The alarm clock went off at around 6:00am the morning of 12/13/11 and when I was laying in bed waking up I smelled a deeply musty type smell, like a scent associated to a body that needed washed, or something wet and moldy.  I sniffed around my immediate area, the pillow, the covers (I thought one of my children may have spilled something on the bed), I even sniffed my wife to see if she possibly needed a shower.  Two or three times I pulled the covers to my nose to try and find the source of the smell.  I then got up and started my day by waking the kids for school and getting ready for work.  The scent seemed to stay in my bedroom but was not as pronounced after I showered. I left for work a little after 7:00am and forgot about the smell.  At around 9:00am my sister in law called and informed me my mother had passed away a few moments ago, she had been at home under the care of hospice for possible dementia and age related issues.  I got to my mothers house about 10:00am and noticed the smell I had sensed in my bedroom was the way my mothers house smelled.   

After my mother had been taken by the funeral home about 11:30am I stopped the Hospice worker and told her of my experience with the smell, she stated she had often heard of a loved one sensing something like this.  I returned home to my wife about 12:00noon and she was in the bedroom, the smell was there but not as strong, however when I described it to her she smelled nothing even remotely similar to what I did.  Later that afternoon I returned to my mothers house about 4:00pm and described the event to my two older sisters, at the time I still smelled the scent in my mothers house, however none of them could say they smelled anything similar.  I walked the house and the smell was most pronounced in the bedroom my mother had passed away in.  Later, about 8:00pm I returned to my mothers house again and the smell was no longer there, nor was it at my home anywhere when I finally got there around 10:00pm.  It had vanished and did not return during the funeral or any subsequent trips to my mothers house. 

At some point during 2012 I briefly had the smell again at least once but I cannot remember the exact place I was, it was not my mothers house or my bedroom, I just sensed it again and knew exactly what it was.  I also do not know when this took place, it was just exciting to smell it again although it is not a pleasant smell, because it means something to me.  It only lasted less than a minute and was not as powerful as the morning of my mothers passing. 

As far as what I believe?  I like to think it was my mother passing through my home to say goodbye to everyone, I do believe upon death your energy still exists, but to what end I cannot pretend to believe I understand.  The fact that this scent was so strong that morning, that it smelled like what I remember as the scent of my moms house for months as she aged to the need for Hospice, and that I only smelled it for a short time at her house makes me hopeful it means she was there and saw me before she moved to whatever happens after death. 

To be clear, I saw nothing, felt nothing, and did not associate the smell that day to my mother.  I also never had anyone else notice a smell the way I described it, they figured it was the cats at her house and that they were used to it even though my one sister lives in California and when she came home she never smelled it.  We all loved our mother, there is no animosity among myself and two sisters, we are typical middle class and basically what most people would consider a normal family.  My father had passed away over 16 years ago.

Was this experience difficult to express in words?  No

Did you ONLY sense an awareness of presence of the deceased without actually seeing, hearing, feeling or smelling them?            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?         No

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

            What smell, scent, fragrance or odor did you smell?           Like a wetness and moldiness on a fabric, or a person that needed to shower.  I thought it was the bed and that my kids had spilled something, or that my wife possibly needed a shower (she is not unkempt so that would not have been normal at all).

            Was the smell, scent, fragrance or odor familiar?     I thought it was familiar when I associated it to my first visit to my mothers house the morning she passed away, but nobody else smelled anything like I was describing.  It is almost like the scent stopped after that day even though the house had not been cleaned.

            Was anything communicated by the smell?   No

            Is there any possibility that the smell, scent, fragrance or odor was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?        No.  I asked multiple people both at my home and my mothers, nobody else could smell it or place it.

How long did the experience last?        The first time when I woke up, up to an hour each time I was in my bedroom, I don't remember if I smelled it as I showered.  The throughout the day as I came and went from my mothers house at first it was there then later that day it was gone. It never returned at her house that I remember.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?         Sudden when it began and I guess sudden when it ended.  I just stopped smelling it.

Could you sense the emotions or mood of the deceased?           No

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  No

How do you currently view the reality of your experience?           Experience was definitely real

            Please explain why you view the reality of your experience as real or not real:           Too many coincidences for something to not have happened.  I am not saying this proves anything to me that I previously could not explain, but something happened to me and not anyone else around me that day.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           I was upset that something smelled odd and I could not find out where the smell was coming from.

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

If my mother did visit me it is very cool to consider, but the experience has not made any contributions to the loss of my mother.  It is just an experience I went though and find interesting.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      Best part was finding out the experience may have been because of my mother the day she passed.  Worst part was not know when I first smelled it that morning that it could have been the last visit from my mother.  Would have been nice, if any of this could actually happen, that I had realized what it may have been so I could have said something to her.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         No      

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Uncertain      I may now think it is more possible that there is an ability to "be there" after death.  but this does not by any means give me a certainty in that.

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?            No      

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?          Uncertain I still think it was the way I remember my mothers house smelling in the months leading up to her death, I always associated to the fact she was no longer able to bathe regularly and was what my sister referred to as the old person smell. That sister lived with my mother the past 10 years caring for her.  The odd part was she didn't perceive any smell the way I described it, and the fact the smell stopped after that day and no cleaning was done to the house due to funeral arrangements.

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            Nothing really, if you have kids you know smells from spills and things can happen anytime.  If anything I was frustrated they had spilled something on the bed.

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?       No

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         No

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?           No

Did any part of your experience seem to occur in a place other than the location described above?            Uncertain

I don't think it did but it is possible it was on and off a bit even outside my mothers home.  I seem to slightly remember the smell being there throughout the day but cannot say this with 100% certainty.  I do know it was not always there during the day, or after.  It certainly was no longer in my bedroom at home, the first time I went back there I smelled those covers and not even a hint of that smell was there.  It was not the type of smell that would just go away if it was a spill, or something on the covers.

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes     Nobody ever said I was crazy.  My wife believes she saw her grandmother after her passing when she was a young girl, so this was not a shock to her.  We both believe events after my father passed away 16+ years ago could have been associated to him but no proof exists of that and I figured it was just something I believed so as not to let go of him.  This experience was more real.  The Hospice worked said she had heard this before and to embrace it, but I think although she believes it is possible, much of what she was telling me was to help me grieve immediately after the loss.  My oldest sister, the one that lived with my mother is agnostic and sis not discount the possibility something could have happened. The middle sister, from California, has always said she communicates with people from the other side so she figured I must have some of the same ability, if you want to call it ability.  Overall, nobody said I was imagining anything and was supportive.

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?       I think I have said everything already.

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

I believe I may have rambled in some areas but overall it was only in an effort to supply as much information as possible.