What It's Like to Talk to the Dead

In an online survey conducted recently by Beliefnet, respondents wrote in responses to the question: "Have you ever felt as if a dead person was trying to communicate with you? Describe your experience." Here are a selection of their answers, organized by faith.


Christian

I have seen saints or passed on loved ones in the spirit when I am praying, or sitting in my room, smiling for an instant. I feel this is a gift from God to encourage, exhort or comfort through the Holy Spirit when I am missing them... or need assurance I am not alone. I know I always have Jesus, but it helps. They DO NOT speak, nor I with them, just comforting presence.


I believe this is possible, but, it IS NOT the dead "person" doing it, it is a demon and/or evil spirit attempting to gain the trust of that person. That is why NO ONE should partake in ouija boards, psychics/mediums or witchcraft in any form, as they ALL open doors to this kind of activity.

 

Husband's voice said my name as I was falling asleep while smoking a cigarette.


My aunt passed away years ago but I had a dream in which the phone rang and my aunt was on the line telling my that she arrived in heaven and that it was beyond anything she ever imagined, and that she was with Jesus and He was handsome.


I have experienced an attempt at contact, however, I believe it comes from demons impersonating people who have died.

 

I lost my son a year ago as a result of an accident at his work place. I believe Mark has talked to me by telling me not to cry for he has only joy where he is. Whatever is going on is making me truly believe in a beautiful hereafter. Whether or not this sounds crazy, I think this is the way of the Lord helping me to be strong.

 

There is a spirit that remains inside the four walls of my apartment that finds it amusing to turn on and off lights move pictures, open and clothes doors. He doesn't bother me really but it can get spooky when i'm home alone.


I have never felt that but I would give any thing to have that feeling. I truly believe that people have those powers. I have lost two children and I would give any thing to communicate with them.

 

Right after my daughter was killed I asked for a sign that she was O.K. and the tree in our front yard got one single huge white bloom on it. It has not bloomed before, or since.

 

Only once; I was 3 1/2 months pregnant, and while cleaning my daughter's room I suddenly felt my mother's presence all around me. Later that night, I began miscarrying. I think my mother was there to take the soul of my unborn child to Heaven.

 

I believed my father and I had a conversation once, but was told by a Spirit Guide that I had imagined it.

 

When my mom died, we were going through her things and trying to decide who got what. My brother and sister and I were getting a little testy with each other. Then we decided to pray. We formed a circle with each other as well as some of the grandchildren. While we were praying, I saw my mom in heaven holding a jewel box and pouring out the most beautiful, sparkling jewels out over us. They were just falling over and all around us. Then, she told me that all the stuff we were worrying over was worth nothing. That what we would have when we get to heaven is priceless like the jewels she was showering us with. I stopped our prayer and shared this vision with everyone. After that we were in perfect accord with the distribution of everything. There was never another selfish or hurtful word uttered between us. It was almost 9 years ago.

 

Yes, my mother came to me in a dream. All she did was point her finger at me and say, "QUIT SMOKING!"

 

The Bible clearly states we can not communicate from one world to the next in the story of Lazarus, yet I've seen enough spectres to keep me confused.

 

I think one who is alive should be with what they know: life. Let the dead move forward with what the afterlife has to offer.

 

I saw my mother about two years after her death standing in my dining room window. Didn't say anything to husband or child. She did it to my husband and scared the bijebers out of him. ha! ha!

 

No, I have never had that feeling. After my mother died, I sincerely hoped that she would communicate with me. But, I mostly felt that she had moved on to the next stage whatever that is.

 

Several years ago, i lived in a apartment, once when i walked in the door, i looked towards my table in my dining room and superimposed over the table was a man sitting on a large green chair reading a newspaper with a small black and white dog by his side. I mentioned him to a lady who had lived in the neighborhood and she had said she had seen him also in the yard and on the balcony. She said he had died in the 1920s and seemed to very happy to share the apartment with whomever moved in.

 

I believe this is a two-way street, so if you're not open to it, those who have passed cannot be heard, seen, etc.

 

My father appeared to me in a dream and told me: "Being dead takes some getting used to, but you'll like it".

 

Yes, but being a Christian I recognize the paranormal activity for what it is. Purely a device of Satan.


