The Paranormal Activity Timeline Explained
From a demon-filled childhood to a demon-filled religious community, we've found all the footage that explains the Paranormal Activity timeline.
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00:00 From a demon-filled childhood to a demon-filled religious community, we've found all the footage
00:06 that explains the "Paranormal Activity" timeline.
00:09 With seven films in total, the world of "Paranormal Activity" exists in a non-linear timeline,
00:15 at least compared to the order in which they were released.
00:17 But when you watch it all in chronological order, the series' storytelling becomes infinitely
00:22 stronger.
00:23 It all begins with "Paranormal Activity 3."
00:25 The third film focuses on the childhood of sisters Katie and Christy, the former of whom
00:30 grows up to be one of the leads in the first film.
00:33 "PA3" takes place in 1988, nearly two decades before the events of the next two films.
00:38 The sisters live with their mother Julie and her videographer boyfriend Dennis.
00:43 Christy begins to see an imaginary friend named Toby, who turns out to be the devil
00:47 that will terrorize the family throughout the rest of the franchise.
00:51 The sisters start acting weird once Toby is around, so Julie and Dennis set cameras up
00:55 around the house to hopefully catch the cause of that change on tape.
00:59 This entry is also the first one to introduce the Coven known as the Midwives, an international
01:04 cult of witches that appear frequently throughout the series.
01:07 "So who's the lucky guy?"
01:09 "Toby."
01:10 "Wait, what did she say?"
01:11 "We're just having fun."
01:12 "It's bedtime, girls.
01:13 Let's go."
01:14 Things get a little blurry with "Paranormal Activity 2" as the initial sequel lines up
01:18 chronologically with the first movie by the end, but the second film starts a few months
01:22 before the first and includes conversations about Katie and Mika's supposed supernatural
01:27 encounters from the first film.
01:29 It might sound a little confusing, but when you watch everything in chronological order,
01:33 it makes a little bit more sense in practice than an explanation.
01:36 "Paranormal Activity 2" centers on a now-adult Christy and her husband Daniel after their
01:41 home has been broken into and torn apart.
01:43 The only item stolen is a necklace that Christy got from her sister Katie.
01:47 Curiously enough, their new baby Hunter is the first male to be born on Christy's side
01:52 of the family since the 1930s.
01:54 Christy is convinced that the house is haunted and begins to suspect that the events were
01:58 caused by the demon who messed with her and her sister when they were kids, with the new
02:02 target being Hunter.
02:03 The hauntings escalate to a harrowing degree, and when the first two "Paranormal Activity"
02:08 films finally align, it's a tragic and terrifying reveal.
02:12 Now that we know what happened to Christy as an adult, it's time to check back in with
02:15 her sister.
02:16 The franchise's very first entry mostly takes place after the events of "Part 2," centering
02:21 on Katie and her boyfriend Mika.
02:23 After strange events begin happening in their home, they set up video cameras to capture
02:27 the unexplained phenomena.
02:28 The hauntings gradually increase in severity, eventually culminating with the possession
02:33 of Katie and Mika being thrown into the camera.
02:35 The ending of "Paranormal Activity 2" is an extension of what happens in the moments following
02:40 the end of "Paranormal Activity."
02:42 The horror is certainly heightened by knowing the full truth of what's going on with Katie
02:45 and the fact that Toby has been following her for decades.
02:48 "At that time we both, you know, experienced whatever it was."
02:55 The events of "Paranormal Activity 4," "Paranormal Activity The Marked Ones," and "Paranormal
02:59 Activity The Ghost Dimension" all line up chronologically with their order of release.
03:04 The fourth outing is the first sequel to the existing storyline.
03:07 While the story may seem mostly unrelated to the previous events, the film's connection
03:11 through the character of Robbie effectively expands the mythos and pushes the legacies
03:16 of Christy and Katie forward.
03:18 "The Marked Ones" is a spinoff that takes place in Southern California and centers on
03:22 a family completely unrelated to Christy and Katie.
03:24 The supernatural occurrences have to do with a group of witches known as the Midwives,
03:29 who have been brainwashing women to give up their firstborn sons to create an army of
03:33 possessed young men.
03:34 This storyline directly correlates to that of "Paranormal Activity 3," and in "The Marked
03:39 Ones'" final moments, it brings things back full circle to the first film.
03:42 The Christmas set "The Ghost Dimension" was originally intended to be the last release
03:46 in the franchise, as it ties up loose ends from the previous installments.
03:50 Toby, the Midwives, Christy, and Katie, and other earlier characters all appear or are
03:55 at least referred to.
03:56 This sequel ultimately does mark the end of the original storyline, with the next entry
04:00 serving as an unrelated reboot.
04:02 "Paranormal Activity Next of Kin" follows a documentarian named Margo who's searching
04:06 for her birth mother, who abandoned Margo at a hospital shortly after giving birth to
04:11 her.
04:12 Her investigation brings her to a small Amish community, but they don't follow the teachings
04:15 of a Christian god, but rather that of the demon Asma-Dyas, aka Toby.
04:20 The climax is open-ended, thus leaving the doors wide open for any potential future paranormal
04:26 installments.
04:27 to be continued...
04:29 (upbeat music)