Per Matt
Who ya gonna call when you’re on the road and you’ve got an invisible man sleeping in your bed? Parapsychologist Dr. Ray Stantz if you can find him, who’s soon to appear in the upcoming Ghostbusters 3, otherwise, actor, writer, filmmaker and comedian Dan Aykroyd is even better. Aykroyd returns to his spooky roots by checking into Hotel Paranormal as the Narrator.

If anyone has ever doubted you about a strange or unusual experience you may have witnessed first hand while staying at temporary lodging on the road, your story might appear on this show. Building upon his Ghostbusters fame, Aykroyd brings the spooky to life as the common man (and woman) retell their stories, while actors recreate their events. The Travel Channel has brought eerie, true stories to the small screen that might make you think twice about where you spend your hard-earned money, when deciding where you plan to sleep.

After binge-watching the majority of Season 1, there seems to be an overwhelming trend. When many of the stories begin, a generic location is given, along with a year (no specific dates are ever used). The series doesn’t just feature paranormal experiences within the United States, but also includes those happening throughout the world. These true stories intertwined with a cursed, dark history can take place practically anywhere. Lots of the stories occur when there aren’t any other witnesses to corroborate the happenings of the featured security guards, front desk workers and various guests interviewed. But my biggest gripe with the show lies within the tiniest of details: The haunted locations.

As a fan of the paranormal with more than a few strange tales occurring throughout my life, I like to know about exact places where others may have experienced similar instances. Whether Hotel Paranormal cannot legally reveal their locations or they’re simply withholding the information due to possible bad publicity, I’d really like to know what’s keeping the show from giving up the goods. A recent episode began “in a small town in New England,” while the other story took place “near the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, in this historic hotel.” That’s about as generic as you can get. As someone who lives remotely near somewhere near these mountains of the Southeastern United States, I could make a pretty good guess as to where we’re talking about, but if the show is keeping the audience in the dark about its actual locations, what else have the filmmakers hidden from its audience?

“Sometimes a message is also a warning…”

While Aykroyd’s presence is a huge draw to the show, I was hoping he’d contribute just a little more than voice overs, kinda like William Shatner’s role on The Unxplained as the host and Narrator. There’s plenty of stories available to bring the shady past of buildings and characters to life, but this specific format has lots of room for improvement. Increasing Aykroyd’s contributions to the show definitely needs to be addressed. He could absolutely shine a light onto his own past, having grown up within a Spiritualist family that encouraged communicating with dead. Now that’s a show I’m dying to watch!