The Paranormal Activity Movies: Did they get the demons right?

First, the Conjuring movies. Then Hereditary, which is where I alluded to the possibility that Victoria Jaye would turn her analysis of how demons are portrayed in horror movies into a series. She has! Now she’s back to examine how accurately —or not— demons are portrayed in the Paranormal Activity movies. Let’s see what she found out.

Demon Accuracy Series: The Paranormal Activity Movies
by Victoria Jaye

For the sake of time, I figured it would be easier to explain what the series got right instead of what it got wrong. Unfortunately, there was a lot the movies were inaccurate about. The most accurate was the first Paranormal Activity movie in 2007, which had brought in someone versed in the paranormal to consult. (I’m just saying, if they’re redoing this series, they should bring me in!)

Paranormal Activity (2007)

• keys found in the wrong place/floor
• shadowy figure/mass manifesting, couldn’t move
• this entity followed her from place to place
• electricity issues, faucets tumor and off, banging on walls, scratching sounds, whispering/ calling-one’s name
• negative energy does feed spirits
• demons are inhuman/do sometimes attach to one person/following them
• channeling methods like Ouija boards can open the door, but not always is a demon on the other end waiting to pounce; anything not done safely is a danger
• demons do feel like they want to hurt you/malicious when you’re around them
• slamming, indistinct voice/roaring, throwing items crashing/TVs turning on by themselves/broken objects
• spontaneous combustion happens in general but not generally to Ouija boards
• apporting an object from one place to another is a real phenomenon along with feeling something breathing (or hearing it)
• toll on a couple is real/a lot of relationships don’t survive this sort of infestation
• people do get pulled out of bed/dragged
• bites happen
• possessed people have inordinate strength

Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

• things do get trashed/broken
• stealing of specific items/never returned
• people get locked out of rooms, even the house entirely when entity is isolating someone for supernatural event
• people have levitated
• toys have been known to attack/act strangely, even against what the toy is meant to do
• animals begin to act strangely/aggressively, can be harmed
• scratches show up on people
• things randomly vibrating is a thing

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)

• demonic entities can mess with gravity
• crashes, scratches, being locked in places, rattling doorknobs, things getting knocked over, blankets yanked off beds/people yanked, too, heavy things like beds moved
• a large levitation event could potentially happen (where multiple things are lifted)
• demons often appear as a shadowy figure
• levitating people

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

• kids have been thought to be in greater contact w/the spirit world
• much of the same content as the other movies, so nothing new to report

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)

• gravitational anomalies happen, but not centered around one person at all times
• inhuman strength is a mark of the possessed but the person is usually not present when the demon shows off
• personality changes, newfound hostility are usually signs of oppression
• animals/people can levitate around these possessed
• outward appearance becomes unhealthy-looking
• possession can feel like illness/pain in the body as it takes over
• cars stop waking/electrical problems happen in the presence of the demonic

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)

• electrical issues when spirits are present
• mirrors are thought to be portals
• Christmas is a time where a lot of demonic activity happens
• demons don’t haunt houses, they haunt people; they will follow you
• demons feed on fear and often appear huge

Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)

• thumping/creaking footsteps
• Asmodeus is a real demon
• psychic sleep happens often with demons: other people won’t wake no matter what during an encounter
• those who worship demons are called demonolaters, not “devil-worshippers”
• demons could ritually possess somebody but the body breaks down quickly/demons end up hopping in and cut when people regain their will, so there would be a lot of bodies needed to ritually hold Asmodeus

Check-In

Which of the Paranormal Activity movies have you seen?

Guest Contributor Info

Victoria Jaye is a supernatural folklorist who specializes in the demonic. She graduated from USU with a Master’s in folklore; her thesis was a classification system of demonic phenomena organized by the senses. Her interests include demons, folklore/mythology, and horror movies. Visit her at demonfolklorist.com.