Ghosts...

As a child I can recall listening to a number of ghost stories. The ghost stories were told as if they were based on a true story and that is why they were so spooky. To some, ghosts or spirits are a part of life and to others they are used in stories to frighten people. There are many people who believe they have heard or have seen a ghost/spirit in their home. So should we think they are crazy or believe that the supernatural exists? There is not significant evidence to question this, but many elements of what some people consider real and others imaginative is seen in films like The Haunting or The Innocents.
There are groups of people around the world called paranormal investigators. They dedicate their work in documenting paranormal activity in hopes one day to prove scientifically that ghosts exist. They also aid in helping people who believe their house is haunted. We need to understand that we have no scientific or physical evidence yet that proves the paranormal exist. The debate over the existence of the paranormal conveys a good element when creating horror films.
A film called The Exorcist is based on real life events. The Exorcist is a film that is about a girl who is possessed by the devil or evil being and is based on historical events. When watching a film like this it is easy to think how creepy that really would be. It makes me put myself in the shoes of the characters in the film and I have feelings of this could happen to anyone. When believing ideas of a film could happen to you it produces a fear that other films cannot produce. Does this mean that the supernatural are real? I believe this question is why films that are based on true events or films with ghosts are more alarming than films with giant ants or a person turning into a cat or werewolf. The argument about whether there really is ghosts or not provides a scare tactic. According to Carroll we need to have the evaluative thought that monster x like a ghost could be real. I believe this is why The Haunting and The Innocents were more frightening to me than Cat People, Them, Bride of Frankenstein, and Dracula. Cat People, Them, etc. involve scenes where you may not know whether a character will survive, if the monster will overtake all of humanity, or if the humans can beat the beast in the end. The scenes do not cause me to be terrified in the sense that I believe these monsters are real, but by feeling for the characters in the film and wanting the good to survive. These films cause me to laugh. The thought of a giant ant is so unrealistic it is funny. Also it is so unbelievable that a human like you and I can turn into a cat or a werewolf. This is so far fetch it seems ridiculous and is not scary. I am saying that I do not agree with Carroll’s explanation of art-horror is a decent one because films that are under the genre as fantastic to me are more horrifying than films that Carroll consider art horrifying. The Bride of Frankenstein is considered to some to follow along the lines of art-horror outlined by Carroll. This film is not fear provoking, I ended up feeling sorry for Frankenstein because all he wanted was to fit in and have a friend. It was sad that even the Bride that was created for Frankenstein was afraid of him. Instead of producing horror it shaped a sense of sorrow for the monster. The Fantastic films that we have viewed in class have been based on the fact that it could be a supernatural explanation or naturalistic. Having this back-and-forth thought of is it a ghost or just a woman who has gone crazy provides uncertainty, which can be startling.
Maybe I am more frightened by films such as The Haunting and The Innocents because of the stories that I remember from childhood seemed so real. The feelings that were created long ago are brought back when viewing films with ghosts in them. This is why I believe films about ghosts/spirits or films based on true stories are more shocking than the films that aren’t. Do you believe in ghosts??