Research source

Now, as dreams of death or suggesting death do not form a large proportion of dreams in general, their…

Date of account: Published 1894
Source: Apparitions and thought-transference: an examination of the evidence for telepathy
Reference: Apparitions and thought-transference: an examination of the evidence for telepathy · selected passage 130
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

Now, as dreams of death or suggesting death do not form a large proportion of dreams in general, their startling preponderance amongst coincident dreams constitutes in itself an argument for ascribing such dreams to telepathy; for if any power exists whereby one mind can affect another, it would appear _à priori_ probable that such a power would be exercised most frequently and effectually at times of exceptional crisis. As has been pointed out by Mr. Gurney (_Phantasms of the Living_, vol. i. p. 303), the preponderance amongst "true" dreams of dreams relating to death may indeed be explained on the assumption that such dreams are more frequently remembered than other "true" dreams.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This comes from historical psychical research. Methods, witness handling and standards of evidence differ from present-day research and should be assessed from the cited passage and edition.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

The passage can support a history of claims and recurring descriptions. It does not establish a paranormal mechanism, and competing psychological, social and physical explanations remain relevant.

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