The word wraith is sometimes used interchangeably with the word ghost or apparition. However, a wraith is actually a special kind of apparition in that it is the exact likeness of a living person, usually seen shortly before the person’s death. In most cases, the wraith is also a crisis apparition, which is an apparition that occurs when a living person is sick, seriously injured, or otherwise in crisis. An example of a crisis apparition is the 1918 case of eighteen-year-old British pilot David McConnell, who appeared to friends, looking as he normally did, at the same time he was experiencing a fatal plane crash miles away. In this case, the apparition only exchanged small talk before leaving the room, but in other cases the wraith might deliver a warning or other message. More commonly, however, it says nothing.

SEE ALSO:

• Apparitions

SOURCE:

The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Paranormal Phenomena – written by Patricia D. Netzley © 2006 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning