Katie Douglas, Nick Purcha, and Keean Johnson Talk Spooksville
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The HUB Network’s kid-friendly frightfest “Spooksville” is heading into its spine-tingling mid-season finale on December 21st so before it takes off for the year, we sat down with three of its young stars, Katie Douglas, Nick Purcha, and Keean Johnson, for a Q&A.
Q: What kind of response have you gotten from the show so far?
A: On social networking Sally’s quite a hit with the younger girls I noticed. They like her wardrobe, and the show is actually number two on the HUB Network, which is absolutely amazing.
Q: So tell me a little bit about what you thought when you first heard about the show, about doing something scary like this.
A: When I first heard about the audition, I read the description that it used to be a book so I looked everywhere for print copies, but I actually didn’t get to find it. I looked it up on the Internet and found out the back story of my character, and I immediately fell in love with her. She is quite outgoing and I felt she was a lot like myself. I fell in love with the show immediately.
Q: How is it shooting the show; do you do a lot of episodes at once and then they air weekly, or how does that work?
A: We did we started filming in April. Every episode took about four days and we were there for about five months, and then about a couple months after that then the show would air in order from how we filmed it.
Q: And so what’s it like seeing the completed shows with all the monsters and the effects and stuff?
A: It’s nerve-racking for sure. I don’t really like watching myself cause I’m always judging myself. It’s definitely an interesting feeling watching it.
Q: What do you think is one of the scariest episodes that has aired so far?
A: Oh, I think there was one called “The Thing in the Closet.” The concept was that there were “feeders” in the closet and they come and feed on your fears. And I heard that kids… our writer’s daughter apparently ran out of the room after watching it. It was probably the most fun to film I must say. (Well that’s kind of effective if it’s giving people nightmares, right? Even though it’s a kid show.)
Q: Are you yourself a fan of scary horror movies?
A: Definitely! Ever since I was younger I loved scary movies, haunted houses, and gory stuff. I am so weird. (Laughter) I really liked The Woman in Black. I thought it was visually stunning. I also like the first Nightmare on Elm Street. I am from Ontario so we have something called Canada’s Wonderland and every October they have a Halloween Haunt in which you walk through scary mazes. It’s totally my thing.
Q: Have you ever had any ghostly encounters?
A: I was born in London, Ontario, and we lived in an old house and we were digging around. We found a newspaper about our house and it said we had a ghost in it. Apparently, I don’t remember this, but my mom would say I would always point to the top of the stairs and say, “Hi lady.” (Laughter) I don’t remember any of it but I do believe in ghosts.
Q: What’s been a fan favorite episode? What have you been getting the most feedback from?
A: Episode 10 “The No-Ones.” In it we meet an alien girl named Teera, she’s one of the No-Ones and Watch starts to get really attached to her. Because of that we get to see a side of Watch that people haven’t seen before. He can finally be himself around somebody. He does everything he can to go find this girl, and it shows a compassionate, sensitive side that viewers don’t usually see. Usually its Watch being all negative, “I don’t want to go in there” and “Let’s just stay in the room and research stuff.” Having some room to show off a more positive side to my character? I think that’s really cool and people have really responded to it.
Q: What projects do you have coming up, and would you like to do more scary things?
A: I would love to do some more scary things. I don’t have anything coming up right now, but I really hope to.
Q: I understand that this show has only been on for a couple of months so what has changed for you since the show aired, and what type of fan response have you gotten?
A: At first just seeing yourself on television is pretty weird. I am a dancer so I am used to onstage performances in New York. I did Broadway for a bit there. Seeing yourself on camera and to see yourself in a TV show is really surreal. Fans have been great, and they are very supportive. This show is so new and on such a new network that we really need as many people to hear about it as possible. It is such a great show and shot all on location. We spend so much time on every single scene to make it look like a movie. I think it really does. That’s all thanks to our crew.
Q: Out of the episodes that have aired already, in fact you’re going into your mid-season finale, what is one of the scariest episodes in your opinion that has already aired?
A: Already aired? I have to say “The Thing in the Closet” was pretty cool. That was Episode 6. It dealt with a monster in the closet that is entering our realm from this wired dimension. The creature drags Sally into its closet and Adam has to save her. He goes into the closet, which is now a portal to this other side. I’d say that’s the scariest episode so far.
Q: So do you like scary movies and TV shows? Are you a fan?
A: I like thrillers. Movies that you are on the edge of your seat the whole time. Gory horror movies are not really my thing.
Q: Do you remember a scary movie that you saw or a scary TV show that had an impact on you?
A: Gremlins was my first scary film. I watched it every week, but that was incredibly scary to me. I was so amazed by these little creatures, and they are my favorite.
Q: So what can fans look forward to with “Spooksville?”
A: Every single episode is completely different. You know, the overall story stays the same and the arc will eventually happen, but every single episode is just completely different. It’s really diverse and fans can expect new characters, new monsters, and lots of new fun things every week!
Join Haunted Hub Saturdays on December 21st with the winter finale of “Spooksville” at 5:30pm ET/2:30pm PT, followed by an all-new R.L. Stine’s “The Haunting Hour: The Series” at 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT.
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