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PUBLISHED: Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Local urban legends, paranormal

Local urban legends, paranormal activity subject of upcoming thriller documentary film by Davison man


LAPEER COUNTY -- A local filmmaker hopes to make the community aware of the urban legends and paranormal activity that exist in the area by making a thriller documentary to be shown in local theaters.

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"The point is to take people's stories and testimonials of experiences they've had, do the research and find out what's true," said Jeff Jones, founder of Midget Pickle Productions. "We'll track down where the urban legends stemmed from to see if these things actually happened."

The documentary will include urban legends and paranormal activity from Lapeer, Metamora, Oxford, and surrounding areas.

"We will take aspects from research to complete the documentary," said Jones, 29, of Davison. "Police reports will help prove what's true and what's not."

Jones said his team consists of six researchers and several crew members.

Detroit media personality Greg Russell will be doing the narration for the film, added Jones. Russell, who is host of "The Movie Show Plus" on MyTV20-Detoit, is also on Comcast On Demand and The Colours Network. "I am quite jazzed to get a celebrity of his stature involved with my production," Jones said.

At the age of 22, Jones, who grew up playing with a home video camera, realized he could go to school to learn how to film professionally as opposed to doing it as a hobby. After graduating from Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts in Detroit in 2003, Jones founded Midget Pickle Productions. Since founding the company, Jones has won several awards, including: 1st place 2004 Film-Fights competition; 3rd place in Spring 2008 Film-Fights Competition; and he received the "Judges Recognition Award for Achievement in Special Effects" for an entry in the Fall 2008 48/5 East Lansing Film Festival.

"We don't participate in competitions to win," Jones said. "It's more of a learning experience and a way to figure out what we need to improve on."

To offset the costs of his addiction to making movies, Jones said he films weddings, insurance videos, DVD scrapbooks, and DVD transfers. He enjoys making both short and feature films, and has completed eight films to date.

"I find it really entertaining," said Jones in regards to filming. "It's a glorified hobby. With this film, I want to let the community know these urban legends do exist, and I want to give them the history/background of each."

Because it typically costs $800 to show the films in local theaters, Jones is hoping local businesses will help with finances. "Every dollar we spend on our productions comes out of our pockets," Jones said. "We're not trying to make money; we just want to make people aware."

Jones said he is also looking to local establishments to either carry their completed DVD to sell in their stores, or to make financial contributions to help them pay to show it at local theaters. Businesses may donate to the project for sponsorships, Jones added.

The finished DVD is slated to run for 60-90 minutes, depending on the number of legends and testimonials included, and will most likely cost between $5 and $10.

Jones hopes to have the film finished by May.

"This film will be our biggest thing to date," Jones said. "I am excited to do this because it involves the community, with one of my favorite things to read about-Urban Legends and the Paranormal."

Jones said he decided to include paranormal experiences because several people have contacted him regarding paranormal activity. Three paranormal groups in Michigan have contacted Jones to work with him on the project.

Some of the places that will be featured in the documentary include: Blood Road in Metamora; Dunn's Tomb in Oxford; and Crybaby Bridge in Metamora; Castaway's in Elba Township and White Horse Inn in Metamora are possibilities.

The following are a couple of the urban legends pertaining to Crybaby Bridge and Dunn's Tomb:

n Crybaby Bridge (Wilder Road south of Sutton Road in Metamora Township)

¥ If you turn your car off while visiting the bridge at night, you will hear the faint sounds of a baby crying or a toddler girl pleading for help; the story stems from a lady whose car stalled on the bridge said she got our of her car, and when she went to get her infant out of the back, her baby was gone; she ran to the police station and when the police returned to search for the infant, they found it drowned under the bridge.

n Dunn's Tomb (East Drahner Road in Oxford)

¥ An ax murderer stored body parts from his victims inside the tomb years ago, and if you touch the tomb and walk back to your car, you can see the victims' handprints on the car.

Since the film will only cover local urban legends, Jones is reaching to the public for their testimonials and anything they have heard or experienced pertaining to the urban legends around the Oxford/Metamora/Lapeer area.

Jones said if people wish to be in the documentary, they may share their testimonials on camera; however, for those who do not wish to be filmed, they may send anonymous letters or e-mails to Jones for him to read on-camera.

"I hope the public will feel encouraged to e-mail me with anything "weird" they may have seen or heard," Jones said.

For more information regarding the documentary, e-mail Jones at midgetpickle79@yahoo.com, or legendsofoxford@yahoo.com, or visit www.myspace.com/midgetpickleproductions.





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