Definition: Bridey Murphy is used by many people as an example of a verified paranormal event, namely reincarnation. The situation involved a Colorado housewife, Virginia Tighe, who in 1952 began to claim under hypnosis that she had lived a previous life in Ireland as Bridey Murphy, born in 1806. Murphy did exist, and Tighe was able to relate stories of Murphy's life which Tighe could not possibly known on her own.
What believers neglect to mention is the fact that a natural explanation for the entire affair was quickly discovered. In fact, there were good reasons for Tighe to know all of that information - as a little girl she lived across the street from Murphy in Chicago. At the time, Tighe spent hours with Murphy, listening to fascinating stories about Murphy's life back in Ireland. Under hypnosis, Tighe remembered these tales and added the element of having lived them herself. Clearly, because the two were alive at the same time, one could not be a reincarnation of the other. Despite this, believers in reincarnation will still bring up this case as if it signified something important - but all it signifies is people's willingness to believe anything which suggests that death isn't really final.
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