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THEY'RE HEEERE.... We don't mean unruly poltergeists but rather a gaggle of supernatural creepshows. The startling success of The Blair Witch Project and The Sixth Sense has renewed Hollywood's interest in the trusty old ghost story. Coming soon is a new wave of spine chillers, including Stir of Echoes, a Sense-like tale where Kevin Bacon can commune with the spirits; Stigmata, a story of demon possession featuring Patricia Arquette; End of Days, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger stalks Satan; and Lost Souls, in which Winona Ryder also tracks the devil down.
So why has the local multiplex turned into a house of horrors? Movie execs first got goose bumps after watching Kevin Williamson's Scream rack up a surprising $103 million in 1996. That led to studios going full bore after snarky slasher projects. But as that Scream set began playing itself out, Hollywood moved on to the next dimension, the supernatural. ''There's been a natural evolution ever since Scream reintroduced horror as mainstream,'' says Sense writer-director M. Night Shyamalan. ''Over the past few years, the appreciation has evolved from teen-slasher into more adult fare.''
And as evidenced by Sense's and Blair Witch's box office this summer, audiences can't get enough of the chill factor. ''As we come to the end of the millennium, people are becoming more sensitive to what's going on behind their daily existences,'' says novelist Richard Matheson, who wrote the book that inspired Stir of Echoes. ''Movies are a great way for filmgoers and -makers to back into spirituality.'' Not to mention scare up a few bucks.
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