I have examined Whitley Strieber and found that he is not suffering from a psychosis. He is not hallucinating in a manner characteristic of psychosis. I also see no evidence of an anxiety state, mood disorder, or personality disorder. He is an excellent hypnotic subject, who appeared to make an honest attempt while under hypnosis to describe what he remembered.

He has approached the dilemma of what is happening to him in a careful and forthright way and has pursued his investigation with diligence. After an initial period of stress, he became much more calm about his situation and soon learned to deal with it in a psychologically healthy way. He appears to me to have adapted very well to life at a high level of uncertainty.

—DONALD F. KLEIN, MD

Director of Research

New York State Psychiatric Institute

APPENDIX II

Polygraph Results

On October 31. 1986, I was polygraphed by Ned Laurendi, president of the Society of Professional investigators and vice-president of the Empire State Polygraph Society. He has been a polygraph operator for twenty-five years. He was paid in the normal course of business before the polygraph was undertaken, and was not familiar with me before the test.

I was aware of the controversial nature of polygraphic results, and so determined to add a test of Mr. Laurendi's effectiveness to the process. Without telling him, I lied in my answers to control questions thirteen and sixteen. In both cases, he detected the lie correctly. His ability to do this — along with his leading position in his field — has convinced me that, despite the controversies surrounding lie detection in general, he is very skilled indeed.

The letter referred to in the test results was written to Mr. Laurendi on October 17, 1986, and outlined the part of my experiences that I remembered before hypnosis.

The reason I carried out the polygraph was to reassure readers that I honestly think that I perceived the things reported in this book. It is not fiction, and does not contain a word of fiction. My successful completion of this test in no way proves that my recollection of my experiences is correct, but it does confirm that I have described what I saw to the best of my ability.

Test Results