New Details on the THIRTEEN GHOSTS Series Which Will Expand on the 2001 Horror Movie in a Big Way

It was recently announced that Dark Castle was looking to develop a series adaptation of the horror film Thirteen Ghosts. We now have some new details to share with you regarding the project.

It was said that the series will consist of thirteen episodes with an anthology style that dives into a different ghost with each episode. It was previously explained by the creators of the show, Patrick Mediate, Aaron McLane (Fear The Walking Dead), Ashley Robinson (Fear The Walking Dead):

“Every culture in the world has its ghost stories, and this re-imagining of 13 Ghosts presents an international sampling of these supernatural tales. The ghost stories within each episode will have their own stylistic look and feel that will be explored and influenced by each individual director. This makes our ghost vignettes stand out stylistically as they set the theme for each episode.”

At the end of the 2001 movie, the ghosts are freed, and they walk off into the woods. According to Bloody-Disgusting, Thirteen Ghosts is described as the “Crown Jewel of their library,” as well as “a property that is long overdue for a resurrection.” So, it seems like they are going to go all in on this project.

It’s also reported that the fan-favorite character known as The Jackal “would be a major player in the series, and the plan is to also delve into the creation of the machine that was built to contain the various ghosts, known as the Basileus Machine, as well as the ancient book that served as the film’s Necronomicon, the Arcanum.”

Mediate shared: “It had always been clear to us that there was so much to be explored in the backgrounds of the ghosts so it’s only natural that we created each episode to explore and examine their origin stories, personalities, plights, and fates. These stories act as through-lines that intertwine with the mysterious legacy of Cyrus Kriticos and his present extended family, who have just become caretakers of the Kriticos Compound.”

He added: “One of the incredible things about unconventionally structuring the narrative in this way is that we can cleverly, and oftentimes surprisingly, have the ghosts’ pasts actually influence all of the parallel narratives that unfold throughout each episode which we feel will offer a fresh, extremely unique storytelling experience for the viewer.”

One of the other interesting things they are looking to do is add an AR component to the series. This concept would utilize AR technology to allow viewers to invite the ghosts of the show into their own homes. This is a gimmick that original 13 Ghosts director William Castle would have loved. Castle utilized the “Ghost Viewer” in his 1960 film.

The creative team is also looking at expanding the world and stories with multiple seasons. Mediate said: “We do envision an entire universe for the 13 Ghosts: The Series franchise that lives on eternally after the first season and goes on to explore different planes of mortal and Post-Mortal realities; it’s actually going to be something pretty profound that could be an enormous testament to the worlds we lay the groundwork for with the first season. Long and short, this is absolutely going to be a series with stories and three dimensional characters that fans are going to want to join up with for multiple seasons.”

As of right now, there’s no movement on the project because of the ongoing writers’ strikes, but once things are settled with that the creative team and studio “will be hitting the ground running and pitching away.”

There is another issue, though that they need to try and figure out. Sony Pictures owns a portion of the rights to Thirteen Ghosts, and they need Sony’s approval to be able to develop the series. Dark Castle is really hoping that Sony allows them to play in the Thirteen Ghosts sandbox. The project was pitched to Sony before the strike, so right now it’s just a waiting game.

Mediate went on to explain: “Having Dark Castle’s support and blessing is only one part of the equation since Sony Pictures Television owns 50% of the rights. Right now the future of this being a series at all is completely in Sony’s court as we pitched to them right before the strike occurred.”

The team is “hopeful that when the strike ends we can bolster up enough support to get the series completely greenlit with a solid distributor so the fans need to make it known that they want this vision and want this as a series now more than ever.”

Mediate goes on to promise: “As a united force with Dark Castle who firmly stand behind our vision, we want to be sure this series respects and pays homage to the deep roots of the original William Castle cult classic and its enormous existing fan base, while reinventing its ensemble of characters and narrative arcs to propel the property into the 21st century to give attract a whole new universe of fans.”

Are you excited about the series? Do you hope that it actually ends up getting made?