Ben Carter
Candle Cove is a fictional children's television series that serves as the basis for the Channel Zero horror anthology series, specifically the first season, which is named after the story. The story is told through a fictional online forum where a group of users discuss their memories of the unusual show, which aired in the 1970s. The show featured marionette pirates and a young girl named Janice, who imagined herself to be friends with the pirates. As the users continue to reminisce, they recall more disturbing details, such as a character called the Skin-Taker, a skeleton pirate who wears clothing made from children's skin. The story was written by Kris Straub and posted on his horror fiction site in 2009. It is considered one of the best-known and most popular creepypasta, a term for horror stories that are spread online.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of work | Online creepypasta horror story |
| Format | Thread on a fictional internet forum |
| Author | Kris Straub |
| Year of release | 2009 |
| Inspiration | Article in The Onion titled "Area 36-Year-Old Still Has Occasional Lidsville Nightmare" |
| Television adaptation | Channel Zero: Candle Cove |
| Television adaptation year | 2016 |
| Television adaptation network | Syfy |
| Television adaptation format | Anthology series |
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What You'll Learn
Candle Cove is a creepypasta
Candle Cove is a "creepypasta", a neologism for horror stories circulated around the Internet. It is a short text story of childhood nostalgia that steadily grows more horrifying until the chilling finale. It is written in the format of a thread on the fictional "NetNostalgia Forums", where a group of users discuss an unusual low-budget children's television show, Candle Cove, that they all remember watching on Channel 58 in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area in the early 1970s.
The story centres on a young girl named Janice, who imagines herself to be friends with marionette pirates. As the users continue to reminisce, they begin to recall more disturbing details about the show, such as a character known as the "Skin-Taker" (a skeleton pirate who wears clothing made out of children's skin) and an episode that consisted entirely of the puppets flailing and screaming while Janice cries.
The story was first released in 2009 on author and illustrator Kris Straub's horror fiction site, Ichor Falls, which collected several creepy stories he had written revolving around the titular fictional town. Straub has stated that he was inspired to write the story after reading an article in The Onion titled "Area 36-Year-Old Still Has Occasional Lidsville Nightmare".
The story's popularity inspired numerous YouTube videos and fan fictions, and in 2015, Straub self-published Candle Cove in a collection of short stories titled Candle Cove and Other Stories. The story has since been adapted into a television show, Channel Zero, which premiered on the Syfy channel in 2016.
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Kris Straub is the author
The story is told in the format of a thread on the fictional "NetNostalgia Forums", where a group of users reminisce about a low-budget children's television show called Candle Cove. The show is described as unusual and strange, with marionette characters like Pirate Percy, a cowardly buccaneer who captained the Laughingstock, a living pirate ship with a wide mouth. The most unsettling character is described as a skeleton in a tattered cape and top hat, calling himself The Skin-Taker, who wears clothing made out of children's skin.
Straub has stated that he was inspired to write the story after reading an article in The Onion titled "Area 36-Year-Old Still Has Occasional Lidsville Nightmare". He said that he wrote the story to get the idea out of his head, as the article made him think of a horrifying, half-remembered kids' show. The story quickly became popular, inspiring numerous YouTube videos and fan fictions.
The story was adapted into a television show by the SyFy Channel in 2016, as the first season of a newly announced series, Channel Zero. The season centres on a child psychologist who investigates the disappearance of his brother and other children in the 1980s.
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The story is told as an internet forum discussion
The story of Candle Cove is told through a thread on a fictional forum called "NetNostalgia Forums". In the thread, a group of users discuss a strange children's television show they remember watching in their youth. The show, Candle Cove, aired on Channel 58 in the Huntington-Ashland metropolitan area in the early 1970s.
