Reincarnation
Reincarnation beliefs are widespread in the world and in recent decades researchers have found what they believe is evidence of them through the study of people (mainly children) who claim to have lived before. This category includes case studies, overviews of phenomena that appear regularly in the cases, and researcher biographies.
Adult Past-Life Memories Research
Reincarnation research has focussed on young children, but adults also may report having past-life memories.
American Children with Past-Life Memories
List of cases of children’s past-life memories from the Americas, with descriptions of their characteristics.
Announcing Dreams and Related Experiences
Dreams and other phenomena featuring the deceased may herald their reincarnations.
Antonia (reincarnation case study analysis)
Story of a 16th century Spanish woman, recovered through hypnosis, that is highly evidential.
BB Saxena (reincarnation case)
An Indian boy who recalled being an English officer killed during World War I had light skin and consistent behaviors.
Behavioural Memories in Reincarnation Cases
Reincarnation cases include not only past life memories but behaviours consistent with these memories.
Birthmarks in Reincarnation Cases
Birthmarks and birth defects in reincarnation cases correspond to injuries that caused deaths in the previous lives.
Bishen Chand Kapoor (reincarnation case)
In this early 20th-century Indian case, a record was made of the child's memories before verifications.
Bongkuch Promsin (reincarnation case)
Case of a Thai boy who recalled being a murdered Laotian lad and spoke Laotian with friends from the previous life.
Brazilian Children with Past-Life Memories
List of cases of children’s past-life memories reported from Brazil, some relating to past lives in Europe.
Bridey Murphy (reincarnation case)
Controversial 1950s regression case, in which a Chicago resident recalled accurate details of 19th-century Ireland.
Cameron Macauley (reincarnation case)
Glaswegian who as a young child claimed to remember living on a remote Scottish island.
Carl Edon (reincarnation case)
Englishman who as a child related memories of being a German pilot shot down over England during World War II.
Children with Past-Life Memories (overview)
List of articles in the Psi Encyclopedia with summaries of cases studied by Ian Stevenson.
Choice in Reincarnation
A variety of factors in reincarnation cases that have been studied suggest that many aspects of the new life are chosen by the individual.
Jenny Cockell (author)
English author whose books describe her memories of previous lives, some of which she eventually traced to real individuals and events.
Dilukshi Nissanka (reincarnation case)
Child reincarnation case in which statements about a previous life were written down before investigations.
Dorothy Eady/Omm Sety (reincarnation case)
British woman who as a child was obsessed with ancient Egypt and became an Egyptologist.
Dreams and Past-Life Memory
Apparent past-life memories may surface in the dreams of both children and adults, but rarely are they detailed enough to enable verifications.
Duminda Ratnayake (reincarnation case)
Sri Lankan boy who recalled being a Buddhist monk, behaved like one and chanted in Pali.
Dutch Children with Past-Life Memories
List of 31 cases of Dutch children who spoke of previous lives, investigated by Titus Rivas and his team.
European Children with Past-Life Memories
European children speak of past lives less often than Asian children do, yet they have been reported from many countries.
Experimental Birthmarks and Birth Defects
The practice of marking cadavers in hope of stimulating birthmarks has been reported throughout East Asia.
Famous Past Life Claims
Claims to remember having been famous people must be regarded with caution, yet they have been supported in a few cases.
Gnanatilleka Baddewithana (reincarnation case)
Sri Lankan case studied by two teams, with past-life memories recorded before verifications.
Gretchen Gottlieb (responsive xenoglossy case)
Case of an American woman who recalled a German life under hypnosis and seemingly spoke German.
Imad Elawar (reincarnation case)
Ian Stevenson was able to record the child's memories in this Lebanese Druze case, then verify them himself.
Interethnic and Intercultural Reincarnation Cases
When reincarnation is into a different ethnic or cultural group, there may be strong behavioral caryovers.
Ismail Altinkilic and Cevriye Bayri (reincarnation cases)
Two Turkish children recalled lives as a married couple who were killed the same night.
Jagdish Chandra (reincarnation case)
An Indian boy remembered a previous life as the pampered son of a corrupt official in a distant city.
