Characteristics of Purposeful Action in an Apparition Case

Characteristics of Purposeful Action in an Apparition Case’ KARLIS Osis ABSTRACT: Some theories depict apparitions as mindless fragments, whereas others point out their intelligent and purposive side. This case involves apparitions of a businessman, which occurred 2 days after he was killed in an airplane disaster. A distant relative addressed a plea to his postmortem personality, requesting that he appear to his mother in a certain manner that would constitute a sign of his continued existence. This appeal was communicated to a witness but was not disclosed to the mother or to anyone else. Subsequently, the deceased man’s mother saw an apparition of him in the form her relative had requested; he also appeared in an identical form to his 6-year-old niece. All three experients lived about 100 miles away from each other. Neither the mother nor the niece knew of the request to appear, and neither had information about the other's experience at the time of her own. The case is discussed according to its concordance with two variants of the survival and the super-ESP hypotheses. The characteristics of apparition experiences (AEs) are not con- veniently uniform but are of a bewildering variety. Some AEs are shared in the way sensory experiences are: Everyone present and attentive to the area can perceive the event. Other AEs are private events, as unobservable to others as are our thoughts and ESP impressions. Apparitions in the context of near-death experiences result in experiences of peace and fascination, whereas in other contexts, apparitions can evoke fear and depression. Sometimes experients scream and run away, even from apparitions of their own mothers! Apparitions are rarely perceived as communicative: They do not say or show percipients anything, nor do they seem to communicate nonverbally. More often than not, apparitions just stand there or float by. Some apparitions are veridical, that is, they convey information in other ways, such as appearing at the time of their deaths to the hitherto uninformed percipient. Nevertheless, “the great majority of experiences that might be regarded as appar- itional are not veridical” (Stevenson, 1982, p. 341). This nonveridi- cality, which clearly seems to be true of some AEs, seems to provoke some researchers to label al! apparitions as “lifeless frag- ments,” static images void of consciousness (Price, 1939; Roll, ' An abbreviated version of this paper was presented at the 26th Annual Conven- tion of the Parapsychological Association, August 8-13, 1983, Madison, New Jer- sey. The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research Vol. 80, April 1986

176 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research 1983). Others, however, have pointed out purposeful action in apparitions (Hart & Collaborators, 1956: Myers, 1903/1954; Rich- mond, 1938). Elsewhere I have stressed (Osis, 1981, in press) that apparition experiences make much more sense when we allow ourselves to postulate specific interpretations for each of the different kinds of AEs rather than to assume they are all of the same fundamental nature and can be pressed into a common mold. The case under discussion exhibits the characteristics of one type of AE: one in which the appearer seemed to have a purpose of his own, and the percipients, in response, experienced rather pleasing emotions, like those reported in deathbed visions (Osis & Haraldsson, 1977) and NDEs (Ring, 1980). METHOD OF INVESTIGATION In this single case study, the appearer, a man killed in an airplane crash, was reportedly seen by two independent experients in two different locations at two different times. One witness was alone at the time, and the other was the only person awake in the room. The AEs occurred after a third party requested the deceased to appear; this request was unknown to the percipients at the times of their experiences. All three of the above-mentioned individuals were interviewed by telephone on several occasions. Six other persons, to whom the experiences were told shortly after they occurred, were also questioned. The initial interviews were con- ducted in early 1983. Reinterviewing was done in late 1984; this produced some new information which was not available in the preliminary report (Osis, 1984). The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The AEs themselves and the antecedent request to the deceased were not written down after the occurrences by those involved. However, notes pertaining to the sequence of events were recorded contemporaneously on a calendar by the person who made the request to the deceased; these were made available to me. On March 18th, 1983, the research team (K.O., Donna McCor- mick, and a psi practitioner) visited the home of the ostensible appearer’s widow, Beth. Although telephone interviews had been conducted prior to this visit, we took advantage of an opportunity to conduct face-to-face interviews with Beth and a principal ex- perient, Marge, the mother of the deceased. The following questionnaires, which we have used in previous cases (Osis & McCormick, 1982), were administered to Marge during our visit: Thurstone and Jeffrey's (1956) Closure Speed / ‘Purposeful Action in an Apparition