Precognition, Premonition, or Prediction

Tag Area: Time-Related Situation
Short Story

The Rocking-Horse Winner


When young Paul frantically rides his rocking horse, he sometimes sees the names of sure winners in actual horse races. —Michael Main
You see, it’s all right, uncle, when I’m sure! Then we go strong for all we’re worth. Don’t we, Bassett?
A young boy and an older man, dressed in nice suits, sit on a park bench
                listening to another suited man.
  • Fantasy
  • Time Phenomena
Comic Book

Unusual Tales #2

Madam Futura


Madam Futura has an infallible knack for seeing the future—a knack that businessman Ben Gainer plans to exploit, even though he figures her for a fake. —Michael Main
That Madam Futura knows everything! She can see the past, the present, and the future!
In the first two panels, a mystical woman in a green turban looks over a
                crystal ball and reads the future of two people.
  • Fantasy
  • Weird Fiction
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Time Phenomena
Comic Book

Unusual Tales #3

Why?


The Bailys are the perfect family with the perfect baby, until one day young Billy wails all night long. —Michael Main
He cried all night—he didn’t stop till just now! He can’t be just teething! I’m taking the day off . . . We’re going to the doctor to find out why!
In the large first panel, a baby wails at night from within a second-storey
                bedroom in a suburban home.
  • Fantasy
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Time Phenomena
Short Story

Journey into Mystery #42

He Saw the Future


A bump on the head from a falling (small) bag of concrete gives Harry the ability to see the future in exactly the way he needs. —Michael Main
So it wasn’t too surprising that Harry just happened to be passing by the new building going up when a small bag of cement fell from the second story scaffolding.
No image currently available.
  • Fantasy
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Time Phenomena
Comic Book

Adventure into Mystery #6

The Eye That’s Never Shut!


The eye of an ancient Greek sphinx statue tells Rex Ronoff that he can steal the Great Sultana Diamond and never be caught. —Michael Main
The eye says I won’t get caught . . . and it is never wrong!
No image currently available.
  • Weird Fiction
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Time Phenomena
Comic Book

Unusual Tales #7

The Man Who Could See Tomorrow


A plain Joe just wants to get rid of the scarey power he has to see tomorrow’s events today. —Michael Main
I heard that story you just told . . . and I believe you!
In the large first panel, a man in an unbutton shirt pleads with a doctor who
                assures him that nothing is wrong.
  • Fantasy
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Time Phenomena
Comic Book

Unusual Tales #9

Clairvoyance


Young David Fenner just wants to play baseball, but when an electric charge zaps him with the power of clairvoyance, researchers at the local university have other plans for the boy. —Michael Main
There were no ill effects from the shock! But some days later, the first signs of his hunusual new power appeared . . .
In the large first panel, a group of visitors marvel at a statue on a
                university campus of a young boy posing with a baseball and bat.
  • Science Fiction
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Time Phenomena
Comic Book

Unusual Tales #11

Dream On . . . !


Fred Cotton refuses to sleep because each of his nightmares later comes true! —Michael Main
He fought sleep like a man fighting demons! But no man can stay awake forever! His eyelids began to close, heavy with fatigue, his head began to nod . . .
In three large panels, Fred Cotton wakes up from a seemingly impossible dream
                of a giant sea monster.
  • Fantasy
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Time Phenomena
TV Episode

The Twilight Zone (v1s01e12)

What You Need


Rod Serling does an admirable job translating the original story by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore to the small screen. The story’s two main incidents (the scissors and the shoes) come through with little change. In this version, the curious shopkeeper has become a street vendor, and the man who’s interested in the vendor’s goods is now a darker lowlife than the original newspaperman. Also, the science fiction aspect has been replaced by psychic precognition, solidly in the realm of fantasy, but not quite into weird fiction. —Michael Main
What have you got in there? Some sort of machine? Crystal ball? . . . You can see ahead, can’t you? You can look into the future.
On a city sidewalk at night, Steve Cochran (as Fred Renard) menacingly
                approaches Ernest Truex (as the street vendor Pedott).
  • Eloi Honorable Mention
  • Fantasy
  • Time Phenomena
Short Story

Journey into Mystery #60

The Swami


After John McDermott’s uncle dies, John wants to know from the swami now what his uncle’s will holds. —Michael Main
You want me to tell you your future, I presume.
No image currently available.
  • Fantasy
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Debatable Time Travel
Comic Book

Unusual Tales #27

Look into the Future


Decades ago, a prescient dream gave a young man confidence to ruthlessly pursue his ambitions. —Michael Main
The mine did cave later . . . but mining is a dangerous business and some always die! The important thing is, I got production!
A collage of three panels taken from "A Look Into the Future" by Steve Ditko.
  • Weird Fiction
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Time Phenomena
Short Story

Unusual Tales #32

Out of “Ur”


A man and his future wife show up in the 20th century with a bag of diamonds and a fabulous story of ancient royalty. —Michael Main
I refuse to make any statement about whether or not those two crossed a Time Barrier.
The first page of the two-page story "Out of
  • Fantasy
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Definite Time Travel
Comic Book

Journey into Mystery #102

Death Comes to Thor!


