Would a Real Haunted House Keep Movie Viewers Glued?

I saw PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 over the weekend with my father while visiting him in San Francisco.

He hadn’t seen the first two movies in the franchise, so he was understandably confused.

I had seen them, and after the disaster I thought #2 to be, I was hoping for better with the third entry.

But to say it was better than the second isn’t saying so much, again, considering how awful that movie was.

Yes, it was better. But it got ridiculous in some parts. I realized right away that Hollywood was just doing what it always feels it has to do–ramping things up.

Upping the ante of screams and chills and jumps from movie seats.

It was crazier than the first two movies combined, that’s for certain. People were screaming, laughing, and jumping every few moments.

As someone who lives in a very REAL haunted home, it made me chuckle to wonder if a REAL haunted home would keep movie viewers glued.

And sadly, the answer I had to come up with was NO.

NO WAY would it keep people glued.

For one, you often go days, weeks, or months with seemingly NO activity at all. Then it starts up again.

That’s what is happening at our home now. It has been relatively quiet for some time but now three family members, including myself, have witnessed activity within the same 24 hour period.

But we aren’t talking about furniture suspended in mid air only to come crashing down in one fantastic moment. Or beds moving several feet at a time in front of rolling cameras.

Nothing THAT crazy.

But nonetheless, the real stuff is pretty darned amazing.

How about a full bodied apparition a few feet from you? So vivid you can describe what it is wearing and what it looks like?? How about MULTIPLE sightings of these apparitions??

Or dozens of EVPs (electronic voice phenomena or spirit voices not heard with the ear but captured on recorders), one of which contains your NAME in it??

(I will correct myself. The voice that uttered my voice was recorded on TWO types of media–a digital voice recorder as well as the audio track of the video camera that was rolling that night. That implies it is actually a DISEMBODIED voice as opposed to an EVP. That means it is a voice that CAN be heard with the ear. Oh, and the voice sounds just like my deceased mother. And was captured on the ONE YEAR anniversary of her death. And when I play the clip to people who don’t even know about our ghosts or what EVPs are, 99% of them say the voice is my mother.)

How about the sound of a giant encyclopedia or phone book being dropped with incredible force onto the floor…just a foot away from where you are standing?? And six people in the room hearing it??

Try a whisper in your ear on for size. And not the whisper of your spouse or child. The whisper of someone not even there. At least not physically.

Or being tapped, poked, and tucked into bed. Again, by someone not in physical form.

Pretty AMAZING stuff. LIFE CHANGING stuff.

But sadly, not the stuff that would keep audiences glued to their seat for 90 minutes or 2 hours.

Yet trust me when I tell you that an unexpected whisper in your ear by a ghost is a MILLION times scarier than a guy in a hockey mask jumping out at you in a “haunted house” at the fair.

It’s the same thing with ghost hunting/paranormal investigating in general. Newcomers who watch too much movies are usually disappointed by the real deal.

If you ever watch my favorite GHOST HUNTERS, you will see that sometimes the first knocks or bumps or shadows happen NINE HOURS into an investigation. That’s a long time.

That means the first 8 hours were probably uneventful. Lots of sitting around and waiting and watching. But not much going on.

Paranormal investigating is not for those without patience, that’s for sure!

Anyway, just the thoughts of a guy raising a family in a haunted home.

The real kind.