Knocks. Banging. Flying knives. Murderous self-propelled pillows. Wall-rattling explosions. Unexplained house fires. The Michigan Hell House may be the most prolific poltergeist case you’ve never heard of…until now.
Since it’s right in his backyard, Michigan native and paranormal investigator Steve Shippy has followed the case closely for years. Not only that, he’s determined to solve it, which is what he sets out to do in the first of two new Shock Docs premiering in February during Shock Docs Sundays.
Specifically, Michigan Hell House premieres on Sunday, February 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel. It also streams the same day on discovery+.
But there’s something very different about this Shock Docs than the ones that have come before it. Let’s start by taking a look at those. You may spot the difference that way, if you haven’t already noticed the clue about what makes it different. If not, it’s definitely spelled out below.
All the Shock Docs So far
Season 1, 2020
Devil’s Road: The True Story of Ed and Lorraine Warren
The Shock Docs series originated with the release of Devil’s Road: The True Story of Ed and Lorraine Warren. It wouldn’t be the last time we saw them included in the series, either. But this one was devoted to them and their 50+ years battling demons, devils, and poltergeists. Not only did they end up inspiring countless ghost hunters, but their cases also inspired the blockbuster Conjuring Universe franchise of movies. And some of the famous cases they worked on also became source material for future Shock Docs, as we’ll soon see.
This is Halloween
This one featured Travel Channel paranormal experts Steve Gonsalves, Amy Bruni, Adam Berry, Chip Coffey, Bryce Johnson, Ronny Leblanc, Dave Schrader, Cindy Kaza, Shane Pittman, Dave Tango, Chelsea Laden, Tanner Wiseman, and Alex Schroder sharing their favorite Halloween stories in a nostalgic look at the popular haunted holiday.
The Jersey Devil: Monster in the Pines
What stalks the New Jersey Pine Barrens? For over 200 years, people have reported sightings and close calls with…something. It’s resulted in everything from scientific investigations to horror movies, all of which this Shock Docs examines.
The Mothman Sightings
The first sightings of a mysterious, 10-foot tall, winged humanoid creature with glowing red eyes in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, were reported in November 1966. When the Silver Bridge collapsed just over a year later in December 1967, people wondered if the creature had been a harbinger of the tragedy to come. Can modern cryptozoologists figure out what the creature was? That’s what they attempt to do in this Shock Docs.
Bigfoot: Fear in the Woods
Just like Expedition Bigfoot, this Shock Docs set about tracking down eye-witnesses and analyzing DNA evidence to reveal the truth about whether an unidentified creature lurks in the woods or just in myths.
Season 2, 2021
Amityville Horror House
While they’re not the focus of Amityville Horror House, Ed and Lorraine Warren’s investigation of the case factor into an examination of the home many believe is the most haunted house in America. Its chilling history is what’s examined in this Shock Docs.
The Exorcism of Roland Doe
The Exorcism of Roland Doe examines the real-life case of alleged demonic possession that inspired the 1971 novel The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty, which in turn led to the iconic 1973 horror film of the same name.
Ed Gein: The Real Psycho
Another true life case that ended up inspiring multiple horror movies, including Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs, was that of murderer Edward Theodore Gein. Ed Gein: The Real Psycho finds Steve Shippy and Cindy Kaza traveling to Plainfield, Wisconsin, to investigate allegations that his ghost still haunts the area.
The Devil Made Me Do It
Did a demon really possess Arne Johnson during the exorcism of his girlfriend’s little brother? Is that really what made him kill Alan Bono in 1981? Ed and Lorraine Warren thought it was and that “the Devil made me do it” should be his defense, which the judge refused to allow. Decades later the case would be resurrected in the form of both a Shock Docs and the third installment in the Conjuring Universe franchise.
Alien Invasion: Hudson Valley
Alien Invasion: Hudson Valley follows an in-depth investigation into an alien epicenter where investigators attempt to help residents of the Hudson Valley, New York, area find explanations for their unearthly and sometimes violent encounters.
The Curse of Lizzie Borden
Sam Baltrusis and Chris Fleming joined Dave Schrader to investigate the theory that a dark family curse led to one of the most infamous ax murders of all time. Many people believe the victims of the murders still haunt the house in Fall River, Massachusetts. Or they did. Schrader, Fleming, and Baltrusis conducted a seance to guide the tormented restless spirits to a more peaceful beyond, which may have resulted in the Lizzie Borden house no longer being haunted. Or as haunted as it once was.