Without Christ's light I most probably would have been fearful of the supernatural happenings in my life. For the record, I have never sought out or pursued any interest in the occult or even wanted to acknowledge my spiritual side. I just knew that as sure as there's a physical and tactical dimension in this world, the spiritual world is just as real.

 

Jewish

I have sometimes felt that my late father has offered me advice through my dreams to help me solve some conflict.


I experience "visitations" from people I know shortly after they died and then thereafter whenever I'm feeling very emotional, missing them or in need somehow.


I have been blessed with the knowledge that death is simply a continuation of a journey. I often smell a cigar, when there are none around, and I know that three of my loved ones are near.

 

Don't be ridiculous.

 

On several occasions. Each time the "message" was given visually and not in words.

 

NO. I believe (but don't know for sure) that the soul returns to G-d and exists in another dimension not perceivable by flesh humanity. While on rare occasions G-d sends a messenger (definition of Angel) that is quite rare. Most occult is indeed evil and poor deluded folks fall for it.

 

At the first yizkor service after my father's death, I was crying and felt a touch on my shoulder. I turned around and nobody was there. I knew he was with me.


I consider the experience negative, because I was afraid. I have seen my mother, father, dog that passed during surgery, and my father in law.

 

I have had dreams where the dead have asked me to do something for them to help them transition to the afterlife more easily. I am not a psychic. I am just a simple Jewish Rabbi.

 

Only when I have asked for guidance.

 

Jews do not believe in this and I am Jewish. I do not believe (as it is said in the Torah), that we are NOT to communicate with the dead; to leave them to rest with their own.

 

Muslim

I sometimes feel that the spirits of my parents and sibling are trying to communicate, particularly when accidents or a death in the family takes place.

 

My first wife died and I wasn't present, we had been separated for 16 years. She came to me in a dream and we embraced and we both said we were sorry, I awoke the next day to learn she had died that night, at about or close to the time I was dreaming about her.

 

No, I belive we should allow them live in their world with calm and only pray for them. Why should we want to bring them here! God will help them and he is that one that will give us life again, in a day that no one knows!

 

I have had several experiences that have been unexplained. Some pleasant, some not so pleasant. It is difficult to assess if the negative experience was from someone dead or if it was an evil spirit. The positive experiences have been from those who have passed on. The signs are there if you pay attention and trust your gut. That is the gift that god gives us. Praise be to him.

 

My dad communicated to me through a friend who has had a near-death experience so I know he is alive forever.

 

After the sudden (car accident) death of my son I saw his spirit very clearly. I feel his presence around me, I see him in my dreams, he is always with me.

 

Yes and it is impossible to describe it.

 

I am visited in my sleep from people that have passed on. Most times I haven't met these people before but, I know someone in their family and they have a message for them. I pass the messages on.

 

I have had some spirits/guardians try contacting me. They are actually my "guides" who help me whenever I need it, give me strength when I am weak, and I somewhat have the ability to heal people by using these spirits; however, my skills in that field are weak and need a lot of hard work. These spirits where once humans whoms occupations where Muslim sheikhs (Islamic priests) and healers. I have inherited this gift from my ancestors.

 

My mother-in-law tries to tell me things and recipes for food. She died last year.

 

Hindu

Yes, I have had dreams of people who were dying at the exact time the death happened.

 

I have held my daughter in my arms about more than a dozen times after she passed on. The last time I held her in my arms was the month I conceived again and she said to me that she was very happy and I could call her anytime I wished for her to be with me. Now I know she is reborn to me because my little son gives me the feeling always that he is her. She passed on when she was seven years old.

 

As a hospice nurse I am surrounded by death on a daily basis. One woman I took care of for five years, she was mentally retarded and had cerebral palsy. She was paralyzed from the neck down. She died suddenly at the group home where I worked. For weeks I couldn't go in her room because her energy was so strong over her bed. I would hear a buzzing noise, and the energy was cold. I felt like stuff was crawling up my skin. Then one night I fell asleep on the couch and I literally saw her as a little girl. Not figuratively, but literally. I saw a girl in a blue and white polka dot dress. I screamed and she was gone. I knew it was her. I never saw her again.

 

I wish they would.

 

Continued on page 2: »