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Do you believe in life after death? William Peter Blatty does. He’s the author of The Exorcist — a terrifying novel that became a scary movie — and he says he has the proof in his new memoir, Finding Peter: A True Story of the Hand of Providence and Evidence of Life after Death.
In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Blatty describes what he has witnessed since his son’s death, why he interprets these incidents as messages from beyond the grave, and how one of the world’s most acclaimed authors of horror could write such a life-affirming book.
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I’ve never thought of The Exorcist as a horror story, but a deep meditation on the personal nature of evil, and the constant struggle of priests to combat evil. It’s easily among the best books I’ve ever read.
As for after death experiences, I’ve never had one, but my brother reports that at the funeral of his son he looked up and saw him and heard the words “I’m alright dad.” There’s no way to prove this empirically, but my brother spoke calmly about the event, almost as if it was something to be expected.
Most likely I am not unique in having had, and continuing to have experiences similar to the authors , after my wife’s death six years ago(I have not read “Finding Peter”) . I consider myself to be Skeptical (But a Theist) possessing a Scientific mind ,and believe that I always search for “logical” explanations when presented with any experience or problem which I encounter , or questions which are posed by others. When I’ve had experiences similar to the author , I’m always left with an unanswerable question; Was it a coincidence ? Perhaps, since on any given day coincidences happen ,to someone somewhere .Is my mind detecting a connection between two events based on similar circumstances surrounding said events , one occurring in the present , the other in the past, and is my mind then creating an emotional connection in order to satisfy or support a want? To uphold a belief that my loved one is still with me , so that I maintain a belief in the transcendence of life , nurture the will to endure , and continue to strive . Or is this , truly, evidence for an afterlife that my dearly departed wishes that I experience in order that I maintain her Christian faith. This conflicts with a Scientific world view , and so I ponder on the many worlds interpretation of Quantum Theory as a possible explanation, perhaps in an attempts to mitigate the effects of a mild form of Cognitive dissonance. However, these experiences brought me nothing but Peace of mind .
I’m certainly a believer. The intersection between the material world and the metaphysical world is hard to confirm. By its nature it’s metaphical, and yet has to enter the material for us in the material world to grasp. The material world cannot measure or come in contact with the metaphysical in the tactile sense. Such personal experiences are actually common (I’ve had an experience or two and my mother lots), so I lean to believing that some are true and some not, and those that are true form some sort of bridge.