Tag Archives: Afterlife

The Dream After Death

“My brother was killed by me almost 20 years ago. And five days before he passed away, I had just moved back from Aruba and he had called me up and he’s like, hey, what are you doing?

It’s my birthday. And I’m like, I’m just. I don’t know, it’s my birthday, let’s hang out. So we hung out and we had a great time. And five days later I was sleeping and all of a sudden I woke up and I was like I couldn’t figure out why I, like, woke up, like in, you know, like, why am I awake? And about 30 minutes later, I get a phone call, 4:00 in the morning, 4:30 in the morning.

And it was my brother calling me, saying that, you know, my brother was found dead and, and I was saying “no way” because I had just talked to him that night.

I was supposed to go down there for Thanksgiving to hang out with him, and I was moving that same weekend. So I was like, you know what? I really shouldn’t do that. I should just stick to packing my bags and, you know, stay focused and so let’s go out next weekend.

And we hung up. It’s 11:30 at night. And then of course, my brother calls me the next morning saying he passed and I was saying “no”, I just spoke to him, you know, I’m like, “no”.

I kept saying “no”. He’s like, yes. He’s kind of like, well, how. Anyways, he, you know. By the way, the cause of death is basically unknown. Okay. I believe his wife killed him, in my opinion.

Just from what I have gathered, he was trying to leave her, and she didn’t want to grant the divorce for almost a year.

Trying to leave her. Anyway, there was a lot of turmoil that went online.

So I was sleeping and I was trying to figure out, like, how can I honor my brother, right?

And. And I was very upset. And he came to visit me in this dream and he said, “you’re not gonna know what happened to me”.

And I was like, what? Why? He’s like, “they don’t have testing for it”. I’m like, okay. He’s like, “but I’m okay. And, you know, you need to basically let go so I can move on”.

I was like, oh, gosh, okay. And I woke up from that dream, and I was like, I felt better because I’m like, at least he came to visit me, you know.”

Their thoughts

The teller believes this was genuine communication from her brother after death, reinforced by the psychic’s confirmation later. She thinks her brother showed up so they can both move on to the next part of their journey; she felt like she did not need to think about how to honor him, and he could move on to the other side and rest in peace.

My thoughts

I found this story interesting because it blends her grief over her brother with her belief in the afterlife.  This story showed how ghost stories can offer comfort and a sense of closure. I was also moved by the fact that after this experience, she chose to meet with a psychic, and that the psychic was able to share details about her brother that felt very specific and personal. That seemed to reinforce her belief that the person she saw in her dream was actually her brother, beyond any doubt she might have had before.

At the same time, I found myself having questions that I didn’t ask during the interview. For example, I was wondering about the timing – was the dream before or after the funeral, and how soon after his death did it happen? I also wondered whether her brother appeared to other family members, especially since she mentioned that her mother and her sons have similar abilities.

I was also fascinated by the uncertainty around his cause of death. The idea that there was “no testing” for it, and that this detail was repeated both in the dream and by the psychic, adds another layer to the story. It creates a sense that some things remain unknowable through conventional means, which may be why the dream and the psychic experience carry so much meaning for her.

The Nova Scotia Spirit

Nationality: American 

Age: 60 

Occupation: Writer 

Residence: Sherman Oaks, CA 

Performance Date: November 28, 2024

Primary Language: English

STORY: “I was in Nova Scotia staying at my parents’ house on a cove on the water, and my grandmother was very sick, and she was dying nearby at the hospital. And I’d been like two or three times, and it’s grueling. Everytime you leave it’s like you’re saying goodbye to someone for the last time; it’s hard. And she was very very sick. And so, I believe my mother was at the hospital, and I was standing on the dock, overlooking the cove, watching, like, dolphins and whales swim by, and I saw coming down from the sky, this…entity, like, almost like, with like…gossamer, flowing fabric behind it. Came tight down right in front of me, down into the water, up, around me, and then went away. And I was like ‘what the actual?’ And then my mother called and said that her mother just died. So I’m guessing maybe she was…saying goodbye.”

