Near-death experiences first started to become well-known around 1975, with the popularity of Raymond Moody's book on the concept (entitled Life After Life). But we have very good reason to believe that such experiences have been a fact of human experience long before Moody's book. In my posts below I document near-death experiences dating from long before 1975:
Near-Death High-Speed Life Reviews From Before 1950
Let us look at some more cases of near-death experiences or out-of-body experiences dating from long before 1975. The newspaper account below (which you can read here) is from 1935. We read of a near-death experience of John Puckering, who claimed to visit some other realm of existence after his heart stopped for five minutes. Puckering says he saw there two or three friends from his village who had died.
The same experience of John Puckering is described in the 1935 newspaper account below which you can read here, from the Evening Star, a newspaper I used to deliver when I was a boy. It is predictable that arch-materialist J. B. S. Haldane turns a blind eye to the report, and tells us the blatant lie that there is nothing abnormal about a person being revived after the heart stopping for five minutes (in 1935 such a thing was very rare). Such a refusal to seriously study or consider important observations conflicting with materialist dogma (and lying in connection with such refusals) is very common for thinkers of Haldane's type. But it is surprising that physicist Oliver Lodge says he is not interested in the report, because the report corroborates exactly the kind of ideas suggested by Lodge's earlier book Raymond, or Life After Death and his earlier book The Survival of Man. My only explanation of Lodge's lack of interest (other than his very elderly state at the time) is that perhaps he thought that such an account was a one-of-a-kind fluke, and failed to recognize that such accounts are common. The frequent occurrence of such accounts was not well-known until 1975 and after.
The case was written up in the British Medical Journal, as discussed in the article here which provides some more details. The exact paper in that medical journal can be read here, in a paper entitled "Recovery After Complete Stoppage of the Heart for Five Minutes."
The account below (which you can read here) is from 1937, and tells of a near-death experience of a boy (Theodore Prinz) whose heart stopped for five minutes.
A 1920 news article tells us this about Mrs. Levi Shroyer: "Her heart stopped beating for five minutes and afterward, she declared, she experienced the feeling of entering another world and having been in the arms of her late husband." The web page here tells us this about a pre-1975 near-death experience of Thomas Joseph Kedrowski:
"When shot in Vietnam, he bled to death and his heart stopped for five minutes. The medics pumped adrenaline into his heart and revived him. He reported having an out-of-body experience. He often said the feeling during this experience was better than anything he had ever felt prior or since."
On page 5 of a 1944 periodical (the May 10, 1944 Psychic Observer which can be read here) George B. Bronwell MD gives this narrative of a near-death experience and out-of-body experience:
"I had been ill about three weeks,
when early one morning, my temperature suddenly dropped from
104 to 95 degrees. The doctor and
the nurse were present at the time.
They saw me draw what they supposed to be my last breath, and
saw every phase of death take
place. At my wife's request, various tests for life, were made. The doctor then pronounced me dead.
The last thing I remember was my wife coming into the room when suddenly I lost grasp of my consciousness. There
was a momentary darkness, a void,
then I became aware of another
presence in the room. Beside me
stood a beautiful young girl, whom I recognized as my wife’s sister. I was certain of her identity, although I was seeing her for the
first time. She had passed away
several years before. 'Come with me. George.' requested, and started from the room.
I followed, passing close to the nurse and the doctor, who were working over my body. I tried to inform my wife of mv safety while
absent, and to assure her that I
would return. I found communication impossible. I touched her, but she seemed unconscious of mv
presence.
Suddenly I realized that she
thought I still occupied that inert
body, which was lying on the bed.
All this took but a moment’s
time as I was following mv companion from the room.
Then an amazing thing happened. I became aware of a sudden, swift movement. I knew,
then, beyond the shadow of a
doubt, that my soul, free from the
physical body, was about to enter
another existence, entirely different from its existence on earth....We entered a park, where men
and women stood about, singly and
in groups. They were beautiful in their glistening soul bodies...A large, stately budding, dome shaped and constructed of the
same or similar materials, occupied the center of the community.
