When I was a child I was terrified to look at the window of my room at night because it seemed that I saw figures standing behind it. I thought that they were products of my imagination.
Some years ago my parents died with little time of difference and I began to have reiterative dreams with them in which I always hugged them and told them how much I loved them. After a while, I never had those dreams again.
Will it be related to what you wrote about a mechanism that helps us alleviate our loss?
And in some cases, such as in bereavement, they are regarded as a benign, coping mechanism that helps individuals to deal with the loss of a loved one. In these situations, they normally take place in the visual or auditory forms almost as if they were a remedy for a painful yearning.
I am sorry to hear about your parents @ufv I had the same too. I never had any visual hallucination about my dad, but I often dreamed of him. I still do nowadays, but very occasionally. The way grief works varies from person to person, those who are more susceptible to hallucinate will experience grieving-hallucinations. Those who aren't might dream of their lost loved ones, instead.
Thank you for your comment and sharing your experience with us :)