the azrael project

7/23/2019 The Azrael Project

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Some of the following are a sampling of previously published, true first person encounters withDeath that have appeared inThe Azrael Project Newsletter over the past 25 years, along withnewer encounters that visitors to this website have shared. This was always the heart of thenewsletter, and the main reason for its inception and continuance. We are continually adding to thispage as encounters are submitted. To submit your encounter with Death for consideration forinclusion on this page, you may use the following forum to post onEncounters With DeathMessage Boardor you may simply email us. dditional encounters with Death can be viewed onthe forum.

"The Angel of Death" by Horace Vernet, 19th Century

"Death stans abo!e e, wh#s$er#ng low% &now not what #nto y ear'

(f H#s strange language all % &now#s, there #s not a wor of fear)"

*alter +a!age anor

!" have had several episodes. #owever, most recently " e$perienced #im...last year. " am a nurse ata large hospital in Salem, %. &ne of my patients called me to her bedside to tell me she wasfeeling !not 'uite right!, and that she felt as if she was going to die. (p until that point the womanwas in good health and was only admitted for diagnostic e$ams. Slowly, the woman began to looseconsciousness and, in fact, started to die) ll the time " was doing everything possible to regain her." had called in several people for help, and soon the room was filled with nurses and doctors. "stood bac* from her bed by the doorway, giving the doctor a report of what transpired. " saw out ofthe corner of my eye the other people in the room. +ut, standing at the foot of her- bed wassomeone dressed in blac*. " really didnt pay much attention to him because " was concentratingmore on the patient. The person dressed in blac* wal*ed away from her bedside and started to
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leave the room, and as " was standing in the doorway, " had to move for him to get out. " did sosaying, !&h, e$cuse me.! " felt a huge bree/e as he brushed by me. " turned to the person ne$t tome and as*ed who that was who 0ust left1 This person said, !o one 0ust left.! " gave a descriptionof the person, but they still insisted that noboy0ust went out of the room. 3ust at that moment, thepatient rapidly regained consciousness. "t was at that point " reali/ed whothat person was alldressed in blac*.!

+. +arracoSalem, %.

!bout a year ago, " attended the funeral of an ac'uaintance of my husbands. " had no choice butto bring my children ages 5 and 4- with me to the graveside service. %y husband thought it wouldbe a good idea anyway as they hadnt been e$posed to the death of anyone at this age, not even afamily member. We were standing around the gravesite while people too* turns eulogi/ing thedeceased. ll of a sudden my five year old started wal*ing off as if he saw something standing atthe foot of the grave. 6veryone went silent as he wal*ed up to a point, loo*ed up and startedtal*ing, as if to a real person, but " saw no one. "t was an aw*ward situation, as " couldnt pull himaway from this spot. bit frustrated, " as*ed him who are you tal*ing to, anyway1 #is replyunnerved everyone, "m tal*ing to the real tall s*inny man in the long blac* coat. &f course, no

one else saw this, or at least, no one else a#tteseeing this. fter the service, " as*ed my sonwhat they tal*ed about. #is reply was, #e didnt remember. +ut, that he tal*ed without moving hislips. " get a chill 0ust thin*ing about this.!

3oan Tendundelbu'uer'ue, %.

!" often ta*e late night wal*s through a cemetery near my home. &ne night, a few wee*s bac*... "was sitting in a clearing surrounded by 4 foot yew and cypress. "ts a very 'uiet and private spot farfrom houses and streetlighting.... The bushes started to rustle. 7irst, 0ust a bree/e, which 'uic*lygrew into gusts of cool wind that seemed to come from beneath them. &dd, because it was atypically still, hot and muggy southern ugust-. Suddenly, the air was filled with the scent of dying3asmine and earth, almost li*e after a heavy rain. 6ach time the wind would gust, a shadow wouldpass over me. " had the feeling of many presences around me, almost in a circular fashion.Suddenly, everything grew still again. There were no bird or cric*et sounds li*e normal. "t wasabsolute silence. The shadows seemed to have sun* into the earth. " figured, well...thats it) Time tohead on home. So, " got up and started wal*ing toward the main road. " could see my own shadownow on the pavement in front of me, as the streetlights were plainly visible from here. There wasalso a second shadow that seemed to almost !grow! out of my own until there were two, distinctshadows. " turned to loo* behind me and saw no one. +ut, when " turned bac* around to faceforward, " saw the ngel of Death plain as day standing crossarmed before me about 89 feet away.#e was framed in dar* ultraviolet. :uite a stri*ing image, to say the least) gust of very cold windcame again from beneath my feet. " felt my hair blow upwards as " watched the spectre of Deathrise upward with the wind and disappear into the tall trees. " must have loo*ed stupid standing therewith my mouth open. " collected myself and continued wal*ing home. 6very so often, " could feel#im hovering over me. When " got home, " fell into a deep sleep under the shadow that hung overmy bed. " never felt so at peace as " had that night.!