This was known as the Audience
Hall. The grounds surrounding
the structure, were extensive and beautifully landscaped.
My companion led me up
broad crystal steps and into the Assembly room. A lecturer
just completed his lecture and the
students were dispensing to their
various occupations.
The instructor came forward to
meet me. 'Welcome, George.' he said. 'I
have been expecting you. Few
have the opportunity of an experience, such as this. Your physical
weakness, at this time, made this
transition easy of accomplishment.' ...The lessons taught me in the Audience Hall, covered many subjects. But as they are not a necessary part of this, I shall not discuss them here. All instructions were given in a concise, tangible form.
Any fear of death, that I had
ever entertained, was entirely eliminated.
When the lesson was completed, mv companion immediately led
me from the building....
Darkness and oblivion claimed
me. once more. When I awoke, I was in my bed. with the nurse
bending over me. testing my
breathing. 'He breathes!' she exclaimed.
'He lives how marvelous!' It was late in the evening when
the nurse had her first knowledge
that I lived. I had been out of the
body twelve hours. How much of
that time I spent away from the
earth. I shall never know.
I immediately related my experience to mv wife and the
mystified nurse, going over every detail of my mysterious experience."
On pages 245 to 248 of Volume 7 of the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research (1913), which can be read here, we have some remarkable accounts from Thomas Mulligan MD, written in 1908, describing events in 1900. Given the tendency of doctors to take meticulous notes, we can presume the accounts are based on notes taken at the time the events occurred. On page 244 he states that while Mrs. M ------ was in a "stupor or comatose condition," he was able to ask questions of her mentally, and that she answered every question. We seem to have here a good anecdotal account providing evidence for the reality of telepathy.
On page 246 we read that much later in 1908 Mrs. M ----- got much worse, and seemed to approach death:
"I thought it was all over, but told the daughter
to take off her mother’s shoes and stockings. The battery had
helped us so often I decided to try it again. We put a copper
plate on the floor and placed her feet upon it, and attached one
pole to the plate. The other I applied to the neck over the jugular vein. Respiration had stopped absolutely, and I could detect no pulse or heart sounds whatever. Both had stopped.
Mrs. M------- was dead."
After discussing various medical measures to revive the patient, which apparently went on for hours, the doctor tells us this:
"At 2.45 I noticed a slight
gasp, and about five minutes later observed the first sign of life, a twitching of the muscles in the neck. I feared to say a word that might arouse hopes too soon, but gradual animation began and the muscles grew more active, the eyelids began to flicker and she gasped again. I spoke sharply telling her to breathe again. She could not hear, but I kept steadily talking to her,
urging her to try to breathe deeply. Just here I noticed the first slight pulsation. I looked at my watch and found it was 3 o’clock. As her respiration became less labored, the tears began to trickle down her cheeks. Her eyes opened and closed quickly as if to shut out the light, the tears still trickling down her cheeks. The others in the room were deeply affected. I wiped away the tears, spoke soothingly and asked her to open her eyes and look at me. She did so, saying with unusual emphasis,' Don’t you be afraid to die.' Looking directly at me she said,' Oh. I’ve been so far away.” 'Have you?' I asked, 'and did you have a pleasant journey?' 'Very pleasant”, she whispered, ' very pleasant.' ' Did you see anybody you knew?' ' Oh, yes, I met Mother ” and turning to her husband, ' and Tom there.' Mrs. M------- 's mother died Dec. 5, 1888. I
learned from Mr. M------- that Tom was Tom Hobson, his sister's first husband, who died thirty years ago....
After a little wait I again asked her what she saw when
away. 'I saw so much it would be very difficult for me to tell
all: you know when one goes into a place with so many strange things one can't see them separately, and the collective beauty is bewildering. I saw a great many people, and they were so kind and friendly it does me good to think of it. I didn't know any of
them but Mother and Tom.' 'Did you seem to be in the open, and was grass growing there?' 'No, I don't recollect seeing any grass, but it does seem as though I saw trees or shrubbery in foliage, but it was so different from anything you ever saw. or that I ever saw, I can’t compare it with anything here.' 'Do you think you will forget this experience before to-morrow?' 'No. I can never forget it.' I told her I would go home and let her rest and think over where she had been so that she could tell me about it more clearly to-morrow....
