Hoo boy, this is exciting. The movie that many a hard-hearted critic has called the most terrifying movie ever made is coming to theaters! And it’s happening in just a couple of weeks. That’s right: Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity is getting its official release on September 25. You’re not gonna want to miss it. Trust me.

A little background, for the uninitiated: Back in 2006, Peli shot his mock-doc dream project — a chronicle of the nocturnal goings-on in a haunted house occupied by one increasingly terrified couple — on a shoestring budget of $11,000, with a cast of no-name actors. In 2008, he managed to get the movie into Slamdance and Screamfest, at which point all hell broke loose… in the best possible way. Here’s a sampling of the frenzied response: “The entire auditorium was freaked out of their minds…people were actually physically shaking” (Dread Central); “Paranormal Activity managed to do something that almost no other haunted house movie in the past 25 years has managed to do: Actually be scary” (Bloody Disgusting); “It sufficiently freaked out those of us who watched [it]…. that I ended up asking a coworker to crash in my room for the night because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get to sleep alone (Cinematical); “Believe the hype!” (Ain’t It Cool). You get the idea: Hardened professionals were reduced to quivering wrecks.

Naturally, the big studios came sniffing, and DreamWorks/Paramount walked away with the rights, only to announce that they’d be giving it the full remake treatment. You know, because a movie made for such a pathetic sum of money couldn’t possibly compare to one of their big glossy masterpieces, right?)

The remake news went down like a lead balloon. About.com’s horror blog snarked, “Would Hollywood ever feel the need to remake a perfectly good film that can stand on its own right…? Oh yeah. Right.” Upon reading that Peli was excited about the new possibilities, New York magazine’s Vulture blog mused, “Will one of those ‘things that were not possible before’ be replacing all of Paranormal’s cast of unknowns with Sarah Michelle Gellar? We hope not! Because Cloverfield’s success should have reminded Hollywood that concept can trump casting if the concept is good enough. And a movie filled with no-names can still make a hell of a lot of money.”

Well, somewhere along the way DreamWorks brigade wised up, because suddenly last week they announced that they’d thought the better of this whole remake idea! “The folks over at Dreamworks have reminded us of a time when being a movie studio actually meant something,” Screen Rant thrilled, “by deciding NOT to remake the already-horrifying Paranormal Activity. In unrelated news, a recent survey of Hell shows the climate of the region down ten degrees from this time yesterday.” Dread Central was also uncharacteristically enthusiastic: “Words alone cannot describe how happy we are to hear this. Our hats are off to both Schneider and Paramount for giving the film a chance to be seen and not rushing out a remake. Best damned news we’ve heard all day.”

Meanwhile, the response to that post should give you some sense of how the fans feel about the matter. “Everything I’ve heard and read about this movie makes me want to see it in the absolute worst way,” moaned one. “Fabulous news!” exclaimed another. A third was even more succinct: “!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

In short order, Paranormal Activity got its own Facebook fan page and Twitter feed. The official trailer finally appeared online (after countless “here it is… oops, there it wents”) and that September 25 release date started popping up all over the blogosphere. The only disappointment? It’s said to be a “limited release,” so there’s a chance no one other than Angelenos and New Yorkers will be able to see it.

Of course, if Paranormal Activity really does turn out to be the Next! Blair! Witch!, as so many bloggers have proclaimed, it will only be a matter of time before the big-budget sequel lumbers into theaters, groaning under the weight of impossibly high expectations and nervous studio oversight. But for now, let’s focus on the positive: Something wicked scary this way comes!

“The Haunting in Connecticut” is moving down the coast.

Producer Gold Circle is developing “The Haunting in Georgia,” a follow-up to this spring’s surprise hit.

The supernatural thriller centered on a family that moves to a new state and experiences spooky events in their home. The new movie is expected to follow a somewhat similar path but with a different family and setting.

Ti West, who directed the recent 1980s-set horror tale “House of the Devil,” has signed on to direct “Georgia.” Peter Cornwell directed the first film.

David Coggeshall is writing the “Georgia” screenplay. He wrote the upcoming thriller “Solo.”

Lionsgate distributed “Connecticut” but has not yet announced a formal deal for “Georgia.”

The modestly budgeted “Connecticut” became one of the breakouts of a surprisingly muscular first quarter at the box office, earning $55 million domestically despite having no marquee names in its cast. It’s the 25th-most profitable film of the year.

