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The Trigger of Deathbed
Visions: Dr. Carla
Wills-Brandon's Research
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Deathbed Visions
(DBVs) - also known as "nearing death
awareness" - refer to paranormal
experiences occurring to people who are
dying. There are many examples of
deathbed phenomena in both non-fiction
and fictional literature, which suggests
that these occurrences have been noted
by cultures around the world for
centuries, although scientific study of
them is relatively recent.
Recent
research by Neuropsychiatrist
Peter Fenwick and Elizabeth Fenwick
published in their book,
The Art of Dying, collated examples
of unusual happenings at the time of
someone's death. The dying person may
report seeing deceased relatives or
friends and having conversations with
them or be overcome with a feeling of
joy and happiness. If we accept deathbed visions at
face value they provide glimpses of what
awaits us when we ourselves make the
transition. The following
are some true accounts of deathbed visions from Dr.
Carla Wills-Brandon's research (www.carlawillsbrandon.com) into deathbed
visions from her book,
One Last Hug Before I Go. Included
in this article are deathbed accounts
from
Sir William Barrett in his classic
book entitled
Death-Bed Visions: The Psychical
Experiences of the Dying.
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Table of Contents |
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1.
Introduction to Deathbed Visions |
Staff working in
hospices frequently relate paranormal
occurrences around the time of a patient's
death. According to a study published in the
American Journal of Hospice & Palliative care,
The Incidence of Deathbed Communications and
Their Impact on the Dying Process by
Dr. Madelaine Lawrence and
Dr. Elizabeth Repede, hospice nurses
identified 363 incidences of DBCs, with the
typical hospice nurse sees approximately five
patients a month with deathbed communication
(DBC). Lawrence and Repede prefer "deathbed
communications" (DBCs) rather than "deathbed
visions" because some communication is auditory
and some tactile in addition to being visual.
The purpose of their study was to determine the
incidence of DBCs during the 30 days before
death and their impact on the dying process. A
total of 60 hospice chart audits and 75 survey
responses by hospice nurses across the United
States were analyzed. In all, 89% of the hospice
nurses reported patients who experienced a DBC
had a peaceful and calm death, with only 40.5%
reporting a peaceful and calm death without the
DBC. According to their study, these DBCs have a
positive impact on the dying process but are
underreported in patient records and under
described in textbooks.
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2. Examples of Cases of Deathbed Visions from
Dr. Carla Wills-Brandon's Research
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a. A Dying Mother's Deathbed Vision |
"My mother had
been in and out of hospitals over the last year, near
death at each admission. She was coherent and not
delusional. She had congestive heart failure and lung
and kidney cancer spread throughout her body. One
morning in the hospital room, about 2 a.m. when all was
quiet, my mother stared out the door of her room and
into the hall that led to the nurse's station and the
other patient's rooms.
"I said, 'Momma,
what do you see?'
"And she said,
'Don't you see them? They walk the hall day and night.
They are dead.'
"She said this with quiet calmness. The
revelation of this statement might send fear into some,
but my mother and I had seen spiritual visions many years
prior, so this statement was not a shock for me to hear,
or for her to see. I, however, this time, I did not see
them. This small conversation was not mentioned again.
"Her surgeon said there was no point in treatment as
the cancer had spread throughout her body. He said she might
have six months to live, at the most; maybe three months.
"I brought her home to die. She passed four weeks later.
"The night of her (unexpected) passing,
she was restless and anxious. Although my mother was a spiritual
person, she had been in denial throughout her illness and
declining health. She did not want to die, therefore she
would not acknowledge the prognosis or her condition. She
always talked as if she were going to get well and making
plans of things to do in the coming spring.
"About
7:30 p.m. she asked to be carried out to the enclosed front
porch. It was winter and cold. But, she insisted and by
this time, I would not deny my mother any request.
"I wrapped
her in blankets and made her as comfortable as possible.