;aurence


3/12

angel told her so.! She had been trying to tell us about !the angel! for 'uite a while now. +ut, asusual, we adults are so caught up in the day to day, that we tend to ignore childrens rambling about!imaginary! friends. #owever, her persistence, and reading about other peoplesencounters...spurred me to sit down with her and listen. " am more of a mother to her, as her realmom passed away two years ago, so we are very, very close. She sat calmly and told me why theangel !too*! her mom away, and why she alsohad to leave soon. t first, " didnt understand. ;ater

that day, she came running up to me during dinner, grabbed my hand and literally pulled me frommy seat, insisting that her !angel! wanted to meet me. "t was about =>?9 pm as we went out into theyard. She told me to sit on the grass while she went into the woods to !get him!. What " saw ne$twas absolutely incredible) She emerged from the woods in a swirl of leaves, floating about a foot offthe ground. She was s*ipping playfully on thin air and was hand in hand with a figure so dar* that itliterally had no shadows. " fro/e for an instant as they came to where " sat. 6very hair on my bodystood on end. %y niece came behind me, putting her hand on my shoulder telling me not to beafraid. She then too* my hand and put it into !his!. The ne$t thing " remember, was my husbandhovering over me in the yard and a group of paramedic wor*ers attending to my niece about threefeet away. She passed away that night from a brain hemorrhage. The whole event changed allofour lives here. She still comes to visit, and my hand still tingles.!

@ose %arie Aortenga;aredo, TB.

!Death has been no stranger to me this year as " have lost a child through miscarriage- and threeof my beloved cats. &n one hot evening in 3uly, " set up my altar in the south, over the mantle toperform a protection spell for myself and our coven. fter doing the ritual, " left the candle to burnout. When " returned to chec* on it, the room was uncommonly cool for a 3uly night in Aalifornia,also compared to the rest of the house) " wal*ed to the mantle to loo* closely at the candle for awhile, and, as " did, was drawn to the window. " ga/ed out upon a seemingly normal, lovely night.+ut, as " turned, " felt a cool bree/e that seemed to pass through me. ll the hair on my arms stoodstraight up, and in the southeast corner of my room, loomed a blac* figure so tall it appeared tobend forward as it reached higher than the ceiling. "d never e$perienced such a thing before, andliterally the words that filled my mind were, !&h, shit, its the Crim @eaper)! and " 'uic*ly ran out ofthe room. es, " *now thats silly. "m certain " would be found 0ust as easily in the den...but1 s " satthen in contemplation, " was filled with laughter, for " felt so ridiculous for my behavior, but " also feltvery protected and " *new the spell "d performed would succeed. "t did)- fter this e$perience, "began to feel a bit different about death and became more open to my dar* side. +efore, Deathwas the enemy. "d do all " could to prevent "ts presence, for it was the !thief! that stole what " lovedand gave me grief. %y views were changing...lso, it was at this point that the spirits began toshow themselves to me...%onths passed, and it was now &ctober and my coven and " were in themidst of our ll #allows ritual...We sensed a !gate! opening to us through which many spirits cameand interacted with us...Then, all of a sudden #e appeared at the doorway. #is presence bloc*edout everything else, taller and blac*er than the night, hooded with a cloa* or something thatseemingly floated behind #im. #e wal*ed out the !door! and !through! myself and a friend. ousee, my friend began to describe the e$act sensations " was having physically at the same timethey were actually happening to me...+eing filled with ice cold, electrical tingles from the base ofour spines to the tops of our heads. The sensations ceased for us both at the same time as well,the e$act moment #e passed through completely. #e wal*ed over to our firepit, which wasreduced to embers by this time. #e appeared to have a staff or stic* as #e stirred the embers withit. #e turned to loo* straight at me, but " saw no face, 0ust shadow shrouded by #is cloa*, and said,

!ever fear me, for nothing is forever.! and then #e simply merged into the night and was gone,and " wished #e wasnt because " wanted to touch #im, embrace #im. " was filled with the mostdeep feeling of peace " have ever e$perienced. " was sad that #e was gone and tears fell from myeyes. "t was so hard for me to remain composed. When our ritual was over, we tal*ed amongourselves about our e$periences..." have no fear of DEdeath at all anymore. " see that it is in factbirth from one world to the ne$t.!

.#.lhambra, A.


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!%y encounter with Death wasnt directed at me. " was merely a bystander, who, for whateverreason, was allowed to watch Death !ta*e a soul!. " live on the =th floor of a large apartmentcomple$, and my living room window aligns e$actly with my neighbors bedroom window. &urwindows are about = feet apart and across from one another. ;ast summer, late one evening, it wasa particularly 'uiet night suddenly made even more silent. " was reading on my sofa directly under

the window, when all of a sudden the usual !nightsounds!, i.e., cric*ets, birds, even traffic 0uststopped. With my bac* to the window, " started to hear the sound of a low heartbeat, and then astrong wind rushed down between our two buildings. The sound of the wind was distinctly li*ehuge, flapping wings and the wind grew so strong that it blew in the window and *noc*ed over mylamp. " got up, peered out the window and the air smelled li*e wet earth and dying flowers. &n myneighbors window ledge was the most ama/ing dar* shadow, crouching and loo*ing in his window)" watched as it !floated! into my neighbors opened window. The heartbeat sound was nowpounding in my head to the point of giving me a headache. "nside my neighbors room, all " couldsee was a flash of blue light, very low and subdued...and the sound of the heartbeat stopped. " feltsuddenly strange, lightheaded, li*e all of the o$ygen was ta*en out of the air. " fell bac* onto thesofa, and again the scented wind whooshed into my window and was gone as 'uic* as it came.The nightsounds started up again immediately) The ne$t thing " heard was my neighbors familyscrambling and turning on lights, so " yelled out the window if everything was all right. " wasinformed that their father was dead, so " rushed over to see if " could help in some way. When "arrived in his room, " felt faint again and started to tell his sister some of what " saw and felt. She,

too, felt and heard similar things but saw nothing. s time went on and " got to tal* to the wholefamily, no one else heard or saw anything but us. " often wonder why %was privy to this. nyway,"ve turned my sofa to face the window. "ts uchmore interesting than anything on TF)!

Aarl DeGensio%iami, 7;.

