A Restaurant Investigation That Stayed With Viewers
Remember those evenings when a television mystery could make an ordinary building seem a little less ordinary? For fans of paranormal television, The Dead Files offered that kind of unsettling entertainment, bringing historical investigation and reported supernatural experiences together.
One memorable installment from the show’s second season was “A Banshee’s Cry.” First aired on August 17, 2012, the episode took investigators Amy Allan and Steve DiSchiavi to Smalley’s Inn & Restaurant in Carmel, New York. The location was the center of reports describing disturbing paranormal activity.
The episode brought together two very different investigative approaches. Steve examined the history and evidence surrounding the reported experiences, while Amy conducted her paranormal investigation inside the property. For viewers who enjoyed the show’s unusual combination of research and supernatural suspense, it was a familiar formula with an unsettling setting.
What Was The Dead Files?
The Dead Files is an American paranormal television series that premiered in 2011. Its central investigators were Amy Allan, a physical medium, and Steve DiSchiavi, a former NYPD homicide detective.
The show’s format paired Allan’s reported paranormal experiences with DiSchiavi’s investigative work. He interviewed people connected to a location and researched its history, while Allan explored the property during what the program called a “walk.” Their findings were brought together during the investigation’s conclusion.
That combination helped distinguish the series from paranormal programs built around a single investigator or a group of people exploring supposedly haunted locations. The contrast between historical research and Allan’s personal experiences gave each episode its own investigative structure.
A Banshee’s Cry: The Investigation at Smalley’s Inn
In Season 2, Episode 2, Allan and DiSchiavi investigate reports of violent paranormal activity at Smalley’s Inn & Restaurant in upstate New York. The episode description centers on frightening eyewitness accounts and the investigators’ efforts to understand what people say has been happening at the restaurant.
DiSchiavi’s part of the investigation focuses on uncovering facts surrounding those accounts and examining the location’s history. Meanwhile, Allan encounters what the episode describes as aggressive entities during her investigation, with the reported experiences suggesting that they want her to leave.
The episode’s title, “A Banshee’s Cry,” adds an eerie touch to a story already built around a supposedly troubling location. However, the title should not be taken as proof that a banshee or any supernatural entity actually existed at the restaurant. The program presents paranormal experiences and interpretations, rather than independently establishing them as scientific fact.
For viewers, the tension comes from the contrast between the restaurant’s everyday purpose and the frightening experiences described by the people connected to it. A place where customers might ordinarily gather for a meal becomes the setting for a mystery that the investigators attempt to unravel.
Meet the Investigators: Amy Allan and Steve DiSchiavi
Amy Allan became known to viewers through her role as the show’s physical medium. Her investigations involved exploring locations and describing the experiences she reported during her walks through them.
Steve DiSchiavi brought a different background to the program. As a former NYPD homicide detective, he approached the cases through interviews, research, and examination of available information.
The contrast between the two investigators was an important part of the series. Allan’s reported experiences and DiSchiavi’s historical research provided different perspectives on the same locations. Their findings were presented together, allowing viewers to follow how the investigation developed.
In “A Banshee’s Cry,” both investigators turn their attention to Smalley’s Inn & Restaurant, making the episode an example of the format that helped define the series.
Why Fans Remember This Kind of Episode
Part of the appeal of The Dead Files was its ability to make familiar places feel mysterious. Restaurants, homes, hotels, and other everyday buildings became the focus of investigations involving unsettling stories and historical questions.
“A Banshee’s Cry” follows that approach. Rather than centering on a celebrity guest or a dramatic television competition, the episode focuses on a location, the reports connected to it, and the two investigators attempting to understand those reports.
For fans who remember watching paranormal television during the 2010s, the series offered a distinctive mix of documentary-style investigation and supernatural storytelling. The Smalley’s Inn episode remains an example of that blend, with its restaurant setting and reports of aggressive paranormal activity.
Whether viewers approached the program as believers, skeptics, or simply fans of a good television mystery, the format invited them to follow the investigation and decide what they made of the findings.
Do You Remember Watching The Dead Files?
“A Banshee’s Cry” brings Amy Allan and Steve DiSchiavi together for an investigation that combines reported paranormal activity, historical research, and an unsettling restaurant setting.
Did you watch The Dead Files when it originally aired? And which investigation from the series do you remember most? Share your favorite episode in the comments.
