February 14, 2016 — Whitley Strieber

[Creepy Green Light]

TV Series premiere called Hunters on SyFy channel starts tonight that is loosely based on Strieber's Alien Hunters. That's Monday April 11th tonight.

Looks interesting. I don't do good with series that never end. That just keep continuing. I can watch shows that after one hour have an ending and then next week the story is completely different. I think that's how the X-files is.

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

Looks interesting. I don't do good with series that never end. That just keep continuing. I can watch shows that after one hour have an ending and then next week the story is completely different...

Ahh, attention deficit disorder. Or is it the adult version? Hmm Yeah, it must be tough to not be able to follow and enjoy a simple serialized TV series. I think they're the most fun myself. Makes you wait, ponder, think and you seem to appreciate it more. Kinda like sex... the longer the better, put off the reward and everyone enjoys the process, etc. But you do live basked by your own creepy green light, and I can sympathize...

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Based on a Whitley Strieber novel, although he claims there were lots of changes from the producers:

Syfy’s ‘Hunters’ is like an unnecessary video game cut scene that just won’t end

 

[Honey-Pot]

This was the stupidest "horror show" I've seen in many years of memory, so it rates a Zero below one of five stars. I felt compelled to skip through, and I endured watching only 60 seconds of fragments and then deleted it knowing I saved an hour of abusive trash TV. It's far worse than any Sci-Fic '50's B-Roll film that can still be watched for nostalgia entertainment purposes. Hunters is immediate deletion trash, imo. I'd rather watch reruns of Ancient Aliens.

 

[Linda Moulton Doty]

There's a pretty powerful expose of Strieber's work at this site:

strieberthekey.com

A giant, scholarly paper on Strieber's shenanigans. Not written by a clueless 'debunker', but someone who's followed Strieber for years.

 

[Double Nought Spy]

Yikes! Looks like ol' Whitley got careless with his most important work ever, and when it came to light he panicked. His damage control program did more harm than good as he dug a hole he couldn't wiggle out of. I would not want Heinrich Moltke on my case if I was trying to cover something up! Strieber's behavior, detailed in the document linked above, fits in well with some of what I've seen from him over the years, particularly some "antics" on line which, while not really private, involved only a few people.

Humans tend to want to see things in binary terms: good-bad, true-false, real-fake. This is lazy and counterproductive. The world is not like that, in spite of our best efforts to make it look that way. I think Strieber is an excellent example. He has produced a mountain of good work that is very useful to many people. I do think he has had some extraordinary experiences, not because I believe his version of events but because there was plenty of independent corroboration back in the day. However, he can be arrogant, conceited, and full of shit at times. That does not make him evil. Sean David Morton is full of shit all the time while producing nothing of value to anyone, which does make him, in my opinion, a bad person.

Strieber is a very talented writer, but sometimes he's just not nearly as slick as he thinks he is. It's interesting to see the real sources of a lot of what is in The Key. I bought a copy when it came out, read it and tossed into my "grey basket" with tons of other potentially useful stuff of dubious origins. I thought a lot of it sounded more like Strieber's ideas about things than some cosmic wisdom imparted by a mysterious stranger with supernatural abilities in the middle of the night. I didn't waste any time wondering if the stranger actually existed outside Strieber's imagination. There was no way to know (at least that I could access) and it didn't matter anyway. It's the information that's important, and it would either prove useful or not. For me, so far, it has not. Seeing that it's largely derived from Gurdjieff, that's no surprise.

 

[Linda Moulton Doty]

It's a long paper. And it's thorough. The thing that got me though was not Strieber stealing Gurdjieff's ideas and passing them off as the Master of the Key's. What got me was how much he could take from his own past books and interviews and put all that into the mouth of the Master of the Key. Usually, writers feel very protective of their own words. They recognize them immediately, and they know when somebody's stolen their work. I know people have been saying it for years, but Strieber's deluded. Instead of just leaving it at a gut feeling, this thing really shows it.

