The following text is not my own. I just found it at a Candle Cove forum and I'm posting it here just to ensure it's not lost again.
The story of Candle Cove is well-known: a kids' show from the 1970s which several internet users started reminiscing about and as they and other people kept recalling it, weird, dark details about the episodes surfaced, and the show proved to be completely untraceable, as if it had never existed. In fact, debunkers are quick to point out, it is commonly known to be a creepypasta created by author Kris Straub back in 2009. It was the subject of the first season of the series Channel Zero, source of most apocryphal clips from the show now found online, where some characters were regrettably softened up or omitted. Channel Zero purports to show the story of the creator of Candle Cove, a tale of course entirely made up.
Way back 1n 2009, when the Candle Cove legend started growing, and more and more people claimed to recall the show, I was reading it all with great interest. No, I'm not going to say I watched the entire two seasons or something; what I did find back then, in an online message board, was an account by a man named Dugong who claimed to have tracked down the surviving people involved with the production of Candle Cove; it was an eerie, unsettling narrative.
Years later, when there was a revival of the Candle Cove legend, I decided to look up that account, since, regardless of it being a fiction or not, I remembered that it was a great story. I was dismayed to fond it nowhere online. There was now even a Candle Cove fan website and wiki, but an entirely new "origin story" for the show had been made up by creepypasta fans, an unimaginative rehash of the "government experiment" trope, which seems to be as far as the inagination of most online creepypasta creators seems to reach (unsurprising, since they seem to think the hopelessly droll SCP Foundation is a big deal). But the story I'd once read was entirely forgotten. Later, when Channel Zero made its sci-fi /horror take on the subject, it ignored both the lost Dugong story and the new, MKUltra-ish version, and gave an entirely different scenario for the creation of Candle Cove.
After this, I told a few youtubers who had done good videos about Candle Cove about my lost story; I'm pretty sure the very idea of a lost source story for the mysterious lost media, fictional or not, appealed to them, and I hoped one of them would eventually be luckier than I'd been.
It seems like I was right.
 |
| The Skin Taker |
Candle Cove Experiences: Tales of the Laughingstock
An Account by Ischmael Dugong
Occurring to the fact that most kiddie shows have turned up dead ends,
one show, Candle Cove, has made an impact here. I made myself hunt down
whatever cast remained of the show, regardless of their fear. I wanted to know
EVERYTHING about this show. But in the process, I came to understand that there
hid something much darker aboard it than just what I was told and what I had
heard. I have posted some of my thoughts into the page at points, to have a
feel for the interviewees here. I note that those being interviewed are
indicated by the quotation marks around them. You may notice that a censor will
appear. I did that so no one may want to bombard me with questions and such.
It's a privacy thing and I'm sorry if I offended the readers. With that, I
present to you this page in the lore...
Day 1
My first knowing of the Candle Cove lore came out on the NetNostalgia
Forum back some time, however many of the episodes have never been found and
many of the props are either long gone or spread out over the world, however
after this mention of the show, I had to dig further into it.
What I discovered over my
round trip was something dark residing within the studios itself...
The show, originally called "Pirate Place" was loosely based
on an old, quite lost short story called "The Nickerbocker's Tale"
from 1767 about a little Irish boy arriving to a land of pirates, trying to
find his way back home. The story's writer, a man believed to be named Collin Caulkry, vanished into the dark. Stories about it
say that he was a madman who married and had a daughter, who then vanished
without a trace near his home. This inspired him to write the story and shortly
after, he was found dead by his wife.
The story was lost for
several years until in 1970, when a local TV station in Ashland found the
rights to the story and converted it into a children's series. I managed to
find some of the studios workers but none of them were able to tell me about
it... Well, there was one...
Day 2
Asking this woman to nearly relive her nightmare of 1971 was nearly
impossible. But thankfully she decided to, reluctantly anyways...
"Ok Ms..."
"I'm not comfortable giving my last name or my
first."
