Like the long-running Saw franchise before it, the Paranormal Activity films have become something of a Halloween fixture over the last few years, and that looks set to continue in 2012 with the news that Paramount are moving forward with a fourth installment in the series.

Considering the box office numbers for Paranormal Activity 3 – a worldwide gross of well over 0 million dollars for a film that cost just million to make – it should come as little surprise that the studio is so eager to get another sequel into production, and it appears they are keen for the directing team of Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman to return to helm it.

Joost and Schulman, who are probably best known for their acclaimed documentary Catfish, succeeded the directors of the previous two films, Oren Peli and Tod Williams, for Paranormal Activity 3, in the process creating the most successful entry in the series.

The Paranormal Activity films have for the most part been rather effective low-budget horror movies, and it will certainly be interesting to see what direction Paranormal Activity 4 will take, not least because the third film served as a prequel that took cinemagoers back to the eighties to discover how Katie and Kristi first encountered the malevolent spirit that has long plagued their lives.

Paranormal Activity 4 is slated to arrive in cinemas on October 19th this year.

Source: Bloody Disgusting.