Returning after a short break, Norm, Reid, and yours truly continue to tackle the writings of experiencer/abductee/mystic Whitley Strieber and the film based on his major work, Communion. We talk about the experiences that shaped Strieber long before his ostensible abduction, the fringe topics and networks that he occludes his own familiarity with, and the possible motivations for his continual study of the paranormal forces that have seemingly intruded on every aspect of his life. In a mixture of tough love, empathy, humor, and network/literary analysis, we try to grasp what it all means. Has Strieber positioned himself as the premier UFO spiritual guru? What are the ramifications of such positioning? Should experiencers be wary of the traumatic forces—whatever they may be—entering their lives? Short answers: Yes, not good, yes.
Works referenced (roughly in order of mention or relevance):
Communion, 1989, dir. Philippe Mora
Strieber, Whitley. Communion: A True Story. New York: Avon Books, 1987. https://archive.org/details/communion-a-true-story-whitley-strieber-z-library/.
Horsley, Jasun. Prisoner of Infinity: UFOs, Social Engineering, and the Psychology of Fragmentation. London: Aeon Books, 2018. https://www.amazon.com/Prisoner-Infinity-Engineering-Psychology-Fragmentation/dp/1911597051.
Dumsday, Travis. “Alien Abduction as Enlightenment: Whitley Strieber’s Trauma-Fueled Spirituality.” Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 38, no. 1. 2026. https://online.ucpress.edu/jrpc/article/38/1/50/214306/Alien-Abduction-as-EnlightenmentWhitley-Strieber-s.
Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf aka Howling II: Stirba, Werewolf Bitch, 1985, dir. Philippe Mora
The Beast Within, 1982, dir. Philippe Mora
Swastika, 1973, dir. Philippe Mora
“The Wolfen, The Hunger, The Night Church, Black Magic.” Beyond Communion. http://www.beyondcommunion.com/wolfenhunger.html. (Original “about the author” section for Wolfen reprinted.)
Sunshine, Spencer. Neo-Nazi Terrorism and Countercultural Fascism: The Origins and Afterlife of James Mason’s Siege. London and New York: Routledge, 2024. https://www.routledge.com/Neo-Nazi-Terrorism-and-Countercultural-Fascism-The-Origins-and-Afterlife-of-James-Masons-Siege/Sunshine/p/book/9780367190606.
SMiles Lewis at the Anomaly Archives
Strieber, Whitley. “The Boy in the Box.” Unknown Country. 14 March 2003. https://unknowncountry.com/whitleys-journal/the-boy-in-the-box/.
Conroy, Ed. Report on Communion: The Facts Behind the Most Controversial True Story of Our Time. New York: Avon Books, 1989. https://archive.org/details/reportoncommunio00conr_0.
Strieber, Whitley. Black Magic: An Occult Thriller. New York: William Morrow & Company, 1982. https://www.amazon.com/Black-Magic-Whitley-Strieber/dp/0688010210.
“Remote Viewing as Intelligence Laundering: In Forbidden Science Dispatches #11, we examine the befuddling history of remote viewing, its ties to Scientology and MKUltra, and how its true intel value may remain occulted or obscured.” (Getting Spooked)
“Christopher Bledsoe and the UFO Cult of Intelligence, Pt. 7: Überspook Col. John B. Alexander, the Pope Incident, the Cult of Intelligence, the MILAB Melee, Information Warfare, and Non-Lethal Weapons.” (Getting Spooked)
UPI. “Paper in Moscow Links 3 U.S. Correspondents to the C.I.A.” The New York Times. 26 May 1976. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/26/archives/paper-in-moscow-links-3-us-correspondent-to-the-cia.html.
Strieber, Whitley and Jeffrey J. Kripal. The Super Natural: A New Vision of the Unexplained. New York: TarcherPerigree, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/Super-Natural-New-Vision-Unexplained/dp/1101982322.
“Programmed to Chill - Premium Episode 26: ‘Why is everything just two steps removed from Jonestown?’ An Exploration into Mothman, the Hill Abductions, the Hopkinsville Goblins, Hypnosis, and Related Psychological Operations, feat. Tanner Boyle.” (Getting Spooked)
The MKUltra Subproject that mentioned both highway hypnosis and sleep paralysis as possible vectors for induction of hypnotic states was Louis Jolyon “Jolly” West’s Subproject 43: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/MKULTRA%20SUBPROJECT%2043%20%20%281%5B8145466%5D.pdf.
“The strange tale of Dr Narut.” Sunday Times, 6 July 1975, pp. 1+. The Sunday Times Historical Archive, link.gale.com/apps/doc/FP1801054514/STHA?u=bcptstothepast&sid=bookmark-STHA&pg=1&xid=253725ee.
Hufford, David J. The Terror That Comes in the Night: An Experience-Centered Study of Supernatural Assault Traditions. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1989. https://www.pennpress.org/9780812213058/the-terror-that-comes-in-the-night/.
Horsley, Jasun. The Vice of Kings: How Socialism, Occultism, and the Sexual Revolution Engineered a Culture of Abuse. London: Aeon Books, 2019. https://www.amazon.com/Vice-Kings-Socialism-Revolution-Engineered/dp/1911597043.
