The Pagan Book of the Dead: Ancestral Visions of the Afterlife and Other Worlds

This book offers a view of the afterlife worlds as seen by our ancestors, examining how ancient European cultures viewed the beyond, including the Blessed Isles, Sheol, Hades, Hel, Valhalla, and Aralu. It also shows how medieval accounts of journeys into the Other World represent the first recorded near-death experiences. The author connects medieval afterlife beliefs and NDE narratives with shamanism and what people bring back from their journeys to the spirit realms. 

Charting the evolution of afterlife beliefs in pagan and medieval Christian times, author Claude Lecouteux offers an extensive look at the cartography and folklore of the afterlife worlds. Lecouteux analyzes medieval afterlife beliefs, concluding with a collection of traditions like placing polished stones in coffins to guide departed souls back to friends and family during times when the veil between worlds thins.