Paranormal Pop Culture: 04/01/2010

The first bite: Official 'Piranha 3-D' trailer

I love Joe Dante's original 1978 Piranha. It was camp-tastic and managed to be gory while spoofing Jaws. Plus, it introduced the world to the genius of Operation: Razorteeth - which I still think could've been a viable national defense strategy (look it up).

Anyhow, everything I've been hearing about the new Piranha 3-D is encouraging, and the trailer (after the jump) lives up to my expectations so far. Aside from the swarms of cryptozoological chomping fish, the Aug. 27 release appears to have nothing to do with the original, but director Alexandre Aja (along with a cast that includes Adam Scott, Elisabeth Shue, Jerry O'Connell and Ving Rhames) seems to be honoring the original by restarting the franchise with a maximum overdrive bloody carnage proud B-grade flick that unleashes hungry buggers on a debauched, drunken Spring Break.

Aja promised MTV the movie would have "3-D double-D boobs" and a wet T-shirt contest climax (hosted by Eli Roth) with thousands of spring breakers on the water "when the piranhas come and start attacking everyone; it’s almost 25 minutes of a huge massacre, and it’s really insane."

As if that's not encouraging enough, comic actor Adam Scott revealed this to the Onion A.V. Club:

Apparently it’s the bloodiest movie in history, which is easy to believe, because at the lake we were shooting at, they had a tanker truck filled with fake blood that would just pump into the lake continually during this one massacre scene ... from what I’ve seen, it has a sense of humor about itself, and it’s also really scary and really, really violent. I would call it a popcorn movie from the planet Popcorn. It’s just all boobs, blood, and—I don’t know, what’s the other ‘b’? Barbecue.

Add to all that a supporting cast with Christopher "Doc Brown" Lloyd and Richard Dreyfuss (in an homage to his Matt Hooper Jaws character), and suddenly Piranha 3-D is a summer movie I'm eagerly anticipating because, let's face it, any flick that combines rampant coed nudity and gore is my particular bucket of cinematic chum.

Both the 1978 and 2010 trailers are embedded for your enjoyment ...

The Night Shift: Crypt Keeper Sentimentality

Thomas, Genna and I stood in the darkness with only the dim glow of candlelight to illuminate the cold, stone walls of the vault. Cobwebs dripped from every corner, and gargoyles stared at us with frozen, ghoulish smiles. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a small child's voice whispered, "ooh, creepy."

"Don't say that!" shrieked Genna as the overhead lights flicked back on. She scanned the room to find her own 8-year-old daughter, Tempest. "That's creepier than anything else!"

Our interior crypt set is almost complete (shown here). We still have to move in a bed and a few other small decorative items, but for all intents and purposes, it's done, and apparently, done well enough to creep out a grade-schooler.

The crypt is our lead character Rue's home. It's a burial vault that he's decorated to look somewhat like an apartment. I like to think of it as "Munster Chic." Obviously, the real cemetery was never going to let us open up a vault and go all Martha Stewart on the inside, so we had to build our own crypt in the master bedroom of an empty house about to be put up for sale.

On a personal note, the house is my childhood home, and while I'm sad to see it go, it's been a treat to get to

The fact that we are just now getting a trailer (below) for Jonah Hex, a movie that opens on June 18, is an indicator of how troubled this production has been. That said, I'm really pulling for this flick since Jonah is an old-school B.A. of the Baracus school, and in the comics, he was a supernatural-prone gunslinger (and owned an entire episode of Batman: The Animated Series).

The trailer doesn't look bad, but it feels disjointed. In the beginning, there is the medium aspect of Hex (Josh Brolin), which seems cool, and then it suddenly abandons that and becomes a post-Civil War action spectacle. I'm a fan of Brolin, who actually strikes me as a cool cowboy type, and John Malkovich as the baddie and Megan Fox seem fine here, but something does seem amiss. Hopefully this will be a cool Wild West film and not another Wild, Wild West.

