Experts Reveal Eerie Signs a Loved One May Be Contacting You From the Afterlife
Many people take comfort in the idea that loved ones who have died may still find ways to reach out, and researchers have suggested there are several signs people commonly associate with contact from beyond the grave.
While plenty of skeptics dismiss the possibility of communicating with the dead, authors and researchers Bill and Judy Guggenheim spent years looking into what they described as ‘After-Death Communication‘ (ADC).
The term generally refers to an experience in which someone believes they has been contacted directly by a person who has died, without using a medium, séance or other deliberate attempt to reach the dead.
Between 1988 and 1995, the pair reportedly interviewed more than 2,000 people across the United States and Canada and collected more than 3,300 first-hand accounts from those who believed a deceased loved one had tried to make their presence known.
Their work later became widely associated with the 1990s book Hello from Heaven!, which helped popularise the phrase ADC among people interested in grief, spirituality and near-death-related experiences.
For many, the idea of contact from the afterlife might bring to mind Ouija boards, ghostly messages on mirrors, or frightening writing appearing on walls. But the experiences described to the researchers were usually far more ordinary than that.
According to the accounts they collected, there were several common ways people felt their loved ones had attempted to communicate after death.
The researchers said: “It’s estimated that 60-120 million Americans – 20-40 percent of the population of the US – have had one or more ADC experiences.”
More recent polling suggests that the feeling is still far from unusual. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey of more than 5,000 US adults found that 53 percent said they had been visited by a dead family member in a dream or another form at some point in their lives. In the previous 12 months, 34 percent said they had felt the presence of a dead relative, while 15 percent said a dead family member had communicated with them.
These moments are said to occur particularly when someone is under emotional strain, searching for reassurance, or marking a meaningful date such as an anniversary, birthday, holiday or the date of the person’s death.
The signs people reported were often small, everyday occurrences that felt unusually significant or difficult to explain.
They included things such as a meaningful song playing unexpectedly, a recognizable scent, lights flickering, unusually vivid dreams featuring the person who had died, electronic devices behaving oddly, pets or animals reacting differently, and the sensation of being touched.
Commonly reported ADC experiences include:
- Hearing a voice or message: Some people describe hearing the deceased person speak their name, offer reassurance, or say goodbye.
- Feeling a presence: Others report an intense sense that the person is nearby, even without seeing or hearing anything.
- Vivid dreams: Many accounts involve dreams that feel unusually clear, emotional and memorable.
- Recognizable scents: A person may suddenly notice a loved one’s perfume, cigarette smoke, cooking, flowers or another scent strongly associated with them.
- Electrical or electronic oddities: Some people interpret flickering lights, televisions switching on, phones behaving strangely or songs appearing at meaningful moments as signs.
- Animals reacting: Pets staring at an empty space, becoming excited or behaving as if someone has entered the room are sometimes viewed as possible signs.
- Symbolic encounters: Birds, butterflies, coins, repeated numbers, rainbows or other highly personal symbols are often described as meaningful by grieving families.
Before Bill died on May 20, 2023, the researchers had spoken about why they believed these experiences happened and what form they tended to take.
They said in a statement: “The purpose of these visits, contacts, and signs by those who have left their physical body is to offer comfort, reassurance, and hope to their parents, spouse, siblings, children, grandchildren, other family members, and friends.”
It is an idea that many grieving people may find reassuring.
The researchers also noted that the messages people felt they received often followed familiar themes, including ‘I’m okay,’ ‘Don’t worry about me’, ‘I love you,’ and a final ‘Goodbye.’
Of all the reported signs, a scent connected to the person who had died was said to be one of the most common.
Dreams were another major theme, with many people describing them as feeling far more powerful than a typical dream.
“These are much more vivid, intense, colorful, and real than ordinary dreams. They are extremely common. These are also called ‘visitation dreams,’” the researchers shared.
Academic studies into ADCs and bereavement experiences have found that they can involve several senses. One study of 991 accounts, published in the journal EXPLORE, found that participants described experiences involving touch, sight, sound and smell, as well as a general sense of the deceased person’s presence.
However, researchers and clinicians do not all agree on what these experiences mean. Some interpret them spiritually, while many psychologists view them as part of the way the brain processes grief, memory and attachment after a major loss.
Health experts also note that briefly hearing, seeing or sensing someone who has died can be a normal part of bereavement for some people, especially in the early stages of grief. It does not automatically mean someone is unwell.
Still, anyone who is frightened by these experiences, feels unable to function, believes they may harm themselves, or is struggling with persistent grief should seek support from a doctor, therapist, bereavement counselor or crisis service.
For those who believe in ADC experiences, the thought that a lost loved one may still be close can offer a real sense of comfort. For others, the same experiences may simply reflect how deeply love, memory and grief remain connected long after someone has died.