ABSTRACT

Death, dying, and dead bodies can inspire sentiments of wonder, awe, fear, or horror. The sublime or uncanny may, in turn, infuse personal encounters with the known dead, experiences that assume an astonishing array of forms cross-culturally. The dead may make themselves known and engender intimacy with the living through vivid dreams, aural, tactile, or visual sensations, trance or drug-induced states, or as evidence of madness. Also, many categories of the dead cross-culturally converse with the living in ways that can astound or be thoroughly unremarkable.