The trailer is being shown before A Nightmare on Elm Street. Man, how embarrassed are Jonah and Freddy Krueger going to be when they show up sporting the same broodin scarred face-and-hat outfit?

Ghost hunting school in session: Talking to dead hits higher ed

Very rarely does something pop into my inbox that really blows my mind and signals such a paradigm shift that I'm left nearly reeling and wondering, "what's next?" Such a moment occurred this week when a reader sent a link, without comment, directing me to an Indiana community college Web site. Like the curious cat I am, I followed.

Sure enough, buried on page 7 of the Ivy Tech Community College's Department of Workforce & Economic Development's 2010 Spring/Summer course catalog, I discovered an amazing example of the mainstreaming of the paranormal: A class titled "Advanced Paranormal Investigation."

Taught at the accredited school in Kokomo, it's actually a follow-up to the introductory "Paranormal

Season Three of True Blood, the hip vampire HBO series based on Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse "Southern Vampire Mysteries" series, returns June 13, and we can hardly wait to sink our teeth into it.

Of course, the teases at HBO know that, and they're stringing us along with a weekly poster campaign. We're at the halfway point, with six more posters yet to be released. But today is extra special because a full cast photo (above) was also released, which also shows a couple red-eyed beasties. Does this mean there are more shape-shifters in Bon Temps future?

You decide, and while you do, check out the first six posters from the teaser campaign below in order, then head over to the TB site for webisodes and other goodies.

Even though the world is going to end in 2012, IMAX is planning on sticking around until at least 2013 based on a press release that inadvertently leaks the release dates for several Warner Bros. movies over the next three years.

SCI FI Wire broke the story where IMAX, the film format company, touted a 20 picture deal with Warner, which included tidbits on when the next Batman, Superman, Harry Potter and Hobbit movies would hit. Also leaked was news the Johnny Depp-produced, Tim Burton-directed film version of vampire soap Dark Shadows would hit in 2011, 2012 or 2013.

Granted, up to three years away seems like a long time, especially considering the Mayan calendar imposing end date, but Shadows is rumored to begin filming in fall 2010, so some hot Barnabas action may be closer than we think.

Lost about lost 'Lost' last night?

If you were lost about no Lost last night, you weren't alone. Instead of a new episode - as has been the pattern of straight-through February-May seasons - a repeat of the Alpert-centric "Ab Aeterno" episode aired.

Frankly, it threw us off like Desmond without a constant. But rest assured, there must be a reason for ABC disrupting the flow of the show's final season, right? Not really, it turns out.

TV Squad did the digging for this and spoke with Jeffrey Fordis, the show's publicist, and discovered the network and Lost's producers agreed upon 18 hours of programming for the final season, which consisted of 16 episodes when you consider two two-hour premiere and finale installments. Instead of starting the season a week later, and losing out on a week of February sweeps, ABC scheduled those 16 episodes to air over 17 weeks, beginning Feb. 9.

The delay comes down to business, obviously, but the reason this week was chose with this episode, remains a mystery. But the end result is an awkward, annoying and teasing pause to the momentum building for the final episodes.

I don't advocate siccing Smokey on Fordis, but we're peeved over here - so peeved, in fact, we drowned our sorrows in eating an entire cake and imagining it was the Lost 100th episode one created by Ace of Cake's Charm City Cakes last year. (Yeah, lousy way to justify running this pic)

Paranormal Pop Quiz: What's the Nain Rouge?

Is the Nain Rouge ...

a) Branded makeup for the North American Interfaith Network
b) The French translation of a British sci-fi comedy
c) A hobgoblin that haunts Detroit
d) None of the above

If you guessed "c" then you're right, although "b" is also technically correct (don't worry, I grade on a curve). Anyhow, I hadn't heard about the Nain Rouge until last week from Heckler Spray's "Awesome of Off-Putting" entry, but it turns out he's got quite a story behind him. Even respected crypto-keeper Lorne Coleman has written about the bugger and spent ink on his cinematic homages.