!ou *now all the strange things you hear about the ew or* subway system1 Well heres onethat "m sure youll li*e. " ta*e the H8 train home every night from wor*, usually about 2 am. "ts arelatively short and speedy ride. The train was nearly deserted, and the car that " got into had onlyone passenger. 7rom the loo*s of him, " suspected that he was one of the homeless simply loo*ingfor a place to *eep warm as its been a very cold winter up here. " sat at one end of the car, and heat the other. " was reading a newspaper for a few minutes and then glanced up 'uic*ly. There wasanother passenger sitting right ne$t to him...but we hadnt stopped and no one else had entered thecar) #e was the most gaunt, pale creature " ever saw. " couldnt help staring at him, but " dont thin*he noticed me 0ust then. #is fingernails were blueblac*, notpainted, more li*e cyanotic. The wholecar began to smell of dying flowers and wet earth. "t was weird. #e touched the sleeping, homelessman on the shoulder. #e was obviously groggy, but he loo*ed the strange man straight in the eyesand bro*e into a smile and tears at the same time. Then, they both turned and loo*ed straight atme. " thought that " was going to *eel over right there. n incredible cold ran up my spine and "could feel the hairs on the bac* of my nec* standing up. " had to loo* away almost immediately, asit was somehow e$tremely painful loo*ing into the strangers eyes. They seemed to be drawing mein and my heart was pounding so fast, " felt as if " was going to pass out. 3ust then, the lights in thecar went out as they fre'uently do-. "t was only for a moment or so. When they came bac* on, thestrange man was gone, and the other man was slumped over the side of the seat. " 0ust &newthathe was dead. #is eyes were staring into space and he had the most peaceful smile. The wholeevent affected me deeply. " am both apprehensive and assured at the same time. That e$perience

taught me that /rael is gentle, but harnesses an incredibly awesome energy of some type thatboth frightens and attracts me at the same time. Sometimes now, " still see his eyes in thedar*ness. " try to loo* into them and understand, but my body always reacts violently, as if its readyto shut down unless " turn away. The night is, indeed, !full of eyes!)!

Dere* Aabrioleew or*, .

!When " was = years old, the ngel of Death actually saved my life) " was ices*ating alone on a


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pond when " fell through the ice. " couldnt find the opening and " was panic*ing and starting to passout from the cold water which was flooding my lungs. Suddenly, " felt something po*ing at me and "grabbed it, and felt myself being pulled through the water and up through the opening in the ice.When my head came out of the water, " couldnt believe my eyes) " was terrified) " saw a hooded,blac*robed corpse. The stic* that " was grabbing onto was actually the blunt end of a very large,silvery scythe. The figure was very tall and very big. #is face was that of a decomposed

corpse...li*e a s*ull, no eyes, 0ust soc*ets. +ut, inside the eyesoc*ets were swirling whirlpools ofblac* and dimly glowing reds. s*eletal hand reached down to me and pulled me the rest of theway out of the water. t first, " was more scared of the figure than of drowning. "n fact, " though "was dead. The odor of death was everywhere, but somehow it didnt bother me at all. "n fact, forsome reason, it seemed to comfort me. /rael put his s*eletal hand on my head and gently stro*edmy wet hair and spo*e to me saying, !Do not fear, little one, "m here to protect you, its not yet yourtime.! Suddenly, " felt sleepy, probably from hypothermia, and " struggled to *eep my eyes open butcouldnt. few moments later, " awo*e from my brief sleep with a feeling of incredible warmth thatswept through my entire body. " opened my eyes again, and /rael was gone, but " still felt #ispresence very strongly, and " was no longer afraid of death. The warmth stayed with me the entiremile long wal* bac* home despite the fact that it was only about 8I degrees outside. " have feltvery close to the ngel of Death since that day. Death actually saved my life, and " have felt #ispresence with me ever since.!

Dennis Wardrop

#agerstown, %D.

!7or as long as " can remember, " have felt a strong affinity for the !Death energy!. " come from avery large family and have attended the wa*es of many relatives. Aoming from a traditional "rishAatholic bac*ground, all of our funeral rites are lavish in pomp and circumstance. 7rom the age ofJ, my first wa*e, " can remember the presence of a man who came to the service alone, spo*e tono one, but simply sat in the bac*ground and !observed!. " remember as*ing my dad, !Who is thatman1!#ed simply say, !What man1! #e couldnt see him. "t seemed that my aunt and " were theonly ones that could ever see him, and she never wanted to tal* about it. #es been at every wa*ethus far. %ost of our family wa*es were held at a local tavern, and split between there, the funeralhome, and our family home. The !mystery man! would sit at the end of the bar, in the shadows, 0uststaring at everyone. " remember thin*ing how !beautiful! he was when " was younger, with pale,marbleli*e s*in, e$tremely tall with incredibly dar* eyes that seemed to pierce right through yoursoul. +ut, his clothes were always !wrong!...out of time, as it were...as he seemed. couple oftimes, he raised his glass to me as if to ma*e a toast, then hed smile...7inally, when " was about84, " decided it was time to !confront! this mystery man. &ddly enough, it was at the wa*e of myaunt, the only other person who actually saw him as " did. #e was at his usual place at the end ofthe bar when " wal*ed up to him. " stopped about 5 feet from where he sat, not out of choice, butbecause my body 0ust loc*ed up as if " suddenly became paraly/ed. "n the space of that last step, "seemed to have stepped out of time. The voices in the bac*ground faded to a faint whisper andeverything sounded li*e it was coming through a long tube. Without thin*ing, " blurted out, !Why areyou here1! #e simply turned toward me and said with a smile, !Fery good 'uestion, son...verygood. llow me to turn it bac* on you)! #e laughed momentarily and his face became a s*ull for asplit second) The ne$t thing " remember, is my dad tapping me on the shoulder, !Who are youtal*ing to1! he as*ed, *ind of annoyed. " 0ust loo*ed at him and somehow&newthat from that dayforward " wasnt the same. " loo*ed into my fathers eyes and literally !saw! his death. 6very detailthat happened e$actly to a tee 4 months after my aunt died. !#e! was there at my fathers wa*e as

well. " thin* that #e shall always be !with me!. "m not, as of yet certain as to why, but "m learningfast via the new sensations #e has gifted me with.!

