Phone Calls From The Dead: Illinois, 1998

Summary

Sightings Podcast: "Phone Calls From The Dead: Illinois, 1998"

Episode Overview

In the enthralling episode of Sightings titled "Phone Calls From The Dead: Illinois, 1998," hosts McLeod Andrews and Brian Sigley delve into one of the most haunting supernatural phenomena—receiving phone calls from the deceased. Released on July 21, 2025, this episode intertwines a gripping dramatized narrative with insightful discussions, offering listeners both chills and thoughtful analysis.

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Dramatized Story: A Brother's Haunting Calls

The episode opens with a gripping dramatization that sets the stage for the supernatural tale. Paul, the protagonist, recounts receiving unsettling phone calls from his brother, Nate, who was presumed dead after a tragic train derailment in Illinois in 1998.

Key Moments:

• Initial Call (06:06): Paul receives three messages on his answering machine with the last one being just slow, steady breathing—an eerie indication that Nate might still be alive.

  "And I figured they were just from friends who'd heard about the crash... but then I looked at the caller ID. Brennan, Nathan. Your cell number called at 6:47pm today, which is impossible because the crash was two days ago."
  — Paul (06:06)

• Descent into Obsession (07:45): Driven by desperation, Paul visits the crash site multiple times, seeking any sign of Nate's survival. His encounters with authorities, especially with a coordinator named Morrison, only deepen his confusion and grief.

  "And he looked at me with this expression, like sympathy and exhaustion. And I realized he'd probably had this exact same conversation with dozens of family members."
  — Paul (10:30)

• Second Call and Verification (16:39): Paul receives another call from Nate, who reminisces about a childhood memory. The conversation feels disjointed, adding to Paul's turmoil as he struggles to comprehend the reality of Nate's existence.

  "You said us and mom and dad. And I tried to get through to you. I tried, but you suddenly said you had to go, and the line went dead."
  — Paul (19:03)

• Final Closure (26:56): The narrative culminates with Paul receiving confirmation of Nate's death, juxtaposed with the mysterious phone calls that defy logical explanation.

  "But Morrison called. Twenty minutes later, they found your body. They were able to identify it using dental records. I didn't say anything. When he told me, I just kind of listened and thanked him for calling and hung up."
  — Paul (25:58)

This emotionally charged story not only captivates listeners but also sets the foundation for a deeper exploration of the phenomenon.

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Hosts' Discussion: Unveiling the Phenomenon

Following the dramatization, McLeod Andrews and Brian Sigley engage in a profound discussion, dissecting the nature of phone calls from the dead and their implications.

Key Topics:

• Historical Context: Brian references the 1979 book "Phone Calls from the Dead," which cataloged numerous accounts of posthumous phone calls, laying the groundwork for understanding this phenomenon.

  "And before I dive into the actual stories themselves, it's worth noting that they kind of found some patterns in how this works and what these phone calls look like, generally speaking."
  — Brian Sigley (31:35)

• Patterns and Characteristics: The hosts outline common traits in these supernatural calls, such as the timing—often within 24 hours of death—and the nature of the communication, which ranges from incoherent noises to brief, meaningful messages.

  "Callers generally seem a little bit confused or disoriented. They're talking about nonsensical things... They make the call, they say their thing, and that's it."
  — Brian Sigley (31:35)

• Real-Life Cases: Brian discusses specific instances, including the 2008 California train crash involving Charles Peck, whose cell phone continued to ring posthumously. Despite the phone activity, autopsies confirmed Peck died instantly upon impact, leaving the true source of the calls a mystery.

  "The coroner ultimately determined that Charles died instantly on impact. So he was not there to make those calls."
  — Brian Sigley (39:34)

• Emotional Impacts: McLeod and Brian reflect on the psychological effects these calls have on the bereaved, oscillating between hope and prolonged grief.

  "It might feel like... a glitch, could almost like it just kind of prolongs that acceptance period, just like prolongs that kind of anxiety ridden moment in which you were hoping."
  — McLeod Andrews (42:04)

• Skeptical Perspectives: While acknowledging the emotional weight of such experiences, the hosts also entertain rational explanations, such as technical glitches or coincidences, emphasizing the importance of approaching these accounts with both empathy and critical thinking.

  "I think what's interesting, I'm trying to figure out how I would feel if I had been Charles Peck's family... how would you feel?"
  — Brian Sigley (41:37)

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Concluding Thoughts

The episode wraps up with the hosts reflecting on the delicate balance between believing in the supernatural and seeking logical explanations. They encourage listeners to share their own experiences and thoughts, fostering a community of curiosity and open-mindedness.

"I think how could anybody not after losing a loved one, no matter how they lost them... it's just kind of a disjointedness... this is something you need to know."
— McLeod Andrews (29:23)

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Final Reflections

"Phone Calls From The Dead: Illinois, 1998" masterfully blends storytelling with analysis, offering a comprehensive look into one of the paranormal world's most enigmatic phenomena. Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, this episode provides ample food for thought, challenging listeners to ponder the thin veil between life and death.

