Ghost Season
Posted on | October 21, 2013 | No Comments
Today I found myself sucked in to a marathon of the ghostly Discovery Channel show, A Haunting.
Not that I am a believer in ghosts & ghoulies, but I do enjoy things that are creepy – especially this time of year. In watching episode after episode, a couple of things became clear.
- These hauntings almost all take place in old homes, hundreds of years old. At some point in the “investigation” the homeowner – or the psychic researcher they’ve hired – discovers that a previous resident died in the house. Everyone is shocked and horrified by the news. Now, even in this day and age, people still regularly die at home. Hundreds of years ago, I am pretty sure most deaths took place at home. Even if the original owner didn’t die “within years of completing construction” (which would also seem common considering life expectancy of the time) it wouldn’t seem unreasonable that at some point in 250 years some resident would have had a heart attack, or cancer, or tripped down the stairs, or choked on a rutabaga… In other words, other than a brutal murder, not really anything shocking or scary about “died at home”
- In all but one episode, the “haunted” believed in ghosts prior to any paranormal activity and engaged in some sort of behavior that they “knew” would challenge/invite/anger the spirits (Ouija boards, seances, pentagrams…) If you believe something is going to happen, the likelihood of you experiencing it is considerably higher
- In all but one episode, the “haunted” reported a sense of foreboding prior to buying or occupying the home. I don’t accept the paranormal stuff, but if I was made physically ill when touring a property, I wouldn’t place an offer on it. Of course, horror movies would be a lot shorter if people followed their gut.
- All the ghosts, at some point, make their presence known by pulling the blanket(s) off the bed. Why would a poor trapped soul spend their energy making sleeping people cold? Is there some new ghost orientation where they get a checklist; pull off the blankets, make the lights flicker…
- Cell phones & webcams seemingly capture images that are clear enough to convince even the most skeptical of family friends they are in the presence of spirits, but not clear enough to actually use in the production of any of the episodes
Bonus behind the scenes: A Haunting, blooper reel
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