James Leininger (reincarnation case)
Famous American case in which an initially sceptical father researched and verified his son's past-life memory claims.
Japanese Children with Past-Life Memories
Japanese cases of children with past-life memories closely resemble those reported from other parts of the world.
Jasbir Lal Jat (reincarnation case)
Well-verified case of the ‘replacement reincarnation’ type, in which there is a change of identity after birth.
Jenny Cockell (Mary Sutton reincarnation case)
Case of an English woman who recalled the life of a working class Irish woman in the early twentieth century.
Katsugoro (reincarnation case)
Famous 19th century Japanese case, the subject of three separate contemporary investigations.
Kemal Atasoy (reincarnation case)
Case of a Turkish Alevi boy who recalled being an Armenian man who resided 500 miles away in Istanbul.
Kumkum Verma (reincarnation case)
Indian case of the young daughter of educated parents who remembered being the wife of a Muslim blacksmith.
Ma Tin Aung Myo (reincarnation case)
Study of a Burmese girl whose statements and behaviours suggested she was remembering the life of a Japanese soldier.
Mallika Aroumougam (reincarnation case)
Reincarnation case notable for being reported from South India (most are in the north of the country).
Marta Lorenz (reincarnation case)
Brazilian case of child who recalled the life of a woman who had killed herself after promising to return to the child's mother.
Native American Children with Past-Life Memories
Collection of cases of the reincarnation type among Tlingit and other native North American cultures.
Nazih Al-Danaf (reincarnation case)
Lebanese case of a child's past life memories notable for the large volume of detail later verified as accurate.
Past Life Regression
Detailed and historically accurate 'memories of previous lives' are routinely elicited during past life regression therapy.
Past-Life Memories from Before 1900
Accounts of past-life memory documented in historical sources share many features with cases studied more recently.
Past-Life Memories Illustrated
Many children who talk about past lives also express their memories in art as a way of dealing with remembered traumas.
Past-Life Memories of the Holocaust
Memories of Nazi concentration camps are largely uninvestigated accounts sans past-life identifications.
Past-Life Memories Research
Research has concentrated on claims to recall past lives spontaneously, without the aid of hypnosis.
Past-Life Memory and Amnesia
If we have all lived before, why don't more of us remember it? And why do many children with past-life memories forget them as they age?
People Who Knew Each Other in Past Lives
Case investigations have uncovered several instances of memories of people who knew each other in previous lives.
Pollock Twins (reincarnation case)
Celebrated British case of two young sisters who together, then were reborn as twins to the same parents.
Pretiba Gunawardana (reincarnation case)
This Sri Lankan boy remembered being a businessman who died of burns after his car caught fire.
Psychological Studies of Children Claiming Past-Life Memories
Studies suggest that that children with past-life memories may have advantages over those who don't.
Purnima Ekanayake (reincarnation case)
Sri Lankan girl who remembered a life as a male incense maker and exhibited cross-sex behaviours.
Rakesh Gaur (reincarnation case)
Indian child case about which two investigators reached different conclusions, hence an important case for sceptics.
Ramoo and Rajoo Sharma (reincarnation case)
In this Indian reincarnation case, twin boys recalled the lives of two murdered men, also twins.
Ratana Wongsombat (reincarnation case)
Thai girl who, from the age of one, made detailed statements about a previous life as a Buddhist devotee.
Regression Therapy
In hypnotherapy, apparent past-life memories are treated less as descriptions of true events than as metaphors that aid in healing.
Reincarnation: An Overview
This introductory article covers beliefs in reincarnation, types of evidence for reincarnation, and sceptical views of the research
Reincarnation and Karma
Extensive case investigations have found no support for traditional ideas of karma in connection with reincarnation.
Reincarnation and Phobias
Spontaneous past-life memories in children are often accompanied by phobias that correspond with remembered traumas.
Reincarnation and Suicide
Unexpectedly, cases of reincarnation after suicide have unusually short intermissions and returns in family lines or among friends.
Reincarnation Case Patterns
Universal, near-universal and culture-linked patterns can be discerned in the dataset of reincarnation cases.
