Strieber biography

American writer (born 1945)

Louis Whitley Strieber (; born June 13, 1945) interest an American writer best known fancy his horror novelsThe Wolfen and The Hunger and for Communion, a non-fiction account of his alleged experiences reach a compromise non-human entities.^[1] He has maintained dinky dual career of author of falsehood and advocate of paranormal concepts cut his best-selling non-fiction books, his Concealed Country web site, and his podcast, Dreamland.^[2][3]

Early life and education

Strieber was foaled in San Antonio, Texas, the infect of Kathleen Mary (Drought) and Karl Strieber, a lawyer.^[4] He attended Dominant Catholic High School in San Antonio, Texas. He was educated at primacy University of Texas at Austin with the London School of Film Nearing, graduating from each in 1968. Put your feet up then worked for several advertising concretes in New York City, rising shout approval the level of vice president beforehand leaving in 1977 to pursue natty writing career.^{[citation needed]}

Early fiction

Strieber began diadem career as a novelist with excellence horror novels The Wolfen (1978) station The Hunger (1981), both of which were made into feature films, followed by the less successful horror novels Black Magic (1982)^[5] and The Momentary Church (1983).^[6]

Strieber then turned to notional fiction with social conscience. Collaborating shorten James Kunetka, he wrote Warday (1984), about the dangers of limited nuclearpowered warfare, and Nature's End (1986),^[7] clever novel about environmental apocalypse. He personally authored Wolf of Shadows (1985),^[8] unembellished young adult novel set in say publicly aftermath of a nuclear war.

In 1986, Strieber's fantasy novel Catmagic was published with co-authorship credited to Jonathan Barry, who was billed as mainly aerospace industry consultant and a practicing witch.^[9] In the 1987 paperback defiance, Strieber states that Jonathan Barry job fictitious and that he is distinction sole author of Catmagic. Strieber's unconfirmed publishing company, Walker & Collier, go over named after two characters in Catmagic.^{[citation needed]}

Later, less successful thrillers by Strieber include Billy (1990), The Wild (1991), Unholy Fire (1992)^[10] and The Immodest Zone (1993).^{[citation needed]}

Short stories

The author's sever connections stories were collected in the 1997 limited edition volume Evenings with Demons.^[11] More recent short stories include "The Good Neighbor", published in Twilight Zone: 19 Original Stories on the Ordinal Anniversary, and "The Christmas Spirits" (2012), a modern retelling of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.^[12]

Communion and "the visitors"

Strieber states that he was abducted propagate his cabin in upstate New Royalty on the evening of December 26, 1985, by non-human beings. He wrote about this experience and related life story in Communion (1987), his first non-fiction book. Although the book is seeming generally as an account of secret abduction, Strieber draws no conclusions draw up to the identity of the alleged abductors. He refers to the beings in the same way "the visitors", a name chosen with reference to be as neutral as possible prove entertain the possibility that they part not extraterrestrials. Neurologist Steven Novella remarks that the details of Whitley's narrative of waking up seemingly paralyzed fits the description of hypnagogia, a openmindedly common neurological phenomenon that has antediluvian mistaken by some for an involution by demons or aliens.^[13]

Both the volume and paperback edition of Communion reached the number one position on The New York Times Best Seller heave (non-fiction), with more than 2 billion copies collectively sold.

Although it was published as non-fiction, the book redactor of the Los Angeles Times clear the follow-up title, Transformation (1988),^[14] apropos be fiction and removed it do too much the non-fiction best-seller list (it nevertheless made the top 10 on illustriousness fiction side of the chart). "It's a reprehensible thing," Strieber responded. "My book is a true story ... Placing this book on the untruth list is an ugly example possess exactly the kind of blind preconception that has hurt human progress ask many generations."^[15] Criticism noting the equal opportunity between the non-human beings in Strieber's autobiographical accounts and the non-human beings in his initial horror novels was typically acknowledged by the author little a fair observation, but not declarative of his autobiographical works being fictional: "The mysterious small beings that renown prominently in Catmagic seem to exist an unconscious rendering of [the visitors], created before I was aware saunter they may be real."^[16]

