Grave Encounters (2011) Review

As someone who has been into the paranormal from a young age, I’m always interested in watching horror films that showcase paranormal activity (well). After some experiences that I consider to be potentially paranormal, I wanted to be able to prove or disprove the existence of a life apart from what we have here in the “mortal” realm.While I still have yet to be able to prove or disprove this theory, I’ve spent lots and lots of time brushing up on my share of mediocre ghost hunting, as well as watching all of the shows I can get my hands on that are about paranormal investigation (my guilty pleasure is watching marathons of Ghost Adventures, eating popcorn and giggling at Zak Bagans).So with that being said, when it comes to films about paranormal investigation, I tend to have my reservations. I worry that they won’t do the field the justice it deserves (it’s not easy!) but I try to keep myself current in terms of horror films, so I watch all of the cheesy ones, and I also try to watch all of the good ones.Therefore, today, I’ll be reviewing Grave Encounters. 

The synopsis of Grave Encounters from IMDB:“For their ghost hunting reality show, a production crew locks themselves inside an abandoned mental hospital that’s supposedly haunted- and it might prove to be all too true.”I wish there was more to it than this, so I’m going to give you the synopsis I think you all deserve:“For their hilariously realistic, slightly cheesy ghost hunting reality show, a production crew full of cocky jerks lock themselves inside an abandoned mental hospital that’s supposedly haunted- and shit gets real.”
Basically, this group of “paranormal investigators” (I put it in quotes because they don’t actually truly believe in the paranormal, as far as they let on in the film) decides to go to one of the most haunted places they can find, assuming it’s a hoax as they’ve found it normally is, and starts to find that maybe they’ve been wrong about the paranormal this whole time.The building moves around within itself, doors disappear, they find ghosts of the people that died in the hospital.
As far as how scary the film is, I never really felt terrified per say, however I did experience a few moments when I was really freaked out. I have to say, one of my biggest fears in the world is hospitals (abandoned or not). There’s something about the smell of functioning hospitals, the way the fluorescent lights make everyone look sick, the sounds of the beeping monitors…it all makes me so uncomfortable. So seeing this group in a sad, dilapidated, abandoned hospital made me feelexceptionally uncomfortable.
There really weren’t many jump scares, which I very much appreciated. Lately I’ve been on a real hate-streak of films that rely on jump scares for the “horror” of the film, and this one was more about the horror of the situation. I like that. That’s a very good thing.
I’ve also been very against found-footage-style films, and this one absolutely is. I don’t really know what it is about this one, to be honest, that makes it seem so much more real than all the others. I think they don’t play so much off of the fact that they’re filming through one entity and they make an effort to change shots every once in a while so you aren’t watching exclusively through one camera. I don’t know, all I can say is that this one looks better than all the others and I didn’t despise it.

But, all in all, if you’re interested in movies about ghosts, found-footage films, films about paranormal investigation…I really like this one! I didn’t expect much going in, and I was pleasantly surprised when it ended and I wasn’t miserable!
Let me know what you thought of Grave Encounters, creepies!

Until next time,

Taylor Terrible
PS: I just found out there’s a sequel! I’m going to have to look into that soon! 

Haunted Locations I Love: Sweet Hollow Road

Hey ghosts and ghouls! This post is something new that I'd like to try. If you follow me on Instagram, you know what I'm all about aside from horror...though I suppose it could still be horror related...but in my spare time (so when I'm not slinging soap 5 or 6 days a week, and I'm not posting on here), I'm a paranormal investigator! (and if you don't follow me on Instagram, you can find me here, if you want!)

I got started a few months ago- it started out as more of a joke than anything, which I've come to find is how most of the people in the paranormal community got started. "It was a dare" or "I thought it was funny" are the responses I've found most common, and mine is no exception. My other half and I were introduced to Ghost Adventures around Thanksgiving, we were intoxicated and laughing and joking around about how awful it was, and then I had a thought. "Hey, maybe this isn't so bad" crossed my mind. I kept it to myself. After all, I had watched Ghost Hunters years before on a DVD I had.

Flash forward to Christmastime 2015. We bought up all of the seasons of Ghost Adventures we could find on DVD. We watched it in hysterics, joking about Zak's attitude and Aaron's faces. And suddenly it dawned on me: I actually really, really loved it. I kind of hated myself for it, but I couldn't deny it.

Christmas rolled around, and I received a P-SB7 as a gift. For those of you that aren't into ghost hunting, it's a spirit box- it picks up spirit voices in between radio frequencies. It's not foolproof, I get radio voices all of the time, but you know something is a little off when you get the same voice over multiple frequencies. I consider this the time when something is trying to establish a connection.

This won't be a post about my personal experiences, because I know that there's a lot of skepticism about that, and I want to leave this as a spooky horror blog, not a place for fighting over the existence of an afterlife. If you'd like to know about my paranormal experiences, please leave me a comment! I'd be happy to contact you and tell you about them.

Anyway, on to the point of this post! Where I live, there are plenty of haunted locations. The Fire Island Lighthouse, Kings Park Psychiatric Center, even Pilgrim State Psych. I haven't been to all of the locations I'd like to go to, but a place near and dear to my heart is Sweet Hollow Road.

There are a few stories that go along with the haunted history of Sweet Hollow. It's been featured on tv shows and websites all over the place because of how "active" it is.
One story has to do with Mount Misery Road, a road running parallel to Sweet Hollow. A small asylum was built in the woods back where the road ends, and one of the patients, Mary, supposedly set it on fire, essentially killing almost everyone in the building. Rumor has it that you can still hear the screaming patients from the fire. Even creepier: apparently they rebuilt the asylum...and it burnt down a second time. Weird, huh?

But there is an overpass crossing Sweet Hollow Road, and that is where I've personally been. Driving down that road at all is enough to make you cringe. The road is winding, dark, and covered in trees on both sides. It creates such an enclosed, claustrophobic feeling. The story is that a handful of teens hung themselves off of the overpass, and if you flash your lights while driving underneath, they will appear.
There is also the story of a woman who was killed in a head-on collision above Sweet Hollow.  If you flash your lights, you can see a shadow sit up. Is it a trick of the eyes? Or does the woman see you and sit up?

There are even more, if you can believe it, one of which has to do with a police officer who only has the front of his head intact, and a "hell hound" that means imminent death if you see him with his glowing red eyes.

All I can say is the feeling of being there is so terrifying and unsettling.....I love it. I can tell you more stories of hauntings around me if you guys are into this post! Let me know!