Early in December, 1964, my grandmother's house caught on fire as did she. She had  3rd degree burns over 75% of her body. She also had diabetes which made it difficult for the burns to heal. She suffered (and I mean suffered) in the hospital for 6 weeks before she died. I had spent quite a bit of those 6 weeks sitting in the waiting room at the hospital, just down the hall from her room, listening to her scream in pain. It was horrible. So, with that in mind, you would have thought that I would have felt "something" when she died. Sadness, relief, something. But I didn't feel any different than usual. This was the first death I had been around and perhaps just didn't know what was really going on. I was 9 years old. 

When we went to the funeral home for the viewing the night before the funeral, I stayed in the sanctuary part of the rooms my grandmother was housed in while the rest of my family gathered in the little room with my grandmother's body. I just sat in one of the pews swinging my legs. Once everyone came out of the little room, and it was empty except for my grandmother, I went in alone. I walked up to the casket and stood there looking. Her hands were crossed across her chest as was done so often back then. I don't know how long I had been standing there looking at her in silence but a time came when I could have sworn I saw her little finger move. I remember trying to reconcile death and her little finger moving in my mind. Don't think I got very far. 

The next day at the funeral I was the only one not crying. I just didn't feel sad and wondered why I didn't. After the funeral we went to my aunt's house and ate the food that had been brought by all of the community. It was my first time to eat angel food cake and I liked that a lot :) Finally, it was time to go home after being away from it for a lot of the past 6 weeks. 

After arriving back home, it became bedtime. I went to bed as I usually did and went to sleep. I was the type that never woke up once I went to sleep until my mother would wake me up at 7am to get ready for school. Not even to go to the bathroom. I just never woke up. I was a real sleeper. On this night, however, I woke up, sat straight up in my bed, and was all of a sudden wide awake. I didn't have a sleepy feeling or a feeling as if I had just awoken at all. It was dark in my room but as I moved my eyes to my left a little, there was my grandmother floating in front of my chest of drawers. I sat there staring trying to figure out what in the world was going on. I thought I knew what "dead" meant but now I was all confused. I just kept staring for I don't know how long. I noticed that she was not wearing what she had had on in the casket. She had been buried in a light purple suit and was now in a long white gown with big bell sleeves in it. I could see her face and her hands but could not see her feet as she was floating there. I could see my chest of drawers through her. I just kept on staring and trying to figure out what was going on. She then started floating over toward my bed and when she sat down on it I started SCREAMING at the top of my lungs. 

As soon as I started screaming, she disappeared. My parents were in my room lickity split saying "what's wrong, what's wrong"? I said, "granny was in my room". And they said, awwww honey you were just having a bad dream now go back to sleep. I said, "ok" and went back to sleep. Didn't have any trouble going back to sleep and, as usual, didn't budge from that sleep until my mother woke me up the next morning for school. 

I had very good parents and had no reason to doubt what they said, so when they told me I was having a bad dream I didn't question it. Six months after that night I began having dreams that came true. I didn't associate it with seeing my grandmother in my room at all because I had not had one thought about seeing my grandmother since my parents told me I was having a bad dream and I went back to sleep. As a matter of fact, it never entered my mind again. Until..... 

I was 18 years old and had another experience. A very frightening one. Which I won't go into now (since you asked that each experience be listed separately) except to say at the end of it the first thing that popped into my head was "I KNEW that was granny in my room that night"!!! 

I had grown up in Dallas all of my life and my grandmother lived in Bonham which was about 80 miles away. I didn't see her very much before she died so I didn't know her very well. Once I realized, at 18, that it "was" her in my room that night, I started questioning WHY she came to MY room. Why not my cousins who lived in the same city as she did? The ones who were with her all of the time. Why me? And why in the world did I scream? If I hadn't of screamed, she might have said something to me that would have told me why she came to me. 

So, that was my first experience. I will come back tomorrow to tell you of the one at 18. The scary one. It's almost 4am now and I'm sleepy. Wish my grandmother would come back now and tell me what she wanted. I wouldn't scream now :(

Was this experience difficult to express in words? 

No

Did you hear the deceased or hear something associated with the deceased?         

No

Did you feel a touch or experience any physical contact from the deceased?           

No

Did you see the deceased?        

Yes

My grandmother looked like my grandmother except she was see through and had no feet that I could see. She was dressed in a long white gown with big bell sleeves. She had been buried in a light purple suit. She looked like she felt good again, though, which was good since she had suffered so much before dying.

            How clearly did the deceased appear?            transparent

            How much of the deceased did you see?       Could see her head/face and her hands. Could not see any feet and the long gown was covering the rest of her.

            Did the deceased appear or not appear to be the age at which they died?       She appeared TO be her same age as when she died. She looked the same.

            How healthy did the deceased appear to be?            She had 3rd degree burns over 75% of her body that did not heal. I didn't see anything abnormal when she appeared to me.

            Is there any possibility what you saw was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?           No

Did you smell a distinct smell, scent, fragrance or odor associated with the deceased?     

No

How long did the experience last?       

Very hard to say. I was 9 years old and was staring with my mouth hanging open for what seemed an eternity. I just don't know how long it was.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?        

Sudden. I bolted up out of a sound sleep at the beginning and saw my grandmother in my room. At the end, she disappeared as soon as I started screaming.

Could you sense the emotions or mood of the deceased?          

No

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know? 

No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:          

Total confusion at first, then fear at the end

Was there any emotional healing in any way following the experience?          

No

What was the best and worst part of your experience?     

Best: being shown that we do go on after death 

Worst: starting to scream and making her go away

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?        

No      

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   No      

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?  Yes     Not at the time, but years later yes. I know now that you at least "can" live after death. I'm not afraid to die and never have been. Actually look forward to it and pray that my time is soon. As far as God is concerned, once I remembered at 18 about my experience with my grandmother I had already formed my opinion on God. Remembering it just cemented my belief that there is a supreme being. It's kind of obvious to me and always has been.

Death Compacts are when two or more living people promise among themselves that whoever dies first will try to contact the other(s).  Have you ever made such a compact?        No

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          No
What emotions did you feel during the experience?            none

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?           No

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   No

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    No

Did you become aware of future events?       Uncertain

I started having dreams that came true 6 months later

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         Uncertain

I started having dreams that came true 6 months later

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     No

Did you meet or see any other beings other than the deceased?            No

Did you see a light?           Uncertain

Well, it was like my grandmother herself was illuminated because my room was dark yet I could see her, and my chest of drawers through her, perfectly.

Did any part of your experience seem to occur in a place other than the location described above?            No

Have you shared this experience with others?        

Yes     Most are just interested but not totally believing. My mother definitely believes me now as does my children.

Have you shared this experience formally or informally with any other researcher or web site?   No

 Is there anything else you would like to add regarding your experience?       No

Were there any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience?            No

Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life, medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?         No 

Did you ever in your life have a near-death experience, out of body experience or other spiritual event?           No 

Did the questions asked and information you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?               Yes