Case 177 ‘Test, which is designed to assess ability to perceive objects from fragmented and poorly structured gestalts; a revised version of ‘Betts’ jonnaire Upon Mental Imagery (Sheehan, 1967) in which respondents attempt to imagine various visual and auditory tems and then rate the vividness of these images on a 7-point ‘scale; a slightly modified (by Osis and McCormick) version of the absorption scale of Tellegen’s (Tellegen, 1975; Tellegen & Atkin- son, 1974) Differential Personality Questionnaire, which queries the individual's tendency to have his or her attention absorbed by real ‘and imagined experiences; and the Questionnaire on Psychic Expe- Fiences, developed by Osis (1980) for use in a survey by the (London) Times, which elicits information from the respondents on the frequency of occurrence and qualities of their various psychic experiences. On individual occasions, while at the laboratory of the ASPR, three psi practitioners (including the one who later visited the family with us) were asked to hold token objects and give their im S of the cause of the plane crash that resulted in the death of the ostensible appearer. Although these data were re- ‘corded and analyzed, they are not pertinent to the AEs and will not ; THE Persons INVOLVED IN THE Case? Leslie Leslie was the 36-year-old, highly successful businessman whose ostensible apparition appeared to the two witnesses. He had a degree in statistics and, at the time of his death, was writing his doctoral dissertation. Leslie was described as being a very bright, came and capable man whose attention was absorbed entirely matters of this world; neither parapsychology, life after death, nor religious concerns were on his map of reality. He is remem- bered as 8 good father and as having been kind and pleasant in social re’ res At the time of his death, Leslie had three living yey “hl | another one on the way. He was reportedly close to ia nas ngpbees but the youngest, Ricky, was “his baby,” and Joys attached to him. Eighteen months prior to Leslie's death, tock up on had ate Leslie's grief was very intense. in orde this. Biticcs in . i r to have an outlet for the stress US speed ee are used throughout this report; dates and places are deleted in es eclirgie re mlrathegY Of those concerned, Only the author and Donna ro

178 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research Beth Beth was Leslie’s wife. In college she studied physical educa- tion, then switched to psychology. She has a strong personality and took the tragedy of her husband's death so shortly after that of her young son with admirable courage. Beth believes in reincarnation and related issues, but she kept it to herself, not revealing it to her strong-willed husband during the years of their marriage. Although she longed to “see” her deceased spouse, she admitted believing that she might be overcome with fear at the appearance of an apparition. Marge Marge, a woman in her late 50s, was one of the witnesses to the apparition. She deeply loved and depended upon Leslie, her only son. Marge was still grieving the loss of her grandson, Ricky, when the tragedy of her son's death struck the second severe blow. At the time of her AE, Marge had no belief in an afterlife, stating: “If someone else had told me about an experience like I had, I would think that person belongs in an institution.” Jennifer Jennifer was the other person to witness the apparition. She is the daughter of Beth's brother, Ray, and his wife, Rita. This niece of Leslie's was 6 years old when she experienced the apparition. She is described as a frail and sensitive child. Jennifer was raised in an atmosphere of appreciation for Eastern culture and beliefs, her parents having made repeatedly long stays in India, where they acquired Buddhist beliefs in afterlife and reportedly observed psy- chic phenomena. Constance Constance was the one who requested Leslie to appear to his mother. She was connected to the family by the marriage of her daughter, Vivian, to Leslie’s cousin. Constance had met Leslie only once, at her daughter's wedding; he impressed her by his kind attentiveness to her disabled husband. Constance had not seen Marge except on several occasions 13 years prior to Leslie's death. Moreover, Constance knew neither Jennifer nor her parents. Con- stance is a believer in afterlife and related phenomena. She had reported previous experiences to Gardner Murphy and brought the present case to my attention when she rejoined the ASPR early in ot ion it an Apparition Case 179 s ted her psi experiences, which included ~*~ a example, one which later occurred in f an airplane crash, which she thought might disaster; and she also described her request ppear and Marge’s subsequent AE. nics technician who is married to Constance and ded her request to Leslie. s daughter, is married to Leslie's cousin. She is her mother-in-law's sister. Vivian had no Jennifer or her parents, although she have seen them in the crowd at a wedding or gathe She believes in life after death and in discussing the phenomena with me and who z manner. The trust of the others had to be surances had to be given that the data would be intial manner. Publicity was not sought by any of iry, they were afraid of the embarrassment that om public attention. THE REPORTED PHENOMENA i¢ was alone piloting a private airplane across the of the United States. On the third leg of his ng for the second time, Leslie reached an when he apparently lost control of the aircraft s death. The plane hit the ground on Wednesday, and burned with Leslie in it. His family was hh very early Thursday morning. Leslie's cousin) heard of the tragic death and related the news to her mother, Con- different state, later that morning. Vivian

