How Derived: Past Life Memories in Childhood, Spirit Being Guidance, Similarities in Appearance and Behavior
Researcher: Carmelo Samona, MD
From: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, by Ian Stevenson, MD
Article by Walter Semkiw, MD from Born Again: Reincarnation Cases Involving Evidence of Past Lives with Xenoglossy Cases Researched by Ian Stevenson
Alessandrina Dies of Meningitis
Camelo Samona was a medical physician in Palermo, Italy, who in 1911 published a report regarding a reincarnation case involving his daughter, Alessandrina. Carmelo’s wife’s name was Adele and in addition to their daughter, they had three sons.
Alessandrina contracted meningitis at the age of about 5 and she died on March 15, 1910.
From the Spirit Realm, Alessandrina Communicates through a Dream
Three days after Alessandrina’s death, her mother, Adele, had a dream of her dead daughter who said.
“Mother, do not cry, I have not left you, only withdrawn. Look! I am going to become small like this.” In the dream, Alessandria then made a gesture to indicate the size of a baby. She then said, “You will have to suffer again for me.” (1)
As a Spirit, Alessandrina Knocks on the Door
Three days later, Adele had the same dream. A few days after these dreams, Camelo and Adele both heard three loud knocks at their door. Their three sons also heard the knocks. The family opened the door, but no one was there.
On April 10, 1910, less than a month after Alessandrina had died, Adele realized she was pregnant. Due to the dreams and the knocks on the door, Camelo and Adele decided to participate in séances, hoping to better understand what was going on.
Alessandrina Communicates from the Spirit World
On May 4, 1910, Camelo and Adele participated in a mediumistic seance. In these sessions, a medium would pass on information from deceased individuals, souls in the spirit world, to the human beings who participated in the séance. Often times, deceased relatives of participants would communicate through the medium.
In a seance, Alessandrina came through and said that she had caused the there knocks on the door to draw attention to herself. She told her parents that she was coming back and that she would be born before Christmas. She said she would be very similar to before. She repeatedly said that she wanted all her family and friends to know that she was returning. Alessandrina said this so many times that Carmelo found it annoying.
In the seances, Adele and Camelo were also told that a second soul was around them and that this soul would be born with Alessandrina. In other words, Adele would have twins.
Through the medium, Alessandrina also told Adele and Camelo that after the third month of pregnancy, Alessandrina would not be able to communicate through the séances as she would be more attached to matter and as a result, would be sleeping.
Prophecies Come True & Reincarnation with Physical Resemblance
In August 1910, an obstetrician determined that Adele was indeed pregnant with twins. On November 22, 1910, twin girls were born. Adele and Camelo immediately realized that one of the girls bore an uncanny resemblance to Alessandrina. Due to the physical resemblance, they also called this girl Alessandrina, who we will refer to as Alessandrina 2. They named the other fraternal twin girl Maria. We will refer to the deceased daughter as Alessandrina 1.
Adele and Camelo noted marked similarities in appearance and behavior between Alessandrina 1 and 2, which contrasted with the appearance and behavior of Maria. When the girls where two and a half years old, Camelo published a report outlining these similarities and differences. They include the following.
Alessandrina 1 & 2 Have the Same Personality Traits & Reincarnation Phobias of Loud Noises & Barbers
At birth, Alessandrina 1 and 2 both had redness in the left eye, a rash called seborrhea behind the right ear and slight facial asymmetry. Maria did not have these features.
As toddlers, Alessandrina 1 and 2 were both quiet and liked to sit quietly in their mother’s lap. They didn’t like to play with toys, but they did like to play with other children. Maria, in contrast, was restless and liked to be on her own, playing with toys.
Alessandrina 1 and 2 had phobias of loud noises and of barbers, and they both disliked any cheese. They liked to fold and smooth clothing and cloth, such as sheets and towels. They both liked to play with shoes and put adult shoes on. Maria didn’t have phobias of noise or barbers and she liked cheese. She didn’t like to fold cloth or play with shoes.
Alessandrina 1 and 2 tended to speak in the third person. When fearful, they would say, “Alessandrina is afraid. (2) They also like to create pet names. For example, Aunt Cateria became Caterana. (3). They were both left handed, became interested in spiritual matters, but avoided housework.
Maria, in contrast, did not speak in the third person, didn’t modify names, was right-handed (like all the other family members) and wasn’t interested in spiritual affairs, but she did like housekeeping.