My mother was an invalid and could not support herself in
anyway without help.
"A few minutes
before 8 p.m. she said, 'I have to go. They're here.
They're waiting for me.'
"Her face glowed
and the color returned to her pale face as she attempted
to raise herself and stand up.
"Her last words were,
'I have to go. It
is beautiful!'
" And she then passed at 8 p.m."
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b. A
Dying
Uncle's Deathbed Vision |
"I found the subject of deathbed
visions oddly reassuring as my favorite uncle died this
morning at 7:30 a.m. CST. He has been ill with terminal
cancer for over two years now and we knew the end was
near.
"My aunt said he
knew it was time to go and asked his son-in-law to cut
his hair and trim his beard last night, then asked to be
bathed.
"My aunt
sat with him all night.
"A few hours
before he died he said, 'Uncle Charley, you're here! I
can't believe it!'
"He proceeded to
talk to uncle Charley right up to the end, and told my
aunt that Uncle Charley had come to help him over to the
other side.
"His Uncle Charley was his favorite uncle,
and is the only significant other in my uncle's life who
has passed on.
"So I believe Uncle Charley did come to take
Uncle Timmy to the other side, and it brings me great comfort."
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3.
Examples of Cases of Deathbed Visions from Sir
William Barrett's Research and Others
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a. Visions of the Dying Who Are Greeted By
People Unknown To Them To Be Dead |
There are instances where
the dying person is unaware of the previous
death of a loved one, and is therefore
astonished to find on their deathbed a vision of
that deceased loved one whom the dying person
believes to be still alive. These cases are,
perhaps, one of the most convincing arguments
for survival after death, as the accuracy of
these deathbed visions are greatly enhanced when
the fact is undeniably established that the
dying person was completely ignorant of the
death of the person they so vividly see. Such
deathbed visions are also known as "Peak in
Darien" experiences after a book by that name
published in 1882 by
Frances Power Cobbe (1822-1904) an Irish
writer, social reformer and leading suffragette.
The title of her book, "Peak
in Darien" and the name of "Peak in Darien"
deathbed visions, are taken from a poem entitled
On First Looking into Chapman's Homer by the
English romantic poet,
John Keats (1795-1821), who referred to
the shock of the Spaniards, who, after
sailing the Atlantic Ocean and scaling a peak in
Darien (in what is now the Panama Canal),
expected to see a continent but were awestruck
when confronted instead with another ocean - the
Pacific Ocean. People on their deathbeds are
similarly awestruck when they meet a recently
deceased person of whose death neither they nor
anyone around them had any knowledge. Such "Peak
in Darien" deathbed visions exclude the
possibility of the vision being a hallucination
related to the experiencer's expectations.
Frances Cobbe describes this phenomenon as
follows:
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"The dying
person is lying quietly, when suddenly,
in the very act of expiring, he looks up
- sometimes starts up in bed - and gazes
on (what appears to be) vacancy, with an
expression of astonishment, sometimes
developing instantly into joy, and
sometimes cut short in the first emotion
of solemn wonder and awe. If the dying
man were to see some utterly -
unexpected but instantly recognized
vision, causing him a great surprise, or
rapturous joy, his face could not better
reveal the fact. The very instant this
phenomenon occurs, death is actually
taking place, and the eyes glaze even
while they gaze at the unknown sight."
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Another "Peak in Darien"
deathbed vision example comes from Frances Cobbe
documents is an incident of a very striking
nature:
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"A dying lady,
exhibiting the aspect of joyful
surprise, spoke of seeing, one after
another, three of her brothers who had
been long dead, and then apparently
recognized last of all a fourth brother,
who was believed by the bystanders to be
still living in India. The coupling of
his name with that of his dead brothers
excited such awe and horror in the mind
of one of the persons present that she
rushed from the room. In due course of
time letters were received announcing
the death of the brother in India, which
had occurred some time before his dying
sister seemed to recognize him."