The story of the Nain Rouge, also known as a lutin, goes back to 17th Century France and made the leap to Quebec and then the United States in 1701. After the first white settler in Detroit attacked the little guy, the imp has supposedly been terrorizing the Motor City ever since. There are eight Detroit sightings mentioned on Wikipedia alone.

Typically most of the sightings talk about a nasty little Oompa Loompa in red who just likes to stir up trouble and screw with people. But the Nain Rouge is also the "harbinger of doom" in the city and is often seen before bad things happen. So is he the reason behind the automotive industry's downfall in Detroit? Who knows, but if that's not creepy enough for you, the lutins are also considered the helpers of Pere Noel - you know, Santa's elves.

Of course, he's also the namesake for the "Detroit Dwarf" lager at the Detroit Beer Co., so how bad can he really be?

The Night Shift: Confederacy of Indie Film Soldiers

At this point in production, nothing surprises me anymore. I have stepped over bodies to vacuum the living room, chatted with zombies around my kitchen table and, strangest of all, Thomas and I spent Sunday afternoon in a cemetery, running away from Confederate soldiers.

The strange part is that the soldiers had nothing to do with the movie.

Thomas (director/dear husband) and I met Sunday with the Director of Photography/Cinematographer, James. He needed to see each of our locations to determine what kind of lighting we would need, and figure out how to rig those lights.

Our last stop was the cemetery we'll be using for the majority of the shoot. Now, Mobile, AL, is about as deep South as you can get without hitting water so Civil War re-enactments are not uncommon. That said, I'd never personally seen one, but I now know that they don't like it when you swerve your Nissan through the action. Luckily, one handsome young Rebel understood, tipped his hat to me and winked. I do declare, my heart did a-flutter, and I thought I might faint dead away from the vapors.

Not much to tell about this one, other than it's a pretty cool, quirky truck guest blogger Susan Plonka caught in Plano, Texas, for The Dallas Morning News. Looks like my kind of ride.

Nature TV's creature features

In an example of the paranormal slowly inching its way into all areas of pop culture, The New York Times has a nice feature on cable's current obsession with all creatures great, small, cute, deadly and just weird.

The article explores the lesser known species shown on programs like Discovery's Life and Animal Planet's networking block that includes River Monsters, Monsters Inside Me, I Shouldn't Be Alive and especially Weird, True & Freaky - which featured giant versions of squids, pythons and even a lobster (charmingly nicknamed "Lobzilla").

The interesting aspect of this article is perhaps the unstated one - that as viewers' appetites for docu-style reality-TV nature shows grow, the more animals who are mutated, "strange" or borderline cryptozoological animals will get their due on primetime. So maybe the study of actual cryptids won't be too far behind on these channels.

Oh wait, they already do - sort of - on the horror mockumentary series, Lost Tapes.

A ghost 'In This Place ...'

So the main character, the only character, is based on an actual uneducated slave from Lexington, Ky., who is actually a learned, dead, freed slave who breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience - in Ithaca, NY.

The description alone for off-Broadway playwright Ain Gordon's 2008 play In This Place ... is pretty postmodern, which sums up this production originally commissioned for the town of Lexington. Having the ghost of Daphney Oldham (Michelle Hurst) tell the fictionalized story of her real life is pretty unique, and yet so natural.

The whole show sounds like an intriguing way to tell a tale, without being cheap or schlocky. The Syracuse New Times reviews the show, which plays through May 2 at the Kitchen Theatre.

'Ghost Trick' trailer hits - and it is good

Back in September, we passed along early word from the Tokyo Game Show about Capcom's Nintendo DS adventure game, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.

With the player starting out already dead, the point of the game is to solve your muder as you solve puzzles and advance by sending your energy into various objects.