On page 248 we read of what happened the next day.
"When I called in the morning I found we had accomplished
something and could say for the first time that Mrs. M------
would get well. After inquiring how she felt. I asked if her
memory of the day before had changed. 'Oh, no, it can never
change, and I can never forget it.’ ' Was it light so that you
could see distinctly? ' ' Yes, but the light was so different from the light we have here.' ' Did it seem like sunlight, moonlight or planetary radiance? ' ' No, it was an indescribable glow coming from somewhere and invading everything, no shadows or dark places, beautiful beyond my power to describe or compare with anything we are familiar with here.' 'How were the people occupied?' ' I don't recollect that they were engaged at anything. Each seemed to be enjoying the association of the other. They were friendly and happy with a universal happiness.' How did your mother greet you?' ' Just as some friend you might meet in Hartford from an adjoining town that you had not seen for a long time. Every one was very friendly.'
' Was anything said that you can recall?' "No, nothing was
said that left any impression. I was given no instructions and
was told nothing in particular that I can call to mind.' ' Would you like to have remained there? ' ' I certainly would if it were not for Pap and Maggie. I want to stay with them a little longer, and (pathetically) Mother didn’t ask me to stay.' ' How was Tom Hobson?' ' He was very happy. I never saw him
look better. He was a good-looking man anyway, and he was so
glad to see me.' ' Did they ask any questions about their
friends here?' ' No, I don't recollect having heard a question
asked. They seemed to know without asking me anything.'
' Were there any churches or prisons? ' 'No. no use for either.'
' Were there any thrones or exalted places?' ' No, there was
none of that there. There did not appear to be any enclosures,
distinctions or grading.' ' Did you see any golden harps or
musical instruments of any kind?' ' No, happiness permeated
everything. It didn't need to be toned down to music.' "
-- September 30, 1908 Thomas Mulligan MD
Below is a May 20, 1935 account of a young boy's out-of-body experience, from page 342 of the periodical Light:
http://iapsop.com/archive/materials/light/light_v55_n2838_may_20_1935.pdf
The account below of a near-death experience is to be found on page 226 of the April 11, 1935 edition of the periodical Light, which can be read here. The author is Dr. G. B. Kirkland.
" 'DIED' AND CAME BACK
One last word about death. On the ninth of September, 1913, after a long series of disastrous operations when everything inside me seemed hopelessly wrong, grave-faced doctors stood beside the bed and told me it was impossible for me to last the night. At about one the following morning, I officially 'died,' and remained in suspended animation for some little time. I have been told how long but have forgotten, and like to stick to facts only. Now, during that time I had certain experiences.
To my surprise, I found myself looking at myself lying on the bed. The thought just flashed through me that I didn’t think much of me—in fact, I did not approve of me at all. Then I was hurried off at great speed. Have you ever looked through a very long tunnel and seen the tiny speck of light at the far end ? It seems an incredible distance off. Well, I found myself with others vaguely discernible hurrying along just such a tunnel or passage—smoky or cloudy, colourless, grey, and very cold. I kept wrapping great clouds of grey material round me, but they were powerless against the cold. The others were passing me very rapidly, hurrying with all their might towards the light which was brightening, but my draperies or something clogged my feet, and I could scarcely crawl. After a bit, the going became easier, and I was just beginning to enjoy myself and get into a really good stride, when someone or something suddenly rose up before me blotting out the light. Instantly it became terribly cold again, and I was furious and fought madly, but I was gradually forced back. Then there was a complete black-out. It was as though I was knocked insensible in the struggle, and the next thing I knew was that I was alive again—only just, and very sorry for myself."
The account has features matching those of typical near-death experiences: viewing the body from outside of the body, a trip through a tunnel, and an approach towards a mysterious light.
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