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5089
qualitative
book
Carter, Chris. Science and the Near-Death Experience: How Consciousness Survives Death. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2010. Chapter 7, p. 113. Case: A. S. Wiltse
Science and the Near-Death Experience - A. S. Wiltse - Chapter 7, p. 113 - 2010
1889
2010
M
Dr. A. S. Wiltse, a physician, contracted typhoid fever in 1889 and entered a profound coma lasting four hours with no pulse or perceptible heartbeat. A physician at his bedside tested his responsiveness by jabbing a needle into his body, which evoked no response, confirming his death-like state. The case gained credibility through investigation by Frederic Myers and Edmund Gurney of the British Society for Psychical Research, who obtained sworn testimony about the events.
During his coma, Wiltse experienced leaving his body, describing himself as appearing "like a jellyfish in color and form" with sensations of floating up and down and laterally "like a soap bubble attached to the end of a pipe" until breaking free from his body. He reported falling lightly on the floor, then slowly rising and expanding into the full stature of a man, appearing translucent with a bluish cast. He described passing through one of two ladies standing at his bedside, feeling no more resistance than if she had been fog, before passing through the door and into the street. The veridical aspect of his experience included his accurate perception of two ladies standing at his bedside and the physical layout of the room while he was completely unresponsive. His attempt to make contact with one lady's arm, though unsuccessful physically, demonstrated his awareness of their exact positions during his out-of-body state. After experiencing another world where he encountered a barrier and communicated with an unknown presence, Wiltse had to decide whether his earthly task was finished. Upon deciding it was not, he suddenly returned to his body, his eyes opening spontaneously as he exclaimed in astonishment, "What in the world has happened to me? Must I die again?"
4
Home
12
18
45
Moderate Evidence
15
Four-hour coma with no pulse or heartbeat, confirmed unresponsive to needle jab by physician. Extended duration of clinical death-like state.
Clear out-of-body perception with specific details about room occupants and layout. Translucent form perception and passage through solid objects.
written_account
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Complete unresponsiveness to painful stimuli
Frederic Myers and Edmund Gurney (SPR)
8/6/2025
1
1
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