This Mystery Will Remain…

I am a grade A coward. My rational fears aside, I’m afraid of clowns, spiders, heights, roller coasters, Ferris wheels, dolls (especially ceramic ones), wooden puppets (in that same vein, I wouldn’t say I’m afraid of mannequins but I am wary of them), dead bugs, basements, attics, any cockroach that’s longer than one inch, cockroaches that can fly, ghosts, and the list goes on, but let’s focus on the ghosts for now.

You know those friends you have who can’t sleep with the lights off after watching a ghost movie? I am one of those friends. I probably would still be scared by ghost movies even if I didn’t believe in ghosts. If you’ve ever said hi to me when I was facing away from you, you know how easily startled I am, given that I jump every single time. So imagine little old me, trying to make it through a ghost movie riddled with loud suspenseful music and jump scares. I don’t even have to watch the film to be afraid; just watching trailers is enough to make me anxious about turning off the lights when I go to sleep. Don’t even get me started on films that are “based on a true story.” Knowing this, you would think I’d stay away from scary movies, but somehow, I occasionally find myself in the mood for one. Granted, when I do watch one, I’m almost never watching it alone. It’s easier when I’m with someone else because I can distract myself by pointing out inconsistencies in the film, or they distract me by making jokes. But my friends aren’t always available, so what do you do when you want to watch something scary but you’re a wimp and alone? You watch Buzzfeed Unsolved Supernatural.

Buzzfeed Unsolved is one of Buzzfeed’s series, hosted by Ryan, a firm believer in the supernatural, and Shane, whose belief in the paranormal is reserved exclusively for Bigfoot. It’s divided into two categories: “True Crime” and “Supernatural.” “True Crime” is essentially Ryan recounting unsolved criminal cases, going over the proposed theories, then, along with Shane, trying to decide which theory seems the most likely to be correct. “Supernatural,” on the other hand, is essentially Ryan trying to convince Shane that there is such a thing as the paranormal, while Shane maintains that everything has a logical explanation. What makes it easy to watch for me is not only the fact that their playful bickering adds a lot of humor to every episode, but also the fact that in all ghost-related episodes, the mystery of whatever haunted property they’re investigating remains unsolved. It’s comedy under the guise of horror, so I can watch something that feels like it would be scary without actually being afraid. Since I binge watched all of “True Crime” and “Supernatural” in two days, I’ve been re-watching a few episodes when I’m trying to procrastinate. I won’t link any episodes (though they are all on YouTube here, and this is my personal favorite) but here is a “Best of Banter” compilation:

Looking for compilation videos reminded me of all the episodes I’ve yet to re-watch, and made me realize I’ve yet to watch any of the “Supernatural” Q&A videos. So as I wait for the next season, that is pretty much all I’ll be doing.

-L