Notable Quotes:

• "They've used thermal cameras, listening devices, even dogs. And there were just no signs of life, no survivors."
  — Morrison, Coordinator (16:39)

• "It's the convenience of Carvana. Sorry to blow your mind."
  — Nate (16:56)

• "I think we have to take people at their word on this one. Because in my mind, if you're gonna come up with some paranormal experience, you would pick something a little less personal."
  — Brian Sigley (40:51)

Sources: For a detailed list of sources referenced in this episode, visit sightingspodcast.com.

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Connect with Sightings:

Stay tuned for next week's episode, where McLeod and Brian promise an adventurous tale off the coast of Florida near Bermuda. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and join the journey into the unknown.

Transcript

[Brian Sigley]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart Choice make another smart choice with Auto Quote Explorer to compare rates for multiple car insurance companies all at once. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance and affiliates not available in all states and situations. Prices may vary on how you buy hey, skeptical geckos and believer beavers. Before the show begins, I want to recommend one of my favorite paranormal podcasts that I think you're going to love. My Monsters Among Us brings you supernatural stories from real people, everything from ghostly sightings to eerie encounters with strange creatures. But unlike here on Sightings, these stories are told by the witnesses themselves in real audio recordings that get straight to the meat of every terrifying story. You'll hear from witnesses like Julie, who drove past a car accident only to realize a spirit joined her in the passenger seat, or Mac from Mississippi who broke his back when he fell out of a tree stand only to be nursed back to health by a sympathet Sasquatch. I know I want to hear that story right now, but in all seriousness, I think you'll love the spooky and nostalgic vibe that host Derek Hayes has curated with Monsters Among Us. And if you want more shivers down your spine, listen to Monsters Among Us podcast now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[McLeod Andrews]

We like to think of death as a clean break, one world ending where another begins. But what if that line isn't as firm as we believe? What if, through static and wires, the departed find a way to speak again? And what if the voice on the other end isn't just a memory, but someone reaching back from beyond? Welcome to Sightings, the series that takes you inside the world's most mysterious supernatural events. Each episode brings you a thrilling story that puts you at the center of the action, followed by a discussion that dives into the accounts that inspired the story and our takes on them. I'm McLeod.

[Brian Sigley]

And I'm Brian, and before we dive into today's story, we wanted to start doing something we've been talking about for a while now, which is highlighting the reviews and comments that you guys have given us and made on Spotify and Apple podcasts that really resonated with us and we'd love to share them with everyone.

[McLeod Andrews]

So yeah, I don't know if you guys know, but you know when you're making a podcast, it's just kind of more or less pretty alone with no feedback or anything. So this is kind of like our one way of getting to connect with our audience and know that the work's out there and being appreciated. And boy, have you guys shared some amazing love. Here's one of many that I found just very charming. I'll read it to you. The title is Beauty in a Messed Up Way by Rosynozy P. Okay, first, you guys are like a breath of fresh air that I look forward to during my weekly binge of true crime. Thank you for that. This last story that someone sent in with the owl perched outside of his window. Omg. I shrieked as I was handed my Starbucks drink. I love that detail. Back to the review. This podcast is great. It really has a bit of everything in it. At times I find myself laughing out loud, shrieking, sitting in a suspenseful frozen state waiting for what comes next. I 100% recommend listening to these great guys if you haven't yet. P.S. can you just once try a female voice? Just for my own entertainment? You are truly amazing at voices. Mirandi. Thank you for that, Mirandi.

[Brian Sigley]

Awesome. Well, if you would like your review to be highlighted on the show, be sure to leave us one on Apple podcasts or leave us a comment on Spotify. But I want to talk about today's episode in a Cloud because I am really excited for this one because this story does seem very perfect for a podcast. Podcast because we're exploring the eerie phenomena where people receive phone calls from the dead.

[McLeod Andrews]

That's right, and it calls for a more intimate approach. So this one's going to be a little different than what we normally do. So pull up those covers, check your caller ID and ask yourself, do you know who's actually calling you? Find out on this episode of Sightings.

[Brian Sigley]

This week's episode is sponsored by Together, the film that critics are called the best reviewed horror movie of the year.

[McLeod Andrews]

That is absolutely right. Critics are loving it. And we love it. Not only because it stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie, two of the most charming people out there, but because it's hands down one of the creepiest movies I've seen in a long, long time.

[Brian Sigley]

Oh yeah, and what' really unique about Together, though, is that it had me laughing just as much as it had me screaming. I know we all know Dave Franco and Alison Brie from comedies mostly, but this movie really shows another side of them that I haven't seen before. And I loved every minute of it.

[McLeod Andrews]

We don't want to spoil the movie, but Dave and Allison play a couple at a crossroads in their relationship who move to the country only to have a mysterious, unnatural force corrupt Their lives, their love, their. And their flesh.

[Brian Sigley]

Whoever came up with that line should come work for us.

[McLeod Andrews]

Absolutely. Seriously, though, this movie gave me the chills and is one that you're going to want to see in theaters. So make a date night out of it. It's scary, it's fun, and it's going to stick with you for a long time.

