Some of the following are a sampling of previously published, true first person encounters with

Death that have appeared in The Azrael Project Newsletter over the past 25 years, along with
newer encounters that visitors to this website have shared. This was always the heart of the
newsletter, and the main reason for its inception and continuance. We are continually adding to this
page as encounters are submitted. To submit your encounter with Death for consideration for
inclusion on this page, you may use the following forum to post on Encounters With Death
Message Board or you may simply email us. Additional encounters with Death can be viewed on
the forum.

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

"I have had several episodes. However, most recently I experienced Him...last year. I am a nurse at
a large hospital in Salem, MA. One of my patients called me to her bedside to tell me she was
feeling "not quite right", and that she felt as if she was going to die. Up until that point the woman
was in good health and was only admitted for diagnostic exams. Slowly, the woman began to loose
consciousness and, in fact, started to die! All the time I was doing everything possible to regain her.
I had called in several people for help, and soon the room was filled with nurses and doctors. I
stood back from her bed by the doorway, giving the doctor a report of what transpired. I saw out of
the corner of my eye the other people in the room. But, standing at the foot of (her) bed was
someone dressed in black. I really didn't pay much attention to him because I was concentrating
more on the patient. The person dressed in black walked away from her bedside and started to

leave the room, and as I was standing in the doorway, I had to move for him to get out. I did so
saying, "Oh, excuse me." I felt a huge breeze as he brushed by me. I turned to the person next to
me and asked who that was who just left? This person said, "No one just left." I gave a description
of the person, but they still insisted that nobody just went out of the room. Just at that moment, the
patient rapidly regained consciousness. It was at that point I realized who that person was all
dressed in black."
B. Barraco
Salem, MA.

"About a year ago, I attended the funeral of an acquaintance of my husbands. I had no choice but
to bring my children (ages 5 and 7) with me to the graveside service. My husband thought it would
be a good idea anyway as they hadn't been exposed to the death of anyone at this age, not even a
family member. We were standing around the grave-site while people took turns eulogizing the
deceased. All of a sudden my five year old started walking off as if he saw something standing at
the foot of the grave. Everyone went silent as he walked up to a point, looked up and started
talking, as if to a real person, but I saw no one. It was an awkward situation, as I couldn't pull him
away from this spot. A bit frustrated, I asked him 'who are you talking to, anyway?' His reply
unnerved everyone, 'I'm talking to the real tall skinny man in the long black coat.' Of course, no
one else saw this, or at least, no one else admitted seeing this. After the service, I asked my son
what they talked about. His reply was, 'He didn't remember.' But, that he 'talked without moving his
lips.' I get a chill just thinking about this."
Joan Tendunde
Albuquerque, NM.

"I often take late night walks through a cemetery near my home. One night, a few weeks back... I
was sitting in a clearing surrounded by 7 foot yew and cypress. It's a very quiet and private spot far
from houses and street-lighting.... The bushes started to rustle. First, just a breeze, which quickly
grew into gusts of cool wind that seemed to come from beneath them. (Odd, because it was a
typically still, hot and muggy southern August). Suddenly, the air was filled with the scent of dying
Jasmine and earth, almost like after a heavy rain. Each time the wind would gust, a shadow would
pass over me. I had the feeling of many presences around me, almost in a circular fashion.
Suddenly, everything grew still again. There were no bird or cricket sounds like normal. It was
absolute silence. The shadows seemed to have sunk into the earth. I figured, well...that's it! Time to
head on home. So, I got up and started walking toward the main road. I could see my own shadow
now on the pavement in front of me, as the streetlights were plainly visible from here. There was
also a second shadow that seemed to almost "grow" out of my own until there were two, distinct
shadows. I turned to look behind me and saw no one. But, when I turned back around to face
forward, I saw the Angel of Death plain as day standing cross-armed before me about 10 feet away.
He was framed in dark ultraviolet. Quite a striking image, to say the least! A gust of very cold wind
came again from beneath my feet. I felt my hair blow upwards as I watched the spectre of Death
rise upward with the wind and disappear into the tall trees. I must have looked stupid standing there
with my mouth open. I collected myself and continued walking home. Every so often, I could feel
Him hovering over me. When I got home, I fell into a deep sleep under the shadow that hung over
my bed. I never felt so at peace as I had that night."
Laurence Kilmer
Jackson, MS.

"I had a very odd encounter with Death. For the past several months, my seven year old niece was
going on and on about a tall, black shadow that comes to her in the woods behind our house. My
family has always been very open and honest about things of a spiritual nature with the children.
So, when I asked her to tell me more about the "stranger", she immediately and nonchalantly
referred to her visitor as "the Angel of Dying". I asked her how she knew this. She told me that "the

angel told her so." She had been trying to tell us about "the angel" for quite a while now. But, as
usual, we adults are so caught up in the day to day, that we tend to ignore children's rambling about
"imaginary" friends. However, her persistence, and reading about other people's
encounters...spurred me to sit down with her and listen. I am more of a mother to her, as her real
mom passed away two years ago, so we are very, very close. She sat calmly and told me why the
angel "took" her mom away, and why she also had to leave soon. At first, I didn't understand. Later
that day, she came running up to me during dinner, grabbed my hand and literally pulled me from
my seat, insisting that her "angel" wanted to meet me. It was about 8:30 pm as we went out into the
yard. She told me to sit on the grass while she went into the woods to "get him". What I saw next
was absolutely incredible! She emerged from the woods in a swirl of leaves, floating about a foot off
the ground. She was skipping playfully on thin air and was hand in hand with a figure so dark that it
literally had no shadows. I froze for an instant as they came to where I sat. Every hair on my body
stood on end. My niece came behind me, putting her hand on my shoulder telling me not to be
afraid. She then took my hand and put it into "his". The next thing I remember, was my husband
hovering over me in the yard and a group of paramedic workers attending to my niece about three
feet away. She passed away that night from a brain hemorrhage. The whole event changed all of
our lives here. She still comes to visit, and my hand still tingles."
Rose Marie Cortenga
Laredo, TX.

