The Dead Files

Okay-I used to really love this show. But it seems now pretty far fetched that Amy recommends stranger and stranger folks to help homeowners out. Seems leaning towards the Voodoo and witches a lot lately. I think each show should have a documentary style follow-up. How hard was it to find a Shaman to get rid of evil beings? Where do you find a white witch or a Voodoo priestess? Where do these Catholic priests come from to perform exorcisms on a home or property? What kind of financial ruin would be caused by an open gateway letting demons in? Could they sell a house without disclosing? What does it cost? Or would s show pay for those blessings? What liability is involved? Curiouser and curiouser.

...on TV. Whether you believe in the paranormal, or you believe that Amy is a physical medium, it's entertaining. There is no middle ground. No gray area since there are no stories like this on other shows. They've even been to places that other paranormal shows have explored and Amy comes up with a different take on the nature of the haunting. Like the episode where she investigated the Lizzy Borden home. I like the cast for this show and I believe them. I might be gullible and proven wrong, but I believe in the afterlife as well. And that's what this show is all about. I've always been a skeptic regarding the paranormal, but they make the subject interesting and thought provoking. I respect people of faith, agnostics and atheists.

The discussion about this show seems to turn on whether it's "real" or not. I propose that it doesn't really matter. If you think it's fake, pretend that the legal disclaimer at the beginning says that the show is fictional, and enjoy a reality-TV-style drama about a medium and a cop who work together. Personally I think it's (mostly) real, but that's unimportant.

I find this show absolutely titillating because of the excellent storytelling. Most reality TV is carefully edited to make conversations flow just a little better (without necessarily changing their meanings), and they do it quite deftly here, interweaving the two story lines (that is, Steve and Amy) in a way that delights my brain when I want instant gratification. The (writers? producers?) throw down all the pieces of the puzzle in perfect order without quite connecting them; they let your imagination fill in the final, tiny gaps with the kind of lurid details that everyone's thinking but no one can say for sure. Steve gets what essentially amounts to the town gossip on the subject, and Amy embroiders them with colourful, often illuminating, and just a little bit graphic details.

Don't worry about reality. Take the homeowner's story at face value and enjoy the mystery's shocking solution!

I tend to believe what psychics say in shows about spirits haunting places more than what so-called scientific evidence investigation shows come up with. The Dead Files has given me a real sense what a creepy haunting is like. Better than trying to make us believe in the equipment used on ghost investigation shows... the ultimate bogus device being The Ovilus. A prime example of a show with purely manipulated "evidence" and video edit faking is what you see on Ghost Adventures. It's in the same class as Most Haunted out of the UK.

As far as shows featuring psychic work, The Dead Files is better than average and has a more authentic feel than the above-mentioned physical evidence shows.

I love this show. Amy and Steve are great. The reason I gave it 7 stars is because at the end of the show, the situation is left undone and dangerous. The activity usually continues. A heap of really scary information about what's happening is given to families, as well as advice about how to clear the space.. The majority of families can't find shamans, reiki masters and mediums to do these clearings. It is very, very hard to find people with gifts to do these types of clearings. I would love the producers to bring in people to clear the spaces and incorporate in the clearings in the show.