ANALYSIS: Seeing as this happened before the individual knew of her grandmother’s passing, it is less likely that the entity she witnessed was merely a manifestation of her grief, or a way to cope with her grandmother passing away. While it could’ve been subconscious, it is still unlikely. It is interesting, however, that the spirit described in this story with “gossamer, flowing fabric” that came from the sky, is eerily similar to a lot of modern Western visual interpretations of ghosts. It was not a corporal entity, nor one that resembled an animal, but a very traditional “ghost” of sorts. Nonetheless, it could be plausible that it was the ghost or the spirit or the soul of the individual’s grandmother saying goodbye one last time.

Ritual: el Día de los Muertos

Nationality: Mexican-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Parkside, USC

When I asked my informant if they had any special holiday traditions or rituals, they thought of el Día de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead. S told me that this was one of their favourite holidays, they love the vibrant colours, the joyful celebrations, the delicious food, and the beautiful altars set up in honour of loved ones. S told me that when the sun set, they would stroll down the streets of their neighbourhood every year, watching families setting up their altars for their loved ones who had passed and they would see candles flickering in the night, incense burning, and pictures of happy faces. They would also see lots of marigold blooms set around the altars, known as ‘ofrendas’, and the flower’s bright orange colour and strong fragrance are to help guide the souls of the dead home. S said that their mom would always bring out a tray of fresh pan de muerto which is a sweet bread that is eaten on this holiday, and they all took a piece. They love this holiday because they always felt a strong connection to their ancestors and their culture during el Día de los Muertos, and they said that it will always be a special time for their family and them.

I have always loved hearing stories about el Día de los Muertos and I think that it is such an amazing way of celebrating the life of a loved one who is no longer with us. Growing up, every time the thought of dying and the afterlife came to mind, it would quickly spiral out of control and I would get very anxious and stressed out because I just couldn’t wrap my head around the concept of it. Not knowing what happens when we die is a scary thought and I didn’t really have a comfort to hold onto. This is why I think el Día de los Muertos is such a great holiday because it helps you feel so bonded to your loved ones, even if they were no longer with you. The belief that the spirits of the dead come back from the afterlife to visit and spend time with their families on Earth would have been a very comforting and reassuring thought for me growing up.

Namaz E Janaza

My informant is Pakistani and has lived in many countries worldwide, yet has deep knowledge of his culture and is very associated with certain events and occasions that occur in Pakistan.

Funeral Ritual:

This prayer, typically known as “Namaz E Janaza” is a common type of prayer “performed at funerals”. It is a ritual that has “existed in Islam for a very long time” and is “very important to our religion and culture.” The ritual is illustrated by a “group of people that are praying as the body is put in front of them” He states that it is because “everyone is praying towards god when the body is also there” conveying the influences of religion on their life. The informant also states that it is “the same Islamic prayer from the Qur’an that people read.” It is a widely known tradition in South Asia, specifically Pakistani culture when it comes to funeral rituals and events that must take place in order to properly bury a body.

Context:

The ritual is “always performed by men in a room separate to the women,” and the informant continues to assert that “they cannot be together and a woman cannot speak the prayer to the body” highlighting the strict nature of this ritual and the specific cultural customs on death and funerals. It is usually done in Pakistan but also occurs in other Muslim countries that still honour this method of performing the funeral ritual. It is a very important aspect of how the body is sent to heaven and is a pivotal step in “family healing using religion and ensuring they continue in heaven”

Analysis:

The religious aspect of funerals is very common in many cultures, however, in Islamic culture, the split of the men and women into separate rooms signifies the power that the prayer holds as it is part of their tradition. Death and prayer being portrayed in a ritual allow families to use the religious scripture provided to them as a mode of grieving their loved ones in a structural manner, making it easier on the family that is closer to them. Although, the formality of the occasion eliminates personalisation of the funeral and family members when burying and honouring the dead as they must follow the known written words instead of making them uniquely theirs, which is seen in other cultures. However, it is a religious and important part of their cultural identity, therefore, the prayer does not solely mark the death of an individual but paves a path to their god that they are praying to, following the practices of their culture and tradition as it is passed down.

