Scariest Places on Earth

Scariest Places on Earth is an American paranormal reality television series that originally aired from October 23, 2000, to October 29, 2006, on Fox Family, and later ABC Family. The show was hosted by Linda Blair, with narration by Zelda Rubinstein. The show featured reported cases of the paranormal by detailing the location's history, and then sending an ordinary family to visit the location in a reality television-style vigil.

Scariest Places on Earth
GenreParanormal
Reality
Horror
Presented byLinda Blair
StarringLinda Blair
Alan Robson
Narrated byZelda Rubinstein
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes41
Production
Executive producerSteve Kroopnick
Camera setupMultiple-camera
Running time44–46 minutes
Production companyTriage Entertainment
Original release
NetworkFox Family
ReleaseOctober 23, 2000 (2000-10-23) –
October 29, 2006 (2006-10-29)

Synopsis edit

The series is hosted by Linda Blair, and narrated by Zelda Rubinstein.[1] Alan Robson acted as an on-site correspondent.[2] While the show is set in numerous locations around the world, the interstitials featuring Blair and Robson were shot in Los Angeles, California.[2]

In a 2001 interview with Larry King, host Blair explained the series:

When we were kids, we used to tell ghost stories, but as we've gotten older -- I have friends who are scientific researchers, and I ask them questions. My mother has passed on. I choose to think she is in a wonderful, other place that we all will go. But I think that some people are trapped here... Well, these are the places that people have talked about for years, and years, that they go in, and you physically feel something is wrong. Some people do see things. Whether it's in a mind, we don't know.[2]

Syndication edit

Reruns were aired on Syfy, which is a part of NBC Universal. It then aired on NBC Universal's now defunct horror- and suspense-themed cable channel Chiller.

Episodes edit

Featured locations edit

North America edit

LocationCityState or
province
CountryRef.
Alcatraz IslandSan FranciscoCaliforniaUnited States[3]
Alton Military PrisonAltonIllinoisUnited States[4]
Amargosa Opera House and HotelDeath Valley JunctionCaliforniaUnited States[5]
Athens Lunatic AsylumAthensOhioUnited States[6]
Borden HouseFall RiverMassachusettsUnited States[7]
Bunnyman BridgeFairfaxVirginiaUnited States[8]
Cheesman ParkDenverColoradoUnited States[7]
Dixmont State HospitalSewickleyPennsylvaniaUnited States[9]
Dorsey MansionSpringerNew MexicoUnited States[10]
Eastern State PenitentiaryPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUnited States[11]
First Unitarian ChurchAltonIllinoisUnited States[4]
Fort PulaskiCockspur IslandGeorgiaUnited States[12]
Goldfield HotelGoldfieldNevadaUnited States[13]
Guanajuato CryptsGuanajuato CityGuanajuatoMexico[13]
Hot Lake ResortHot LakeOregonUnited States[13]
Lake Shawnee Amusement ParkPrincetonWest VirginiaUnited States[7]
McPike MansionAltonIllinoisUnited States[12]
Magnolia PlantationDerryLouisianaUnited States[14]
Mansfield ReformatoryMansfieldOhioUnited States[15]
Metropolitan State HospitalWalthamMassachusettsUnited States[5]
Mineral Springs HotelAltonIllinoisUnited States[4]
Mission La Purísima ConcepciónLompocCaliforniaUnited States[16]
New Jersey Pine BarrensPine BarrensNew JerseyUnited States[11]
New London Ledge LightNew LondonConnecticutUnited States[5]
Rose HallMontego BaySaint James ParishJamaica[15]
RMS Queen MaryLong BeachCaliforniaUnited States[3]
Savannah UndergroundSavannahGeorgiaUnited States[3]
Seul Choix LightManistiqueMichiganUnited States[17]
Sloss FurnacesBirminghamAlabamaUnited States[16]
Thunderbird LodgeLake TahoeNevadaUnited States[18]
Schilling farmhouseJohnstownMissouriUnited States[19]
USS HornetAlamedaCaliforniaUnited States[9]
Villisca Ax Murder HouseVilliscaIowaUnited States[4]
Waverly Hills SanatoriumLouisvilleKentuckyUnited States[17]
West Virginia State PenitentiaryMoundsvilleWest VirginiaUnited States[9]
Westminster Hall and Burying GroundBaltimoreMarylandUnited States[19]
Wilson HallAthensOhioUnited States[6]

