FANCIFUL REVIEW | Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie

Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Fade to Black. A ghost hunting show that is mixing up the format and taking the reality television world by storm. Matt, Claire, Kevin, Jessica, and Jake make up the onsite crew, and they fall on all sides of the belief spectrum- some believe completely, some aren’t sure, and some disbelieve. And all get to present their opinions and ideas to the viewers. But ratings are fickle, and to get greenlit for a second season, they must go further than they ever have. When they get the opportunity to investigate the Paranormal Research Foundation, never before investigated by a ghost hunting team, they’re sure they can hit the end of season one out of the park. Little do they know, more than their show may now be on the line.

Fanciful Sister and I read this as a buddy read this month. I needed a good distraction after the death of my cat, Malcolm, and this was a very engaging read. The story is told in a mixed media format, which I think worked especially well for telling this tale, and the characters sell it even more. The setting, always an extremely important aspect of a horror story, was interesting, and the haunting was quite unique and good fun.

As I said above, Episode Thirteen is written in a mixed media format, essentially found footage in book form. Given that the book is about a tv show, it was an effective way of telling the story. These snippets of footage from the show are interspersed with emails, news articles, and journal entries from the crew, to show us the full story of what happened at Foundation House, and made for an entertaining, fresh read.

The characters were quite rounded out, which I enjoyed. You had the two lead investigators, Matt and Claire. Matt fully believes in ghosts and the supernatural, while Claire is a natural sceptic, with a physics PhD, who spends her time on the show debunking the evidence. Their dynamic reminded me a little bit of Shane and Ryan of Ghost Files and Buzzfeed Unsolved, which I adore. Matt and Claire have their annoying moments, much like most people. But their relationship, and their opinions on the supernatural and on Fade to Black, are fascinating.

The other three characters we follow are Kevin, Jess, and Jake. Kevin was my least favourite character if I’m being honest, but I do feel as if that was intentional. He was the kind of person that believes that they know best, would be better at things than others, and who is very open to voicing this belief. Jess was a sweet character, a struggling African American actress who is doing her best for her family. I thought the juxtaposition between her on camera persona and her real personality was interesting, and watching her try to break into a white centric industry was a plot point that I think worked well here. Even changing her name so it was more appealing to white audiences, prompting some contemplation. Then there was Jake, the camera man. His ideas of himself and how he fits in with the world were endlessly intriguing, and heartbreaking. He was a nice character, a neutral force to smooth out the disparate ideals of the other characters.

The show, Fade to Black, was fun to learn about and follow. I don’t personally watch a lot of ghost hunting shows (aside from the above mentioned Ghost Files and Buzzfeed Unsolved). I believe in ghosts, but I find the shows frustrating and dull. Those involved jump at everything, and make some truly bizarre leaps in logic that I can’t really get behind. The reason Shane and Ryan work for me as paranormal investigators is that when Ryan freaks out, Shane is the voice of reason, suggesting that they consider more down to earth possibilities. And I think that I would be able to watch Fade to Black for that same reason. One thing I think would detract from the enjoyment though. It really seems as if Claire is presented as a stick in the mud antagonist by the tv show and fans. Which I think is unfair. But following the investigation was comfortable for me, as I am familiar with the process from Ghost Files and video game Phasmophobia.

The setting of the story was a fun one. Foundation House was abandoned in the 70s, and as no one has investigated or used it in the interim, it is basically frozen in time. I am personally not hugely into the 70s as a focal point or aesthetic, but I appreciated the way it allowed the characters to try to understand what occurred in the house. The house is large, and as many large, old houses do, it hides a great many secrets. Watching the characters discover and unravel them was satisfying, and it did especially feel like I was watching them in this case, given the found footage style.

And to the haunting. As always, I can’t say too much. I can say that there were some classic haunting elements at play, surrounded by a unique set up that ultimately creates a more unusual haunting as you discover more.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Episode Thirteen a great deal. Watching living characters attempt to interact with the world of the dead is always enjoyable to me, and watching them through the lens of the camera of their show provided a fun perspective. It contained a lot of meta commentary of the genre as well that was a blast. If you are interested in multi media books, ghost hunting, and ghost stories in general, then I do recommend Episode Thirteen.



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