。more

Karolina ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Communion es la historia de un hombre que dice haber tenido encuentros con visitantes。 Honestamente yo sí le creo que algo le pasó que no sabe cómo explicar。 Le creo porque aborda toda la experiencia con curiosidad， mente abierta y seriedad。 Es revisado por médicos y psiquiatras que confirman que no tiene ningún desorden mental y además explora todas las posibles razones de su experiencia， desde saltos en el tiempo， diferentes dimensiones o hasta que lo creó su propia mente。 Con tanto secretismo Communion es la historia de un hombre que dice haber tenido encuentros con visitantes。 Honestamente yo sí le creo que algo le pasó que no sabe cómo explicar。 Le creo porque aborda toda la experiencia con curiosidad， mente abierta y seriedad。 Es revisado por médicos y psiquiatras que confirman que no tiene ningún desorden mental y además explora todas las posibles razones de su experiencia， desde saltos en el tiempo， diferentes dimensiones o hasta que lo creó su propia mente。 Con tanto secretismo de algunos países con respecto a este tema yo ya no sé， yo ya no sé。 Si es ficción， pues muy bien hecho。 Lo que sí es que pudo haber sido más corto。 。。。more

Carol Wigent ，

Scared me to death。 Much later， I read the other two。 Less scary in one way and more scary in another way。

Cassandra Mitchell ，

It was certainly interesting。 I probably wouldn't have ever read it if it wasn't free so it was a pleasant surprise to dive into an entirely new world of writing。 However， there are sections I skimmed over。 I understand why he included transcripts of entire therapy sessions at once but I am not the kind of reader interested in that。 All in all I'm glad I stumbled upon the book， as uneasy as its contents made me。 It was certainly interesting。 I probably wouldn't have ever read it if it wasn't free so it was a pleasant surprise to dive into an entirely new world of writing。 However， there are sections I skimmed over。 I understand why he included transcripts of entire therapy sessions at once but I am not the kind of reader interested in that。 All in all I'm glad I stumbled upon the book， as uneasy as its contents made me。 。。。more

David Thomas ，

I have to give this book a few stars because at first， the phenomena he described were creepy as shit。 However， the longer it went on， the more and more boring it got。 Worse still， I got the feeling that Whitley was full of shit。 He claims that as a child， the aliens gave him plans for an anti-gravity device that uses "counter-rotating magnets" that shorted out the power grid。 Uh huh。 Also， he claims that he as well as other abduction subjects can interfere with electronic equipment with a mere I have to give this book a few stars because at first， the phenomena he described were creepy as shit。 However， the longer it went on， the more and more boring it got。 Worse still， I got the feeling that Whitley was full of shit。 He claims that as a child， the aliens gave him plans for an anti-gravity device that uses "counter-rotating magnets" that shorted out the power grid。 Uh huh。 Also， he claims that he as well as other abduction subjects can interfere with electronic equipment with a mere touch。 Most damning， he claims that the aliens told him that the ozone hole problem would become extremely serious within the year 2000， which obviously it did not。 The last 30 or so pages devolve into pseudointellectual pablum that seriously tested my will to finish the damn thing。I can understand how at a certain time in the past this could have been interesting reading and I'm sure it has a place in the alien/UFO canon， but it wasn't a picnic to read and I'm glad I'm done with it。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Communion: A True Story

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Communion: A True Story&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Communion: A True Story&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0