[Brian Sigley]

Don't miss Together, the breakout horror movie event of the year, exclusively in theaters on July 30th.

[McLeod Andrews]

Hello?

[Brian Sigley]

No one is available to take your call. Please leave a message after the tone.

[Paul]

Hey, Nate, it's. It's me, Paul. I'm calling your voicemail because I didn't know what else to do. God, this is stupid. Okay, so it's August 12, 1998, and something's happened. Well, a lot's happened. I mean, you must know that. But I can't explain any of it. And I needed a way to record what happened, and here I am, still on the phone. So. It's been almost 48 hours since I'm pretty sure you died. You were on the train and the train derailed and no survivors. The first three cars got it the worst. And I know you were in the second car because you called me to complain about your seat. And that was the last time I talked to you. We ended up arguing about the Cubs games. Just stupid thing to argue about. And I knew we'd make up after you finished work. But you never made it to work, did you? I've been at mom and Dad's since, just watching the news. Same coverage over and over. And the state's been in touch, and they're super cagey with details other than to say that no one in your car survived, which is why what just happened is so insane. I came home, showered, and then saw the light blinking on my answering machine. Three messages. And I figured they were just from friends who'd heard about the crash. But then I looked at the caller ID. Brennan, Nathan. Your cell number called at 6:47pm today, which is impossible because the crash was two days ago. You died two days ago. So, yeah, I clicked play on the answering machine, and the first two messages were what I expected. You know, a co worker, my friend Jake. But the third message there was breathing. Just slow, steady breathing for maybe 15 seconds, just, you know, just breathing. That's all I heard. Slow and steady, just calm. And I know this sounds crazy, but I know it was you, Nate. I mean, we shared a room for 18 years. I know it sounds like a bad romance novel. I know how you Breathe. But I do. So I called your cell and it rang four times before going to voicemail. You know that same douchey message you recorded last month where he said you were probably wriggly field and too busy to talk? Oh, God. Hearing your voice like that. Oh, it got me. You know, so I. I don't know. I left a rushed message asking you to call me back. And I still want you to. I need you to. Because I don't understand what's happening. And if you're alive or hurt or whatever, just. Just call me and I will. I will find someone to come get you. I. I must have said it 10 times before I finally hung up. Just call me. So, yeah, that was six hours ago. And I've just been sitting by the phone ever since. But there's been nothing. Haven't heard from you. TV's on right now. Sounds down. I'm just. Still been watching it. They're showing. I mean, they're showing footage of the crash site, and, you know, they're picking through the wreckage and it's. It just had me wondering if maybe somehow you're still alive in there and you're somehow trapped in the wreckage, trying to reach out. But I. I don't know. I mean, this crash was so violent. Besides, I mean, like, where would you even get power for this phone? I mean, your battery would be dead by now. And I'm rambling. I'm sorry. None of this makes sense. Anyway, I haven't told mom and dad about the call yet. Cause I don't want to give them false hope. Not when I don't even know what's happening myself. But I heard you breathing. I know it was you, Nate. And you called me almost 48 hours after you were supposed to be dead. So. Call me, Nate. Call me. Hey, it's me again. And it's been. I don't know, 17, 18 hours since my last message, but. Doesn't matter because I don't understand how. But you called me and I. I talked to you, Nate. I. Hang on. Someone's calling. No, it's not you. Okay, backing up. I. I just. I want to get this on the record or something. So after my first voicemail, I. I couldn't sleep. And I just kept obsessing over that call, the breathing, whether I should tell anyone or not. And this morning, I just couldn't take it anymore. So I had to do something. So I. I drove back out to the crash site and. And I'd been there already. Tried to get through to see if I could help. And all the workers turned me away. And since then, all the families were, you know, told, don't come back. Avoid the site and interface with the people in charge at a command post in a nearby school gymnasium. But I went again anyway, and the site looked basically like it did the first time I saw it. It's just carnage. I mean, twisted metal, a bit less smoke and chaos, but still not great. And I saw one of the coordinators I'd met earlier, this guy named Morrison, and he was about to flag down people to cart me away, but I just begged him. I needed to know if there was any chance you could be alive in there. And, oh, he looked at me with this expression, like sympathy and exhaustion. And I realized he'd probably had this exact same conversation with dozens of family members. And he told me. He told me they'd used thermal cameras, listening devices, even dogs. And there were just no signs of life, no survivors. And the bodies were so damaged that they were using anything they could. Teeth, bits of driver's licenses, cell phones. I mean, grim. Grim stuff. Anything for identification. And when I heard him mention cell phones, I wanted to tell him about the call. Your first call. But, I mean, how could I? I think he'd. He'd think I was in denial. So I asked about phone signals, whether a survivor's phone could possibly be working, possibly be making calls somehow. And apparently, when he said cell phones, that they'd been finding cell phones, he meant pieces of cell phones, SIM cards. And that was if they were lucky. Anyway, I. And I drove home feeling like an idiot, wondering if I'd just imagined the whole thing or misread the caller ID or something. I guess grief does that to people, right? But when I got back to my apartment, my answering machine light was off, but I still checked my caller ID, and there it was. Brennan, Nathan, 2:17pm you had called while I was at the crash site. Where are you? How did you call me, Nate? Anyway, I called you back as fast as I could, and against all odds, you answered. It was your voice, Nate. It was you, clear as ever. Just, oh, what's up, bro? Just totally casual, like you hadn't been dead for three days, but finally I was able to say your name. And there was this pause on the other end, like you were thinking about something. And then you started talking about the lake. Summer of 91, the trip we took to Minnesota with Mom and dad. And I must have been 15. You 17, right? And we went to that one seafood place, right on the dock, and I got Walleye and you got fried clams. But we ended up sharing because yours were way better. And you were saying all this, and I wanted to stop you, but you just kept talking about that day. The best day. You said us and mom and dad. And I tried to get through to you. I tried, but you suddenly said you had to go, and the line went dead. I've just been sitting here for an hour trying to make sense of it all. It was your voice, 1,000%. But I don't know, something felt off. Like, not just the random memory, but. Why were you talking like that, Nate? And why that memory? Why that day? I mean, you know, we've had hundreds of good times together, but you picked that one. So. Yeah, I'm. I'm gonna stay up again tonight and keep the phone close, because if you call again, I want to be ready. Just. Come on, Nate. Tell me what's happening, please.

