Haunted Histories Collection: Volume Two – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews

Available at Amazon.com

When it comes to something being considered scary, more often then not people start thinking of horror films. Maybe they’ve got a certain phobia and their fear comes from snakes or spiders or heights. What people need to realize is that there is cause for being afraid in their everyday lives. Elements of fear are constantly around them and lurking around every corner and behind every door. The place where they live or work could have once been the scene of a grisly death. Someone walking by speaking incoherently could have been planting a curse upon them. Did you ever stop to think that maybe the famed Universal monsters could be real? It puts things into a whole new perspective and makes you realize that paying attention to more then what you know scares you is a necessary perception that all should possess.

The History Channel and A&E have continued this series with a second collection in which they touch on various haunted topics that many people overlook. In the first set we were introduced to Halloween, random hauntings, vampires, poltergeists, and witches. This time around things take a slightly different turn and while hauntings are still included here, they are much more specific. Haunted houses, zombies, voodoo rituals, and the Frankenstein monster all make their debuts in this collection to let everyone get a feel for the more intricate historical side of horror.

Disc One: Haunted Houses

Haunted houses have become a staple at Halloween time for people to go and witness horrific scenes in homemade rooms with fake blood and odd characters. But there are real homes and buildings around the world that are haunted by true spirits. Something may have happened in their lives causing these ghosts to hang around their place of residence for all eternity. Or perhaps they were murdered and vow to exact revenge on the families of those who wrong them for generations to come. You can’t always figure out why ghosts haunt the places they do, but you can see them and experience their presence enough to know that you’re not alone.

A few of the places shown on this DVD are New York’s Raynam Hall which is still roamed by a betrayed Redcoat spy; a home in California where a wrongly executed prospector still lurks, and the Myrtles’ Plantation home in St. Francisville, Louisiana where a murdered slave girl still looks over the family. I’ve been to the Myrtles personally, gone on the haunted tour, and even have reservations to spend the night before Halloween in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Having had a few experiences there myself, it was easy to relate to the story told here. Experts, locals, and even witnesses give their thoughts and tell tales for each of the places presented so that both the skeptical and believers’ sides of these possibly haunted places are shown.

Disc Two: More Haunted Houses – Tortured Souls And Restless Spirits

When houses are considered haunted, it can be because of numerous things that have happened. Someone saw a plate or book fly across the room and smash into the wall. Doors open and close without anyone being near them. Faucets and electronic devices turn on when there wasn’t anyone even close to them. Could it be faulty wiring or a draft causing things like this? Perhaps, but it could also be a soul or spirit that happens to be stuck in limbo. Their lives ended too suddenly or with unfinished business so they are forced to wander aimlessly for all of eternity. Strange as it may seem, that is more often the case then not.

Five homes are visited in this DVD, and they range from being a farm way out in a rural area to the inner city of New Orleans. The Winchester House in California is said to house all the spirits of those killed by the rifle of the same name. Supposedly the house was built for that very purpose, but it may have backfired as it may also house the ghost of the woman who built the gigantic mansion. A woman who had a role in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln was hanged for her evil deeds and now inhabits the halls of a building turned into barracks for Army Officers. Experts give their opinions as to if it actually is those spirits causing the problems, and why they can’t just rest in peace.

Disc Three: Zombies

Just because you’ve seen them in films doesn’t mean you know exactly what a zombie is. To most of you, a zombie is probably something that is a person brought back from the dead and on the prowl to eat some people also known as “the living dead.” They are presented as flesh-rotting creatures that walk rather slowly and have this blank stare in their eyes. Over the years, different variations of zombies have been portrayed in films and we’ve seen them running, thinking, and even speaking. But the thought of the undead prowling the Earth seems rather farfetched; yet it could still be possible. Anything is.