Photographs Confirm Alessandrina 1 & 2 Reincarnation Resemblance
In his report, Camelo published photos comparing Alessandrina 1 when she was almost 4 years old to Alessandrina 2 and Maria when the twins were 2 years old. The images showed that indeed, Alessandrina 1 and 2 both had the same facial asymmetry, in that the left eye was significantly closer to the midline than the right. The folds of the eyelids were similarly asymmetric. Adele thought that in physical appearance, Alessandrina 2 matched Alessandrina 1 “perfectly,” except that 1 was darker in complexion. (4)
Alessandrina 2 Remembers the Past Life Visit of Alessandrina 1 to the Church in Monreale & the Priests Who Wore Red
Camelo also reported a past life memory that Alessandrina 2 had when she was 8 or 9 years old. Camelo and Adele proposed to their children that they take a vacation trip to the city of Monreale, where they would tour the great Norman church in that city. Adele said to their girls:
“When you go to Monreale, you will see some sights you have never seen before.”
Alessandrina 2 then responded:
“But Mama, I know Monreale. I have already seen it.” (5)
Adele then told her daughter that she had never been to Monreale. Alessandriana 2 then protested:
“Yes I have. I have been there. Don’t you remember that there is a great church there with a huge man on the roof with his arms spread out? And do you not remember how we went there with a lady who had horns, and we met some small priests who wore red?” (6)
Adele and Camelo were stunned by their daughter’s response. They did not recall ever speaking to her about Monreale and they were puzzled by her reference to a woman who had horns.
Adele then remembered that a few months before Alessandriana 1’s death, they had taken to her to Monreale to see the church there. On this trip, they had taken a female friend who had a skin condition that involved prominent, protruding lesions or bumps on the forehead, which could be interpreted by a child as horns.
Adele also recalled that just as they were entering the church, they met Orthodox priests who were wearing blue robes decorated with red. Adele and Camelo also remembered that Alessandrina 1 took great notice of the woman with the skin condition on her forehead and by the priests they had met at the church.
Is This a Reincarnation Case?
The similarities in physical appearance and behavior between Alessandrina 1 and 2 could be explained by genetics, as they were born from the same parents.
A factor that supports that the similarities are related to the reincarnation includes observations of spirit being guidance. Adele had dreams in which Alessandrina 1 said she would be reborn to Adele. In addition, Adele participated in seances in which Alessandrina 1 said that she would be reborn with a twin, which came true.
The shared phobias of barbers and of loud noises support Alessandrina 2 being the reincarnation of Alessandrina 1.
Most importantly, Alessandrina 2 had memories of the visit to the church in Monreale, of the woman with horns on her forehead and the monks in robes with red, which all correspond to events that occurred in the life of Alessandrina 1.
Physical appearance remains the same from one incarnation to another.
Personality traits remain consistent. As toddlers, Alessandrina 1 and 2 were both quiet and liked to sit quietly in their mother’s lap. They didn’t like to play with toys, but they did like to play with other children. They both disliked any cheese, liked to fold and smooth clothing and cloth, such as sheets and towels, and they liked to play with shoes and put adult shoes on. Alessandrina 1 and 2 tended to speak in the third person. They also like to create pet names. Maria, the sister of Alessandrina 2, did not share these traits.
Phobia from a Past Lifetime: This case demonstrates that phobias can persist from one incarnation to another, as Alessandrina 1 and 2 both had phobias of loud noises and of barbers.
Relationships Renewed through Reincarnation: This case shows that souls can reincarnate in the same family.
Spirit Being Involvement: Alessandrina 1 was able to predict from the spirit world, through a medium, of her coming birth with a twin sister before Christmas, which did occur.
According to Alessandrina 1, after three months of pregnancy the soul becomes more closely attached to the physical plane, to the extent that communication between the soul and humans, through mediums, becomes more difficult. In short, the soul becomes more attached to the fetus at three months of pregnancy.
Split Incarnation: If it is assumed that the soul is involved with the fetus from the time of conception, this represents a case of split incarnation, as Alessandrina 2 was born only 8 months after the death of Alessandrina 1. In other words, the soul of the Alessandrinas was already involved with the fetus of Alessandrina 2, while Alessandrina 1 was still alive.
This type of split incarnation case, in which a soul is involved with a pregnancy while it animates a living person at the same time, was also observed in the Hanan Monsour | Suzanne Ghanem reincarnation case, which was also researched by Ian Stevenson, MD.
Footnotes
1. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland & Co, 2002, page 24
2. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland & Co, 2002, page 24
3. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland & Co, 2002, page 25
4. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland & Co, 2002, page 25
5. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland & Co, 2002, page 26
6. Stevenson, Ian: European Cases of the Reincarnation Type, McFarland & Co, 2002, page 26
How Derived: Past Life Memories in Childhood
Though Catherine grieved Walter’s death, about a year later, in June 1968, she married another boyfriend, whose name was Frederick Wright.
When Michael was three years old, he startled his mother by uttering the name of Walter’s sister, Carole Miller.
