In my free time, I’m a huge horror buff: I love content that is designed to instill terror in the viewer. “Art should disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed,” is a saying that I kick around to my friends and keep in my mind whenever I’m working on creative projects. I have to admit, after watching so many scary movies, playing so many horror games, and reading horror short stories and creepypasta, I’ve become noticeably desensitized to what scares the average human being. I can predict when the scares are going to jump out, or when the music is going to suddenly change to a crescendo of screeching cellos and violins, and I no longer feel that sense of dread and terror that affects all others around me. It wasn’t until a little more than a year ago that I found something to scratch that itch.
There’s an old saying that fact is stranger than fiction, and I haven’t found anything as terrifying in the world as humanity’s unlimited capacity for evil. There are some seriously messed up people on this planet who put others in equally, if not more, messed up situations and, like at a train wreck, my adrenaline-junky, morbidly-curious mind can’t help but stare. In June of 2015, I found a YouTube channel specializing in the narration of scary TRUE stories aggregated from various online forums, such as the Let’s Not Meet and Creepy Encounters subreddits, and user submissions, under the username aylingater77, better known as Lazy Masquerade.
Lazy very simply lays down the reasoning for his compilations in the description box beneath each video: “Everybody loves to listen to a good creepypasta before bedtime, safe in the knowledge that the tales aren’t real. But what about the ones that are?” Seeing something absolutely unthinkable step past a fictional realm, past the constraints of folklore or a scary campfire story, strikes a primal chord deep within the reader. There is the sickening thought, “This actually happened to someone,” that plays over and over in one’s mind when they stumble upon a particularly disturbing tale from another living, breathing human’s grave encounter. But once you look upon it, you can’t un-see it, and you stumble upon the fascinating combined subjects of coincidence, timing, luck, and terror.
The videos begin with a few sinister keys from a grand piano, and the viewer is first greeted by a large red Oni mask of traditional Japanese design. A ring of red text encircles the nightmarish facade that is the narrator's tagline: "The best things happen in the dark." From here, the insidious and sometimes disturbing readings begin. Lazy delivers this stories with a clear cadence that keeps me coming back for more. There’s a certain uncomfortable quality in his voice that makes me think he’d be fantastic for things like Creep Show or a Weird Tales-esque magazine reading. His pacing and delivery always seem to be spot on to the point that, even with my knowledge of horror and terror-timing, each twist and turn packs a powerful punch. Each video usually contains anywhere from three to six stories, sometimes being a general collection or having a theme for that particular set, such as:
- Skinwalkers/Wendigos
- Tales at sea
- Stalkers
- Internet weirdos/psychos
- Sleep paralysis
- Glitches in the matrix
- Close encounters with hellish undesirables
The channel has a growing variety of horrors to keep things fresh and unnerving, and has grown significantly from the 50,000 subscriber count present when I became a fan. The Lazy Legion, as the man behind the mask calls his fans, currently stands at 423,000 subscribers with almost 39 million total video views over his 111 current uploads.
I cannot go without mentioning another stand-out feature of these videos, it being the frightening thumbnail art that comes with each. Lazy has made contact with an artist that pays attention to the slightest horrific detail by the name of Anthony Salinas. In two word, he is a mad genius, and I’m incredibly jealous of how he can so excellently craft lines that makes one’s skin crawl and writhe in discomfort. Such subjects of these pictures are demons, serial killers, monsters, and other disturbing sights. I myself have contacted him in the past for some personal work on my own various websites and profiles, and he’s as nice as he is creative.
I’m not basing this opinion on facts, but since the time I began to watch Mr. Masquerade’s content, I feel like things have slowed down a bit. Now, that’s not a bad thing. During 2015, it felt like Lazy put 110% in all of his videos, but someone can only go at that pace for a limited amount of time before it starts to really take its toll. While I feel that the channel and enthusiasm slowed down, I think it is truly picking up speed again. His most recent videos are quite reticent of that initial enthusiasm he had, and his speaking skills have vastly improved. Lazy Masquerade is in my top list of horror content creators on YouTube right now, and any horror fan should give his narrations a chance.
To get you started, I recommend (in no particular order): 6 Scary True Stories to Keep You Up at Night, 5 Truly Creepy Glitch in the Matrix Stories, and 4 Creepy True Gas Station Encounter from Hell. I’ll include links to his Facebook, twitter, and YouTube channel, and I’ll also list the Facebook and etsy of Anthony Salinas in case any of you want to take up my recommendations.
