EZOSTYLIA ENCYCLOPEDIA · 30 TOPICS

Mysteries of life and death

What happens after death? Why do we see ghosts? Where do All Souls' Day and Dziady come from? 30 beautifully told topics where science, history and belief meet.

Ezostylia Editorial Team · facts checked in sources · updated 31.10.2026

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✦ Life after death

Life After Death: What Religion, Philosophy and Science SayDoes life after death exist? A survey of answers from the world's religions, philosophers from Plato to the…Near-Death Experiences (NDE): What the Research ShowsA tunnel, a light, meetings with the deceased and a life review: what near-death experiences (NDE) are, how…Light at the End of the Tunnel: How Science Tries to Explain the Visions of the DyingWhy do the dying see a tunnel and a light? Hypoxia, REM intrusion, endorphins, and the activity of the dying…Reincarnation: the transmigration of souls in religions and philosophyWhat is reincarnation? Karma and samsara in Hinduism, rebirth in Buddhism, the metempsychosis of Pythagoras…Children Who Remember Previous Lives: Ian Stevenson's ResearchOver 2,200 cases in the University of Virginia archive: who Ian Stevenson was, how children speaking of a…Out-of-body experience and astral travel: a phenomenon that can be induced in a laboratoryWhat is an out-of-body experience (OBE) and astral travel? Esoteric traditions, Blanke's landmark 2002…What is the Soul? From Egypt and Plato to NeuroscienceKa and ba in Egypt, psyche in Plato, the soul in Christianity, atman in Hinduism, and the debate over…

☥ Books of the dead and underworlds

The Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Judgement of Osiris: the Weighing of the HeartWhat the Egyptian Book of the Dead was, how the Judgement of Osiris and the weighing of the heart against the…The Tibetan Book of the Dead: 49 Days in the BardoThe Bardo Thodol, or Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State: where the Tibetan Book of the Dead…Nawia and Wyraj: where, according to the Slavs, the souls of the dead wentSlavic visions of the afterlife: Nawia beneath the roots of the world tree, ruled by Weles, and Wyraj, a warm…The Afterlife in World Mythologies: Hades, Valhalla, Xibalba, and YomiThe Greek Hades and the Elysian Fields, the Norse Valhalla and Hel, the Mesopotamian Land of No Return, the…Guides of Souls: Hermes, Anubis, Charon, the Valkyries, and MarzannaWho are psychopomps, the guides of the souls of the dead? Hermes, Anubis, Charon, the Valkyries, the angel…

🕯 Festivals of the dead

All Saints' Day and Zaduszki: history, meaning and customsWhere All Saints' Day (1 November) and Zaduszki (2 November) came from, why we light candles, what wypominki…Dziady: the ritual of feeding souls and Mickiewicz's masterpieceWhat were the Dziady, the folk feast of the dead in the lands of Poland, Lithuania and Belarus? How were…Día de Muertos: the Mexican festival at which the dead return to feastAltars of ofrendas, marigold flowers, sugar skulls and La Catrina: how Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead…Obon: the Japanese festival in which the souls of ancestors return homeWhat is Obon, the Buddhist festival of ancestors in Japan? Welcome fires, the Bon Odori dance, lanterns…Old Polish funeral customs: mirrors, clocks and the empty nightWhy were mirrors covered and clocks stopped, what were the empty night, mourning women and the funeral feast?…

☾ Ghosts and mysteries

Ghosts in Polish castles: the White Lady of Kórnik and other legendsThe White Lady in Kórnik, a black dog in Ogrodzieniec, an Inca princess from Niedzica, and a well in Czocha…Vampires, strzygi and the "vampire" grave from PieńWho were the upiory and strzygi in Slavic beliefs, how were the graves of "dangerous" deceased secured, and…Spiritualism: the Fox sisters, séances, and Houdini who unmasked mediumsHow knocking in the Fox sisters' house in 1848 started a craze for séances, what Allan Kardec's spiritualism…Tabliczka Ouija: historia, legenda imienia i efekt ideomotorycznyWhere the Ouija board came from, who patented it in 1891, where its name comes from, and why the pointer…Zmora, or sleep paralysis: when something sits on your chestYou wake up, you cannot move, and there is a stranger in the room. What sleep paralysis is, how often it…Déjà vu: a memory from a previous life or a trick of the mind?Where does déjà vu come from — that feeling that you have already lived through this moment? Who gave the…Synchronicity: meaningful coincidences according to JungWhat is synchronicity, the concept of Carl Gustav Jung? The story of the golden scarab, the collaboration…

⚱ Art and symbols of death

The dance of death: when a skeleton sweeps a king and a beggar into the danceDanse macabre: a mediaeval motif in which Death dances with the Pope, a king, and a peasant. Paris, Lübeck,…Memento mori: remember death in order to live betterMemento mori, or "remember death": from the Stoics and the Roman triumph, through vanitas paintings and…Remarkable cemeteries: from Powązki to the Merry Cemetery in RomaniaPowązki, the Łyczaków Cemetery, the cemetery at Rossa, the Chapel of Skulls in Czermna, the Merry Cemetery in…

❦ Grief and remembrance

Dreams about the deceased: what they may mean according to psychology and dream booksDo you dream of your late mother, grandfather, or a friend? What psychologists say about dreams in grief, and…Grief: how to survive loss and when to seek helpHow grief unfolds, whether the Kübler-Ross stages truly exist, what the dual-process model is, and the bond…Signs from the dead: butterflies, feathers and the sense of presenceA butterfly that alighted on one's hand, a feather on the path, a familiar scent: what signs from the dead…

Quiz: how much do you know about the mysteries of life and death?

1. What percentage of resuscitated patients described an NDE in van Lommel's study (2001)?

62 of 344 patients, i.e. 18%, described a near-death experience.

2. What was placed on the other pan of the scales when the heart of the deceased was weighed in Egypt?

The heart was weighed against the feather of Maat, the symbol of truth and order.

3. Who established All Souls' Day around 998?

The custom of praying for all the dead on 2 November was introduced by Odilo of Cluny.

4. What was found with the woman buried in Pień in the 17th century?

This is the so-called anti-vampire burial, discovered in 2022.

5. How does science explain the movement of the Ouija pointer?

Small, unconscious muscle movements of the participants guide the pointer.

6. According to Tibetan tradition, how many days does the journey through the bardo last?

Up to 49 days; during this time the Bardo Thodol is read to the deceased.

How we write this section

Each article is based on the sources we list at the end of the page: scientific studies, historical works and encyclopedias. We describe beliefs and interpretations as tradition, and where science has no answer, we say so plainly. If you are grieving and finding it hard, start with the article Grief: how to live through a loss.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What will I find in the Mysteries section?

30 articles about life after death, near-death experiences, reincarnation, underworlds in mythologies, festivals of the dead, ghosts and legends, symbols of death in art, and grief.

Are these articles scientific?

We describe both scientific research and beliefs. We check facts in the sources listed under each article, and present beliefs as tradition.