Shining Vale Already Hinted Its Ghosts Aren’t Real
Warning: Contains spoilers for Shining Vale, episode 2.
In Shining Vale, Pat believes that she is seeing a ghost in their new house, but a moment in episode 1 already hinted that the ghost is a result of Pat’s mental state and not a real spirit. Shining Vale splits a delicate line between horror and comedy as it both embraces and pokes fun at tropes from the horror genre, with a particular focus on the work of Stephen King. Regardless, the show is conscious of the fact that it is playing with and examining mental health issues and societal problems, bookending each episode with warnings and information on where to get help.
In Shining Vale episode 1, “Chapter One – Welcome to Casa De Phelps,” the Phelps family are driving from Brooklyn to their new house in Connecticut when Pat Phelps (Courteney Cox) sees a small girl run in front of the car chasing a ball. She grabs the wheel while Terry (Greg Kinnear) is driving and swerves the car to try and miss the girl, but when they get out there is no sign of the girl and nobody else saw her. Once they are at the new house, Pat starts to hear things and sees the ghost of an old-fashioned woman. Later, Pat finds a photo frame in which she sees a picture of the ghost alongside a picture of the girl that ran in front of the car. However, when she shows this to Terry it has stock photos in instead.
Related: Shining Vale Cast & Character Guide
Shining Vale episodes 1 and 2 leave it unclear as to whether or not Pat is really seeing a ghost or if the visions are the result of stress or her heavily prescribed medication. However, the fact that Pat sees the vision of the girl, who is implied to be the ghost of Daisy, before they arrive at the house in Shining Vale episode 1 heavily
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