"Okay then, mind if I call you 'Jane'?"
"No, I don't."
"Okay then. Well Jane, I understand you had a
part in the kiddie show 'Candle Cove' correct?"
"Set designer, well part of it. I helped in
the construction of the Laughingstock and many of the characters as
well."
"I see, was it a good experience?"
"Oh, very. It was a great one, until towards
the end of the show itself."
"How so?"
"Well that damn Grimes, that's what it
was."
"Grimes? Emerson Grimes, the show's
director?"
"Is there another Grimes you know on the
series?"
Here she lit a cigarette, something that from her appearance and fear of
Grimes foretold, I actually expected from her.
"Well how did he manage to scare you?"
"How did he... He was a nutjob! A looney! He
forced a nine year old girl to near heatstroke, changed scripts. Everything was
fine until the show grew darker and darker."
"How dark was it getting?"
Now this I kind of knew about, the infamous question to the Skin-Taker and his answer to Janice.
"When a skeleton named the Skin-Taker
proclaims that the reason for his mouth to move weird is for grinding your
skin, you will have some problems. Grimes was insane. But the last straw was
the LAST episode of the series."
I knew about this and moved onto her designs of the show. She explained
that it was a damned kiddie show that turned into a "puppet show from
hell" overnight. She wanted to end the conversation but not before I asked
about any surviving members or crew...
"There are a few of them still around but
you'll have to find them on your own..."
Day 3
I did however manage to find Jodie Silver, who played
Janice on the show, now an adult of 45. She resides with her husband, Damon
Louis and her two kids. If you see her now, she has lost all of that childhood
spunk that she had on the show. She works as a writer of pirate stories and
haunted mysteries. I managed to record, on tape, an interview with her...
"Um, are you Ms. Jodie Silver?"
"Why I haven't been called that in years. Yes,
I am Jodie Silver, but people call me Jodie Louis nowadays."
"Oh, I'm sorry about the mix-up, I'm
(censored) and I am writing a book on an old kiddie show you used to be
on."
"Jesus Christ. Please tell me you are
joking!"
It was here that I noticed she seemed agitated at the sound of a book
being written on something she was trying so hard to put behind her.
"It's no joke Mrs. Louis."
"Well I won't warn you that you are a total
nutcase for doing it. That show has given me bad dreams, ruined my childhood
and I have even had therapy because of it. I don't wish to speak about..."
"Please Jodie, just one interview, that's all
I'm asking for. Just one. Hell, if you have to go through therapy again for it,
I'll personally pay out of pocket."
It was here she stood long and hard.
"Christ! Fine fine, meet me here for an
interview."
With that, she handed me a card with her address on it. I promised she
wouldn't regret this, but I had a feeling that she already was...
Day 4
"Hello there Mrs. Louis."
"Well, hi there. Come on in."
Her house wasn't big, but not small either. I could tell she had little
ones running about from the sounds of kiddie shows floating faintly from the
television set and many toys scattered about. It was like trying to walk
through a forest of mousetraps without setting one off. Eventually we got to
the small dining area of the home, with a good outlook over the water. A place
to dream dreams.
"Okay, now about the show."
"Well (censored), it started out as a dream
come true. I was a huge fan of shows like Jumbo's Circus, Sunshine City and
Fisherman Fred, and I really wanted to be on a kiddie show. I got my wish when
I heard the studio was looking for a young girl to play the role of 'Janice'
for their new show. And sure there were many little girls who wanted the role
so badly, so I did my best to win the studio over, which happened. I loved the
idea of the show. I did my very best to do everything right. Turned out you
should be careful of what you wish for."
"Why is that now?"
"I really don't want to tell you but I must...
You see, on set, some changes started happening. Grimes would change scripts,
things seemed to be a bit scary. And for the first episode to seem so mean and
such was odd for a kid's show. And then that horrible last episode..."
"What episode, the last episode of the first
season?"
"Wow (censored), you really need to brush up
on your history of this. There were two seasons of the show. The final episode
of the second season was the worst ever."
