Tellin' Ghost Stories

I know we're in November now and the time for creepy stuff and scary stories has come and gone, but screw it, I'm gonna go there anyway.

I saw Paranormal Activity 2 a few weekends ago and would like to share my thoughts on this low budget, over exaggerated movie. To be clear, I liked it. It scared me, but I'm a very jumpy person and sudden loud noises and unexpected events make me just about wee myself. But I enjoy that, for some reason. They did an amazing job in that aspect. But here's my BIGGEST problem with this movie (and the first one, for that matter). The title is WAY off. The word "paranormal" is defined as anything supernatural that occurs without a scientific explanation. Yes, technically demonic activity is paranormal, I suppose. The connotative definition that is generally accepted is that it pertains to ghosts. GHOSTS! Not demons. But that's just what America needs. Another exorcism movie. Oh boy oh boy. But with this new ghost hunting craze, that's what they had to call it to suck in viewers. Maybe it was their way of taking it a step further. I've done a bit of ghost hunting myself, before everyone else was doing it because it was cool. It was pretty dorky back then, actually.

Which brings me to another point- these ghost hunting shows have got to start doing it right or hit the road. I watched the oh-so-originally titled Ghost Hunters for several disappointing months and came to two conclusions. It's either fake or they need to fire their entire camera crew. If something is happening, point the camera at the spot where said incident is taking place, not at the host. Seriously, all of these shows do this. Which I find odd because when I witness something creepy, the first thing I do is grab my stinking camera! I'll be damned if I'd stare at one of my friends and be amazed with the situation by living vicariously through their facial expressions. No thanks, I'd rather see it for myself. Granted, in my experiences, when something actually does happen, it's rarely monumental. There's usually still boo coos of doubt and reasonable explanations surrounding it. The excitement for me comes from the possibility that it may have been paranormal. That and the fact that I'm staying in a creepy, haunted house. WAY better than a hotel. To share one of my potentially paranormal stories, during my stay at Waverly Hills Sanatorium this past spring, we set a flashlight on the table in the old shock therapy room. We were asking a... um... thing to turn it off and on and it was, in fact, turning off and on without any assistance. I've got it on camera, granted it was dark and you really can't see that no one was touching it but take my word for it, it was happening. I was a skeptic then and I still am. There could have been a logical, non-paranormal reason for it happening, but damn skippy, I grabbed my camera and got it on film. Shoot me a comment if you'd like to see it, it's pretty nifty.

Back to the movie, it's definitely worth seeing if you're okay with the fact that it is, in fact, just another movie about possession. If you're not willing to spend the money to see it, wait until it comes out on DVD, let one of your more easily entertained friends buy it and borrow it. I'm likely to be one of those easily entertained friends, FYI.