Death-warning
Encyclopedia
Death-warning, a term used in parapsychological
research for an intimation of the death
of another person received by other than the ordinary sensory channels, i.e. by (I) a sensory hallucination
or (2) a massive sensation, both presumed to be of telepathic
origin.
Both among civilized and uncivilized people there is a widespread belief that the apparition of a living person is an omen of death; but until the Society for Psychical Research
undertook the statistical examination of the question, there were no data for estimating the value of the belief. In 1885 a collection of spontaneous cases and a discussion of the evidence was published under the title Phantasms of the Living, and though the standard of evidence was lower than at the present time, a substantial body of testimony, including many striking cases, was put forward.
In 1889 a further inquiry was undertaken, known as the Census of Hallucinations, which provided information on the percentage of individuals in the general population who, at some period of their lives, while they were in a normal state of health, had had involuntary extrasensory impressions. These included a vivid impression of seeing or being touched by a living being or inanimate object, or of hearing a voice; which impression, so far as they could discover, was not due to any external cause. About 17,000 answers were received and after making all deductions it appeared that death coincidences numbered about 30 in 1300 cases of recognized apparitions; or about 1 in 43. If chance alone operated the coincidences would have been in the proportion of I to 19,000. As a result of the inquiry the committee deemed that a connection exists between deaths and apparitions of the dying person, which is not due to chance alone.
From an evidential point of view the apparition is the most valuable class of death-warning . Recognition is more difficult in the case of an auditory hallucination, even where it takes the form of spoken words; moreover, auditory hallucinations coinciding with deaths may be mere knocks, ringing of bells, etc. Tactile hallucinations are still more difficult to recognize; and the hallucinations of smell which are sometimes found as death-warnings rarely have anything special to associate them with the dead person. Occasionally the death-warning is in the form of an apparition of some other person; it may also take the form of a temporary feeling of intense depression or other massive sensation.
Parapsychology
The term parapsychology was coined in or around 1889 by philosopher Max Dessoir, and originates from para meaning "alongside", and psychology. The term was adopted by J.B. Rhine in the 1930s as a replacement for the term psychical research...
research for an intimation of the death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
of another person received by other than the ordinary sensory channels, i.e. by (I) a sensory hallucination
Hallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
or (2) a massive sensation, both presumed to be of telepathic
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
origin.
Both among civilized and uncivilized people there is a widespread belief that the apparition of a living person is an omen of death; but until the Society for Psychical Research
Society for Psychical Research
The Society for Psychical Research is a non-profit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand "events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal by promoting and supporting important research in this area" and to "examine allegedly paranormal phenomena...
undertook the statistical examination of the question, there were no data for estimating the value of the belief. In 1885 a collection of spontaneous cases and a discussion of the evidence was published under the title Phantasms of the Living, and though the standard of evidence was lower than at the present time, a substantial body of testimony, including many striking cases, was put forward.
In 1889 a further inquiry was undertaken, known as the Census of Hallucinations, which provided information on the percentage of individuals in the general population who, at some period of their lives, while they were in a normal state of health, had had involuntary extrasensory impressions. These included a vivid impression of seeing or being touched by a living being or inanimate object, or of hearing a voice; which impression, so far as they could discover, was not due to any external cause. About 17,000 answers were received and after making all deductions it appeared that death coincidences numbered about 30 in 1300 cases of recognized apparitions; or about 1 in 43. If chance alone operated the coincidences would have been in the proportion of I to 19,000. As a result of the inquiry the committee deemed that a connection exists between deaths and apparitions of the dying person, which is not due to chance alone.
From an evidential point of view the apparition is the most valuable class of death-warning . Recognition is more difficult in the case of an auditory hallucination, even where it takes the form of spoken words; moreover, auditory hallucinations coinciding with deaths may be mere knocks, ringing of bells, etc. Tactile hallucinations are still more difficult to recognize; and the hallucinations of smell which are sometimes found as death-warnings rarely have anything special to associate them with the dead person. Occasionally the death-warning is in the form of an apparition of some other person; it may also take the form of a temporary feeling of intense depression or other massive sensation.