The Ongoing Mystery of the Paranormal Paranoids

 “The Paranormal Paranoids investigate the world beyond

Because there are some things we can’t explain

But sometimes a mystery turns out to be a hoax

And other times they’re just inside your brain” 

That annoying tune was the thing I most remember about this clumsy but honest early YouTube channel, where four amateur paranormal researchers –Peter Bailey, Riley Brennan, Laura Tucker and David Reynolds- explored haunted places. There was a haunted cabin in the woods, a haunted schoolyard (they were chased off by the school authorities and later prowled around after nightfall among the kids’ games in the outer schoolyard), and the such. These guys clearly had fun and were quite fun to watch (although Peter came off as pretty annoying with his attempt at making saying "boo!" his signature move). 

I particularly remember when the administrator of an hotel at Puebla, Mexico, suggested in a YouTube comment that they came over, since the hotel was haunted, and they replied they might do it (they probably wanted a vacation, as they would get free rooms); since I was often visiting Puebla, I even considered looking them up, and offered to take them to a couple other interesting locations. In those days, YouTube had a private message function, and I exchanged a couple of messages with Laura if I remember right; nothing groundbreaking of course, she did express her personal interest in hauntings at pre-Hispanic sites so I told her about chaneques and other such spirits, and about Cholula and Tepoztlan as potential locations not so far from Puebla, but that was all (don’t ask; as you know, YouTube eradicated private messages so no, I got nothing). But their trip never happened, because around that time the channel just went dead. I did eventually visit that hotel, and learned about its ghosts, but that’s a different story.

I kept looking into the Paranormal Paranoids channel from time to time, but they never uploaded anything else, and I eventually forgot all about them.

A screenshot of the old Paranormal Paranoids channel.

Until, of course, I learned they suddenly are all the rage in the internet. It turns out that the Paranormal Paranoids team disappeared, not only from YouTube, but literally. They were apparently planning a field trip to some place called Shelby Oaks, and were never heard from again.

A girl who goes by the name JesstheParanoid, who used to be their fan in her early teens, created a Twitter account in order to request information about them. Soon after that, somebody using the nickname N01R^+ who claimed to also be an old fan contacted her, and started uploading clips of video that appeared to be private; some are personal recordings made by Riley and her sister Mia –who was never a part of the team- and even one that seems to be footage from a securitycamera, and typically, replied to any questions evasively. Jess soon created a YouTube channel in order to collect the videos. 

Things took a darker turn when Jess received in her private email (which she had not shared) another video from N01R^+ titled Riley’s Last Message:

 

(I don't see the need to include a warning notice for viewers, as Jess did, since after all -hey, I've posted whole chapters from the Necronomicon here; my readers are jaded by now)

JesstheParanoid’s increasing followers at Twitter have predictably become increasingly involved in the search, helping out in analyzing the videos and digging out additional information. Of course, there have also been detractors; short-memoried people who claim it’s all an ARG –Alternate Reality Game- made up by Jess, just because they don’t recall the old YouTube channel. But some have become quite aggressive, as it usually happens online. I've often encountered people claiming that the Necronomicon is a mere fiction and this blog is a load of lies! Would you believe it? Anyway, here is a very detailed summation of all that has happened until recently... save, of course, for a few things I intend to point out. There is even a great www.paranormalparanoids.com/  fansite at this point! 

Recently, somebody decided to produce a film about Paranormal Paranoids, and they even invited Jess as consultant, which only increased the claims of hoax. At any rate, it IS odd that the filmmakers have taken interest in the case at roughly the same time as Jess worked on her search; perhaps turning stones over uncovered something?

Unfortunately, the existing videos, both private and a few episodes from the old YouTube channel, are not filled with decipherable clues as they would be if this were all an ARG, a fictional game. Even so, there are a few intriguing elements. A figure watching them unnoticed in a forest, an amusing encounter with the “ghost janitor” of an old school (very likely a watcher or a living janitor, since the building had working engines in the basement), and some genuinely strange moments during their visit to an old prison building… but other elements are quite unsettling (also, why does David the cameraman keep filming only Riley? Was he obsessed with her or something? which might also prove meaningful, who knows).