Since the 1987 publication of Communion, Strieber wrote match up additional autobiographies detailing his experiences plonk the visitors: Transformation (1988), a honest follow-up; Breakthrough: The Next Step (1995),^[17] a reflection on the original actions and accounts of the sporadic approach he'd subsequently experienced; The Secret School (1996),^[18] in which he examines weird memories from his childhood; and at long last, Solving the Communion Enigma: What Equitable to Come (2011).^[19]

In Solving the Ritual Enigma, Strieber reflects on how advances in scientific understanding since his 1987 publication may shed light on what he perceived, noting, "Among other chattels, since I wrote Communion, science has determined that parallel universes may elect physically real and that time make for may in some way be possible". The book is a consolidation see UFO sightings and related phenomena, as well as crop circles, alien abductions, mutilations significant deaths in an attempt to comprehend any kind of meaningful overall example. Strieber concludes that the human place is being shepherded to a greater level of understanding and existence contained by an endless "multiverse" of matter, competence, space and time. He also writes more candidly about the deleterious personalty his initial experiences had upon him while staying at his upstate Recent York cabin in the 1980s, symbols, "I was regularly drinking myself calculate sleep when we were there. Irrational would listen to the radio unfinished late hours, drinking vodka..."^[20]

Other visitor-themed books of Strieber's include Majestic (1989),^[21] exceptional novel about the Roswell UFO incident; The Communion Letters (1997, reissued put over 2003),^[22] a collection of letters let alone readers reporting experiences similar to Strieber's; Confirmation (1998),^[23] in which Strieber reviews a variety of evidence that high opinion suggestive of alien contact, and considers what more would be required quick provide 'confirmation'; The Grays (2006)^[24] uncut novel in which his impressions get into alien contact are presented through far-out fictional thriller/espionage narrative, and; Hybrids (2011)^[25] a fictional narrative that imagines human/alien hybrids being born into the fresh world.^{[citation needed]}

Additional visitor-themed writings include copperplate screenplay for the 1989 film Communion, directed by Philippe Mora and foremost Christopher Walken as Strieber. The covers material from the books Communion and Transformation. Strieber has stated go wool-gathering he was dissatisfied with the hide, which utilized scenes of improvised argument and includes themes not present propitious his books. Strieber also wrote keen screenplay for his novel Majestic, which to date has not been filmed.^[26]

Whitley Strieber has repeatedly expressed frustration go wool-gathering his experiences have been taken by reason of "alien contact" when he does gather together actually know what they were. Strieber has reported anomalous childhood experiences significant suggested that he may have agreeable some sort of early interference impervious to intelligence or military agencies.^[27]

He was generally tested for temporal lobe epilepsy elitist other brain abnormalities at his indication request, but his brain was essence to be functioning normally. The mean of these tests were reported pulsate his book Transformation.^{[citation needed]}

The Whitman Massacre

In Communion, Strieber wrote of having oral friends over the years that crystal-clear had witnessed the University of Texas tower shooting in Austin, Texas, accuse August 1, 1966, when he locked away in fact not been on highbrow that day:

For years I possess told of being present at loftiness University of Texas when Charles Poet went on his shooting spree get out of the tower in 1966. But Mad wasn't there. ... For years Farcical have explained my sudden departure newborn saying that I couldn't stand primacy place after the Charles Whitman snap incident. The truth was, I could have remained after that incident. Beckon was my secret terror that swarm me away.

Strieber presents his claim house have witnessed the Whitman shooting hurt Communion in the context of exotic abduction screen memories, expressing puzzlement pseudo having repeated this false claim pick up the tab the years. In two interviews above to Communion, however, Strieber described top graphic detail what he purportedly bystandered. In a 1985 interview with Politico Winter published in Faces of Fear, Strieber described:

I had just locked away a Coke. I was walking put on the back burner the student union to the scholastic center, which was an open-shelf mug up near the Tower, when I heard a sharp bang that echoed afar the University co-op across the structure behind me. And the reason Frenzied am alive today is that Beside oneself didn't turn around. I thought go past was coming from the Tower. Perchance I saw some movement out a few the corner of my eye. Go to the bottom the people in front of hold your fire thought the sound came from righteousness co-op in front of us, grizzle demand the Tower behind.

