You look down and see your own body lying lifeless below you. Then find yourself standing in a long dark tunnel illuminated by a single, bright light in the distance. You feel a sense of weightlessness and peace.   These feelings were described by people who claimed to have crossed over to the other side during a near-death experience.  They were on the brink of death but given a second chance at life and they were kind enough to share what they saw.

Not all near-death accounts reflect pleasant experiences.  In 1981, Veronica Ulrike Barthel was struck by lightning while she was driving her car.  She claims she was instantly transported to a terrifying place.  In this place there were creatures escorting her to a big waiting room. She reported, “The creatures I saw were more terrifying than anything I even saw in a horror movie.  Today I know they were demons.”  She found it very difficult breathe due to the stench and smoke that filled the air.  The ground was covered in snakes to intimidate prisoners.   All around her she could hear people cursing and screaming in pain.  People were being thrown in volcano pits and caves where the creatures threw spears at them. She was reluctantly transported back to her car and saw her own flaming hands gripping the steering wheel. Many other people told similar stories.  Howard Storm went into cardiac arrest and was sent to a circle of creatures that beat and tortured him.  Bill Wiese had his encounter when he almost died in his sleep.  He was taken to a small cage with vicious reptilian beasts that threw him against walls and slashed at him with enormous claws.

Yet there is hope, as there are also countless experiences of peace and joy.  Three year old Colton Burpo was sent to emergency surgery after his appendix burst.  After two hours in surgery, he woke up and told his parents what he saw when he crossed over.  Colton said that he went to Heaven where he met God, Jesus, John the Baptist, and family members who had passed away.  He even described seeing his baby sister that his mother lost in a miscarriage.  His parents had never mentioned the miscarriage to their son.  He says he also met a man named “Pop.” Colton later identified him in a photograph as his grandfather.  Colton even saw his father go into another room in the hospital to pray about the surgery.  This experience led his father, Tod Burpo, to write the book Heaven is for Real. Many people describe Heaven as a place of ultimate peace and that in heaven they felt as though they had five thousand senses.  Don Piper described the gates of Heaven as magnificent, as though they had been sculpted from pearl.  Multiple people also said that you could not witness Heaven in an “earthly” body because it was too bright.

Could there really be life after death?   Many people in the science community are skeptical when it comes to these stories.  Interestingly most of the people who had haunting experiences were atheists prior to the experience.  Could this have been a warning to them to turn over a new leaf?  People who experienced complete peace seemed to have their life in order and their reason for returning to life was because it was not their time.  Many people view these individuals as messengers and their message is simple: live your life well because more awaits you on the other side than just nothingness.

To read more shocking near-death experiences visit: http://listverse.com/2013/09/15/10-astonishing-near-death-experiences/