Eighteen-year-old Thor seeks out the three prophetic Fates for the answer to whether he shall ever be awarded Odin’s enchanted hammer. —Michael Main
You can win Odin’s enchanted hammer—but you will have to meet death first!
Young Thor, without his hammer, climbs a grassy hill toward a rock outcrop
                where three cloaked figures stir a caldron.
  • Superhero
  • Folklore and Mythology
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Time Phenomena
Novel

The Mirror


In 1978, a 20-year-old Boulder woman exchanges places with her grandmother in 1900 on the eve of their respective weddings. —Michael Main
He thought she wouldn’t answer but finally she said, “What if I can’t go back? What if I have to live out Brandy’s life? She lives an awfully long time, Corbin.”
The face of a young woman, with long hair parted in the middle, looks out from
                an oval mirror.
  • Eloi Honorable Mention
  • Fantasy
  • Definite Time Travel
Feature Film

Starcrash


Smugglers Stella Star and Akton are sprung from prison by the Galactic Emperor (Christopher Plummer!) to rescue the Galactic Prince (the Hoff!) and save the universe (using kickboxing and an occasional lightsaber!) from the Evil Count Zarth Arn (“Evil” appears to be his first name). At various points, the murky plot has brief stints with suspended animation (Stella), precognition (Arkon), and the freezing time (the Emperor), none of which rises to actual time travel. On the other hand, in the words of reviewer Kurt Dahike, “the budget special effects transcend into the realm of real art.” —Michael Main
Stella: So you can see into the future? All these years you never told me. Think of all the trouble I might have avoided.

Akton: You would have tried to change the future, which is against the law.
One bikini-clad, raygun-toting space warrior, and another spandex-wearing,
                laser-saber-toting warrior by a spaceship and a Vader-type guy.
  • Science Fiction
  • Debatable Time Travel
TV Episode

Quantum Leap (s01e09)

Play It Again, Seymour


Sam arrives in 1953 as a private eye who looks like Humphrey Bogart and has to solve the mystery of his partner’s murder while trying to figure out his relationship with his partner’s wife and the eager kid at the newsstand. —Michael Main
Kid, if I’m lucky I’m gonna spend the rest of my life leaping around from one place to another instead of face down in a pool of blood.
Dressed in overcoats and fedora hats, Claudia Christian (as Allison Grimsley)
                and Scott Bakula (as Sam Beckett) stare into each others eyes.
  • Science Fiction
  • Mystery and Crime
  • Definite Time Travel
Feature Film

12 Monkeys


In the year 2035, with the world devastated by an artificially engineered plague, convict James Cole is sent back in time to gather information about the plague’s origin so the scientists can figure out how to fight it. —Michael Main
If you can’t change anything because it’s already happened, you may as well smell the flowers.
The faces of Bruce Willis (as old James with one red eye), Brat Pitt (as young
                James), and Madeline Stowe (as Kathryn) stare out of the shadows.
  • Eloi Silver Medal
  • Science Fiction
  • Definite Time Travel
Early Chapter Book

The Magic Tree House 13

Vacation under the Volcano


Jack and Annie take on their first mission as members of the Ancient Society of Master Librarians: retreiving a lost scroll from Pompeii! —Michael Main
“This story was in a library in a Roman town. I need you to get it before thelibrary becomes lost.”
Dressed in ancient Roman garb, young Jack and Annie flee in the streets of
                Pompeii as Vesuvius erupts behind them.
  • Fantasy
  • Audience: Children
  • Definite Time Travel
Novel

Edelstein Trilogie, Book 1

Rubinrot

  • Ruby red
  • Ruby Red
  • by Kerstin Gier
  • (Arena Verlag, January 2009)

Sixteen-year-old Gwendolyn Shepherd [Gwyneth in the English translation] always seems to be in the shadow of her cousin Charlotte Montrose, just because Charlotte—born the day before “Gwenny”—is prophesized to be the twelfth and final carrier of a rare time-travel gene passed down through the centuries. But Gwenny doesn’t mind, as she can’t think of anything worse than Charlotte’s carefully prescribed upbringing and the prospect of dizzy spells sending her uncontrollably through time. As the first book of the tightly connected Edelstein Trilogy, the plot plods through Gwenny’s anxious awakening to complicated family mysteries and to her feelings for the pompous Gideon de Villiers, aka time traveler #11. —Michael Main
Es regnete fürchterlich. Ich hätte besser nicht nur den Regenmantel, sondern auch Gummistiefel angezogen. Mein Lieblings-Magnolienbaum an der Ecke ließ traurif sein Blüten hängen. Brevor ich ihn erreicht hatte, war ich schon dreimal in eine Pfütze getreten. Als ich gerade eine vierte umgehen wollte, riss es mich vollkommen ohne Vorwarnung von den Beinen. Mein magen fuhr Achterbahn und die Straße verschwamm vor meinen Augen zu einem grauen Fluss.
translate It was raining cats and dogs, and I wished I’d put on my wellies. The flowers on my favorite magnolia tree on the corner were drooping in a melancholy way. Before I reached it, I’d already splashed through three puddles. Just as I was trying to steer my way around a fourth, I was swept suddenly off my soggy feet. My stomach flip-flopped, and before my eyes, the street blurred into a grey river.
Black silhouettes of a young 18th-century man and woman on a pink background.
  • Fantasy
  • Romance
  • Audience: Young Adults
  • Definite Time Travel
Novel