180 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research asked Constance to pray for Leslie's soul because, she thought, he died suddenly, unprepared, and he might be confused. Constance felt that she might have been forewarned about the disaster by a dream. The day before Leslie's airplane had crashed, Constance made the following note on her calendar, “Had a dream about a plane coming down heading toward me. Told Will at breakfast,” In the interview, Constance said that at the time the dream disturbed her: “I was a little scared . . . I didn’t know who was on the plane or why it was coming at me.” Regardless of whether or not the dream was precognitive, Con- stance felt it induced her to do more than pray as Vivian had suggested. When interviewed she said: I had forgotten what he [Leslie] looked like; I have not seen him for 1S years. I took the book [a photo album of Vivian's wedding], looked at his picture? and talked to him as if he was right there . . . And then I said, “It would be a nice gesture if you would go and find your little boy who had drowned a year ago and take him by the hand and appear to your mother so that she will know that you are not dead, just separated from your body. And if she saw her little grandson with you, she will be more comforted.” The next day I did the same thing a couple of times: I pictured it in my mind as if 1 was talking to him and he was right there. I then asked her whether she sensed Leslie’s “presence” when she was petitioning him to appear. She replied, “No, I didn’t feel any presence . . . I did not know if he would do it [appear to his mother], of course.” Constance went on to speak of how she told her husband, Will, about her request to Leslie; Will remembered being told the same day. He also recalled that Constance had called Vivian on Tuesday (two days after the funeral) but was not told anything about the apparition experience. He remembered that it was six days after the funeral that Vivian told Constance about Marge’s AE. The inscription on Constance’s calendar for that day reads, ‘Vivian phoned later, told about Leslie’s mom seeing him at foot of bed while awake holding his little son's hand.” Although both Constance and Will felt good that Marge’s grief was somewhat helped by the outcome of Constance’s request to Leslie, neither of them told anyone else about it except Vivian at the time of her disclosure of Marge’s apparition experience. In the interview, Marge said that the tragedy of her beloved son plunged her into a state of very intense grief and despair. Saturday, between 1:00 and 3:00 a.m., two nights after Constance first re- quested Leslie to appear to his mother, Marge was awakened by a * The photograph consists of her husband, Will, sitting in his wheelchair as Leslie pushed it and Constance stood beside it. tion in an Apparition Case 181 i 7 a in her room. She was lying on her side, then turned “gomeone standing at the foot of her bed. To say was startled by what she saw: 1¢ was, Leslie, the , and he was holding the baby's Se st ths fo0e ch the bed. They looked at ecce ide awake then. They were content; they were happy each other, that they were together now. And they -me know that it is so; I got that feeling. was so absorbing that the perceptual world around solid, There was like grayness around, like a gray cloud them. 1 would say there was a mist in the whole room, wuld touch, just the grayness all around. But they were them. The room was dark; electric light was coming rough the venetian blinds. . . . but I didn't need light ‘There is a lot of traffic around my area. No matter at got trucks and buses. Not one sound then, all was ; moment, everything, as though the world had stood ere was nobody but us three in the world. 7 ian gation that followed was nonverbal, therefore, no we parapsychologists are addicted to) were available ‘However, for Marge it was as transforming an expe- of the near-death variety, but perhaps for her it was d at me and they communicated. [K.O.: What did they ite?) I really don't know. I got a peaceful feeling, every- ind was completely serene. I felt them as if they were breathing my life into me. He was giving my life me. And it's the most lasting feeling: | will never, never Never, never forget this. It never happened before and ippened since. They were just there, I believe, to give me ‘mind. It really helped. 1 have not gotten over it [the grief] it made me able to live through very hard times without elf, because I was very despondent. I tried to keep them Just went . . . They got smaller [into the distance] ——- ——_—— sf rénce ce was said to have lasted about 15 seconds, but its rge lasted at least up to the follow-up interview 244 band did not awaken during her vision of Leslie and =. we do not know if the apparition could have been ceived. The following morning, Marge told the ex- isband. She then went to her son's house and told eth; Jane, who was staying with her sister, Beth, to

