CRISIS APPARITIONS
Throughout our lives we form strong and lasting emotional and physical relationships with many people. Our parents, siblings, friends, partners and children can all have powerful roles in our lives. They offer us much love, comfort, safety, shelter, teaching and protection. So is it possible that on our lives ending, or in times of great fear or pain, we can reach out to them when they are not physically close?
Many people over the centuries have reported seeing the seemingly impossible; a loved one appear to them while unquestionably in another town or even country. These ‘visions’ often fleeting, give the loved one time to impart some wisdom, warning or goodbye - some don’t speak at all. Quite often they leave a numbing wonderment about that person.
These ‘appearances’ are popularly known as Crisis Apparitions, ‘a term used to describe the seeing of an apparition of a person who is at that time experiencing a crisis, or is near death or at the moment of death’ - according to library.think quest.com.
Unsurprisingly, times of war have long been associated with the occurrence of crisis apparition phenomena. In December 1943 an apparition of Violet Almonds husband appeared to her, floating above her bed when she awoke. At the time he was war, stationed and under heavy attack in Africa. Later, when informed of her experience, he recounted at that time he was terrified and praying deeply to God to let him see his beloved wife once again.
It would seem Mr Almonds fear, and perhaps his faith, had allowed him to somehow unconsciously ‘project’ himself back to his home. Although he had had no clear intent to do that, and had absolutely not recollection of seeing his wife; she clearly recalled his presence hovering above her.
The sceptics among us would categorically state that this projecting of ones self imagine is a physical impossibility. One explanation for the Almonds experience for example, may be that at around the time Mr Almond was being attacked and praying could have been close enough to any time Mrs Almond was sleeping. She may have been, by pure co-incidence dreaming about her husband. This dream may have ‘spilled’ into the moment of her conscious waking, causing her to think she was seeing her husband at the moment. This would make the presence of the apparition a waking dream state, rather than the case of unconscious telepathic travel believers may think it is.
What would not be so easily explained away by the waking dream theory, is the materialisation of a person in front of numerous witnesses. I recall reading of an incident from America during the Civil War. The wife of an officer serving in another state was holding a gathering at their home when her husband appeared to her and half a dozen other witnesses. He wore his battle uniform and appeared thin and dishevelled. The lady was later to find the day of his appearance co-incided with the day he was killed.
The half a dozen other ladies who witnessed the apparition stated it was indeed the woman’s husband, and he had appeared before them silently and disappeared just as such. Unless, these otherwise seemingly ‘normal’ women were suffering a collective hallucination, there was no reason not to trust in what they claimed to have seen.
Crisis apparitions may not always appear in a persons form. Occasionally they are audible only, a disembodied voice saying a warning or giving a final goodbye. Sometimes they have been written, seen either in the receptors mind or written on impulse through their own hand - akin to automatic writing. Although the messages may not be automatically clear, on the whole crisis apparitions seem to some level of peace of mind and relief. A final type of crisis apparition mirrors feelings sometimes associated with being a twin. Shared pain or discomfort may happen to a receptor at the same time the primary person is feeling it, such as a parent having an intense headache at the same time their child is hit in the head with a ball in the playground.
Occasionally a crisis apparition may appear some time after the initial incident of its cause. It may be a few hours or a few days before the apparition reaches its destination, making them known as Delayed Crisis Apparitions. By that time the receptor in a case of delayed crisis apparition may or may not already know the fate of the person who sent it.
Also loosely classified under the meaning of crisis apparition is a slightly different type, that sent by someone who is not under any stress, in pain or near death at the time of its sending. Indeed, this type of crisis apparition sender is not likely to even be thinking about the receptor or even aware of their ‘psychic adventure’ at the time their presence is noticed. As unlikely as this type of precognition apparition may seem, witnesses again seem reliable and otherwise unremarkable.
In 1951 Ms Helen Crone experienced an incident of precognition apparition. A friend who was alive and well, but elsewhere appeared to her, compelling her to check on her infant in another part of the house. When she did, Ms Crone found the child had accessed and was playing with several sharp knives. There was no high drama, and no one was in immediately danger or already hurt, but her friend had given her a warning before any harm could befall the child. Parents often know when something is ‘off’ regarding their children, but this wasn’t a case of Ms Crone feeling she needed to check her child, her friend told her to.
Why more people, those in pain, scared or on the edge of death don’t trigger more crisis apparitions is hard to say. Death is certainly a part of everyday life; as are pain, fear and accidents. Could it be that some people are more in touch with their ‘psyche’ or ‘telepathic’ abilities than others? Whether they know they have those abilities or not, are these the people who send or receive crisis apparitions? Maybe. Yet many people who have been the topic of crisis apparitions have never experienced anything similar prior to or after the incident in question.
So perhaps faith could be an answer? Mr Almond was deep in prayer when he ‘appeared’ to his wife, they were both strongly faithful people. For some people, faith and love are very strong forces; perhaps strong enough to transcend time and space, looking for comfort or to say goodbye. However, not all those who experience crisis apparitions would describe themselves as having a strong faith. Maybe a mix of the psyche and faith? Its not a question that can be answered yet.
Everyone with a strong love would like to think that that connection never dies. Even when we are alone we can feel love and hold onto the emotions of another. It would be nice to think that we can reach out to one another when we cannot physically be there; to give comfort or seek shelter or just to say goodbye. Although some may say its not possible, each and every one of us may never know, until our time comes.
By Asylum_souljah
Bibliography and Further Reading:
http://www.paranormality.com/crisis_apparition.shtml
http://www.zerotime.com/ghosts/appar.htm
http://theshadowlands.net/ghost/crisis.htm
http://paranormal.suite101.com/article. ... pparitions
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