Edelstein Trilogie, Book 2

Saphirblau

  • Sapphire blue
  • Sapphire Blue
  • by Kerstin Gier
  • (Arena Verlag, January 2010)

Apart from amusing blustering from the Count during her trips to the 18th century, time travel took a back seat to Gwenny’s on-again-off-again romance with Gideon in this second book of the trilogy. Gwenny’s new pal, the ghost/demon/gargoyle Xemerius, was enjoyable, though we wish that he would be time traveller #13. —Michael Main
Rubinrot, Begabt mit der Magie des Raben, Schließt G-Dur den Kreis, Den zwölf gebildet haben.
translate Ruby Red, with G-major, the magic of the raven, brings the Circle of Twelve home into safe haven.
Black silhouettes of a young 18th-century man and woman on a blue background.
  • Fantasy
  • Romance
  • Audience: Young Adults
  • Definite Time Travel
TV Episode

The Thundermans (s04e04)

Max to the Future


Superhero teens Phoebe and Max are applying as a team to the Z-Force. She has many special skills, but Max seems to have only one—creating gadgets—even though many have backfired. He creates a new one, the CrimeCaster. —Tandy Ringoringo
It predicts future crimes so we can catch criminals in the act.
Kira Kosarin (as Phoebe) looks on disbelievingly at Jack Griffo (as Max)
                grinning evilly at a transparent cube that displays a picture of his own head.
  • Superhero
  • Comedy
  • Audience: Children
  • Time Phenomena
Miniseries

Somewhere Between


After San Francisco suffers a week of terror at the hands of a serial killer ending with the death of Laura Price’s eight-year-old daughter Serena, Laura falls into a dark depression and attempts suicide. Next thing she knows, she’s waking up before that week, whereupon she teams up with ex-police detective Nico Jackson (who also got thrown back in time), hoping to change the week, catch the killer, save Nico’s brother’s life, and save Serena—all in a mere nine additional episodes. —Michael Main
I’m not going to let anybody hurt you this time. I swear to you on my life.
A black-and-white sideways head shot of Paula Patton (as Laura Price) above the
                title of "Somewhere Between".
  • Fantasy
  • Mystery and Crime
  • Definite Time Travel
Novel

Annie and the Wolves


Historical research Ruth McClintock and local high school student Reece have a journal written by Annie Oakley, from which they conclude that Annie was a time traveler to traumatic moments in her own life—a power that Ruth seems to share. —Michael Main
Reece, it isn’t just clarvoyance or neurosis, either.
She’d tell him in person, the thing they should have come out and admitted from the start.
It’s time travel.
Photograph of Annie Oakley shooting backwards over her shoulder while looking
                in a hand mirror.
  • Fantasy
  • Definite Time Travel
Flash Fiction

Future Tense


John—a.k.a. kiddo to his mom—has the “gift” of seeing possible futures and trying to avoid them. —Michael Main
There are always more than two options, John. Find option C.
Stylized outline of a rocket launching in a green circular seal for
                Daily Science Fiction.
  • Fantasy
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Time Phenomena
Flash Fiction

The Third Kind of Prophecy


A magic drink allows the narrator and her friends to see visions of the coming year. —Michael Main
Magic. I read in your face that you did not want to talk about the cocktail dream, though you were thinking about it, and I watched you read the same message in mine.
Stylized outline of a rocket launching in a green circular seal for
                Daily Science Fiction.
  • Fantasy
  • Debatable Time Travel
TV Episode

Time Bandits, s01e01

Kevin Haddock


After stealing the Map of the Universe from the Supreme Being, a band of dissatisfied new bandits pops through the time portal in Kevin’s bedroom—and the adventures begin! —Michael Main
Dad was right. It is just a pile of stones with a gift shop.
A pirate ship, bits of earth torn from the ground, and the cast of Time Bandits
                float in front of colorful clouds.
  • Fantasy
  • Comedy
  • Audience: Families
  • Definite Time Travel
TV Episode

Time Bandits, s01e02

Mayan


Even though Kevin seems (mostly) helpful to the bandits, Penelope still tries to dump him in the Ice Age and Maya times. —Michael Main
I’m not cut out to be a time traveling bandit.
Young Kal-El Tuk (as Kevin) stands boldly, wearing his glasses, knight tunic,
                and translation helmet.
  • Fantasy
  • Audience: Families
  • Definite Time Travel
Feature Film

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse


Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy (as Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen) swing through various spider-verses, become close to each other, struggle to stave off the Spot, and learn of the thoughse of spider-heroes, some of who exhibit technology to reconstruct the past and possibly predict the future. —Michael Main
Well, maybe some things are supposed to be just for us.
No image currently available.
  • Superhero
  • Audience: YA and Up
  • Time Phenomena