Again there are experts, researchers, and even a voodoo priest talking about zombies and giving input to further prove or squash the notion that zombies exist. Max Beauvoir, a voodoo priest, and researchers from Haiti talk about their experiences with zombies trying to further prove that they really do exist and can walk about. Scientists also try to dismiss the claims of zombies by giving scientific evidence that there is no way a human can come back to do anything after already dying. Essentially it is one person’s word against that of another and believing whatever they want to believe. Perhaps one day a zombie will be captured in plain sight by a pessimist and evidence will be presented to have changed his mind.

Disc Four: Voodoo Rituals

Having grown up in New Orleans, Voodoo is nothing new to me, but it’s always fun to learn new things about it. Voodoo has long been a method of placing curses on someone, possession of a person’s body by a spirit, animal sacrifices, and divination that can make one clean or healthy. Feathers, beads, bones, and even blood are just a few of the ingredients and objects used in potions, chants, and rituals that voodoo is made up of. It is often said that if you don’t believe in voodoo, its powers won’t work even if they are being performed on you. But non-believers could, and usually, are those that get the worst of what voodoo’s powers can bring.

This DVD takes a bit of a different path then the others in not really including many recreations, but focusing on a live documentary. Voodoo high priest Yuseff Abdullah heads over to South Africa where the practice is said to have been originally initiated. Here the camera crew captures some rituals and rites never before seen by eyes of outsiders. Spiritual possessions, purification, the defecation of snakes, and animal sacrifice are but a few of the awesome, yet strange, spectacles you’ll witness here. Experts and researchers give their opinions as well to the history of this sacred art, but it’s the journey back to the roots of voodoo that is really exciting.

Disc Five: In Search Of The Real Frankenstein

We’ve all seen the big guy before. Standing over seven feet tall with a squared off head and bolts sticking out of his neck. He was created in some laboratory by a doctor and his hump backed assistant out of old parts and a human brain. A touch of lightning made him come alive…ALIVE! How much of what we’ve seen in films can really be related to truth? Honestly, a lot of it when you sit down and look through the books and research that there is on the subject. Mary Shelley’s novel might not only be one of the best stories of all time, but one of the best true stories in history.

A deep journey is taken here into the minds of not only Shelley herself, but numerous researchers and experts that know a lot about the possible subject of the novel, Johann Konrad Dipple. In the seventeenth century, Dipple experimented with bringing the dead back to life, but he wasn’t the only one to ever dabble in this kind of business. Many scientists have also attempted to resurrect life, but not on an operating table. Their attempts happen after the bodies have been laid in the ground and dead for some time. This DVD gives an interesting look into their mindset and exactly what they were thinking when they tried it. Not to mention laying more concrete evidence that Dr. Frankenstein may have really existed so long ago.

The episodes are shown in Full Frame format and look really good. The recreations (of which there are thankfully few) are shown in good light with bright colors making them some of the better looking segments. Interview portions also look good, but not like there could be much bad about them in the first place. Old footage and photographs sometimes come about with a washed look to them, but that is to be expected with their age.

The episodes are heard in Stereo Sound and more then do an adequate job for this series. Everything can be heard clearly and nicely without any hiss or volume problems.

None


It’s quite a shame that there are no special features included in this collection just like there weren’t in the first set because that’s really the only thing bringing the score down overall. The episodes themselves are all really good, but let me warn you that they won’t be for everyone. You’re going to learn a lot here and hear plenty of research and information given so it’s not like these are fast-paced or action-packed. A few of you may consider this boring, but I found them extremely intriguing and interesting as hell. Be prepared for a lot of facts and opinions coming your way if you plan on sitting down to watch this set. The best part here is that both sides of the coin are shown so if you believe in ghosts and zombies or don’t, then you can still enjoy these episodes. Last year’s collection came out around Halloween and it was the perfect setting for such a release so I’m not sure why this set couldn’t wait another month or so, but that’s not important. Enjoy this set for what it’s worth and that’s a lot of good research done on creepy subjects. Spooky!

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A&E Home Video presents Haunted Histories Collection: Volume Two. Starring: Various. Running time: 350 minutes on 5 discs. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: August 26, 2008. Available at Amazon.com