Aarl %cAallum@eston, F.

!Ten years ago, while " was wor*ing the aptly named !graveyard shift! at a local 2I hour radiostation, " had several bi/arre encounters with a being in a long blac*, hooded robe. " would see thisbeing, whom " immediately thought resembled the !ghost of christmas future! standing down a


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hallway near the ma0or control room. Several encounters occurred in the summer and left a feelingof icebo$ cold in their wa*e) Strangely, " felt no terror, 0ust immense curiosity, and, very alien to methen, a longing to spea* with this figure, who never spo*e to me. " never saw its face, though thehands appeared s*eletal. These appearances came some months after my mother died of cancerand my grandfather of complications from a stro*e. lthough " was not there when my mother died," had felt intense guilt...up until " had the encounters with the entity. Since then, " have replaced that

guilt with simple regret that " could not have been there to share in the !passing over! e$perience,as " had done with my grandfather. " saw such a loo* of happiness and relief on his face after muchsuffering. " can never again truly ever fear Death.!

Aarl icastroGottsville, G.

!" am a hospice caregiver mostly to "DS patients and others on the final stages of terminal illness." had become 'uite close to one patient in particular, and we would often have length discussionsabout all things spiritual during his lucid moments. 6arly on the morning of his death, " had comeinto his room as "d done for the I months he was with us, at sunrise to open the blinds as per hisre'uest. The blinds were an opa'ue white, already allowing the bright morning sun to light the roomfor normal sight. s " wal*ed over to the window, " saw a distinctly female figure sitting ne$t to him

on the bed. " heard the words, !Glease leave the blinds closed.! in a low, multilayered voice. #erlips, however, never moved. "n the e$isting room light, her pale, thin face was s*eletal on one side,and somewhat normal on the other, e$cept for the dar*ness of her eyes and her sun*enchee*bones. " 0ust stood there in awe as she placed her spiderli*e hand over his heart, and heopened his eyes. (pon seeing me first, he smiled and said !Cood %orning, 3oan...! Then, hecalmly noticed #er, his smile broadened. She bent down to *iss him and pulled her hand downfirmly on his chest. gain, he loo*ed over to me and said, !"snt She beautiful...how can anyone beafraid of Death.! " felt tears welling up in my eyes and wanted to rush over and ta*e his other hand,but for whatever reason, " was paraly/ed where " stood. "t was weird. " could actually see the lifeforce draining out of him, coming out of his finger tips into hers. lmost immediately his heartmonitor went dead and the alarm sounded. " turned for only a brief second toward the door asothers were rushing in. When " turned bac*, she was gone. Stan, my patient, was finally at peaceand all " could do was smile bac* at his corpse. 6ver since that particular incident, the wor* " dohere has become even more important than " had ever dreamed. " *eep hoping to !catch! #erE#imagain and taste a bit of the sweetness Stan did that morning.!

3oan @eislingSan 7rancisco, A.

!While my wife of ?9 years lay on her deathbed after a year long battle with cancer, " *new it wasonly a matter of hours before she left us for good. The room was dim, e$cept for a nightlamp and acandle by her bedside. " sat in a chair beside her, holding her thin, fragile hand in mine. 7or thepassed wee*, she was unable to readily recogni/e me and respond to her surroundings due to theintense medication. Suddenly she struggled to sit up in bed, and for the first time in wee*s, fullyfocused her eyes upon something at the foot of the bed. Still holding her hand, " saw it too) nimmense dar*ness that formed into a vaguely humanoid shape right before our eyes. t thatmoment, the air in the room grew cold and hard to breathe, li*e all the o$ygen had been suc*ed

from the room. %y wife turned to me and strained to whisper, #es come for me, Donny. " want togo now..."ts time to let go. " sat there crying, still holding her hand as she stared as if pleading tome. " *issed her, and when " pulled bac*, the figure was on the other side of the bed holding herother hand in what " could only describe as long, misty tendrils. Then, " saw something evenstranger. s she was fading, a weird illuminated, bluish fog seemed to frame the dar* figure and itgrew brighter the more she faded away. " *ept loo*ing at her, and loo*ing at "t, there seemed to besome *ind of energy e$change going on. 6verytime the figures illumination grew brighter, her painseemed to lessen until her hand went limp in mine and she lay there, eyes open and fi$ed on thedar*ness. The glow behind it was gone. " watched the dar*ness that was once form atomi/e into atrailing mist that 0ust went bac* into the shadows of the room. %y wife lay dead on the bed, staringand smiling at nothing in particular. She loo*ed happy again and " *new somehow that she had


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continued and would always be with me. Death is notto be feared, nor thought of as an unmercifulpersona. "t is peoples misunderstanding of Deaths role in ;ife that is misunderstood. (ntil one haswal*ed mine and my wifes path, this may be hard to conceive. Death does not steal life away li*e athief in the night, Death relieves us of a flesh worn, torn and weary from the strains of living in adisposable shell,!

