Review: Paranormal Witness (TV)

Based on eyewitness testimony and incorporating a mix of interviews and reenactments, the second season’s first episode is entitled “Man in the Attic.” 

In 1988, Jackie Hernandez was a pregnant young mother in California recently separated from her husband. Needing a place of her own, she rented a house for her and her young son to live in. She was a college student at the time and spent a lot of time at home. About a month after moving in, she started hearing strange knocking sounds. 

Other weird occurrences soon followed. A picture moved on its own. Nails were found sitting upright on a kitchen table. Doors opened on their own. Bright lights were seen coming from near the kitchen ceiling. 

Most frightening of all was an emaciated old man who appeared to Jackie and her friend. He seemed to reside in the attic and was not friendly, spelling “Get the hell out” with refrigerator magnets. 

With limited finances, Jackie couldn’t afford to move. Afraid for her own safety and that of her son (and eventually a baby), she asks for help from a “paranormal team.” Skeptical themselves, they agree to investigate the old man and strange occurrences in the home. Their skepticism does not last long. 

The reenactments are well-done and manage to generate a few moderately creepy moments. They rely on tried and true tricks of the horror genre; boo scares and things leaping out of the darkness, etc. And the show moves quickly, so you don’t really worry about how believable the eyewitnesses are. That’s beside the point anyway. It’s all in good fun. Anyone interested in things that go bump in the night and unexplained phenomena should find plenty to enjoy. 

Future episodes will cover the stories that inspired the upcoming feature film The Possession as well as 1993’s Fire in the Sky, about a supposed alien abduction. 

 

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