Celebrity Ghost Stories Review

Celebrity Ghost Stories is a little known shown on The Biography Channel that’s been on for nearly five years and has featured well over two hundred celebrities. I’ve seen almost every episode and didn’t realize how much I enjoy this show until Season 4 wrapped up a few weeks back. Until Season 5 begins, my DVR is rendered unemployed on Saturday nights.
Celebrity Ghost Stories is simple in style and execution. Each episodes features three or four celebrities recalling a peculiar memory from their pasts. Interestingly, they’re not all hauntings; the stories range from bizarre encounters in the woods to a more typical haunted house scenario. In fact, the broad spectrum of stories works well because you never quite no where each story is headed. Some are terrifying (like Cary Elwes’ sleepless night in a seventeenth-century Spanish castle), while others are poignant and moving (such as Lainie Kazan’s spectral visit from her late husband). The stories are consistently surprising and intriguing.
The show uses minimalistic recreations intercut within each celebrity’s narrative. But, these aren’t Unsolved Mysteriesrecreations; these are simply-filmed images with little to no recreated dialogue. This minimalism works especially well for Celebrity Ghost Stories. The tales presented here are the kind you hear around a campfire, and the less hand-holding by a director, the better. Much of the story is left to your imagination, and the anecdotes are often just as successful if you were to close your eyes and simply listen.
I should mention that not every celebrity story is a success. Some of them are downright terrible. The most successful are the ones that take a peculiar event - maybe a night in a haunted house - and recreate every detail of the encounter. The worst usually cover months or years at a time where “strange things kept happening until I moved out of that house.” But, regardless, there are enough great tales here to overshadow the bad.
I generally steer clear of reality television (and the word “celebrity” only raises more red flags) and yet, Celebrity Ghost Stories works. In fact, the celebrities (not all are as recognizable as Regis Philbin or Carrie Fisher or Joan Rivers, but you’ll know most) actually enhance the narratives. These people are generally well-educated and successful, which adds authenticity to their accounts. That doesn’t mean you’ll believe everything you hear; in fact, I’m sure, like me, you won’t, but the guests are able to accurately articulate their experiences and provide intriguing reflection on the supernatural.
I know this show isn’t for everybody, but I recommend you give it a shot. Celebrity Ghost Stories offers fascinating slice-of-life stories by celebrities who are haunted by an experience from their pasts. The range of storytelling is remarkable, and fans of biographies - or simply those who love a good ghost story - shouldn’t let this one slip by.
If you’re a fan of the show, or are considering watching it for the first time, I’d love to hear your thoughts below.
-MP
Note: This review is taken from Review Hub Central.








