If we've learned one thing from the movies about near-death experiences, it's that you should never go towards the light. These people learned that lesson the hard way — by purportedly having their own little jaunt into the afterlife. What really happened? Did they really see the pearly gates or were they just hallucinating?

Read on to decide for yourself if near-death experiences are the real deal or just an attention-getting hoax.

By Justine Sterling.