Defying Logic in SyFy's "School Spirits:" A Television Review ("Sorority House Terror")

Directors: Seth Jarrett and Stevan Mena.

Writer: Mora Stephens.

Cast: Justin Morck, Bettina Mangiaracina and Booch O'Connell.

Executive Producers: Mark Burnett, Julie Insogna and Seth Jarrett.



Fans of sorority house horror films may well become interested in SyFy's "School Spirits." Instead of revealing what is good about supporting the school's community endeavors, this paranormal television product tries to show what is scary when ghosts are living in the dorms, frat houses and the like. There is no rule saying ghosts cannot haunt schools. Usually, they are gentle spirits rather than something dark.

With this series, the big question of why these students do not reach out for help is a mystery. Only the second episode addresses that to some degree. The first episode is more about girls with privacy issues. If fellow sisters cannot talk to one another, just whom can they reach out to? No one.

Most of the interviewees must be living in caves if they are not aware of the various horror movies that purport to be “based on actual events.” Early films like The Exorcist and Poltergeist are well known. In later years, Ghost Watch paralyzed the British nation, Blair Witch introduced the found film format and Paranormal Activity scared moviegoers about the possibility of evil entities who love to terrorize families. To not even acknowledge that these products exist by the interviewees in "School Spirits" puts this show in a weak spot.

College students are not that ignorant to the world outside of campus. Or just maybe, they think the fiction they see on screen is not real?

With the first episode, the Gamma Alpha Gamma house is haunted. The alumni from the University of Michigan took their supernatural encounters for granted and barely tried to deal with it. Instead of fright or flight, they just hope it will go away on its own. Very rarely will that happen. Had they have begun to explore or even look at all the historical material they discovered early on, a lot of answers might have been revealed. And the darker energy they encountered might not have manifested.

But just like in any literary ghostly novel, the feelings of isolation the girls feel are normal. And their desolation is indicative that they do not want to deal with the haunting. If the cat fights and unfriendliness going on are true, then some sorority sisters would be moving out instead of deciding to stick around. While some have indeed left quicker than others, they were not tracked down to recount their memories of living in a haunted house. Only those who persevered did, like Nicole Sands, Kristen Mrozek, or Caroline Rankin.

The torment the ladies felt would have forced them to find some means to deal with the visions they are receiving. Even though Rankin manages to conquer her fear and literally scream for help, the result feels like it came from a novella. The episode only leaves viewers with some interpretations than realizations of why Gamma Alpha Gamma's house is haunted.

Production-wise, the recreations are very slick. That should come to no surprise when the producers have also created "Celebrity Ghost Story" for Biography Channel. But as to whether or not the strong visions were visibly real or imagined, the stories being told sound like they are half-and-half. Full-bodied apparitions are possible under the right circumstances, but to see a room filled with fire is an idea out of Hollywood. That most likely was seen in the mind's eye than for real, and many liberties were taken to give viewers a look of what may have happened than did.

With the second episode, a ghost of what may be a former resident of a dorm room is shadowing Chris DeCesare. At the State University of New York at Geneseo, anything can happen, and he cannot call the Ghostbusters from Columbia University. He enlists the aid of his roommate, who eventually runs off into the night, and later a confident, the floor manager Jeff, who sticks around trying to gather evidence.

While the hints from each appearance of the spirit are very telling to the viewer, this tale just shows how dumb DeCesare is. Student suicide is a possibility in explaining why that room is haunted. Although campus administration may not want to disclose campus deaths, almost any viewer can guess some former student must have hung himself in that room, and that spirit cannot find rest.

Again, while the production and effects are top-notch, the tales these students recount does not show thinking in their part. Had they have only done some in-depth research into the location, some unsettling truths may have been uncovered.

One problem this show has is that viewers have to believe that the people interviewed were once students from the campus. There is no way to verify that fact if pseudonyms are used. And not all alumni associations will readily list all the graduates by year unless some research is undertaken at the college’s library, where that kind of data is archived for residents instead of curiousity seekers. Also, not many campuses advertise their paranormal history, or even the many deaths that may have occurred on the grounds, suicide or not. Even more questionable is an online casting sheet that reveals all like an 'online title,' perhaps a fictional name, with the actor’s name next to it. While this show does well to have the performer provide the narrative as well as participate in the reenactments, not every 'student' in this program were studying the performing arts.

Too many questions are raised. "School Spirits" is entertaining, but as for the claims being real, maybe it’s simply time for some viewers to go back to school to find out for themselves!

Overall: 5 out of 10.

View the casting sheet:

School Spirits on SyFy

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