The Paranormal Genre

I intend to create a Horror movie based around the theme of the paranormal; dark experiences that cannot be justified through scientific explanation and are beyond rational thought. I am interested in making a film of this genre as I enjoy already existing paranormal films myself, as well as having a general interest in the subject matter.

Paranormal Definition- ‘Denoting events or phenomena such as telekinesis or clairvoyance that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding’.

Throughout movie history, paranormal subjects are usually know to be divided into three ‘sub- groups’. Ghosts, souls and spiritual entities, UFOs and extraterrestrial beings, and Cryptids. Though UFOs and Cryptids could be a frightening addition to my film, due to budget and lack of appropriate resources I believe that the category of ghosts, ghouls, souls, spiritual entities and poltergeists would be my best choice.

I have looked into many websites such as http://www.paranormaldatabase.com/, http://www.my-paranormal-experience.com/ and http://www.ukpsychics.com/trueexp.html where people have shared their own questionably ‘real’ experiences with the paranormal, from abductions to haunted homes which have given me a better idea of how to approach my fictional story.

Some of the most established paranormal horror movies include ‘Paranormal Activity’, ‘Paranormal Entity’, ‘REC’, ‘Cloverfield’, ‘The Host’ and ‘Poltergeist’. A majority of which are shot through ‘handheld camera’, giving the impression that the footage shown are home videos and in turn make the stories more realistic for the audience. I want to use handheld camera for my horror film as the realism makes the movie more frightening and is more effective for directing on a low- budget.