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Sir William F. Barrett (1844-1925), an
English physicist and parapsychologist,
documented a "Peak in Darien" deathbed case in
Chapter 2 of his book entitled
Death-Bed Visions: The Psychical Experiences of
the Dying. This case is a well authenticated
one and comes from the distinguished doctor of
divinity and Unitarian minister,
Dr. Minot J. Savage (1841-1918), with whom
Barrett was acquainted. Dr. Savage recorded the
following case in one of his books entitled
Psychical Research and the Resurrection and
was confirmed by Barrett as follows:
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"Dr. Savage told
me personally of the facts and gave me
the names and addresses of the persons
on whose authority he tells the
incidents."
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Dr. Savage narrates, as
follows:
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"In a
neighboring city were two little girls,
Jennie and Edith, one about eight years
of age and the other but a little older.
They were schoolmates and intimate
friends. In June, 1889, both were taken
ill of diphtheria. At noon on Wednesday
Jennie died. Then the parents of Edith,
and her physician as well, took
particular pains to keep from her the
fact that her little playmate was gone.
They feared the effect of the knowledge
on her own condition. To prove that they
succeeded and that she did not know, it
may be mentioned that on Saturday, June
8th, at noon, just before she became
unconscious of all that was passing
about her, she selected two of her
photographs to be sent to Jennie, and
also told her attendants to bid her
good-bye. She died at half-past six
o'clock on the evening of Saturday, June
8th. She had roused and bidden her
friends good-bye, and was talking of
dying, and seemed to have no fear. She
appeared to see one and another of the
friends she knew were dead. So far it
was like other similar cases. But now
suddenly, and with every appearance of
surprise, she turned to her father and
exclaimed:
"Why,
papa, I am going to take Jennie
with me!" Then she added, "Why,
papa! you did not tell me that
Jennie was here!"
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And immediately
she reached out her arms as if in
welcome, and said:
"Oh,
Jennie, I'm so glad you are
here!'"
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Another "Peak in
Darien" deathbed vision was documented by the
pioneering parapsychology researchers
Edmund Gurney and
Frederic W.H. Myers who described the case
of John Alkin Ogle, who, an hour before he died,
saw his brother who had died 16 years earlier,
calling him by name. Ogle then called out in
surprise, “George Hanley!,” which was the name
of a casual acquaintance in a village 40 miles
away, before expiring. His mother, who was
visiting from Hanley’s village, then confirmed
that Hanley had died 10 days earlier, a fact
that no one else in the room had known.
"Peak in Darien"
experiences are not limited to deathbed visions
as they occur in NDEs as well. In a paper by
Dr. Bruce Greyson from the
Division of Perceptual Studies at the University
of Virginia entitled,
Seeing Dead People Not Known to Have Died: Peak
in Darien Experiences
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Greyson argues that in his collection of 665
NDEs, 138 (21%) included a meeting with a
deceased person. Greyson reports in his paper,
published in the academic journal "Anthropology
and Humanism, many examples, including that
of Physician K. M. Dale who related the case of
9-year-old Eddie Cuomo:
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"... whose fever
finally broke after nearly 36 hours of
anxious vigil on the part of his parents
and hospital personnel. As soon as he
opened his eyes, at 3:00 in the morning,
Eddie urgently told his parents that he
had been to heaven, where he saw his
deceased Grandpa Cuomo, Auntie Rosa, and
Uncle Lorenzo. Then Eddie added that he
also saw his 19-year-old sister Teresa,
who told him he had to go back. His
father became agitated, because he had
spoken with Teresa, who was attending
college in Vermont, just two nights ago.
Later that morning, when Eddie’s parents
telephoned the college, they learned
that Teresa had been killed in an
automobile accident just after midnight,
and that college officials had tried
unsuccessfully to reach the Cuomos at
their home to inform them of the tragic
news."