"Death has been no stranger to me this year as I have lost a child (through miscarriage) and three
of my beloved cats. On one hot evening in July, I set up my altar in the south, over the mantle to
perform a protection spell for myself and our coven. After doing the ritual, I left the candle to burn
out. When I returned to check on it, the room was uncommonly cool for a July night in California,
also compared to the rest of the house! I walked to the mantle to look closely at the candle for a
while, and, as I did, was drawn to the window. I gazed out upon a seemingly normal, lovely night.
But, as I turned, I felt a cool breeze that seemed to pass through me. All the hair on my arms stood
straight up, and in the southeast corner of my room, loomed a black figure so tall it appeared to
bend forward as it reached higher than the ceiling. I'd never experienced such a thing before, and
literally the words that filled my mind were, "Oh, shit, it's the Grim Reaper!" and I quickly ran out of
the room. Yes, I know that's silly. I'm certain I would be found just as easily in the den...but? As I sat
then in contemplation, I was filled with laughter, for I felt so ridiculous for my behavior, but I also felt
very protected and I knew the spell I'd performed would succeed. (It did!) After this experience, I
began to feel a bit different about death and became more open to my dark side. Before, Death
was the enemy. I'd do all I could to prevent Its presence, for it was the "thief" that stole what I loved
and gave me grief. My views were changing...Also, it was at this point that the spirits began to
show themselves to me...Months passed, and it was now October and my coven and I were in the
midst of our All Hallows ritual...We sensed a "gate" opening to us through which many spirits came
and interacted with us...Then, all of a sudden He appeared at the doorway. His presence blocked
out everything else, taller and blacker than the night, hooded with a cloak or something that
seemingly floated behind Him. He walked out the "door" and "through" myself and a friend. You
see, my friend began to describe the exact sensations I was having physically at the same time
they were actually happening to me...Being filled with ice cold, electrical tingles from the base of
our spines to the tops of our heads. The sensations ceased for us both at the same time as well,
the exact moment He passed through completely. He walked over to our fire-pit, which was
reduced to embers by this time. He appeared to have a staff or stick as He stirred the embers with
it. He turned to look straight at me, but I saw no face, just shadow shrouded by His cloak, and said,
"Never fear me, for nothing is forever." and then He simply merged into the night and was gone,
and I wished He wasn't because I wanted to touch Him, embrace Him. I was filled with the most
deep feeling of peace I have ever experienced. I was sad that He was gone and tears fell from my
eyes. It was so hard for me to remain composed. When our ritual was over, we talked among
ourselves about our experiences...I have no fear of D/death at all anymore. I see that it is in fact
birth from one world to the next."
A.H.
Alhambra, CA.

"My encounter with Death wasn't directed at me. I was merely a bystander, who, for whatever
reason, was allowed to watch Death "take a soul". I live on the 8th floor of a large apartment
complex, and my living room window aligns exactly with my neighbor's bedroom window. Our
windows are about 8 feet apart and across from one another. Last summer, late one evening, it was
a particularly quiet night suddenly made even more silent. I was reading on my sofa directly under
the window, when all of a sudden the usual "night-sounds", i.e., crickets, birds, even traffic just
stopped. With my back to the window, I started to hear the sound of a low heart-beat, and then a
strong wind rushed down between our two buildings. The sound of the wind was distinctly like
huge, flapping wings and the wind grew so strong that it blew in the window and knocked over my
lamp. I got up, peered out the window and the air smelled like wet earth and dying flowers. On my
neighbor's window ledge was the most amazing dark shadow, crouching and looking in his window!
I watched as it "floated" into my neighbor's opened window. The heart-beat sound was now
pounding in my head to the point of giving me a headache. Inside my neighbor's room, all I could
see was a flash of blue light, very low and subdued...and the sound of the heart-beat stopped. I felt
suddenly strange, lightheaded, like all of the oxygen was taken out of the air. I fell back onto the
sofa, and again the scented wind whooshed into my window and was gone as quick as it came.
The night-sounds started up again immediately! The next thing I heard was my neighbor's family
scrambling and turning on lights, so I yelled out the window if everything was all right. I was
informed that their father was dead, so I rushed over to see if I could help in some way. When I
arrived in his room, I felt faint again and started to tell his sister some of what I saw and felt. She,
too, felt and heard similar things but saw nothing. As time went on and I got to talk to the whole
family, no one else heard or saw anything but us. I often wonder why I was privy to this. Anyway,
I've turned my sofa to face the window. It's much more interesting than anything on TV!"
Carl DePensio
Miami, FL.