Europe edit

LocationCityCounty or
region
CountryRef.
Abbey of ThelemaCefalùSicilyItaly[16]
Balgonie CastleMilton of BalgonieFifeScotland[20]
Bran CastleBranBrașovRomania[21]
Cachtice CastleČachticeTrenčínSlovakia[22]
Catacombe dei CappucciniPalermoSicilyItaly[12]
Catacombs of ParisParisÎle-de-FranceFrance[11]
Charleville CastleTullamoreCounty OffalyIreland[23]
Chillingham CastleChillinghamNorthumberlandEngland[24]
ColosseumRomeLazioItaly[8]
Dalhousie CastleCockpenMidlothianScotland[25]
Edinburgh VaultsEdinburghCity of Edinburgh council areaScotland[3]
Greyfriars KirkyardEdinburghCity of Edinburgh council areaScotland[9]
Haydon BridgeHaydon BridgeNorthumberlandEngland[6]
Hunedoara CastleHunedoaraHunedoaraRomania[26]
Leap CastleCoolderryCounty OffalyIreland[9]
Lucedio AbbeyTrinoVercelliItaly[27]
Montpelier HillWicklow MountainsDublinIreland[13]
Old Bell HotelMalmesburyWiltshireEngland[19]
Oranmore CastleOranmoreGalwayIreland[8]
PovegliaPovegliaVeniceItaly[28]
Walls of GenoaGenoaLiguriaItaly[5]
Woodchester MansionWoodchesterGloucestershireEngland[29]

Controversies edit

The main controversy with the show was that it was accused of fabricating some of the aired events. According to the documentary crew for a film on the Villisca axe murders, the segment which profiled the murder site—the Josiah B. and Sara Moore House—contained numerous falsities; among the allegations were that it featured a fake newspaper reproduction, photos of an unknown family presented as the murder victims, and an actress posing as a town resident.[30]

Additionally, the "Devil Hunters" crew featured in the segment on the Jersey Devil claimed that the segment which ran thirteen minutes in length, had been edited from two days' worth of footage, and that numerous details were sensationalized and/or added in post-production.[31]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Gray, Rich (2004). Click or Treat!: The Best of Halloween and Horror on the Internet. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-786-41862-6.
  2. ^ a b c Blair, Linda (April 13, 2001). "Are There Ghosts?" (Transcript). Larry King Live. CNN. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Ghost Ship". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 1. Episode 4. October 26, 2000. Fox Family.
  4. ^ a b c d "Haunting the Heartland". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 13. May 25, 2001. Fox Family.
  5. ^ a b c d "Fortress of Blood". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 1. Episode 3. October 25, 2000. Fox Family.
  6. ^ a b c "Satan's Dormitory". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 1. Episode 1. October 23, 2000. Fox Family.
  7. ^ a b c "Urban Legends 2". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 3. Episode 8. October 22, 2002. Fox Family.
  8. ^ a b c "Curse of the Roman Gladiators". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 1. March 26, 2001. Fox Family.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Legendary Haunts". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 3. Episode 10. March 29, 2001. Fox Family.
  10. ^ "Cemetery of the Angry Undead". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 4. October 29, 2002. Fox Family.
  11. ^ a b c "Eastern State Penitentiary". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 1. Episode 2. October 24, 2000. Fox Family.
  12. ^ a b c "Village of the Damned". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 2. March 27, 2001. Fox Family.
  13. ^ a b c d "Goldfield Ghost Hunt". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 24. October 25, 2001. Fox Family.
  14. ^ "Magnolia Lane Plantation". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 5. March 30, 2001. Fox Family.
  15. ^ a b "White Witch". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 3. March 28, 2001. Fox Family.
  16. ^ a b c "Lair of the Wickedest Man on Earth". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 8. April 20, 2001. Fox Family.
  17. ^ a b "Contagion of Fear". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 22. October 23, 2001. Fox Family.
  18. ^ "Fear Force". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 3. Episode 4. October 22, 2002. Fox Family.
  19. ^ a b c "A House Possessed". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 6. April 6, 2001. Fox Family.
  20. ^ "Waverly Hills Sanatorium". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 3. Episode 11. October 30, 2002. Fox Family.
  21. ^ "A Night in Dracula's Castle: The Transylvania Dare". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 25. October 26, 2001. Fox Family.
  22. ^ "Castle of the Blood Countess". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 3. Episode 9. October 29, 2002. Fox Family.
  23. ^ "Charleville: Haunted Irish Castle Dare". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 7. April 13, 2001. Fox Family.
  24. ^ "Chillingham". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 1. Episode 1. October 27, 2000. Fox Family.
  25. ^ "Castle of the Cursed Souls". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 17. July 20, 2001. Fox Family.
  26. ^ "Return to Transylvania". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 3. Episode 3. October 21, 2002. Fox Family.
  27. ^ "Lucedio: Cursed Italian Monastery Dare". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 9. April 27, 2001. Fox Family.
  28. ^ "Island of No Return: The Venice Dare". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 2. Episode 18. August 19, 2001. Fox Family.
  29. ^ "Woodchester Mansion". Scariest Places on Earth. Season 3. Episode 2. October 20, 2002. Fox Family.
  30. ^ "Regarding Fox's "Scariest Places" Program and Home Video and the Villisca Murders". Villiscamovie.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2016.
  31. ^ "Hunt #10". The Devil Hunters - Official Researchers of the Jersey Devil. August 11, 2000. Archived from the original on December 28, 2008.

External links edit