>From Mr. Blanton: >> Whitley Strieber has always described his encounters as >> encounters with "visitors." I think it is an apt description. >> We don't really know who the "visitors" are, or where they >> come from. In my own opinion, (an opinion I fully admit has >> not been proven) what we do not know or really understand >> yet, is in what context the "reality" of Whitley's encounters >> are being played out in.
> As you surely recall in his books, Strieber describes one > particular "visitor" that I find quite frightening. It is the > cloaked dwarfs that make me think of medieval trolls. Their > hooded garments sound like a monk's clothes. With Mr. Strieber we have the unique opportunity of viewing an unfolding abduction / experiencer drama as perceived through a highly intelligent, gifted, and imaginative writer. Most experiencers don't possess anywhere near the arsenal of literary tools at their disposal that Whitley commands. Depending on one's POV, this may or may not be considered advantageous. Hardened skeptics are prone to conclude that Whitley is simply indulging in his literary craft. It is easy to understand why those who are both religious and hard-line fundamentalist in their spiritual outlook in life might be prone to interpret Whitley's "trolls" as strong evidence of demonic activity. Curiously, and as far as I can tell, not many abductees have described the beings they have encountered as looking like trolls, particularly trolls in medieval-like monk's clothing. Typically the appearance of these beings are described as the classic "gray", or as reptilian (i.e. possessing scales), or insect or bug-like - almost like a gigantic praying mantis. I suspect the prevailing assumption among most UFO believers is that Whitley Strieber is being abducted by aliens. Whitley, on the other hand, and to his credit I might add, has not committed to an either/or conclusion. I will offer my own flavor of "conjecture" here, one that harkens to my evolving hypothesis, one that suggest components of a sophisticated form of communication that is highly symbolic in nature. The fact that Whitley has described some of the creatures he encountered as looking like trolls-in-robes seems to suggest (to me) a direct link to a personal database of archetypical constructs, particularly pertaining to his earlier horror stories, like "The Wolfen", "The Hunger", "Black Magic", and "The Night Church". It's easy to understand why most of us, if we were to encounter similar looking troll-like creatures, might very well have the bejesus scared out of us! Their unique appearance might also suggest a distinct link to our past, particularly since the concept of "trolls" comes from a wealth of our own historical mythology. It's important to point out an important fact concerning the consequences of Whitley's continuing encounters, a fact that many experiencers have also pointed out: Even though Whitley has found aspects of his continuing encounters to be highly traumatic at times, they have also availed him to unique insights into himself and of his surroundings. It appears to be a continuing education, one that Whitley appears justifiably to be ambivalent about. Who can blame him. Whitley asked his abducters: "Why are you doing this to me!" Whitley has also confronted his captors with one of the most visceral statements one could possibly make under the circumstances: "You have no right to do this to me!" They responded by saying they have every right to do what it is that they are doing. Needless to say, their reply makes no sense to our current sense of "self." It is, in fact, a direct affront, a blatant violation of the integrity of the "self." This would seem to imply malicious intent. OTOH, if some individuals, like Whitley and related experiencers, are in the process of experiencing close encounters of the most profound kind with aspects of the alienated portions of their own hidden greater "selves" the response begins to take on a very different meaning, one of urgency, one that possibly hints that our survival is at stake. Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