Strieber is a very talented writer, but sometimes he's just not nearly as slick as he thinks he is. It's interesting to see the real sources of a lot of what is in The Key. I bought a copy when it came out, read it and tossed into my "grey basket" with tons of other potentially useful stuff of dubious origins. I thought a lot of it sounded more like Strieber's ideas about things than some cosmic wisdom imparted by a mysterious stranger with supernatural abilities in the middle of the night. I didn't waste any time wondering if the stranger actually existed outside Strieber's imagination. There was no way to know (at least that I could access) and it didn't matter anyway. It's the information that's important, and it would either prove useful or not. For me, so far, it has not. Seeing that it's largely derived from Gurdjieff, that's no surprise.

 

[marduk]

Was it a surprise that the key was autobiographical and Strieber views himself as 'The Master of the Key?"

That's what I always thought.

The guy's a lovable nut. But I do think something happened in the Communion era. It just feels too true, and too in line with some stuff that happened to me. But after that? Raccoon City.

 

[ALPHA ROMEO UNIFORM]

Always thought he had some type of event? and more folks behind his agenda.

 

[SheaOlmsford]

I urge everyone to read THE SECRET SCHOOL. What a dated book! This book illustrates how Whitley is a camp follower of current memes within ufology and then takes them as his own. For example, in this book he claims that he was the FIRST human to see the FACE ON MARS. Remember Richard Hoagland's Face on Mars? This was quite the rage at one time until followup photos proved that the face was merely a trick of light and shadow (and the human inclination to see faces in clouds, stains, wood grain and grainy photos). Yes, Whitley as a child had a giant moth creature teach him at night, including letting him see the non-existent Face on Mars through a magic telescope.

Whitley also claimed to have witnessed the birth of the moon when Earth material was pulled from the planet after a massive meteor hit. This produced the moon. But since then, scientists have determined that the moon is OLDER THAN EARTH. So how could it have been born from the Earth?

Whitley also claims that he had a vision of himself and Anne Strieber (RIP) in "the future" living in San Antonio in front of their condo picking up nuts from a tree. A terrorist attack had destroyed Washington DC and they were elderly. Picking up on the global warming theme, Whitley had more visions of LAX where flight landings were difficult due to massive sand storms and sand drifts (somehow places like Saudi Arabia seems to have worked this out). Water was hard to find, and everything was dying. (Now, this may yet happen, but I doubt within Strieber's life time since Anne was supposedly with him when this occurs).

The book is a classic work of appropriating current popular subjects within ufology at the time and "owning" them. If anyone in ufology has experienced something, Whitley has experienced it first! If you listen to DREAMLAND (I try it but usually don't even make it through the free version), you will find Whitley very consistent in taking up half the interview saying "Me too! I had the same experience. Let me tell you about it". Whitley does not seem to have yet learned that when you interview someone, you interview THEM, not yourself!

 

[Linda Moulton Doty]

I urge everyone to read THE SECRET SCHOOL. What a dated book! This book illustrates how Whitley is a camp follower of current memes within ufology and then takes them as his own. For example, in this book he claims that he was the FIRST human to see the FACE ON MARS. Remember Richard Hoagland's Face on Mars? This was quite the rage at one time until followup photos proved that the face was merely a trick of light and shadow (and the human inclination to see faces in clouds, stains, wood grain and grainy photos). Yes, Whitley as a child had a giant moth creature teach him at night, including letting him see the non-existent Face on Mars through a magic telescope.

Whitley also claimed to have witnessed the birth of the moon when Earth material was pulled from the planet after a massive meteor hit. This produced the moon. But since then, scientists have determined that the moon is OLDER THAN EARTH. So how could it have been born from the Earth?

Whitley also claims that he had a vision of himself and Anne Strieber (RIP) in "the future" living in San Antonio in front of their condo picking up nuts from a tree. A terrorist attack had destroyed Washington DC and they were elderly. Picking up on the global warming theme, Whitley had more visions of LAX where flight landings were difficult due to massive sand storms and sand drifts (somehow places like Saudi Arabia seems to have worked this out). Water was hard to find, and everything was dying. (Now, this may yet happen, but I doubt within Strieber's life time since Anne was supposedly with him when this occurs).

