Hey everyone!
SOME SPOILERS AHEAD. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ CANDLE COVE YET, CLICK HERE. DON’T READ THIS POST WITHOUT SOME CONTEXT TO THE STORY OR YOU’LL BE CONFUSED.
This week SyFy premiered their newest series, Channel Zero. Channel Zero brings to life the creepypastas that you wished they didn’t bring to life. The first season focuses on Candle Cove. Candle Cove is one of my favorite creepypastas and was one of the first ones I read when I first got into reading them.
Before I go into more detail, how about I break down what creepypastas are for those who are unfamiliar with them? Creepypastas refer to short horror stories that are based on anything from myths and legends to every day actions. To read a bit more about the history of creepypastas, check out this link.
Creepypastas come from anywhere. Many of them are created on one website then posted onto another website or are collected onto one place for easier reading. I use the creepypasta website to read them as I don’t use Reddit, and I don’t usually stray too far from my usual haunts. Candle Cove is one of the more well-known creepypastas. It’s not as popular as Slenderman or Jeff the Killer, but it is a favorite for many people.
SyFy does a good job in creating a mysterious, yet terrifying atmosphere with the first episode. Although the series does have some differences to the creepypasta, the main elements of the story is still there. The puppets are still terrifying and look almost exactly like the ones you find in the creepypasta. There is the chilling aspect of realizing that the show was just static the whole time that is shown very subtly with small hints throughout the episode.
There is the added element of two new characters and a whole new underlying plot. Candle Cove is only talked about in an online chat room in the creepypasta, but the series shows how the show affected a generation of kids in a small town. The main character Mike is shown as a successful author who is trying to avoid his past, but is drawn home after a series of misfortune. Isn’t that usually how the main character goes home?
Oh no, it’s much worse than whatever you can think up. There is a scene that can trigger someone who is recovering from self-mutilation. As one myself, it was a shock that I wasn’t expecting, and I had to look away for a few minutes.
Channel Zero does show some flashbacks that happened unexpectedly throughout the show. The past is shown for either a few seconds to a few minutes. I haven’t seen a style of storytelling like that on any of the shows I’ve watched which is refreshing. It helped added a bit of mystery and drama while answering some questions that I had.
All in all, the first episode of Channel Zero was amazing. It brought a new twist to an old story, and I am excited to see where the show goes.
