Since then, thousands of reports have been collected and investigated. In some cases, people might already be aware that their friends or relatives are seriously ill, but usually—as with Billie Holiday—the death is unexpected. Even if the apparition doesn’t communicate that they have just died, the friend or relative somehow immediately “knows”—again, as with Billie Holiday—that this is the case.
Can crisis apparitions be explained in terms of mundane factors such as coincidence, wishful thinking, or self-deception? Since they seem so bizarre, it might seem sensible to adopt such explanations. However, I think they are highly dubious. The chances of someone like Billie Holiday inadvertently “guessing” the unexpected moment of her mother’s death would be way beyond any measure of probability.
A skeptic might also argue that people retrospectively deceive themselves into believing they have the experiences as a way of coping with the pain of bereavement. However, this also seems highly unlikely, since the experiences are often reported immediately. It’s also important to note that, as with Billie Holiday, many people who have crisis apparitions don’t believe in psi or the supernatural, so wouldn’t be cognitively primed to deceive themselves in this way.
So what’s the alternative? Is it really possible that there is some kind of “spirit” or “subtle body” that leaves the physical body at the time of death and can travel across distances to communicate with relatives and friends? If this is the case, it would indicate the possibility of life after death....<<<Read More>>>...