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Dr. Greyson cites many
other such examples which can be read online on
Michael Prescott's Blog including cases in
which the deceased person seen was someone whom
the experiencer had never known.
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b. Deathbed Visions Seen by the Dying and by
Others Present |
Deathbed visions of the dying
that are also viewed by person(s) present at the scene
are called
shared death experiences (SDEs), a term coined by
Dr. Raymond
Moody in his book entitled
Glimpses of Eternity: An Investigation Into Shared Death
Experiences. One very credible example of a SDE is
the documented deathbed vision of the American poet,
Horace Traubel (1858-1919), who is best known as the
literary executor and biographer of his friend, famous
poet
Walt Whitman (1819 -1892), about whom he compiled
nine volumes entitled "Walt Whitman in Camden." It is
taken from a fuller narrative in the
Journal of American Society of Psychical Research
(1921, Vol. XV, pp. 114-123). An abridged account of the
incident comes from Flora MacDonald Denison, who was
present at Traubel's deathbed, and was published in the
April-May issue of a Magazine entitled,
The Sunset of Bon Echo
as follows:
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"All day on
August 28th Horace was very low
spirited. Anne's illness and the going
of the Bains was too much for him.
Mildred was with him a good deal and we
decided not to leave him a minute. He
had been brought in from the veranda but
absolutely radiant, and on seeing me, he
called out:
'Look,
look, Flora, quick, quick, he is
going.'
'What,
Horace,' I said, 'what do you
see? I cannot see anyone.'
'Why
just over the rock Walt
appeared, head and shoulders and
hat on in a golden glory -
brilliant and splendid. He
reassured me - beckoned to me,
and spoke to me. I heard his
voice but did not understand
all, he said, only 'Come on.'"
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"Frank Bain soon
came in and he repeated the story to
him. All the rest of the evening Horace
was uplifted and happy. So often Horace
would say, 'Do not despise me for my
weakness,' but now he was quite
confident, even jocular, as I handed him
a drink.
"On the night of
September 3rd Horace was very low. I
stayed for a few hours with him. Once
his eyes rolled; I thought he was dying,
but he just wanted me to turn him. As I
did so, he listened and seemed to hear
something.
"Then he said:
'I
hear Walt's voice, he is talking
to me.'
'I
said, 'What does he say?'
'He
said, 'Walt says, 'Come on, come
on.'
'After
a time he said, 'Flora, I see
them all about me, Bob and Bucke
and Walt and the rest.'
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"Colonel
Cosgrave had been with Horace in the
afternoon and had seen Walt on the
opposite side of the bed, and felt his
presence. Then Walt passed through the
bed and touched the Colonel's hand,
which was in his pocket. The contact was
like an electric shock. Horace was also
aware of Walt's visible presence and
said so. There was no gloom about the
house. No one seemed depressed. A
feeling of triumph, of pride, and of
exultation permeated the atmosphere."
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Afterwards,
a letter from Colonel Cosgrave was received
by the American Society of Psychical Research
confirming the statement given by Flora Denison
above.
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c. Other Types of Deathbed Visions Reported by
Sir William Barrett |
Barrett has also
documented cases in
Chapter 4 of his book where visions are seen
by living people of persons who are dying from a
great distance away from them. According to
Barrett, in such cases the soul of the dying
appears to be transported to a different place
on Earth where they are able to be with living
loved one(s) from a remote distance. Barrett
referred to such cases as "travelling
clairvoyance" and numerous well-attested facts
of this kind have been collected in a two-volume
classic entitled
Phantasms of the Living by parapsychology
researchers
Edmund Gurney and
Frederic W.H. Myers along with an opponent
of spiritualism and well-known psychical
investigator
Frank Podmore. The modern term for such
deathbed visions are called "empathetic death
experiences." According to
Peter Fenwick in his book,
The Art of Dying, people associated with the
dying person have not only reported empathetic
death visions of the dying person when they are
many miles away; but they have also reported
suddenly sensing the feelings of a loved one on
the verge of death many miles away, the
experience of pets howling or behaving as if
someone has arrived when no one is visible, and
having clocks stop and electrical devices
spontaneously switching themselves on or
malfunctioning in some way. A similar phenomenon
can, called
after-death communications (ADCs), can occur
long after a loved one has died and a living
person related to the deceased suddenly sees an
apparition of the deceased or experiences some
form of contact with them. The webmaster of this
website,
Kevin Williams and members of his family,
experienced for several years ADCs of their
deceased mother in the form of
multiple synchronicity.
