It’s time for another fan theory, and this time it’s about 1999’s The Blair Witch Project. The found footage horror was written and directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, and was one of the first movies of its kind. One fan shared a theory a while back (over 10 years ago) which would clear up a could of questions that the movie left in viewers minds. The theory centers around the possibility that time itself is manipulated by the woods. I know it sounds far fetched, but hear me out.
In The Blair Witch Project, Heather, Josh and Mike are wandering lost around the woods but never manage to find their car or the road. Also, the groups searching for them in the woods during the last few days of the footage never find them. How could this be unless there was some sort of time manipulation? Of course the trio wouldn’t find the car or the road if they don’t exist yet, and the search party wouldn’t find them if they were looking at the wrong time.
The theory continues to explain that, at the end of the movie, when Heather and Mike enter what is assumedly Rustin Parr’s house it is very much standing and intact. However, in Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 which is set only a few short years after the first movie, the same house is in ruins and appears to have been that way for many years. Of course, this may not mean anything as they house could have been demolished, vandalized or any number of things in the time between the new movies, but it is and interesting point to keep in mind when considering this theory.
Further to this, you have the game Blair Witch: Vol. 1 – Rustin Parr, of which this theorist played a demo. The game is set around the 1940’s and includes a scene where an investigator enters the basement, and is greeted by a ghost-like, screaming Heather Donahue running downstairs with her webcam, as is at the end of The Blair Witch Project. This could imply that the investigator witnesses Heather going through another time shift, further back in time.
It is common knowledge that the tapes were found beneath the foundations of the house in undisturbed earth. So maybe a further couple of time jumps could explain how they got there.
So, to tie this theory together, Heather, Josh and Mike enter the woods and during there first night they experience a time shift which takes them to the 1940’s during the time of the Rustin Parr trial. At the end of the movie, Heather experiences a further time shift which transports her further back where Rustin Parr, under order of the witch, murders her as he did the other children. The tapes then get transported via a final shift in time, to before the house was built. Then, many years later, the tapes get discovered and released.
I know this isn’t the first time that time travel has been speculated upon as an explanation for the events in The Blair Witch Project, and it certainly is an interesting theory that would explain a couple of lose ends. Some have also speculated that the new Blair Witch film actually endorses the theory.
What do you think of this theory? Do you have any other theories about The Blair Witch Project? Let us know in the comments!