After-Death Communications (ADCs) – Evelyn Elsaesser
Introduction
An After-Death Communication (ADC) occurs when a person unexpectedly perceives a deceased person. These contacts are spontaneous, seemingly initiated by the deceased, without any intention or solicitation on the part of the recipients. They are direct, without the intervention of spirit mediums, EMDR, hypnosis, the use of devices (e.g. Instrumental Transcommunication or ITC), or any other processes. ADCs are perceived through the senses of sight, hearing, touch, or smell. Not all ADCs involve fully developed perceptions – it is quite common to merely feel the presence of the deceased person. Several sensory organs are often involved simultaneously in the same ADC. These contacts occur while awake, asleep or falling asleep (in a hypnagogic state of consciousness) or waking up (in a hypnopompic state of consciousness). They happen in very different forms and under a variety of circumstances. ADCs are widespread: an estimated 30 to 35% of people experience one or more ADCs in their lifetime; among bereaved individuals, this proportion rises to 70 to 80% (Streit-Horn et al., 2022).
A phenomenon reported since the dawn of time
Testimonies collected on all continents and for centuries suggest this phenomenon to be universal and timeless. Perhaps the earliest recorded ADC purportedly occurred in 1963 BCE in ancient Egypt (Bourke, 2024, p. 8). Hereward Carrington, an American investigator of psychic phenomena, wrote in 1915: “Ghosts have been believed in by every nation, at every time and at every stage of the world’s evolution. No matter where we may go, we find them stalking through the pages of history; and even in our own cynical and materialistic age, we not only find ‘ghosts’ still, but the evidence for their existence is stronger than ever!” (Phantasms of the Dead or True Ghost Stories, cop. 1915, p. 13). In the 19th century and well into the 20th century, so-called paranormal experiences were quite extensively researched. Apparitions (visual ADCs) in particular attracted the interest of researchers and the general public alike. With the rise of materialism, this interest has greatly diminished, and ADCs have become the domain of research for only a few specialized experts.
And yet, ADCs are clearly not a marginal experience but a major societal phenomenon. Every day, a large number of persons live these experiences and do not know how to name them or how to situate them in their conception of reality. The time was ripe to launch a large-scale, long-term international research project on ADCs, which our team began in 2018 (see https://www.adcrp.org/). Research has recently been revived, with other teams in several countries also investigating ADCs.
Phenomenology of ADCs
We will briefly describe the different types of ADCs, illustrated by testimonies from our survey, which currently has more than 1,300 participants in six languages. All of the testimonies cited have been published in Spontaneous Contacts with the Deceased (Elsaesser, 2023).
ADC of sensing a presence: The recipients sense the familiar presence of the deceased person, who seems to have a certain density, almost physical although invisible. They often know exactly where the deceased are located in space, when they arrive, and when they leave. Like all ADCs, they usually last only a few seconds, a few minutes at most.
“Lying in bed, I felt my son’s presence. At that moment I felt the mattress sag as if someone was sitting next to me. The sensation of an invisible body mass beside me. I knew it was him!”
Auditory ADC: They come in two forms: either the recipients hear a voice that seems to come from an external source, as if they were hearing a living person, or they perceive the communication without external sound. In the second case, they speak of a message “placed in their mind,” while specifying that the origin of the communication was external to themselves and that it was not a thought. It would therefore be a telepathic communication.
“I strongly sensed my mother telling me she was with my dad and feeling wonderful. I could hear her voice clearly. I didn’t see her, but felt her presence.”
Tactile ADC: Recipients feel a contact on a part of their body, such as a touch, a pressure, a caress, a hand on the shoulder, or a hug. The familiarity of the gesture immediately reveals the identity of the deceased. Some report that the contact was accompanied by an “electric flow” or a “wave of energy.”
“Shortly after my husband’s death I sat talking to my sons. We laughed and then I felt an energy next to me. I then felt a hand on the top of my leg. The hand patted my leg. My sense told me that this was my husband reassuring me.”
