Could This Be Proof Of Reincarnation?

One of the most convincing cases as proof of reincarnation is said to be that of the Pollock family in England. This is their story.

John and Florence Pollock, a Catholic married couple, lived in Hexham, Northumberland. They had two daughters Jacqueline, 6, and Joanna, 11. Life was good until tragedy struck.

Jacqueline and Joanna, along with a friend Anthony Layden, were walking to their local church when they were struck by a car, where the driver had lost control. All three of the children were killed instantly. The date was the 5th of May, 1957.

One year later Florence was pregnant. Doctors confirmed the pregnancy of a single child. John, however, disagreed. He believed in reincarnation, despite it being a mortal sin in Catholic eyes, and was convinced that Florence would have twins and that the souls of Jacqueline and Joanna would be reborn.

John was proved right and on the 4th of October 1958 Florence gave birth to twin girls, Gillian and Jennifer.

Jennifer was born with a thin white line on her forehead in exactly the same position as a wound her dead sister Jaqueline had on her head, following an accident on her bicycle. There was also a distinctive birth mark on her left hip, again identical to the one that Jacqueline had.

The family moved to Whitley Bay when the twins were just months old, but when they were three-and-a-half and they visited Hexam things got interesting. The twins were able to point out places they would never have seen before. Somehow they recognised ‘their’ school [i.e. Jacqueline and Joanna's school] and also the old family home as they drove past.

Strange things continued when Gillian and Jennifer were given Joanna and Jacqueline’s toy box. They were able to give the dolls their correct names.

Florence then saw her twins playing a disturbing game. Jennifer lay on the floor with her head in Gillian’s lap, pretending that she was dying. Her sister played her part by saying, “The blood’s coming out of your eyes. That’s where the car hit you.”

On another occasion the twins screamed out when they saw a stationary car with it’s engine ticking over. The girls were trembling and cried out, “The car! It’s coming to get us.”

John and Florence have said that at that time they had never discussed the accident with the twins.

As often happens with such cases, as Gillian and Jennifer approached the age of five their memories of any previous life dimmed and were finally lost.

On Google Books I came across European Cases of the Reincarnation Type by Ian Stevenson where he writes that the Pollock case, “… provides some of the strongest evidence known to me in favour of reincarnation.”

Stevenson mentions other similarities between the twins and their dead sisters such as:

• Their physiques correspond to those of Joanna and Jacqueline. Joanna had been somewhat slender and so was Gillian, Jacqueline was somewhat stocky and so was Jennifer.
• Joanna had a splay-footed gait and so had Gillian. Jacqueline and Jennifer had ordinary gaits
• Jacqueline held a pen or pencil in her fist instead of between her thumb and forefinger. Jennifer held her pen in the same way and continued to do so into her 20s.

I also read on Google Books Science and the Afterlife Experience For Immortality by Chris Carter that Ian Stevenson was still, “… in touch with the Pollock family until 1985 and by that time Gillian and Jennifer had grown up to become normal young women. Long before that they had completely forgotten the memories they had of previous lives and were mildly skeptical about whether or not reincarnation did occur. However, they didn’t challenge or deny the testimony of their parents.”

So, is this a convincing case for reincarnation?

Also See 67 Not Out Post:
10 Stories About Reincarnation