The iconic tourist attraction will be the setting of a horror movie of the same name.

The movie will be produced by Saratoga native Andrew Trapani, best known for the hit “The Haunting in Connecticut.”

Most of the 160 room Victorian mansion was built by eccentric rifle heiress Sarah L. Winchester. It was under construction for 32 years, starting in the late 1800s, and it is considered by some to be haunted.

A Hollywood horror film that depicts the alleged haunting of a former funeral parlor in central Connecticut is turning into a nightmare for the home’s current owners and their neighbors.

The movie, “A Haunting in Connecticut,” doesn’t open until Friday, but curious fans are already making a beeline for the Southington home that inspired the movie.

“It’s just been really, really stressful,” said Susan Trotta-Smith, who bought the home 10 years ago with her husband. “It’s been a total change from a very quiet house in a very quiet neighborhood to looking out the window and seeing cars stopping all the time. It’s been very, very stressful, and sometimes worrisome.”

The family has never seen anything unusual inside their five-bedroom, two-family white wood-frame house and does not believe the property was haunted.

“It’s got beautiful woodwork, and there is a nice warm feeling to the house,” Trotta-Smith said. “Because it was a funeral home, the upstairs apartment is much more spacious. It’s like two full houses, and it has a beautiful yard, too.”

The movie, starring Virginia Madsen and Kyle Gallner and released by Lionsgate, is loosely based on stories that revolved around the house in the 1980s.

The residents at the time, the Snedeker family, claimed their son would hear strange noises in his basement bedroom, which once held casket displays and was near the old embalming room. He also claimed to see shadows on the wall of people who were not there. A niece visiting the home said she felt hands on her body as she tried to sleep, and her covers levitated.

The family brought in Ed and Lorraine Warren, self-described paranormal researchers, who became famous for documenting the alleged “Amityville Horror” haunting of a home on Long Island.

Lorraine Warren says she felt an evil presence in the Southington home and experienced the haunting herself when she spent a night there.

“In the master bedroom, there was a trap door where the coffins were brought up,” she said. “And during the night, you would hear that chain hoist, as if a coffin were being brought up. But when Ed went to check, there was nobody down there.”

Warren, whose husband died in 2006, has nothing to do with the movie. She said the house was “cleared” of the evil presence after a seance in 1988. A book and a television documentary followed.

The current owners, who rent out part of the home to another family, have removed the street number from the house and posted “no trespassing” signs. Trotta-Smith says they are concerned about the four children who live there.

“Most people are respectful. They stay on the road. They might take a picture,” Trotta-Smith said. “But we have had a few problems with people kind of rudely coming up to the door and scaring our kids, telling them the house is haunted.”

Police have added extra patrols to the neighborhood.

“There are creatures looming in the night but not inside the house,” Southington police Sgt. Lowell DePalma said. “They happen to be people who are trespassing on the property, looking in windows and that kind of stuff. People are going to be disappointed. There are no ghosts.”

Alison Taylor, 37, drove from her home in East Hartford with her camera after seeing a show about the haunting on the Discovery Channel and hearing about the new movie.

“I’m very intrigued,” she said. “I figured since it was close, I could come. A lot of people are so skeptical, but I’m not. I’m sure some things are made up to make the movie look better, but I think it’s great.”

Katherine Altemus, who lives across the street, shoos curious onlookers away. She believes the ghost stories were a hoax.

“It’s disgraceful,” she said. “None of the haunting took place, and now it’s ruining the lives of that wonderful young family that lives there.”

Calls to the Snedeker family were returned by the film production company, who said they would attempt to arrange an interview.

Film producer Andrew Trapani said he believed the mother, Carmen Snedeker, was very credible, and believes the film does a good job depicting what her family went through. The movie was filmed in Teulon, Manitoba.

He said the names of the family and town in the film were fictionalized, in part to try and keep unwanted attention away from the real home. The Snedekers and Southington are identified on the film’s Web site.

“We certainly didn’t set out to upset anyone or have anyone show up at their home,” he said. “I think in this case, this particular supernatural haunting had a much larger following than even I had anticipated.”

Trotta-Smith said she’s working with the police but has no plans to put up a fence. She said she just wants a normal life in the house, but she’s not sure that will be possible if the movie becomes a big hit.

“I’m a little worried about this Halloween because I imagine that’s when they will release the DVD and get everyone worked up again.”