The game sounded pretty rad, but we had no videos or gameplay to make us salivate. Well, in the words of Professor Farnsworth, "good news, everyone!" The fine geeky folks over at Attack of the Fanboy have provided us with a game trailer for the Winter 2010 release.

Take a look at the trailer after the jump, but ready your drool bib, because this looks awesome. Also, head over to the Fanboy site for gameplay vid and more pics.

Update: Saudis won't behead TV psychic

The Associated Press is reporting a Lebanese TV psychic accused of witchcraft while visiting Saudi Arabia will not be executed by beheading after all.

Ali Sibat, a was arrested in May 2008 while on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and sentenced to death last November for the crime of practicing witchcraft. Sibat operated as a popular psychic over satellite TV and made predictions from Beirut, where astrology and fortune telling is not illegal.

The case has received media attention and the Human Rights Watch lobbied Saudi to have the conviction overturned and revoke the "vague" and "arbitrarily" enforced witchcraft laws.

Maine students investigate high school, model 'Ghost Hunters'

Students of a regional vocational school in Maine will be making use of their partnership with Portland High School, the country's second-oldest continuously operating public high school in Maine, to stage a paranormal investigation.

Modeled after Ghost Hunters, the new media program at Portland Arts and Technology High School will have a 16-person team using audio recorders, EMF meters, and IR cameras to investigate the school's haunted history. The hot spots the team will be looking into from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. include the library, auditorium and art room.

Following the investigation, the students will use footage to produce a 30-minute program similar to the Syfy show.

Is this the first steps towards a ghosthunting class at schools?

(via Portland Press Herald)

'Last Airbender' joins battle of 'Cowboys And Aliens'

Variety is reporting that Noah Ringer (right), "Aang" in M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, will be joining Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde in Cowboys and Aliens.

Directed by Iron Man 2 helmer Jon Favreau is based on a graphic novel that involves, well, Wild West cowboys and Apaches teaming up to fight off an alien invasion. As far as Airbender, it's more of a fantasy than his other pieces of paranormal pop culture, but it looks like M. Night may be back.

The Night Shift: Falling with Style

I am a klutz. We're talking, grade-A, number one, walking disaster. Not only have I tumbled down a few staircases in my life, but I've even had one fall out from underneath me. I am a pro at falling down, just not good at - as Buzz Lightyear might say - falling with style. Luckily, that's where Khristian comes in.

Khristian Fulmer is the lead actor for The Night Shift (he plays Rue Morgan, nightwatchman extraordinaire). He's also our stunt choreographer. Before he came to us, Khristian worked as a stuntman in a wild west show in Colorado and has very graciously offered to help teach those of us involved in any stuntwork how to stay out of the hospital.

Before I go any further, please note that while there is not a lot of stuntwork in The Night Shift, and nothing is super complicated, we have a trained professional helping us. Without choreography and practice, even the simplest stunt could end up getting someone hurt, and we don't want that. More importantly, our insurance company doesn't want that. Please do not attempt any form of stuntwork without professional supervision. If you've ever watched anything on YouTube, you know it can end badly.

After all the attention being used up on bigfoot and Chupey the Chupacabra, the Mongolian Death Worm finally gets its due in a new - dare I say, epic? - original Syfy movie.

As dedicated crypto fans, and Season Two Destination Truth viewers, already know, the terrifying MDW (not to be confused with the refreshing MGD) is a 4-foot-long beasty in the Gobi Desert that fires electricity and secretes acid.

Although Syfy is promoting the May 8 movie as based on a DT case, the plot synopsis is just a bit different:

Today marks #52 of Tara Normal, the name of our favorite girl ghost and ghoul detective comic.

Following the adventures of, you guessed it - Tara Normal, a pop-culturally savvy female paranormal investigator - the comic is the funny, slightly touched lovechild of a hot, sweaty fourway between The Venture Bros., MAD Magazine, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and creator Howie Noel.