As the users reminisce, they recall the show's marionette characters, such as Pirate Percy, a cowardly buccaneer who captained the Laughingstock, a living pirate ship. They also remember Janice, a young girl who was the show's protagonist and who imagined herself to be friends with the marionette pirates. However, as the discussion progresses, more disturbing details about the show emerge. One user remembers an episode where the puppets spent the entire time flailing and screaming while Janice cried. Another user recalls sinister characters like Horace Horrible, a one-eyed man with a handlebar mustache, and the Skin-Taker, a skeleton in a tattered cape and top hat who wore clothing made out of children's skin.
The users also discuss the impact the show had on them as children, with one user mentioning that they recently asked their elderly mother if she remembered the show. The mother responded that whenever the user claimed to be watching Candle Cove, there was only static on the screen.
The story of Candle Cove, as told through the forum discussion, blurs the lines between reality and fiction, with some users even questioning if the show actually existed. It taps into childhood memories and nostalgia, giving it a creepy and unsettling tone. The format of the story, presented as a forum discussion, adds to the sense of mystery and horror, as if the users are uncovering a long-forgotten, dark secret.
The story's format as an internet forum discussion allows for a unique and engaging way of storytelling, where the readers are invited to piece together the narrative through the exchanges between the forum users. It adds a layer of interactivity and immersion, as if the readers are discovering the truth about Candle Cove alongside the characters in the story.
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It inspired the Channel Zero TV series
Candle Cove is a short horror story written by Kris Straub and posted on his website in 2009. It is considered one of the best examples of "creepypasta", a genre of horror stories that are shared and spread across the internet.
In 2015, the Syfy Channel announced their intention to adapt the Candle Cove story as the first season of a newly announced series, Channel Zero. The season, named after the creepypasta, expands on the story and centres on a child psychologist, Mike Painter, who returns to his hometown of Iron Hill, Ohio, to investigate the disappearance of his brother and other children in the 1980s.
The show's basic premise is that it adapts modern urban legends, specifically from creepypasta. The Candle Cove storyline is one of many that Channel Zero ultimately intends to adapt from an abundant source of web-based horror stories.
Channel Zero: Candle Cove stars Paul Schneider and Fiona Shaw and premiered on October 11, 2016. It received positive reviews, with one reviewer giving it a rating of 5 out of 5.
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The story features sinister characters
Candle Cove is a fictional children's television series that features as the subject of an online horror story called "Candle Cove", written by Kris Straub and first released in 2009 on the author's horror fiction site, Ichor Falls. The story is told in the format of a thread on a fictional forum, where users discuss the unusual Candle Cove show they watched as children.
The Candle Cove show-within-a-story also features a young girl named Janice, who is the protagonist and imagines herself to be friends with marionette pirates. In one episode, the puppets are described as flailing and screaming while Janice cries.
The story ends with a user stating that he asked his elderly mother if she remembered the show, and she responded that whenever the user claimed Candle Cove was on, there was only static on the screen.
The original Candle Cove story has inspired numerous YouTube videos and fan fictions, as well as a self-published collection of short stories by Straub in 2015. In 2016, the Syfy channel launched a TV show called Channel Zero, with its first season based on the Candle Cove story.
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Frequently asked questions
Candle Cove is an online creepypasta horror story written by Kris Straub. It is told in the format of a thread on a fictional forum where a group of users discuss a strange children's TV show they watched as kids.
The fictional show-within-a-story features marionette pirates and a young girl named Janice who imagines herself to be friends with them. As the users continue to reminisce, they begin to recall more disturbing details about the show, such as a character known as the "Skin-Taker" (a skeleton pirate who wears clothing made out of children's skin).
Candle Cove is notable for being one of the best-known and most-adored creepypastas, a term for horror stories circulated around the internet. It is also one of the few creepypastas with a known source and author, as most are anonymous.
Channel Zero is a TV series that adapts modern urban legends from creepypastas. The first season, titled Candle Cove, is based on Kris Straub's story of the same name.
Candle Cove is a fictional TV show within the creepypasta story. However, the urban legend about the show's existence persists, with some people claiming that it did air on television.