Donald +rousardGensacola, 7;.

!%y first conscious memory was of a *noc*ing in the summer of my thirteenth year. " was staying atmy aunt and uncles house for awhile during vacation. " was lying in bed and contemplating variousthings when " heard a distinct *noc* on my door. " got up and opened the door, but no one wasoutside the door or in the hall. " went to my relatives room but they were asleep. " didnt thin* of the*noc* for awhile, but a wee* after " returned home my uncle was diagnosed with fatal lung cancer,and subse'uently died. The summer after that, " went bac* to that house with my mother. gain, "was lying in my bed, but in a different bedroom, contemplating, when " heard a distinct *noc* on theclosed door. " remembered in an instant what had happened before, and " refused to open the door." told my mother about the *noc*ing, and my suspicions, and she all but laughed at me out loud. wee* later " was travelling to the funeral of another relative.

fter " returned home, " thought about what had happened and " thought that maybe the *noc*ingonly happened in my aunts house, but " was proved wrong when " heard another *noc* at my doorat home. relative died shortly after. othing happened after that for about si$ months, no one diedeither, until " heard another *noc*, which really frightened me. friend of mines death occurred awee* later. " noticed then that the way " reacted to the persons death was related to the way " hadreacted to the !*noc*! itself. %ore recently, " had bro*en up with a boyfriend because he claimed "had too much supernatural and physical !crap! in my life. " met a new guy, and " also heard a*noc*. " was very an$ious about the *noc* and " repeatedly 'uestioned it. friend of my motherswas diagnosed with cancer. Sometime later, " heard another *noc* so loud that it shoo* the couch "was on. " was startled and fell on to the floor, but my cat stood sha*ing and staring at the door.Shortly thereafter, my cat became sic* and was eventually diagnosed with fatal *idney tumors. #isdeath affected me e$actly as the *noc* had, and " was so scared that " couldnt sleep aloneanymore because of the sounds " heard. fter awhile everything calmed down. The ne$t time "heard a *noc* was a Sunday, " was standing ne$t to the door. " turned and had the feeling of!seeing! something that wasnt actually visible. " was startled by the closeness " had felt to the!*noc*erer!. " was greeted at church by a man from the choir. " shoo* his hand and loo*ed into hiseyes when he smiled and said hello. wee* later he was dead. " started attending a new collegeand " met a girl in my class who also heard the *noc*ing. She also had a !guardian presence!surrounding her. %y !guardian!, as hes been called ,is male, tall and thin and anemically pale, haslong blac* hair, and favors wearing a blac* cloa* and hood lined with red. #e said he was aliveonce and then his name had been 3ames. #e had blondish hair but his !residual spiritual image!,as "ve heard it called, has blac* hair. #e li*es to be called !Fincent Thanatos!. "ve never seen himloo*ing three dimensional, but "ll usually become aware of his presence when " blin*, "ll see animage of him standing a little ways away. Sometimes it seems to be happening very slowly. Whenhe tal*s its 0ust a voice thats li*e something whispering in my ear.!

ephthys TheodaAanada

!"t was my 89th birthday as " was swimming in the sea, " got really far from shore and " was gettingtired. " felt myself falling in the abyss and all the sounds stopped. Suddenly, a man pulled me upand too* me to the shore. When " got up, there was no one there) " than*ed the man that savedme, even though he was gone, because " felt his presence all around. " dont *now who he was, buttoday its clear to meK ngel of Death.!

Dovus &periorCreece


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!7eb. 4 2998 was the day it happened " *now because it was not 0ust a wee* ago. Two months priorto this date my Dear Crandfather Firgil was told he had ;ung Aancer. This last month or so reallyhit him hard. &ver the ne$t few wee*s leading up to his death " stayed a lot at his house, helpingta*e care of him and such. "n the morning " would ta*e a wal* through the 29 acres of land that we

had 0ust bought to watch the sun come up... " remember very well coming bac* from the wal*s andseeing a man dressed in a long blac* robe leave the house. " did not thin* much of it at the time.Still this did seem too real and troubled me. 7inally after being sic* and tired of what " saw thin*ing "was ma*ing the whole thing up " as*ed my grandfather who the man was. When he told me that noone came to the house either time " got chills up and down my spine. then it had occurred to mewhere " had seen him once before. "t was in 3uly of last year when we bought the house. Thatsame man was standing on the edge of the land we were going to buy. little scared and troubled "left to go bac* home leaving Crandpa in the care of my unt. " got the call two days later thatCrandpa was bac* in the hospital. " rushed over there as fast as " could. When " got to his room, heloo*ed fine. " too* care of him for a few hours and decided he was stable enough for me to go bac*home and get some sleep. Wal*ing out of the hospital with my 7ather ne$t to me, " told him whathad happened. #e 0ust loo*ed at me li*e " was cra/y. Still, something was not right. " as*ed himhow long he gave our grandpa and he said maybe a wee* at most. Searching my mind, " thoughtabout all that happened and for some reason the words !three days! popped into my head. Sureenough " mar*ed it on the calendar, and in three days he was gone. " have gone bac* to the 29

acres since the funeral and never once have " seen that blac* clothed man around our land So thatwas my encounter with Death. " *now it was him... and he is still on our land... but " have yet to seehim again.!

The Silverwolf

!;et me begin with my most recent encounter September 25, 2999 to us humans- and wor* myway bac*wards. "m good friends with my ne$t door neighbor, and our mutual friend too* her ownlife on September 2. The problem is that he was and is deeply in love with the departed andblamed her death on the inconsideration of yet another party in 6ngland. 7ollow me so far1 Thispast wee*end, he was inconsolable.


