26/12/2025
🌲❄️ Merry (slightly belated) Christmas, everyone... but what if the most chilling holiday story isn't about Santa?
On December 26, 1985 — exactly 40 years ago today — bestselling horror author Whitley Strieber went to bed in his secluded cabin in upstate New York after a perfect family Christmas: skiing, leftovers, early night with his wife and son.
What happened next changed his life forever... and turned him into the face of modern alien abduction stories. 👽
Ready for the wild ride? Thread 👇
Post 2/6
Around 3 AM, Strieber suddenly woke up to strange noises. Then paralysis hit. He felt himself being carried out of the cabin into the freezing woods.
There, he encountered small beings — some short & stocky, some slender, one like a little robot. They weren't friendly.
He described being poked, prodded, subjected to invasive "medical" procedures (yes, including the infamous ones many abductees report). Then... nothing.
He woke up back in bed the next morning with no memory of how he got there. 😱
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Terrified and confused, Strieber turned to hypnosis to recover what his mind had buried.
Under regression, the full night came flooding back: the beings entering his home, the examination, missing time, and a sense that this wasn't his first rodeo — he'd had strange encounters his whole life.
He called them "the visitors" (he refused to jump to "aliens" conclusions). But the experience was so real, so traumatic, it shattered his worldview.
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In 1987, he wrote Communion: A True Story — a massive bestseller that sold millions and put alien abductions on the map.
The iconic cover (that haunting gray face with huge black eyes) became a pop culture legend. It even inspired a movie starring Christopher Walken!
Here are some classic covers and artistic depictions of what that night might have looked like:
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And here's Whitley Strieber himself — the man who lived it:
Skeptics say sleep paralysis, psychological trauma, or vivid nightmares.
Strieber insists it was real — and that the "visitors" might be trying to communicate something profound about humanity, consciousness, and our place in the universe.
He still writes and speaks about it today, 40 years later.
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So... on this Boxing Day anniversary, what do YOU think?
Real extraterrestrial encounter? Something interdimensional? Or just the mind playing tricks after too many Christmas cookies? 🍪👽
Drop your thoughts below — I'd love to hear if anyone has had their own weird holiday experiences!
Tag a friend who loves spooky stories. 👇✨ MXK.