Fear (TV series)

Contestants are blindfolded and led by guides to the supposedly haunted area. They were then instructed to remove their blindfolds after a predetermined amount of time, allowing the guides to slip out unseen. The area where they are taken is known as the 'safe house', usually a large room somewhere within the location where no hauntings are reported to have taken place. This location serves as the group's base and is the only part of the haunted location with lighting. Every member of the group chooses a color at random from a predefined list. During daylight hours, the group is allowed to sleep and eat, as dares only take place at night. Once night arrives, a computer terminal will usually pick one or two colors and assign a dare. This computer also provides the group with background information about the area. A member of the group, not assigned to the current dare, provides instructions from the computer via two-way radios.[1]

Each contestant is given the option, at any time during the dare, to abort. However, doing so will cause the contestant to forfeit his or her share of the winnings and to leave the group. Another contestant will then be chosen by the computer to complete the dare. After two nights, any contestants remaining in the game are be directed to the location of their monetary prize, and each collects $5,000. (In the pilot episode, the survivors only received $3,000 each.)[1]

The dares themselves range in difficulty, often starting out easy and close to the safe house, eventually getting more difficult and further from the group's base. While most rely on simple observation (radio silence, EMF detector), some of the dares rely on specific re-enactments of haunting events, and a few even dabble in occult or paranormal possession (séance, automatic drawing, spirit channeling).

The locations shown in the show usually had their name changed to protect their location from vandals and show fanatics. However, some of the places allowed their name to be used, and some of the fans of the show used the Internet to piece together potential matches for the locations used in the show. The locations used in the show were:

Season 1 (2000-2001)

• Episode 1 – West Virginia State Penitentiary
• Episode 2 – St. Agnes Hospital for the Chronically Ill* (Real Location: Fairfield State Hospital, Connecticut)
• Episode 3 – Duggan Brothers Cement Factory* (Real Location: Ideal Cement Company, 6411 Ideal Cement Rd., Castle Hayne, North Carolina)
• Episode 4 – Hopkins Military Academy* (Real Location: Augusta Military Academy, Virginia)
• Episode 5 – Camp Spirit Lake* (Real Location: Camp NoBeBoSco, Hardwick Township, New Jersey) This episode is infamous for containing a completely fictionalized account of the Princess Doe murder.
• Episode 6 – Buck Hill Inn
• Episode 7 – Eastern State Penitentiary
• Episode 8 – USS Hornet
• Episode 9 – Fort Gaines
• Episode 10 – La Guerre Plantation* (Real Location: Desert Plantation, Louisiana)

Season 2 (2001-2002)

• Episode 1 – Mina Dos Estrellas: Pt.1
• Episode 2 – Mina Dos Estrellas: Pt.2
• Episode 3 – Hacienda Tabi
• Episode 4 – Ki Sugar Mill* (Real location Haʻikū Sugar Mill in Haʻi kū, Maui, Hawaii)
• Episode 5 – Serenity Lake Sanitorium* (Real location King Edward VII Sanatorium in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada)
• Episode 6 – Boettger Brewery* (Real Location: Lemp Brewery, St. Louis, Missouri)

(* denotes locations where names are not the actual names of the location)

The hard rock band Godsmack's song "Voodoo" was used as the theme song. For much of the second season, the song "First Day of Nowhere" by Sinisstar was used in the end credits.

• Fear on IMDb
• Inside Fear on IMDb
• Film Threat article