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no security lights or street lights nearby, and the gates were closed but not loc*ed. This was my firsttime in this cemetery alone at night..."d been there before with friends after dar*, but never alone. "found my way to the crypt without too many problems, and once " had reached it " 0ust stood therefor several minutes, trying to calm the rapid beating of my heart. " reali/ed now that " wasterrified...not of the cemetery itself, but of what " was going to do. "ts not that " was afraid of a bodyor #im or any such nonsense...it was more that " seemed to sense that " was standing on the

threshold of something vast, and once " had opened the crypt there would be no turning bac*. Thenight was still...but then suddenly a gentle bree/e brushed by me, cool on my s*in and scented ofdamp earth. " remembered everything " had read here about others smelling that same scent, and "shivered a little. Aould it be #im1 Well, if it was...wouldnt do to *eep #im waiting, right1 " clenchedmy teeth, swallowed hard, and grasped the side of the crypt slab...lifting it and shoving it forwardwith all my might.

Cods, " had no idea how heavy those damn things are) "t made a gritty, scraping sound as it shiftedon the bric* sides of the crypt, and " felt something in my shoulder crea* and ma*e a twingingsound...then 'uite suddenly the whole slab was sliding off and " was scrabbling madly to *eep itfrom slamming into the ground on the other side and brea*ing into a thousand pieces. "t provedimpossible for me to catch it...it slid from my grasp and thudded to the grass, but luc*ily it landedintact. " breathed a sigh of relief..." had been so worried about the slab that " forgot to loo* insideand see what " had !found,! but when " finally did, my breath caught in my throat and " felt my eyesget all watery. "t WS a body, or what was left of it. %y eyes had ad0usted well enough to the

dar*ness to ma*e out a shrouded form lying in the crypt, wrapped in a lightcolored cloth. Therewas dirt in there, too. " dont *now how or why it was there, but it had filled in the crypt about halfway up the body, leaving only the top half fully e$posed. " reached out with a sha*y hand and gentlystro*ed the shroud. "t was rough and a little stiff to the touch, and it made a soft, crunchy sound as "ran my fingers along it. " frowned a little...some of the fabric came apart as " touched it, but age willdo that, " guess. " dimly reali/ed that all my fear was gone. " reached up and gently tugged at thefabric covering the face, and it held together and pulled open easily in my hands. %y e$citementgrew, forming a small, delightful *not in my stomach, and then, all of a sudden and with no fanfare," pushed aside the dusty coverings and saw the s*ull. %y heart began to pound. "t was so beautiful)"d never seen a real human s*ull before in real life, and " couldnt believe " was seeing one now. "tappeared to be a brownish color, which surprised me a little...all the pictures "d seen of s*eletonsshow gleaming white bones, but this was more brown than white, by a long shot. Something toldme that this had been a man. " dont *now how " *new, " 0ust did...and " brushed my fingers againsthis forehead gently. " was surprised again, the bones were only mildly cool, instead of the chillingcold you hear people tal* about. " reached down and started pulling the rest of the shroud free. "ttoo* me awhile, because " didnt want to tear it, so " had to wor* slowly and with a great deal ofcare. There were three *nots, " soon discovered, tied around the body, at the nec*, what wouldhave been his waist, and the an*les. The *nots were made with fabric, more of the same thatcovered him, and unfortunately as " wor*ed on the *nots the fragile material came apart in myhands. ormally " would be horrified by this, but somehow " had the feeling that it was o*ay. " wasmeant to see this body, and as long as " showed it reverence it would be all right. &nce again, " 0ust*new it.

%y e$citement was growing and growing, and soon " had the shroud free and " was able to peel itcarefully away from the remains within. %ostly 0ust his bones were there, and the crumpled remainsof what might have been his clothes, the rest of him had long since rotted away. Strangely enough,a large portion of the shroud underneath him had rotted away as well. "f " had *nown this, "probably could have simply reached under him and gently freed the shroud from behind. " didntmind, though, " let my eyes roam lovingly down the long length of him, peeping through the tatters

of his clothing, and then " dared to stro*e him gently with my hands, allowing my fingers to caressthe coolness of his legs, his arms. few times my s*in would brush over bits of clingingmatter...flesh, " suppose, dried and crac*ly beneath my hands. " could have stayed li*e that forhours, simply touching him all over, but suddenly the wind sprang up. "t began whipping at myclothes, and " felt a chill steal over me as " loo*ed around the cemetery. There was a tree not too farfrom where " *nelt beside the crypt, its branches began to toss, and then there was a rumble ofthunder overhead. Writing this now, " *now how this sounds. " actually thought to myself as lightningflashed, illuminating the stones around me, that this was beginning to loo* li*e something out of ahorror movie. That thought made me laugh a little to myself, but then a few small drops of rainsprin*led me, and " reali/ed that if " wanted to do anything else, "d better do it now, before thestorm truly arrived and all hell bro*e loose. " carefully crawled inside the crypt. "m a rather petite


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person, so there was plenty of room for both me and him, and " snuggled down beside him and putmy arms around his body. The bones were loose feeling, and they shifted under my touch, and "can remember feeling a little surge of fear coupled with e$citement at the thought that they mightmove on their own. The shroud made more crunchy sounds as " wriggled, getting comfortable onthe warm earth beneath our bodies, and then " laid my head ne$t to his and closed my eyes.

