What actually happens
A psychic gives advice and Micah files it under optional
Katie arrives at a house in San Diego while her boyfriend Micah films her from the driveway with a new video camera. She says an evil presence has haunted her since childhood, and she thinks it is behind the strange things happening at home. Micah sets the camera up in their bedroom to record anything that happens while they sleep. At Katie's request, a psychic named Dr. Fredrichs visits and says a demon that feeds on negative energy is tormenting her. He tells them not to communicate with it and to contact a demonologist. Micah dismisses the advice and spends the next few weeks filming and provoking the presence anyway.
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Two hours of staring and a board that catches fire
The camera picks up small noises, flickering lights and moving doors at night, which escalate into loud thuds, violent door slams and demonic grunts. One night Katie gets out of bed in a trance and stands beside it, staring at Micah, for two hours. She then goes outside, where Micah finds her later, and she remembers none of it. Katie grows more irritated by Micah's flippant attitude. He brings home a Ouija board against her wishes, and while the couple is out for the night, the camera records the planchette moving on its own before the board catches fire. Katie begs Micah to contact a demonologist, but he insists on continuing to document everything.
A baby powder trail that ends at the attic
One night the couple wakes to find non-human footprints in the baby powder Micah sprinkled in the hallway, leading to an open attic hatch. In the attic he finds a burnt photograph of a young Katie, even though the photo was thought lost in a house fire years ago. Katie finally calls a demonologist, who turns out to be abroad. Dr. Fredrichs comes back, is alarmed by the energy in the house, and leaves. The next night, an unseen force pulls Katie out of bed and torments her. In the morning Micah photographs a bite mark on her back and decides they should leave, but Katie, now showing signs of possession, suddenly insists they stay.
Night 21
On the twenty-first night, Katie again leaves the bed in a trance and spends hours watching Micah, then goes downstairs. This is the scene people dread most, and it is the final stretch of the movie. A little later she screams for Micah, and he runs to help. Loud thuds come from downstairs, and then Micah cries out in pain. Minutes afterward his body is thrown at the bedroom camera. Katie appears in the doorway, shirt stained with blood, then crawls over to Micah's body and sniffs at it. She looks at the camera and grins. She lunges at it with a demonic snarl, and the picture cuts to black. A line of text says the police found Micah's body days later and that Katie's location is unknown.
The ending, explained
In the theatrical version, Katie lunges at the camera and the screen cuts to black. Text says police found Micah's body days later and nobody knows where Katie is. Two other endings exist. In the original ending, shown at one festival screening, Katie sits in the bedroom with a knife, and a friend finds Micah's body downstairs before police arrive. She asks for Micah, then, after a slamming sound, an officer panics and shoots her dead. In an alternate ending available on home releases, Katie returns upstairs with a knife, locks the door, smiles at the camera, and slits her own throat.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: There is no dog in this one.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Paranormal Activity scary?
Yes, Paranormal Activity is a 6 out of 10 and the dread lasts about a night. It is mostly quiet nights on a bedroom camera, with jump scares throughout and the worst one near the end.
How does Paranormal Activity end?
On night 21, Katie goes downstairs, Micah's body is thrown at the camera, and Katie lunges at the camera with a snarl. Text says police found Micah days later and Katie's whereabouts are unknown.
Does the dog die in Paranormal Activity?
There is no dog in Paranormal Activity, so no dog dies.
Is there a post-credits scene in Paranormal Activity?
No. Paranormal Activity has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
What is haunting Katie in Paranormal Activity?
Dr. Fredrichs, a psychic, says it is a demon that feeds on negative energy and has followed Katie since childhood. He tells her not to communicate with it, which Micah does not follow.