Visual ADC: They take a variety of forms. Descriptions range from seeing a hazy, semi-transparent silhouette that allows objects behind it to be seen, to perceiving a perfectly solid body, with all stages in between. Sometimes the perception evolves dynamically: first a misty form is perceived, which solidifies through the silhouette stage and finally takes the form of a solid person who seems alive.
“I don’t think he appeared solid, but he was very close to that because when I looked up, he looked just like he always did.”
Olfactory ADC: The scents perceived are representative of the deceased person’s life. They may be related to their activities or preferences. The scents often mentioned by recipients are those of a perfume or a characteristic body odour, but the range of scents reported is wide. They appear suddenly, for no apparent reason and out of context, indoors or outdoors, with no detectable source.
“A soft fragrance very characteristic of her. There was a sweet scent emanating from her that I smelled every time she hugged me and that also permeated her clothes.”
Messages perceived
The majority of recipients report perceiving a personalized message during the contact, which they found comforting and important to them. The content of the messages suggests that the deceased have retained their identity, personality, memories, emotions, and bonds with their loved ones. The most common and certainly the most important message for their family and friends is that they are alive and well.
“We still exist, even though we no longer have a bodily envelope – we are doing very well.”
Messages can be summarized by the 4 Rs. They are:
Reassuring: I’m alive, I’m fine, don’t worry about me; the problems I had at the end of my life are now behind me;
Resolving: Resolution of conflicts that remained unsettled at the time of death, requests and offers of forgiveness;
Reaffirming: Continuing bond, expression of affection, I love you, I watch over you and will always be by your side, we will be reunited again one day;
Releasing: Don’t be so sad, carry on with your life with confidence; I feel your pain, it saddens me and holds me back.
Evidential cases
Our survey shows that the vast majority of participants are convinced of the authenticity of their experience, with 90% stating that their ADC was “authentic beyond doubt”, 8% indicating that it “possibly really could have happened”, and none agreeing that it “was certainly not authentic but rather an hallucination/illusion created by grief”. However, like any experience, ADCs are subjective. The ADCs reported by participants in our survey were not necessarily all genuine. Some cases might be susceptible to explanations such as a psychological response to a deep emotional need during times of grief, although only 36% were “extremely sad and in deep mourning” when the ADC occurred. Some cases of visual ADCs may simply be the result of misperception, caused, for example, by poor lighting conditions. There are, however, some types of ADCs that are more resistant to explanation in such terms and therefore more evidential with respect to the survival hypothesis.
ADC in non-bereavement situations
Not all recipients are grieving when the ADC occurs. Twenty-seven percent of our respondents were no longer in mourning or had never been in mourning for the perceived deceased. In addition, a small percentage perceived an unknown deceased person. These contacts tend to be uncomfortable, unsettling, oppressive, even frightening. Unlike contacts involving known, and often loved, deceased persons, there is no emotional bond between the deceased and the recipient for this type of ADC. They are thus experiences of a fundamentally different nature and the question of the meaning of their occurrence arises.
Shared ADC
Shared ADCs – or multiple witness cases – are perceived simultaneously by two or more people gathered in the same place. They are of particular interest if the reported experiences have common and consistent features. Collective experiences are quite rare. Twenty-one percent of our respondents have had this type of shared experience, which reinforces the impression of reality (even though recipients do not need confirmation from another person to be convinced of the reality of their ADC).
ADC for a third person
During this type of ADC, the recipient, who is not grieving for the perceived deceased or doesn’t even know him or her, perceives a communication intended for a bereaved person. The messages to be transmitted usually serve to inform the third party that the deceased is alive and well. This type of ADC has evidential value since its trigger cannot be grief.
ADC at the moment of death
In the case of an ADC at the moment of death, or crisis ADC – reported by 21% of our survey participants – the recipient is informed of the death of a family member or friend by the deceased themselves. These experiences precede the announcement of the demise (by the hospital, the family, etc.). The recipient is not (yet) in mourning. The psychological factor related to grief cannot be the cause of the ADC.
