Transcript Science Fiction, fantasy and the Paranormal

Science Fiction,
Fantasy and
the Paranormal
Mrs. Kinney
Mystery and Suspense
Five Good Reasons to Study
Science Fiction
 1.
Historical Fiction In historical fantasies
and science fiction that involves time
travel or alternate dimensions, authors will
many times include evidence of deep
research about history. Reading it as part
of an exciting story makes for a painless
way to learn about major wars or
important figures. One note of caution,
though; sometimes it's tough to keep
straight what's real and what's fictional!
 2.
Scientific Fiction Much of science fiction and
science fantasy includes plot devices that are
based on real scientific facts and theories. Many
authors are also scientists who enjoy using their
writing as a vehicle to introduce or explore
theoretical work. Many times, what is introduced as
fiction in a novel will later become fact as
technology catches up with the imagination.
 3.
Social Significance This reason to read is
especially true of speculative fiction which has at its
heart the exploration of humanity and its reaction
to the environment in which it is set. Authors can
postulate the characteristics of the world to come
by creating their own variable sets. Many times, this
is used as a warning against a particular societal ill.
 4.
Paradigm Busting Because fantasy and science
fiction deals with worlds that are often beyond the
laws of nature that apply to our own, people who
read from these genres are allowed to see the real
world from a fresh perspective. This both heightens
creativity and nurtures the mind's ability to bust
through existing paradigms. This can be quite an
asset in problem solving or work that involves
coming up with designs for new products or
procedures.
 5.
Writing Quality Although often considered
frivolous to the outsider, those who read science
fiction and fantasy know that the writing in most of
these books is anything but frivolous. The people
who write in these genres are scholars, visionaries,
and inventors. They not only create the same sorts
of believable characters as found in other novels,
but they also give birth to entire universes, political
systems, cultures, magical laws, and new life
forms. Their task is great and their talent must be
equally great in order to take the reader to an
entirely new part of one's mind.
Media Tie-Ins for Science
Fiction
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Novels based on popular media projects such as
science fiction movies, television shows, or video
games.
Characters and events may go beyond what has
been presented in the original media
format. However, the property holder must
approve significant diversions.
A variety of authors is often employed for the
novels, presenting many variations of the same
character or plot device.
Most media tie-in books are first produced as mass
market paperbacks.
Examples (just a few)
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Star Wars (Movies)
Star Trek (Television series, movies)
Roswell (Television series)
Back to the Future
Stargate, Stargate: SG1 (Movie, television series)
Planet of the Apes
Jurassic Park
X-Files (Televison series)
The Matrix
Authors: Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, etc.
Types of Sci-fi
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Temporal/Dimensional: time travel
Hard Science: based on real scientific
theories from many branches of study, such
as physics, chemistry, and quantum
mechanics; think robots
Space Opera: think War of the Worlds, Planet
of the Apes, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.
Speculative: Focus on social issues, think
Contagion
Elements of Fantasy (notice
how it connects to Sci-fi)
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Characterization
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Setting
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Varied, but usually suprising twists or developments
Theme
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Place is imaginary or of another world or universe
Time is anytime or no time. Time travel is possible
Plot
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Animals act like people (animorphisism)
Characters can have special powers
Good versus bad/evil
Describes how science or other ideas applied to the extreme
Style and Tone
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Use of magic or scientific principles not yet discovered
Use of technology or mental powers that are not possible or not
yet discovered.
The Paranormal
 Ghosts,
shadow figures, orbs, etc…you
have heard them all. Do you watch
Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures or any
other show about the paranormal?
What’s the attraction? Is it the unknown?
The “other world”? What draws so many
in?
Examples of Paranormal
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Stephen King novels/movies
Ghost Hunters/Ghost Adventures/Paranormal
State/Fact or Faked: Paranormal
Files/Paranormal Witness
Paranormal Activity 1,2,3
The Grudge (all)
The Ring (all)
The Others
The Phantom of the Opera
Mothman Prophecies
Famous Paranormal Activity in
Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee
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Between the years 1818-1820, the Bell Family of Red River, Tennessee was
visited by an unknown presence that haunted the family and eventually
ended up causing the death of one its members. Starting with small
sounds around the farm, and the sighting of a a strange BLACK WOLF
with piercing yellow eyes, the sounds escalated into full brutal contact
with the certain family members, causing psychological and physical
torment. The attacks grew in strength, with the spirit slapping, pulling,
dragging, and beating the Bell's youngest daughter. The Bells searched
for rational explanations and ways to rid their house of this entity, but to
no avail as the spirit began to communicate with them through sounds,
and eventually multiple voices that sounded like the wind. The cause of
its actions could always be felt, but no being could be seen, and no
explanation found- only the promise that one day it would kill one of the
family members. Fearing that the haunting was caused by a local
woman -branded a witch- who had put a curse upon the family as a
result of a land dispute, the Bells tried desperately to find ways to get rid
of the woman's curse, yet the attacks and disturbances only escalated.