In
Chapter 5 of Barrett's book, he documents
instances where music is heard at the time of
death by the dying or by persons present at a
deathbed. One example is a case published in the
Journal of the Society of Psychical Research
(Vol. IV, p. 181.) In this instance, the subject
was a deaf mute by the name of John Britton who
was taken dangerously ill with rheumatic fever
which caused his hands and fingers (which were
his only means of conversation) to become so
swollen he could not use them, greatly to the
distress of his relatives to whom he could not
make known his wants nor his sufferings. The
narrator was Mr. S. Allen of Steward of
Haileybury College and a brother-in-law of John
Britton who stated how the doctor, believing
John would not recover, sent for members of his
family. He adds that when he and his wife were
in a room below John's bedroom, they were
greatly surprised to hear music coming from
upstairs and ran up at once to find out what it
was. He narrates as follows:
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"We found Jack
lying on his back with his eyes fixed on
the ceiling, and his face lighted up
with the brightest of smiles. After a
little while Jack awoke and used the
words 'Heaven' and 'beautiful' as well
as he could by means of his lips and
facial expression. As he became more
conscious he also told us in the same
manner that his brother Tom and his
sister Harriet were coming to see him.
This we considered very unlikely as they
lived some distance off, but shortly
afterwards a cab drove up from which
they alighted. They had sent no
intimation of their coming, nor had
anyone else. After Jack's partial
recovery, when he was able to write or
converse upon his fingers, he told us
that he had been allowed to see into
Heaven and to hear most beautiful
music."
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Mr. Allen asked:
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"How did John
know that Tom and Harriet were
travelling, and how could he have heard
these musical sounds which we also
heard?"
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Mr. Allen remarked that
the music could not have come from next door or
from the street and gave a rough description of
his house to show it was not in a row of houses
nor could the music be due to any normal cause.
Mrs. Allen confirms her husband's statement and
said she heard the sounds of singing which came
from her brother's bedroom and that when she
entered the bedroom he was in a comatose state
and smiling. His lips were moving as if he were
in conversation with someone; but no sound came
from them. Mrs. Allen continues:
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"When he had
recovered sufficiently to use his hands
he told me more details of what he had
seen, and used the words 'beautiful
music.'"
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She adds that her
brother died a few years later, and stated how:
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"The nurse and I
were watching in the room, my brother
was looking just as he did on the former
occasion, smiling, and he said quite
distinctly and articulately 'Angels' and
'Home.'"
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In
Chapter 6 of Barrett's book, he documents
instances where living people observe of the
spirit of a dying person leaving the body.
According to Barrett:
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"Many well
authenticated cases are on record where
the relatives of a person, watching by
the deathbed, have seen at the moment of
death a cloudy form rising from the body
of the deceased and hovering for a time
in the room and then passing away."
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Barrett gives an example
of such a case from a letter sent to him by a
well-known dignitary of a Church in New South
Wales in which he describes the death of his son
a few years ago. He wrote that at about 3.30 pm,
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"... something
rise as it were from his face like a
delicate veil or mist, and slowly pass
away."
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He adds:
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"We were deeply
impressed and remarked, 'How wonderful!
Surely that must be the departure of his
spirit.' We were not at all distracted
so as to be mistaken in what we saw."
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4. Links to Deathbed Vision Articles,
Videos and Books |
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