10 Everyday Items Paranormal Activity Made Terrifying

10 Everyday Items Paranormal Activity Made Terrifying

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at ten of the most normal, everyday items that the “Paranormal Activity” franchise made us fear.

Ouija Boards

It’s true that these things are inherently creepy, given their supposed link to the occult and the afterlife. But at the end of the day, it’s just a toy. You can buy one at Walmart, right next to Monopoly. The first “Paranormal Activity” has a great scare involving one of these boards, as Micah[a] gets one in an attempt to communicate with the spirits. Katie is none too happy, and for good reason. Shortly after they leave, a big gust of wind enters the house, the planchette starts to move on its own, and best of all, the board soon catches on fire! It’s a great little visual effect, and it proves one of the most unforgettable scares of the franchise.

Plastic Sheets

Let’s just say, entering a trapdoor is almost never a good idea. Jesse, Hector[b], and Marisol enter the creepy door in Ana’s apartment, discovering some spooky material and…lots of plastic sheets. Only, it’s the plastic sheets that end up being the real star of the show. The group starts to hear shuffling and footsteps above them, putting them all on edge. And when the unknown figure descends the staircase, it stands behind the plastic sheet, its dark outline silently stalking the terrified group. It’s amazing how you can generate a great scare using nothing but some backlight and an everyday piece of plastic.

Blankets

The third “Paranormal Activity” takes us back eighteen years, to when Katie and Kristi were children. Kristi has an imaginary friend named Tobi, and well, let’s just say that he’s not a very good friend. Kristi eventually tells Tobi that she doesn’t want to talk to him anymore, causing a meltdown of epic proportions. He torments the young girls by moving objects in their bedroom, and in one frightful jump scare, he rips the blanket off Katie’s bed and throws it towards the camera. We don’t know about you, but we certainly weren’t expecting that! And somehow, some way, the “Paranormal Activity” franchise made us fear cozy, warm blankets.

TVs

Do you tend to fall asleep on your couch with the TV on? Sure, we all do on occasion. So does Ali[c], but let us tell you, she made us think twice about it. She passes out one night, and the living room TV turns to static. That’s a big nope already, but it gets even worse. A misty shadow suddenly materializes, as if emerging from the static, and approaches the sleeping Ali. We don’t know what its intentions were, but they can’t have been good! She startles awake just in time, the shadow disappears, and the TV returns to normal. Sorry, but if televisions have the power to conjure wispy shadow demons, then we’re not keeping that sucker on at night.

Pots & Pans

These cooking instruments have an uncanny ability to frighten us with their distinctive clangs. Especially at night, when they shouldn’t be moving. “Paranormal Activity 2” has a number of good scares involving pots and pans, each one as effective as the last. They drop from racks and clang on the countertop, move on their own like leaves in the wind, and one even catches on fire when the stove ignites by itself. We can’t not have pots and pans in our house, but we’re definitely not hanging them from a rack going forward. Not after this movie.

Beds

There should be nothing more sacred, or more harmless, than climbing into your own bed after a long day. Of course, “Paranormal Activity” had to go and ruin that too! Beds are a mainstay throughout the franchise, and it’s amazing how much creative mileage it gets out of them. In fact, there are a number of different scares involving beds. There are subtle, disaffecting scares, like the eerie creaking of a house while you’re laying alone in the dark bedroom. There are deep-seated primal scares, like having someone standing over you as you sleep. And there are good old fashioned jump scares, like being suddenly dragged out of bed by an unseen and malevolent presence.

Doors

We don’t care how many times we see a door slowly moving on its own - that kind of stuff will always creep us out. Especially if an eerie creak is involved. The ghosts of “Paranormal Activity” love playing with doors, whether it’s violently slamming them shut or silently moving them inches. Sometimes they even knock on the front door of a house before disappearing, like a young prankster playing ding, dong, ditch. We don’t know what it is about moving doors that make them so inherently terrifying, but this franchise puts those fears to superb use.

Cabinets

The second “Paranormal Activity” contains a brilliant bait and switch, and we think our hearts have been permanently damaged because of it. Kristi is sitting in the kitchen when she suddenly gets one of those nasty feelings - the feeling of being watched. She sits up and turns around to look into the living room, so naturally, our eyes are drawn to the room as well. Surely something is going to happen in there. But just then, in the midst of the deep and tense silence, every cabinet door in the kitchen bursts open with a powerful bang. Jump scares can be cheap and manipulative when done poorly, but this was expertly done. Great setup, great payoff, and no annoying music cue to startle the audience.

Chandeliers

Do you have a chandelier in your home? If you do, you either ripped it out after watching these movies or you’re giving it a paranoid second glance every now and then. The first “Paranormal Activity” contains an effective sequence, with Katie and Micah seeing their chandelier swinging by itself in the darkness. But hey, that’s just a…gust of wind. Right? Well, that excuse doesn’t fly come “Paranormal Activity 4.” This film pays homage to the original, as Alex’s chandelier starts to move on its own. Yeah yeah, we’ve seen that before, you say. But that’s when a second chandelier falls from the ceiling and erupts with a piercing crash. Gotcha.

Powder

We don’t know how these movies managed to make freaking powder scary, but hats off to them. In one of the series’ best sequences, Micah puts talcum powder on the floor outside their bedroom in an attempt to see the ghost. Well, it works! The couple wake up and find that the powder has been disturbed, with demonic footsteps leading towards their bed! The visual is unbelievably creepy, as is the implication - this ghost has entered the room and was watching the couple sleep for its own sick amusement. What a fantastic and creative sequence - pulled off with nothing more than some creepy footsteps and some powder.

Have you been looking at these objects differently? Let us know in the comments below!