Anthony North: We use words such as premonition and precognition with certain belief systems attached. These belief systems come in two forms. First, that they imply foreseeing the future; and second, that they are a specific type of phenomena. I dislike these approaches. Rather, I feel that often an answer can be found in the present; and they do, infact, cover a multidude of possible causes. In this essay I will explore just one of many possible explanations, found in the present. Aberfan: On 21 October 1966 a slag heap slithered down a hillside and buried a school at Aberfan, South Wales. Over a hundred children and adults were killed. However, following the tragedy, John Barker recorded over seventy premonitions in the two weeks prior to the event, leading him to set up the British Premonitions Bureau. One girl who lived in Aberfan dreamt of ’something black’ falling on the school. Another dreamt that on arriving at the school all she found was a big black hole. Further afield from the village a woman from Sidcup in Kent dreamt of coal rushing down a hillside onto a mining village. Whilst two days before the disaster a woman from Aylesbury had a dream in which she was smothered in blackness. Statistical probability: When looking at such premonitions, 1 feel we make a mistake by considering the events in terms of individuality. If we look, instead, at a species level, statistics make it very clear that premonitions are bound to happen. For instance, often there is a subtle subject abroad in the media. This may not be fully appreciated by a person if they are not interested in the subject, but it will still filter into the mind at some level.

Hence, a person is more predisposed to experience a nightmare taking this factor into account. Agreed, this is not a full survey of this area of premonition - it is a subject I will return to in a later essay. However, there are other factors we can bring into the debate. A couple of cases: Vaunda Johnson from Arkansas woke up one night, got out of bed, went into her two daughters’ bedroom and removed one from the bottom bunk, taking her to her own bed.

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