My mom and I talk about a lot of strange things as we travel to and from the lake to see Grandmother. The last time we went, Grandmother had called me “Elizabeth”, Mama’s cousin’s name (I call her Aunt Liz), and so Mama called Aunt Liz after we left the nursing home just to chat, and we found out her brother, Uncle Joe was in CCU, and that started the discussion I am about to relate. Now, I just had to let you know that the path we took to the discussion was completely reasonable.

So, we started talking about that branch of the family. Joe and Liz are the last siblings left of what were 6 siblings (Somehow it seems I am forgetting one. Mama will correct me if I am.) Their mother Aunt Bert, was married to my Granddad’s brother. (Have you ever noticed how complicated families are? I’m exhausted and haven’t even gotten to the story yet. Nor have I introduced you to all the players.) (Yes, I love me some parenthetical statements.)

So, talking about them led me to relate a story to Mama that my cousin Cheryl had told me. Cheryl is Bert’s grand-daughter. I was doing a paper in school on ESP, and Cheryl told me the story to use in the paper. It seems that Bert was sleeping one night, and dreamed she saw a casket come in the window. Shortly after that Mama’s brother William was killed in action, and so everyone assumed that’s what the dream signified. BUT! Just a couple of weeks later, Bert’s husband Henry died, too. When they went to the funeral home to make the arrangements, Bert went to one casket, and said “this is the one”. Grandmother asked her if she wanted to look at the others, and she said “no, this is it, this is the one that came in my window.”

Now, that story did give me the willies, but since I have had my own supernatural experiences, including deja vu, but never dealings with the dead, it did not freak me out. It was just like “whoa”. It was and is no great surprise to me that the dead can and sometimes do attempt to communicate with us, or that some of us are given warning before certain life-altering events, whether or not we recognize the warnings at the time.

Which brings me to the reason I decided to share this story. The 1408 Movie is coming out, and I’ve watched the trailer, and it deals with this idea of the dead affecting events in the lives of the living. It’s based on the short story by the same name, written by Stephen King, and stars Jason Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson.

Here’s the trailer:

Now, here’s the thing. This 1408 Movie intrigues me. I used to be a big fan of Stephen King, because his brand of psychological horror founded in normal events just appeals to me. Most of his stuff falls into the realm of “well, it could happen”, and that just messes with my mind in a way blood and gore could never do.

P.S. to Mama: I just realized typing this out that Bogue and Dale were not involved in this. There was another story Cheryl told me involving them and Aunt Bert, but I can’t remember the details of it. Perhaps it will come to me, and I can tell it to you as we are passing through those thick woods. Muhahahahahah