My brother lived in Mississippi and my husband and I were fixing to move to South Carolina and I had a big desire to go visit him before we moved. I was sitting in his apartment talking to him about my upcoming baby's birth when out of the blue he said ' When I die I don't want people to file past my coffin and be upset. Wrap me in a garbage bag and toss me because it won't matter. I will let you know I'm ok. ' I figured he was just being silly. This was probably in August 1980. Fast forward to June 1981 when I received a phone call from my mother telling me my brother has committed suicide. I think it was 2 to 3 months later I had gotten home from work, taken a shower and was sitting on the edge of the bed fixing to get dressed. I became aware of the same overpowering smell of orange spray exactly like the funeral home had sprayed because it was 3 days before my brother's body was found. All my windows were closed because it was hot outside and the A/C was on. I sensed my brother was with me and for some reason it scared me. I closed my eyes and was mentally saying ' Go away ' over and over. I had a picture of him stuck under the edge of my dresser mirror and it came falling down and landed at my feet. I was totally freaked out and begged him to leave. All of a sudden the orange smell disappeared and I knew he was gone. I don't know why it scared me so bad and I regret that to this day.
 

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?          The strong orange smell the funeral home sprayed to cover up the door of him from being found 3 days after he died.

          Was the smell, scent, fragrance or odor familiar?   Yes, see above

          Was anything communicated by the smell?  I think I smelled it so I would know it was him.

          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, the windows were closed.

How long did the experience last?      About 5 minutes.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?      The beginning was more gradual by smelling the orange scent before becoming aware of him being in the room with me and the end was sudden because the smell suddenly disappeared and I knew he was gone.

Could you sense the emotions or mood of the deceased?          Uncertain

I felt like he was sad because I kept telling him to away but that maybe that I was sad after he left because I was afraid.

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:   Because I wasn't even thinking of him and I can't imagine just recalling that horrible orange smell and then his picture fell at my feet.

          Was the experience dream like in any way?  No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:  I was extremely frightened.

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

Even though I already knew we didn't really die this absolutely cemented it for me.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?     The best part was him being there the worst part was me being so afraid.

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          It cemented what I already knew.

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?         Yes

It wasn't really a two way compact. He told me he would let me know he was ok when he died.

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?         I was very sad I had been frightened. That was my brother! He had said he would let me know he was ok when he died and I freaked out

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?     No

Have you shared this experience with others?      

Yes    Disbelief. They thought I was crazy.

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? After my experience I realized he knew he was going to die when I visited him before my move to another state. He said when and not if he does. He also showed me his gun that he shot himself with.

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?     Yes 

When I around 7 years old I fell headfirst out of a tree. I'm pretty sure I almost died because I was around 20 feet above the house watching my mother leaning over my body.

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

Please offer any suggestions you may have to improve this questionnaire.       Some of them seem repetitive but it's ok.