< Back to Volume 3, Number 1
Volume 3: Number 1: Article 6
A Case of the Possession Type in India With Evidence of Paranormal Knowledge
Ian Stevenson, Department of Psychiatric Medicine, University of
Virginia, School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908
A young married woman, Sumitra, in a village of northern India, apparently
died and then revived. After a period of confusion she stated that she
was one Shiva who had been murdered in another village. She gave enough
details to permit verification of her statements, which corresponded
to facts in the life of another young married woman called Shiva. Shiva
had lived in a place about 100 km away, and she had died violently there
— either by suicide or murder — about two months before Sumitra's apparent
death and revival. Subsequently, Sumitra recognized 23 persons (in person
or in photographs) known to Shiva. She also showed in several respects
new behavior that accorded with Shiva's personality and attainments.
For example, Shiva's family were Brahmins (high caste), whereas Sumitra's
were Thakurs (second caste); after the change in her personality Sumitra
showed Brahmin habits that were strange in her family. Extensive interviews
with 53 informants satisfied the investigators that the families concerned
had been, as they claimed, completely unknown to each other before the
case developed and that Sumitra had had no normal knowledge of the people
and events in Shiva's life. The authors conclude that the subject demonstrated
knowledge of another person's life obtained paranormally.
To purchase back issues contact Allen Marketing & Management: 1-800-627-0629
