Near-Death Experience: The Hellish Side
Not all near-death experiences are pleasant, as some claim
A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal encounter that occurs when an individual is close to death or has temporarily experienced clinical death. These experiences can happen during life-threatening situations such as cardiac arrest, severe trauma, or other critical medical emergencies.
While many near-death experiences (NDEs) are characterized by feelings of peace and enlightenment, a significant subset of individuals report profoundly negative experiences. These distressing NDEs can leave lasting psychological impacts and raise existential questions for those who undergo them.
First, there are Inverse NDEs, in these experiences, elements typically associated with positive NDEs are perceived as threatening. For instance, a person may encounter a bright light that instead of providing comfort, induces panic and fear. One account describes a man who, while floating above his body, felt a sense of horror as he was drawn toward a light, which he interpreted as a hostile force.
Then, you can find Void NDEs. These experiences involve a profound sense of isolation and emptiness. Individuals may find themselves in a vast, dark space, feeling utterly alone and disconnected from reality. One woman described being pulled into a dark abyss, where she felt terror and despair, contrary to the expected peacefulness of death.
Finally, there are Hellish NDEs. These are overtly frightening experiences that resemble traditional depictions of hell. Accounts include visions of grotesque beings and desolate landscapes filled with torment. A notable example involves a woman who reported being surrounded by horrific entities, leaving her with lasting trauma and fear of death.
Psychological impact
The aftermath of a distressing NDE can be complex and varied. Many individuals report lingering feelings of fear, guilt, and existential dread.
Some individuals interpret their negative NDE as a wake-up call, prompting them to change their life choices. This often leads to a renewed focus on spirituality or religion, as they seek to make sense of their experience and avoid a repeat of the perceived consequences.
Others may dismiss their experiences as mere hallucinations or the result of physiological stress, which can prevent them from addressing the deeper emotional and psychological issues that arise from the NDE. This approach often fails to alleviate the anxiety associated with the experience.
Many individuals struggle for years to integrate their distressing NDE into their lives. They may experience flashbacks and ongoing fear, questioning their existence and the nature of reality. This group often seeks therapy but may find that traditional explanations do not adequately address their profound experiences.
Distressing near-death experiences are a significant aspect of the broader phenomenon of NDEs, affecting a notable portion of those who encounter them. The emotional and psychological ramifications can be severe, leading to long-term trauma and existential questioning. Understanding these experiences is crucial for providing appropriate support and care for individuals who have undergone such profound and often terrifying encounters.
Cultural influence
The imagery and themes present in NDEs frequently reflect the cultural backgrounds of the experiencers. For instance, individuals from cultures that emphasize ancestral veneration may report seeing deceased relatives, while those from predominantly Christian backgrounds might describe encounters with angels or figures from Christian theology. This suggests that NDEs are not merely universal experiences but are filtered through personal and cultural lenses.
Different cultures have distinct narratives surrounding death and the afterlife, which influence how NDEs are recounted. For example, in Japan, NDEs may involve crossing water, resonating with local folklore about journeys to the afterlife, whereas in Western contexts, the imagery of tunnels and bright lights is more prevalent, likely due to its representation in literature and media.
The language available in a culture can also affect how NDEs are described. Some cultures may lack specific terms for concepts like "spirit" or "soul," leading individuals to articulate their experiences using more abstract or symbolic language that aligns with their cultural understanding.
The interpretation of NDEs is not solely a cultural phenomenon; it also involves psychological and physiological elements. During life-threatening situations, the brain undergoes significant stress, which can lead to altered states of consciousness. These physiological changes can interact with pre-existing cultural beliefs, resulting in experiences that are both universal and culturally specific.
NDEs often reinforce or challenge existing beliefs about the afterlife. For many, these experiences can lead to profound changes in spiritual outlook, prompting individuals to reevaluate their beliefs about life, death, and what may lie beyond. This transformative potential highlights the interplay between personal experience and cultural context, as individuals integrate their NDEs into their broader belief systems.
About the Creator
Ninfa Galeano
Journalist. Content Creator. Media Lover. Geek. LGBTQ+.
Visit eeriecast ,where you'll find anonymous horror stories from all over the world. Causing insomnia since 2023.
