Imagine you are stuck in the middle of the sea, scared and alone. There is no internet connection, nor any other way to get help.
And then, suddenly, you hear the voice of a person who guides you and helps you get out of the situation alive.
But you do not know where that person came from—you never meet them again.
There are multiple cases of similar experiences shared by people. This phenomenon is called the Third Man Syndrome.
Stories of the Third Man Factor / Syndrome :
Story 1: Ron DiFrancesco’s Third Man Experience – 9/11 Survivor:
On September 11th 2001, Ron DiFrancesco was working on the 84th floor of the south tower (World Trade Centre) when the second plane hit the building. Amid the chaos, thick smoke, and collapsing debris, Ron tried to escape but could not due to smoke inhalation and injuries.
When Ron was about to give up, He felt a presence, a guiding force, who told him to get up and keep moving.
Later in an Interview, Ron described the experience as,
“Someone told me to get up and keep going… but I didn’t see anyone.”
Ron DiFrancesco managed to escape the tower just before it collapsed.
He became the last known survivor to emerge from the South Tower alive.
Story 2: Ernest Shackleton’s Encounter with the “Fourth Presence”:
In 1916, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton embarked on a desperate journey across the uncharted, icy terrain of South Georgia Island.
His ship, the Endurance, had been crushed by Antarctic ice, and after months of survival at sea, Shackleton, along with his two companions, set out on foot to find help and save their stranded crew.
After trekking 36 hours non-stop, across mountains and glaciers, with barely any food, no sleep, and facing freezing winds. Physically drained and on the verge of collapse, the three men began to feel something strange yet reassuring — the presence of a fourth person.
Shackleton later described it in his memoir:
“During that long and racking march of thirty-six hours over the unnamed mountains and glaciers of South Georgia, it seemed to me often that we were four, not three.”
The mysterious figure never spoke or showed itself, but all three men felt it clearly as if someone invisible was walking with them, giving them strength and direction. This unseen companion seemed to guide them safely through life-threatening conditions until they reached help.
The mysterious figure did not speak, nor was it visible to the men, but they felt the strong presence of someone who was guiding them, walking along with them, till the time they got help.
Shackleton never tried to explain it scientifically. He simply acknowledged the presence as real and undeniable.
What is people’s perception about Third Man Syndrome?
Some people believe it is a hallucination caused by exhaustion and extreme stress, as the third man syndrome experience usually happens during extreme situations when it is about survival.
Others see it as a spiritual guide or guardian angel — a force that appears when the human spirit is at its limit.
Let us know what you think about third man syndrome. Have you experienced it? And if not, would you like to?
