Birdie’s Spooks: Am I Dreaming?

This paranormal experience was the one that took the cake. This is the one I remember very vividly that left me with a residual fear of sleeping alone, or even sleeping in general.

I was young, my sister was still in high school, and she’s five years older than me to give you an idea. It was probably just past 11pm. I was sleeping in my bedroom which was on the second floor. At the time, my sister lived in the second living room towards the front of the house and at the base of the stairs. As I’ve mentioned before, my room was placed in such a way I could hear TVs on or people talking in any room of the house. I also always slept with my door open if someone else was home with me.

While I was sleeping, I remember being woken up by something. Thinking back, I had to have been in a deep sleep because I was pretty groggy at first. The first thing I immediately recognize was the fact I could not move. My arms were planted at my side and I was on my back. My fingers were spread so far apart and my hand muscles were being flexed. I was able to move my head so when I looked to the left, I saw my pillows that were once at the head of my bed were now at the base of my bed and on the floor. I must have fallen asleep doing homework or writing because I saw a pencil stand on end next to my left flexed out hand.

I remember trying to scream, but I could not make a peep.

This episode lasted about one minute. It ended abruptly after I heard clear as day, a little girl laugh. It was almost like she was making fun of me or thought it was funny to do those things to me. I don’t even know if she was the one who did it. Regardless, I was scared out of my mind.

Once I was able to move, I ran out of my room, down the stairs, and stopped in front of my sister’s room. I asked her if she heard anything or saw anyone and she said no. I gathered myself and walked to our kitchen and got a glass of water and went back up to my room. During this time of reflection, I tried to rationalize what I experienced. I thought maybe I was dreaming. Maybe I had an episode of sleep paralysis. I was familiar with this because I had been diagnosed with sleep apnea, however, not sleep paralysis.

In order for me to know whether I was dreaming or not, I had to go back up to my room and see if what I truly thought happened, actually happened.

I get back to my room and I remember not wanting to look. But lo and behold, my pillows were on the floor in front my bed and remember that pencil I said I saw stand up in my bed?

It was on my bed still.

I was convince that what I encountered actually did happen and it was, in fact, not a dream, and not a case of classic sleep paralysis. You best believe I slept with the door open that night and my TV was on.

This was the first and last time anything like this happened to me. Still gives me chills reliving it.

How about you?

Koreena BirdwellLeave a comment

Birdie’s Spooks: A Familiar Voice

My childhood home has always been a bit creepy. There was really no reason for it to feel that way, really. The house was a new build on a large plot of land that would eventually grow into a small subdivision. My family built our home in the winter of 1995 in a tiny, but growing, town. The only thing we knew about the land was that there once used to be a glass factory there before it became an empty plot of land. The history goes there was an explosion inside the factory, but it happened in the middle of the night when no one was on shift. There were no reported deaths. This would explain why we would find chunks of glass EVERYWHERE in the neighborhood.

It could not explain, however, the reason behind all the paranormal experiences that have occurred in the house.

This first story is the earliest memory of my paranormal encounters. My sister and mother always would tell stories, but this was my first personal account. In 2007, my mother and father separated and I was currently living with my mother in our house. I was upstairs playing with my neighbor in my bedroom, which was located above the garage and kitchen. All of our rooms were close together so it was easy to hear when people came and went, where they were in the house, and if someone was cooking in the kitchen or watching TV in the living room.

At the time, we were alone in the house.

It was after school, mother was at work, and my sister was at a friend’s house. We were playing with my hamster, Bob, in his running ball. Out of nowhere, I heard a very familiar voice say my name. Not JUST my name, but my nickname that only my close family would call me. The tone was also unsettling. It sounded like my father shouted my nickname up the stairs in a scolding manner. I turn my head to my friend and ask, “ Did you hear that too?” She reluctantly said yes.

