The Great Beyond

The Sun has a long history of publishing work about the mystery of what might await us after our lives on earth have ended. Our December issue offers two possibilities. Derek Askey’s interview with Dr. Jim Tucker, a psychiatrist and professor at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, is a fascinating conversation about Tucker’s studies of children who remember past lives. His research suggests consciousness may endure from one bodily incarnation to the next. Though he tells Derek “I don’t view it as my mission to convince people,” his scientific, levelheaded explanations might win over even confirmed skeptics. Susan Neville’s short story “The Wind Phone” is told through two narrators: a young woman and the mother she recently lost. Their intertwined voices make for a poetic, moving exploration of the lengths a parent will go to reach the child they love.

Below you’ll find links to selections from our archive—some spooky, some serious, and some on the lighter side—that delve into visions of the afterlife. Whatever your personal beliefs, we hope you’ll find a piece or two to enjoy.

Take care and read well,
Nancy Holochwost, Associate Editor

Fiction

What the Dead Know

By Manuel Martinez October 2004

This short story imagines what would happen if, in an “an epidemic of miracles,” people who had recently died were resurrected. How would they fit into their old lives, and how would everyone else react to their return? The author makes a surprising answer believable.

Readers Write

Ghosts

By Our Readers May 2021

Not every story in this Readers Write section takes the topic of ghosts literally, but there are enough accounts of haunted houses, mysterious presences, and unexplainable occurrences to make me believe spirits can visit the living. Readers recall messages sent by deceased parents, an eerie gas station frozen in time, and a ghost who steals from his old home.

Poetry

Stepping out of the Body

By Stuart Kestenbaum February 2003

“I am about to join everything,” says the narrator as he leaves his physical form behind. I love the way this poem envisions the transition out of the body as a moment to ask questions and to wonder. What comes next for the narrator isn’t clear, but it’s full of possibility.

Fiction

Trudy Deere Goes to Heaven

By Alison Clement March 1998

During a near-death experience, Trudy Deere gets the opportunity to speak to angels—with disappointing results—in this sour, funny story narrated by Trudy’s hospital roommate.

Essays, Memoirs & True Stories

Messages

By Morgan Talty September 2022

After his mom’s unexpected passing, the author combed through the letters and voicemails she left him, searching for a clue about where she is now. “If anyone could communicate from beyond,” he thought, “it was her.” It’s easy to feel—and share—his longing to believe that the people we love most will find a way to speak to us after they’re gone.