The Archaic Belief in Dream Visitations as it Relates to “Seeing Ghosts,” “Meeting the Lord,” as Well as “Encountering Extraterrestrials”

Abstract

The current study was designed to determine whether archaic belief in the external origins of dream visitations survives and whether it accounts for the paranormal experience of seeing ghosts, the fundamentalist religious experience of “meeting the Lord,” and the sci-fi experience of encountering extraterrestrials. Over half of the study's 163 subjects professed belief that the deceased can actually visit us in dreams; nearly half professed belief that God can actually visit us in dreams; and one-fifth professed belief that extraterrestrials can actually visit us in dreams. In addition, over one-fourth of the subjects affirmed that they “have seen a ghost or apparition“; almost one-fourth affirmed that they “have had the religious experience of meeting the Lord”; and nearly one-tenth affirmed that they “have experienced or met an extraterrestrial.” In the first of three step-wise multiple regressions, 14% of the variance in reportedly “seeing a ghost” was predicted by archaic belief in the external origins of dream visitations from the deceased. Two-thirds of the subjects who affirmed that they strongly believe the deceased can actually visit us in dreams, in addition, affirmed that they “have seen a ghost or apparition.” In the second step-wise multiple regression, 51% of the variance in reportedly “meeting the Lord” was predicted by three variables—36% by the extent to which any dream visitations from God influenced waking emotion or waking behavior, 10% by archaic belief in the external origins of dream visitations from God, and 5% by the frequency of attendance at religious services. Two-thirds of the subjects who affirmed that they strongly believe God can actually visit us in dreams, in addition, affirmed that they “have had the religious experience of ‘meeting the Lord’.” In the third multiple regression, 8% of the variance in reportedly “experiencing an extraterrestrial” was predicted by two variables—5% by the frequency of dream visitations from extraterrestrials, and 3% by the frequency of dream visitations from God.

Associations between sleep variables and ostensibly paranormal experiences and paranormal beliefs: A scoping review

“…Section A: Studies of (Isolated) Sleep Paralysis Ghost/(evil) spirit/witch/soul-related 356 (56%) of 635 ps answered 'yes' or 'perhaps yes' to a relationship between Kanashibari and spirits (Fukuda et al, 1987) 39 (93%) of 42 ps believed that their SP was the 'soul scared from the body', and 38 (91%) of 42 ps believed that their SP was due to a fatal spirit attack (Hinton et al, 2005) 43 (48%) and 20 (22%) of 89 ps from the general population in Egypt believed that their SP was caused by Jinn or Shaitan, respectively (Jalal et al, 2014) 5 (11%) of 44 students in Cairo believed that their SP was caused by the Jinn (Jalal et al, 2014) 26 (38%) of 68 ps reported that their SP was possibly due to pandafeche (Jalal et al, 2015) 4 (6%) of ps with SP called it the 'pandafeche attack' (Jalal, Romanelli, & Hinton, 2021) 10 (17%) of 59 ps believed that their SP was possibly caused by the Karabasan (Jalal, Sevde Eskici, et al, 2021) 5 (29.4) of 17 ps thought that their SP was caused by a ghost (McNally & Clancy, 2005) 43 (39%) of 110 ps believed that their ISP had supernatural causation (Ohaeri et al, 2004) 2 (5.6%) of 36 ps believed that their ISP was caused by a ghost/evil spirit (Ramsawh et al, 2008) (Cheyne & Girard, 2009) SP ps (M = .19, SD = .39) scored higher on OBEs than controls (M = .08, SD = .27), p < .01 (Spanos et al, 1995) Unspecified Ghost/(evil) spirit/witch/soul-related 42 (60%) of 70 ps had dreams about being chased by a ghost (Hinton et al, 2020) Dream visitations 62 (62%) of 100 reported visitations in their dreams (Hinton et al, 2013) 94 (59%) of 160 ps believed that the deceased can visit us in dream (Kunzendorf et al, 2007) Section G: Studies of Exploding Head Syndrome (EHS)…”

“…Frequency analysis reporting on the associations between dreams and OPEPB (Table 2) was identified in three papers. Specifically, two studies found that most of their participants (Cambodian refugees and psychology students; 62% and 59% respectively) believed that they were being visited by a deceased relative in their dreams (Hinton et al, 2013; Kunzendorf et al, 2007). Another study found that the majority of participants (60%) reported being visited by a ghost (Hinton et al, 2020).…”