This review is intended to be informative but viewed with an open mind. It has a healthy respect for the channel owners whose dedication and hard work result in highly entertaining videos.
The existence or non-existence of the paranormal is the choice of the individual and subject to debate – endlessly!
I am a hopeless horror romantic. I relish all things scary, bloody, spooky and downright creepy. There are a gazillion bloggers, vloggers, podcasters and reviewers all creating and sharing content to an ever-expanding army of fans.
It’s a rampaging juggernaut of a genre!
But, for me, the high camp entertainment has to be the Paranormal videos and compilations on YouTube.
Folks like Sir Spooks, Chills, Top 10, Slapped Ham and literally dozens more, produce short, slick shows with pithy dialogue and content from all over the globe. (The Russian channel, Mysticok is very well put together – one I discovered the other day)
The format is generally the same; a teaser intro, background blurb, tense synth-based music and then the payoff, accompanied by a jump scare crescendo, with replay in slow motion.
It’s formulaic but highly addictive and, dare I say it, a tad inspiring at times.
Often, the pieces are links to independent movies – low budget requires more creativity so they’re a rich source of fresh scares. The movie, VHS and its sequel are great examples of this and demonstrate new techniques in effects.
I like to watch them based on the cheesiness of the thumbnail and am often pleasantly surprised by the variety – from obvious acting to hackle raising eeriness. If you’re not entertained by the subject matter then the brilliant dialogue is comedy gold.
“What’s that? Bleep – What the bleep is that? Bleep bleep” – cue running and heavy camera shake quickly turning to capture – well, whatever it is.
In the end, it is a marmite medium (either love it or hate it) and you’ll find plenty of vinegar in the comments section to further entertain if the narration isn’t already a winner.
BOO!
(Got you)
KR: Please let Richard know which Paranormal Channels you enjoy.
Richard Bell
Richard Bell is a poet and writer with a passion for the horror genre. He has work published by Weasel Press, Carmen Online Theatre, Night Gallery, The Horrorzine and the Fragments of Fear series on YouTube, under the name Rick Nightmare.
He lives in a sleepy hamlet in Northern England with his family and galloping insomnia.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rick_nightmare
YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCReROBHUlnIY_66Qur4DqRQ
Website: https://richardbellhorror.wordpress.com
HorrrorZine: http://www.thehorrorzine.com/Poetry/Jan2016/RichardBell/RichardBell
Leave a Reply