[Nate]

Thanks for selling your car to Carvana. Here's your check.

[Paul]

Whoa.

[Brian Sigley]

When did I get here?

[Nate]

What do you mean?

[Brian Sigley]

I swear it was just moments ago that I accepted a great offer from Carvana online. I must have time traveled to the future.

[Nate]

It was just moments ago. We do same day pickup. Here's your check for that great offer.

[McLeod Andrews]

It is the future.

[Paul]

It's.

[Nate]

It's the present. And just the convenience of Carvana. Sorry to blow your mind.

[Paul]

It's all good. Happens all the time.

[Nate]

Sell your car the convenient way to Carvana. Pick up. Times may vary and fees may apply.

[Brian Sigley]

Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile.

[Paul]

Now, I was looking for fun ways.

[McLeod Andrews]

To tell you that Mint's offer of.

[Brian Sigley]

Unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back.

[McLeod Andrews]

So I thought it would be fun.

[Paul]

If we made $15 bills, but it.

[McLeod Andrews]

Turns out that's very illegal, so there.

[Paul]

Goes my big idea for the commercial.

[Brian Sigley]

Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment.

[Nate]

Of $45 for three month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required. New customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of networks busy. Taxes and fees extra.

[Brian Sigley]

See mintmobile.com hey, guys, it's Ceedee Lamb, wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. I'm partnering with Abercrombie this season to.

[Paul]

Tell you all about their viral denim.

[Brian Sigley]

All you need to know is denim.

[Paul]

Should fit like this.

[Brian Sigley]

My jeans need to check a lot of boxes.

[Paul]

Fit first, trend second. They need to go with whatever I'm feeling.

[Brian Sigley]

And Abercrombie Denim has it down, whether.

[Paul]

I'm throwing on a tee or putting.

[Brian Sigley]

The whole fit together shop Abercrombie denim in the app online and in store. Hello. No one is available to take your call. Please leave a message after the tone.

[Paul]

Hey, it's Paul. I'm at a phone booth.

[McLeod Andrews]

And where am I?

[Paul]

Brainerd. Brainerd, Minnesota. And I. Yeah, I. I went to the lake. I know how that sounds, but I couldn't stop thinking about why you brought up that specific memory. It felt like you were trying to tell me something. You know, like maybe you were there somehow on some kind of dissociative trip or something. So. So when I finally got to the lake, it. It took me a while to find the right spot. Everything looks different than I remember it. Smaller, somehow, but. But then I saw it. That seafood place by the dock. Except it's. It's not a restaurant anymore.

[McLeod Andrews]

The.

[Paul]