Demon in the White House
More of a mockumentary than a documentary, Demon in the White House was based on author Andrew Pyper’s novel, The Residence. Although to be fair, it does reveal the historical origins of two first ladies, Jane Pierce and Mary Todd Lincon, who conducted seances at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in attempts to console their broken hearts after both lost their children. But the book, and the Shock Docs, suggest this was a gateway that allowed a demon into the White House.
Season 3, 2022
Scream: The True Story
Cindy Kaza and Steve Shippy reunite to investigate the real-life case of the Gainesville Ripper, who brutally murdered five college students in Florida in August 1990. In a way, it does tie into Scream‘s inspiration. However, it would be more accurate to say the murders of University of Florida students Sonja Larson, Christina Powell, Tracy Paules, and Manny Taboada, and Santa Fe Community College student Christa Hoyt influenced Kevin Williamson’s screenplay. In the Scream: The True Story, Shippy and Kaza investigate whether serial killer Danny Rollins’ spirit still lingers at the campsite he stayed at in Florida or at his childhood home in Louisiana.
Alien Abduction: Betty and Barney Hill
Alien Abduction: Betty and Barney Hill was the first of two Shock Docs that explored historic alien abduction cases. (The other was the next Shock Docs on this list.) This one examines the Hills’ well-documented experience in 1961.
Alien Abduction: Travis Walton
Travis Walton’s alien abduction in 1975 after a long workday in Arizona inspired the film Fire in the Sky…as well as lots of controversy about whether it really happened or not. Did it? This Shock Docs sets out to examine just that.
The Visitors
Best-selling author Whitley Strieber’s encounter with the unknown inspired his 1987 book Communion, which was then adapted into a movie of the same name starring Christopher Walken. Strieber revisits the site of his traumatic alien encounter for the first time in several decades in attempt to shed light on what really happened to him.
The Curse of Robert the Doll
Through re-enactments with some commentary from Jeff Belanger mixed in, the most haunted doll in the world’s story comes to life.
Ghosts of Flight 401
Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed into the Florida Everglades on Dec. 29, 1972. There were 75 survivors and 101 fatalities. Soon after the crash, people reported being haunted by those who had died on both land and on other flights. On the 50-year anniversary of the tragedy, Steve Shippy and Cindy Kaza set about trying to make contact with the deceased.
The Hell House on Dice Road
The strange, unexplained activity the Pomeraning family experienced at their house on Dice Road in Merrill, Michigan, in the 1970s was well-documented by police. The family would call to report all manner of bizarre incidents, including explained noises and even three fires that started by themselves in the home.
Were Duane and Terry, the Pomeranings two teenage sons, responsible for the hijinks? Or was it the across-the-street neighbor and her witchy ways?
In an attempt to answer that, police staked out the house on Dice Road. That’s how they experienced some of the activity firsthand for themselves, like the loud knocking and explosions with no identifiable source. Eventually, the police admitted they couldn’t provide the family with any answers. But they still wanted to help. It led to them taking an unprecedented step.
With help from an anonymous donor, the Michigan State Police reached out to the Parapsychology Lab at Duke University, run by world-renowned parapsychologist William Roll. Jerry Solfvin, Roll’s associate and former senior researcher at the Psychical Research Foundation, investigated the Hell House in 1975. In Michigan Hell House, he says, “My goodness, this case was exploding with phenomena.”
But what kind? Was it a poltergeist? Witchcraft or curse? Something demonic?
Back in the 1970s, Solfvin wasn’t sure. Neither was Shippy when he first started investigating the case, which he reopened in the 2016 documentary A Haunting on Dice Road: The Hell House. He alleged then, as he does in Michigan Hell House, that this is the most documented paranormal case in U.S. history. In the Shock Docs version, he even calls it “the most prolific poltergeist case.”
Whether it is or not, I’m not sure. It may well be. But if it is, it’s also the least well-known
The Difference with the Michigan Hell House Shock Docs
Michigan Hell House is by no means Shippy and Kaza’s first Shock Docs together. But it is their first that doesn’t involve a universally well-known incident.
Insofar as it hasn’t inspired any horror novels that were then adapted into horror movies like so many of the other Shock Docs have. Which makes Michigan Hell House unique amongst its predecessor in the series.
Shock Docs Similarities
Did you notice the pattern of the Shock Docs from season to season? Not only did most of them examine very popular paranormal legends or cases, but there also seemed to be a theme connecting them each season.
Like legends, both legendary monsters and people in season 1. Real-life true crime horror stories formed a lot of season 2’s Shock Docs, which semi-continued into season 3. Except it also ventured more into UFO and alien territory.
Check-In
We know the next Shock Docs premiere will be The Devil’s Academy on February 26, but what do you think will come after that? Is there a case, whether it’s something more famous or not, that you’d like to see explored in the series?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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