Observations placeholder

Ernesto Bozzano - Psychic phenomena at the moment of death [110 cases suggesting survival after death]

Second category - Cases in which the appearances of deceased are still perceived only by the patient, but relate to persons whose death he did not know.

29-th case. - This first example is of small scientific value, since the essential circumstance required for this group of cases - that is, the assistants do not know the death of the person who appeared to the patient - is only a probability. Indeed, the investigation of this case will remain incomplete because of the refusal by the mother of the deceased child to provide information, as a result of religious prejudices.

I extract this case from the Journal of the American S.P. R. (1918, 590); and Professor Hyslop prefaces it with the following considerations:

"The following case would be very important, for the child percipient did not know that his schoolteacher was dead; unfortunately, his mother is irrationally opposed to exposing the facts. The mental condition of religious persons on this theme is incomprehensible unless it is deduced that they consider the problem of survival to be an entirely selfish point of view. Their irreducible decision not to help others to enter their order tends to confirm the judgment of the critics, that, on the one hand, the belief is not confirmed by evidence, and that, on the other hand, believers only show an egoistic interest in the future life. And, all too often, these observations are true. In the present circumstances, we have confirmation of the facts from another witness, and although it is not as complete as we would like (because the witness did not sufficiently grasp the value of the details) the mother's refusal to give her testimony is translated into another negative confirmation of the truth of the facts."

I extract the following passages from the letters where the case is reported by Dr. H. L. Coleman to Professor Hyslop.

I would like to tell you about a strange incident that occurred in a family of my cousins living in Gresly, Colorado. They had the misfortune to lose a little boy, and this boy, shortly before dying, told his mother that he saw his schoolmistress in the room. They assured me that the child was in full possession of his mental faculties. The strange side of the fact is that the mistress had died an hour before. No one could foresee death, and the child knew absolutely nothing about it; so, it seems, the assistants did not know anything about it.

"Do you think that if I could get a good confirmation of the fact, it could be of scientific value?"

Unfortunately, Dr. Coleman failed to obtain the desired confirmations, and can only show the testimony of another cousin who had discussed the fact with the mother of the dead child. She reports: The child was 8 years old, he seemed to be exuberant with life, and was the favorite of the schoolteacher: she had met him the day before his death. The child was absolutely ignorant that the mistress was dead, and saw her soon after death, dressed in the costume in which she had been placed in her coffin. He spoke like a monologue ..."