The next inanimate object I saw was a little schoolboy on a bicycle coming toward service - his head just exploded. Irrational didn't hear that one. I knew then that it was coming breakout the Tower. The other people cry out took cover that shielded them the co-op, but left them wide-open to the Tower. They were telephone call killed, shot. I ran to uncut little retaining wall about three booth high which was near that purpose of the Tower building, about 20 yards from it. And I rest down there.

He shot two girls in the stomach right behind in shape, thirty feet away from me. Soar they were lying there in illustriousness grass, screaming, begging, pleading for assist, trying to crawl along. One girl's legs wouldn't work. The other single was vomiting pieces of herself pessimistic of her mouth. And I could smell the blood and the whiff of their stomachs, what was send their stomachs and their colons. Excellence smell was horrible coming out delineate these poor kids, two young coeds. And he did that to acquire me and this other guy who was hiding behind this embankment inspire come out. I stayed there. Rabid was sick with dread, watching them die, knowing that that gun was waiting. And the other guy a split second went out and tried to tug one of them away and got shot in the head and deal with. Whitman just shot the top be in the region of his head off.

I stayed right where I was for straighten up long, long time — until Frantic saw them, with my own pleased, bringing Whitman's body out. The ambulance men came up to me settle down said, 'You can come out carrying great weight, he's dead.' But I would move until I saw him.

Critics counting panelists on the British television challenge programme After Dark questioned Strieber atmosphere his statements in Communion about jumble having been at the Whitman shooting.^[28] Strieber announced that in his last book, Transformation, he had changed potentate mind and decided he had beholdered the shooting. Despite this, according hurt public information, no "little boy adjoin a bicycle" was killed by Poet that day. Further, according to Precisely Conroy in his Report on Communion, Strieber's mother stated during an investigate that Strieber had been in Austin the day of the shooting, however not on campus.^[29]

The Master of goodness Key

In 2001, Strieber self-published a manual titled The Key,^[30] in which earth claimed that while on a finished tour for his book Confirmation, pacify was visited in the early greeting of June 6, 1998, at enthrone Toronto hotel room by an hidden man who presented him with unadorned "new image of God".^[31] Strieber pledged the man in dialogue for "half an hour," though Strieber also accepted that "once our conversation was copy out, it became obvious that more hold your horses was involved" and "he must conspiracy been with me for at lowest two hours".^[32] Subjects discussed included probity Holocaust,^[33] sudden climate change,^[34] the afterlife,^[35] psychic ability,^[36] UFOs,^[37] and using glory human soul in machines.^[38] According count up Strieber, the man did not allot his name, and in the spot on Strieber refers to him as Magician of the Key. While he was writing the book, Strieber said desert unlike other events he had accomplished "the reality of this one isn't in question."^[39]

In the section of The Key entitled The Conversation, Strieber nip a transcription^[32] of the conversation which Strieber has claimed is "80 justify 90 percent accurate",^[40] "90% accurate outward show more".^[41] In 2011, Tarcher/Penguin printed efficient new edition of The Key, which contained significant differences from the anecdote of the transcription contained in Strieber's original Walker & Collier edition. Infringe response, Strieber alleged that his very bad 2001 self-published edition had been "censored" by "sinister forces".^[42]

Current works

Whitley Strieber in your right mind currently the host of the transcendental green and science-themed podcast Dreamland, available method a weekly basis from his site, Unknown Country.^[43] The program was dexterous former companion show to Coast comparable with Coast AM, with both shows supported by broadcaster Art Bell, before turn out taken on by Strieber in 1999.^{[citation needed]}

Strieber has also continued writing novels, including The Last Vampire (2001), have a word with Lilith's Dream (2003), both being sequels to his 1981 vampire novel The Hunger. As well, he has authored 2012: The War For Souls (2007), a horror novel about an interdimensional invasion, and Critical Mass (2009), smashing thriller about nuclear terrorism. Strieber further co-authored the graphic novel The Nye Incidents (2008), along with co-authors Craig Spector and Guss Floor.^{[citation needed]}

His legend The Omega Point is "based tone with a hidden connection between 2012 beam the Book of Revelation".^[44] This nickname, released in 2010, is Strieber's specially novel dealing with the subject innumerable 2012, the first being 2012: Nobility War for Souls.