It's funny, ironic and a much needed addition to the paranormal community. Along with the special TAPS edition of the comic - which appears every issue of the Paramag - Tara gets a fresh installment each Wednesday.

So happy birthday to Tara Normal. And if you're not a fan of hers, we think less of you.

Dan Aykroyd, from ghost buster to spirit maker

Dan Aykroyd looks like a cop in a crowd of Ghost Busters, Blues Brothers and Blues sisters. The shades are reminiscent of the erstwhile Elwood, but the black button-up shirt with insignia above the breast pocket and black University of Maryland Police ball cap reminds one of a police officer, secret service or DEA agent arriving to survey a scene. It makes it somewhat fitting, then, when the celebrity’s first actions at the Joe Canal’s Discount Liquor Outlet in Iselin, NJ, in late March include shuffling off overzealous press photographers in an officious “show’s over” manner and getting a snaking line of bedecked fans moving for an afternoon of photos, autographs, meet-and-greets - and skull signings.

Despite Aykroyd’s physical similarities to a police officer – a comparison he’d likely appreciate considering his longstanding fascination and relationship with law enforcement agencies in the United States and his native Canada – the skulls he’s signing aren’t human bones that hold forensic clues, but are instead connected to legend, made of glass and contain quadruple-distilled, triple-filtered, additive-free Crystal Head Vodka.

But aside from being just another premium vodka that retails for about $50 and happens to come in a wicked cool glass bottle, CHV - as Dan Aykroyd tells it in between each Sharpie marker signature applied to fans’ alcoholic acquisition - is inspired by the crystal skull myth popularized in the last “Indiana Jones” flick and is the imbibable incarnation of his work as an entertainer and lifelong association with the paranormal and mysticism.

“All my life I’ve been giving people recordings, radio shows, television broadcasts, sketch comedy, film,” he says. “Now I’m actually making something that I can put in their mouths - a tangible, tactile experience.”

Launched in Southern California in 2008 (with a viral video some were convinced was an elaborate joke) before rolled out to other regions throughout 2009, the CHV “experience” is the latest endeavor of a man who has created, written and performed as several iconic comedic characters from the past 35 years. Since graduating from Chicago’s Second City improv comedy troupe and joining Saturday Night Live as an original repertory member in 1975, the lines Dan Aykroyd has penned or spoken could alone fill a sizable volume of pop-culture quotable quotes – and no true fan of ’80s movies could call his DVD collection complete without at least owning The Blues Brothers, Trading Places and Ghost Busters. And under the auspices of his cool man-in-black alias Elwood Blues, Aykroyd created the House of Blues restaurant and concert hall chain, and educated newcomers to the music genre through his House of Blues Radio Hour.

But Aykroyd is also well known as a Spiritualist and paranormal pop culture icon who holds the belief that spirits and ghosts communicate with the living - a family tradition covered in his father Peter’s book, A History of Ghosts, for which he wrote the forward – and has extensive knowledge on UFOs. His openness on such paranormal topics makes it all the more engaging when he describes the pure Newfoundland deep aquifer vodka filtered through Herkimer Diamonds, polished crystals that are supposed to emit positive energy.

The positive energy is a recurring theme with the crystal skulls legend, which involves 13 ancient, quartz rock human skull carvings that supposedly possess mystical properties that, if brought together, will usher in a new era, or cause the end of the world – possibly all happening on Dec. 21, 2012, which of course marks the grand finale of the Mayan calendar. The British Museum and Smithsonian, both of which possess a skull, determined the objects aren’t as old as the tales suggests, but Aykroyd isn’t as easily convinced; he claims other cultures believed the heads were “from another star, a gift from above.”

“There are some who are skeptics and say that they’re all fakes. That’s what the Smithsonian said,” says Aykroyd. “But I can’t quite believe that because the Navajo spoke of them, the Aztec spoke of them, the Maya spoke of them. And they spoke of them as a very integral part of the tribe’s responsibility.”

