Yuletide Youtubers
December is finally here and I’m kicking off the festive season by bringing you some video treats. As you know, I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts and rounding up the best for my weekly instalments of Sound Bites. But I also enjoy watching YouTube videos and wanted to celebrate some of the channels that always bring me joy.
To make sure these fine folks get the love they deserve, all month long I’ll be highlighting videos from channels I highly recommend. These superstars are Yuletide YouTubers!
As a bonus, I’ll be ending all these posts with a special holiday horror short film. Enjoy!
If you roam around the horror community on Twitter, you’ve probably come across Kevin Whitten, aka Well Read Beard. His channel offers a fantastic range of horror book reviews, spanning several subgenres, as well as a few film reviews. Videos are short and to the point, giving a great overview of the strengths and weaknesses in works of fiction, while avoiding spoilers. Being a talented musician, Well Read Beard also uploads musical performances, with songs inspired by the books he’s read. Videos range from 5 to 15 minutes, and to get an idea of what this channel holds in store, check out “November 2020 Reading Wrap-Up and Top Books”
Fans of Kendall Reviews are probably already familiar with the witty and informative reviews of team member Ben Walker, and if you haven’t checked out his channel BLURB, you should fix that. What does BLURB stand for? Ben Loves Unusual Reviews and Books, and boy, does he! If you like weird and bizarre books, this is the place for you. With costumes, the occasional puppet work, and lots of wordplay, I absolutely love BLURB. Running approximately 10 minutes or less, these videos are a hoot. To get a taste of this channel’s offerings, I’d suggest starting with “Tales from the Crust – Bizarre Book Review”
Another YouTuber I’ve come to know through Twitter is Bleeding Critic. This talented narrator has two different channels, one dedicated to original fiction and the other focused on horror movie reviews. Videos on both channels typically run 15 minutes or less. If scary clowns are a trigger for you, maybe skip this one, as this host’s signature look is a terrifying clown mask. But for those of you brave enough, you’ll find wonderfully creepy short stories on Scary Stories UK, like “The Rage Room” written and narrated by Bleeding Critic.
Or head over to Bleeding Critic’s Reviews for spoiler-free film reviews, like this one for Doctor Sleep.
Now, as promised, here’s a short horror film perfect to watch as you plan to decorate your house for the holidays! Treevenge is written and directed by Jason Eisner, known for his works Hobo with a Shotgun and the segment “Y is for Youngbuck” in The ABCs of Death.
The premise of sentient Christmas trees is both horrifying and hilarious! I watch this 16-minute short every year and never tire of it. The violence is graphic and curse words abound, so note this is NSFW and isn’t for kids. The theme song at the beginning of the video should be familiar to those of you with extreme horror tastes, and if you know it, I’m sure you’ll enjoy Treevenge.
Join me again next Friday as I continue celebrating Yuletide YouTubers!
My podcast recommendations on Sound Bites will resume in January, so please feel free to keep sending me suggestions. If you run a YouTube channel for anything horror related, please get in touch too, as I’ll be incorporating videos into my Sound Bites posts in the new year. Contact me via the comments section below, or direct messaging on Twitter or Instagram (links below). I can’t promise I’ll enjoy everything you throw my way, but I’ll give everyone a fair shot.
Have a tree-mendous week, everyone!
J.A. Sullivan
J. A. Sullivan is a horror writer and paranormal enthusiast, based in Brantford, ON, Canada. Attracted to everything non-horror folks consider strange, she’s spent years as a paranormal investigator, has an insatiable appetite for serial killer information, and would live inside a library if she could.
As curator of “Scary’s Voices” on Kendall Reviews, an article series reviewing horror podcasts, Sullivan loves listening to all things spooky. If you have a horror podcast recommendation, let her know.
On top of contributing short stories to Kendall Reviews, her fiction has appeared in Don’t Open the Door (2019), It Came From The Darkness (2020), and she acted as an assistant editor for Black Dogs, Black Tales (2020). Other spooky tales and updates on her writing journey can be found on her blog.
You can follow J. A. on Twitter @ScaryJASullivan
Check out her blog https://writingscaredblog.wordpress.com
Find her on Instagram www.instagram.com/j.a_sullivan
Find her on Instagram www.instagram.com/j.a_sullivan
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