Perhaps you recall me griping about the NEW new remake of The Amityville Horror. In that post, I do say that perhaps someone is gung-ho about getting the story "right" on the screen. But I have what I believe to be a better idea.
I watch quite a bit of the "haunting" shows on TV. It seems like there's always one playing, across two or three networks. I have stopped watching the "Ghost Hunter" type. I quickly learned they're really just a bunch of people giving themselves the willies. There had been one moment that really creeped me out. But I think it reached its peak for me then, and I have not watched one since. (From boredom, not fright.) So anyway, I find myself drawn to shows that are "documentaries" of supposedly real cases of people being traumatized by "the other side" in their homes. Sometimes they're hilarious (such as the people who had NO idea how a Shadow Demon could have entered their home - only to find out from a brother that they'd used a ouija board to summon a Shadow Demon not too long ago - but they have NO idea how it got in or tormented them!) and sometimes they're a little creepy. No, I'm not frightened by them. Intrigued and mildly weirded out on occasion. A particularily fun one is Celebrity Ghost Stories.
So, bearing in mind that I have seen a LOT of these shows, there is one that I felt had some great twists to it as well as an interesting backstory/history of the haunted house. I also, therefore, have seen a great many depictions of spirts. And I have to say the one in here gave me the undeniable creeps. Horribly so. Oh, sure, from the right "angle" it's laughable. But you know how things can be both stupid and upsetting. I have to say... if I had the particular experience of the people in that program, I wouldn't be the same for weeks, or for never after.
I'm talking about The Summerwind Mansion. How many other haunted house stories do you know where it's entirely plausible that after escaping the horrors of the house the residents have to go back inside years later? In this 'true story,' the father of the woman who lived there doesn't believe in the paranormal and buys the house himself to "fix it up." Her brother, too, is a non-believer. Sure enough, the dad soon comes to wonder (and the brother is scared out of his wits.) Obsessed with knowing "what the hell?!" they use hypnosis (though not originally for the purpose of uncovering information about the house) and wind up with a mild possession (of the ghost from Summerwind) and information about what he's looking for - thus the need to return to the inner depths of terror.
I'm probably not "selling" it right, but believe me when I say this one is truly unique. After a while these types of stories can all run together. But not this one. It stands alone as not just a cool variation on themes but also having the power to seriously have freaked me out.
So... anybody from Hollywood who is looking for the next great ghost story... look no further than Summerwind Mansion. (Now burned to the ground after being stuck by lighting despite the tall trees surrounding it!)
LO and behold... after looking for links to the TV show I watched so that you can experience it for yourself if you wish... I found out there is in fact someone writing a screenplay. They are on Facebook (along with a "fan page" of it.) Best of luck to Lee of Dark Latitude Pictures.
I watch quite a bit of the "haunting" shows on TV. It seems like there's always one playing, across two or three networks. I have stopped watching the "Ghost Hunter" type. I quickly learned they're really just a bunch of people giving themselves the willies. There had been one moment that really creeped me out. But I think it reached its peak for me then, and I have not watched one since. (From boredom, not fright.) So anyway, I find myself drawn to shows that are "documentaries" of supposedly real cases of people being traumatized by "the other side" in their homes. Sometimes they're hilarious (such as the people who had NO idea how a Shadow Demon could have entered their home - only to find out from a brother that they'd used a ouija board to summon a Shadow Demon not too long ago - but they have NO idea how it got in or tormented them!) and sometimes they're a little creepy. No, I'm not frightened by them. Intrigued and mildly weirded out on occasion. A particularily fun one is Celebrity Ghost Stories.
So, bearing in mind that I have seen a LOT of these shows, there is one that I felt had some great twists to it as well as an interesting backstory/history of the haunted house. I also, therefore, have seen a great many depictions of spirts. And I have to say the one in here gave me the undeniable creeps. Horribly so. Oh, sure, from the right "angle" it's laughable. But you know how things can be both stupid and upsetting. I have to say... if I had the particular experience of the people in that program, I wouldn't be the same for weeks, or for never after.
I'm talking about The Summerwind Mansion. How many other haunted house stories do you know where it's entirely plausible that after escaping the horrors of the house the residents have to go back inside years later? In this 'true story,' the father of the woman who lived there doesn't believe in the paranormal and buys the house himself to "fix it up." Her brother, too, is a non-believer. Sure enough, the dad soon comes to wonder (and the brother is scared out of his wits.) Obsessed with knowing "what the hell?!" they use hypnosis (though not originally for the purpose of uncovering information about the house) and wind up with a mild possession (of the ghost from Summerwind) and information about what he's looking for - thus the need to return to the inner depths of terror.
I'm probably not "selling" it right, but believe me when I say this one is truly unique. After a while these types of stories can all run together. But not this one. It stands alone as not just a cool variation on themes but also having the power to seriously have freaked me out.
So... anybody from Hollywood who is looking for the next great ghost story... look no further than Summerwind Mansion. (Now burned to the ground after being stuck by lighting despite the tall trees surrounding it!)
LO and behold... after looking for links to the TV show I watched so that you can experience it for yourself if you wish... I found out there is in fact someone writing a screenplay. They are on Facebook (along with a "fan page" of it.) Best of luck to Lee of Dark Latitude Pictures.
Unfortunately I did not find the entire Discovery Channel show, either legally or illegally posted online. It's probably being repeated, though. The show is called A Haunting and if you're into being scared by ghosts, I strongly recommend trying to catch this one. It's well above par.
By the way, besides my genuine lifelong interest in this subject matter, I am also collecting ideas and stories for a ghost story that I will one day write, which is the one I've been talking about lately.
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