The windows are all boarded up, and there's, like, this rotted closed for the season sign half hanging from the door. But anyway, I just sat at the dock for, like, maybe an hour, trying to feel. I don't know, anything. It was clear no one had been here for a while. No tire tracks. No sign of life. No sign of you. Have you been here, Nate? That's impossible, isn't it? I don't know. Still, I couldn't help thinking about that day from your memory. And I don't know if this sounds crazy, but sitting there, staring at the water for just a second, I swear I could feel you there. Like when we were kids sharing a room. And I'd know you were awake in the dark, just like me. But I don't know. I know you weren't there. Of course you weren't. And I was just some guy sitting alone on a rotten dock talking to ghosts. But then. Then I heard it. A phone ringing. And it was coming from inside the abandoned restaurant. And I don't know, I just got all James Bondi. I kicked in the side door. I mean, the place was a mess. It's. It's kind of. It's surprising. It's a lot harder than you think it was. It kind of hurt my foot. But anyway, I got in there, and the place was a mess. And there on the wall by the old cash register was this faded rotary phone, and it was ringing, so I picked it up, and before I could even say hello, boom, there you were again. And you started talking about Halloween, 1990, that party at Jake Morrison's house where we teepeed the entire block and got caught by his dad. And he made us clean it all up. And you Laughed about it. You know that laugh you do when you know you did something stupid but don't regret it? You know the one. And, yeah, I just. I don't know. I'm sorry I lost it. I yelled at you, demanding to know where you were. I mean, were you alive? Were you hurt? What the hell was happening? I'm so sorry. I must have sounded crazy, screaming into the phone at this abandoned restaurant. But you didn't answer me. You just hung up. I just stood there holding the phone, shaking. And real weird, that's when I noticed that the cord wasn't even plugged into anything. The whole cable had been chewed through by mice or something, I don't know, years ago. And I'd just been talking to you on a phone that wasn't even connected. So I ran out of there and drove until I found this phone booth, and, man, I don't know how much more of this I can take. I don't know. I'm. I'm. I'm gonna go back to Chicago now. Maybe I should. Maybe I should just stop answering the phone for a while. I just don't know what else to do. Hey. Just calling you back. It's been, what, 12 hours since Minnesota? I don't know. Time's getting weird. When I got back to Chicago, the first thing I saw was the light blinking on my answering machine. And, you know, kind of like our last call. Part of me didn't even want to answer it, didn't want to check it. I thought about just unplugging the whole thing and pretending none of this ever happened, but no. I looked at the caller ID and this time, it wasn't your number. It was Morrison, the coordinator guy from the crash site. He left a message, but when I played it back, it was completely garbled, Just static and crackling and something about needing to speak to me. So I called him back, thinking. Thinking maybe there was news about you or recovery efforts or something. But it just rang and rang. No answer, no voicemail. And since then, I've been sitting here just thinking about the last real conversation we had, the one before the crash, that stupid fight about the Cubs pitching rotation. And I called you an idiot and hung up on you, thinking I'd. You know, thinking I'd call back and apologize for being such an ass after you got off the train. Except you never did get off. Then my phone rang again, and I picked up without checking caller ID Thinking it was Morrison. But it was you, Nate. And I don't know, you sounded more present than you sounded in the other calls, hey, bro, calm is anything. And I didn't know what to say, so I just asked you straight up if you were dead. And there's this long pause, and you said you thought so, but it was all right. Then you told me you were sorry about the stupid fight. You said I was the best brother you could have asked for and just wanted me to know that. Wanted me to know we'd both be okay. And then the line went quiet. Could hear that slight hum of an open connection, but you were gone. I just sat there with the phone pressed to my ear for a while, just listening to the ambiance of wherever you're hanging out now, I guess, until, you know, the dial tone finally kicked back in. Yeah. Morrison called. Twenty minutes later, they found your body. They were able to identify it using dental records. I didn't say anything. When he told me. I just kind of listened and thanked him for calling and hung up. Cause I think I already knew you were dead. I think I'd known it since the moment I saw those images on tv. Because no one survives a crash like that. But I also think I. I got what I needed. What we both needed. God, I miss you, man. See you again soon. Not. Not too soon, all right? Uh, yeah. Love you.

[Brian Sigley]

Sightings will be back just after this. And I saw this giant, like, eight.

[Paul]

Foot hairy creature just run across the road. She was claiming a man was talking to her through the sound machine. If there are any spirits in this room, please give us a sign that you are here. And as soon as he finished that sentence, the door to the bedroom slammed shut and the candle blew out. And now the room is pitch black. As it walked, it walked like an.

[McLeod Andrews]

Ape, but human, though, too, also.

[Paul]

But as they moved towards us, they.

[Brian Sigley]

Grew in height and slenderized and became distorted. We are the Hollow Sky Podcast and welcome to the Hollow Cult. Join us every Monday for Tales of the strange and unusual. Wherever you listen to podcasts and remember, stay safe, stay weird.

[Nate]

With the Venmo debit card, you can Venmo everything. Your favorite band's merch. You can Venmo this or their next show. You can Venmo that. Visit Venmo Me Debit to learn more. The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp bank and a pursuant to license by Mastercard International, Inc. The card may be used everywhere. MasterCard is accepted. Venmo purchase restrictions apply.

[Brian Sigley]

It's Wednesday. Adams.

[McLeod Andrews]

I see you're trying to distract yourself.

[Brian Sigley]

From your own banal thoughts. Let me help Here's a recording thing made of my latest root canal.

[Paul]

Wednesday. Season two begins August 6th, only on Netflix.

[McLeod Andrews]

Oh, boy. Welcome back to Sightings, everybody. I don't know about you guys, but narrating that story, I just found it very moving. Great work, Brian.

[Brian Sigley]

Oh, thank you. No, good work to you. That was a very different approach. You had to put your acting hat on a little bit more than your narrating hat on that one.

[McLeod Andrews]

What I loved about this one is it was so intimate and personal, which begs the question, were Nate and Paul real people? Is this based on Nate and Paul.

