MTV's Fear
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''Fear'' (promoted as ''MTV's Fear'') is an American paranormal
reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
that originally aired from 2000 to 2002 on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
and spawned the genre. The program follows a group of five or more contestants who are left at an allegedly
haunted location The list of reportedly haunted locations throughout the world, that are locations said to be haunted by ghosts or other supernatural beings, including demons. Reports of haunted locations are part of ghostlore, which is a form of folklore. Ar ...
and led on a series of dares over two nights to explore the location and determine whether it is haunted. The show was created by Martin Kunert and
Eric Manes Eric David Manes is a feature film and television writer and producer, owner of Swiss chocolate company Coco Suisse with his wife Marianne Manes, and a State of California Registered Investment Advisor. Biography Manes produced the documentary ...
, who were inspired by the 1973 horror film ''
The Legend of Hell House ''The Legend of Hell House'' is a 1973 supernatural horror film directed by John Hough, and starring Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, Clive Revill, and Gayle Hunnicutt. It follows a group of researchers who spend a week in the former home of a ...
''. The pilot episode was co-executive produced and directed by
George Verschoor George Verschoor (born 1960) is a showrunner, director and a creator of television shows, known primarily for producing unscripted and reality series for television, such as ''The Real World'', on which he retains a creative consultant credit. ...
. The series aired the first two episodes in a pilot run, which received outstanding reviews, and a full season was ordered. After eight more episodes, another season was ordered. The second season ended after only six aired episodes. The series was cancelled not because of a lack of interest (the show was the second most popular on MTV at the time of its cancellation) but because of the high cost of producing each episode. A DVD, ''MTV's Inside Fear'', was released on November 6, 2001.Fear Intro
/ref> ''Fear'' was named #6 on ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
s "15 Taboo-Breaking TV Moments".''Entertainment Weekly'''s "15 Taboo-Breaking TV Moments"
/ref>


Rules

Contestants are blindfolded and led by guides to the supposedly haunted area. They were then instructed to remove their blindfolds after a predetermined amount of time, allowing the guides to slip out unseen. The area where they are taken is known as the 'safe house', usually a large room somewhere within the location where no hauntings are reported to have taken place. This location serves as the group's base and is the only part of the haunted location with lighting. Every member of the group chooses a color at random from a predefined list. During daylight hours, the group is allowed to sleep and eat, as dares only take place at night. Once night arrives, a computer terminal will usually pick one or two colors and assign a dare. This computer also provides the group with background information about the area. A member of the group, not assigned to the current dare, provides instructions from the computer via two-way radios. Each contestant is given the option, at any time during the dare, to abort. However, doing so will cause the contestant to forfeit his or her share of the winnings and to leave the group. Another contestant will then be chosen by the computer to complete the dare. After two nights, any contestants remaining in the game are directed to the location of their monetary prize, and each collects $5,000. (In the pilot episode, the survivors only received $3,000 each.) The dares themselves range in difficulty, often starting out easy and close to the safe house, eventually getting more difficult and further from the group's base. While most rely on simple observation ( radio silence,
EMF detector EMF measurements are measurements of ambient (surrounding) electromagnetic fields that are performed using particular sensors or probes, such as EMF meters. These probes can be generally considered as ''antennas'' although with different charac ...
), some of the dares rely on specific re-enactments of haunting events, and a few even dabble in occult or paranormal possession ( séance, automatic drawing, spirit
channeling Channeling, or channelling, may refer to: Science * Channelling (physics), the process that constrains the path of a charged particle in a crystalline solid * Metabolite or substrate channeling in biochemistry and cell physiology Other * Legal c ...
).


Locations

The locations shown in the show usually had their name changed to protect their location from vandals and show fanatics. However, some of the places allowed their name to be used, and some of the fans of the show used the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
to piece together potential matches for the locations used in the show. The locations used in the show were: Season 1 (2000-2001) * Episode 1 – West Virginia State Penitentiary * Episode 2 – St. Agnes Hospital for the Chronically Ill* (Real Location: Fairfield State Hospital, Connecticut) * Episode 3 – Duggan Brothers Cement Factory* (Real Location: Ideal Cement Company, 6411 Ideal Cement Rd., Castle Hayne, North Carolina) * Episode 4 – Hopkins Military Academy* (Real Location: Augusta Military Academy, Virginia) * Episode 5 – Camp Spirit Lake* (Real Location: Camp NoBeBoSco, Hardwick Township, New Jersey) This episode is infamous for containing a completely fictionalized account of the Princess Doe murder. * Episode 6 – Buck Hill Inn * Episode 7 – Eastern State Penitentiary * Episode 8 – * Episode 9 – Fort Gaines * Episode 10 – La Guerre Plantation* (Real Location: Desert Plantation, Louisiana) Season 2 (2001-2002) * Episode 1 – Mina Dos Estrellas: Pt.1 * Episode 2 – Mina Dos Estrellas: Pt.2 * Episode 3 – Hacienda Tabi * Episode 4 – Ki Sugar Mill* (Real location Haʻikū Sugar Mill in Haʻi kū,
Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...
, Hawaii) * Episode 5 – Serenity Lake Sanitorium* (Real location
King Edward VII Sanatorium King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
in
Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada) * Episode 6 – Boettger Brewery* (Real Location:
Lemp Brewery The Lemp Brewery was a beer brewing company established in 1840 in St. Louis, Missouri that was acquired by the Griesedieck Beverage Company in 1920, which subsequently became the Falstaff Brewing Corporation. The brewery complex property consis ...
,
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
) (* denotes locations where names are not the actual names of the location)


Music

The
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
band
Godsmack Godsmack is an American rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna, bassist Robbie Merrill, lead guitarist Tony Rombola and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its forma ...
's song "
Voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...
" was used as the theme song. For much of the second season, the song "
First Day of Nowhere First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
" by Sinisstar was used in the end credits.


References


External links

* *
''Film Threat'' article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fear MTV original programming Paranormal reality television series 2000 American television series debuts 2002 American television series endings 2000s American reality television series