Had I paid closer attention to the movie description on Amazon, I wouldn’t have bought this movie. The Orphanage was filmed in Spain, and the actors speak Spanish. I didn’t realize this until I started watching the movie, but decided that if I could sit through Ju-on and its subtitles, I could sit through this.

The Orphanage begins with young Laura (Belén Rueda) playing a game with her friends. The scene ends when the orphanage headmaster goes outside to tell Laura that she has been adopted. Years later, she and her husband, Carlos (Fernando Cayo), return to the old orphanage to live. They plan to reopen it as a home for special needs children.

Their seven year-old son, Simón (Roger Príncep), has a lot of imaginary playmates. He is also HIV-positive and doesn’t know that he is adopted until an old woman visits the house, using the guise of a social worker. In the meantime, Laura has been hearing strange noises and dealing with her son’s growing insistence that his imaginary playmates are real.

Tension builds between mother and son until it explodes on the day of their open house. Simon vanishes without a trace. Six months later, he is still missing. The police have not been able to help the distraught couple. Finally, Laura decides to contact a medium to help her find her son.

This is where the movie gets really good. A classic battle of skeptic versus believer unfolds between Carlos (who refuses to believe) and Laura (who is looking for any answer at this point). In the end, she stays on in the house to unravel the mystery of her past because she feels that the past is the key to finding her son.

I won’t say any more about the plot. But I will say that this is the most original ghost story I’ve yet to watch. Director, Guillermo Del Toro did an excellent job putting this movie together. While The Orphanage had plenty of dark atmosphere and special effects, he put his focus more on the story that makes you think and feel. Highly recommended.

Q: Then you’re in a position to help people. How can people spot a “cold read” or tell a fraud from someone legit?

A: Well, it should be really specific. People have to watch for the general stuff, Mark, OK? I’ve seen some mediums on the platform demonstrating, and they’ll come to someone and say, “I have your grandmother here, she’s a lovely woman.” And I swear to God, they’re always little women with round faces and a bun. And I’m like, I’d rather get — like last night I did a group, and I got this woman who was so educated, I kept straightening up my back, and she was so serious, this woman.

I can joke with those on the other side if they have a joking personality. But if they can bring through the personality of someone, Mark, or nicknames, or mannerisms, then I feel they’re real. They need to stay away from the general stuff, Mark, “I have your grandmother here, she loves you.” Well, no [expletive]! More evidence. Because I trained in England, Mark, and they are really big, big, big into evidence.

This question struck a major chord with me, especially in light of Monday’s post. I enjoyed reading Mark Rahner’s article, where he interviews popular psychic John Holland about the afterlife, whether or not The Medium or Ghost Whisperer adequately portrays psychics, and other related topics. This article had me chuckling at times, especially when Rahner asks John Holland if he has received any messages from John McCain.

Source: Seattle Times

Paranormal investigator, Ross Hemsworth has placed a £100 bet with bookmakers William Hill that he will provide solid evidence that the afterlife exists before the year ends. “There is something out there trying to make contact,” Hemsworth said in an interview.

“With the evidence we have got we are not a million miles away from proving it. The whole point of the project is to prove that there is something there. More and more people are coming away from religion, there are more and more wars. If we can prove this we hope it will make some difference to peoples’ lives.”

I can’t help but feel skeptical about this man and his intentions. If he really wants to “make some difference to people’s lives”, why place a crackpot bet? This sounds like the latest of many schemes.

I was one of many who gave up watching Lost every week, due to the frustration of getting bombarded with character flashbacks and long stretches between reruns. I didn’t care about their lives before they boarded that doomed flight. Instead, I wanted to know how they were going to get off that island.

In Season One, they showed a scene where Jack saw the ghost of his father (who had died before the crash) near the beach. My husband and I looked at each other and wondered aloud if all those people had died in the crash. Locke’s sudden ability to walk after being paralyzed also raised our eyebrows. After months of watching, we were no closer to the answer as to whether these people were dead and living in purgatory or if they were survivors trying to survive fantastic events.

Back in November, one of my former colleagues and I discussed the show, when he brought up the purgatory theory. It makes sense, when you think about it. Why does the plot focus on stolen kidneys, illicit affairs and murder when seemingly real danger lurks at every corner?

What doesn’t quite make sense is why they would all congregate on a beautiful island instead of haunting their own stomping grounds to work out their problems. Perhaps the writers created this backdrop, based on the old adage, “Not everything is rosy in Paradise.”