Cinema Suicide

Let’s face it, paranormal TV is the new black. It seems that you can’t flip the channels without running into a T.A.P.S. or a Paranormal State. The majority of these shows fail to hold my interest for more than a minute or so, honestly, how long can I watch a couple dudes run around the dark with a camera? Of all these shows that seem to mirror one another there is one that has always stood out… and often scared the hell out of me. When the Discovery Channel aired two feature length specials (”A Haunting in Connecticut” and “A Haunting in Georgia”) in the Fall of 2002 they had no intention of making a series based on paranormal happenings. It just so happens that as they aired and re-aired these specials over the next three years the response became so great that it seemed only natural that they expand, and they did just that. The pilot episode for what was to become “A Haunting” hit the air on Halloween 2005 and the show has only evolved from there. The question is this; how long can the Discovery Channel keep up what began as an exciting and often terrifying series?

To date I have seen just about every episode of “A Haunting” and even re-watched several of them. With this in mind you can only imagine my excitement over this weeks release of Season 3 on DVD. If you haven’t caught an episode yet then let me walk you through it. family moves into beautiful new home. Crazy and unexplainable things start to happen. Family calls paranormal investigators. Family moves out. Sure it doesn’t sound too exciting on paper but Discovery manages to provide eyewitness interviews and semi-decent reenactments that most often chill. The first two seasons of this show focus on some of the more interesting paranormal stories but as the show gets on in years we seem to be slowing down a bit. Season three features some great tales like “The Galway Ghost”, one of Ireland’s now famous haunted tales. However, for every wonderful “Galway Ghost” there is a far fetched and poorly presented “Fear House”, the story of a house that plays on its inhabitants fears.

I hate to say it but I think that television’s most interest and frightening series may be headed the way of the slasher. What began as a truly engaging and shocking piece of entertainment is now running out of steam and stories. Still, despite it’s mediocre acting and it’s often slow moving stories, “A Haunting” manages to provide some thrills and entertainment in it’s third season and is certainly worth a peek.