182 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research help her in her time of grief, was also present as Marge recounted her experience. Both women remember Marge’s report with clear consistency. The vision was kept privy to the intimate core of the family for fear of the skeptical attitude and possible ridicule they would en- counter from family members who were known to look down on beliefs in life after death. Prior to her experience, Marge herself would have been among those who scoffed. She said: “I had no anticipation that I would ever accept anything like this, nor that I would be the recipient of such a visit.” Others who know Marge well portrayed her pre-AE attitudes about such things in the same way. According to them, initially her grief was so desperate be- cause she believed death to result in the ultimate destruction of human personality and hence, of her son. The AE certainly turned her philosophy around. In fact, 24% years later, Marge admitted that after that first experience she had tried in different ways to induce an apparitional visit from Leslie, but, in spite of her great desire to see him, no AE occurred. In any case, that day Marge did share her experience with Beth because she knew of her daughter-in- law’s belief in survival and felt she would understand what Leslie's appearance meant to her. The AE was not discussed the next day at the funeral. Leslie and Jennifer were reportedly quite fond of one another. Jennifer was thrilled when Uncle Leslie would come for a visit because his children would play with her, and when he came in his airplane he would take her up for a ride. Jennifer also knew of her uncle's death prior to witnessing his apparition. Her experience occurred several hours prior to Marge’s AE. Jennifer described the event as follows: “I was up and awake when I saw like a cloud in my room and there was [sic] Leslie and Ricky holding hands. . . They looked just regular [life-like] . . . It looked almost exactly like him [Leslie]. Although Ricky died when Jennifer was only four, she said she recognized Leslie's little boy, When asked how they dis- appeared, Jennifer said, “I stopped thinking about them and they went away.” In response to repeated questions, Jennifer consis- tently stated that she was up and awake and that her eyes were open. She was vague about the length of the experience. Of her feeling about the event, she said: “part of it was happy, and part of it was sad.” She also said that she felt close to her Uncle Leslie when he was alive; her mother confirmed the closeness of that relationship. Rita, Jennifer's mother, also confirmed that the little girl had told her of the experience right after it happened. Rita remembered that at the time, Jennifer had been meditating and therefore was awake. She added that Jennifer described a sense of peace coming from her visionary visitors. Rita determined that eful Act or | in an Apparition Case 183 ust have occurred Friday evening because the next the 150-mile journey to Leslie's house. inci was similarly remembered by Jennifer's hough he had forgotten the details. He told me that, ‘the youths who grew up in the 1960s, he and his wife ‘image to the East: two long trips to India and “members of groups that claimed extraordinary es; and they reported a few such personal events nifer's parents, therefore, felt that their daughter's ratively “small matter,” and it did not particu- interests. Rita stated that Jennifer had not had mm experiences, but that “she has a little better . At times she can get numbers when she’s not When I phoned for a follow-up interview 1% er still had not experienced any other apparitions, dream had just been fulfilled. ews we established that Jennifer became aware rience a day or so after her own AE. Marge, on the “not know of Jennifer's AE until a month later. We his was because they did not want Marge to know appeared to someone else before he “visited” his arge’s experience was completely outside the range of ns, Jennifer's was not. According to her mother: bout these things. We believe in reincarnation. She have expected something like that.” ‘in time and the independence of and similarity to ence would seem to increase the importance of ‘to our assessment of the case. i. RESULTS OF TESTS ADMINISTERED TO MARGE* st ts of the psychological tests taken by Marge are as Questionnaire Upon Mental Imagery; The highest ex- idness of imagery was checked on all items; (2) Ab- of the Differential ae sonatc Questionnaire: The =O in such experiences as a crackli Fr nature was in the upper range for two-thirds of the dian being “frequently” (“never,” “rarely,” “once in ola Were the other response alternatives); (3) ‘d Test: Below average ability (as compared with other > jot administer any tests to Jennifer because she California at the time of our investigation. caer