7or the longest time it seemed to me-, nothing happened. The storm continued to grow louder, andthe wind pic*ed up in intensity. " was shielded, for the most part, from the wind by the sides of thecrypt, but " could still hear it hissing through the leaves above my head. " gently slid my hand downhis body and tried to entwine my fingers with his, but apparently his decomposition made thatimpossible. When " lifted his arm, the fingers didnt come with it, " gently replaced his arm withoutopening my eyes, and " let my hand rest on his ribcage instead. nd that was when it happened. "gradually noticed that the storm seemed to be getting farther away, yet the flashes of lightningoutside my closed eyelids were as bright as ever. "t was more li*e the sound was falling away...or "was falling away. "n fact, thats what it felt li*e...li*e " was falling away, but there was no fear and nosense of vertigo or anything li*e that. Thats when " felt the bones move again, and this time itwasnt me that had moved them. %y heart began to pound faster. " could hear it throbbing in myears, but it was as if " was paraly/ed. " couldnt move, although " felt so comfortable and drowsilywarm that " must admit " didnt try very hard. " had the feeling that if " wanted to escape, " could, but" certainly didnt want to) "t felt as if the bones themselves were growing warmer, but " couldnt feelmy own body anymore...and then " felt a shift, and the s*ull gently turned and laid itself against my

head it the most tender manner. " was falling, falling...the sounds of the storm were gone, and all "could hear was the sound of wind rushing in my ears. Something caught me. " fell away from theworld, and then something caught me up and " was flying. %y eyes were still tightly closed, and "had the sensation of warm, soft dar*ness surrounding me, but a cold wind on my face, rushing fastand nearly ta*ing my breath away. " heard a voice, deep, but soothing, tell me, !&pen your eyesand see, child.!

" opened my eyes slowly, and " saw that " was enfolded in the hugest blac* wings imaginable. Theywrapped me up li*e a blan*et, and only my face pee*ed through. " was flying through dar*ness, theonly light seeming to come from me and my mysterious flying companion. The light was pale and ofa bluish, silvery cast, and cold. The wind blowing in my face was cold. We were flying at anincredible speed, and " could feel strong arms encircling my body. " was being held in someonesarms as we flew, and " strained to turn my head to loo* above me and see who it was.

"f youre reading this, "m sure you already *now e$actly who was carrying me, but " must admit thatit came as a bit of a nasty shoc* to me. Weve all seen pictures of Death, in all his many forms,especially as the @eaper...but it is one thing to see an inanimate picture of #im. "t is 'uite anotherto actually see #im...for real. ll logic tells us that s*eletons arent supposed to move, dammit...andhere was a grinning s*ull inclining its head towards mine, loo*ing straight through me with itsempty, glowing eye soc*ets. " thin* " yelped a little, and " actually thin* he chuc*led a little at me. "twas #is voice " had heard, and #e spo*e to me again without moving his mouth. !ou called me,child, and " have come,! #e said. !Why do you fear1!" couldnt answer at first, " was too enthralled by his eyes. " can remember thin*ing, over and overagain...!;eilah was right) She was right...they @6 amethyst)!...but finally " swallowed hard andanswered #im. !" guess...deep down inside, " didnt thin* youd come, or that you were really real.!!nd now " have come,! he said again. !Do you regret calling me1!" had the strangest feeling #e already *new the answer to this, but " thin* #e wanted to hear mesay it aloud. !o..."m not afraid,! " said, 'uite truthfully. !3ust startled, " guess.! " thin* #e chuc*ledagain, and suddenly " felt 'uite at peace and comfortable. " turned bac* around, then snuggled

deeper into the soft, sweetsmelling feathers of #is wings. s we flew through the endlessdar*ness, " closed my eyes and rela$ed, feeling as if #e were gently opening my mind, loo*inginside and probing it curiously. " was vaguely surprised at how " felt. "ve always had a se$ualfascination with Death, and " wont deny that "ve harbored thoughts of a tryst with Death, but nowthat " was actually here, with #im for real, my feelings werent li*e that at all. "t was more li*e...afather and daughter sort of thing, " thin*. That feeling, more than anything, was what convinced methat this was all real, and not 0ust the product of my imagination. "t was li*e being a small childagain, safe and warm within the arms of a father. " could sense #is love and protectiveness of me,covering me and enfolding me securely, and " suddenly reali/ed that " wanted nothing more than tostay here in his winged embrace forever, without another care in the world.


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" dont *now how long we flew..." dont thin* time has much meaning when youre with #im, but farsooner than " would have li*ed, " could feel #is embrace getting fainter and more ethereal. " openedmy eyes...the feathers around me were growing more indistinct, li*e the fading of a ghost, and "s'uee/ed my eyes shut again. " thin* " started to cry...after such incredible peace and security, "didnt want to go bac*. o no no...but then " felt a cold hand on my chee*, *issing my s*in with #isfingertips. !" dont want to go bac*,! " said miserably.

!" *now...but you must. Dawn approaches in your world...and the living cannot stay in mine.!!+ut...! " began hopefully.!o, it is time for you to go bac*,! #e said. !+ut " will always be here, waiting for your return.! #ewas growing fainter and fainter, #is voice echoing in my ears dimly. !Fisit me often,! #e said finally,#is voice a mere whisper. !ou are always welcome.!

" opened my eyes again and..."ll be damned...dawn was approaching, 0ust li*e #e said. " had beenat least in body, anyway- in the crypt all night. The storm was over, and although it was still 'uitedar*, " could see a pale lightening in the s*y to the east, and " *new it was time " got my ass home." loo*ed over at my silent companion, and noted with a little shiver that he had moved during thenight. "nstead of on his bac* as he had been when " first curled up beside him, he was now on hisside facing me, his s*ull resting against my head li*e a father tenderly holding his child. %y throatfelt a little tight, and " felt li*e crying again..." *new, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that /rael hadheard my call, and come. nd now, with the dawn, #e was gone.

