Abstract

Reviews primarily anecdotal accounts of cases involving anomalous human luminous phenomena, focusing on cases in which the body or body parts are reported to glow or emit some type of light. These accounts involve mediums, mystics and saints, dying persons, and other cases. These cases suffer from the potential for intentional fraud, problems of reporting style, inadequate record keeping, and other evidential problems. The luminous phenomena usually occurred during an altered state of consciousness in the person displaying the luminosity. Explanations of the phenomena include perceptual distortions, hallucinations, illusions, afterimages, retinal fatigue, the presence of normally invisible physical fields, and the effects of various physiological processes. Paranormal explanations have focused on paranormal manipulations of bodily processes or substances, the actions of yet unknown energies, and religious or mystical conceptualizations.