184 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research apparition experients we have administered this test to) to perceive objects from fragmented and poorly structured gestalts was indi- cated; (4) Questionnaire on Psychic Experiences: The scores indi- cate that Marge is now a moderate believer in afterlife and that she claims some personal ESP. How does Marge’s description of the apparition of Leslie and Ricky fit the test findings? The exclusion of traffic noises and the reduction in clarity of her visual surrounds, for example, “like a gray cloud around them,” go well with her above-average ability to become absorbed in her experiences. In regard to vividness, she said that the apparitions were “like shadows,” which is far from what would be expected of someone who is constructing appari- tions with an imagination as vivid as hers (Marge’s score on the Betts’ Questionnaire Upon Mental Imagery was extreme). Her description of the unclear, shadow-like forms in her vision do, however, correspond well with the results of the Gestalt Comple- tion Test, which indicated that her ability to discern figures from scant and poorly structured stimuli is far from acute. The corre- spondences between the test results and the AE account do indeed suggest that the apparition might have been seen rather than imag- ined. DISCUSSION In this section, we will critically evaluate the possible nonpsi interpretations of the data, and we will assess the authenticity and consistency of the reports, the reliability of the witnesses, and the likelihood of chance coincidence. Three competing hypotheses will be applied to the data and assessed for their ability to accommo- date the information. Authenticity Did the events really occur as they were reported by the wit- nesses? There were three experients: one who requested the event and two who perceived it. Each of these occurrences was observed by solitary individuals. Each event was reported to at least one other person within hours after it happened. Each incident oc- curred without the witnesses’ knowledge of what the others had done or seen; in this respect these reports are independent, that is, the accounts were related to someone else before knowledge of the others’ experiences could bias them either toward conformity or uniqueness. At the time, none of the three persons kept written records detailing what they did or saw. Scanty notations on Con- stance’s calendar were very useful in tracing the chronological e ul A stion in an Apparition Case 185 of events, but the details of these events depend solely orie: Of the experients and those in whom they con- ‘accounts reasonably consistent among the nine persons Descriptions of the contents of Marge’s and of Jen- s closely corresponded with one another; the excep- Ray's account, which simply lacked detail because remember the specifics. Comparisons among reports few details were omitted here and there, but there cations of exaggeration. on of events was also consistently related and sup- es pertaining to the contexts in which situations . fortunate because there was poor recollection of and times of the events; corroborative testimony i events was important and helpful in restructur- e. For example, Marge was uncertain about happened during the night of Friday-to-Saturday, unday. Without exception, her family remembered ence occurred the same night as Jennifer's. Because *¢ home to visit Beth on Saturday morning and had -to that trip, Marge’s Saturday-to-Sunday alternative jusly mentioned, no motivation for publicity nor for al gain was discovered. Quite to the contrary, there indications that those involved feared publicity and the zg ule, both from inside and outside the family. Only ir confidence was gained did the witnesses become candid al reservation is usually called for when one obtains terial from children. This must have come to the when learning that one of the principal experients old, despite the fact that she told her parents of the it occurred. However, the views pertaining to the W's testimony have changed recently. Because of Ma ‘I will not discuss the latest research on the issue d witnesses in criminal cases. Suffice it to say that much cy has been found in children’s statements than was nized in courts. h Safe to conclude that the basic information neces-

186 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research sary for interpreting this case was remembered with sufficient clarity, recounted with reasonable accuracy, and with no apparent motivation for distortion. Chance Coincidence Could coincidence explain the reported phenomena? A measure of probability that the results could have occurred by chance is essential when interpreting experimental data; it is not, however, very appropriate for single case studies (Yin, 1984). Only rough estimates of chance probabilities are possible in spontaneous case studies. Three characteristics have to be considered in this case: (1) Double apparitions, those of two persons who died at different times, are infrequent outside of visions seen in near-death experi- ences; (2) Double apparitions perceived by two independent indi- viduals and in widely different localities is a rarity, especially when the apparitions reportedly appear in the same pose, that is, father holding his little son's hand; (3) Responding to an apparition with soothing and beneficial feelings is also infrequent outside of near- death experiences. Green and McCreery (1975) state that “subjects sometimes report that they had a feeling of ‘peace, ‘calm,’ ‘com- fort,’ or ‘tranquility, either while perceiving an apparition, or af- terwards. Four per cent of our subjects report this type of reac- tion” (p. 200). Of course, chance coincidence can never be totally excluded, but, in my estimation, the likelihood of it explaining this case is exceedingly small. PSI-RELATED INTERPRETATIONS Many psi-related hypotheses have been advanced during para- psychology’s 100-year search for a solution to the enigma of ap- paritions (Alvarado & Martinez-Taboas, 1983; Gauld, 1982; Gur- ney, Myers, & Podmore, 1886/1970; Jacobson, 1974; Myers, 1903/ 1954; Osis, 1981, 1984; Osis & Haraldsson, 1977; Rhine, 1981; Roll, 1982; Stevenson, 1982; Tyrrell, 1953). I will limit my discussion to two basic models: the survival hypothesis, which shall be split into two subcategories, and the super-ESP hypothesis. Specifically, I will deal with the following three: (1) Survival-of-Personality Model, which assumes that in an AE there is active participation on the part of deceased agents, in this case, Leslie and Ricky; (2) Survival-of-Fragments Model, which proposes that only fragmented images or thought, which were generated when the appearer was alive, are all that survive death; seful Action in an Apparition Case 187 Super-ESP Model, which attributes the origin of AEs exclu- ‘to living agents, in this case, Constance, Marge, and Jen- » of these basic theories, that is, survival and super-ESP, are ce the sense that they have successfully endured 100 critical evaluations and even passionate onslaughts. I have elsewhere (Osis, 1983) that both of these seemingly con- ory theories should be retained because each one has the ‘to explain some types of AEs better than the other one. ng both forks of the road open is even further justified by the ‘of Gauld’s (1982) careful evaluations, which dethroned the ser-ESP model from its position of dominance in the field. That es theorizing about this case to an open perspective. However, that I must caution the reader, at this point, to beware of the wacies and preliminary natures of almost all existing para- wical theories. The factual bases of these theories appear like little islands scattered in an immense ocean of the wn. I see wonderful cumulus clouds above this land- ut these clouds are generated by currents of hot air rising pur wishful theorizing. “well they are accommodated by the alternate explanatory guest. A request for the deceased to appear was made and ly d apparitions of those persons. One must assume telepathy occurred if either the survival-of-personality or the ESP model is considered. It would be difficult to conceive of atisfactory telepathic link that could occur under the al-of-fragments model, According to the survival-of- onality model, one must assume that telepathy was in opera- between the living petitioner, Constance, and the deceased onality of Leslie; moreover, that channel would have to be enough in order to make it possible to arrange something like N appointment. Is there data in the parapsychological research WW that indicates the plausibility of making such effective ‘afrangements with surviving personalities? The concept of ; imistic readings concerning specified communicators implies ined arrangements with deceased personalities. Gauld (1982), (1959), Richmond (1938), and others have pointed out data Strongly suggest communications arranged in such a fashion. I * Ly. Nea Walker (1935) described how she requested a communicator to Come to a specified mediumistic sitting days later, and, although

Table INTERPRETATIONS OF THE CASE ACCORDING TO RIVAL HYPOTHESES 188 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research Purposeful Action in an Apparition Case 189 the medium was not informed of the “appointment,” the ostensible spirit seemed to comply and communicate. I applied this idea to my linkage experiment with mediums (Osis, 1966) and got results that indicated that arrangements of the kind Constance attempted might be effective. The super-ESP model would assume that Constance’s request to Leslie was unconsciously readdressed and telepathically transmit- ted by her to the apparition experients, Marge and Jennifer. Correspondence between elements of the case. \t is clearly evident that a close correspondence exists between Constance’s request for Leslie to sooth Marge’s grief by appearing to her with his son, Ricky, and the actual apparitions experienced by both percipients. Highly similar correspondences are also to be found between the two AEs, despite Constance and Jennifer being totally unacquainted with one another; however, Leslie knew all three experients. The survival-of-personality model does well in ex- plaining the nearly exact congruence between Constance’s request to Leslie and the two AEs. This is so because it assumes a coor- dinator of these events, that is, the personality of Leslie. The survival-of-fragments model is apparently unable to offer an ade- quate explanation for the correspondence between the three expe- riences because it does not suggest any coordinator. An explana- tion depending on chance coincidence has already been ruled out as a very unlikely possibility. The super-ESP model at first appears to provide a good explanation, but becomes strained when one fully