" lifted my head and gently *issed the s*ull, then eased the bones bac* over to the position theyhad been in originally. Alimbing out of the crypt was a chore, " was stiff and sore all over, but "stumbled out as gracefully as " could. " *nelt down again, the dampness of the grass soa*ingthrough my 0eans, and carefully covered him once more in the remains of his shroud. " also made amental note to return later, at night, with another blan*et or cloth of some sort so " could cover himagain properly. Cetting the slab bac* on was a pain in the ass. " fell in the mud once or twice,scrabbling in the dirt with my toes trying to get some purchase to lift it with. " finally managed toroc* it up the side of the crypt in one piece, and once it was actually over the top edge, sliding itbac* into place wasnt too terribly difficult. " chec*ed all the way around to ma*e sure it was even,and then, li*e a whisper in my mind, something told me to see about getting some bric*masonsmortar and filling in the sides. " *new that this way, at least, was not meant for me again. Somehow" *new there would be other nights li*e this, but not here. This crypt was closed to me now.

" stood up and stretched, my bones popping, and then " started off for the gates and my car. "t wasthen that " noticed the huge puddles everywhere...it had apparently poured rain that night, yet,mysteriously, my s*eletal companion and " had remained perfectly dry within his crypt. "t was 0ustone more thing to confirm the reality of what had happened..." felt another little chill up my spine as" slid through the gates and closed them 'uietly behind me. " started off down the dirt path, bac* tothe mill and my car, but something stopped me. " turned for one last loo* bac* at the marvelousgloom of the cemetery, and something was there, watching me. %y heart 0umped a little, it was ahuge blac* figure, looming in the predawn dar*ness behind the low bric* wall of the graveyard. "was fro/en, watching it in mute ama/ement, and it seemed to nod once, slowly, in mydirection...then " saw it turn and glide into the depths of the cemetery, disappearing at last into theshadows. /rael, coming to bid me farewell until ne$t time1 " thin* so...hell, " *now. " lifted my handin parting, a little smile on my face..." dont *now if #e saw, but " li*e to thin* #e did. Then " turnedand left, bac* to my car, my life, and the world of the living...for now.!

;ibby 6dwardsorth Aarolina

!" came across your e$cellent website while performing a search on the ngel of Death and "wanted to share my own personal encounters with you in the hopes of finding camaraderie and amutually enriching dialog. %y first encounter with the ngel &f Death was in 8LL2. %y husband of8I years had passed the great divide after a long battle with cancer. " had 0ust returned home fromthe first days wa*e and was standing in our master bedroom, lighting a devotional candle. ll of thesudden, a gentle bree/e stirred through the room. The candle flic*ered but remained lit, and whilein the cross bree/e " felt a sense of calm resignation wash over me. The peace and tran'uility "e$perienced during those seemingly endless moments erased the negative, grief based emotions


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which had imprisoned my soul for the past 2 days. " now *now that this was Deaths way ofassuring me that my husbands soul had gone to a better place, and that he did not die in actuality." visit my husbands so called- final resting place twice per wee* and never, during any of theseliterally hundreds of graveside so0ourns, have " not felt the presence of the ngel &f Death. "t hasbeen the faint sound " hear in the stirring of the nearby treesK it has been in the coolness in theearth beneath meK in the s'uirrel who passes by with a gentle ga/e or in the sweet smell of floral

essence. "n all of these stimuli, " feel the soft hand of Death, and " *now that he is indeed with me.Some may say this is all in my head, but " *now in my heart that these sensations have been andcontinue to be to this day- valid communications between my mortal self and the eternal and lovingentity *nown as Death. (ntil finding your website, however, " only had a vague *nowledge of myencounters, a gut feeling if you will. " have ;eilah Wendell and the staff of Westgate to than* forproviding me with a sense of direction through your wonderful website. " am truly indebted to youfor your printed wisdom.!

%arion +aileyDallas, TB

!"ts great to *now that " am not the only one out there that has seen him. " have seen him manytimes. &ne certain sitting " was sitting in my bed. %y girlfriend was asleep beside me. "t was hot all

day and night but normal for Te$as in 3uly. ll " could thin* about was that she had been really sic*for about a wee* and " was worried about her. The room was dar*, but " could still see everything inthe room, and out of a corner this dar* figure seemed to be floating in thin air. ;i*e " said " haveseen this many times but " was worried. about his presence because of my girlfriends condition. "yelled out ! go away! +ut then a whisper said to me, ! " am not here to hurt you nor to hurt her butshe has to come with me.! nd then my girlfriend wo*e up and as*ed, !Whats wrong1! " said,!nothing, 0ust go bac* to sleep!. fter she went to bed " tried to go to sleep but with the figure in thecorner it was hard but " eventually did. " wo*e up the ne$t day and loo*ed at her. She wasbreathless. She died 2992 3uly 85 and " was wondering if anyone would tal* to me about it.

le$ander +reifWhitesboro, Te$as

The purpose of The Azrael Project-is to put forth the word of the ngel of Death and thereby

con'uer fear through understanding. To ma*e people aware of the essential nature of Death, andto help human*ind see their universe through #is eyes in order to gain a macrocosmicunderstanding of both, ;ife and Death. To view the world from neither side of eternity, but ratherfrom the threshold between the dimensions of space and time. To reconcile ;ife with Death,re*indle precarnate memory, and replace fear with love.

the azrael project

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