Six episodes from two different Travel Channel programs are collected on "Paranormal Destinations" just in time for Halloween. Among the entries from "Mysterious Journeys" and "Weird Travels" are installments featuring such diametrically different subjects as the Loch Ness Monster and Area 51, the Salem Witch Trials and Civil War ghosts. Every episode has the same thing in common: legends and myths involving something on the fringe of traditional science.
In the first episode from "Mysterious Journeys" (and the driest, content wise, if we´re being honest), the origins of the Dracula story are probed. Bram Stoker, when he created his fictional Dark Prince, combed through history books in favor of drawing the most heinous qualities out of a number of real life people. Or so it is assumed, based on various aspects of the character. The most famous of the infamous is Vlad the Impaler. What this series gets so very right through the three episodes is a reliance on brisk history and dramatization in order to cover all the bases.
Then there´s the untold story of Confederate troops who haunt the grounds where the battle of Gettysburg took place during the Civil War. Here we´re introduced to some of the tools and techniques used to communicate with ghosts and spirits running amok. And it is a fascinating glimpse into paranormal investigations we don´t get in the other episodes. There is an interesting side story to talking with dead Confederate troops which isn´t discussed. Is this type of science really science? If so, why is it legitimate? If not, what are the problems with it? These questions-and others-are outside the scope of the topic, yet are deserving of their own discussions. A historical note: a man was shot every 2 seconds during the battle.
(The only major problem with the presentation occurs here. After every chapter, the DVD defaults back to the main menu. It is possible to scan through these areas to get to the next; however, the viewer shouldn´t have to.)
Rounding out the "Mysterious Journeys" segments is "Witches of Salem." This episode more akin to Dracula than Gettysburg in that it is a straight retelling of history and dramatization of events. More than crushing a man to death by piling stones on his chest, the single aspect which stands out is the leap in logic made by the people of Salem, Massachusetts, to point fingers at witches. It seems as though the entire ordeal started with the two daughters of the new reverend thrashing about on the floor to avoid being punished by their father. (When the doctor checked them out, he could not find anything medically wrong with them. The diagnosis, then? Witchcraft, of course!) This led to over 150 people being jailed on suspicion of witchcraft and nearly 20 executed.
"Weird Travels" focuses more on contemporary mysteries, as evidenced by the episodes representing the series. First up is "Lake Monsters," with the obvious emphasis being the Loch Ness Monster and Champ from Lake Champlain. As a kid, I was enamored with the idea of a giant dinosaur-like creature living in Scotland, hiding from the world. I read books, looked at pictures and dreamt about Nessie. It should come as no surprise, then, the Loch Ness part of this episode didn´t provide any new information for me. When combined with the Lake Champlain version, one has to wonder if there are actually creatures there, or if one is the product of "cultural envy." (Lake Champlain is located in the United States, by the way.)
"Bigfoot" is the subject of episode two. The presence of a giant, hairy ape man is fun in concept, yet has never been as "cool" a thought as Nessie. You mean to tell me there are creatures sighted throughout North America who stand much taller than a normal man and can evade all but the most archaic cameras and video capture equipment? Really? The program features people-bless them-who make it their life´s work to find Bigfoot, not to mention a truly laughable dramatization of the creature.
Last up is perhaps America´s greatest shared legend, that of Area 51 and UFO´s. It is easily the most believable investigation of the three if only because it is impossible to believe Earth is the only planet with life on it in the entire galaxy. Just because we haven´t found it yet doesn´t mean it´s not there; this conflicts with the other monsters in that a great deal of our planet has been catalogued and mapped without finding conclusive evidence of them. Not to mention the heavy military presence near Roswell, New Mexico, and the plethora of sightings over the years.
VIDEO:
The "Mysterious Journeys" segments are presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen; "Weird Travels" are all 1.33:1 fullscreen. Being recent productions, neither commits major sins with the transfer, though there is rather small blocking in certain dark scenes in "Ghosts of Gettysburg." (The same episode features what looks to be black spotting on time lapse footage, though I can´t be entirely sure.) Everything else looks acceptable when you take into account the origin of some photographs and videos presented.
AUDIO:
A solitary English 2.0 mix is included for all episodes (no subtitles) which does its job with little fanfare. Interviews are free of distortion; ambient sound effects pop up when appropriate. It´s a flat sounding track as expected from a television program, not to mention the subject matter. However, how the product sounds is less of a concern when the material is nearly a straight retelling of history.
EXTRAS:
Visiting haunted sites or finding monsters scared the extras away. There´s nothing here.
PARTING THOUGHTS:
More than fluff pieces on cruise travel tips or the best places to get a tan, this is the type of material where The Travel Channel excels. Part of that is due to its one-time parent The Discovery Channel and the other is thanks to the rich national history of haunting and the paranormal we have within our borders. This compilation is a nice start and should be a precursor to complete series or season sets.