"You know all the strange things you hear about the New York subway system? Well here's one
that I'm sure you'll like. I take the #1 train home every night from work, usually about 2 am. It's a
relatively short and speedy ride. The train was nearly deserted, and the car that I got into had only
one passenger. From the looks of him, I suspected that he was one of the homeless simply looking
for a place to keep warm as it's been a very cold winter up here. I sat at one end of the car, and he
at the other. I was reading a newspaper for a few minutes and then glanced up quickly. There was
another passenger sitting right next to him...but we hadn't stopped and no one else had entered the
car! He was the most gaunt, pale creature I ever saw. I couldn't help staring at him, but I don't think
he noticed me just then. His fingernails were blue-black, not painted, more like cyanotic. The whole
car began to smell of dying flowers and wet earth. It was weird. He touched the sleeping, homeless
man on the shoulder. He was obviously groggy, but he looked the strange man straight in the eyes
and broke into a smile and tears at the same time. Then, they both turned and looked straight at
me. I thought that I was going to keel over right there. An incredible cold ran up my spine and I
could feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I had to look away almost immediately, as
it was somehow extremely painful looking into the stranger's eyes. They seemed to be drawing me
in and my heart was pounding so fast, I felt as if I was going to pass out. Just then, the lights in the
car went out (as they frequently do). It was only for a moment or so. When they came back on, the
strange man was gone, and the other man was slumped over the side of the seat. I just knew that
he was dead. His eyes were staring into space and he had the most peaceful smile. The whole
event affected me deeply. I am both apprehensive and assured at the same time. That experience
taught me that Azrael is gentle, but harnesses an incredibly awesome energy of some type that
both frightens and attracts me at the same time. Sometimes now, I still see his eyes in the
darkness. I try to look into them and understand, but my body always reacts violently, as if it's ready
to shut down unless I turn away. The night is, indeed, "full of eyes"!"
Derek Cabriole
New York, NY.

"When I was 8 years old, the Angel of Death actually saved my life! I was ice-skating alone on a

pond when I fell through the ice. I couldn't find the opening and I was panicking and starting to pass
out from the cold water which was flooding my lungs. Suddenly, I felt something poking at me and I
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, I couldn't believe my eyes! I was terrified! I saw a hooded,
black-robed corpse. The stick that I was grabbing onto was actually the blunt end of a very large,
silvery scythe. The figure was very tall and very big. His face was that of a decomposed
corpse...like a skull, no eyes, just sockets. But, inside the eye-sockets were swirling whirlpools of
black and dimly glowing reds. A skeletal hand reached down to me and pulled me the rest of the
way out of the water. At first, I was more scared of the figure than of drowning. In fact, I though I
was dead. The odor of death was everywhere, but somehow it didn't bother me at all. In fact, for
some reason, it seemed to comfort me. Azrael put his skeletal hand on my head and gently stroked
my wet hair and spoke to me saying, "Do not fear, little one, I'm here to protect you, it's not yet your
time." Suddenly, I felt sleepy, probably from hypothermia, and I struggled to keep my eyes open but
couldn't. A few moments later, I awoke from my brief sleep with a feeling of incredible warmth that
swept through my entire body. I opened my eyes again, and Azrael was gone, but I still felt His
presence very strongly, and I was no longer afraid of death. The warmth stayed with me the entire
mile long walk back home despite the fact that it was only about 14 degrees outside. I have felt
very close to the Angel of Death since that day. Death actually saved my life, and I have felt His
presence with me ever since."
Dennis Wardrop
Hagerstown, MD.

"For as long as I can remember, I have felt a strong affinity for the "Death energy". I come from a
very large family and have attended the wakes of many relatives. Coming from a traditional IrishCatholic background, all of our funeral rites are lavish in pomp and circumstance. From the age of
6, my first wake, I can remember the presence of a man who came to the service alone, spoke to
no one, but simply sat in the background and "observed". I remember asking my dad, "Who is that
man?"He'd simply say, "What man?" He couldn't see him. It seemed that my aunt and I were the
only ones that could ever see him, and she never wanted to talk about it. He's been at every wake
thus far. Most of our family wakes were held at a local tavern, and split between there, the funeral
home, and our family home. The "mystery man" would sit at the end of the bar, in the shadows, just
staring at everyone. I remember thinking how "beautiful" he was when I was younger, with pale,
marble-like skin, extremely tall with incredibly dark eyes that seemed to pierce right through your
soul. But, his clothes were always "wrong"...out of time, as it were...as he seemed. A couple of
times, he raised his glass to me as if to make a toast, then he'd smile...Finally, when I was about
17, I decided it was time to "confront" this mystery man. Oddly enough, it was at the wake of my
aunt, the only other person who actually saw him as I did. He was at his usual place at the end of
the bar when I walked up to him. I stopped about 5 feet from where he sat, not out of choice, but
because my body just locked up as if I suddenly became paralyzed. In the space of that last step, I
seemed to have stepped out of time. The voices in the background faded to a faint whisper and
everything sounded like it was coming through a long tube. Without thinking, I blurted out, "Why are
you here?" He simply turned toward me and said with a smile, "Very good question, son...very
good. Allow me to turn it back on you!" He laughed momentarily and his face became a skull for a
split second! The next thing I remember, is my dad tapping me on the shoulder, "Who are you
talking to?" he asked, kind of annoyed. I just looked at him and somehowknew that from that day
forward I wasn't the same. I looked into my father's eyes and literally "saw" his death. Every detail
that happened exactly to a tee 7 months after my aunt died. "He" was there at my father's wake as
well. I think that He shall always be "with me". I'm not, as of yet certain as to why, but I'm learning
fast via the new sensations He has gifted me with."
Carl McCallum
Reston, VA.

