''A Haunting'' is an American

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

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television series that depicts eyewitness accounts of alleged possession,

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...

, and ghostly encounters. The program features narrations, interviews, and dramatic re-enactments based on various accounts of alleged

experiences at reportedly haunted and mostly residential locations.

Format

The series has featured several alleged

encounters, including traditional hauntings,

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

ic activity,

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

attacks, possessions, and cryptic visions. The series covers incidents from various locations mostly in the United States, but five episodes are set in international locations around the world, these are Canada,

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, Ireland, and

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. Episodes may be set in houses, apartments, farms, commercial areas, and even vast outdoor regions. Most episodes present several accounts of paranormal experiences through cinematic re-enactments, which are accompanied by commentary from eyewitnesses and investigators themselves. Episodes within the series follow a frequently recurring pattern, in which victims of hauntings begin noticing peculiar incidents that gradually become more frequent and bizarre. Denial is most often the first reaction. As the situation escalates, however, and every possible conventional explanation is explored and found wanting, they either contact a paranormal investigator, a member of the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, or a spiritual

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for assistance. In some cases, victims are able to successfully resolve their paranormal issues, while in others, victims are forced to vacate their residence. Certain episodes have also featured commentary from famed demonologist and

clairvoyant Clairvoyance (; ) is the claimed ability to acquire information that would be considered impossible to get through scientifically proven sensations, thus classified as extrasensory perception, or "sixth sense". Any person who is claimed to ...

Ed and Lorraine Warren, who have actually investigated some of the cases featured on the series. The episode "The Dark Side" was dedicated to the memory of Ed, who died in 2006. The episode "Dangerous Games" featured commentary from the Warrens' nephew, John Zaffis.

Background and production

''A Haunting'' originally began as two feature-length specials, '' A Haunting in Connecticut'' and '' A Haunting in Georgia'', which were developed by Allison Erkelens, who also served as head writer. The specials were executive produced by Tom Naughton and Nicolas Valcour for New Dominion Pictures. Based on strong ratings, ''A Haunting'' became a weekly series on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

in the Fall of 2005 and was produced by Larry Silverman. According to Silverman, the show's writers search for stories and then filter out accounts with enough substantial content. He has further added that the episodes are strictly based on the accounts of victims, although the Discovery Channel did compel the show's producers to sanitize certain case histories due to their graphic sexual and violent content. Bill Bean, whose real-life experiences were first featured in the episode "House of the Dead", claimed that the show's producers left out some of his story and that "some of the content was altered."

Release

Series overview

Broadcast

The show originally aired from August 6, 2002, to November 9, 2007, on the

, which produced four seasons of 39 episodes. After nearly a five-year hiatus, New Dominion productions began producing new episodes of a ''A Haunting'' in 2012. The show's fifth through eighth seasons were broadcast on the

Destination America Destination America is an American cable television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. The network carries programming focused on the culture of the United States—including food, lifestyles, a ...

channel, which aired between October 12, 2012 and March 20, 2016. As of the show's ninth season, it aired on the TLC Network, where it premiered on October 21, 2016, and ended the following year on October 30, 2017. In 2019, the show's tenth season premiered on The Travel Channel. After a two-year hiatus, the eleventh season of ''A Haunting'' debuted on December 31, 2021, on the Travel Channel as well as Discovery Plus.

Home media

Timeless Media Group has released the first 7 seasons on DVD in Region 1 for the first time. On October 14, 2014, Timeless Media Group released ''A Haunting- The Television Series: Special Edition'', a 9-disc box set featuring seasons 1–6.

Films

Gold Circle Films created two feature-length movies based on cases featured in ''A Haunting'': '' The Haunting in Connecticut'' which was released in 2009, and '' The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia'', released in 2013.

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

* * by New Dominion Pictures * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haunting, A 2002 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings 2012 American television series debuts 2019 American television series endings 2000s American anthology television series 2010s American anthology television series 2000s American drama television series 2010s American drama television series 2000s American horror television series 2010s American horror television series American English-language television shows Horror drama television series Television series about ghosts Paranormal television Television series featuring reenactments Destination America original programming Discovery Channel original programming TLC (TV network) original programming 2000s American supernatural television series 2010s American supernatural television series American television series revived after cancellation Television series by New Dominion Pictures Ed and Lorraine Warren