Information received via Radio Merseyside phone-in, 23/7/03, and via follow-up phone calls.

Male subject
This gentleman's experience happened 20 years ago, when he was suffering a lot of stress in his life. He was sleeping in a bunk bed in a caravan in an acquaintances garden at the time. On this particular night, he went to sleep as normal, but in the early hours awoke. He was shocked to find himself looking down on his body from a distance of about an arms length above. In some panic, he tried desperately to pull himself back into his body by his arms. This frightening experience lasted for about 1 minute, then the subject found himself back in his body, feeling very scared. The following morning he had aching arms.

Unknown subject
This subject had an experience following acupuncture. They were in bed that night and found that they had left their body. They experienced a strong feeling of "fighting to get back into the body". Obviously, the subject was very scared and panicked. They woke up still worried, but unaware of how they got back into their body.

Middle aged lady
This lady had a heart attack about four years ago. Following the heart attack, she was sitting in hospital talking to a nurse, when she started to feel hot and have pins and needles. She felt as though she "came out of the top of her head" and left her body. She heard the nurses panicking. The scene however was not clear, it being more like "looking through a black veil". She could not see herself, but could see the medical staff. The nursing sister was heard to say she had flatlined, and had dilated pupils, along with other medical phenomena subsequently verified. She also heard the nursing sister say "we've lost her". The subject was "dead" for 2 minutes. She reports feeling very peaceful, a "lovely feeling". She felt herself looking into a tunnel with a light at the end, but did not enter the tunnel, only going as far as the mouth of the tunnel. There she saw her father, father-in-law, and son (all deceased at the time), and was told by her father that it "wasn't time yet". Whilst this was happening, the medical staff went into the corridor where the subject's husband was waiting and informed him of the situation. He was heard by the subject to say "oh no, not again, I can't go through that again". On hearing her husband's voice, the subject brought herself back into her body, and sat up (banging her feet in the process), consequently frightening the nursing staff, who had stopped working on her. The subject claims to have a changed outlook on life since the experience, being more appreciative of life and not scared of death. The subject did previously believe in a "life after death", but now "knows" that this is the case.
As an afternote, the subject's doctor told her she must love her husband very much to be brought back by the sound of his voice. The subject informed him that actually she came back as she had told her husband where her purse was!

Female subject
The subject had lost touch with her sister for 21 years. Approximately 12 months ago she had a phone call from her sister, after which they regained contact and now meet up every week. 6 months ago, in the early hours of the morning, the subject was dreaming of her sister and called her name. She then, in her dream, screamed out her sister's name with such force she woke herself up. On meeting up with her sister next, it transpired that as her sister was sleeping at her own house on the same night as the subject's dream, and at approximately the same time, she heard someone shouting her name. She could not confirm if it was her sister's voice. The subject's husband had died 11 years ago however since his death the subject was sitting on her stairs at home, putting her shoes on to go out when she clearly heard her husband shouting her name from upstairs. This has happened again on one subsequent occasion, but when the subject was in the living room. The subject also reports that since her husband's death, she has been able to smell him on occasion. The subject's sister-in-law has also had an unusual experience. One evening, after her husband and children had gone to bed, she went into the kitchen. The house has a serving hatch which connects from the kitchen to the living room. Whilst standing at the sink, the sister-in-law clearly saw a shadow go past the hatch in the living room. Thinking her husband had got out of bed and come downstairs, she called to him, but there was nobody downstairs except for herself, the rest of the family being accounted for upstairs.

Elderly gentleman
This subject was born locally in the period between the two world wars. When he was approximately 3 years old he developed an abscess on his left knee. In those days, before the advent of antibiotics, such a problem could have potentially fatal consequences, and the subject was not expected to live. Whilst lying ill in hospital, the subject found himself out of his body, on the ceiling of the room, looking down on himself. He noticed that surrounding him were the doctor, and his parents. He became aware of a very serious atmosphere in the room, and heard the doctor explaining to his father that he was not expected to live, and if he did he could well lose his leg. Despite the passage of time, the event is still as memorable today as when it originally happened. Subsequently the case had a happy outcome, as not only did the subject survive the experience, he did not lose his leg either.

If you have had a similar experience you would like to discuss with a Para.Science member, please email us.