Paranormal State – Paranormal Detour – S05E07

While apparently on break between cases, Ryan and team try an experiment to see if they can drive into some random town and find paranormal activity. An interesting idea, but not really all that remarkable. I think it would be hard to find a town that didn’t have some house or building or track of land that all the residents thought was haunted. Isn’t there always some creepy place everyone is afraid to go or they talk about in whispers?

Anyway, through crazy, random happenstance they end up at the Klondike Restaurant which has claims of the paranormal. The owners claim they hear their names being called, they see shadows, they hear whispering, glasses get broken, there are cold spots and someone in the laundry room keeps asking if they can help with the laundry. The owner and several of the employees have no doubt the place is haunted since the activity has been going on for years.

I’m not sure why, but Ryan brings in Lorraine Warren who immediately says the place has all manner of dark energy and feels confident a murder took place there. After only mere moments of being there she is convinced the place is off the charts bad. Right after that declaration Ryan begins to have a conniption about being touched all over his body. Even Lorraine thinks he’s acting crazy. There is nothing to substantiate all this touching and none of the people interviewed mentioned anything about it.

They have now turned things into a full fledged investigation and the team is going to work a shift at the restaurant and see what kind of experiences they can have. Katrina ends up feeling some odd things while doing laundry down in the basement and claims to hear someone sneeze even though she is down there alone. She also claims to hear footsteps when no one is around. Seems like she is the only one getting any activity. It should be noted that the washer and dryer are giving off huge amounts of electrical energy which could explain the odd feelings people have down there. And if the wiring is that bad down in the basement it’s probably pretty crappy throughout the rest of the building. Who knows what people are feeling with that kind of energy coursing through the place.

But in usual fashion Ryan starts running around yelling, “in the name of Jesus Christ…” which is not only annoying, but it doesn’t accomplish anything. It seems to be his fallback plan when nothing is going on. It builds dramatic tension.

I don’t believe they got any tangible evidence to support a single claim that the place is haunted. And they really don’t do anything while they’re there so why should the activity decrease? (as listed in the episode summary text) Further, it doesn’t seem like the owner is really bothered with the idea of the place being haunted. If anything, seems like that would be a good thing for business.

This episode was kind of flaky. It was an interesting idea but I’m not sure what the takeaway should be.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Paranormal State – Darkness Falls – S04E08
• Paranormal State – Shadow Caster – S04E09
• Paranormal State – S04E01 – Suicide Possession
• Paranormal State – Ghost on the Tracks – S05E04
• Paranormal State – They Only Come Out at Night – S05E02
• Paranormal State – Haunted Homecoming – S05E13
• Paranormal State S04E03 – Dead Legends
• Paranormal State – Return of Six
• Paranormal State – Season 1
• Paranormal State – Dwelling of the Dead – S05E11