"Ten years ago, while I was working the aptly named "graveyard shift" at a local 24 hour radio
station, I had several bizarre encounters with a being in a long black, hooded robe. I would see this
being, whom I immediately thought resembled the "ghost of christmas future" standing down a

hallway near the major control room. Several encounters occurred in the summer and left a feeling
of ice-box cold in their wake! Strangely, I felt no terror, just immense curiosity, and, very alien to me
then, a longing to speak with this figure, who never spoke to me. I never saw its face, though the
hands appeared skeletal. These appearances came some months after my mother died of cancer
and my grandfather of complications from a stroke. Although I was not there when my mother died,
I had felt intense guilt...up until I had the encounters with the entity. Since then, I have replaced that
guilt with simple regret that I could not have been there to share in the "passing over" experience,
as I had done with my grandfather. I saw such a look of happiness and relief on his face after much
suffering. I can never again truly ever fear Death."
Carl Nicastro
Pottsville, PA.

"I am a hospice care-giver mostly to AIDS patients and others on the final stages of terminal illness.
I had become quite close to one patient in particular, and we would often have length discussions
about all things spiritual during his lucid moments. Early on the morning of his death, I had come
into his room as I'd done for the 4 months he was with us, at sunrise to open the blinds as per his
request. The blinds were an opaque white, already allowing the bright morning sun to light the room
for normal sight. As I walked over to the window, I saw a distinctly female figure sitting next to him
on the bed. I heard the words, "Please leave the blinds closed." in a low, multilayered voice. Her
lips, however, never moved. In the existing room light, her pale, thin face was skeletal on one side,
and somewhat normal on the other, except for the darkness of her eyes and her sunken
cheekbones. I just stood there in awe as she placed her spiderlike hand over his heart, and he
opened his eyes. Upon seeing me first, he smiled and said "Good Morning, Joan..." Then, he
calmly noticed Her, his smile broadened. She bent down to kiss him and pulled her hand down
firmly on his chest. Again, he looked over to me and said, "Isn't She beautiful...how can anyone be
afraid of Death." I felt tears welling up in my eyes and wanted to rush over and take his other hand,
but for whatever reason, I was paralyzed where I stood. It was weird. I could actually see the life
force draining out of him, coming out of his finger tips into hers. Almost immediately his heart
monitor went dead and the alarm sounded. I turned for only a brief second toward the door as
others were rushing in. When I turned back, she was gone. Stan, my patient, was finally at peace
and all I could do was smile back at his corpse. Ever since that particular incident, the work I do
here has become even more important than I had ever dreamed. I keep hoping to "catch" Her/Him
again and taste a bit of the sweetness Stan did that morning."
Joan Reisling
San Francisco, CA.

"While my wife of 30 years lay on her death-bed after a year long battle with cancer, I knew it was
only a matter of hours before she left us for good. The room was dim, except for a night-lamp and a
candle by her bedside. I sat in a chair beside her, holding her thin, fragile hand in mine. For the
passed week, she was unable to readily recognize me and respond to her surroundings due to the
intense medication. Suddenly she struggled to sit up in bed, and for the first time in weeks, fully
focused her eyes upon something at the foot of the bed. Still holding her hand, I saw it too! An
immense darkness that formed into a vaguely humanoid shape right before our eyes. At that
moment, the air in the room grew cold and hard to breathe, like all the oxygen had been sucked
from the room. My wife turned to me and strained to whisper, 'He's come for me, Donny. I want to
go now...It's time to let go.' I sat there crying, still holding her hand as she stared as if pleading to
me. I kissed her, and when I pulled back, the figure was on the other side of the bed holding her
other hand in what I could only describe as long, misty tendrils. Then, I saw something even
stranger. As she was fading, a weird illuminated, bluish fog seemed to frame the dark figure and it
grew brighter the more she faded away. I kept looking at her, and looking at It, there seemed to be
some kind of energy exchange going on. Everytime the figure's illumination grew brighter, her pain
seemed to lessen until her hand went limp in mine and she lay there, eyes open and fixed on the
darkness. The glow behind it was gone. I watched the darkness that was once form atomize into a
trailing mist that just went back into the shadows of the room. My wife lay dead on the bed, staring
and smiling at nothing in particular. She looked happy again- and I knew somehow that she had

continued and would always be with me. Death is not to be feared, nor thought of as an unmerciful
persona. It is people's misunderstanding of Death's role in Life that is misunderstood. Until one has
walked mine and my wife's path, this may be hard to conceive. Death does not steal life away like a
'thief in the night', Death relieves us of a flesh worn, torn and weary from the strains of living in a
disposable shell,"
Donald Brousard
Pensacola, FL.

