Top 10 Dumbest Decisions In Paranormal Movies

“Poltergeist” (1982)
In this classic Spielberg horror film, the Freeling family experience paranormal activity in their house after youngest daughter, Carol Anne, is found talking to TV static in the middle of the night. Carol Anne later gets kidnapped by a ghost called the Beast, and her mother Diane has to rescue her. While the family wisely decides to move out, they spend one more night in the house. Diane winds up home alone with Robbie and Carol Anne, giving the Beast another opportunity to kidnap the kids! Just get out of there already!

“Paranormal Activity” (2007)
After moving into their new home, Katie and Micah start experiencing anomalies. Katie admits that she sensed an evil presence in her room as a child, and believes it might have followed her to their new home. But Micah does not take her seriously. His not-so brilliant plan is to set up cameras, a Ouija board, and threaten the ghost. Even after Katie asks him to stop, Micah continues to taunt the demon and make a joke of it all. It’s not surprising that the demon eventually gets its revenge by possessing Katie, killing Micah and throwing him across the room, at his camera. That’s what you get for messing with a demon.

“Candyman” (1992)
Based on a short story by Clive Barker, Candyman follows a student researching the local legend of a hook-handed killer who appears when you say his name five times in front of a mirror. Though the warning that’s part and parcel of the legend seems to be so clear it’s foolproof, people still say Candyman five times in a mirror and get murdered. No matter how sceptical you may be, it’s safe to say that the best way to never have to find out if this legend is true or not is to... well, just not say his name five times in front of a mirror? It’s too obvious!

“Jeepers Creepers” (2001)
This 2001 supernatural horror film tells the story of the Creeper, an ancient demon who reappears every 23rd spring for 23 days. The brother-and-sister duo in this film, Darry and Trish, would never have encountered the Creeper had Darry not done something very stupid. When Darry glimpses someone dumping bodies into a pipe, he should have just contacted the cops and gotten the hell out of there. Instead, Darry decies to crawl down the pipe and see what’s down there! Guess what they find? Yep, bodies! This works out well for the Creeper, since he can smell fear. Thanks a lot Darry.

“Evil Dead” (2013)
The horrific events of 2013’s soft reboot of “Evil Dead” would have never happened without high school teacher Eric’s dumb decsion. In the cellar of a cabin, Eric finds a book, The Naturom Demonto. It’s wrapped in barbed wire, which should be a sign; but Eric takes the time to cut it open with pliers. He then discovers the book’s jacket made of human skin, andplenty of “do not read” warnings written in human blood. Ignoring them, he reads an incantation from the book. That dumb decision opens a portal door allowing an evil demonic entity to cross over, possess and kill members of the group. Way to go, Eric.

“The Witch” (2015)
In this 17th century tale, a family leaves their Puritan colony over religious differences. They settle near a forest, but a dark presence lurking within takes notice, kidnapping their baby and later, eldest son Caleb. One of their crucial mistakes is blaming their innocent daughter, Thomasin. But even dumber is their decision not to just go back to the colony to take refuge, or at least ask for help. Their children are going missing and clearly there are evil forces at work! Thomasin’s father William even suggests going to the village to give Thomasin away. But nothing about asking for help to find his missing baby.

“The Blair Witch Project” (1999)
It was a decision that frustrated viewers as much as Mike’s companions! The found footage horror follows three students who venture out into the forest to make a film about the myth of the Blair Witch. Heather, Mike and Josh later find themselves lost, and eventually all three fall prey to sinister forces - leaving only their footage behind. All they had to do was go back to the car and leave when things started getting scary, but they couldn’t do that because of Mike. After a long, frustrating day, Mike impulsively kicks their only map into the river. They might have been able to get back home safely had Mike not gotten rid of the map. Good job, Mike!

“Pet Sematary” (2019)
Never mess with forces you don’t understand. When the family cat dies, Dr. Louis Creed buries him at a strange grave site near their new house. Miraculously, the car comes back to life, but he’s changed: feral and violent. At work, one of Louis's patients warns him that “the barrier was not meant to be broken.” You’d think Louis would have gotten the message. Yet when his daughter dies in a tragic accident, he decides to resurrect her using the same message. The results? Well, basically the same as the cat! We know he was grieving, but this was pretty predictable!

“The Ring” (2002)
Just as Eric in Evil Dead did not understand ‘do not read out loud,’ people in The Ring seem to not understand ‘do not watch the tape.’ The urban legend around the tape clearly explains that people who watch it get a phone call saying that they’ll die in seven days. Can you guess what people do? They watch the tape. None of the terrifying events in “The Ring” franchise would have happened had people decided just not to watch it. Even better, just destroy it! Instead, journalist Rachel Keller even has her ex-boyfriend watch it!

“The Omen” (1976)
In Richard Donner’s classic horror film, Robert and Katherine are expecting a baby. The child dies at birth, and rather than tell his wife, Robert secretly adopts another child - and ends up taking home the Antichrist. Admittedly, this consequence is more extreme than anyone could have foreseen - but lying to your wife about her baby, and having her raise someone else’s child without her knowing, doesn’t exactly display sound decision making! Soon enough, the child, whom they name Damien, demonstrates a predilection for evil, and ultimately, both Katherine and Robert wind up dead. All this could have been avoided if Robert had decided not to pull a switcheroo!