Based on a true story.
That’s what the creators of “Dark Ground” say about their new retro supernatural thriller which premieres this weekend at the Pixy Theater in Edinburgh.
As novice filmmakers Craig Whedon and Chris McDaniel get ready to premiere the film they co-wrote and co-directed, the 1985 Columbus North High School graduates insist the spooky stuff in “Dark Ground” actually happened to them.
Actors play the now 52-year-old filmmakers as youths in the movie. The role of Chris McDaniel was handled by his son, Christian McDaniel, while Craig Whedon is portrayed by Decatur County resident Austin Fisher.
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“Dark Ground” was shot in June and July mostly in the Crosley State Fish and Wildlife Area of Jennings County, as well as in the private Baldwin Cemetery in Vernon. Other shooting locales include Columbus, North Vernon, Hope, and Edinburgh.
The plot
“Dark Ground” follows the story of a group of friends who visit a desolate cemetery in a remote Indiana forest and have a supernatural experience that haunts them the rest of their lives.
Rather than a Halloween horror or slasher movie, Whedon and McDaniel describe “Dark Ground” as a retro paranormal thriller.
During a telephone interview from his home in a Atlanta, Georgia suburb, Whedon, a former teacher and now school administrator, talked about the script of the new film, which takes place in the 1980s.
While the writers decided to name their spooky graveyard “Black Hollow,” the real place was Stepp Cemetery, located within the Morgan-Monroe State Forest south of Martinsville, Whedon said.
As young men, Whedon and McDaniel heard some Martinsville residents talk about Stepp’s reputation as a haunted graveyard, McDaniel said.
The cemetery has long been known among paranormal investigators for sightings of supernatural apparitions, orbs, and eerie sounds. McDaniel said he went to Stepp Cemetery alone to investigate the various claims and stories.
Upon his return, McDaniel told his friends that he witnessed eerie blue orbs lighting up the darkness at the graveyard, Whedon said. That motivated Whedon, as well as a few friends, to go back with McDaniel to the cemetery to see the phenomenon themselves, he said.
The supernatural events featured in the movie begin to happen after the group arrives, Whedon said.
While not wanting to give too much away, Whedon did say that “one of our party was attacked by an entity and pulled across a car. Whatever it was refused to let him go, and he was dragged across the ground.”
Upon returning to Columbus, the group struggled to come up with a realistic explanation. But after seeing abnormally large scratch marks on their dragged friend’s back, nobody could come up with a logical account of what transpired, McDaniel said.
“A rational explanation?” Whedon asked. “Boy, I wish we had a rational explanation. But the strange things you see in this film really did happen. And after we began our research, we discovered a number of other people have had similar experiences.”
The group of friends made a pact to never return to Stepp Cemetery, McDaniel said. But as he began to study paranormal phenomenon, McDaniel said he eventually gave in to peer pressure and returned.
According to Whedon, McDaniel came back with an electronic recording that purportedly has picked up the voice of a dead person within the white noise.
“The voice was clear,” Whedon said. “It was a woman who told Chris: ‘I should drag you.’”
Casting Jennings County
Most of “Dark Ground” was shot in Jennings County — even though the actual haunted cemetery is less than 30 miles from Bartholomew County.
When asked why they didn’t shoot at the real location, Whedon said he has kept the decades-old pact to never return to Stepp Cemetery.
However, McDaniel said the supernatural experience motivated him to learn more about paranormal activities. Eventually, he became the author of two scary books: “Falling Down The Rabbit’s Hole” (2012) and “Spooky Reports of Strange Encounters” (2014), which are both available online.
Currently working for local government and residing in Taylorsville, McDaniel is a co-founder of the Columbus-based “Creepy Legends Paranormal Research Team.” He also appeared in a few episodes of “Monsters and Mysteries in America,” which aired on the Discovery Channel and other cable networks from 2013 to 2015.
With his background, some might think that McDaniel, the paranormal investigator, instigated the movie project. But actually, it was Whedon who reached out to McDaniel in 2013 and suggested writing the script. Besides various degrees in education and administration, Whedon also holds an associate’s degree in art and film from the Atlanta Art Institute for Film and Audio.
What’s next?
Unless “Dark Ground” finds a distributor, no cast or crew member will be paid, McDaniel said. During production, those working on the film just received food allotments and gas cards, as well as overnight accommodations if they were needed, McDaniel said.
That enabled the movie to be made on what is termed as a micro-budget of $10,000.
McDaniel realizes most people will refuse to accept “Dark Ground” as a true story. Nevertheless, he challenges skeptics to talk to members of the group who witnessed the events at Stepp Cemetery in the mid 1980s or discuss it with his former high school classmates.
“I think everybody at North heard about this story right after it happened,” he said.
After the Edinburgh premiere this weekend, efforts will be made to get the film screened at various film festivals.
“Once it gets out there, I think it will take off,” Whedon said. “It seems to be living its own life.”
McDaniel isn’t quite as optimistic. Since there are few existing avenues to show independent movies with micro-budgets, he doesn’t anticipate “Dark Ground” will get much of a theatrical run, and will likely end up going straight to DVD.
But making this movie was a labor of love that might help the novice filmmakers get another project financed, McDaniel said.
The two are already finalizing their next movie titled “Glastenbury,” which is tentatively scheduled to begin filming in June 2020, Whedon said. It is also based on the paranormal, about a town in Vermont where people begin disappaearing.
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What: World Premiere of "Dark Ground"
When: Friday (initial screening) and Saturday (official premiere). Showtime both evenings is 7 p.m.
Where: Pixy Theatre, 111 S. Walnut St., Edinburgh
Who: Writers/directors Craig Whedon and Chris McDaniel will answer questions from the audience on Friday. Many of the cast members are expected to join Whedon and McDaniel during Saturday’s premiere.
Admission: $10.
Rating: For mature audiences (14 and older) due to language and adult humor.
For more: Information about ticket availability: 812-526-6513. Other details available at the Dark Ground Facebook page.
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Title: "Dark Ground"
Main cast: Thomas D. Brown II, Christian McDaniel, Austin Fisher and Leonard D. Sales.
Shooting locations: Crosley State Fish and Wildlife Area in Jennings County, Baldwin Cemetery in Vernon, sites in Columbus, Hope, Terre Haute, Edinburgh and Atlanta, Indiana.
Story: A group of friends have a supernatural experience in a desolate Indiana cemetery that would end up haunting the friends for the rest of their lives.
Tag line: “Even a legend has secrets to hide.”
Writers/directors/associate producers: Chris McDaniel and Craig Whedon
Executive producers: Joel Buchanan, Martha Buchanan, Todd B. Miller
Running time: 1 hr., 50 min.
Production company: C&C Filming Productions
Budget: $10,000 (cast and crew worked without compensation).
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