"My first conscious memory was of a knocking in the summer of my thirteenth year. I was staying at
my aunt and uncle's house for awhile during vacation. I was lying in bed and contemplating various
things when I heard a distinct knock on my door. I got up and opened the door, but no one was
outside the door or in the hall. I went to my relatives room but they were asleep. I didn't think of the
knock for awhile, but a week after I returned home my uncle was diagnosed with fatal lung cancer,
and subsequently died. The summer after that, I went back to that house with my mother. Again, I
was lying in my bed, but in a different bedroom, contemplating, when I heard a distinct knock on the
closed door. I remembered in an instant what had happened before, and I refused to open the door.
I told my mother about the knocking, and my suspicions, and she all but laughed at me out loud. A
week later I was travelling to the funeral of another relative.
After I returned home, I thought about what had happened and I thought that maybe the knocking
only happened in my aunt's house, but I was proved wrong when I heard another knock at my door
at home. A relative died shortly after. Nothing happened after that for about six months, no one died
either, until I heard another knock, which really frightened me. A friend of mine's death occurred a
week later. I noticed then that the way I reacted to the person's death was related to the way I had
reacted to the "knock" itself. More recently, I had broken up with a boyfriend because he claimed I
had too much supernatural and physical "crap" in my life. I met a new guy, and I also heard a
knock. I was very anxious about the knock and I repeatedly questioned it. A friend of my mother's
was diagnosed with cancer. Sometime later, I heard another knock so loud that it shook the couch I
was on. I was startled and fell on to the floor, but my cat stood shaking and staring at the door.
Shortly thereafter, my cat became sick and was eventually diagnosed with fatal kidney tumors. His
death affected me exactly as the knock had, and I was so scared that I couldn't sleep alone
anymore because of the sounds I heard. After awhile everything calmed down. The next time I
heard a knock was a Sunday, I was standing next to the door. I turned and had the feeling of
"seeing" something that wasn't actually visible. I was startled by the closeness I had felt to the
"knocker-er". I was greeted at church by a man from the choir. I shook his hand and looked into his
eyes when he smiled and said hello. A week later he was dead. I started attending a new college
and I met a girl in my class who also heard the knocking. She also had a "guardian presence"
surrounding her. My "guardian", as he's been called ,is male, tall and thin and anemically pale, has
long black hair, and favors wearing a black cloak and hood lined with red. He said he was alive
once and then his name had been James. He had blondish hair but his "residual spiritual image",
as I've heard it called, has black hair. He likes to be called "Vincent Thanatos". I've never seen him
looking three dimensional, but I'll usually become aware of his presence when I blink, I'll see an
image of him standing a little ways away. Sometimes it seems to be happening very slowly. When
he talks it's just a voice that's like something whispering in my ear."
Nephthys Theoda
Canada

"It was my 10th birthday as I was swimming in the sea, I got really far from shore and I was getting
tired. I felt myself falling in the abyss and all the sounds stopped. Suddenly, a man pulled me up
and took me to the shore. When I got up, there was no one there! I thanked the man that saved
me, even though he was gone, because I felt his presence all around. I don't know who he was, but
today it's clear to me; Angel of Death."
Dovus Operior
Greece

"Feb. 7 2001 was the day it happened I know because it was not just a week ago. Two months prior
to this date my Dear Grandfather Virgil was told he had Lung Cancer. This last month or so really
hit him hard. Over the next few weeks leading up to his death I stayed a lot at his house, helping
take care of him and such. In the morning I would take a walk through the 20 acres of land that we
had just bought to watch the sun come up... I remember very well coming back from the walks and
seeing a man dressed in a long black robe leave the house. I did not think much of it at the time.
Still this did seem too real and troubled me. Finally after being sick and tired of what I saw thinking I
was making the whole thing up I asked my grandfather who the man was. When he told me that no
one came to the house either time I got chills up and down my spine. then it had occurred to me
where I had seen him once before. It was in July of last year when we bought the house. That
same man was standing on the edge of the land we were going to buy. A little scared and troubled I
left to go back home leaving Grandpa in the care of my Aunt. I got the call two days later that
Grandpa was back in the hospital. I rushed over there as fast as I could. When I got to his room, he
looked fine. I took care of him for a few hours and decided he was stable enough for me to go back
home and get some sleep. Walking out of the hospital with my Father next to me, I told him what
had happened. He just looked at me like I was crazy. Still, something was not right. I asked him
how long he gave our grandpa and he said maybe a week at most. Searching my mind, I thought
about all that happened and for some reason the words "three days" popped into my head. Sure
enough I marked it on the calendar, and in three days he was gone. I have gone back to the 20
acres since the funeral and never once have I seen that black clothed man around our land So that
was my encounter with Death. I know it was him... and he is still on our land... but I have yet to see
him again."
The Silverwolf

"Let me begin with my most recent encounter (September 25, 2000 to us humans) and work my
way backwards. I'm good friends with my next door neighbor, and our mutual friend took her own
life on September 2. The problem is that he was and is deeply in love with the departed and
blamed her death on the inconsideration of yet another party in England. Follow me so far? This
past weekend, he was inconsolable. Knowing my, er, relationship with Azrael (as much as an
outsider can know, anyway), he came to me and asked for my/Our help. His question was simple-did this Englishman push our friend to suicide before her time? I met Azrael in the sanctuary I have
built for that purpose. Azrael takes many forms in His presence, from the archetypal Reaper to a
beautiful winged woman. On this day, Azrael appeared to me as a tall, thin, white-skinned young
man. His eyes which never change--always the color and sparkle of dark amethysts--seemed to
burn even more brightly than usual. He knew what I would ask before I spoke a word--of course He
did, He knows my thoughts. Laying His hand on my brow--the fingers felt bony but held a strange
warmth, like when the skin has gone beyond frostbite--He told me to remember my lessons, and
that there were no accidents in this universe. If my friend took her own life, then that was her
appointed time to leave this flesh. Azrael left me not only with that knowledge, but with the ability to
persuade my neighbor friend to this, Azrael's truth. So I went over to my friend's house and shared
with him the essentials of my meeting with Azrael. Of course things happened and thoughts passed
between us which cannot be captured in words, nor are they essential to this tale. I touched my
friend's brow in much the way Azrael had touched my own. In that moment, calm and peace
flooded his being. I felt him relax under my hand and I knew he had accepted what I had told him.
For the first time since the suicide, I saw him smile. I don't know how this gels with other
experiences people have had with Azrael, but I want to thank Azrael with all that I am for helping
me bring solace and comfort to a very good man. Now will he be able to get on with the business of
living."
Raven Corvus