Waverly Hills in Louisville
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH_Y
RLcL1n8
 Built in 1910 as 2 story wooden hospital
 Tuberculosis was so rampant in KY, they
had to construct a new building in 1924
 No antibiotics at this time so many
different methods were used
Waverly Hills Pictures
Waverly Hills Pics
 Patients
spent majority of time in the solarium-like
porch ways because sunlight and fresh air were
supposed to help
 The windows were screened in and even in the
winter they’d sit on the porch (that’s why heating
blankets were invented)
 Many experimental treatments
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Pneumothorax—surgically collapsing or deflating part
of the lung to heal
Thoracoplasty—opening the chest and removing 2 or
3 ribs so the lung could expand and heal
Fewer than 5% of the patients survived the
pneumothorax method
 1943
it was estimated that over 64,000 people had
died at the hospital
 The hospital closed in 1961 due to an antibiotic for
TB
 In 1962 it reopened as Woodhaven Geriatrics
Sanitarium where there are tales of patient
mistreatment and unusual experiments; it was
closed in 1982 due to patient abuse
 Rumors of satanic rituals in hospital (after it was
closed)
Hauntings
 Small
child on the third floor playing hide
and seek
 A little boy playing ball
 An old woman running from the front door
with her wrists bleeding and screaming,
“Help me. Somebody save me!”
 Shadow people
 Cries and screams heard in the building
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roof, sounds of children singing “Ring Around the
Rosy”—the roof was used to take the children up for
sunlight
 Room 502—ghost of a woman said to be a nurse
who hung herself; another nurse was said to jump
out of the window from this room
 Body Chute/Death Tunnel—500 ft. long tunnel from
the hospital to the railroad tracks—when someone
died, they were sent down the tunnel to an
awaiting hearse so that patients wouldn’t see the
dead (to keep morale high)
 Many other stories
Haunted Kentucky Examples
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Restless Gravestone of Federal Hill Cemetery
Liberty Hall in Frankfort
Harrodsburg Spring Park
The Russellville Girl
Meshack Road in Tompkinsville, KY
Hotrod Haven
Railroad Tunnel in Jackson, KY
Sand Mt. Ghost Lights in Mt. Sterling, KY
Bobby Mackey’s Music World
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Building use to be a slaughterhouse
According to lore, the basement became a
ritual site—deep well used to hide bodies of
small animals butchered during ceremonies
Pearl Bryan lived in Greencastle, IN; she
became pregnant by her boyfriend who told
her he’d remedy the problem with an
abortion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPqtlKoQk4&NR=1
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boyfriend was a med student who decided to
do the abortion himself
 He used chemicals to try to induce the abortion
 When that didn’t work, he used dental tools
 When that didn’t work, he and his roommate
murdered young Pearl
 They severed her head while she was still alive
 The building later became a popular bar and
dance club, supposedly haunted by Pearl and
others
Mothman
 Point
Pleasant,West Virginia in the mid
1960s—a strange man like creature with
wings and glowing eyes was spotted by
many people
 Many reported seeing it and then strange
things began to happen
 By 1967, most sightings had ended but the
story didn’t
 Dec. 15, 1967—the 700 foot bridge linking
Point Pleasant to Ohio collapsed killing 46
 Many believe the Mothman was behind
all the strange events
Hoax?
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many credible witnesses saw
“something”
 One explanation was it was a sandhill
crane—a bird that was not native to the
area
 Another explanation was that most
people let their imagination get carried
away
 We will probably never know the validity
of the Mothman
THE INDIANAPOLIS
POLTERGEIST
 Poltergeist-like
phenomena is believed to
be caused by a person in the household
who doesn’t realize they are doing it
 Normally a young girl, troubled
emotionally
 She unconsciously manipulates physical
objects by psychokinesis (PK)
 Bursts of PK can come and go and most
slowly fade away
March 1962
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Outbreak began March 11, a few minutes
after 10 pm
Mrs. Beck, a divorced woman, her mother
and daughter lived in the house
Things began to “fly” across the room and
smash on the floor
Police were called and could find no
explanation
One officer was hit by a glass that flew across
the room; no one else was in the room
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whenever police used high quality listening
equipment, no activity occurred
 Bizarre punctures (bite-like) began to appear on
two of the women
 All activity seemed to peak and then subside by
March 22
 Police blamed the mother of Mrs. Beck because
they caught her in a semi-unconscious state,
destroying things
 Mrs. Beck said her mother was a diabetic and in
shock
 No one knows the cause of the actions in the
house—it is still unsolved today
Willard Library
 The
Grey Lady Ghost in Evansville
 24 hour “ghost-cam”
 The first reported incident happened sixty
years ago to a library employee who
trekked through the snowy cold for his
nightly duty. Since then, countless other
employees and patrons have reported
seeing this apparition, each giving an
eerily similar description
Is this the Ghost?
Other Hauntings
 The
Hannah House in Indianapolis
 The Haunted Farm in NW Indiana
 Diana of the Dunes in Dunes State Park
near Gary, IN
 Highland Lawn Cemetery in Terre Haute
 Central State Hospital in Indianapolis
 White Lick Creek Bridge in Danville, IN
Web Sites to Visit
 www.snopes.com
 www.prairieghosts.com
 http://www.indianaghosts.org/cms/news.
php
 www.bellwitch.org
 www.underworldtales.com/waverly.htm