Created by Chris Carter, The X-Files must have indisputably been one of the hottest shows on television in its time.
While it inspired many to don their trench-coat and explore the world of the dark and mysterious world of the paranormal and unexplained, many dislike it for its unfocused mishmash of soap-opera drama with silly stories like men squeezing through cracks in walls.
But, enthralling TV show or overrated one, there’s no denying that The X-Files has sparked people’s interest in many extraordinary but strange aspects of life.
The Unfinished Business – 6th Episode of 1st Season
The X-Files’ magnificent take on a classic camp-fire ghost-story arrangement: a chain of abnormal occasions, bringing along the disclosure of an eager soul with an objective, making everything fall tenebrously into place.
Back then, most of the audience wanted Mudler and Scully to deal with a ghost story. The co-writer Geln Morgan was not really a fan of ghosts but poltergeist phenomena were intriguing enough for her not to resist the temptation of building up spooky going-on and narrating the story of a tormented soul.
In Shadows, you’ve got those typical ghost-story elements that can chill you, spook you, gross you out and even that vile-untimely death factor that end deliciously. What’s more is the timeless literary theme: the triumph of good over evil or adversity.
Here, the adversity can sometimes be said to be death while the triumph is depicted as the person who was wronged but does not allow even the simple fact being buried six feet under the ground to act as an obstacle in the pursuit of their goals to attain justice. In this case, we have Howard Graves as the disadvantaged hero fighting against corporate corruption and horrible political terrorism.
In the end, we are however glad the little guy was able to raise his voice, obtain justice, got his treacherous colleagues to pay and be rewarded with eternal peace and freedom from the burdensome dark aspects of human life.
Crisis Apparitions – 13th Episode of 1st Season
I’m sure you must have heard this somewhere from a friend or family member, where the sudden appearance of a loved one or a friend actually coincides with the time they breathed their last.
This is what you call a crisis apparition and what Scully experienced at the beginning of the episode Beyond the Sea, where she visualizes an image of her father sitting across from her before being informed of his death.
I don’t know what science has to say about these “paranormal” events but there’s no way we can ignore these apparitions.
Reincarnation – 22nd Episode of 1st Season
The main theme of Born again focuses on the philosophy of life after death, which most often is dismissed as an utterly impossible religious belief. Even for Howard Gordon, the main writer of the series, the claims of memories of violent death were not a piece of evidence strong enough to support this tenet. He claimed that these memories or even dreams may only be incredibly powerful metaphors for things or traumas that are going on or through which people suffered but are unable to process them consciously yet.
Still, in the episode, you can see how certain paranormal events are able to convince Mulder that Michelle Bishop is indeed the reincarnation of none other than the murder police officer Charlie Morris.
The “Take-Over” – 15th Episode of 1st Season
Have this thought ever crossed your mind: can a spirit actually “possess” or “take over” a tangible form belonging to someone?
In Lazarus, you can see a very interesting and thrilling premise where a spirit is said to possess a living human body.
Following a gunfire in a bank, Warren Dupre, a criminal, dies, only to end up in the body of Agent Willis (who is, by the way, Scully’s ex-boyfriend).
Here, you can see how Mulder is convinced of this soul transfer due to the new Willis being left-handed and other similar evidences.
A soul being transferred at the very brief moment of death… Is there such a thing?
What was that one episode of The X-Files that captivated or frightened you?