I tentatively and carefully asked her to tell me...
"Screams! Just screams. Everyone screaming and
that sick man Grimes destroying the sets. He told everyone to just scream, and
loudly; many did. It got to the point where one of the actors, the man who
played the Skin-Taker started to bleed. He nearly choked on his own blood. I
bawled my eyes out."
It was there she started to cry, all of these memories coming back to
her. She asked me to stop and I did. I explained I was sorry to bring back
these memories. I never meant that as my intention.
"I remember the Skin-Taker. He hung, his head
tilted and low, his jaw hanging from one socket and parts of his arms torn
off..."
 |
| Emerson Grimes (1912-1972) |
Day 5
I left to go find Michael Colon when
I came across a yard sale. I asked them about some old recorded tapes I saw and
they said they were mostly shows for their son when he was young. I noticed
that some of them were from Candle Cove. Although they were very smudged and
probably in horrible condition, I bought the videos from them anyway.
I popped it in and sure enough, static. But eventually it came on. Sure
it was jumpy and it was a static juncture but eh, it was the show nonetheless.
It was an odd first show, being that Janice was made fun of so horribly and
that Percy would proclaim for
her to not kill him. And the thought of kidnapping on the show was an odd
tidbit to be in there. But I had to continue, sadly I didn't make it past
Episode 2.
Day 8
There was a gap due to a break for a while. I pursued my interest in
finding any contact with crew members or cast member aside from 'Jane' and
Jodie. I managed to find a Mr. Walter Shay, who
was a stagehand on the show. I managed to write this letter:
Dear Mr. Shay,
My name is
(censored), and I am writing a book entitled "Candle Cove Experiences:
Tales of the Laughingstock". I am interviewing whatever remaining crew and
cast there are from the show. I was wondering if we could arrange a possible
meeting with one another, or an actual interview. Of course, if that is alright
with you? I can be contacted at the Nohoma Motel address (censored) thank you
for your time.
I received a letter some time later...
Dear (censored),
You may be the dumbest person I have ever met. Why
in the hell would you dare to bring up such a subject that has haunted me and
everyone else on that show. Do you know the absolute tragedy that has
accumulated from that? But it's also a way to get things off of my chest from
it. I will meet you for an interview, but what I say about that show is the
100% truth, eyewitness. You must not judge what I will say. If you do, I'll
make sure that your journey will end with me. Enclosed is a card for where to
meet me and at what time. I am not a snobbish man, but I won't do this again.
Sincerely,
Walter Shay.
Day 15
I met with Walter Shay later on within the week, having to time it
right. I left after Day 10 for Tulsa. It took some time to watch the other
episodes but I managed. They did seem darker, as "Jane" had stated
before. Some of them are getting hard to watch, but I have to keep watching.
The infamous "To Grind Your Skin" episode
came on. That was the worst, it's one thing with a shitty motel TV that makes
EVERY program like watching something from the 70's, its another when the damn
tape keeps jumping and staticking out every two minutes. I felt like those
people trying to watch porn on their old boxes, if you know what I mean. The
scramblers.
Anyhow, I got to meet him
where he wanted. He came in on a wheelchair, explaining how he was paralyzed...
"Okay. Now Mr. Shay, you said you had
information?"
"Yeah. That whole damn show is a curse."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You only could dream of what I mean. It's
exactly how I said it. That show is a curse."
"I don't understand. Really, I don't."
"I broke my leg on that show when a damn
ladder fell off and smashed on my leg after I fell. I felt something when that
hit, like something pushed that ladder down. Then the episodes got darker.
There were two episodes that never aired in Season 2. Those two were the worst
of the worst."
"What happened?"
