This horror franchise is second to none when it comes to making people afraid of seemingly innocuous stuff. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at ten of the most normal, everyday items that the “Paranormal Activity” franchise made us fear.
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00:00This video is brought to you by Paramount Scares.
00:05The fact that it fell a second time probably proves that you put it up wrong both times.
00:10Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at 10 of the most normal everyday items that
00:14the Paranormal Activity franchise made us fear.
00:17The door's freaking moving by itself.
00:21Oh my god.
00:23Ouija boards.
00:24Got something to say?
00:25How's your chest?
00:26How's your chest?
00:28It's true that these things are inherently creepy given their supposed link to the occult
00:33and the afterlife, but at the end of the day, it's just a toy.
00:36You can buy one at Walmart right next to Monopoly.
00:39The first Paranormal Activity has a great scare involving one of these boards, as Mika
00:43gets one in an attempt to communicate with the spirits.
00:46You promised me you weren't going to look at me like that.
00:50You promised me you weren't going to mess with that stuff.
00:52Katie is none too happy, and for good reason.
00:55Shortly after they leave, a big gust of wind enters the house, the planchette starts to
01:00move on its own, and best of all, the board soon catches on fire.
01:03It's a great little visual effect, and it proves one of the most unforgettable scares
01:08of the franchise.
01:18Plastic Sheets
01:19Let's just say entering a trap door is almost never a good idea.
01:30Jesse, Hector, and Marisol enter the creepy door in Anna's apartment, discovering some
01:34spooky material and lots of plastic sheets.
01:38Only it's the plastic sheets that end up being the real star of the show.
01:48The group starts to hear shuffling and footsteps above them, putting them all on edge.
01:53And when the unknown figure descends the staircase, it stands behind the plastic sheet, its dark
01:58outline silently stalking the terrified group.
02:01It is amazing how you can generate a great scare using nothing but some backlight and
02:05an everyday piece of plastic.
02:15Blankets
02:16The third paranormal activity takes us back 18 years, to when Katie and Christy were children.
02:28Christy has an imaginary friend named Toby, and, well, let's just say he's not a very
02:32good friend.
02:33Christy eventually tells Toby that she doesn't want to talk to him anymore, causing a meltdown
02:38of epic proportions.
02:49He torments the young girls by moving objects in their bedroom.
02:52And in one frightful jump scare, he rips the blanket off Katie's bed and throws it towards
02:57the camera.
02:58We don't know about you, but we certainly were not expecting that.
03:01And somehow, someway, the paranormal activity franchise made us fear cozy warm blankets.
03:17TVs
03:22Do you tend to fall asleep on your couch with the TV on?
03:25Sure, we all do on occasion.
03:27So does Allie.
03:28But let us tell you, she made us think twice about it.
03:31She passes out one night, and the living room TV turns to static.
03:34That's a big nope already, but it gets even worse.
03:37A misty shadow suddenly materializes, as if emerging from the static, and approaches the
03:42sleeping Allie.
03:43We don't know what its intentions were, but they can't have been good.
03:47She startles awake just in time.
03:49The shadow disappears, and the TV returns to normal.
03:52Sorry, but if televisions have the power to conjure wispy shadow demons, then we are not
03:57keeping that sucker on at night.
04:03Pots and Pans
04:12These cooking instruments have an uncanny ability to frighten us with their distinctive
04:16clangs, especially at night, when they should not be moving.
04:20Paranormal Activity 2 has a number of good scares involving pots and pans, each one as
04:24effective as the last.
04:29They drop from racks and clang on the countertop, move on their own like leaves in the wind,
04:34and one even catches on fire when the stove ignites by itself.
04:38We can't not have pots and pans in our house, but we're definitely not hanging them from
04:43a rack going forward.
04:44Not after this movie.
04:53Beds
04:59There should be nothing more sacred or more harmless than climbing into your own bed after
05:04a long day.
05:05Of course, Paranormal Activity had to go and ruin that, too.
05:09Beds are a mainstay throughout the franchise, and it's amazing how much creative mileage
05:13it gets out of them.
05:25In fact, there are a number of different scares involving beds.
05:29There are subtle, disaffecting scares, like the eerie creaking of a house while you're
05:32laying alone in the dark bedroom.
05:34There are deep-seated primal scares, like having someone standing over you as you sleep.
05:39And there are good old-fashioned jump scares, like being dragged out of bed by an unseen
05:43and malevolent presence.
05:55Doors
05:56We don't care how many times we see a door slowly moving on its own.
06:06That kind of stuff will always creep us out, especially if an eerie creak is involved.
06:11The ghosts of Paranormal Activity love playing with doors, whether it's violently slamming
06:15them shut or silently moving them inches.
06:29Sometimes they even knock on the front door of a house before disappearing, like a young
06:33prankster playing ding-dong ditch.
06:35We don't know what it is about moving doors that makes them so inherently terrifying,
06:39but this franchise puts those fears to superb use.
06:50Cabinets
06:56The second Paranormal Activity contains a brilliant bait-and-switch, and we think our
07:00hearts have been permanently damaged because of it.
07:03Christy is sitting in the kitchen when she suddenly gets one of those nasty feelings.
07:07The feeling of being watched.
07:09She sits up and turns around to look into the living room, so naturally, our eyes are
07:13drawn to the room as well.
07:15Surely something is going to happen in there.
07:18But just then, in the midst of the deep and tense silence, every cabinet door in the kitchen
07:27bursts open with a powerful bang.
07:29Head scares can be cheap and manipulative when done poorly, but this was expertly done.
07:35Great setup, great payoff, and no annoying music cue to startle the audience.
07:50Chandeliers
07:51Do you have a chandelier in your home?
07:59If you do, you either ripped it out after watching these movies, or you're giving it
08:03a paranoid second glance every now and then.
08:05The first Paranormal Activity contains an effective sequence, with Katie and Mika seeing
08:10their chandelier swinging by itself in the darkness.
08:13But hey, that's just a gust of wind, right?
08:25Well that excuse doesn't fly come Paranormal Activity 4.
08:28This film pays homage to the original, as Alex's chandelier starts to move on its own.
08:33Yeah, yeah, we've seen that before, you say.
08:39What the fuck?
08:44But that's when a second chandelier falls from the ceiling and erupts with a piercing
08:49crash.
08:50Gotcha.
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09:07Powder
09:08We don't know how these movies managed to make freakin' powder scary, but hats off
09:19to them.
09:20In one of the series' best sequences, Mika puts talcum powder on the floor outside their
09:24bedroom in an attempt to see the ghost.
09:26Well, it works.
09:27The couple wakes up and finds that the powder has been disturbed, with demonic footsteps
09:32leading towards their bed.
09:41The visual is unbelievably creepy, as is the implication.
09:46This ghost has entered the room and was watching the couple sleep for its own sick amusement.
09:50What a fantastic and creative sequence, pulled off with nothing more than some creepy footsteps
09:55and some powder.
10:02Have you been looking at these objects differently?
10:04Let us know in the comments below.
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