Misidentified flying objects
The Journal of near-death studies 1996 DOI: 10.17514/jnds-1996-14-4-p287-290. (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Commentary Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that physical marks reported by some near-death experiencers and UFO abductees resemble bruises reproduced during hypnotic abreaction of trauma and therefore do not constitute indisputable evidence for the objectivity of near-death experiences or UFO abductions, though the phenomenon deserves serious study for its bearing on near-death experience aftereffects. |
Abstract
Keith Basterfield (1994) pointed out that while near-death experiencers (NDErs) have no physical evidence to show for their experience, some of those who claim to have been abducted by unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have reported unusual scars on their bodies with no known cause.Actually, some NDErs have been found to bear physical marks on their bodies that they believe to have resulted from injuries sustained in a postmortem world.For example, one experiencer reported by Satwant Pasricha and Ian Stevenson (1986), who said that the god of death Yama's messengers cut off his legs at the knees, had deep fissures in the skin on the front of the knees.However, x-ray photographs of his legs showed no abnormality below the surface of the skin.Such instances recall the well-authenticated reproduction of bruise marks in the abreactive reliving, under hypnosis, of traumatic experiences, and are not indisputable evidence for the objectivity of the NDEs or UFO abductions.This phenomenon, however, merits serious study because of its bearing, among other matters, on the aftereffects of NDEs.For ex-