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The Art of Dying – Drs Peter and Elizabeth Fenwick

A few accounts suggest that 'visits' are experienced by other family members too - as in the following account.  Evie's husband died of lung cancer in October 1998.

As the weeks went by, I dreamed a great deal about my husband, which I guess is completely normal. I was awake one night for a while and I guess I fell asleep again - that's my explanation. But I could feel my husband in bed with me, with his arms around me, and I remember thinking, 'This must be real, because I'm awake.'

But I guess I had dozed off again and it was another dream.

I've experienced the smell of cigar smoke (he smoked cigars) several times in the house, and once had the very, very strong feeling that someone was stood at the foot of the bed, when I was awake in the night. This, I'm sure, is all quite normal.

The strangest thing happened in the August after he'd died. I was out early one morning with Bertie (my dog) across the fields. It was a very calm, quiet day, with no traffic noise and no one else around. Totally peaceful. And all of a sudden I heard Ron's voice shout, 'Evie! 'It sounded like a warning. I whirled round and of course could see nothing. I decided I was going mad, and walked home saying to myself, 'I'm going mad. But I know what I heard. It was Ron's voice. But that's not possible, I'm going mad'

Anyway, I thought no more of it, except that madness was obviously setting in, and a few days later I called my sister-in-law Mandy. We had a chat and I told her what I've just told you. She went very quiet and asked when this had happened. I explained a bit more. Then she said that the week before, when she was alone in the house, she had taken a cup of tea out into the garden to sit and relax. The doors and windows were open as it was a lovely day, when she suddenly heard a man's voice call (again, as if a warning), 'Mandy!' She jumped up, thinking her husband had returned home early from work - but there was no one there. Now I knew nothing of this when I had my experience, so I guess autosuggestion can be ruled out. But very strange, that two women can experience exactly the same thing.

I know that when you're bereaved, it's very easy to see or hear things, because you do go a bit mad, in the nicest sense of the word. I've not experienced anything else for several years now, so I'm not really sure whether there is life after death. If there is, I just hope my husband is having a good time, although as a cricketer, he would not have been impressed by our Ashes performance!