For all The Sopranos has to say about Mafia life in the 21st century, it is also a story of ghosts and hauntings. Fans of the series are familiar with its supernatural dream sequences, but some of the show’s most shocking paranormal scenes actually take place in the real world. And there are more than just a few of them. These scenes are a major reason why Outline says that everyone “should rewatch The Sopranos as horror,” and fans have been theorizing about their meaning for more than a decade now.
Though not everyone agrees that the world of The Sopranos has supernatural qualities, it remains true that the series is filled with incidents that can’t be explained by natural causes. As a new generation of viewers discovers The Sopranos through HBO Max, let’s take a look at seven moments when the series turned supernatural.
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7 A Ghost in the Mirror
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In season three, episode two of The Sopranos, Tony Soprano briefly catches an apparition of his former (read: deceased) friend, Salvatore Bonpensiero, in a mirror. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, but one that points to an undercurrent that runs through much of the series: that is, Tony’s guilt over the killing of Bonpensiero. This guilt haunts Tony both in dreams and the real world, and it seems to be something he can never outrun. Bonpensiero’s ghostly appearance in the mirror suggests that the guilt has taken on an almost physical form. Maybe, Tony really is being haunted, in which case guilt is the least of his worries.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 The Moving Wine Glass
In maybe the most subtle moment on this list, a dinner scene between Janice Soprano and Bobby Baccalieri turns ghostly when a wine glass suddenly moves across the table without being touched. It’s so discreet that even the diners fail to notice. Those in doubt can replay the scene for themselves and watch as the glass changes places. Fans theorize that the glass may have been moved by the ghost of Baccalieri’s recently deceased wife, who would be unhappy to see him dining with Janice.
5 Paulie’s Visit to the Medium
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When Sopranos fan-favorite character Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri starts having nightmares about his violent past, he seeks the help of a psychic who claims he can communicate with the dead. During Paulie’s visit, the psychic begins receiving messages from beyond the grave. Shockingly, they seem to be coming from the first man Paulie killed over 30 years ago. The psychic goes so far as to reveal the name of the man — a name Paulie has never shared. The frightened mobster explodes and flees the psychic’s house, leaving viewers without any explanation. We don’t learn how the psychic knows so much about Paulie’s past, and one of the most common theories is that he really was communicating with the dead.
4 The Omen of the Raven
In episode three of season three, young Soprano crew member Christoper Moltisanti is initiated as a full member (“made man”) of the Mafia. During the ceremony, a coal-black raven alights on the windowsill outside. Chrisopher notices the bird and becomes worried that it represents a bad omen for his future as a made man. Christopher then experiences a series of bad luck, suggesting that he may be right. But, ultimately, the omen comes true much later, in season six, when Christopher’s young life is cut short by his uncle. Ravens are, after all, a symbol of death.
3 The Virgin Mary Apparition
One night, upon arriving at mob hangout and strip club Bada Bing!, Paulie stumbles on a terrifying sight: a floating apparition of the Virgin Mary, suspended above the club’s stage. This moment serves as one of the few jump scares in The Sopranos, and it’s a good one. A loud guitar chord rings out right when it cuts to the shot of Mary. Paulie (and the audience) jumps with fright. Interestingly, Paulie seems to be a kind of magnet for paranormal activity, as he is one of the characters most often troubled by unexplainable incidents like this one.
2 Christopher and the Cat
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In the series finale of The Sopranos, Tony and his crew invite a ginger cat into their hangout at Satriale’s pork store. Paulie becomes fearful of this new pet when he catches it staring at a portrait of Christoper Moltisanti on the wall. Christopher was killed earlier in season six, and one possible explanation of the cat’s staring habit is that it represents a reincarnation of Christopher or his (also deceased) wife, Adriana. Either of these two theories would make sense of the cat’s obsession with the portrait, and the implications are darkly supernatural.
1 Tony’s Near-Death Experience
Tony experiences a series of weird, ominous dreams after he is shot by his uncle at the beginning of season six. But one of these, in episode three of season six, may not actually be a dream at all, as it more closely resembles a “near-death experience.” During this sequence, Tony arrives at what appears to be a family reunion, per Screen Rant. His recently deceased cousin is there, and he seems to be ushering our protagonist towards the afterlife, represented by a sparkling house nearby. But Tony sees the shadowy figure of his mother on the porch and refuses to go in. Fans have often interpreted this scene as taking place between life and death, speculating that to enter the house with his mother would be to enter hell. Showrunner David Chase hasn’t confirmed whether things like heaven and hell exist in the Sopranos universe; but if they do, this moment is the closest Tony gets to the afterlife in the series.
