The Movies:

The History Channel has been airing documentaries on the stranger side of life for years now, so it only makes sense that they'd start releasing boxed set collections of similarly themed material on DVD. Hence, we now have The Haunted Histories Collection, a five disc set of 'the real stories behind the horrors.' This particularly set focuses on Dracula, witches, voodoo and exorcism and each of the five discs contains a single documentary on one of those subjects.

Here's a look...

Bloodlines: The Dracula Family Tree (44:16)

A pair of professors from a Massachusetts university lead an investigation into the history behind the real life inspiration for Bram Stoker's mythical count Dracula, that being Vlad The Impaler, or Vlad Dracul. This documentary explores the real life impact that Vlad had on the people who lived around him, how he earned his rather ominous nickname, and how he's gone on to influence one of the most recognizable figures in all of popular culture.

A lot of great footage shot on site in modern day Transylvania is spliced in with old drawings and paintings from Vlad's own time mix nicely with movie clips and interview segments to provide a well rounded and interesting look at this strange slice of European history. Included here are an interview with a local priest who talks about how certain graves have been moved over the years, a search through a few local churches for clues as to where the real life Dracula is actually buried, and an exploration of Dracul's old castle which lies perched atop a very creepy looking mountain.

Exorcism: Driving Out The Devil (1:30:56)

This documentary traces the history of exorcism and ways of combating demonic possession throughout history and through various different religions. The feature contains some interesting interviews with people from different races and theological beliefs, all of whom attest to the very real threat of demonic possession and the spiritual ways in which they fight against it. Alongside the interview clips there are bits and pieces purporting to show those who are actually possessed (some of this material is pretty intense) as well as footage of a modern day exorcist named Bob Larson while he goes about his work as a minister. Over thirty years, he has performed countless exorcisms. There are some interviews with Catholics who discuss the way that their church handles these issues and there's a look back at how possession was dealt with in the past.

The archival clips, photographs and interviews used in this feature are great, but sadly, some of the reenactments are a little on the hokey side and not particularly convincing. That said, there's a lot of good information in here and the subject is approached with an eye towards both the scientific and the spiritual side of things. Regardless of your beliefs where the subjects of exorcism and possession are concerned, this makes for fascinating viewing.

Witch Hunt (1:07:19)

This documentary explores the origins and eventual impact of the Salem Witch Trials in which misguided Puritan settlers put to death twenty local citizens accused of practicing witchcraft in the small Massachusetts town. The feature attempts to tackle how and why the mass hysteria broke out in the area, how the local political types dealt with the problem, and where these suspicions arose from in the first place.

While this doesn't go into as much detail as it could have, it does paint a fairly well rounded portrait of 'how' and 'why' Salem became a hot bed of supposed occult activity by explaining the local superstitions of the time and demonstrating how gossip and hearsay can result in some seriously problematic after effects. You're left feeling rather sorry for the men and women who were executed and confused as to the reasoning behind their deaths, but hopeful that the country has in fact evolved from this state. In many ways, the witch trials are a sort of turning point in America's history from which we've hopefully learned a great deal about acceptance and tolerance.

Exorcising The Devil (42:14)

This documentary more or less picks up where Driving Out The Devil left off. It's less a history of exorcism than it is a look at how it's handled in modern times with an emphasis put on the Catholic rite. Not only does this documentary look at the actual case that was used for William Peter Blatty's book The Exorcist (subsequently turned into a famous film by William Friedkin) but it also explores how modern day practitioners of Santeria and other religions deal with demonic possession. The documentary closes off with some unsettling footage of a modern day non-denominational minister exorcising a demon out of a seemingly normal and relaxed young man.

Again, this documentary explores the scientific side and the spiritual side of the phenomena by interviewing not only religious figures but members of the psychiatric and scientific community as well. The reenactment footage is kept to a minimum here and when it does creep into things it's handled fairly well, but the real reason to watch this is for the stories told from those who have dealt with possession first hand and for the footage of the actual exorcism that was filmed for this feature. It's frightening and fairly disturbing stuff!

Voodoo Secrets (45:14)

The fifth and final entry in this collection attempts to shed some light on the mysteries and pre-conceived notions that many westerners have about the ancient religion of Voodoo. The documentary explores the origins of the belief system, from its roots in African theology to the influence inserted from Catholicism and how it managed to spread across the world through the slave trade. Voodoo rituals, some of which involve actual animal sacrifice, are shown in some intense detail while interviews with those who believe in and practice Voodoo appear alongside discussions with historians and scholars who are experts on the subject.

Animal lovers will be more than a little unsettled by some of the graphic footage contained in this feature but if you can look past that this turns out to be very interesting stuff. The subject is handled seriously and respectfully and the documentary manages to paint a fairly detailed history of one of the Earth's more misunderstood religions and explore both the positive side of Voodoo as well as the (better known) dark side of this unique belief system. The majority of the feature is made up of interviews and actual documentary footage though some reenactments are used when the subject veers into slave trade territory (understandable as no real footage of this would exist in the first place).

The Video:

All of the material in this collection is presented in its original 1.33.1 fullframe aspect ratio, which is how it was all originally broadcast when it first aired on The History Channel. The transfers are all interlaced but aside from that they don't look so bad at all, they're really no better or worse than most television documentaries. Colors are fairly lifelike and accurate looking as are flesh tones, though the black levels aren't all that strong. Detail levels are as good as you'd expect from a shot on video presentation, meaning they're fair to average, though there are no obvious issues with mpeg compression artifacts or edge enhancement worth complaining over.

The Audio:

All five of the documentaries in the set are presented in fairly standard English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo presentations. There are no alternate language dubs, subtitles, or closed captioning options of any kind provided. As far as the quality of the mixes goes, there's not much to complain about here. The levels are well balanced and the background music sounds decent enough. These are not particularly complex tracks - they're basically just narration and interview bits with an instrumental score overtop from time to time - so the stereo mix is perfectly sufficient. There are no problems with hiss or distortion and the dialogue and narration is always perfectly audible.

The Extras:

Aside from some very basic static menus that offer chapter selection, the five discs in this collection are completely barebones and contain no extra features whatsoever.

Overall:

While the presentation won't exactly set the world on fire, it is at least acceptable even if it is unremarkable. The content itself provides some interesting insight into five different topics that have fascinated people for centuries and while it really only serves a primer and won't likely enlighten experts, the five documentaries in the Haunted Histories Collection are worth a look for those with an interest in the odd and the supernatural. Recommended.

Ian lives in NYC with his wife where he writes for DVD Talk, runs Rock! Shock! Pop!. He likes NYC a lot, even if it is expensive and loud.