"I left my house at approximately 9:30, and drove to the cemetery. Well, actually, I drove to the old
mill that is just down the road from the cemetery, and I parked there, behind the mill where no one
would see my car. Then I walked the rest of the way. The cemetery was completely dark...there are

no security lights or street lights nearby, and the gates were closed but not locked. This was my first
time in this cemetery alone at night...I'd been there before with friends after dark, but never alone. I
found my way to the crypt without too many problems, and once I had reached it I just stood there
for several minutes, trying to calm the rapid beating of my heart. I realized now that I was
terrified...not of the cemetery itself, but of what I was going to do. It's not that I was afraid of a body
or Him or any such nonsense...it was more that I seemed to sense that I was standing on the
threshold of something vast, and once I had opened the crypt there would be no turning back. The
night was still...but then suddenly a gentle breeze brushed by me, cool on my skin and scented of
damp earth. I remembered everything I had read here about others smelling that same scent, and I
shivered a little. Could it be Him? Well, if it was...wouldn't do to keep Him waiting, right? I clenched
my teeth, swallowed hard, and grasped the side of the crypt slab...lifting it and shoving it forward
with all my might.
Gods, I had no idea how heavy those damn things are! It made a gritty, scraping sound as it shifted
on the brick sides of the crypt, and I felt something in my shoulder creak and make a twinging
sound...then quite suddenly the whole slab was sliding off and I was scrabbling madly to keep it
from slamming into the ground on the other side and breaking into a thousand pieces. It proved
impossible for me to catch it...it slid from my grasp and thudded to the grass, but luckily it landed
intact. I breathed a sigh of relief...I had been so worried about the slab that I forgot to look inside
and see what I had "found," but when I finally did, my breath caught in my throat and I felt my eyes
get all watery. It WAS a body, or what was left of it. My eyes had adjusted well enough to the
darkness to make out a shrouded form lying in the crypt, wrapped in a light-colored cloth. There
was dirt in there, too. I don't know how or why it was there, but it had filled in the crypt about halfway up the body, leaving only the top half fully exposed. I reached out with a shaky hand and gently
stroked the shroud. It was rough and a little stiff to the touch, and it made a soft, crunchy sound as I
ran my fingers along it. I frowned a little...some of the fabric came apart as I touched it, but age will
do that, I guess. I dimly realized that all my fear was gone. I reached up and gently tugged at the
fabric covering the face, and it held together and pulled open easily in my hands. My excitement
grew, forming a small, delightful knot in my stomach, and then, all of a sudden and with no fanfare,
I pushed aside the dusty coverings and saw the skull. My heart began to pound. It was so beautiful!
I'd never seen a real human skull before in real life, and I couldn't believe I was seeing one now. It
appeared to be a brownish color, which surprised me a little...all the pictures I'd seen of skeletons
show gleaming white bones, but this was more brown than white, by a long shot. Something told
me that this had been a man. I don't know how I knew, I just did...and I brushed my fingers against
his forehead gently. I was surprised again, the bones were only mildly cool, instead of the chilling
cold you hear people talk about. I reached down and started pulling the rest of the shroud free. It
took me awhile, because I didn't want to tear it, so I had to work slowly and with a great deal of
care. There were three knots, I soon discovered, tied around the body, at the neck, what would
have been his waist, and the ankles. The knots were made with fabric, more of the same that
covered him, and unfortunately as I worked on the knots the fragile material came apart in my
hands. Normally I would be horrified by this, but somehow I had the feeling that it was okay. I was
meant to see this body, and as long as I showed it reverence it would be all right. Once again, I just
knew it.
My excitement was growing and growing, and soon I had the shroud free and I was able to peel it
carefully away from the remains within. Mostly just his bones were there, and the crumpled remains
of 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. If I had known this, I
probably could have simply reached under him and gently freed the shroud from behind. I didn't
mind, though, I let my eyes roam lovingly down the long length of him, peeping through the tatters
of his clothing, and then I dared to stroke him gently with my hands, allowing my fingers to caress
the coolness of his legs, his arms. A few times my skin would brush over bits of clinging
matter...flesh, I suppose, dried and crackly beneath my hands. I could have stayed like that for
hours, simply touching him all over, but suddenly the wind sprang up. It began whipping at my
clothes, and I felt a chill steal over me as I looked around the cemetery. There was a tree not too far
from where I knelt beside the crypt, its branches began to toss, and then there was a rumble of
thunder overhead. Writing this now, I know how this sounds. I actually thought to myself as lightning
flashed, illuminating the stones around me, that this was beginning to look like something out of a
horror movie. That thought made me laugh a little to myself, but then a few small drops of rain
sprinkled me, and I realized that if I wanted to do anything else, I'd better do it now, before the
storm truly arrived and all hell broke loose. I carefully crawled inside the crypt. I'm a rather petite

