# Non-supernatural stories in which something supernatural happens **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 2, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670 "2013-04-02T22:01:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/41 "2013-04-03T17:58:38Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > There were also a couple of moments with the headpiece manifesting supernatural effects, … I don’t recall the headpiece manifesting supernatural effects. I mean, there is the scene where the light shines through the headpiece crystal and makes a focused beam, but I took that as the faceting of the crystal and not anything supernatural. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/42 "2013-04-03T18:10:17Z")
> [@Meatros](#): > > I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I think that QL has more than just those two. Yeah like the entire show. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/43 "2013-04-03T18:20:10Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > _Oh, God,_ when George Burns becomes invisible at the end of the movie. Nah. The film is rife with miracles. God speaks to John Denver over the radio–then appears out of thin air. He make it rain inside a car. There are probably even more instances, but I haven’t seen the show in years. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/44 "2013-04-03T18:20:10Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > My So Called Life was a normal drama but one episode featured a magical Angel. That was the Christmas episode. The Halloween episode also featured some pretty clearly supernatural elements involving time travel and ghosts. More jarringly, for me, the generally skeptical and hard boiled (and fantastic) **Veronica Mars** featured two arguably supernatural scenes, one involving a TV psychic and one in which a hint of the ghost of Lily Kane distracts Veronica from getting on a particular bus. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/45 "2013-04-03T19:48:33Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I don’t recall the headpiece manifesting supernatural effects. I mean, there is the scene where the light shines through the headpiece crystal and makes a focused beam, but I took that as the faceting of the crystal and not anything supernatural. In addition to firing a divine laser into the map (lenses do not work that way!), there is the scene where Marion takes it out and looks at it. As she turns it over, the crystal lines up with with a candle flame, which starts guttering for no apparent reason. It’s a distinctive enough event that Marion stops and gives the candle a thoughtful look. Those are the two phenomena I was talking about. I thought there was a third case, but I haven’t been able to bring it to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/46 "2013-04-03T19:49:20Z")
> [@Meatros](#): > > I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I think that QL has more than just those two. That’s not supernatural, it’s science! ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/47 "2013-04-03T20:08:47Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > That’s not supernatural, it’s science! Actually I was referring to the last season - I think there was a bunch of supernatural stuff. I haven’t seen the show in years though. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/48 "2013-04-03T20:15:58Z")
If anybody has read the Wally Lamb book “I Know this Much is True”, there are some elements of magic-realism (I think that’s the term I’ve heard used) that happen. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/49 "2013-04-03T20:17:26Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Ed McBain wrote police procedurals and a recurring villain was The Deaf Man. He wrote so many books I can’t remember which one - “Hark!” ? - but the criminal mastermind was wounded, cornered, and the squad moved in to capture him only to find - nothing. No one. Just blood splatters. Gone. Thwarted again! I believe that was Mischief. At the end of Ghosts, a tale about a dead woman and a medium, Carella swears he sees a ghost. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/50 "2013-04-03T21:02:58Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > In addition to firing a divine laser into the map (lenses do not work that way!), there is the scene where Marion takes it out and looks at it. As she turns it over, the crystal lines up with with a candle flame, which starts guttering for no apparent reason. It’s a distinctive enough event that Marion stops and gives the candle a thoughtful look. It has been forever since I’ve seen the film, but I always connected that with someone coming into the bar and wind from outside shifting the air, not anything the headpiece is doing. That’s right before she gets confronted by the NAZI thugs. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/51 "2013-04-03T23:14:49Z")
I never understood “The Stand” by Stephen King (then again, I find just about everything he has created simply head-scratching). It starts out with a human-created super-flu which kills most of humanity. Then, without warning, it’s a supernatural struggle between good and evil with the even more inexplicable ‘hand of God’ blowing up the evil camp. Also consider “Lost”. I remember when it first started, the creators promised when the black cloud monster appeared that everything was going to be explained as natural phenomena. HAH! ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/52 "2013-04-03T23:16:10Z")
**The Right Stuff** : Aboriginies sending bonfire embers through space to dance around the windows of John Glenn’s orbiting capsule. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/53 "2013-04-03T23:32:03Z")
One Tree Hill had several appearances by ghosts, as well as an episode where gunshot victims had out of body experiences while recovering in the hospital. The OC had an episode where two characters are critically injured and travel to an alternate universe as a result. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/54 "2013-04-04T00:11:24Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > It has been forever since I’ve seen the film, but I always connected that with someone coming into the bar and wind from outside shifting the air, not anything the headpiece is doing. That’s right before she gets confronted by the NAZI thugs. I just ran the scene to check. The candle gutters at 28:19, exactly as the crystal points at it. Then Marion stares at the candle for a moment, looks at the money Indy handed her, looks at the medallion again, looks off into space and nods a little as she makes a decision, hangs the medallion on the candleholder, walks over to the bar, and puts the cash in the cashbox. All of that takes about 30 seconds. Major Toht doesn’t open the door until 28:50. It seems pretty clear to me that the intent was to associate the event with the medallion. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/55 "2013-04-04T03:55:37Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > I never understood “The Stand” by Stephen King (then again, I find just about everything he has created simply head-scratching). It starts out with a human-created super-flu which kills most of humanity. Then, without warning, it’s a supernatural struggle between good and evil with the even more inexplicable ‘hand of God’ blowing up the evil camp. Stephen King has said in interviews that the plague was really just a means to an end. His goal was to turn America into Middle Earth and then tell a story there. The plague was how he set things up. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/56 "2013-04-04T04:01:45Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Stephen King has said in interviews that the plague was really just a means to an end. His goal was to turn America into Middle Earth and then tell a story there. The plague was how he set things up. An explanation that answers a question but doesn’t make things any more logical. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/57 "2013-04-04T04:08:05Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Whoops, sorry. Looks like I conflated some fanwankery I ran across a while back that believed the briefcase had the glowing orb from _Heavy Metal_, or maybe whatever was in the car trunk in _Repo Man._ So, maybe not such a good example. Gee, I was thinking of The Luggage. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/58 "2013-04-04T04:09:14Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > I never understood “The Stand” by Stephen King (then again, I find just about everything he has created simply head-scratching). It starts out with a human-created super-flu which kills most of humanity. Then, without warning, it’s a supernatural struggle between good and evil with the even more inexplicable ‘hand of God’ blowing up the evil camp. The Superflu caused so much pain, oh! And with evil a raging volcano Flagg’s triumph seemed certain] Until King rang the curtain By pulling a _Deus ex Ano!_ ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/59 "2013-04-04T12:26:06Z")
Don’t know if the finale of Battlestar Galactica counts… …in that it definitely brought in some supernatural elements, but also revealed that they had been going on all along, so the show doesn’t exactly fit as non-supernatural ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670/60 "2013-04-04T15:38:26Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > **The Right Stuff** : Aboriginies sending bonfire embers through space to dance around the windows of John Glenn’s orbiting capsule. IIRC, this turned out to be John Glenn’s frozen urine in real life. The bonfire connection was more poetic license than anything else. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-supernatural-stories-in-which-something-supernatural-happens/654670.md?page=4)