A little back story on my father… As a child, my father and I did not have that idealized father-daughter relationship, per say, there was no favoritism, nor getting away with anything just because I was the baby of the family. Whenever he disciplined me, it was very harsh and stern. There would be times I’d be at the top of the stairs and he would lean over the railing at the base of the stairs and yell my nickname, ‘Renee’ for which I was probably in trouble for something when that happened. So there was no mistaking the voice we heard that day.

After my friend and I heard “Renee!!” being yelled up the stairs, we gathered ourselves together and I walked out my door, down the short hallway. My hair was standing on end, heart was racing, because I knew we were alone – but something in me was hoping my father was somehow standing at the bottom of the stairs, even with the knowledge I had not seen him, nor talked to him, in months. I peered around the corner that was to my left and looked down the stairwell.

Alas, no one was there.

I called out to see if someone was home, despite me knowing even if someone was home, it was only going to be my mother or my sister — not a man. With no response to me, I simply walked back to my bedroom and resumed playing with my friend.

I never told this story to my family until later. That’s when the stories from my mother and sister unraveled. They’ve been having paranormal experiences ever since they could remember. I guess it was about time my experiences began. And boy, did they.

Koreena Birdwell2 Comments

The Haunting: Hill House vs. Bly Manor

Netflix original The Haunting of Hill House (2018), directed by Mike Flanagan, took the streaming world by storm when it was released. Ten episodes of creepy dark and deeply detailed storylines created a haunting experience for the audience, even days after finishing the series. But how does its successor, The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) hold up to the hype?

**DISCLAIMER: There will be spoilers for both series in this review, so if you haven’t watched them yet, hold off on reading further! Both series were adapted from works of literature: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (1898) and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (1959).

So where to begin? I have a standard rubric that I like to use for rating films (#throwback to podcast film review days). The following categories will be rated on a score of 1-5 with 5 being the highest: Strength of Theme, Continuity, Pace, Character Arc and Ending. I usually include Realism and Special Effects, but since both series are created by the same director, those categories would be like splitting hairs. Let’s get started!

Strength of Theme

Hill House 5/5 – Throughout Hill House, the storyline and theme stay strong: it’s about family. The Crains, purchase Hill House intending on renovating it, experience ghostly encounters almost constantly throughout the show. Bouncing between childhood and adulthood, the family remains mostly intact, recalling their memories of the last fateful night at Hill House.

Bly Manor 3/5 – Bly Manor’s theme was a little harder to understand as the ‘family’ is not blood related or altogether very close. Two children, orphaned, are looked after by an au pair, gardener and chef while their paternal uncle stays at arms length. Throughout the story, the children are close and bonded, while not always responding warmly to the others in the pseudo-family.

Continuity

Hill House 5/5 – The continuity in Hill House is *chefs kiss* perfection. One of the reasons I loved Hill House so immensely was the dedication to detail throughout the series. Not to mention, the reveal of the Bent-Neck Lady was one of the best things I’ve seen in years. Even while bouncing between the past and present, everything was cohesive and made sense.

Bly Manor 3/5 – I was left a little confused with the set up of the show until episode 5. This made it hard to determine the continuity throughout the show because it felt very muddled in the timeline. With characters being possessed by other characters, it was a little hard to keep continuity together: who were they really, themselves or the ghost?

Pace

Hill House 4/5 – Hill House keeps a steady pace throughout the episodes, obviously ramping up for the final two. There was never a moment where I was checking my phone or felt bored with the story. With so many family members experiencing their own traumas, there were plenty of interest points to focus on.

Bly Manor 3/5 – Maybe it’s because of the expectation to recreate Hill House, maybe it’s because of the source material, but Bly Manor was painful to get into. With Hill House, I was locked in almost immediately whereas Bly Manor didn’t catch my full attention until the third or fourth episode. This caused the pace to feel slow in the beginning, then full speed at the halfway point, only to slow down again towards the end.

Character Arc

Hill House 4/5 – The character arcs in Hill House weren’t necessarily good character arcs. It was more an ‘arc of understanding’. Each character came to terms with what happened at Hill House in their childhoods by the end of the series. While some characters, like Steve, had a mild tale of redemption, so much of Hill House was based on understanding and accepting their shared trauma. Luke is probably the only character that had a visible arc – from junkie to sober – but it was still slight and a secondary feature in the total story.

