What happens after a person dies remains a mystery – of religion, science and philosophy – it is one of mankind’s great unanswered questions.
But some near-death experience survivors might offer a fascinating glimpse into what awaits us on the downside of life.
From seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, soaring over hills, hallucinating, and demonic renditions of Rhianna’s music in Hell, humans who have returned from the abyss have given all sorts of strange answers as to what dying is really like.
Texas priest Gerald Johnson has made some shocking claims about what he experienced when he was sent to hell after suffering a heart attack in 2016
Gerald Johnson: “There Was A Section In Hell Where Music Was Played”
Pastor Gerald Johnson, 49, of Texas, said Rihanna’s hit song “Umbrella” echoed through the gates of hell during his bizarre visit to purgatory.
Mr Johnson said: “It just blew my mind, it still confuses me to this day. There was a section in Hell where music was played.
“It was the same music we hear on earth, but unlike entertainers who sang it, demons sang it.
“While up here you’re listening to music to get over a breakup like ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ or ‘Umbrella,’ but down there any lyrics to any song will agonize you.”
He took to TikTok to explain his 2016 journey into the abyss, which he “wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.”
Not only did he have to hear fans’ favorite hits in the fiery inferno, but he also claimed to have witnessed the gruesome scene of a man burned alive.
“The things I saw were indescribable, it makes me emotional,” he said.
“His eyes bulged and worse, he wore chains around his neck… it was a demon holding the chain.”
In his viral clip, the pastor warned others to avoid the same hellish fate as he claims he now understands why he was originally doomed.
“The root of this is that although I’ve done good and given a lot to people, the thing I had in my heart was unforgiveness towards people who wronged me,” he said.
“This is my experience of Hell, it’s a real place. God doesn’t send people to hell, people send themselves to hell.’
MOST COMMON FEATURES OF NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES (NDES)
Researchers from the University of Liège, Belgium, collected and analyzed written reports from 154 people who had near-death experiences.
Their analysis showed that each person experienced approximately four different phenomena during their experience.
The most commonly reported characteristics were feeling at peace (80 percent of participants), seeing a bright light (69 percent), and encountering ghosts/humans (64 percent).
In contrast, the two most unusual experiences were accelerated thoughts (five percent) and precognitive visions (four percent).
Duncan Seth-Smith: “I remember floating on a hill”
Duncan Seth-Smith, 67, from Lincolnshire, has a vivid memory of floating over a hill on Boxing Day 2005 when he went into cardiac arrest.
Mr Seth-Smith, then 50, recalled doctors preparing the defibrillator while he was unconscious in hospital, with one saying “again” as he was “zapped”.
He was in intensive care for four days and just before he was allowed home he became dizzy and collapsed, requiring resuscitation after suffering another cardiac arrest.
Recalling his second ordeal, Mr Seth-Smith said: “I have a vivid memory of soaring over a nearby hill and looking down at people sledding.
“It was a local rural hilltop but not known for sleigh rides and not anywhere I had spent time other than driving by. There was no snow nearby at the time of the cardiac arrest.
“I woke up in bed with a cut on my face after passing out after hitting a car/bed. The nurses said it took three defibrillator shocks to get my heart going and regaining rhythm.
“That’s all I can remember, apart from asking my wife if it snowed, to which she replied no.”
Mr. Seth-Smith received three shocks from a defibrillator and later an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).
Duncan Seth-Smith (pictured), 67, has a vivid memory of levitating over a nearby hill on Boxing Day 2005 in Lincolnshire after suffering a heart attack when he went into cardiac arrest
Kevin Curtis: “I Zoomed Up From A Dark Place”
After being stung multiple times in the face and neck by bees 21 years ago, 50-year-old Kevin Curtis was hospitalized.
Mr Curtis, now 71, suffered from anaphylaxis and was unconscious but “aware of my surroundings”.
His blood pressure had dropped drastically, and he heard a medic say that if they didn’t get an epi-pen soon, he would “most likely die.”
While driving the ambulance to the hospital, Mr. Curtis of Lincolnville, Maine, recalls seeing an inviting bright light off to one side before noticing the vehicle had stopped.
The grandfather-of-two said he heard paramedics talk about his “imminent death” and then “felt the pain on and around my face” as he was removed from the ambulance.
Mr. Curtis, a retired financial information architect, described the sensation as “zooming up from a dark, cool area” back to reality.
“Calm, non-threatening, kind of out of body, calm, love is the best I can describe the entire moment. As a result, I’m not afraid of death,” he added.
“I worry about the path to this place, but death itself doesn’t seem as scary as the ending.
“I don’t know what was on the other side of the light or what thoughts I might still have and for how long, but it wasn’t a place to be afraid of.”
Mr Curtis, now 71, was suffering from an anaphylactic reaction and was unconscious but aware of his surroundings
WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY WHEN YOU DIE?
First, your heart pumps up and down, causing blood to stop flowing through your body.
This causes the blood to clot, form clots, and become thick and lumpy.
Your muscles then stiffen in a process known as rigor mortis, which also causes you to stop breathing and prevent oxygen from reaching your cells.
Your cells start dying, releasing enzymes that make your body very welcoming to bacteria and fungi.
These break down and cleanse your body and within a year most of your flesh will have decomposed leaving only your bones.
Caroline Ghyselen: “I was in the air and I looked down on myself”
Caroline Ghyselen was 19 when she nearly died after being driven through a car windshield.
As medics treated her in the emergency room, Miss Ghyselen said she had a “strange feeling, looking down on me”.
She said: “I seemed to be up in the air and literally looking down. I was like, wow, that’s weird.
“Overriding was the amazing feeling of calm and serenity and the feeling of pure joy.
Miss Ghyselen, who also sometimes speaks about her experiences on TikTok, realized she “would have to go back”.
She “wasn’t happy” about having to return to her body, knowing she would be in pain and facing a long healing process.
She added, “I started arguing about the point and kept saying, ‘I don’t want to go back, I don’t want the pain.’
“The next thing I knew, the nurse was rubbing my arm and saying to me, ‘Don’t worry dear, we’ll give you something for the pain.’
Caroline Ghyselen (pictured) was 19 when she almost died after being driven through a car windscreen
Martin Holloway: “I had visions during the operation”
Martin Holloway, from Colchester, had 70cm of his bowel removed in 2019 after being admitted to hospital seriously ill.
The 64-year-old’s wife has been ordered to take his loved ones to hospital to prepare for her final words.
While “on the brink of death” undergoing surgery, Mr. Holloway recalled what he described as “visions or memories” of what was happening in the operating room.
When he woke up from the operation, the surgeon said to him, “You won’t recognize me,” but he told her he did.
The camp operations manager said he knew her name, remembered her standing next to him, looking at him and others in the room, and speaking to other doctors.
Mr Holloway said it scared her “as hell” because she feared he had been awake during the operation.
He added: “She asked, ‘How do you know? and I said that I kind of remembered her being there, but she didn’t take it further at the time.
“I knew where I had been and I recognized her, but I had never seen her before.”
Mr Holloway added: “I thought the visions were my imagination on the painkillers, but after waking up and realizing them I wasn’t so sure.”
Martin Holloway (pictured), 64, from Colchester, was hospitalized in 2019 with blood clots, heart failure and intestinal problems