[Brian Sigley]

And they were not real people? I made the very conscious decision to make this story content up because all of the real stories of this happening have that intimacy and feel very personal in a way that it would feel very intrusive for me to try and dramatize it in a way. You know, it's all. It's to me, like, talking about true crime, murder cases, things like that. It's just. I feel like that should just be set aside. It's a little different than talking about, like, UFOs or something like that.

[McLeod Andrews]

That is exceedingly thoughtful of you, Brian.

[Brian Sigley]

Thank you. I think you're giving me more credit than I.

[McLeod Andrews]

Boy, I don't know. I don't want to just. You guys all just listen to the story. I don't want to talk about, like, the story you just listened to. But I. I think how could anybody not after losing a loved one, no matter how they lost them, whether it was to, like, a long battle with cancer or a horrible accident like was in this story or just time, how both gratifying and incredible it would be to get to hear that person's voice again. But also kind of how torturous to, like, hear them talk to you and to not really be able to have a real conversation with them. Like, it seems like there's sort of a disjointedness of, like. Of the voice from beyond needing to kind of convey a very important message that is not necessarily in conversation with you in your moment, but it's just. This is something you need to hear from me. This is something you need to know.

[Brian Sigley]

Yeah.

[McLeod Andrews]

Ugh. It's just kind of. It's heartbreaking and beautiful. And so that makes me wonder, you know, we didn't dramatize somebody else's story for the fiction piece of this, but could you walk us through, Brian, some of the documented stories of this, the supposedly real ones?

[Brian Sigley]

Absolutely. So this is obviously a relatively new phenomena because phones haven't been around forever, you know, I guess before there were telephones, there were, you know, people were doing seances or necromancy and things like that to kind of commune with commune spirits.

[McLeod Andrews]

The dead couldn't be sliding into our DM as we could.

[Brian Sigley]

Exactly. But in 1979, there was a book that was aptly called Phone Calls from the Dead that was published, and it kind of brought to light a lot of these stories that are now have been popularized in a sense. And before I dive into the actual stories themselves, it's worth noting that they kind of found some patterns in how this works and what these phone calls look like, generally speaking. And granted this was before cell phones and messaging and all that kind of stuff. But as we'll hear, there are some stories of stuff that happened in the cell phone era. But generally speaking, usually there's just one voice of someone who calls. Very rarely there are multiple voices. Usually these calls happen in the first 24 hours of someone having passed, but there are reports of someone getting calls up to two years after it happened.

[McLeod Andrews]

Oh, wow.

[Brian Sigley]

And then this is something that happened in the story. But callers generally seem a little bit confused or disoriented. They're talking about nonsensical things, sometimes aren't hearing what the live person is saying. It's just they make the call, they say their thing, and that's it.

[McLeod Andrews]

Oh, wow, that's fascinating. This idea that almost like it's a loose consciousness or a pre recorded consciousness or something that's fighting through the veil through static. It's very interesting. So in the story that you wrote, sometimes there was conversation, sometimes there weren't. Is that what's happened in real life?

[Brian Sigley]

Yeah. The authors of this book from 1979 kind of bifurcated stories into two big buckets, so to speak, where generally speaking, if the caller knows the call is from a dead person, the dead person will not speak.

[McLeod Andrews]

Huh. So if they know that they're dead, the dead person won't speak.

[Brian Sigley]

You'll see that the person called.

[McLeod Andrews]

Right.

[Brian Sigley]

Whereas there are a lot of accounts of people who get a call from a loved one, have a conversation with them. Sometimes it's totally normal, sometimes there's a lot of non sequiturs or whatever, but. But they have this call from them, they hang up, and then an hour later, two hours later, the next day, find out that person died 24 hours ago or 48 hours ago or something like that.

[McLeod Andrews]

Weird Heisenberg uncertainty principle of calling dead people. Like where?

[Brian Sigley]

Yeah, so they tend to be more conversational. If you do not know they're dead.

[McLeod Andrews]

Cause maybe they don't know they're dead. And the psychic energy of you knowing they're dead throws off their sort of.

[Brian Sigley]

Oh, that's a really cool theory, actually. I like that one. What I tried to do in the story was have Nate, the dead brother, kind of. Of go through the process of realizing that he's dead, perhaps, or admitting it by the end. And I don't know if that actually happens necessarily.

[McLeod Andrews]

Yeah. But again, I just have to comment. I don't know if you did this consciously, but, like, it's kind of fitting that Paul originally assumes quite heavily that. That Nate is dead. So when he gets a call from Nate, it's just breathing. He's not able to speak. That plants in Paul the seed of doubting himself, of saying maybe. And, in fact, thinking, maybe Nate's alive. I'll bet. How else could I get a call? Nate's probably alive. Therefore, the next call is Nate is more present.

[Brian Sigley]

I'm so glad you're reading all of this. That was, yeah. A thousand, thousand percent intentional.

[McLeod Andrews]

Right? Right.