The book is a classic work of appropriating current popular subjects within ufology at the time and "owning" them. If anyone in ufology has experienced something, Whitley has experienced it first! If you listen to DREAMLAND (I try it but usually don't even make it through the free version), you will find Whitley very consistent in taking up half the interview saying "Me too! I had the same experience. Let me tell you about it". Whitley does not seem to have yet learned that when you interview someone, you interview THEM, not yourself!

This paper talks about all that in detail. Even The Secret School where Strieber claims he was with his little childhood buddies wearing 1990s virtual reality helmets. As for Dreamland, you're absolutely correct! Strieber puts himself in every single story.

 

[SheaOlmsford]

This paper talks about all that in detail. Even The Secret School where Strieber claims he was with his little childhood buddies wearing 1990s virtual reality helmets. As for Dreamland, you're absolutely correct! Strieber puts himself in every single story.

UPDATE: Today I have been reading the extensive document provided above by Linda Moulton Doty (great forum name!). To my utter surprise, the comments I make below are also made by the author. Sometimes I am so accustomed to being on the "fringe" in my thought processes (Trump is Presidential now just because he bombed Syria? Have I fallen into an insane parallel universe?), that I am shocked when someone else agrees with me independently and publicly. Anyway, below is what I originally wrote:

I find the latest trend on DREAMLAND quite disturbing for its potential implications. As most of us know, Whitley's wife Anne died. I don't have a date. Whitley wrote a book about the heart breaking journey they took through her illness.

NOW, Whitley claims that Anne has a deep psychic connection to him. Seemingly, Anne likes to stay involved in DREAMLAND interviews with Whitley!

I have heard Whitley suddenly interrupt a guest on DREAMLAND to say "I have a question from Anne" or "Anne would like to comment on what we are discussing."

So evidently, Whitley has become a spiritual medium, able to hear Anne in his mind and verbalize her questions and comments for us. What next? Will Anne ghost write Whitley's next book? Or will she be the sole author of a book channeled via Whitley?

Now, I am very open to the idea of life after death and the possibility of spirit communication.

Nonetheless, I find this DREAMLAND development very disturbing. To me it has a sense of being in very bad taste. I react with embarrassment for Strieber. You might have the same reaction if a perceived good friend has done something debased and sleasy.

While I can never know if Anne is really just hanging around to give her 2 cents on interviews with assorted fringe guests, I just find it unlikely.

But I must mention the obvious possibility that Strieber is faking this to remain relevant and cutting edge at a time when mediumship and life after death studies are quite popular. If Strieber is faking the presence of his dead wife, what does that say about his integrity? If Strieber started out with a fabrication and now believes it himself, what does that say about his mental health?

Again, no one can prove that Anne is not there. But how can we just shrug and accept that she is there?

Either way, I feel sorry for poor Anne. She deserves better treatment.

 

[SheaOlmsford]

Perhaps the topic of Whitley Strieber is of small interest to all but a very small group. But he has been vitally important to me, since he came along with COMMUNION in 1987 just as I was going through a resurgence of personal "abduction" style experiences. He wrote in an intellectual-emotional manner that clicked with me. His first 3 books had a huge impact on me.

Since then I have become jaded, cynical and feel I have fallen for a pack of fantasy and rubbish. I do know someone who worked with Whitley at one point doing illustrations of his experiences. This person claims that NONE of Whitley's experiences were literally real.

Nonetheless, I keep his books for now because they have historical importance within the tiny field of ufology. Of course, the rest of the world has moved on and Whitley mainly appeals to a small cadre of dedicated fans on his website. He keeps writing books even though he claims no one buys them. Even stranger, a publisher is always willing to print them, supposedly at a loss per poverty stricken Whitley.

Anyway, I thought I would create a post with a few of Whitley's claims regarding his own experiences and abilities. I am not talking about very specific situations that you can get from his books. Instead, just an overview of a few of his claims.

WHO IS WHITLEY STRIEBER? Here are some of his claims over time.

