Case Studies

Individual cases have supplied some of the most vivid and debated material in reincarnation research. This subcategory gathers articles on specific subjects and investigations, presenting the reported memories, behaviours, recognitions and other features through which past-life claims have been argued, assessed and compared across cultures and periods.

BB Saxena, from age three, made statements recalling the life of an English cavalry officer who died in World War I.

BB Saxena (reincarnation case)

An Indian boy who recalled being an English officer killed during World War I had light skin and consistent behaviors.

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 his friends.

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.

Dilukshi Nissanka (reincarnation case)

Child reincarnation case in which statements about a previous life were written down before investigations.

photograph of Omm Sety at an Egyptian archaeological site

Dorothy Eady/Omm Sety (reincarnation case)

British woman who as a child was obsessed with ancient Egypt and became an Egyptologist.

Duminda Ratnayake (reincarnation case)

Sri Lankan boy who recalled being a Buddhist monk, behaved like one and chanted in Pali.

Gnanatilleka Baddewithana (reincarnation case)

Sri Lankan case studied by two teams, with past-life memories recorded before verifications.

Kornayel, near Beirut, Lebanon - birthplace of Imad Elawar

Imad Elawar (reincarnation case)

Ian Stevenson was able to record the child's memories in this Lebanese Druze case, then verify them himself.

photograph of stone bridge and mosque at Adana

Ismail Altinkilic and Cevriye Bayri (reincarnation cases)

Two Turkish children recalled lives as a married couple who were killed the same night.

pilgrims bathing in the Ganges in Varanasi (Benares)

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 memories.

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)

Am English woman recalled the life of a working-class Irish woman from early in the 20th century.

Katsugoro (reincarnation case)

Famous 19th century Japanese case, the subject of three separate contemporary investigations.

Çengelköy, an Istanbul suburb on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus strait, where Kemal remembered having lived in a previous life

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.

photo of face of World War II Japanese soldier

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).

photograph of countryside of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

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.

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.

Pollock Twins (reincarnation case)

Celebrated British case of two young sisters who died together in the same incident, 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.

Purnima Ekanayake remembered a past life as a male incense maker

Purnima Ekanayake (reincarnation case)

This article describes a Sri Lankan girl who remembered a life as a male incense maker and exhibited cross-sex behaviours.

Tonk in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan

Rakesh Gaur (reincarnation case)

Indian child case about which two investigators reached different conclusions, hence an important case for sceptics.

map of Indiia showing location of Uncha Larpur

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.

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.

Sujith Lakmal Jayaratne (reincarnation case)

Sri Lankan case of a boy who recalled being an alcoholic, whose behaviours he displayed as a toddler.

photograph of an old-fashioned olive press in an olive grove

Suleyman Andary (reincarnation case)

Lebanese case in which the child talked about the previous life unusually late, between ages 11 and 13.

Sumitra and Shiva (replacement reincarnation case)

Rare 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.

Thusita Silva remembered a past life that ended by drowning

Thusita Silva (reincarnation case)

Sri Lankan case of a girl who recalled a life which ended by drowning when she fell off a footbridge.

Recent photograph of Toran Titu as an adult

Toran (Titu) Singh (reincarnation case)

An Indian boy who recalled the life of a violent criminal, a possible intrauterine replacement reincarnation.

photograph of Nagpur University, where Uttara studied

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 Wars I and II.