realizes the complexity and extent to which ESP would have had to have been operating. That hypothesis would assume that the personalities of Leslie and Ricky did not exist in any form after death. Therefore, figuratively speaking, Constance would have dialed a telephone number that was disconnected, and so the oper- ator (presumably her unconscious) rerouted the call to Marge, about whom Constance was concerned. This “rerouted call,” how- ever, would have had to overcome three obstacles known to be $ detrimental to ESP: (1) the state of severe emotional stress experi- 2 enced by the percipient, Marge; (2) the “super-goat” attitude of s disbelief in survival held by Marge; (3) the vagueness of the re- ; lationship between agent (Constance) and percipient (Marge), who Bs i a i Interpretation According to Model dence between the events of Constance. Marge & Jennifer No coordination of the images: improbable chance coinci- had not seen one another for 13 years. The two women had little in common, belonged to different subcultures, and possessed different belief systems, which is the reason that Constance’s request was not disclosed to Marge until my inquiries made it necessary. The first two obstacles would have tended to inhibit or garble the telepathic message, while the third presumably would diminish the relevance of a message coming from a person insignificant in Marge’s life. Why, then, did a message which should have come Causative Surviving personality pres- ent and generating images cither in percipient's or in environment r ing “lifeless frag- mindless ments” of appearers” and images, in their lifetimes, ed und percipient ESP between living per pearers fragments Super-ESP

190 Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research through in an understated fashion, at best, hit with such impact that Marge awoke, turned over and experienced a full-blown hallucina- tion that lasted for 15 seconds? The super-ESP hypothesis is further strained in Jennifer's case: Not only was the little girl nor the target of Constance’s concern, but Constance did not even know of Jennifer's existence. Essen- tially, the super-ESP interpretation would assume that one exper- ient (Jennifer) had a precognitive hallucination of the other exper- ient’s (Marge’s) hallucination, Although, according to the model, this might seem like a logical interpretation, there is no precedent in the literature for it. However, if this were the case, one would expect that the stimulus material would have to be of such an intense and personally meaningful nature of the precognizer, 6-year-old Jennifer, that it would result in the perception of several identical details and provoke a hallucination capable of containing them all. The occurrence of massive ESP is thought to depend largely on the motivation of the people involved. Although there was a bond between Leslie and Jennifer, there were no ties what- soever between Jennifer and Marge. It would seem difficult to find a precedent regardless of whether we assume that Jennifer had a hallucination that precognized Marge’s hallucination, or else pre- cognized Marge’s later description of her experience. The precision with which Jennifer's vision expressed the relevant details makes the super-ESP explanatioin even more unlikely. Impact of the apparition experience. The impact that the AE had on Marge closely resembles that of some near-death experi- ences, which evoke emotions of love and contentment (Ring, 1980). According to Marge's testimony and the observations of other interviewees, the AE certainly renewed the bereaved mother's inner strength and will to live. The apparition also stimulated a radical change in her belief system: She now has a belief in afterlife which she did not have before. Jennifer's description of the experi- ence as “part happy, part sad,” seems also to indicate that, al- though to a lesser extent, the communication carried for her the same tone as it did for Marge. It is difficult to imagine that such outcomes could have been achieved by ESP experiences between individuals with scant or no personal ties between them. The first appearance. Why was the apparition of Leslie and Ricky first experienced by Jennifer and not by the requested target person, Marge? This is the hardest of all to explain by the super- ESP model because Jennifer and Constance were total strangers who lived far away from one another. The survival-of-personality model also has some difficulty explaining this feature. Something happened that was not requested by anyone. Within the framework of the survival model, one could speculate that it was easier for Purposeful Action in an Apparition Case 191 Leslie to reach a believing little girl who was quietly meditating than to contact his strongly disbelieving mother who was stricken with grief and despair. Also, why was there no apparition experi- enced by Beth, the widow? She stated that she thought Leslie knew that, in spite of her grief, she “would not be able to handle it,” that is, the fear generated by seeing an apparition of the dead. Maybe Leslie also knew that he would need more than one appear- ance to impress those family members who, like his mother, were highly skeptical. 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