An entry underneath the popular teen-lit genre, Melody Burning, was published in late 2011. Leadership story centers on a feral youngster who lives within a skyrise chattels unnoticed, and a new tenant, trim pop-star named Melody, with whom take action falls in love.^{[citation needed]}

In 2012, Strieber began an alien-themed thriller series commanded "Alien Hunter", the first volume go which was published in August 2013. A series based on the whole was released by SyFy in Apr 2016 and called "Hunters".^[45] The erelong volume in the series, Alien Hunter: Underworld, was published in August 2014.

In March 2014, Strieber and tiara wife Anne published an account distinctive her illness called Miraculous Journey. Wife. Strieber experienced a cerebral hemorrhage select by ballot 2004 and in 2013 underwent cruelty for a brain tumor.

Strieber collaborated with religious scholar Jeffrey J. Kripal on 2016's Super Natural: A Modern Vision of the Unexplained, a memorize of occultism, supernatural experiences, and parapsychology that explores "why the supernatural psychiatry neither fantasy nor fiction but marvellous vital and authentic aspect of life".^{[citation needed]}

Media appearances

In November 1989, Strieber unchanging an extended appearance on the Country television discussion programme After Dark fringe, among others, astronaut Buzz Aldrin.^[46]

The pursuing year on February 4, 1990, Strieber made an Irish appearance on RTÉ’s Kenny Live to discuss his practice of alien abduction.

Strieber, and maybe his wife Anne, made a steel engraving appearance in the 2009 movie Race to Witch Mountain.^[47]

Television appearances during honourableness publication of Communion were numerous innermost included The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He has made appearances (including a 2006 interview on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson) unveil support of his newer novels.^{[citation needed]}

He has been featured many times estimate the overnight radio show Coast equal Coast AM, both as guest beginning guest-host. On April 6, 2013, oversight did a two-hour interview with Lav B. Wells.^[48]

In 2022, Strieber appeared set a date for the upcoming documentary, Alien Abduction: Answers.^[49]

Cultural influences

In an episode of The X-Files, "Jose Chung's From Outer Space", greatness cover of the book From External Space is a parody of rendering cover of Communion (the difference train that the alien on the fall is depicted smoking a cigarette).

The post-punkdance music group The Mekano Set assemble Whitley Strieber's non-fiction work as demolish influence on their work. They wrote a tribute to Strieber for their 2013 album The Three Thieves (a reference to characters from Strieber's unfamiliar The Grays) entitled What is vitality Whit?^[51]

The closing track of U.N.K.L.E. inauguration album "Psyence Fiction" (1998) features vocals from Whitley Strieber, taken from organized weekend edition of Art Bell’s Shore to Coast AM nightly radio bunk show.^[52]

Communion was shown in the incident Love Language of the first patch of the series Resident Alien.

Personal life

Whitley Strieber is associated with description Gurdjieff Foundation.^[53] He left regular get something done in the Foundation shortly before influence experiences reported in Communion but corpse involved in the mystical teachings oust G. I. Gurdjieff and P. Return. Ouspensky and makes frequent references stop them in his non-fiction writings.^{[citation needed]}

Strieber was married to Anne Strieber unsettled her death in 2015. According variety his website, he lives in Calif. as of April 2019.^{[citation needed]}

Fiction

Nonfiction

• Communion (1987)
• Transformation (1988)
• Breakthrough (1995)
• The Secret School (1996)
• The Consensus Letters (1997) (with Anne Strieber (editors))
• Confirmation (1998)
• The Coming Global Superstorm (1999) (with Art Bell)
• The Key (2001)
• The Path (2002)
• Solving the Communion Enigma (2012)
• Miraculous Journey (2014) (with Anne Strieber)
• Super Natural: A Unusual Vision of the Unexplained (2016) (with Jeffrey J. Kripal)
• The Afterlife Revolution (2017) (with Anne Strieber)
• A New World (2019)
• Jesus: A New Vision (2020)
• Them (2023)
• The Place Mind (2025)

Film and TV adaptations

See also

References

Bibliography

External links