1. He is a very special child invited to an alien "Secret School" at night.

2. He is a test subject child in military mind control experiments.

3. He is an abductee/experiencer - perhaps the PRIMARY person on planet Earth who may have done more than anyone else to establish an ongoing love-hate relationship with the visitors. If anyone comes up with a tale of having seen a novel or new type of alien, Whitley has seen the same entity FIRST.

4. He is a time traveler, having gone back to late 19th century NYC.

5. He is a dimensional/parallel universe traveler, having gone to variations of his home in several different universes.

6. He is the sole human contact for a mysterious man who comes to his hotel room late at night, interacts with him and finally encourages Whitley to drink his white creamy liquid before departing into the night.

7. He is a Psychic. This lasted but a short time in which Whitley would second guess guests on DREAMLAND with his psychic flashes. Remember?

8. He is a Medium, and routinely has his deceased wife Anne "on hold" in his mind, ready at any time to make pithy statements on DREAMLAND or for his Journal entries on line.

DOES ALL OF THIS SEEM LIKELY IN ONE HUMAN BEING OTHER THAN MYTHICAL RELIGIOUS FIGURES? (I have probably forgotten other claims Whitley has made about himself).

 

[ALPHA ROMEO UNIFORM]

Religion of Ufology ?

 

[marduk]

Perhaps the topic of Whitley Strieber is of small interest to all but a very small group. But he has been vitally important to me, since he came along with COMMUNION in 1987 just as I was going through a resurgence of personal "abduction" style experiences. He wrote in an intellectual-emotional manner that clicked with me. His first 3 books had a huge impact on me.

Since then I have become jaded, cynical and feel I have fallen for a pack of fantasy and rubbish. I do know someone who worked with Whitley at one point doing illustrations of his experiences. This person claims that NONE of Whitley's experiences were literally real.

Nonetheless, I keep his books for now because they have historical importance within the tiny field of ufology. Of course, the rest of the world has moved on and Whitley mainly appeals to a small cadre of dedicated fans on his website. He keeps writing books even though he claims no one buys them. Even stranger, a publisher is always willing to print them, supposedly at a loss per poverty stricken Whitley.

Anyway, I thought I would create a post with a few of Whitley's claims regarding his own experiences and abilities. I am not talking about very specific situations that you can get from his books. Instead, just an overview of a few of his claims.

1. He is an abductee/experiencer - perhaps the PRIMARY person on planet Earth who may have done more than anyone else to establish an ongoing love-hate relationship with the visitors. If anyone comes up with a tale of having seen a novel or new type of alien, Whitley has seen the same entity FIRST.

2. He was a test subject in childhood military mind control and experimentation.

3. He was very special as a child by being part of an alien "Secret school' at night.

4. He is a time traveler, having gone back to late 19th century NYC.

5. He is a dimensional/parallel universe traveler, having gone to variations of his home in several different universes.

6. He is a Psychic. This lasted but a short time in which Whitley would second guess guests on DREAMLAND with his psychic flashes. Remember?

7. He is a Medium, and routinely has his deceased wife Anne "on hold" in his mind, ready at any time to make pithy statements on DREAMLAND or for his Journal entries on line.

DOES ALL OF THIS SEEM LIKELY IN ONE HUMAN BEING OTHER THAN MYTHICAL RELIGIOUS FIGURES? (I have probably forgotten other claims Whitley has made about himself).

Same, buddy.

 

[ALPHA ROMEO UNIFORM]

Religion, preaching and they have the direct link to the powers of Ufology. Sounds like marketing control for the set agenda while cashing in ?
The Goblins of ufology.

 

[marduk]

Religion, preaching and they have the direct link to the powers of Ufology. Sounds like marketing control for the set agenda while cashing in ?
The Goblins of ufology.

I don't think he's cashing in. It's not like he's rich. He was probably making far more bank from his earlier stuff.

I have two theories.

One, communion happened but basically made him slowly lose his marbles until he's recast himself into a messianic figure in his own mind.

Two, communion happened and whoever the visitors are decided to have some fun with him.

The two are not mutually contradictory.