[Brian Sigley]

But, yeah. So like I said, this is not a new phenomena. Like, I set this in 1998, but. But these reports go back forever, basically. I mean, the ones that are documented in the book are mostly in the 60s and 70s. There have been more since. But let's dive into a few of these that I think are kind of interesting. So let's go to 1971, Arizona. There's a woman named Bonnie who was making dinner on a Sunday evening when her phone rang. Her husband answered, told her it was their old friend Enid calling. And Bonnie hadn't spoken to this woman in over a year. So she was thrilled to catch up. And they had a lengthy conversation. And Enid mentioned she'd recently moved to a nearby care facility. And they made plans to meet up, basically. And the next day, Bonnie went to the care facility to see her friend. She went to the front desk, asked for the room number. And then the receptionist told her that Enid had died. Now, of course, Bonnie was confused because she just had a whole conversation with her the evening before. And the receptionist expl. She'd been discovered dead in her room that previous morning. So Enid had been dead for less than 24 hours at the point that the phone call happened.

[McLeod Andrews]

Right.

[Brian Sigley]

So another incident happened in 1969 in New Jersey. This was a gentleman named Carl. He apparently rented a cottage for a weekend getaway. And he saw that there was this antique telephone on the nightstand. When he got there on the first night. He was falling asleep. His phone rang at 11:15pm he answered, and it was his father on the line. And he calling to tell Carl to call his mother. So Carl as asking what was wrong, his father couldn't seem to hear him and just kept insisting, you need to call your mother immediately. You need to call your mother immediately. And I'm sure it was frustrating for Carl because it was like talking to a brick wall, basically, you know, where he had. The father had one thing to say and was only saying that. And then his father said some cryptic final words. He mentioned he was in a beautiful place, and then the line went dead. I think we can see where this is going. But Carl tried calling back a whole bunch of times. He couldn't get an outgoing connection. He searched the cottage, trying to figure out what was wrong. And then he went into town the next morning to use a payphone and call his parents. And his relatives told him that his father had suffered a fatal heart attack the previous evening while lying in bed with Carl's mother. She was too distraught to come to the phone when Carl tried to call her. And when Carl asked for the details, he learned that his father died at 11:15p, exact same time that that phone call happened.

[Paul]

Whoa.

[McLeod Andrews]

Yeah.

[Brian Sigley]

There's one more little kicker on this story, though. Carl went back to the cottage to pack up, and he realized that the phone, that antique phone that was on the nightstand, had never been connected to any phone line.

[McLeod Andrews]

Okay. And that's kind of like the detail in the fishing, like, restaurant.

[Brian Sigley]

So that would leave me speechless if that ever happened to me. I mean, I think you've got the double whammy there, where you get the phone call at the exact time that your father died.

[McLeod Andrews]

Yeah. W. The kind of, like, simplicity and immediacy of, like, you need to call your mom. You need to call your mom. Like, seems to fit this idea of, like, just a powerful, like, emotional message needing to be conveyed, like, shooting out from this soul across the. The fact that it comes through through phone lines. Was this a cell phone or was it a.

[Brian Sigley]

This was 19. The 1960s. So this would have been 1960s.

[McLeod Andrews]

Okay. Definitely a landline.

[Brian Sigley]

Well, speaking of cell phones, though, this next incident, which most direct inspired the story, happened in 2008 and did involve a cell phone. So in California, there was a gentleman named Charles peck. And on September 12, 2008, there was a train crash in California. There were 225 people on board, 25 died, and 135 people were injured. Among the passengers that day was this 49 year old man named Charles Peck. So his family knew he was on the train and of course they were all freaking out because they didn't know if he was alive or dead or not. And as were all at the train station trying to figure out what's going on, multiple members of his family started getting phone calls from his cell phone. His brother, his stepmother, his sister, his son from a previous relationship, and his fiance all got calls from his cell phone over the next 11 hours. That's 35 calls in total, which is pretty wild.

[McLeod Andrews]

Whoa.

[Brian Sigley]

When these people answered the calls though, all they heard was static on the other end. There was no breathing, no voice, no nothing, basically. And they kept calling him back and every, every call just kept going through to V. And of course this gave them hope that maybe he was alive in the wreckage. Kind of like what was happening with Paul and Nate here because could he have just been unable to speak or something and just. You couldn't even see his phone. Maybe it just was dialing and just calling whoever or just running through auto dial or something like that. I don't know. Yeah. But they told the rescue teams, the rescue teams were using the signal to track the phone's location. So the phone was still working. You know, they tracked the cell phone and found his body in the first car. Ultimately. Now here's, here's the kicker though. The coroner ultimately determined that Charles died instantly on impact. So he was not there to make those calls.

[Paul]

Yeah.

[Brian Sigley]

So who made them? How did, were they made, what was going on?

[McLeod Andrews]

You know, I, it's, it's funny, like in terms of like theories, like, because these are such personal stories, I don't necessarily like, feel the need to like poke at it. I am curious the kind of provenance of some of these stories of this occurrence. Is it just, I don't know, people call the local paper to talk about it. How do we know about these?

