Nigrin: Your short documentary film The Hauntings of New Hope profiles one of the most haunted locations in Pennsylvania. Tell us what motivated you to make this film.
Vincent: I was tasked with making a documentary for my Video Field Production class’s final project and really struggled to find something I was passionate about and could stand to research and put effort into for the semester. The idea for this film came to me while I was brainstorming one night. At first, I wanted to solely profile The Creeper Gallery. But New Hope is so abundant in the paranormal that the project needed to expand to The Ghost Tours of New Hope as well. I’ve always said that if I could make a living ghost hunting, that’s what I’d do!
Nigrin: How did you find out about The Ghost Tours and The Creeper Gallery?
Vincent: I first found out about The Creeper Gallery back in 2019 when I visited with some friends. My idea came from a memory of my visit there. I actually didn’t know there was a ghost tour in New Hope until I started to form my documentary’s story and researched the town more. When I learned about The Ghost Tours of New Hope, I decided to send out an email asking if they’d be interested in sitting down to talk to me about the tour and New Hope’s haunted history.
Nigrin: Did you encounter any spirits or ghosts while you were filming?
Vincent: I can’t say that I outright saw any ghostly apparitions while filming. I was hyper fixated on camera work and explaining to people why I had a huge camera rigged to my body in public. But I will say that while filming in The Creeper Gallery, I heard some noises coming from around the store. That, and the store has this heavy aura that makes you feel like you’re being watched and that there’s something otherworldly in your presence. And during the audio editing process, I heard quite a bit of interesting things like low growls and inexplicable eerie sounds.
Nigrin: Are there any memorable stories while you made this film or any other info about your film you would like to relay to us?
Vincent: Being my first professional film, this was one of the most stressful, exciting and memorable experiences that I’ve ever had making something. It showed me that I’m capable of not only being a professional and producing a piece that I am proud of, but that I have truly learned so much from my professors. I had a lot of support and encouragement from those around me who helped me deliver the final product of this documentary. It was a lot of work and a lot of late nights at school editing but I always had people there with me. I’m happy to say that my first professional film got into my first ever film festival!
The Hauntings of New Hope screens at the Fall 2022 New Jersey Film Festival on Friday, September 30 as part of the Shorts Program. It will play Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Director Kasey Vincent will be present at the In-Person screening to do a Q+A after the showing. To buy tickets go here:
https://watch.eventive.org/newjerseyfilmfestivalfall2022/play/62b9b9f61f91140059746caf/62b9ae84fd2dac005c44a40a
For General Info on the Film Festival go here: https://watch.eventive.org/newjerseyfilmfestivalfall2022
