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[[File:Climbing Parapet.jpg|thumb|240px|Two mountain climbers.]]

The '''third man factor''' or '''third manperson syndrome''' refers to the reported situations where an [[Anomalous experiences#Sense of presence|unseen presence]], such as a spirit, provides comfort or support during traumatic experiences.

==History==

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In recent years, well-known adventurers like climber [[Reinhold Messner]] and polar explorers [[Peter Hillary]] and [[Ann Bancroft]] have reported experiencing the phenomenon. One study of cases involving adventurers reported that the largest group involved climbers, with solo sailors and shipwreck survivors being the second most common group, followed by polar explorers.<ref>Suedfeld, Peter and Geiger, John, (2008) "The sensed presence as a coping resource in extreme environments" In: Ellens, J. Harold (ed.), ''Miracles God, Science, and Psychology in the Paranormal'' (Vol. 3) Praeger. {{ISBN|0-275-99722-7}}</ref> A similar experience was documented by mountain climber [[Joe Simpson (mountaineer)|Joe Simpson]] in his 1988 book ''[[Touching the Void (book)|Touching the Void]]'', which recounts his near-death experience in the Peruvian Andes. Simpson describes "a voice" which encouraged him and directed him as he crawled back to base camp after suffering a horrible leg injury high on [[Siula Grande]] and falling off a cliff and into a crevasse. Some journalists have related this to the concept of a [[guardian angel]] or [[imaginary friend]]. Scientific explanations consider the phenomenon a [[coping mechanism]] or an example of [[bicameral mentality]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/living/article/579401|title=Third man theory of otherworldly encounters|last=White|first=Nancy J.|date=30 January 2009|work=[[Toronto Star]]|accessdate=5 February 2009}}</ref> The concept was popularized by a 2009 book by [[John G. Geiger]], ''The Third Man Factor'', which documents scores of examples.

Modern psychologists have used the "third man factor" to treat victims of trauma. The "cultivated inner character" lends imagined support and comfort.<ref>[http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/adventure/2012/09/an-adventurers-guardian-angel-the-third-man/ "An adventurer's angel"], ''[[Australian Geographic]]'', 15 September 2012</ref>

==Literary and film references==

{{In popular culture|section|date=November 2018}}

{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2018}}

In [[Geraldine McCaughrean]]'s 2005 young adult fiction novel ''[[The White Darkness (novel)|The White Darkness]]'', the teenage heroine, Sym, joins a doomed Antarctic expedition. Abandoned and lost, she is guided to safety by a "third man", her imaginary friend, [[Captain Lawrence Oates]].

In [[Larry McMurtry]]'s 1985 [[Western (genre)|Western]] novel ''[[Lonesome Dove]]'', Pea Eye, after surviving an Indian attack with Gus, makes a trek back to Call and has an experience of a "ghost" or "spirit" that guides him during his walk.

[[Thomas Pynchon]]'s 2006 novel ''[[Against the Day]]'' makes reference to the experience.

In [[Max Brooks]]'s 2006 novel ''[[World War Z]]'', Colonel Christina Eliopolis crash lands in the midst of zombie-infested territory but is able to survive and be picked up with the assistance of a Sky Watcher codenamed "Mets Fan", who is later revealed to be a figment of her imagination. She maintains the belief that Mets is a real person.

In the 2006 film ''[[The Guardian (2006 film)|The Guardian]]'', a drowning sailor, being rescued by Ashton Kutcher's character Jake, asks, "Where is he?" and then tells of a man who had stayed with him and held him up until help arrived.

In the 2013 film ''[[Gravity (2013 film)|Gravity]]'', biomedical engineer Ryan Stone watches astronaut Matt Kowalski float away into space to certain death. Later in the film, as an exhausted Stone is about to give up, we see Kowalski appear and enter her space capsule, supposedly having survived. He gives Stone the strength of will to continue, and shows her a means to return to Earth, before being revealed as a figment of her imagination.

In the 1984 film ''[[Cloak & Dagger (1984 film)|Cloak & Dagger]],'' Davey Osborne, a child who uses his imagination to replace his absentee father, is pursued by criminals attempting to retrieve hidden data from one of Davey's video game cartridges. In moments of danger and high stress, a [[Special Forces]] agent named Jack Flack seemingly magically appears to guide Davey through the situations. Notably, the characters of Jack Flack and Davey's father are both portrayed by the same person, actor [[Dabney Coleman]].

In the 2023 book ''Into the Uncanny'', author [[Danny Robins]] puts forward the idea that the Third Man Factor could potentially account for some reported ghost sightings, especially those in which the witness is being put under intense stress or mental strain.

In Season 25, episode 8 of ''[[Law and Order: SVU]]'', the episode is titled "Third Man Syndrome" and the phenomenon is addressed, explained and brought to the attention of Captain Benson by a detective in her squad when she mentions the victim seeing someone who wasn't there.

In the Bible, Daniel 3:23-26, the story of Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego recounts a situation where three men were thrown into a fiery furnace, but witnesses say there was a fourth figure with them that looked like an angel.

==See also==

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*{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112746464|title=Guardian Angels Or The 'Third Man Factor'?|last=Messner|first=Reinhold|date=13 September 2009|work=NPR|accessdate=26 January 2010}}

*{{cite journal |title=Neurological and Robot-Controlled Induction of an Apparition |journal=[[Current Biology]] |volume=24 |issue=22 |pages=2681–2686 |date=17 November 2014 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.049|doi-access=free |last1=Blanke |first1=Olaf |last2=Pozeg |first2=Polona |last3=Hara |first3=Masayuki |last4=Heydrich |first4=Lukas |last5=Serino |first5=Andrea |last6=Yamamoto |first6=Akio |last7=Higuchi |first7=Toshiro |last8=Salomon |first8=Roy |last9=Seeck |first9=Margitta |last10=Landis |first10=Theodor |last11=Arzy |first11=Shahar |last12=Herbelin |first12=Bruno |last13=Bleuler |first13=Hannes |last14=Rognini |first14=Giulio |pmid=25447995 |bibcode=2014CBio...24.2681B }} - describes how the third man factor, is produced in experiments as "feelings of presence" (FoP) - with normal persons.

*{{Cite book | last = Alderson-Day| first = Ben| title = Presence: The strange science of the unseen other | publisher = Manchester University Press| ___location = Manchester| year = 2023| isbn = 978-1-5261-7351-5 | url-access = registration | url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.21996228 }}

== Citations ==

{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Near-death experiences]]

[[Category:Parapsychology]]

[[Category:Spirituality]]