Showy Skepticism: Ghost Stories (2017)

My dear readers, though I am currently the only one among us making a living by offering up my perspective, historically speaking, the Hauntedhouses have always been a highly opinionated lineage. Our willful streak is so pronounced, in fact, that it has caused us a bit of bother on more than one occasion. My Great Aunt Gilda Hauntedhouse, notorious in her day for her unchangeable attitudes on a wide range of subjects, came into some disagreement with local authorities over the number of unconsenting private citizens one can store in a root cellar. Though she made her case in what was said to be a most compelling fashion, ultimately the opposition won the day and she was forced to move her “stable” to a county with less meddlesome government oversight.

Professor Goodman does not believe one can have a satanic encounter during a hit and run

Professor Goodman (Andy Nyman) is a man of similarly strong convictions. He is convinced that all things paranormal are all a bunch of bunk and rather than sit on the sidelines and turn up his nose at a superstitious populous, he manages to take a more active role. Goodman is something of a supernatural killjoy, barging in unannounced and casting aspersions on mediums, healers and the like. This intrusive approach to educating the public is an idea he got from his hero, Charles Cameron, a man who blazed the path for showy skepticism with his televised specials in the 1970s. Ironically, this man of simple and sober truths vanished quite mysteriously and no one has had word from him for decades.

So Goodman is rather chuffed when he receives a communique from Cameron, relaying that, despite assumptions to the contrary, he is still among the living and is keen to have a face-to-face chat. Cameron proves to be a little more flexible with his paradigm and has decided that his life’s work, and by extension Goodman’s work, has been nothing more than an arrogant blunder, a career wasted on pedantic pursuits. To prove it, he presents Goodman with three cases that he, in all his condescending glory, could not attribute to the mere physical sciences. It would be misleading to say that Goodman is pleased with this coveted encounter with his idol but he takes up the challenge all the same, interviewing a night watchman, a young school lad and a well-to-do gentleman about their encounters with the supernatural.

Ghost Stories puts on quite the spectral show and there are many wonderful phantoms to be found within. But in among the red-eyed wraiths and misshapen little girls, I find that the most unsettling sight of all is the stubborn dubiety of Professor Goodman. While I certainly don’t fancy myself one of those empty-headed audience members who insists that the protagonist be “relatable,” I confess I had some difficulty watching a man who leaves no room in his heart for the fantastical and it was most disturbing to witness his dismissing not only eyewitness accounts but also spirits manifesting before his very eyes. This is, of course, the brilliance of Ghost Stories. While other horror movies aim to demonstrate how mankind is the most frightening subject, few others endeavor to provide so many side-by-side examples. Any curious viewer wondering if humanity is truly more terrifying when compared with baby-thieving spooks or the very devil himself need only consult this handy film.

Ghost Stories runs 98 minutes and does not possess a certified rating in the United States.