One of the first things that stands out about 2013’s The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia, is that the title contains two states that are nowhere near each other.  As a result of this confusion, as well as it getting only a limited release in the US (most people thought it was just direct to video), Ghosts of Georgia (which is what the movie should have just been called) was an overlooked gem that is arguably a better movie and more interesting story than 2009’s The Haunting in Connecticut.  So in honor of its 10th anniversary today, we wanted to take a look back at Ghosts of Georgia and give it the due it deserved 10 years ago.

Halloween III Syndrome
Both this movie and its predecessor were based on TV movie documentaries made by the same production company.  There was even a DVD set which contained both of them together.  Other than this similarity in the type of story they were, neither one shared any connection, and even when making the movie, it was always meant to be a standalone.

The decision to give a sequel title was made by the studio (Gold Circle) in an attempt to cash in on the success of the theatrically released and popular 2009 movie.  As a result, this movie felt like it got buried underneath the shadow of the original, and its title only sought to confuse people.  Even if you just happened on this one, the “2” in the title made you think that maybe you had to see The Haunting in Connecticut to understand this one.

Had it just been titled “Ghosts of Georgia” or maybe even “The Haunting in Georgia”, it could have still been “connected” to the other one, but it would have been able to stand more on its own and get a cult following in its own right.

Compelling Story
Following the true story of the Wyrick Family, Ghosts of Georgia sees them moving into a very old house in rural Harris County, Georgia.  Their young daughter starts seeing a man called “Mr. Gordy”, who turned out to be the previous owner of the house that died 2 decades earlier.

And as the family experience strange occurrences, they dig deeper (both literally and figuratively) into the house’s history, they discover some astonishing things involving the underground railroad and a deranged serial killer.

Not to say that Haunting in Connecticut wasn’t an interesting story as well (after all the former funeral parlor was creepy as hell), but Ghosts of Georgia had a lot more going on and felt like it was much more interesting and compelling story, especially when it came to the historical backstory.

It was a movie that never felt the need to get too over the top either with its portrayal of supernatural activity.  There were no exorcism scenes with giants fans blowing everything around, or any scenes featuring the house itself getting destroyed.

It was just a quiet, creepy thriller with relatable characters who made realistic and reasonable decisions.  Like at first, the father doesn’t believe it, but as certain things begin to come true that “Mr. Gordy” said, he updates his thinking.

The Franchise That Could Have Been
Would it have been so hard to just call it “The Haunting in Georgia” and turn this into an anthology series.  Each movie could have been its own standalone story, based on a real life haunting with the title “The Haunting In…” preceding each of them.  There were already docudrama series like that, but it would have been cool to see a whole series of movies of the like.

Either way, Ghosts of Georgia remains a solid supernatural thriller that definitely deserved more attention than it got.  It’s arguably a better film than Haunting in Connecticut, but it was largely relegated to home video and to this day doesn’t have the same name recognition.

What did you think of The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia?  Do you think it would have done better with a more standalone title?  Let us know in the comments!

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