Paranormal Nation by Marc E. Fitch

Author:Marc E. Fitch [Fitch, Marc E.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780313382079
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Published: 2013-03-21T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

Based on a True Story…

Hollywood loves to claim that paranormal movies are “based on a true story,” but how true is that statement? Our history of film provides many “true stories” that are verifiable and absolutely true to the best of the director’s and actors’ knowledge. However, there are other so-called true stories that are not necessarily “true.” As discussed in “Paranormal Hoaxes,” one of the hallmarks of the paranormal is the blurring of the boundaries between fact and fiction, empirical evidence versus interpretation. The difficulty with “true” paranormal stories is the difficulty in verifying the phenomenon that is central to the film. The phenomenon is what the audience links most directly with the “true” statement in the title. Normally, there is very little doubt that a particular individual existed, or that a certain house was the site of some grisly murders, or even that there was an individual missing for a long period of time, only to show up again with no recollection of where he had been, as in the case of Travis Walton in Fire in the Sky. For instance, The Amityville Horror is one of the films that worked its way into the pantheon of the American paranormal experience; most remember it as being lauded as a “true” story. It is true in that there is a house in Amityville, New York, that was the site of some grisly murders. The house was bought by the Lutz family, who then abandoned it approximately one month later claiming that the house was haunted. Ed and Lorraine Warren, who investigated the house, confirmed the haunting. There was much media sensation surrounding the claims, a book was written, a subsequent film was produced, and the legend of the Amityville Horror was born. So many people descended upon Amityville that the town eventually had to change the name of the street where the house was located to keep people from trespassing.

All of that is absolutely, empirically true. It all happened. But what of the phenomena claimed by both the Lutz family and the Warrens? This is where “truth” becomes blurred. There is no way to verify the phenomena other than taking their word for it. The story is “true” inasmuch as it is the story they told and attest to be true. When asserting that a book or film is a true story, the author, director, and producers are, in effect, telling the audience that they accept the witnesses’ testimony as truth. The audience is not allowed to make a decision one way or the other; the “truth” is told to them. However, the audience appears to be willing and able to believe this truth.

When we enter a movie theater, we pay a fee that allows us to willingly suspend our disbelief for a short period of time; it is essentially why we go to movies. While watching Star Wars, I accept the fact that the Millennium Falcon can move freely through the universe at remarkable speed, defying all physics known to man.

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