Paranormal Pop Passion: 'Underworld: Rise of the Lycans'

Each week paranormal romance author Caden Leigh will give her take on love and sex in both mainstream and supernatural entertainment. The Florida-based scribe of The Silver Septagram, published by Captiva Press, always has an opinion on what's hot - or not.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Wicked. That's how I would explain the sensual teasing scenes shared between Lucian (Michael Sheen) and Sonja (Rhona Mitra) in the third installment of this werewolves vs. vamps franchise.

We start with a secret rendezvous in the forgotten tunnels under the Vampires fortress. Next the clothes vanish and Sonja is snaking her way down Lucien's tone body. True he is filthy, and I can imagine kind of smells like a dog, but does that detract from her hunger for him? Hell no!

The next thing we see she is on top, and with her powerful thighs, pens him in place while he hangs over the side of the ledge. Really?

Sonja is suppose to be tough, I get that, but that scene killed it for me. Then we have cuddle time. Maybe I am missing something. Was this a metaphor? Men and women are equal? Somebody tell me!

This one is 50/50 for me; I am a sucker for a taunting exhibition because it fires off my imagination. Unfortunately, the cliff diving made me think, umm ... why?

The Night Shift: Ouija Worries

The Night Shift is the on-set diary of Fighting Owl Film's new independent supernatural-adventure-comedy of the same name currently in pre-production in Mobile, AL. Over the course of the next several weeks and months, you'll get an insider's peek at what it's like for filmmakers to craft a new entry of paranormal pop culture from Erin Lilley, a producer and actress on the film.

Ouija Worries

I am officially obsessed with Haunted Homes on the Travel Channel. I DVR the episodes, then watch them while I work on movie stuff (props, costumes, duct-taping Thomas to make dummies, etc.). Ever since my first ghostly encounter, I've been a sucker for haunted houses. Heck, I've lived in two. Unfortunately, I think that interest is coming back to bite me.

For those of you unfamiliar with the show, it's a British reality series where a psychic, paranormal investigator and skeptic walk into a bar (I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. They only did that once). Actually, they investigate a supposedly haunted home and help the family cope with the findings. It's hit or miss as to if they actually catch anything on film, but interesting either way.

Anyway, this one episode, the team investigated a house where a spirit was invited in through a Ouija board. The team basically told the family that was probably not the smartest thing they could have done, and after a very long and arduous battle, rid the house of the spirit.

I had just put the finishing touches on our Ouija board prop. I mean just.

It doesn't have a planchett, but it's a real board. I only made it because we couldn't find a store-bought board with the right look. The board is currently residing, along with a lot of other occult-ish props, in a steamer trunk in my guest room. The trunk will be our lead character - Rue's - arsenal against evil. Basically, the board's just for show and will never be used, but it still makes me nervous. We've had, let's call them "friends," in our apartment before (and no, they weren't really friendly, unless that shadow that chased me around my bedroom just wanted a hug).

So, moving on, we have finished up the rehearsal process (save for some fight choreography), and have one more make-up workshop scheduled to fit prosthetic appliances. Building materials have been dropped off at the interior set location, and the finishing touches are being put on costumes and props. FYI, spray insulation foam is possibly the greatest invention ever. It can be used to simulate stone, can fill up anything that needs to stay inflated, work as make-shift florist foam, and as an added bonus, the residue makes your hands stick to the wall like Spider-Man.

Things are moving along. It's still stressful, but I'm starting to be able to sleep at night. Of course, I have a rosary and a spray bottle of Holy Water on the nightstand. You know, just in case.

A-Z of Awesomeness

I know I'm late to this party, but I just sat now discovered Neill Cameron's A-Z of Awesomeness where, through his Web site, he solicited suggestions for 26 alphabet-themed geekouts drawings in 26 days back in 2009.

Simply put, it is Awesome. I give you the letters 'B' and 'K,' for example (and this has nothing to do with me craving a Whopper).

