An extensive look at the possession and transmission of visions of the afterlife as seen by our ancestors. It examines how ancient European cultures perceived the passage to the afterlife, including the Blessed Isles of early Greek and Celtic faith, the Jewish Sheol, the underworld of Homer’s Odyssey, Hel and Valhalla of the Norse, as well as Aralu of Babylon.

It shows how medieval travel narratives to the Otherworld represent the earliest recorded near-death experiences. It connects medieval beliefs about the afterlife and NDE narratives with shamanism, particularly focusing on psychopomps, power animals, the double, and the fetishes, as well as what people bring back from their journeys to spiritual realms.

By exploring the locations and topographies of various forms of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, Claude Lecouteux offers a comprehensive analysis of afterlife beliefs in ancient European culture. If these places are not the afterlife, they are realms where time flows differently and are inhabited by fantastical or supernatural beings like fairies or dwarfs.

Sharing medieval stories of journeys to the beyond, Lecouteux demonstrates how these narratives compare with contemporary NDE accounts and the work of NDE researchers like Raymond Moody. He also explores stories of out-of-body experiences, dream journeys, and journeys undertaken by a double or fetish, connecting these narratives with shamanism.

In analyzing beliefs about the afterlife in the Middle Ages as a whole, Lecouteux concludes with a collection of medieval traditions related to the afterlife, such as the placement of polished stones in coffins so that the soul of the deceased can return to friends and family during times when the veil between worlds is thinnest.