Haunted Hospital Stories Among Nurses

Nationality: American
Age: 24
Occupation: Nurse, Critical Care
Residence: Atlanta, Georgia
Performance Date: April 30th, 2021
Primary Language: English
Language: None

Informant Context:

Stella is a traveling ICU (intensive care unit) nurse who currently work in Atlanta, Georgia.

Transcript:

STELLA: Nurses believe their hospitals are haunted, oftentimes. 

INTERVIEWER: Really?

STELLA: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Do they believe that the hospital *you* work at is haunted? 

STELLA: I mean like, when I worked at a different hospital, like—there were certain rooms that like, had really weird, like—vibes. And like, people—nurses would be like, “Oh yeah, like, I worked in that room”. And like, you know, lights would flicker and like, things would be moved. I just, like—it was always cold like, I just felt really weird. And like, there were definitely times, like… like before they would even mention that to me, like—I would walk down to that side of the hallway or like, near the room and I would like… like I felt different and then they like, told me about it later and I was like, “that’s so weird, like—I like, felt that like… [kinda(?)] that way or there’s like certain rooms like, in ICU or something where like… the patients like, always do bad and like… it’s kinda like the “cursed room” sort of thing.

INTERVIEWER: Wow… that’s really interesting and really takes the form of ghost stories [laughs] kind of in—in general, the—

STELLA: Oh, yeah. I mean, I was like, working on like, a neuro ICU at night one time, and there was like… this like, curtain that just like—kept moving. And me nurse were just like, “what the heck? Like, what’s going on?” And there was like no draft in the room and like, there was no reason for there curtain to be moving, but it was just like, fluttering. And like, it was in like the “haunted corner”. You know, it’s just like… it’s like, super spooky. 

[…]

INTERVIEWER: Yeah, because of all places to be haunted—I hadn’t thought of hospital rooms. But it does make total sense now. Um—

STELLA: Oh, it’s a thing. Like, all these nurse Instagrams that I follow online like… especially around Halloween, like—people will send in their like, haunted like, nursing stories. And it’s like, ICU nurses and they like… will be like “Yeah, like—this like, hospital used to be like, a psych hospital, and patients would like, jump out the window. And it—you know, it’s—like, it’s haunted. Or like, they’ll have multiple patients in the same room like, see like, the same kid in the red dress. Or like, the same like, patient who like, died there tragically will be like “oh, like—the lady with like, the blue shoes.” And it’s like, multiple patients like, have… have like, said that they see this person and like, stuff like that.

Informant Commentary:

The informant seemed to relate beliefs in ghost stories among nurses to community. Shared experience is powerful, and the experiences Stella relates from her time travelling between units and hospitals served to bond her with her new, and ever changing, fellow medical professionals.

Analysis:

The prevalence of ghost stories among medical professionals might be explained by a common association of hospitals with death. Transience of people (coming-and-going) is also a factor, which might also explain the prevalence and proliferation of ghost stories among professionals in the hospitality industry (hotels, theme parks). One of Stella’s accounts also follows a common pattern seen among ghost stories: a person has a moment of discomfort or a brief paranormal encounter (without being told about any possible paranormal activity beforehand) which is later fleshed out by others who already know about the phenomenon. Perhaps the most interesting thing that Stella notes is the belief, not only in ghosts in the building, but in a supernatural force which acts upon the physical world, such as malevolent forces which cause a room to become “cursed”, and patients to “do bad” when assigned to them. This might suggest a search for comfort by members of the folk group, seeking to attribute unexplained medical tragedies to forces outside of their own control. There is a strong desire among medical professionals to exert control upon illness and suffering, thereby ending it with scientific means. When this fails for no clear reason, and seems to follow an uncanny trend, it makes sense for medical professionals to replace their own uncertainty with a conclusion which gestures towards the metaphysical, beyond science.