Christopher Moore tells NPR to 'Bite Me'

Absurdist and comical author Christopher Moore's Bite Me: A Love Story, is the third installment of his vampire series (following Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck) and is now available. Moore's weird and witty, and I recommend picking up the next adventure of everyman vampires in San Fran.

In the meantime, to whet the appetite a bit, check out Moore's interview with NPR and read an excerpt of Bite Me while you're at it.

Anne Rice vamps for comics

Vampire Chronicles author, and former queen of New Orleans, Anne Rice will get the four-color treatment this June in a new comic book bio published by Bluewater Productions.

Reported by Fandango, the comic is part of Bluewater's "Female Force" line, which has also included Michelle Obama, Ellen DeGeneres and Sooki Stackhouse creator Charlaine Harris.

The book will focus on Rice's real history - with a twist. In it, Rice will be telling her life's story in an interview with a vampire narrator (Odd; I wonder why she'd be interviewed by a ... Oh, now I get it). The title's writer, Scott Davis, says the appeal of Rice is her "uniquely gothic, sensuous, and existential approach" which redefined modern vampires.

"She advanced the vampire literary genre more than anyone since Bram Stoker. Rice created a fictional universe where vampires, witches, and spirits walk amongst the living and often suffer from the same frailties and faults that affect mortals. It’s what transforms her work from pop fiction to serious literature."

Anton 'Chekov' Yelchin stakes claim in 'Fright Night' reboot

Anton Yelchin, the actor who took over for Walter Koenig in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek and played Kyle Reese in Termination Salvation, is in talks to take the lead in the reboot of '80s vampire flick Fright Night, reports THR.

The reboot will reportedly keep the same overall plot as the original of a teen who becomes convinced his neighbor is a bloodsucker, and must enlist the help of a local creature feature host. The film will be helmed by Craig Gillespie, the director behind 2007’s Lars and the Real Girl.

For the record, I don't mind reboots so much. When they suck, they don't detract from the original version, but when they're good, they not only honor but also expand upon the original. And like Yelchin's enterprising franchise reboot, the results can be pretty awesome.

'Ghost Hunters' go wild at Philly Zoo

Philadelphia Daily News broke news today that Syfy's Ghost Hunters would be heading to the City of Brotherly Love for a little monkey business. Wait, that sounds wrong, but nevertheless they'll be filming at the Philadelphia Zoo this week for an episode to air in the fall.

According to the Daily News, the locations to be investigated "include Solitude House, which John Penn, grandson of William Penn, built in 1784 and which formerly housed reptiles; the Penrose building, which used to be a research laboratory and vet hospital; and the Shelly building, now used for zoo administration."

Early word on a filming location for the show isn't particularly newsworthy, but it is interesting because this is a novel spot for the paranormal investigators to visit. Looks like the TAPS team is still keeping it fresh after the 100th episode milestone.

Speaking of Philadelphia and TAPS, I'll be joining the team this Saturday at Eastern State Penitentiary, from 9 p.m. - 2 a.m., EST, for a live blog of an investigation, which you can catch at www.beyondrealityevents.com.

And now, because I've found significant justification to post it, is a picture of a monkey, courtesy of Esquire.

Praise for Paranormal Pop Culture

“Consistently witty and well-written – Mr. Sagers is a pro with the pen.” – Cheryl LaGuardia, Harvard University

One of the “10 Best New York Comic Con Panels”:
“Ghost stories are always much cooler when they come from someone whose authority you trust” - Crushable.com

"One of our favorites" of New York Comic Con –BettyConfidential.com

"Celebrities? Ghosts? We’re in! Given by ... all-round 'ghost guy' Aaron Sagers, this talk made our skin crawl with all sorts of real-life ghostly encounters" - 94.2 Jacaranda radio, New Zealand

“This was a very fun panel … If Aaron is ever in your area giving a talk, I suggest checking him out. He’s a lot of fun and very charismatic.” – KillerFilm.com