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Comments (2)
The timing of me seeing this is crazy.. Iv'e personally experienced a hellish slide or whatever you want to call it but the creepier part is I had actually predicted my day of death as July 7th 2025 at least a month in advance.. I had something happen nearly a month prior, it wasn't much just a coordinated flickering on and off of lights and a seemingly terrifying prescence don't think I'm crazy I'm aware the logic here dosen't make sense but Iv'e allways been a logical thinker so stay with me cus I'd like to share it anyways, I live in North Illinois so a lot of people listen to rappers specially ones like Lil Scoom, well when his new album came out depicting him as a demon (post death) in some type of hellish landscape I was one of the very first people to see/listen to it, the first song I listened to was- The Largest it felt extremely off but the lights flickered off (about 3 seconds) and completely turned off I felt this terrifying prescence and I skipped to the next song- OK by G herbo (which not that it matters holds personal significance to me) instantly upon changing the song the lights flicked back on about 3 seconds again but when I flipped the song back after a couple seconds it almost like it was on command flicked back off about 3 seconds again and I waited an unknown amount of seconds but when I changed the song back the lights flicked back ON COMMAND which took about 3 seconds seconds yet again and confused I tried to record it but then the feeling suddenly vanished and the lights didn't turn off again when going back to the song. Now guys I'm not trying to say Lil Scoom was haunting me, but the really weird part is this, I lived there for 10 years never once had the lights ever flickered and I would stay in the bathroom for hours and hours on end so it's not like I wasn't there enough... the lights have never been changed and currently I'm living here again and still no such occourance the lights are still unchanged... your probably asking why this matters... Iv'e allways had a pretty strong relationship with the Christian God despite me not actually believing in him from the time I was 10 to 18. This experienced I just mentioned combined with other factors and weird things going on in my life at the time led me to believe that I would die July 7th when I was 18 the exact age and day Lil Scoom died.. fast forward to July 6th I was in a frenzy- my predicted death had compltely slipped my mind that day and my mental health was deteoriating pretty bad the week leading up to it, the closer I got to that day it was almost like I could see "evil" all around me for lack of a better way to put it come to July 5th nearing midnight I was dying- like actually dying like not allmost but like I medically was dying on a spot on Vernon Ave that held significant meaning to me now I couldn't confirm this because I didn't get a doctor or anything like that, all the sudden I had the kind of clarity that only comes to you before you die like every action in my entire life made sense and why it was fitting for me to die right there (this is a side note but prior to what I'm about to describe I had the song Too Real by Von looping and the last time I heard it with such clarity was the start of what got me into the situation I was currently in) I didn't realize it at the time but it was literally just turning midnight of July 7th I basically cried out to God and said please don't let me die when all of the sudden my eyes started to journey and what started off as a partial hallucination instantly became a complete hallucination except it looked and felt realer than anything else Iv'e ever seen and I started seeing layers of what I could only describe as Hell except it wasn't linear, like everything was almost 3 dimensional that I was seeing but it was for more complex than my brain could fully process and the feelings that went with what I was seeing I can only describe as full seperation from God or if your not a believer, fear and pain that only escalated the more I saw, my memory is blurry but I remember seeing rows and rows of people, twisted faces, but my description dosen't do it juctice so I'll stop but I was terrified and as soon as it was too much for me to handle anymore I must have snapped out of it but there was this video I saw on my phone soon as I came back to reality that showed my staring at the phone with "2 million up" playing in the background a song Iv'e had "interesting experiences" with and I was staring at my phone and I swear my eyes actually sparkled like in a way that you wouldn't think eyes would be able to do in real life and I had this foreign accent that Iv'e never heard in my life besides one time that sounded like a mix between a kid maybe some type of country accent and something else I had never heard and I used the word bedazzling to describe my eyes- a word Iv'e literally never used in my life and weirdly enough the video seemed to vanish even though I could of swore it was saved... my condition strangely stabilized enough for me to get it care but the part that throws me is that I actually wasn't a believer at the time and some part of me thinks that had I died right then and there I might have ended up in that same place I was just seeing... this definitely impacted my faith I'm not sure I 100% believe but when it's you it's like what do you make of that, you know? Especially when there's more things besides that. It's hard to find really authentic cases of this so I just wanted to put this out here in case it interests anybody if nothing else to provide an example because I'm not sure if this is rare or not but whatever take it or leave it
Hellish NDEs can describe otherworldly, terrifying landscapes, entities, or sensations that evoke the concepts of hell. This hellish vision transcends subjective feelings of fear and is objectively terrifying. Hellish near-death experiences are difficult to study. It was in the 1980s that the existence of hellish NDEs became widely known. People often interpret hellish NDEs based on their pre-existing beliefs, frequently with a component of fear that hellish NDEs may threaten them personally and those around them with a possible hellish afterlife.