It’s eerie out here!

How many times have you watched a horror film and froze in fear, only to go home and realise that you can actually ‘see’ or ‘feel’ something eerie around you? Actress Anjali, who recently shot for a horror film Chitrangada, and currently shooting for another horror film Balloon, felt something similar, except that it got so bad that she had to shift into a new home. However, she is not the first actress to work on a horror film and experience paranormal activities later.

Take for instance the story of Hollywood actress Vera Farmiga who allegedly experienced unexplained claw marks across her thighs after she finished shooting for the hit horror film Conjuring 1. A few reports even mentioned how the sets of the film had an eerie sense and when the original family on whom the film was based visited the sets of the film, there was a cool breeze that had suddenly set in.

Madhavan in 13 B: Fear Has New Address have had ‘ghostly’ encounters while shooting for the films.

Bollywood, too, is not a stranger to such instances. When 13 B: Fear Has  New Address, the horror film starring Madhavan was shot, reports that the crew witnessed some sort of unexplained ‘ghostly’ activities on the sets did the rounds.  

While some do believe that such stories could be planted just for the publicity of the film, but we couldn’t help but wonder whether there be a possibility of an actual haunting or could it be that the mind is actually playing a game?

Director and actor Ravi Babu, who has shot several films in this genre, says, “I have worked on several horror films but haven’t experienced any such thing, that could also be because I don’t believe in ghosts. But having said that, you need to look into the work process of these actors.”

Real-life horror: Vera Farmiga allegedly experienced unexplained claw marks across her thighs after Conjuring 1.

“For someone who gets into the character and shoots for long hours, it is pretty difficult to cut off from the character and return to their normal life,” adds Ravi Babu. Actress Anjali apparently started hearing strange noises and it got so bad that she shifted out of her home and even decided not to do any more horror films. Actress Shraddha Das, who recently finished working on a Kannada horror film, Ouija, says that one can’t blame it all on the film. “We were shooting for the film in Langkawi, Malaysia and just days before we wrapped up the film I realised that the place was haunted. At the hotel where we stayed, I could hear strange noises and it was unnerving. But it wasn’t just me or the cast, even the tourists felt the same. I was able to breathe easy only after I came back home,” says Shraddha.

There are several instances where the audience watching horror movies have registered seeing or feeling something at home, so much that sometimes even counselling and spiritual support was provided by the theatre owners abroad.

When an actor is part of such an intense film, the effect is bound to be much more stronger, says psychologist K. Prashant, Clinical psychologist, Yashoda Hospital. “There is something called the confirmation bias. If you were going to meet a doctor, and the receptionist said that he is a bad doctor, it will start playing on your mind. So, when you come out and she asks you how your experience was, chances are you’ll say that it was bad. Actors work on a script that is scary and it gets ingrained in their mind, so whether or not something like this happens, they are bound to assume it,” explains Dr Prashant.

Another way to explain such instances, is a theory called ‘Priming’. Both Dr Prashant and Ravi Babu make the same point. Ravi says, “When one has made up their mind to buy a car of a particular colour, whenever they step out, the chances of finding cars of the same colour increases. This is how the brain has been conditioned, so this too can be one of the reasons why such things happen to an actor.”

While shooting for the film Shutter Island, actor Leornardo DiCaprio spoke about how he was unable to switch on and off from the character and that it affected his real self. Dr Prashant says that this happens even to the best of actors. “Some actors get into the skin of the character and sometimes, even though they believe that they can switch off from the ‘role they play’, it doesn’t happen. In such cases, the mind begins to believe that there is a ghostly apparition around them. If the person is not able to get back to normal, counselling could be required,” says Dr Prashant.