APA Dictionary of Psychology

auditory and/or visual perceptual experiences occurring near the end of life in which the dying individual reports encounters with “visitors” perceptible only to them. These experiences may be described verbally or inferred from the person’s nonverbal behaviors. When identifiable, the visitors are most often deceased relatives or figures interpreted as spiritual guides consistent with long‑standing psychopomp traditions. These phenomena are conceptually related to, but distinct from, near-death experiences.