The Trans-Alleghany Lunatic Asylum (formerly called Weston State Hospital) housed the criminally insane, including Charles Manson. Closed in 1994 as a hospital, it was reopened in August 2007 when it was bought by Rebecca Jordan.
Rebecca called TAPS when she began hearing reports from workers and tourists of phantom footsteps and doors slamming, disembodied voices, full-bodied apparitions, etc. The result is one of the most lively Ghost Hunters shows I’ve yet to see.
People either love Paranormal State or hate it. Over the past several months, I’ve found myself somewhat entertained by the bashing Paranormal State has received since it launched. I hadn’t heard anything good about the show until I went to Amazon and read the reviews for the newly released DVD.
Two of the five-star reviews proclaimed that Paranormal State was better than Ghost Hunters and Most Haunted. Curious, I read them from beginning to end, hoping to find some unbiased information. When I didn’t get it, I decided to go to the A&E website to watch an episode.
Paranormal State is decidedly different than Ghost Hunters in that it’s scripted. I enjoyed listening to the history of the Willard Asylum (New York), but wasn’t impressed by Chris Coffey’s theatrics. He’s the psychic who rids himself from demon possession by slapping himself. Uh-huh. I was even less impressed by the ending, where they “vanquished” the spirits with a simple prayer.
That said, I was reminded of Ghost Hunters when they used an EVP device. Whether that device was real or a stage prop, I’m not sure. I came away from this show more skeptical than ever. If you’d like to judge for yourself, you can watch the videos at A&Etv.com.
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.
Ignoring the female narrator, who sounds more like that medium on Poltergeist (with a cold), this is a great documentary about a haunted house in Villisca Iowa. The axe-murder of Josiah Moore and his entire family in 1912 is considered one of the worst mass murders in US history. Since then, the house has had a series of renters and owners. Darwin Linn is the current owner, who hired paranormal investigator Dave Christensen of Paranormal Investigations, Inc. to check out the cold spots and creepy goings-on in that old house.
I listened to a former resident describe how she felt chilled when she saw a picture of the victims with an unknown drifter, and how the sight of his face sent a chill through her. Then I listened to the investigators describe an icy draft that makes visitors feel uneasy. Finally, I listened to Villisca Axe Murder House - EVPs. Put all this together, and it makes me wonder if this unknown stranger was the killer, as the former resident suggested. The killer was never caught, but he may still be lurking in that house, waiting for his victims to fall asleep.
For further reading and ghost tour information, visit Roadside America.
