Folklore: “I remember going on a trip once where I saw a man and a woman in Chicago. They were my ex-husband’s aunt and uncle. We had talked quite a bit and spent time with the whole family. When we flew home and walked in the door the phone was ringing. I immediately knew that Mike had died and he did, that was the call alerting us that Mike had died.”

I asked to clarify if she saw them in real life and she said,

“Yes, I had been visiting them in person and then when I flew home from Chicago and arrived home opened up the door and the phone was ringing as the door opened. I knew that Mike had died and that is indeed what that phone call was telling me. There was absolutely no reason to think that Mike had died because the entire visit was perfectly normal and it was a surprise death like a heart attack or something.”

Context: This story came from my mother who said she was 25 when this happened. She had just met her ex-husband’s aunt and uncle that week, and said she “knew” just as much as I knew that I was talking to her. 

Interpretation: This is a memorate, a personal supernatural experience, that reinforces beliefs about death and intuition. This story is similar to a larger folkloric pattern where individuals have gut feelings, especially surrounding and near the death of people close to them. Experiences like these add to the belief that interpersonal bonds transcend physical space and reflect the broader idea that people are more in tune with the spiritual world.