WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
This is probably a really contentious article to write as the idea of hauntings being true in the first place is a highly debated topic. However, whether the idea of hauntings is true or not, the below films are based on “real” events that were believed to have taken place…
The House on Laura Anne Dr.
Of course, to write about these films – it’s good to know the story behind the actual true event that they are based on but in the case of this film, even with several Google searches, I was unable to find anything, which made me a little suspicious that they are only claiming it’s based on a true story to add to the fear factor. Using that term is being kind, seeing as for such a short film nothing happens for so long that I started to wish I had used this for a future article on two actors films! Don’t get me wrong, a doorbell ringing several times with no one there at any point is a little weird, but it isn’t scary. It actually feels a little bit more like the kind of film where the husband is trying to gaslight his wife so that he can leave her based on her going mad, especially as things only seem to be happening to her! Having said that, the only thing that doesn’t seem to quite fit that narrative is the old lady. I appreciate that they lent into the typical trope of the house they live in being built on top of a graveyard – however the film on the whole is rather weak. Well, I guess if we start off with a bad one, the only way is up from here.
A Savannah Haunting
So, this is not something you get every day. Not only is this film written and directed by William Mark McCullough, who was a victim of the happenings that take place in this film, it is also filmed in the same house where they took place! It even opens with genuine interviews before cutting to the death of Rachel’s daughter – setting the scene for the viewer straight away. It is that tragedy that gives way to the experiences faced by the Rancourt family, those who represent the McCullough family, which explains why it all starts off with their son having what can best be described as an imaginary friend. This style of poltergeist haunting is one that those who use Ouija boards need to be wary of, the spirit using the guise of someone special to you to make its way into our world. Only, the film is a little more messed up than that – as there is no Alice Rancourt. A little like the film above, very little seems to happen for a long time other than weird phone calls and some creepy doll that keeps reappearing in the house. A doll, we later see burnt and being rocked by Rachel. What I found hard to find out at first is if Eric or Andrew Rancourt is supposed to be the interpretation of William McCullough but judging by the look of him, and that it took place in the 1970s, Anthony is supposed to be the representation of a young William. What confused me towards the end however is if Lilath and William were even real!
An American Haunting
This probably seems like a crazy film to choose considering it can’t be proved whether it’s true or not as the events of this are believed to have taken place in 1800s America. What confused me at first was the fact that the film starts in modern day but the journal made it all start to make sense. I don’t know if they used the opening scene to make the idea feel more realistic but, for me, it slightly took away from what followed especially given the success of a film like The Witch that has followed and is set around the same time. Given the fact that nothing is really known about these happenings, the director could have made the film a little more terrifying than jump scares and imaginary wolves. Maybe I have watched too many of these types of films, because I can see how the scenes of Betsy being attacked by the spirit may be terrifying for some, but I wasn’t shaken by them at all – some desensitizing by The Exorcist and Evil Dead perhaps? I also didn’t feel it was needed to bring the relationship between Betsy and her teacher into the storyline. Why wasn’t it possible for him to care for her platonically?
The Haunted
OK, so the events of this film were believed, by the Smurl family that were afflicted by it, to have been caused by a demon instead of a ghost or poltergeist but I guess a “haunting” is a haunting right? What I found interesting about this is that the most recent The Conjuring film is actually believed to be loosely based on this as well as the fact that Ed and Lorraine Warren turned up in this film! What is nice, is unlike The Conjuring: Last Rites this film is more focused on the family rather than the Warrens considering they do not appear until half way into the film. This film was made for television, so it surprises me that the sexual assault (I’m being gentle here) of Jack Smurl is so unbelievably disturbing! And it’s very rare that scenes like this are shown being done to a man! Now, I’m never one to wish harm on an animal but if you’re going to go that far, you may as well throw the dog into the wall too! I wonder if that shows the change in the bravery of film making as The Conjuring: Last Rites did include it – and no surprise, I hated it!
The Haunting in Connecticut
This film comes at the idea of a true story in a different way, starting with an interview with Sara Campbell, based on the real Carmen Snedeker, instead of jumping straight into the story, almost like they’re trying to keep it realistic. Films like this have a habit of changing things, like names, and I worried that this happened here – changing the reason they move is to get treatment for their son’s cancer instead of maybe making him a drug addict – which is how it slightly comes across when you first meet them. Of course, there is only so far that you can believe tales like this, but Carmen did say that the water when she was mopping turned to blood. Having read a few things about the “real” occurrences – it turns out they distributed the incidensts around the family a little bit in this film – for example both the plate incident and the shower curtain don’t happen to the son and niece – they only happened to Carmen. Of course, for cinematic effect there were other things added to the film – like the dead people with carvings on their skin and Matt’s other hallucinations – didn’t take place. I wasn’t too sure about the chair staking, especially as it seems very Poltergeist. This film definitely fell short of what I was expecting, it just wasn’t very chilling for me.
When the Lights Went Out
The incidents dramatized in this film are believed to have taken place in 1974 when the Pritchard family, represented here by Len, Jenny and Sally Maynard, were haunted by “The Black Monk of Pontefract”. Now, unlike the film, the original incident only references the one spirit – instead of the two shown. Even though there’s nothing mentioned in the original account, the spirit starts off seeming to have a fascination with Sally, especially considering there is a moment when it pulls her sheets back and runs its hand along her arm – almost feeling like it’s leading to something disturbing! Thankfully, what we’re all thinking right now doesn’t take place! However, the events that happen in the house, the lights going out and the crazy noises fit with the real events. Of course, the director admitted to embellishing parts of the story to make it more terrifying, and he clearly got a few ideas from The Amityville Horror. I think we’re supposed to believe that the rose and the writing on the etch-a-sketch are being left by the young girl whereas the more extreme happenings are caused by The Black Monk.
