Communion (book)

Communion: A True Story
Front Cover
Author(s)	Whitley Strieber
Language	English
Publisher	Avon
Publication date	February 25, 1987
Media type	Paperback
Pages	320
ISBN	978-0-38-070388-3
OCLC Number	17375661
Followed by	Transformation

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 Strieber's alleged experiences with non-human, possibly extraterrestrial entities.^[1]

The book was later made into a film directed by Philippe Mora and starring Christopher Walken as Strieber. 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-recognized popular culture images of a "grey" alien. "The Communion cover," Jacobs recounts,

"was painted in my small apartment on East 83rd St, in New York City. Whitley sat with me first for a drawing of the Alien. As I sketched, he would indicate how to change the portrait so that it would more match what he saw. It was, I believe, the process used by police sketch artists. Every last detail was corrected according to his instructions. At one point, he said the image corresponded exactly to what he had seen. With Whitley beside me for the subsequent session, I began to paint the image on a wooden prepared panel, going through the same process as for the drawing, until Whitley finally said the image was exact. ... As to the gender of the Alien image, to tell the truth, the subject didn't come up. I don't even know if the 'greys' have gender as we understand it. Whitley corrected the developing image to have a certain fragility, a vulnerability. I suppose we Earthlings usually associate these qualities with femininity."^[2]

Popular culture references

The band Pg. 99's song "By the Fireplace in White" contains someone reading passages from the book at the end of the song.

Swedish progressive metal band Evergrey wrote their 2001 concept album, In Search of Truth, around the ideas presented in Communion after the band's singer Tom S. Englund read the book.

The X-Files episode "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" parodied the book cover.

Bibliography

• Communion: A True Story by Whitley Strieber, Avon Books, paperback, 1995. ISBN 0-380-70388-2

References

1. ^ Colin Groves in Skeptical - a Handbook of Pseudoscience and the Paranormal, ed Donald Laycock, David Vernon, Colin Groves, Simon Brown, Imagecraft, Canberra, 1989, ISBN 0731657942, p. 4
2. ^ Bueche, W., "Ted Seth Jacobs: An interview with the artist" URL accessed Aug 18, 2008(1999)

External links

• Communion at the Internet Movie Database