Haunted Histories Volume 2

Haunted Histories: Vol. 2: Disc 1: Haunted Houses
Haunted Histories: Vol. 2: Disc 2: More Haunted Houses: Tortured Souls and Restless Spirits
Haunted Histories: Vol. 2: Disc 3: Zombies
Haunted Histories: Vol. 2: Disc 4: Voodoo Rituals
Haunted Histories: Vol. 2: Disc 5: In Search of the Real Frankenstein

The perfect programming choice for a spooky night at home, the second volume of this History Channel series delivers even more of a frightfully good thing with real-life tales about mad scientists, haunted houses, zombies and restless spirits. Eyewitnesses recount their ghostly run-ins with the dearly departed; scholars weigh in on the origins of voodoo rituals; and psychics investigate claims of domestic disturbances.

Haunted Histories: Vol. 2: Disc 1: Haunted Houses
What you think will be compelling stories of hauntings and unusual activity turn out to be some less than compelling accounts of some supposed spirit activity. While the locations are pretty interesting and the stories could lead to some bizarre happenings there is really nothing presented to make you think there is anything to the claims. In many cases what we’re presented with are some rather low budget recreations and dramatizations. In the end, there is really no evidence of any paranormal activity. At best, these could be the basis for some stories you might tell around the campfire on a weekend camping trip. One very grainy photo does not the paranormal activity make.

Haunted Histories: Vol. 2: Disc 2: More Haunted Houses: Tortured Souls and Restless Spirits
Tortured souls? Hardly. Another disc of stories that have some interesting aspects to them, but hardly the spine tingling tales that the disc foretells. Once again, the tales head toward the fringe of being interesting but never quite get there. The evidence is missing and the psychic/mediums they bring in just make the whole presentation feel cheap. Like the first disc, you might be able to get some campfire stories out of this one, but little else.

Haunted Histories: Vol. 2: Disc 3: Zombies
Do Zombies exist? Can they be created? Is there a spell or potion that can be cast which renders a human being both alive and dead? A somewhat interesting documentary on the voodoo rituals and the creation of zombies. A glimpse into two people who tell their tales and recount the details of what it’s like to be able to see and hear people around you but not do anything about it. Some of the commentary comes from voodoo priests and practitioners, as well as toxicologists, psychologists, anthropologists and researchers. It’s a fairly interesting topic starter, but at 50 minutes the discussion is far too short for the material. It’s sort of a lead in to the events outlined in Serpent and the Rainbow, and actually has the researcher who provided the material for that story, but it’s pretty watered down and really there just isn’t enough to satisfy. And it really doesn’t live up to expectations. Two people? That’s the whole argument for zombies and zombiefication, two people who claim to have had an experience? Over the hundreds of years of the practice this is the best you can do?

Haunted Histories: Vol. 2: Disc 4: Voodoo Rituals
The word Voodoo, it conjures up all sorts of images. From dark rituals steeped in blood, to sinister dolls, zombies and even possessions. If you’re looking for a deeper insight into the mystical world of voodoo, then this isn’t the disc for you. It focuses on one man’s journey to becoming a voodoo priest and even that is full of vague generalities and how he felt about the journey and the places he went, not the experiences he’s had and the deeper meaning behind his beliefs. The documentary very briefly touches on some aspects of voodoo and that it revolves around the life force and spirit energy of all things. But it barely even scratches the surface of the beliefs, practices and aspects of voodoo that make it so interesting and misunderstood. The main focus is on a religious retreat in South Carolina and very little else. Well, there was that quick visit to the market.

Haunted Histories: Vol. 2: Disc 5: In Search of the Real Frankenstein
Frankenstein is synonymous with the living dead. A piecemeal corpse sown together and brought back to life with the power of electricity. Is there any truth to these bizarre experiments or are they just the work of a creative imagination? Perhaps the only disc in the series worth watching, this one chronicles the history of Mary Shelley and the origins of her Frankenstein novel. Did Frankenstein exist? What was the inspiration for her dark tale which has lasted all these years? It seems there were men of science obsessed with the idea of reanimating a body once it had expired. These men worked in seclusion on Galvanism, the process of charging the body with electricity and spurring the muscles into action once again.

There is a great deal of evidence to support bodies were dug from the grave and that scientists waited under the gallows to claim a fresh body to work with. Tests that started off with frogs, newts, dogs and cats quickly escalated to real life remains. But there demands outweighed the supply.

Once the felt they had made enough progress, they took their experiments on the road. Bodies would be placed on a table, electric probes would be placed, and the electricity would flow. Muscles would contort and contract. Limbs would raise and move. The face would gesture and grimace. And all of this in front of a live audience.

The idea of recharging the body with electricity soon took on mainstream acceptance and people began to flock to the idea of zapping their bodies as a cure-all. In the minds of the public and those selling the idea, it invigorated, it fixed broken or defective parts of the body and it prolonged life.

While Shelley worked in the realm of fiction her ideas are firmly rooted in reality. Even though the practice seems peculiar there is no disputing that we use some of the discoveries today – behold the power of the defibrillator. Every medical show out there has had a scene of zapping the heart with electricity to get it moving again. The bizarre medicine of the past becomes the common place of today.

While the last disc in this set is the best, it doesn’t make up for the previous four. They may claim this is the perfect programming for a spooky night at home, but I just don’t see it. The stories aren’t scary, but the acting is.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Haunted Histories Volume 3
• Unsolved Mysteries: Ghosts – Rating 4 out of 5
• Ghost Hunters and GH International
• Destination Truth – Spirits of Tikal and Creature From the Black Lagoon – S05E05
• Haunted Highway – Black Angel and Arizona Domes – S02E06
• Paranormal State – Paranormal Detour – S05E07
• Haunted History – Katrina Cannibal – S01E08
• Paranormal Lockdown – Rampart St. Murder House – S02E10
• The Unexplained – Hauntings
• Haunted Collector – Haunted Bayou/Library Ghost – S01E01