Mead, Margaret. Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilization. New York: William Morrow & Company, 1928. https://archive.org/details/comingofageinsam00mead.
Vallée, Jacques. Forbidden Science 2: California Hermetica – The Journals of Jacques Vallée 1970-1979. San Antonio: Anomalist Books, 2008. https://www.anomalistbooks.com/book.cfm?id=95.
Changing Images of Man: Prepared by the Center for the Study of Social Policy/SRI International. ed. O.W. Markley & Willis W. Harman. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1982. https://archive.org/details/changingimagesof00camprich.
Strieber, Whitley. “Pain.” Cutting Edge, ed. Dennis Etchison. New York: Doubleday, 1986. https://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Edge-Dennis-Etchison/dp/0385234309.
Press-Reynolds, Kieran. “TikTok Brainrot Is Normalizing Alt-Right Ideologies.” Pitchfork. 30 April 2025. https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/tiktok-brainrot-is-normalizing-alt-right-ideologies/.
“Nightcore in Hyperborea: An Empirical Study of Audiovisual Stimuli in Esoteric White Supremacist Content on Social Media.” Master’s thesis, University of Glasgow, July 2025. https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/207394/120518908.pdf.
Tran, Emi Tuyetnhi. “Inside the online world of people who think they can change their race.” 30 July 2023. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/race-change-to-another-trend-online-rcna93759.
Purtill, Corinne. “RFK Jr. clears path for minors’ use of tanning beds, much to the dismay of dermatologists.” Los Angeles Times. 6 May 2026. https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2026-05-06/rfk-hands-major-win-to-indoor-tanning-industry-to-dermatologists-dismay.
Strieber, Whitley. The Fourth Mind. New York: Walker & Collier Publishers, 2025. https://www.amazon.com/Fourth-Mind-Whitley-Strieber/dp/B0DS9R3FQT.
“#89. The Skull Boys s02e04 ‘Atlantis of the Goths.’” The Return of the Repressed. 4 March 2026. https://www.patreon.com/posts/89-skull-boys-of-152265902.
Terry, Maury. The Ultimate Evil: An Investigation into a Dangerous Satanic Cult. London: Diamond Books, 1987. https://archive.org/details/ultimateevil0000terr.
Sanders, Ed. The Family: The Story of Charles Manson’s Dune Buggy Attack Battalion. New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., Inc., 1971. https://archive.org/details/familystoryofcha00sandrich.
Downard, James Shelby. “King-Kill/33°” in Apocalypse Culture, ed. Adam Parfrey. New York: Amok Press, 1987. https://archive.org/details/apocalypsecultur00parf.
“An Introduction to James Shelby Downard.” YouTube, uploaded by Strange As It Seems, 6 January 2025. Link.
Downard, James Shelby, Adam Gorightly, Richard B. Spence. Stalking The Great Whore: The Lost Writings of James Shelby Downard. Self-published, 2023. https://www.amazon.com/Stalking-Great-Whore-Writings-Downard/dp/B0BTRQ3GNZ.
Coleman, Loren. “Sirius Rising In the Days of Synchromysticism.” Twilight Language. 30 March 2018. https://copycateffect.blogspot.com/2018/03/Sirius-Rising.html.
J Wilderness (@JWilderness). “Adam Parfrey - founder of Feral House (and Abraxas suslord) - in full Process Church of the Final Judgement regalia. These shots appear to be from a 2009 Sabbath Assembly ritual in Seattle.” Twitter, 5 May 2026. Link. (On Substack at J Wilderness.)
Downard, James Shelby. The Carnivals of Life and Death: My Profane Youth: 1913-1935, ed. Elana Freeland. Port Townsend: Feral House, 2006. https://www.amazon.com/Carnivals-Life-Death-Profane-1913-1935/dp/1932595155.
Freeland, Elana. Under an Ionized Sky: From Chemtrails to Space Fence Lockdown. Port Townsend: Feral House, 2018. https://www.amazon.com/Under-Ionized-Sky-Chemtrails-Lockdown/dp/1627310533.
Parfrey, Adam. “Latter-Day Lycanthropy” in Apocalypse Culture, ed. Adam Parfrey. New York: Amok Press, 1987. https://archive.org/details/apocalypsecultur00parf.
Melore, Chris. “Religious leaders told ‘prepare now’ for UFO disclosure to unleash Bible-changing revelations.” The Daily Mail. 5 May 2026. https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/article-15792747/religious-leaders-ufo-disclosure-bible.html.
Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex). “When simulation becomes the norm, it weakens the human capacity for discernment…” Twitter, 17 April 2026. Link.
Arthur. “Communion or Concoction?” Jumbled Thoughts of a Fake Geek Boy. 5 May 2019. https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2019/05/05/communion-or-concoction/.
Music:
The Out of Limits - “The Reptoid Connection”
Walter Wanderley - “Summer Samba (So Nice)”
Steve Hillman - “Citadel Parts 1 & 2”
Emerald Web - “Diamond Passage”
Contact:
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