Reincarnation Case Studies: Criticisms
Addresses the objections critics have raised to the research of Ian Stevenson and others.
Reincarnation Cases with Intermissions of Less Than Nine Months
These cases raise questions about when reincarnation occurs.
Reincarnation Cases with Records Made Before Verifications
There are still fewer than three dozen of these important cases.
Reincarnation Cases with Sex Change
Memories of a life as a member of the opposite sex are often accompanied by cross-sex behaviours and identifications.
Reincarnation Fraud and Self-Deception
Reincarnation cases considered by researchers to be spurious, based on fantasy or fraud.
Reincarnation Hidden Treasure Cases
Some children recall having hidden money or other valuables in their previous lives and show where these may be found.
Reincarnation Intermission Memories
Memories of the intermission show clear signs of cultural influence, but there are also cross-cultural consistencies.
Reincarnation International Cases
Cases that have been studied suggest that reincarnating internationally may require intention to do so.
Reincarnation of Tibetan Lamas in the West
Tibetan lamas reincarnate as Westerners with the intention of spreading Buddhist teachings to other countries.
Reincarnation: Physical Signs
Physical signs of reincarnation include facial structure, eye form, skin colour, physique, and other features.
Replacement Reincarnation
In replacement reincarnation, a person remembers the life of someone who died after he or she was born, suggesting a change of identity.
Ryan Hammons (reincarnation case)
American case which holds the record for the number of memories related before the previous life was identified.
Rylann O’Bannion (reincarnation case)
An American girl's memories of dying when an aeroplane crashed into her home were confirmed by an autopsy report.
Shanti Devi (reincarnation case)
Famous Indian case of the 1930s, striking for the quantity, accuracy and persistence of the child’s past-life memories.
Signs of Reincarnation in Africa
Reincarnation beliefs in Africa are associated with signs such as a parent’s dreams and a child’s birthmarks.
Sujith Lakmal Jayaratne (reincarnation case)
Sri Lankan case of a boy who recalled being an alcoholic, whose behaviours he displayed as a toddler.
Suleyman Andary (reincarnation case)
Lebanese case in which the child talked about the previous life unusually late, between ages 11 and 13.
Sumitra/Shiva (replacement reincarnation case)
Highly unusual Indian case of a woman who appeared to die and then revived, with a complete change of identity.
Sunil Dutt Saxena (reincarnation case)
North Indian case of a boy who began to talk about being a wealthy businessman when he was less than two years old.
Sunita Chandak (reincarnation case)
Indian case in which the past life was identified after the child's memory claims were published in a newspaper.
Sunita Khandelwal (reincarnation case)
Indian child case studied three times, the first investigator making a record of the memories before verifying them.
Suzanne Ghanem (reincarnation case)
Lebanese Druze case of a Druze woman who died in the USA and was reborn in Lebanon, recalling many names.
Swarnlata Mishra (reincarnation case)
Indian case of a girl who recalled two past lives, in relation to one of which she sang songs in a foreign language.
Testing Children’s Past-Life Knowledge
In reincarnation cultures, children who remember past lives are often set tests to try to establish the truth of their claims.
Thusita Silva (reincarnation case)
Sri Lankan case of a girl who recalled a life which ended by drowning when she fell off a footbridge.
Toran (Titu) Singh (reincarnation case)
An Indian boy who recalled the life of a violent criminal, a possible intrauterine replacement reincarnation.
Twins Reincarnation Research
Reincarnation cases involving twins have implications for understanding personality development.
Uttara Huddar/Sharada (reincarnation case)
Unusual Indian adult case involving a change personality and language in a dissociative state.
Wael Kiwan (reincarnation case)
Lebanese Druze case involving a child who recalled the life of an identified individual who died by suicide in the USA.
Wijeratne Hami (reincarnation case)
This Sri Lankan boy born with serious physical defects believed they were inflicted on him as karmic punishment.
Will (reincarnation case)
Case of an American who seems to recall the past lives of two German military men who were killed during World War I and World War II.
Xenoglossy in Reincarnation Cases
In reincarnation cases, xenoglossy involves the use of language spoken in a past life but not learned in the present.