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)

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 TV-style vigil.

Synopsis

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

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

Main article: List of Scariest Places on Earth episodes

Featured locations

North America

Location City State or
province 		Country Ref.
Alcatraz Island San Francisco California United States [3]
Alton Military Prison Alton Illinois United States [4]
Amargosa Opera House and Hotel Death Valley Junction California United States [5]
Athens Lunatic Asylum Athens Ohio United States [6]
Borden House Fall River Massachusetts United States [7]
Bunnyman Bridge Fairfax Virginia United States [8]
Cheesman Park Denver Colorado United States [7]
Dixmont State Hospital Sewickley Pennsylvania United States [9]
Dorsey Mansion Springer New Mexico United States [10]
Eastern State Penitentiary Philadelphia Pennsylvania United States [11]
First Unitarian Church Alton Illinois United States [4]
Fort Pulaski Cockspur Island Georgia United States [12]
Goldfield Hotel Goldfield Nevada United States [13]
Guanajuato Crypts Guanajuato City Guanajuato Mexico [13]
Hot Lake Resort Hot Lake Oregon United States [13]
Lake Shawnee Amusement Park Princeton West Virginia United States [7]
McPike Mansion Alton Illinois United States [12]
Magnolia Plantation Derry Louisiana United States [14]
Mansfield Reformatory Mansfield Ohio United States [15]
Metropolitan State Hospital Waltham Massachusetts United States [5]
Mineral Springs Hotel Alton Illinois United States [4]
Mission La Purísima Concepción Lompoc California United States [16]
New Jersey Pine Barrens Pine Barrens New Jersey United States [11]
New London Ledge Light New London Connecticut United States [5]
Rose Hall Montego Bay Saint James Parish Jamaica [15]
RMS Queen Mary Long Beach California United States [3]
Savannah Underground Savannah Georgia United States [3]
Seul Choix Light Manistique Michigan United States [17]
Sloss Furnaces Birmingham Alabama United States [16]
Thunderbird Lodge Lake Tahoe Nevada United States [18]
Schilling farmhouse Johnstown Missouri United States [19]
USS Hornet Alameda California United States [9]
Villisca Ax Murder House Villisca Iowa United States [4]
Waverly Hills Sanatorium Louisville Kentucky United States [17]
West Virginia State Penitentiary Moundsville West Virginia United States [9]
Westminster Hall and Burying Ground Baltimore Maryland United States [19]
Wilson Hall Athens Ohio United States [6]

Europe

Location City County or
region 		Country Ref.
Abbey of Thelema Cefalù Sicily Italy [16]
Balgonie Castle Milton of Balgonie Fife Scotland [20]
Bran Castle Bran Brașov Romania [21]
Cachtice Castle Čachtice Trenčín Slovakia [22]
Catacombe dei Cappuccini Palermo Sicily Italy [12]
Catacombs of Paris Paris Île-de-France France [11]
Charleville Castle Tullamore County Offaly Ireland [23]
Chillingham Castle Chillingham Northumberland England [24]
Colosseum Rome Lazio Italy [8]
Dalhousie Castle Cockpen Midlothian Scotland [25]
Edinburgh Vaults Edinburgh City of Edinburgh council area Scotland [3]
Greyfriars Kirkyard Edinburgh City of Edinburgh council area Scotland [9]
Haydon Bridge Haydon Bridge Northumberland England [6]
Hunedoara Castle Hunedoara Hunedoara Romania [26]
Leap Castle Coolderry County Offaly Ireland [9]
Lucedio Abbey Trino Vercelli Italy [27]
Montpelier Hill Wicklow Mountains Dublin Ireland [13]
Old Bell Hotel Malmesbury Wiltshire England [19]
Oranmore Castle Oranmore Galway Ireland [8]
Poveglia Poveglia Venice Italy [28]
Walls of Genoa Genoa Liguria Italy [5]
Woodchester Mansion Woodchester Gloucestershire England [29]

Controversies

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

References

  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

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