ADC with perception of previously unknown information
ADCs involving the perception of previously unknown information that can subsequently be verified and validated are evidential. Twenty-four percent of participants in our survey perceived unknown information of various types: for example, the announcement of the imminent death of a family member or friend, the disclosure of a pregnancy previously unknown even to the mother-to-be, but also practical information such as the location of a family record book or a life insurance policy taken out without anyone else’s knowledge.
Impact of ADCs on the belief system
Literature indicates that being a believer, agnostic or atheist does not influence the nature of the ADC or the probability of having one. Religiosity increases only insignificantly after the ADC, which makes sense because these are not religious experiences (28% of participants considered themselves religious before the ADC, compared to 30% after). Spirituality, on the other hand, increases significantly after the contact (69% claimed to be spiritual before the ADC, compared to 90% after). Experiencing a spontaneous contact with a deceased loved one is a deeply comforting, uplifting, and transformative experience. Regardless of their pre-existing belief system, recipients are convinced that the contact was real and that their family member or friend has indeed survived physical death. As a result, 93% of those surveyed believe in life after death, while only 1% do not. Another consequence of the ADC is the decrease (31%), or even elimination (30%), of the fear of one’s own death.
“Before, I was afraid of death. Not anymore. Now, I am happy to know that I will be reunited with my husband one day after I die.”
Impact of ADCs on bereavement
ADCs suggest the existence of a continuous (though obviously transformed) relational bond between the living and the dead. This bond does not only seem to be reflective of the relationship as it was at the time of death, but it seems to evolve in a dynamic way after the demise. ADCs are the very brief and very rare materialization of this connection. The essential challenge of the grieving process is to accept the definitive physical absence of the loved one and to become fully aware of the existence of this lasting inner bond with him or her.
“The grieving process consists of evolving the relationship, internalizing it, and metamorphosing it. And accepting what has been lost and what remains.”
Seventy-three percent of participants claim that their experience had brought them consolation and emotional healing. ADCs are much more than a mere perception of the deceased. It is the emotions felt and perceived during the contact and the information obtained that give them their full meaning and healing power. The essential information inherent in the very occurrence of the ADC provides the subjective conviction to the recipients that their loved one has survived the death of the body, potentially implying a future reunion.
“Knowing my Son came to me in a calm and loving way to comfort me has made me carry on to help others that have lost their children. Understanding the deepest lost imaginable, and truly believing we will see them again and they have just gone on ahead before us…”
In the painful cases of suicide, an ADC can radically change the way family and friends understand this act.
“As he committed suicide in a state of advanced despair, I would have been very sad for him, and I wouldn’t have known how to console myself for this terrible act. Thanks to my “vision”, I knew that he had been right to leave, and that he was now happy. So, I really wasn’t sad anymore.”
Participants in our survey give an important place to the ADC in the events that have marked their lives. The vast majority consider their ADC to be a comforting, transformative and intrinsically positive experience. The data collected indicate that having had a spontaneous contact with a deceased loved one is an experience that is highly valued and cherished by nearly all of our participants, with 36% considering it “life-changing”, and 49% “important”.
Solicited contacts with the deceased
Since the dawn of time, humans have had a desire to converse with the dead. One of the most common practices involves consulting spirit mediums who appear to possess the ability to contact the deceased at will—an ability that may exist latently in all humans. Another practice, automatic writing, consists in writing words without conscious thought, with the belief that they come from spirits or deceased individuals. While practitioners regard it as a method of “channeling” messages, psychological interpretations suggest that automatic writing may reflect the expression of the subconscious mind.
