These 10 Spooky Things May Be Signs Before Death

In 1825 Horace Welby wrote a book entitled "Signs before death, and authenticated apparitions: in one hundred narratives." You can read it for free at www.archive.org using the link here. Welby noted  that "there has been, notwithstanding this scepticism, in all ages and countries, a partial credence given to presentiments of death."  On another page he noted, "It is the common opinion of the Turks and Persians, that near the close of life, every person has some sort of extraordinary revelation of that event." Welby's book is full of tales of people who had forewarnings of death or people who saw apparitions. We can count him as one of the first parapsychologists. 

The claim is often made that serious research into psychical phenomena began in 1882 with the founding of the Society for Psychical Research. This often-repeated claim is untrue. Serious research into psychical phenomena dates back much earlier. Serious research into psychical phenomena was being conducted by the early Mesmerists such as Amand-Marie-Jacques de Chastenet, the Marquis of Puységur. In 1784 he discovered through experimentation what he called "artificial somnambulism," something that is  now called hypnotism.  It is clear that parapsychology was a serious study by 1825. That year saw not only the publication of Welby's book, but also the beginning of the second committee on Mesmerism which carried on operations between 1825 and 1831. The committee consisted of doctors of the Royal Academy of Medicine in France. That commission found resoundingly in favor of clairvoyance, as reported here. Some other examples of parapsychology in the early nineteenth century are discussed here. 

Welby's claims about "signs before death" have been corroborated by modern evidence for deathbed visions, which often include apparitions of the dead.  Some posts on the topic can be read here, here and here.  An interesting possibility is that there may occur many different types of signs alerting someone that his time on Earth is short. Speculating freely about a large range of possibilities, I could say that signs before death might possibly include (1) strangely repetitive bird sightings, (2) hard-to-explain weather events, (3) improbable symbolic flower appearances, (4)  machines mysteriously turning off or digital clock numbers fading in and out, (5)  lights switching off or smoke detectors inexplicably activating, (6) untouched lights turning off and then back on, (7) dreams suggesting life after death, (8) apparition sightings, (9) tablet or smartphones devices mysteriously lighting up and then going dark in a long-lasting loop, when recharging;  (10) maybe even strange appearances of tangible objects with a symbolic interpretation.

Today I found in my front yard the piece of paper below, which might be interpreted as some sign of a coming "admission" into some afterlife realm:

Part of the reason I wonder about such a thing is that I haven't seen an old style ticket like this in ages. 

Postscript: I can add one other possible sign before death: the sighting of a type of insect you've never seen before, particularly if the insect's name has a symbolic relevance. Today at eye level on my front door rim I saw the insect shown below, a type I've never seen before.

The insect is called a spotted latternfly. In near-death experiences people often report floating out of their bodies and flying up to some mysterious light, sometimes called a Being of light. The name "latternfly" brings to mind such a motif: a soul flying up to some mysterious light or Being of light would be like an insect flying up to some outdoor lantern.