A Haunting on The Discovery Channel

In this world there is real evil in the darkest shadows and in the most ordinary places. These are the true stories of the innocent and the unimaginable. Between the world we see and the things we fear... there are doors. When they are opened.... nightmares become reality

A Haunting is an American paranormal docudrama anthology television series that originally aired from October 28, 2005 to November 9, 2007 on the Discovery Channel. The program features narrations, interviews, and dramatic re-enactments based on various accounts of paranormal experiences at reportedly haunted and mostly residential locations. Premiering in 2005, the program had produced four seasons and totaled 39 episodes. It currently airs on Discovery Channel and Investigation Discovery in the U.S. and on Discovery Science in the UK. In early 2012, A Haunting was renewed for a fifth season. It will be returning to television on October 12, 2012 at 10pm on Discovery's sister channel Destination America. A Haunting originally began as two feature-length specials, A Haunting in Connecticut and A Haunting in Georgia, which were developed by Allison Erkelens, who also served as head writer. The specials were executive produced by Tom Naughton and Nicolas Valcour for New Dominion Pictures. Based on strong ratings, A Haunting became a weekly series on the Discovery Channel and was produced by Larry Silverman. The series has featured several alleged paranormal encounters, including traditional hauntings, demonic activity, ghost attacks, possessions, and cryptic visions. The series covers incidents from various locations across the United States, as well as four episodes that were set in Canada, England, Ireland, and Taiwan. Episodes may be set in houses, apartments, farms, commercial areas, and even vast outdoor regions. Most episodes present several accounts of paranormal experiences through cinematic re-enactments, which are accompanied by commentary from eyewitnesses and investigators themselves. According to Silverman, the show's writers search for stories and then filter out accounts with enough substantial content. He has further added that the episodes are strictly based on the accounts of victims, although the Discovery Channel did compel the show's producers to sanitize certain case histories due to their graphic sexual and violent content. However, Billy Bean, whose real-life experiences were featured in the episode "House of the Dead", claimed that the show's producers had heavily augmented his accounts. Episodes within the series follow a frequently recurring pattern, in which victims of hauntings begin noticing peculiar incidents that gradually become more frequent and bizarre. Denial is most often the first reaction. As the situation escalates, however, and every possible conventional explanation is explored and found wanting, they either contact a paranormal investigator, a member of the clergy, or a spiritual medium for assistance. In some cases, victims are able to successfully resolve their paranormal issues, while in others, victims are forced to vacate their residence. Certain episodes have also featured commentary from famed demonologist and clairvoyant Ed and Lorraine Warren, who have actually investigated some of the cases featured on the series. The episode "The Dark Side" was dedicated to the memory of Ed, who died in 2006. Gold Circle Films created two feature-length movies based on cases featured in A Haunting, The Haunting in Connecticut which was released in 2009, and The Haunting in Georgia, set to be released in 2013.