There's nothing creepier than a child who says they remember a past life. It's just eerie and dare I say it - unnatural.
Almost a third of the people in the UK believe in reincarnation - and it's a kind of cool idea. Who doesn't like the idea of being a princess or someone famous in a past life? It adds a little glamour to the daily drudgery we all face - I may be commuting on a bus that smells like body odour, hopelessness and desperation now, but oh, if you knew me back in the 19th century when I was a Japanese princess ninja you'd be impressed.
But the likelihood that you were Robin Hood or Joan of Arc is low - if you were reincarnated it was probably from one of the millions of people who died in the Black Plague. Or your average ugly peasant.
But it's not real, of course. It's "an intriguing psychological phenomenon," according to Christopher C. French, a professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London. "But I think it is far more likely that such apparent memories are, in fact, false memories rather than accurate memories of events that were experienced in a past life."
Pilots in World War II. Credit: PA Images
So when people think they lived another life, they have really invented false memories that they can't tell from real ones. Despite that fortune teller in Florence insisting I was a Japanese princess...probably not true.
Or am I? Dr Jim Tucker clearly believes in reincarnation - he has written a book called Return to Life: Extraordinary Cases of Children Who Remember Their Past Lives. These children think they had past lives - and have been talking about it since they were born.
In 2002, Dr Jim Tucker was called in to talk to a little boy from Louisiana called James who thought he was a WWII pilot - also called James. He woke up in the middle of the night screaming: ""Airplane crash! Plane on fire! Little man can't get out!" The two-year-old was haunted by his past life as an pilot every night and his parents were concerned.
James also had some unusual knowledge - watching a documentary about Japanese WWII equipment, he corrected the presenter and said the plane was called "Tony" and not "Zero". He knew a lot about drop tanks and other things that toddlers don't know about.
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Jim Tucker believes in reincarnation. Credit: Facebook
He also said he had crashed a plane called the Natoma. His parents found out there was a WWII aircraft carrier called the USS Natoma Bay and in its squadron was a pilot named James Huston, who had been killed in action over the Pacific. And it all seemed to make sense.
Not for Dr French though. He said: ""Although his parents insisted they never watched World War II documentaries or talked about military history, we do know that at 18 months of age, James was taken to a flight museum, where he was fascinated by the World War II planes. In all probability, the additional details were unintentionally implanted by his parents and by a counsellor who was a firm believer in reincarnation."
But James' dad Bruce said: ""I was the original skeptic. But the information James gave us was so striking and unusual. If someone wants to look at the facts and challenge them, they're welcome to examine everything we have. You try telling a two-year-old what to believe; you're not going to be able to give them a script."
It's not the only case that Dr Tucker has taken on.
He has collected over 2,500 documented cases of children from all over the world who have detailed memories of former lives. The memories usually start at age two and stop at age seven - which to me says they made them up. Intentionally or not.
Hollywood in the 1940s. Credit: PA Images
As well as James the pilot, there was a California toddler with a good golf swing who said he had once been legendary athlete Bobby Jones (always famous people! Never, I used to clean toilets), a five-year-old who shared some of the same memories and physical traits-blindness in his left eye, a mark on his neck, a limp-as a long- deceased brother...that one I think we can mark down as genetics to be honest. There was also a girl in India who woke up and began speaking fluently in a dialect she'd never heard before. People do that all the time - and I don't think it has anything to do with past lives - it's a weird brain thing (technical term).
There was a kid called Ryan who believed that he used to be part of old Hollywood in the '30s. Dr Tucker helps the kids "find" who they used to be, therefore "solving" their reincarnation. Ryan found an old picture of his previous self, a Hollywood agent Marty Martyn, who made an unbilled cameo in a film called Night After Night in 1939. Ryan managed to point him out in the film unaided. Dr Tucker contacted Marty's daughter and she confirmed over 50 details that Ryan had said about Marty - and she believed he was the reincarnation of her dad. But I think she must have been really old - and if you missed your long-dead dad then maybe you would find a reason to believe.
Whether or not you believe it - Dr Tucker is still out there, possibly sucking up money from gullible parents as I write: "I believe in the possibility of reincarnation, which is different from saying that I believe in reincarnation. I do think these cases require an explanation that is out of the ordinary, although that certainly doesn't mean we all reincarnate."
Which brings up a whole new kettle of fish - why can't we all reincarnate? Is this about karma? If you've done something bad, you can't come back? Or if you have unfinished business...
Featured Image Credit: PA Images