Communion (book)


Communion: A True Story is a book by American ufologist and horror author Whitley Strieber that was first published in February 1987. The book is based on the experiences of Whitley Strieber, who experiences "lost time" and terrifying flashbacks, which hypnosis undertaken by Budd Hopkins later links to an alleged encounter with aliens.
The book was later made into a film directed by Philippe Mora and starring Christopher Walken as Strieber and Lindsay Crouse as his wife, Anne. A 2008 trade paperback edition presents a new preface by the author.
Strieber compares the "familiar" being he sees, whom he describes as female, to the Sumerian goddess Ishtar.

Cover art

The cover painting of an alien was rendered by Ted Seth Jacobs. The painting is considered one of the most widely recognised popular culture images of alleged "grey" aliens. "The Communion cover," Jacobs recounts,

Popular culture references

The X-Files episode "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" parodied the book cover.
Virginia screamo band Pg. 99 included an audio recording of a person reading a short excerpt of the story in their album Document #5.
Swedish progressive metal band Evergrey's album In Search of Truth is a concept album based on the novel.