Anomalous post-death encounters and their positive impact on experients

During the bereavement process, people often report anomalous experiences that may be interpreted as evidence of the survival of the deceased’s ‘spirit’, ‘soul’, or ‘personality’. For example, Rees (1971) and Castelnovo et al. (2015) found that between 50-60% of bereaved individuals reported spontaneous anomalous experiences – most notably, ‘sensing the presence’ of the deceased. The experiences typically take the form of dreaming of the dead (Barrett, 1991-92) and sensing the presence of the deceased (Steffen & Coyle, 2011), but also include the seeing of apparitions and physical effects that are characteristic of the deceased (see Cooper, Roe, & Mitchell, 2015). Experients report that they find such experiences comforting and serve to help them come to terms with their loss (see Krippner, 2006). The present study was intended to explore these experiences in much greater depth, focusing on how they might engender ‘hope’ (Snyder, 1994), as suggested by several previous researchers (e.g., Devers, 1997; Drewry, 2003; Guggenheim & Guggenheim, 1995).