Bly Manor 4/5 – The most poignant character arcs were with the au pairs and the paternal uncle – Rebecca Jessel, Dani Clayton and Henry Wingrave. The au pairs journeys were similar in structure: losing a loved one, accepting the loss and ultimately sacrificing yourself for loved ones no matter the cost. Henry’s journey was a little more subdued. He went from being a standoffish, ostentatious jerk to a loving father-figure to Miles and Flora through the acceptance of his paternity and fighting his inner demons.

Ending

Hill House 5/5 – At the end of Hill House, the story felt complete and without leaving the audience wondering, ‘what if?’. Each of the Crain children were able to close the Hill House chapter on their lives and move forward. I am very judgmental of the way a show or movies end and this ended in the best way. You get to see the family two years after Nell’s death, seeing how they’ve all adjusted and grown.

Bly Manor 3/5 – The ending to Bly Manor felt rushed. The main negative spirit, Viola Willoughby a.k.a. the Lady in the Lake, wasn’t revealed until episode 8. First appearing at length in episode 5 with Peter, you were left wondering who she was and why she was there. The Bent-Neck Lady twist was fully revealed in episode 5, allowing for more time in the story to deal with the revelation in comparison to The Lady in the Lake. Additionally, the ending was prolonged by following the relationship between Jamie and Dani for over 15 years, (don’t get me wrong, I stan them fully), but it felt disconnected from a lot of what happened.

Final Scores: Hill House – 23/25 | Bly Manor – 16/25

At the end of the day, I mistakenly went into Bly Manor expecting the same level of creepy, scary and jumpy storylines as Hill House and was overall underwhelmed by the experience. Let’s break that down a little more.

Did I hate it? No; there were some amazingly emotional and deep moments, interesting styles of showcasing memories and great acting.

Will I watch it again? Absolutely. Hill House required two full watches before I was able to confidently say that I caught all of the small details and background ghosts. Would I watch it more than a second time? Probably not.

Would I recommend Bly Manor? Yes, but I would caution the viewer to not hope for the same level of satisfaction as experienced watching Hill House.

Bailey NanceLeave a comment

Playlist Fiend: Witchy Vibes

~Your serial playlist maker is back with some tunes for this Halloween season~

Whenever October rolls around I always crave a good spooky playlist, and I always find myself unsatisfied with the results out there. The typical Halloween songs are either like Monster Mash and Witch Doctor, or some Marylin Manson and Thriller – there is nothing wrong with any of those vibes, none whatsoever, but it’s just not what will work to make me feel spooky from the inside out.

Spooky isn’t even quite the right word. It’s not spooky that I want to feel, but witchy and ominous. I want the music to make me feel mysterious and powerful and like I can whip magic as quick as Hermione.

Last year, Zoe & I went to Salem and I created this insane playlist for the road trip… I went a little overboard with some of the music and it got chaotic and I lost the plot of the playlist tbh. This year, I dialed it all back just a little bit and became a bit more focused with a new Witchy Vibes playlist. Below are a few of the gems that made the list!

Uninvited by Alanis Morrissette

This track made both this year’s playlist and last years. Alanis went hard in this one, every time I hear it I instantly get chills…

Master Hunter by Laura Marling

Laura has several songs that could work for this playlist (and several of them are on there!) but this is the one that gets the notable mention because the edgy witchy vibes ARE PROMINENT!!!

Jesus for the Jugular by The Veils

The first time I ever heard this song was at House of Yes and this track backed an acrobatic intensely emotional performance… it was riveting. This song is harsh, passionate, and ominously magnificent.

If I Had A Heart by Fever Ray

It’s got chanting… it feels dark… this could be the anthem of any power hungry unsatisfied witch, without a doubt. I feel like I need to brew a potion while listening to this, or I should be hexing someone!