"That Grimes in one episode has Janice,
implied of course, to be cannibalized by the Skin-Taker in a dream. Another one
was to reveal that Nathan had been kidnapped and turned into part of
a cape for that bastard. Hell, Grimes wanted to fucking have Janice killed and
skinned alive. ON CAMERA! The end of the series was to have continued
with Melrose winding
up in the world looking for Janice. Me and the cast had to make sure that never
happened so we shot those ideas down every time. This pissed him off, I think
that's why he did that final episode, you know. The 'Screaming' Episode."
"You mean he wanted to show a little girl
being skinned alive?"
"Yes. and that fucker is a monster too. He
didn't vanish, I will tell you something I have never told anyone."
"Go on..."
"After we finished filming that episode, I
went back to get something of mine. I saw Grimes pleading to the set pieces, as
if they were all alive. He was pleading that he did his job right, he made
sure. He started ripping his hair and teeth out. Screaming, trying to get
whatever it was away from killing him. He fell backwards and hung himself on a
cord. The sound of his neck snapping. God, it still haunts me."
"They said that he just vanished. You're
stating he lost it and accidentally killed himself?"
"Yes!"
Now I knew something horrible did happen. It was freaking me out and now
I wanted to stop, but I had to know what happened to Grimes.
"They never found the body. I got rid of it. I
couldn't let them think that he had just wanted to make things happen to himself,
I had to do something, out of the decency of my being at least."
"What did you do?"
I was afraid of the show now. What was lying ahead of the episodes for
me? I had some more stops to go to but I advised myself that if things get too
deep, I would stop there and work with what I have....
Day 19
It has been hard to sleep, I keep having the same nightmare: the
Skin-Taker coming at me threatening to grind my skin. It's hard to wake up to
just static because I can hear that fucking theme song in my head every time I
do. I gave up a little but I had to keep going. I made a list of people who
claimed to have items from the series. Some proved to be idiots who made the
items themselves, indications were of the modern look to them. However, there
were SOME who did have items. The items I have gotten so far are listed:
·
One of the Skin-Taker's
glass eyes
·
The arm
of Pirate Percy
·
The Hat (albeit somewhat in
tatters) of the Skin-Taker
·
One of the eyes of Horace Horrible
·
Tooth
belonging to the Laughingstock
The most unique item I found, and I swear to you I found this one at a
house in Missouri. The original owner was a man named Kyle Bartlett. His
daughter, Judith, was nice enough to show me part of a collection he had. He
had the original Skin-Taker head. Now I thought it was a fake since the jaw was
intact, whereas "Jane" had stated that the Jaw was partially torn
off. As it turns out, Kyle was one of the crewmen on the show. He loved the
Skin-Taker as a villain. When he found that it was so destroyed, he put much
time inserting the jaw back in its place. I asked to have it, but she denied
that request. I did see that it was missing one eye and its famed hat. I
brought these items back and put them inside by myself. The head is now
complete but she allowed no photography or video to be made, stating that her
father wouldn't want his favorite to be spoiled. She sounded like a mother to a
child.
I had to keep up. My search
led me to New York, where one Mr. Michael Colon lived. The very SAME Michael
Colon who voiced the Skin Taker on the show, the same Michael Colon whose son,
Trevor Colon, was murdered in the Fall of 1981. Meeting him was hard, he wanted
nothing to do with this but I had to interview him. Really I did. He refused
for some time, until he decided to...
"Hello there Mr. Colon."
"Yeah, hi there."
"Um, I am sorry about this."
"Must not be REALLY sorry to make a man who
lost his son TEN years after that goddamn episode had aired talk about this
fucking show. The nightmares still haunt me! Every night, I can see that
episode playing in my head!"
"I'm sorry about your son and the
nightmares."
He took a shot of Jack Daniels.
"Don't be. Not your fault this happened. My
wife left me three years after he passed on. I had a dream the night, the very
NIGHT it happened. It was the Skin-Taker, holding a knife, chasing him and
brutally murdering him. It's odd that he was in a neighborhood where a local
gang known as the 'Walking Skulls' just so happen to be in. But they don't use
knives in their crimes. So it was someone else."
"I never knew that. "
"Never asked me to tell you. And that damn
episode screwed my voice up. Which is why I sound so different that how I
should."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Understand. You see, Grimes wanted the show
to be dark; I thought he was nuts. I didn't want to do the Grind Your Skin
episode at all since I read that damn script. He threatened to fire me and I
couldn't do that; I had a wife and a kid on the way. I couldn't lose work like
that. So I did it, unfortunately."
"Ah, I see. What happened the night the last
episode premiered?"
He sighed, took another shot of the Jack, and told me.
"After that damned episode, I got the hell out
of there. I went directly home to get all that I could. I grabbed my wife and
my infant son and got the hell out of town. I left that damn place with dignity
and got to a nearby township. I had the misfortune to be in the hospital in
time for that final fucking episode to air. I had no choice but to watch it.
And I regret doing so."
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry to hear that. If you
want to, I could leave here. We could finish if you'd like for it to."
"Sounds good. I'm sorry, I just can't do this.
I'm just... Sorry!"
I left him there, crying, actually regretting that I'd left him. I wish
I hadn't...
Day 27
I was reading a newspaper and I skimmed the obituaries. I am unfortunate
to say that Mr. Michael Colon committed suicide some time ago. He shot himself
in the head. He left a suicide note; the NYPD stated that it was a letter to
me. It had my name and address on it.
Dear (censored),
I'm sorry to announce that by the time you read
this, I'll be gone. It's not your fault, but the dreams came back hard after
the interview. It's much harder for me to deal with it but last night's dream
was the final straw. The Skin-Taker came to me, in that damned hat, stating
that my son has a special place. I saw a part of my boy's face on the upper
right side of the hat, looking at me with a glassy kind of stare. A single tear
rolled down his face and I heard him screaming in agony. It broke my heart. I
can't take the dreams anymore, I can't handle it and I want you to understand
that you mustn't go on. Jodie told me about your interview with her and she is
planning on coming to New York for the funeral. I told her that she should
forget about it, but since you came around, it's been harder for her to forget.
I have to cease this. I'm so sorry. Really I am.
Sincerely,
Michael Colon.
Because of this letter, the death of this man, and the nightmares I have
trudged up, I am ceasing this project and going home. It's unfortunate to have
to quit this, being that I was far ahead in it, but it is the right thing to
do.
Day 30
My name is (deleted). (censored) was a close friend of mine and he asked
for me to post it here. Recently he killed himself, or it was a homicide. I'm
not so sure. Police said that he was working on something, but when the
interviewed were questioned, they never said a word, because they knew better
then to rat him out and trudge up more nightmares for themselves. (censored)
was a wonderful man in life, his girlfriend, who is expecting a baby some time
within the year, is broken up about this. I am sorry to say that in his message
to me, he wrote that he met with one final person after the Michael Colon
interview. He stated it was a man named Adrian Grimes, Emerson
Grimes' nephew. He asked for me to put the interview on here. This interview
was made via telephone.
"Is this Adrian Grimes?"
"This is he? May I ask what this is about?"
"This is about the show 'Candle Cove'..."
"That show."
"Yes."
"Look, I don't know who this is but my uncle has been dead for
years. His body was never found and I swear to you that if this is some prank,
It's not funny."
"It's not a prank at all. I swear."
 |
| Allegedly a photo of Ischmael Dugong |
"Look, you want to know about that show? My uncle was a sick man.
He told me about it and I watched it. Now I will tell you that every single
person that was on that show is in their own place on it. I however want
nothing to do with it. I got to see the making of one episode, alright. ONE
EPISODE! It never got aired, and I hope it never will either."
"Season two, meaning either episodes five or six..."
"What the hell are you talking about? No, this happened after the
season ended. A new director, can't remember his name, it was supposed to be
the season three starter. I was invited to be on the show as a character, and
my father took advantage of it. Since then, I hate all of the show because my
fucked up uncle was a part of it. Now leave me alone!"
