A physician specializing in near-death experiences has shed light on why more individuals reportedly encounter distressing visions of hell than commonly assumed.
Dr. Orson Wedgwood, a New Zealand-based scientist and author, shares that only about 10 to 20 percent of people who are declared clinically dead—meaning their heart has ceased beating—report an out-of-body experience with potential glimpses of the afterlife.
Among this subset, a small fraction describes their experiences as negative, with approximately half claiming they found themselves in an infernal realm resembling hell.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Wedgwood suggests these statistics may be misleading. He posits that a greater number of individuals who come close to death actually undergo out-of-body experiences, with many more encountering hellish visions and demonic imagery.
“Some individuals might refrain from reporting these experiences out of shame, or they might not recall them due to dissociative amnesia,” Wedgwood explains. “The brain might suppress these memories to prevent the trauma from being relived.”
He also notes that this phenomenon may clarify why younger individuals are more inclined to remember their near-death experiences.
‘Dissociative amnesia due to the experiences being so bad may mean that as people age they are more likely to have a negative experience but are unable to remember – this is psychological not physiological.’
Despite science not being able to prove the afterlife exists, Wedgwood said his research has led him to believe that NDEs are very real experiences, and believes it would be dangerous to discount negative NDEs, as they may be our first visions of hell itself.
Dr Orson Wedgwood believes near-death experiences in hell are both more common and more important than people currently understand (Stock Image)
Dr Wedgwood is a medical scientist who works in healthcare research, with a PhD in organic medicinal chemistry.
His book, Near Death Experience and AWARE studies: Proof Of The Soul and God?, analyzed scientific literature and survivor testimonies and led the doctor to conclude that these journeys to both heaven and hell cannot be dismissed as fiction.
Wedgwood found that one common theme with visions of hell was the presence of other extremely unpleasant beings.
One interviewee described popping out of his body and after frantically trying to get his wife to listen to him. He heard voices coming from beyond an open door in the corner of the hospital room and decided to follow them.
The author revealed: ‘The voices surrounding him seemed friendly. But suddenly their demeanor changed, and even though he no longer had a physical body, they began to violate him. The pain felt real, and the fear was absolute. Were those creatures demons or other tortured souls?’
Wedgwood said that, currently, only 14 percent of people who have a near-death experience consider the encounter negative.
‘While there is also no scientific evidence proving NDEs are real, there is very strong empirical evidence in the form of hundreds, if not thousands, of documented out-of-body experiences, verified by doctors or other healthcare professionals, including in the setting of research studies, that could only have occurred if the consciousness separated from the body,’ Wedgwood said.
‘You therefore have to believe that these highly intelligent, ethical and skeptical professionals were either stupid, lying or telling the truth. Having spent my career working with these people, I choose the latter.’
Dr Wedgwood (Pictured) is a medical scientist who works in healthcare research, with a PhD in organic medicinal chemistry
Wedgwood said he was inspired to research NDEs after meeting people who had had out-of-body experiences, including a woman he dated who briefly died in Peru and claimed she travelled outside her body as her friends tried to resuscitate her.
The woman said that while she was outside her body, she saw two of her friends kissing outside a tent – something she later verified.
Moreover, scientists have been able to confirm that the human brain does continue to show activity, even after the heart stops and doctors declare someone legally dead.
Wedgwood cited a study led by Dr Sam Parnia from the NYU Langone School of Medicine in 2023 which discovered spikes in brain waves associated with higher cognitive function up to an hour into CPR.
Despite the continued brain activity, Wedgwood noted that many researchers have still dismissed hellish NDEs as not being authentic.
He noted another study published in 2019 in the journal Memory which compared positive and negative NDEs and found the experiences were largely the same.
‘[They] concluded that they share the same set of traits as positive NDEs such as feeling more real than life, timelessness, 360 degree vision and heightened senses, except positive feelings were replaced by dread, fear and horror – which is hardly surprising.’
The doctor argued that it was ‘dangerous’ to dismiss these experiences as not authentic, claiming doubters of hellish NDEs likely do not want to believe it is possible for anyone to have such a terrible destiny awaiting them.
However, Wedgwood believed that it is ‘extremely important’ to understand these visions and learn what was seen in negative NDEs.
‘For the first time, we have eyewitness reports of a place that some call hell. After reading these experiences I would not want my worst enemy to go there. It has become my goal in life to do all I can to help everyone avoid this horrendous outcome.’
