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Afraid of Nothing–A Look Into What Comes Next
FILM REVIEW—Afraid of Nothing (D. Robert Heske, 2019) Among the great boons of the streaming era is the preponderance of films and TV shows dedicated to the paranormal. Where once the creators of these pieces had to develop a pitch, film a pilot or a test reel, and somehow get it in front of a channel executive somewhere, creators can now (relatively easily) get their documentaries or ghost hunting shows on any number of streaming clients. If one of the big ones doesn’t pick up your show, no problem! You can go direct to YouTube or Twitch or other platforms. But the same problem comes up with Amazon Prime, Hulu,…
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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark–Humdrum Horror
Before I begin, let me address the elephant in the room—I am not the target audience for this movie. The source material became popular long after my school days. While I was growing up, there was precious little available for mid-level horror—it went from Scholastic collections of ghost stories to Stephen King, with nothing in between. I read The Shining when I was 12, and will forever have ‘roque/stroke’ burned into my memory. I mention this for a couple of reasons—first, because I WISH I’d had horror that was tailored for my age group, and that I went into this movie without any expectations. There’s no nostalgia factor here to…
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Observation and Paranormal Videos
Last night, as is my wont, I spent the last hour or so before bed watching YouTube videos. I often watch a funny take on politics (Seth Meyers or Stephen Colbert), or movies, or unexplained phenomena…ordinary, average stuff. I also like to indulge in channels that post curated ‘ghost videos.’ As most open-minded people do, I look first to debunk for natural causes, then to debunk for potential hoaxing, and if neither of those pan out, I file it away in my mental save file labeled ‘Hmmm’ (filed under ‘I’ for ‘Interesting’). One of my favorite channels for this type of video is Nuke’s Top 5. While his titles are…
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Collecting the Paranormal–Beyond Strange Review
Rob and Trish MacGregor have been researching the paranormal for a long, long time. In recent years, they’ve collected both their own experiences and those of their friends, acquaintances, and readers into a series of books, the latest of which is Beyond Strange (Crossroads Press, 2017). At first glance, a new reader could be forgiven for thinking that this book is simply a collection of stories, given chapter titles like “Spying on Aliens” and “Haunting Experiences.” Most of the tales included in Beyond Strange are new, leaving out the interesting-but-now-tired stories that usually account for a large portion of volumes like these. Tomes full of unsubstantiated stories with no analysis…
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Monday Musings #4–A Brief, Hopefully Entertaining, Rant
Like so many other Armchair Forteans, I enjoy a handful of YouTube channels, and will often play something from one of the creepier ones when it’s getting towards bedtime. You know the ones I mean–the channels that narrate ‘True Scary Stories of the ______________.” At their best, these stories and their slightly ominous storytellers evoke a nice sense of uneasy dread as they spin their tales of possession, Ouija boards, black-eyed kids, stalkers, and psycho-killers. (Qu’est-ce que c’est). However, too often these channels are not at their best, because of one simple thing–story logic. Now, I hear you saying to me, “but AF, these are just spooky stories! They don’t…