significance of the raspberries, whistle and some other clues* spoiler*
after reading the majority of the posts on this board i realized no one mentioned the significance of the raspberries. they appeared twice in the movie, one in the retrieved footage where benigna prepared raspberries for the children to eat. notice neither thomas(who was dead) nor laura(who had been adopted) was present. the second time was when laura tried to invite the spirit of the children. somehow i have the gut feeling that's how benigna poisoned and killed the 5 children to revenge thomas.
when laura heard the whistle "in her dream" it was more likely from Simon as a cry for help in the basement. remember we learnt later from the movie that both thomas and his mother had the whistle, perhaps a way of communicating to each other since thomas was often kept in the basement.
later we heard the big thump when laura finally got up. but by then simon had falled off the stairs.
after some reading i have converted to the non-supernatural theory. but the one thing that puzzles me is how did simon find out about his illness and that he was adopted? even if he did find the papers he was 7. he couldn't possible know how to read complicated documents. i've thought about the possiblity that benigna told him during her visit. but simon said it was thomas and from what i gathered, simon doesn't seem to be the kind of kids who lie. can someone please help?