what if I saw a glimpse of the past theme

A character is shown a sight of a past occurrence. This might be on account that the character invoked a magical incantation, appealed to some speculative technology, or was shown a vision of the future by another entity.

Notes

If a character has an innate ability to see into the past, then "retrocognition" is the more appropriate theme.

7 total · 2 major · 5 minor

StoryLevelMotivation
as1985e2x13 major Scenes of Charlene's past unfolded before her eyes as she drove down the road on a stormy night. In one such scene, she beheld her child self crying in the backseat of a car on the way home from her mother's funeral. In another, she witnessed her possibly alcohol fueled wedding motorcade speeding past her on the highway.
movie: Deja Vu (2006) major Agent Carlin and the FBI people were using the Snow White system to watch a sequence of events unfold starting from four days in the past.
movie: Scrooge (1951) minor The Ghost of Christmas Past showed Scrooge scenes of his past to show him what a cold-hearted, miser was a as a young man.
movie: The Invisible Ray (1936) minor Janos Rukh invented a telescope that can look far out into deep space, into the Andromeda Galaxy, and photograph light rays that show the Earth's past.
nightgallery2x12b minor One of Mr. Gingold's camera obscuras could be used to see the into past.
tz1959e5x24 minor Joe was might befuddled when the TV started showing him scenes form his own past.
tz1994a minor Melissa watched scenes of her own past unfold before her eyes on a movie theater screen during a film screening.