A young boy claimed he was reincarnated and had an eerily perfect memory of being a Hollywood star.
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth, is the philosophical or religious belief that the non-physical essence of a person begins a new life in a different form after biological death.
Although it’s a concept that has never been proven, accounts of the afterlife and reincarnation continue to be studied.
One particular case involved Oklahoma schoolboy Ryan Hammond, who claimed he was the reincarnation of a man who had died 40 years before.
At age five, he reportedly told his mother: “Mama, I think I used to be someone else.”
Understandably, Hammond’s parents were baffled by his claims of being a Hollywood star in a past life.
The schoolboy detailed an eventful past life, saying he was a famous actor from the 1940s and ’50s who had been married multiple times.
He could even recall his death, revealing his heart ‘exploded’ and that he headed towards ‘the light.’
Although bewildered by her son’s claims, Hammond’s mother decided to help her son find answers by buying a book on the Golden Age of Hollywood.
As he turned the pages, the schoolboy stumbled across one photo where he ‘recognized himself.’ It was an image of a man named Marty Martyn, who died in 1964.
Martyn, who died aged 61, reportedly began his career as a humble movie extra before making it as a Tinsel Town agent.
Hammond’s wild claims eventually caught the attention of the national press and in a bid to prove they were true, a documentary crew arranged a meeting between the then six-year-old and Martyn’s daughter.
When the pair met, they toured numerous Los Angeles sites, and during the trip, she reportedly confirmed some of Hammond’s claims.
Amid the media hype, the youngster was interviewed by NBC News.
The broadcaster’s segment on Hammond, then 10, revealed that his story was being looked into by child psychiatrist Dr. Jim Tucker, who believes his claims.
Dr. Tucker concluded that 55 things the youngster recalled were true, including Martyn’s actual birth date, which was incorrectly documented on records.
The psychiatrist said: “The world just doesn’t work as we think or assume it does. The cases I have examined don’t come under a normal explanation of how we perceive the world.”
A chapter or Dr. Tucker’s book, ‘Return to Life,’ explores the boy’s case in detail.
Over time, Hammond’s alleged memories of his past life began to fade but it’s been said he still shares many similar personality traits to Martyn, including his love of movies.