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An apparition is the supernormal appearance of a dead person or animal, or of a living person or animal too distant to be within the sensory range of the observer. Apparitions of the dead, which are seen repeatedly over a period of time, apparently Haunting the same location, are also called Ghosts.

Only a minority of apparition experiences are visual. Most instead involve the sensing of a presence, perhaps accompanied by touch; hearing thumps, Rappings, moanings, animal sounds, and other strange noises; or unexplained Smells.

Apparitions of all types have been studied extensively by psychical researchers, parapsychologists, paranormal investigators, and others since the late 19th century. Tens of thousands of cases have been collected and analyzed. Various theories have been put forth, yet researchers still know very little about apparitions. In the discussion that follows, the term “agent” refers to the person (or animal) whose apparition is seen; the “percipient” is the person who sees the apparition.

Apparitions appear and disappear suddenly, and sometimes just fade away. They both move through walls and objects and walk around them. They can cast shadows and be reflected in Mirrors. Some have a marionette-like quality of limited gestures and movements, such as calling the attention of the percipient to a wound on the ghostly body, while others are more fluid and communicate verbally. Some are accompanied by sounds, smells, sensations of cold, and movement of real objects in the percipient’s environment. In some cases, percipients attempt to touch apparitions; most find their hands go through them, but in a few cases, contact has been made with a substance that feels like a flimsy garment.

An overwhelming majority of apparitions—some 82 percent, according to studies—seem to manifest themselves for a purpose: to communicate the agent’s own crisis (usually grave danger or imminent death) to someone living; to comfort the grieving after the agent’s death; to convey useful information to the living; or to warn the living of danger. Haunting apparitions appear to have emotional ties to a site, possibly resulting from violent or sudden death. Some haunting apparitions are believed to be earthbound spirits of the dead who are trapped by unfinished business.

Some ghost researchers believe that certain apparitions, such as haunting earthbound spirits of the dead, possess an intelligence that makes mediumistic communication possible. Some apparitions do not respond to attempts at communication, leading some researchers to conclude that they are merely a psychic recording of an event.

In Psychical Research, apparitions are described by categories. Apparition experiences that can be corroborated by circumstances and fact are called “veridical apparitions” and are of most value and interest to scientists. Many paranormal investigators have their own categories that differ from the following list:

Crisis Apparitions

These are apparitions that appear during a person’s moment of extreme crisis, particularly imminent death. The apparition usually manifests to the agent’s loved ones or others with whom the agent has close emotional ties. The purpose of most crisis apparitions is to communicate to the living that the agent is dying or has just died. Some apparitions gesture to show their fatal wounds. Crisis apparitions appear both in waking visions and in DREAMS.

Apparitions of the Dead

In After-Death Communications, the dead appear to comfort the grieving or to communicate information pertaining to the estate or unfinished business of the deceased. After his death, Dante appeared to his son and guided him to where Dante had secreted the last cantos of his Divine Comedy. The son was not aware of their existence. Apparitions of the dead may appear years later to loved ones in times of crisis.

Collective Apparitions

Collective apparitions are those that are seen simultaneously by more than one person. Collective apparitions usually are experienced in hauntings and crisis. Animals are sometimes among the multiple witnesses and are gauged by their visible reactions to the apparition. For example, a dog may whimper and hide or a cat may arch its back.

Reciprocal Apparitions

These are apparitions of the living in which both agent and percipient experience seeing each other. In most such cases, the agent has a powerful desire to be with the percipient, motivated by loneliness, longing, love, or worry. The agent suddenly finds himself transported to the presence of the percipient, who in turn observes the agent. Reciprocal apparitions may also be collectively perceived. One possible explanation of reciprocal apparitions is that the agent may project himself in an out-of-body-experience (see Wilmot Apparition).

Deathbed Apparitions

The appearance of angelic beings, religious figures, luminosities, and dead loved ones are sometimes reported by the dying shortly before death. Occasionally, deathbed apparitions also are perceived by the living who are in attendance to the dying.

Apparitions in Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation:

Some cases of Reincarnation involve “announcing dreams,” in which an apparition of a dead person appears in a dream to a member of the family into which it will be born. Such dreams occur frequently among the Tlingit and other northwest Native American tribes, and in Turkey, Burma, and Thailand. In some cases in Burma and Thailand, children who appear to have spontaneous memories of previous lives say they remember sending the announcing dream, or, in rare instances, manifesting as an apparition to their future mother.

https://occult-world.com/apparition/

SOURCE:

The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits– Written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley – September 1, 2007

https://occult-world.com/apparition/