La Llorona by Angela Aguilar

In Hispanic American folklore, La Llorona is a legend about a woman who drowned her children and mourns their deaths for eternity, roaming Latin American areas as a ghost or apparition… google images of her portrayed in film and various series are #terrifying.

Coconut by Harry Nilsson

Okay, okay this song is random, I know. But also if you know, you know and you understand this song of course is on this list. Practical Magic is a movie you need to go watch RIGHT NOW and then maybe you’ll just understand…everything.

. . .

Okay guys, those are only a few songs that barely scratch the surface of my playlist! See the full shebang here and get into the witchy spirit me…

Emily SmithLeave a comment

Let’s Get Spoopy.

Let’s be honest, I wait all year for fall and Halloween. Ask anyone that knows me and they’ll say that this is my favorite time of year. I spent most of my teenage years working at various haunted houses, doing special effects makeup, scaring, scene placement and overall, relishing in all things spoopy. This year, I wanted to create my very own creepy movie and tv show calendars – chop full of streaming gems, throwbacks and hopefully a few films you’ve never heard of. Nearly all of the films and shows can be found on Netflix or Hulu, but some may need to be rented or sourced due to availability and age.

What are your favorite Halloween/scary films?

*Disclaimer: Everyone has their own taste in shows and films, so some of these may not be your cup of tea and that’s okay. Feel free to read a synopsis of the films on IMDB or watch a trailer prior to watching. Genres range from gore to supernatural to dark comedy. Also, there are four days missing from the TV Show List due to the fact that there are not any short limited horror series that I’m aware of and I didn’t want to half-show something. Feel free to use those four days however you see fit!

Bailey NanceLeave a comment

Weekend Escape: Road trip to Salem

“I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!”
“Oh, look. Another glorious morning. Makes me sick!”
“Vanquish demon first, kill husband later.”
“Relax…it’s only magic. Now who’s pathetic?”

Witchy quotes to intro into a witchy post. October 2019 Zoe and I decided we absolutely had to embrace our witchy vibes and head to Salem, Massachusetts. Our souls were craving magic, spooks, and to be smacked in the face with with the crunchy smell of fall.

Salem delivered.

Our journey starts on a Friday afternoon, we’re a bit more organized for this trip than the Montreal weekend trip – we leave about the time we say we’re going to and we get to the hostel at a decent time that evening. The drive time was a little over 4-hrs with traffic.

So this is where I’ll level with you, our hostel in all reality is more or less a halfway house. We picked up on those vibes rather quickly as nearly all of the lodgers are an older crowd of folks that are a bit…permanent to the property. That being said, this place was so cheap – and available – that I’ll stop complaining there.

Wait, one last complaint – the old dudes smoked right outside our window shootin’ the shit at all hours and it was near impossible to sleep…that was actually the worst part.

Now back to the fun parts 🙂

The weekend we were in Salem was the weekend before Halloween so you bet that it was crowded and had a plethora of stuff going on. There was a sick Dark Arts Festival held in the evening in the Old Salem Village, and my god it was Chilling Adventures of Sabrina vibes to the max.

I mean just check these vibes:

  • Sign the the devil’s book
  • Live fashion exhibit
  • Fortune told in a caravan
  • A glimpse at what one could buy

We also attended a witch trial reenactment, learned about our past lives, our futures, and we went to a midnight seance hosted by mentalist Jon Stetson.

I will say, the seance was cool, but Zoe and I spent like $60 each and thought it was a real seance we were going to. We completely overlooked the keyword “mentalist” which basically is a dude who is incredibly observant of human behavior and has set up specific situations which have a guaranteed result.

He ended with openly saying everything was fake and then used his platform to talk about his life struggles and perseverance.

Which kudos to him, but we thought we were going to be talking to dead people, not messed with mentally and then lectured at the end.

So major advice – don’t rush-book a seance if you want to experience something quality. But totally book this guy, or others of the like, if you’re a scaredy cat but still want to feel like you did something spooky.

Emily Smith1 Comment