[Brian Sigley]

You know, I'm gonna have to do some digging on the Charles Pequan because there's lots of stories of it on the Internet, but I can't figure out where it actually originated. I assume that there is a provenance though, because there are news articles about it and like photos of the man and the place, airplane and the train crash and, and things like that. So I think he was a real person and this, this actually happened the other ones and a lot of the other stories that we won't even go to here appeared in that book that I mentioned. And that book was written by parapsychologists who did a lot of research on this, had the discussion with people, vetted all of this, of course. Can you prove that this phone call happened in 1965? Probably not, for instance, But I think we have to take people at their word on this one. Because in my mind, if you're gonna come up with some paranormal experience, you would pick something a little less personal. If it were fake, you know, I.

[McLeod Andrews]

Could probably come up with skeptical gecko takes on it, but I just don't.

[Paul]

Why?

[McLeod Andrews]

You know, it's like I don't think there's anybody like making a bunch of money off these stories or like, it's just. They're just extremely personal stories. Like to the extent that they. If they actually happened, if. Which I'm willing to give the benefit of a doubt and assume that. That it did.

[Brian Sigley]

Well, I mean, I think without going into straight up skeptical gecko territory and still honoring, you know, and respecting these people and their experiences, you know, is there a world in which, in Charles Peck's case, for instance, there was some strange glitch, or his phone was tapped just the right way that it started blitzing these calls out, or, you know, there was some technical explanation for this that was ascribed a supernatural explanation.

[McLeod Andrews]

Right.

[Brian Sigley]

Even though it might have been a very terrestrial kind of situation that just badly timed, you know.

[McLeod Andrews]

Right. Cause we've all butt dialed people before, so.

[Brian Sigley]

Yeah, exactly. And phones sometimes just do weird things. But I think what's interesting, I'm trying to figure out how I would feel if I had been Charles Peck's family. I mean, of course I would be devastated at the loss of him, but would I feel better having received that call from him? How would. How would that make you feel?

[McLeod Andrews]

I don't know. I mean, like, to some extent it might feel like, especially if you didn't get to like talk with him. If it's just a. Kind of. Feels like a glitch. Could. A weird glitch, almost like it just kind of prolongs the acceptance period, Just like prolongs that kind of anxiety ridden moment in which you were hoping. So I guess it's unwelcome in that respect.

[Brian Sigley]

In that respect, yeah.

[McLeod Andrews]

If you did get to talk with someone, I think, obviously I think I've already kind of walked through emotionally how that would resonate for me.

[Brian Sigley]

But personally, I want to believe that this is a possibility.

[Paul]

Me too.

[Brian Sigley]

So I guess this one is a little more somber than usual. But still, I think it was a really interesting story, really fascinating conversation, and we'd love to hear from you listeners, if you have had any similar experiences or have any thoughts on what might be going on here. So hit us up on Spotify, leave us a comment on there, or find us on Instagram itingspod.

[McLeod Andrews]

Thank you, Brian, and thank you again for this lovely story. I think this one really typifies why we do this show and why we love these stories of the unknown, because I think they can cut to the core of the sense of wonder at our own existence.

[Brian Sigley]

Absolutely.

[McLeod Andrews]

So, which begs the question, next week, what kind of story do we get to dive into?

[Brian Sigley]

We're gonna go a little bit more crazy out there. Big, less emotionally charged story.

[McLeod Andrews]

Cool. I'm here for it. You know, I love a good adventure.

[Brian Sigley]

It is the middle of summer. We're gonna take a little vacation. I'm not gonna say what the particular story is, but I will say we're gonna going off the coast of Florida, somewhere near Bermuda, perhaps.

[McLeod Andrews]

Okay.

[Brian Sigley]

So.

[McLeod Andrews]

Okay, that might have been a little.

[Paul]

Bit on the nose.

[Brian Sigley]

I didn't say. I didn't say what it was, so.

[McLeod Andrews]

Well, I'm going to triangulate how I feel about this.

[Brian Sigley]

All right, listeners, well, we've got a really fun, really out there story coming your way in two weeks. So get those sunglasses, get that sunscreen, get ready to head somewhere a little bit tropical.

[McLeod Andrews]

All right? I'm here for it. All right, everybody, stay cool, stay safe, and take care of one another out there.

[Brian Sigley]

Sightings is hosted by McLeod Andrews and Brian Sigley. Produced by Brian Sigley, Chase Kinzer, and McLeod Andrews. Written by Brian Sigley. Music by Mitch Bain. Mixing and mastering by Pat Kicklater of Sundial Music Media. Artwork by Nuno Cernanos. For a list of this episode's sources, check out our [e-mail] Sightings is presented by Reverb and Q Code. If you like the show, be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you're first to hear new episodes every week. And if you know other Supernatural fans, tell them about us. We'd really appreciate it.

[Paul]

Mom and dad, the school supplies you buy me this year will mostly end up in my mouth. Maybe shop low prices for school at Amazon so I don't eat up all your money. Just something to chew on Amazon. Spend less, smile more.

[Nate]

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