Ampan Petcherat began talking about a previous life almost as soon as she could talk, and her memories led to a family she had never met.
At a glance
1
year old when Ampan first spoke of another mother and father
15 km
between her village and his, then reachable only by boat
4 years
between Chuey’s death and Ampan’s birth
| Born | March 1954, in Song Khlong, Thailand |
| Memories began | Around 1 year old |
| Claim | A boy who drowned in a canal |
| Previous life | Chuey Puang Pei, born 1946 in Bang Chan |
| Death in previous life | Drowned in a canal at Bang Chan in 1950, aged 4 |
| Researchers | Francis Story and Dr. Ian Stevenson |
The case
At barely a year old, Ampan told her mother she had lived before as a boy with other parents. She said she had drowned in a canal after a snake bite, cried, and asked to be taken to her previous home.
When she was seven, Ampan recognized a visiting woman as her “aunt”. The woman knew of her nephew Chuey, who had drowned at the age of four, and took Ampan and her mother to Chuey’s family. There Ampan recognized family members and made more correct statements about his life. Francis Story and Ian Stevenson investigated the case.
Key facts
Recognitions
She named Chuey’s parents and identified his mother, father, sister and brother, as well as a cousin and his aunt.
The home
She described his home: a bamboo tree, two red jars, two red dogs and three buffaloes, and a second house that no longer stood.
The drowning
She described how and where Chuey drowned, and his cremation at the temple, matching what his family knew.
Behaviour
As a child she dressed as a boy, boxed and walked like a boy. At 14 she told Stevenson she would prefer to be a boy.
Phobia
She had a severe fear of snakes, but no fear of water.
Birthmark
She was born with a dark mole on her upper chest. Chuey’s family said it matched a red ochre mark his great-aunt made on his body before cremation.
What didn’t match
Chuey’s family didn’t know of a snake bite; Stevenson suggested he may have been startled by a snake and slipped into the water. Ampan’s claim that Chuey’s brother pulled his legs was denied by the brother.
In pictures
ICRR Compendium
Sources
- Stevenson, I. (1983). Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Vol. IV: Twelve Cases in Thailand and Burma, pp. 49–72. University Press of Virginia.
- Stevenson, I. (1997). Reincarnation and Biology, vol. 1, pp. 805–806. Praeger.