person, so there was plenty of room for both me and him, and I snuggled down beside him and put
my arms around his body. The bones were loose feeling, and they shifted under my touch, and I
can remember feeling a little surge of fear coupled with excitement at the thought that they might
move on their own. The shroud made more crunchy sounds as I wriggled, getting comfortable on
the warm earth beneath our bodies, and then I laid my head next to his and closed my eyes.
For the longest time (it seemed to me), nothing happened. The storm continued to grow louder, and
the wind picked up in intensity. I was shielded, for the most part, from the wind by the sides of the
crypt, but I could still hear it hissing through the leaves above my head. I gently slid my hand down
his body and tried to entwine my fingers with his, but apparently his decomposition made that
impossible. When I lifted his arm, the fingers didn't come with it, I gently replaced his arm without
opening my eyes, and I let my hand rest on his ribcage instead. And that was when it happened. I
gradually noticed that the storm seemed to be getting farther away, yet the flashes of lightning
outside my closed eyelids were as bright as ever. It was more like the sound was falling away...or I
was falling away. In fact, that's what it felt like...like I was falling away, but there was no fear and no
sense of vertigo or anything like that. That's when I felt the bones move again, and this time it
wasn't me that had moved them. My heart began to pound faster. I could hear it throbbing in my
ears, but it was as if I was paralyzed. I couldn't move, although I felt so comfortable and drowsily
warm that I must admit I didn't try very hard. I had the feeling that if I wanted to escape, I could, but
I certainly didn't want to! It felt as if the bones themselves were growing warmer, but I couldn't feel
my own body anymore...and then I felt a shift, and the skull gently turned and laid itself against my
head it the most tender manner. I was falling, falling...the sounds of the storm were gone, and all I
could hear was the sound of wind rushing in my ears. Something caught me. I fell away from the
world, and then something caught me up and I was flying. My eyes were still tightly closed, and I
had the sensation of warm, soft darkness surrounding me, but a cold wind on my face, rushing fast
and nearly taking my breath away. I heard a voice, deep, but soothing, tell me, "Open your eyes
and see, child."
I opened my eyes slowly, and I saw that I was enfolded in the hugest black wings imaginable. They
wrapped me up like a blanket, and only my face peeked through. I was flying through darkness, the
only light seeming to come from me and my mysterious flying companion. The light was pale and of
a bluish, silvery cast, and cold. The wind blowing in my face was cold. We were flying at an
incredible speed, and I could feel strong arms encircling my body. I was being held in someone's
arms as we flew, and I strained to turn my head to look above me and see who it was.
If you're reading this, I'm sure you already know exactly who was carrying me, but I must admit that
it came as a bit of a nasty shock to me. We've all seen pictures of Death, in all his many forms,
especially as the Reaper...but it is one thing to see an inanimate picture of Him. It is quite another
to actually see Him...for real. All logic tells us that skeletons aren't supposed to move, dammit...and
here was a grinning skull inclining its head towards mine, looking straight through me with its
empty, glowing eye sockets. I think I yelped a little, and I actually think he chuckled a little at me. It
was His voice I had heard, and He spoke to me again without moving his mouth. "You called me,
child, and I have come," He said. "Why do you fear?"
I couldn't answer at first, I was too enthralled by his eyes. I can remember thinking, over and over
again..."Leilah was right! She was right...they ARE amethyst!"...but finally I swallowed hard and
answered Him. "I guess...deep down inside, I didn't think you'd come, or that you were really real."
"And now I have come," he said again. "Do you regret calling me?"
I had the strangest feeling He already knew the answer to this, but I think He wanted to hear me
say it aloud. "No...I'm not afraid," I said, quite truthfully. "Just startled, I guess." I think He chuckled
again, and suddenly I felt quite at peace and comfortable. I turned back around, then snuggled
deeper into the soft, sweet-smelling feathers of His wings. As we flew through the endless
darkness, I closed my eyes and relaxed, feeling as if He were gently opening my mind, looking
inside and probing it curiously. I was vaguely surprised at how I felt. I've always had a sexual
fascination with Death, and I won't deny that I've harbored thoughts of a tryst with Death, but now
that I was actually here, with Him for real, my feelings weren't like that at all. It was more like...a
father and daughter sort of thing, I think. That feeling, more than anything, was what convinced me
that this was all real, and not just the product of my imagination. It was like being a small child
again, safe and warm within the arms of a father. I could sense His love and protectiveness of me,
covering me and enfolding me securely, and I suddenly realized that I wanted nothing more than to
stay here in his winged embrace forever, without another care in the world.

