Ghostbusters III Confirmed

I guess it's been confirmed that there will be a third Ghostbusters movie, scheduled for release some time in 2012. Now, I grew up with the Ghostbusters, saw both movies, watched the animated spinoff series, played the video games, bought the merchandise, and so on. And while there were "ghosts" of rumors about a third movie, nothing seemed to have materialized until now. Perhaps because no one could come up with any plausible plot ideas for the third movie - not Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd or Harold Ramis, or even Ivan Reitman (director of the first two Ghostbusters movies). Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg (script gurus of "The Office" and "Year One") have apparently written a plot that Aykroyd says "really works".

While the plot details are still rather sketchy, the basic idea is that the Ghostbusters have become so successful in despatching the ghosts in Manhattan that they are now out of business. There might be an opportunity for the Ghostbusters at Manhattan's "dark underworld", Manhellan (or something like that), where a portal has opened up at Foley Square. Dana Barrett's son, Oscar, will most likely be appearing in the movie too. (Dana Barret is the character played by Sigourney Weaver for those who didn't know.) There might be a team of new recruits, all female, who are ill-trained but eager to do their part in ridding Manhattan of its ghostly inhabitants. The original team will still appear in the movie, but briefly, since Aykroyd is hoping for more of a "passing-of-the-torch movie".

That is only a synopsis of the basic plot, based on the ideas and snippets that have been released, so I guess we'll have to wait until something more concrete is revealed or until the movie itself.

That said, I don't think I agree with the concept of having a "new generation" of Ghostbusters in this case, especially if they are going to be the main characters of the movie, with the original team members having just a cameo appearance. There's nothing wrong with training raw recruits before the original Ghostbusters' retirement, but that should be a reference point throughout the movie, where the original team works alongside the new team. And then if there were to be any further movies for the Ghostbusters franchise, their primary focus should be on the new recruits. After all, there are so many reports of paranormal activity to draw upon for those plots.

Speculation and opinion aside, I most likely will be viewing Ghostbusters III at the movie theater, but until then will be watching for further updates to see how it all progresses.

Poltergeists - Part II

This entry was originally posted on the Paranormality blog, on 9 Nov 2008, but has been expanded for Paranormality Reincarnated.

Perhaps the most "famous" case of poltergeist activity is that of young Carol Ann Freeling. I'm speaking, of course, about the 1982 Steven Spielberg movie, Poltergeist, and its sequels, which almost everyone knows about. In the beginning, Carol Ann (played by Heather O'Rourke) has "imaginary friends", but then things become rather unpleasant after she hears voices coming from the television set. Dolls come to life, objects fly violently around the house, doors shut of their own accord, trees grab the children and the bedroom closet becomes a portal to the other side.

As with most poltergeist cases, the poltergeist needs an "agent" to activate, in this case young Carol Ann. Since the family has just moved into their new home in suburban California, she is adjusting to her new surroundings, her chemistry is changing; emotional and chemical changes are starting to occur in her body; her mind is still a child's, not yet fully developed, but she is old enough to recognize the changes in her surroundings. As she learns to adjust, these chemical and emotional changes play havoc on her system, causing conflicting signals and imbalances, which might inevitably result in latent psychokinetic abilities surfacing. She would be unaware that she was acting as agent, as in most cases. This is a factor in the movie sequels, where the poltergeist apparently follows her (and the family) wherever they go.

Throughout the movie, it becomes quite evident that Carol Ann is afraid as the frightening events unfold around her. Fear is the most powerful of all emotions and produces all kinds of additional chemical reactions in the body. The amygdala is considered as the "fear center" of the brain because when we feel threatened or fear something, it triggers responses in every other part of the brain. The hypothalamus, which controls basic drives - such as hunger or thirst - sends a signal that activates the sympathetic nervous system. This in turn releases hormones that allow the body to react to and deal with danger and emergency situations. Adrenaline or epinephrine is released, causing all kinds of reactive symptoms in the body, including increased heart rate, dilated eyes, sweaty palms and horripilation (goose bumps).

When certain changes occur within the body, the pituitary and pineal glands may also factor into the poltergeist equation. The pituitary gland is known as the "master gland" of the endocrine glands because it monitors hormones regulating bodily functions, including sleep, energy levels, metabolic rate and libido. Also affected is the pineal gland, located deep within the brain, controls biological rhythms (such as our internal clock) and produces melatonin, a substance that controls sleep cycles but also inhibits sexual maturement. Melatonin production increases at night, thereby increasing the likelihood of somnambulism (sleep-walking) and hallucinatory reactions to the surroundings through a kind of warped perception. When there is no release for pent-up emotions, especially fear, psychokinetic responses are more likely. The greater the fear, along with the super-charged chemicals in the body (adrenaline, serotonin, melatonin and endorphins), the greater the psychokinetic activity will be.

It's highly unlikely that Carol Ann would be sexually mature, since she is only five years old, but can still assume that, since she is forced to readjust to her new surroundings, her natural fears would prey on her mind.

At the start of the movie, a chair moves autonomously, and then Carol Ann is propelled across the floor. Some form of levitation is common during poltergeist activity, although usually only during sleep. Seeing her communicating to "spirits" via a static television set infers early on that she possesses underdeveloped mediumistic abilities.

It is conceivable, however, that some exterior "evil" force could be haunting the family. As the first Poltergeist movie progresses, it becomes evident that Carol Ann is not a just a poltergeist agent, responsible for psychokinetic activity, but rather an "object of desire" by a demon known only as The Beast. The reason this becomes important is mentioned in the second movie, Poltergeist II: The Other Side. It is revealed that the Freelings' house is built over a huge underground cavern, extending underneath the un-relocated graveyard from the first movie. Rev. Henry Kane, a power-hungry, egocentric utopian cult leader, orchestrated the mass suicide of his followers in the underground cavern in the early 1800s.

There are several reports (that I know of) where angered spirits have returned to wreak their revenge in the earthly plane. There are others where in life the spirit had had a life of nothing but negative experiences, so they have craved the innocence of youth or a family's deeply-bonded love. And more often than not, they will go to any lengths to acquire it. Other reports of heightened poltergeist activity are where houses have been built over graveyards or sacred Native American ground, thereby upsetting the spirits buried there.

While the majority of cases centers on a poltergeist agent, those few incidences (as portrayed in the Poltergeist trilogy), where something else might be responsible, is still largely unexplored. Ultimately, it is often very difficult to distinguish between psychokinesis and poltergeistry; there is a very fine line between them, it seems.