 

[SheaOlmsford]

I don't think he's cashing in. It's not like he's rich. He was probably making far more bank from his earlier stuff.

I have two theories.

One, communion happened but basically made him slowly lose his marbles until he's recast himself into a messianic figure in his own mind.

Two, communion happened and whoever the visitors are decided to have some fun with him.

The two are not mutually contradictory.

I agree with the extensive article (over 300 pages!) shown above by "Linda Moulton Doty". I think Strieber has mental issues with confabulation and fantasy. He seems to be a narcissistic personality with a persecution complex (for decades he has blamed his fall from literary grace on one episode of SOUTH PARK that does not even include his name!).

He has repeatedly lied about being at famous events when he wasn't there. I honestly think the man has trouble distinguishing fact from his own imagination and fantasy. Perhaps he did initially have experiences, but he has morphed into a fictional storyteller with himself as the main character.

Frankly, after spending a lot of time today reading that entire document (see posts above), I know it is time for me to move on from the past. I have put all my Whitley Strieber books up for sale on eBay. Enough is enough.

 

[William Strathmann]

I've not had much interest in Whitley Strieber. I did read Communion and I saw the film with Christopher Walken. Whitley was raised in catholic school and it obviously had a major formative influence, including the name of his book "Communion." Strieber's early novel, "The Night Church" (1983), was about a catholic church that by day was normal, but by night was used by a cult involved in "a centuries-old Satanist conspiracy to rule the world." This idea would have been cooking in Whitley's mind during the decade of the book and film, "The Exorcist."

Then too, in 1976 a book came out by a former Jesuit, Malachi Martin, called Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans. Martin's book purported to be actual stories of exorcism, but to me it comes across as highly embellished. I should say that as a non-catholic I was once involved in a non-catholic impromptu exorcism, and there were very strange phenomena. So, I don't dismiss the concept, but Martin's journalistic license to embellish makes for a salacious, novelistic horror story, which is off-putting to me. Anyway, I'd guess that Strieber read Martin's book, probably when it came out, and that it probably has had a lasting impact on him. You cannot "un-see" what you've seen. Strieber does say at his website that he was acquainted with Malachi Martin. Of course.

Following is an excerpt from Malachi Martin's book, which might call to mind some of Whitley's most unusual reported experiences, though I leave it to the reader to make connections. A catholic priest, father Gerald, and his assistants, were attempting to perform an exorcism on a demonized victim named Richard/Rita, and the demon literally attacked and physically injured the priest. I've added a few words of context in block quotes to help clarify the text.

The Girl-Fixer [a demon], invisible to [the priest's eyes], was on him, two claws clutching at [the priest's] middle. [The priest's] assistants heard the raucous laughter. They held their ears. But Gerald’s agony they could not know. All they saw were Gerald’s sudden, violent spasms backward and forward “as if his middle was caught in a vise”; then the screeching shredding of his cassock and clothes, leaving him naked from chest to ankles. After that, all details escaped them in the violent jerkings and writhings of his body.​

Gerald felt one claw [of the demon] was now totally sunk in his rectum. Another claw held his genitals, stretching his scrotum away from his penis, jerking at him brutally. Both claws were stiff, cutting like the jagged edge of a tin can, driving deeper and deeper, impaling him. He reeled away from the couch where [the possessed victim] Richard/Rita lay laughing, laughing, laughing, kicking the air and thumping the couch with clenched fists in deafening bursts of merriment. Gerald staggered zigzag across the room, bent like a jackknife, involuntary screams gushing from his throat. One claw rocked back and forth within him. Slivers of agony jabbed and pierced through his buttocks and belly and groin, as flesh and veins and mucous membrane and skin tore and ripped irregularly.​

Martin, Malachi. Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans (p. 173- 174). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.​

Hummmm . . .

It seems possible that as a writer seeking "inspiration" Strieber may have unintentionally attracted powers of darkness to himself that continue to affect his mind.

 

[Linda Moulton Doty]

I think in a recent post, Strieber claimed his dead wife Anne predicted Trump's victory - after she was dead, of course.