I don't know how long we flew...I don't think time has much meaning when you're with Him, but far
sooner than I would have liked, I could feel His embrace getting fainter and more ethereal. I opened
my eyes...the feathers around me were growing more indistinct, like the fading of a ghost, and I
squeezed my eyes shut again. I think I started to cry...after such incredible peace and security, I
didn't want to go back. No no no...but then I felt a cold hand on my cheek, kissing my skin with His
fingertips. "I don't want to go back," I said miserably.
"I know...but you must. Dawn approaches in your world...and the living cannot stay in mine."
"But..." I began hopefully.
"No, it is time for you to go back," He said. "But I will always be here, waiting for your return." He
was growing fainter and fainter, His voice echoing in my ears dimly. "Visit me often," He said finally,
His voice a mere whisper. "You are always welcome."
I opened my eyes again and...I'll be damned...dawn was approaching, just like He said. I had been
(at least in body, anyway) in the crypt all night. The storm was over, and although it was still quite
dark, I could see a pale lightening in the sky to the east, and I knew it was time I got my ass home.
I looked over at my silent companion, and noted with a little shiver that he had moved during the
night. Instead of on his back as he had been when I first curled up beside him, he was now on his
side facing me, his skull resting against my head like a father tenderly holding his child. My throat
felt a little tight, and I felt like crying again...I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Azrael had
heard my call, and come. And now, with the dawn, He was gone.
I lifted my head and gently kissed the skull, then eased the bones back over to the position they
had been in originally. Climbing out of the crypt was a chore, I was stiff and sore all over, but I
stumbled out as gracefully as I could. I knelt down again, the dampness of the grass soaking
through my jeans, and carefully covered him once more in the remains of his shroud. I also made a
mental note to return later, at night, with another blanket or cloth of some sort so I could cover him
again properly. Getting the slab back on was a pain in the ass. I fell in the mud once or twice,
scrabbling in the dirt with my toes trying to get some purchase to lift it with. I finally managed to
rock it up the side of the crypt in one piece, and once it was actually over the top edge, sliding it
back into place wasn't too terribly difficult. I checked all the way around to make sure it was even,
and then, like a whisper in my mind, something told me to see about getting some brickmason's
mortar and filling in the sides. I knew that this way, at least, was not meant for me again. Somehow
I knew there would be other nights like this, but not here. This crypt was closed to me now.
I stood up and stretched, my bones popping, and then I started off for the gates and my car. It was
then that I noticed the huge puddles everywhere...it had apparently poured rain that night, yet,
mysteriously, my skeletal companion and I had remained perfectly dry within his crypt. It was just
one more thing to confirm the reality of what had happened...I felt another little chill up my spine as
I slid through the gates and closed them quietly behind me. I started off down the dirt path, back to
the mill and my car, but something stopped me. I turned for one last look back at the marvelous
gloom of the cemetery, and something was there, watching me. My heart jumped a little, it was a
huge black figure, looming in the pre-dawn darkness behind the low brick wall of the graveyard. I
was frozen, watching it in mute amazement, and it seemed to nod once, slowly, in my
direction...then I saw it turn and glide into the depths of the cemetery, disappearing at last into the
shadows. Azrael, coming to bid me farewell until next time? I think so...hell, I know. I lifted my hand
in parting, a little smile on my face...I don't know if He saw, but I like to think He did. Then I turned
and left, back to my car, my life, and the world of the living...for now."
Libby Edwards
North Carolina

"I came across your excellent website while performing a search on the 'Angel of Death' and I
wanted to share my own personal encounters with you in the hopes of finding camaraderie and a
mutually enriching dialog. My first encounter with the Angel Of Death was in 1992. My husband of
14 years had passed the great divide after a long battle with cancer. I had just returned home from
the first day's wake and was standing in our master bedroom, lighting a devotional candle. All of the
sudden, a gentle breeze stirred through the room. The candle flickered but remained lit, and while
in the cross breeze I felt a sense of calm resignation wash over me. The peace and tranquility I
experienced during those seemingly endless moments erased the negative, 'grief' based emotions

which had imprisoned my soul for the past 2 days. I now know that this was Death's way of
assuring me that my husband's soul had gone to a better place, and that he did not 'die' in actuality.
I visit my husband's (so called) final resting place twice per week and never, during any of these
literally hundreds of graveside sojourns, have I not felt the presence of the Angel Of Death. It has
been the faint sound I hear in the stirring of the nearby trees; it has been in the coolness in the
earth beneath me; in the squirrel who passes by with a gentle gaze or in the sweet smell of floral
essence. In all of these stimuli, I feel the soft hand of Death, and I know that he is indeed with me.
Some may say this is all 'in my head', but I know in my heart that these sensations have been (and
continue to be to this day) valid communications between my mortal self and the eternal and loving
entity known as Death. Until finding your website, however, I only had a vague knowledge of my
encounters, a 'gut feeling' if you will. I have Leilah Wendell and the staff of Westgate to thank for
providing me with a sense of direction through your wonderful website. I am truly indebted to you
for your printed wisdom."
Marion Bailey
Dallas, TX

"It's great to know that I am not the only one out there that has seen him. I have seen him many
times. One certain sitting I was sitting in my bed. My girlfriend was asleep beside me. It was hot all
day and night but normal for Texas in July. All I could think about was that she had been really sick
for about a week and I was worried about her. The room was dark, but I could still see everything in
the room, and out of a corner this dark figure seemed to be floating in thin air. Like I said I have
seen this many times but I was worried. about his presence because of my girlfriend's condition. I
yelled out " go away" But then a whisper said to me, " I am not here to hurt you nor to hurt her but
she has to come with me." And then my girlfriend woke up and asked, "What's wrong?" I said,
"nothing, just go back to sleep". After she went to bed I tried to go to sleep but with the figure in the
corner it was hard but I eventually did. I woke up the next day and looked at her. She was
breathless. She died 2002 July 15 and I was wondering if anyone would talk to me about it.
Alexander Breif
Whitesboro, Texas
The purpose of The Azrael Project is to put forth the word of the Angel of Death and thereby
conquer fear through understanding. To make people aware of the essential nature of Death, and
to help humankind see their universe through His eyes in order to gain a macrocosmic
understanding of both, Life and Death. To view the world from neither side of eternity, but rather
from the threshold between the dimensions of space and time. To reconcile Life with Death,
rekindle precarnate memory, and replace fear with love.