In a study of 337 cases of people who have reported encounters with the dead, many of the apparitions were of people who have died violently, particularly males. If the apparition was of someone who died violently, it was more likely to appear to a stranger. On the other hand, apparitions of people who died naturally were more likely to appear to a friend or family member.
Dr. Erlendur Haraldsson, a psychologist at the University of Iceland, investigated the cases in the 1980s by conducting interviews with the people who reported the encounters, as well as any other witnesses. He also checked official records to verify the details of death for the apparitions. The cases he studied were all from Iceland, but he cites other research in his study that shows encounters with the dead are reported by as many as 25 percent of Western Europeans and 30 percent of Americans.