Particularly foreboding is a private video where Riley speaks of having dreamed some of the places they have been filming when she was a child. And another, apparently innocuous, clip is positively disturbing: in it, Riley shows whoever is filming (possibly her sister Mia) her drawing of the face of a woman she dreamed about; the shadowy face is quite sinister, but there is something which makes it far worse: before posting the video, N01R^+ had posted a photo of the drawing in Twitter as response to some of JesstheParanoid’s questions –and the photo was NOT a still from the video. This proves that N01R^+ has access to Riley’s private belongings, and is one of several details that have led people to speculate that the anonymous account might be managed by a surviving member of the Paranormal Paranoids… or perhaps whoever appears in Riley’s sinister final recording. 

Speaking of which, enthusiastic followers of JesstheParanoid enhanced the video and discovered a terrifying image outside Riley’s window, unnoticed by her. The enhanced clip is here:

Now, the shape found outside, while blurry, is clear enough; it’s humanoid in shape, very large. And its horned head first opens its mouth –set unnaturally low- then closes it again, and turns its head quickly, allowing us to glimpse its profile. Vague as it is, there can be little doubt that the head is paler than the rest of the body, and its general shape is much like that of the skull of a horse, goat or deer.

It’s hard not to wonder whether we are witnessing the first actual footage of a Wendigo. 

Image 1 of 5 of the Wendigo's footage.

Image 2 of 5.

Image 3 of 5.

Image 4 of 5.

Image 5 of 5.

Artist's depiction of a Wendigo by Edward Delandre, for comparison. 

Actually, Twitter users were quick to point out the similarity of the vague silohuette to a Wendigo, but this might admittedly seem a bit random... if it weren't because we have a possible actual preexisting link of the Paranormal Paranoids' research to the wind-walking Wendigo lore. 

I quote from a website that compiles the many stories surrounding the township of Boston, popularly known as Helltown, Ohio: 

Helltown Ohio Wendigo Monster: Native American Folklore also surrounds another mythical beast that roams the Helltown hillsides. The Wendigo is a man eating creature that lurks near the Great Lakes and Nova Scotia area. It’s likely this might be one of the oldest legends about the area since it’s origin predates Helltown itself.

Now, in the last of Riley's vlogs, she mentions -as we said earlier-that they have received a lot of requests about going to Helltown, but first they well visit a place called Shelby Oaks, since many requests have come from there; afterwards, possibly, they intended to go to Helltown. 

Remember the security camera footage showing them at a gas station? N01R^+ originally posted it with the darkly-foreshadowing phrase: "Where are they going?": 

An user going by Proof-Personality at the fan-created Paranormal Paranoids Reddit quickly identified the location as a gas station at -you guessed it- Boston, a.k.a. Helltown, Ohio: 

Far subtler, but –in my opinion- creepier in its own way, is something that has passed mostly unnoticed. Some YouTube users have pointed out that, in one of the Paranormal Paranoid episodes where they explore an abandoned jail, early in the video a piece of graffiti is shown that sports the name of Mia, Riley’s sister: 

However, there are dozens of names scribbled on the walls and seen at various points in the episode, and it’s a simple enough name. It’s not so easy to discard its presence not far from where Riley’s own name has been prominently written (although it’s only briefly visible in the footage), something I have seen nobody mention (though I'm probably mistaken). And Riley is hardly a common enough name to be found, so close to that of her sister, precisely at a place they went to investigate. So –even though it may mean nothing… hell, I hope it means nothing, considering the alternatives!- I include it here. I also sent it to Jess just in case:

 

So there. Take care Jess, something dangerous just might be happening. 

"What if the unknown was meant to be left unknown?" -Riley Brennan