The Haunted Vessel: Paratainment II

"Paratainment" is a term coined on the Paranormal State message boards to describe media that focuses on the paranormal (paranormal + entertainment).  I did a feature on this in the first installment of the Haunted Vessel, but it's about time for another one.  The shows and movies featured here involve the paranormal and either dolls or haunted objects.  Some are fiction, some are true, all are entertaining.


The Conjuring

The Conjuring follows Ed and Lorraine Warren as they investigate a strange case involving a family being tormented by the ghosts in their new home. Anabelle makes an appearance at the beginning of the movie, though for some reason they chose to redesign the doll completely, making her unrecognizable. However the movie is pretty good overall, and has a few different instances of haunted items.  In particular there are some great scenes featuring the Warren's own store room of haunted and cursed items.

Haunted Collector

This show is fairly controversial within the paranormal community, but I'll let you be the judge.  It follows John Zaffis and his team as they investigate hauntings and try to identify what item may be the root cause.  He also has a similar collection to that of the Warrens, and these items can be seen on his website.




Supernatural: Playthings

Supernatural has a number of different episodes involving haunted items, but not as many with dolls specifically. These two are some of my favorites in that category. Playthings finds the boys investigating strange deaths at an inn, wherein the grandmother's prolific doll collection is equally as creepy as it is hilarious.

 Supernatural: Mannequin 3: The Reckoning

Mannequin 3 is even more ridiculous, and involves mysterious murders being perpetrated by...an anatomical dummy? A life-size doll? You'll just have to watch to find out.

Blood and Guts with Scott Ian

And finally we have something a little different, but still fun.  The Nerdist channel on YouTube has a number of interesting (and geeky!) shows, but my favorite by far is Blood and Guts with Scott Ian. Scott does interviews with some of the best monster makers in the business, as well as getting tours of studios and interesting "how to" segments among things.  It definitely lives up to its name with the gore, but it's also a fascinating look at how a lot of the things we see on TV and in movies are made.

His newest episode spotlights the studio that helped create the infamous Chucky, and since he is what most people think of when they hear "creepy doll," I thought it would be a fun addition to this topic.