Over time, numerous traditions, practices, and techniques have been developed to induce or facilitate contact with the deceased. These include meditation, hypnosis, and ritualistic methods. One historically notable technique is the Ouija board, which emerged in the late 19th century during the spiritualist movement. Despite being over a century old, it remains in use today, both as a recreational activity and as a tool for purported spirit communication. The Ouija board is a flat surface marked with letters, numbers, and words such as “yes,” “no,” and “goodbye,” upon which participants place their fingers on a planchette. Some proponents claim it enables spirits to communicate, whereas skeptics attribute the movement of the planchette to unconscious muscular motions by participants.
Another technique, known as psychomanteum work, draws on ancient Greek practices of consulting the dead through reflective surfaces. In the classical psychomanteum, participants gazed into a darkened pool of liquid under low illumination to elicit meaningful visual imagery. Modern revival of this technique was popularized by Dr. Raymond Moody in his 1993 book Reunions: Visionary Encounters with Departed Loved One, Mass Market Paperback. Website of Dr. Raymond Moody https://www.lifeafterlife.com/.
In recent decades, a therapeutic approach referred to as “Induced After-Death Communications (IADC®) therapy” has gained attention. Developed in 1995 by American psychologist Dr. Allan Botkin, IADC therapy was initially designed to help war veterans overcome post-traumatic stress: “IADC Therapy generally involves two sessions on two consecutive days. It focuses on reducing the sadness associated with grief by using a modified protocol of EMDR Therapy. Once a greater degree of resolution is achieved, a state of receptivity is then cultivated. In this state, most clients perceive a deep and loving connection with the deceased loved one through one or more of the five senses or through some other sense-of-presence perception.” https://www.iadctherapy.com/.
The efficacy of IADC therapy has been evaluated in two studies, one by Holden et al. (2019) and another more recently by Nehmy et al. (2026), Efficacy of Induced After-Death Communication Therapy for Grief, involving 43 bereaved adults who each received two 90-minute sessions. The results are encouraging: “After-death communications occurred in 79% of participants during therapy and predicted stronger continuing bonds with the deceased. These findings support IADC as an efficient treatment option for bereaved individuals.” https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00302228261418413
Recommended books
Elsaesser, E. (2023) Spontaneous Contacts with the Deceased: A Large-Scale International Survey Reveals the Circumstances, Lived Experience and Beneficial Impact of After-Death Communications (ADCs). – Collective Ink – IFF Books. Awarded a 2023 Scientific and Medical Network book prize.
Haraldsson, E. (2012) The Departed among the Living: An Investigative Study of Afterlife Encounters. – White Crow Books.
Kagan, A. (2014) The Afterlife of Billy Fingers: How my Bad-Boy Brother proved to me there’s Life after Death. – Coronet.
Nehmy, T. (2025) Inspired Life, Beautiful Death: Healing Grief, Overcoming Fear of Death & Living a Spiritual Life. – Formidable Press.
Schwartz, Gary E. et al. (2014) Afterlife Communication: 16 Proven Methods, 85 True Accounts. – ASCS Publications – Academy for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies.
Thomas, D.M. (2023) Children’s Unexplained Experiences in a Post Materialist World: What Children Can Teach Us about the Mystery of Being Human. – Essentia Books.
Recommended websites
After-Death Communication Research Project: https://www.adcrp.org
After Death Communication Research Foundation: https://adcrf.org/
References
Bourke, D. (2024) Apparitions at the moment of death: The living ghost in legend, lyric, and lore. -Destiny Books.
Carrington, H. (1915) Phantasms of the Dead or True Ghost Stories. – American Universities Publishing Company.
Holden, J. M. et al. (2019) Comparative effects of Induced After-Death Communication and traditional counselling on grief. Grief Matters 22(1), 4-9.
Nehmy, T. J. et al. (2026) Efficacy of Induced After-Death Communication Therapy for Grief. Omega, vol. 0(0), 1-17. Online ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228261418413.
Streit-Horn, J., Holden, J. M., & Smith, J. E. (2022) Empirically-based best estimates of after-death communication (ADC) phenomena: A systematic review of the research. Journal of Near-Death Studies, 40, 141-176. DOI 10.17514/jnds-2022-40-3-p141-144