Jessie Taylor
Candle Cove is a widely known and popular creepypasta story by Kris Straub. It is written in an epistolary form, framed as an exchange between posters on the fictional NetNostalgia Forum, reminiscing about a strange children's TV show from their youth. The story centres on a young girl named Janice who imagines herself to be friends with marionette pirates. As the forum 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. The story gained a large following and inspired numerous YouTube videos, fan fiction, and fan art. In 2016, it was adapted into a TV show, Channel Zero: Candle Cove.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type | Creepypasta |
| Format | Epistolary |
| Author | Kris Straub |
| Date of Publication | 15 March 2009 |
| Website | Ichor Falls |
| Inspiration | The Onion article titled "Area 36-Year-Old Still Has Occasional Lidsville Nightmare" |
| Adaptation | Channel Zero |
| Adaptation Premiered On | Syfy |
| Adaptation Premiered Date | 11 October 2016 |
| Adaptation Starred | Paul Schneider and Fiona Shaw |
| Spin-off | YouTube series L0CAL58 |
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What You'll Learn
Kris Straub's original story
The show-within-a-show is called "Candle Cove", and is about a young girl named Janice who imagines herself to be friends with marionette pirates. As the forum users reminisce, they recall increasingly disturbing details about the show, including characters such as the Skin-Taker, a skeleton pirate who wears clothing made out of children's skin, and Horace Horrible, a one-eyed character with large teeth. There is also an episode that consists entirely of the puppets flailing and screaming while Janice cries.
As the story progresses, it becomes clear that "Candle Cove" was not a typical children's show, and that there is something sinister lurking beneath its cutesy and low-budget exterior. In the story's ending, it is revealed that the show may not have existed at all, as one user's mother claims that whenever her child mentioned "Candle Cove", the TV would only show static.
Straub has stated that he was inspired to write "Candle Cove" after reading a satirical article in The Onion titled "Area 36-Year-Old Still Has Occasional Lidsville Nightmare". Unlike other creepypastas, which are typically evolved from the contributions of multiple authors, "Candle Cove" was written by Straub as a finished piece and later released commercially as part of a collection of short stories. The story quickly gained popularity, inspiring numerous fan works and adaptations, including a spin-off YouTube series by Straub called LOCAL58.
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The fictional TV show
Candle Cove is a fictional television series that is part of the "Creepypasta" genre of horror stories that are circulated on the internet. The story of Candle Cove is written in the form of an online forum discussion on the fictional "NetNostalgia Forums", where a group of users discuss their memories of the unusual children's television show they claim to have watched in the 1970s.
The show is described as an American experimental puppet show aimed at children. It was produced locally by HeyKids Studio in Ironton, Ohio, and was advertised as an attempt to handle avant-garde educational content through new visual, artistic, and technical techniques. The show was based on the short story "The Nickerbocker's Tale" from 1767 and was originally going to be called "Pirate Place".
In the story, a young girl named Janice imagines herself to be friends with marionette pirates. One of the pirates, Pirate Percy, captains a living pirate ship called the Laughingstock, which has a wide mouth across its bow. The ship constantly urges Percy to go inside. Another character is Horace Horrible, a one-eyed figure with a handlebar moustache and large teeth. The most disturbing character is the Skin-Taker, a skeleton in a tattered cape and top hat, who wears clothing made out of children's skin. One episode consists entirely of the puppets flailing and screaming while Janice cries.
As the forum users continue to reminisce, their memories become more fragmented and disturbing. One user visits their elderly mother in a nursing home and asks if she remembers the show. The mother responds that every time the user mentioned Candle Cove, the TV would only show static, and they would watch dead air for 30 minutes.
The story of Candle Cove was written by web cartoonist and author Kris Straub and was originally published on his website in 2009. It was inspired by a satirical Onion article titled "Area 36-Year-Old Still Has Occasional Lidsville Nightmare". The story's format as a forum discussion is an example of the epistolary" style of writing, where the plot is revealed through interactions between characters.
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The characters
Candle Cove is an online horror story written by web cartoonist and author Kris Straub. It is written in the 'epistolary' form, made up of exchanges between members of the "NetNostalgia Forum", who are trying to recollect a strange children's show from their youth. 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.
Other characters recalled by the forum users include Pirate Percy, a cowardly buccaneer who captained the Laughingstock, a living pirate ship with a wide mouth across its bow. Horace Horrible is another character, described as having one eye with "too large teeth" and a handlebar moustache. The Skin-Taker is also described as wearing a tattered cape and top hat, with glass eyes that were too big for his skull.
The story of Candle Cove was adapted for television as the first season of Syfy's horror anthology series Channel Zero, which premiered on 11 October 2016. The show stars Paul Schneider and Fiona Shaw and is based on the original story by Kris Straub, who has also begun a spin-off YouTube series called L0CAL58, centred around strange broadcasts from the fictitious public-access television channel where Candle Cove originally aired.
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The fan-generated content
Candle Cove is a widely known and popular creepypasta story by Kris Straub. It is written in an epistolary form, framed as an exchange between posters on the NetNostalgia Forum, reminiscing about a strange children's show from their youth. As the posters share their recollections, the things they collectively remember become more sinister, with characters clearly unsuitable for children's viewing.
Fans of the story have created a plethora of fan-generated content, including fan art, fan fiction, and videos. There is even fan-generated pornography based on the story. Fan videos either depict the show itself or people reading the original creepypasta. One notable video mashes up Candle Cove with the popular Fine Brothers series, Kids React.
Fans have also created episode descriptions for two seasons of the show (a fan invention), as well as an in-depth exploration of the 1767 book, "The Nickerbocker's Tale", which supposedly inspired the made-up show (another fan invention).
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 who returns home to investigate the disappearance of his brother and other children in the 1980s. The series premiered on October 11, 2016, starring Paul Schneider and Fiona Shaw.
Straub himself began the spin-off YouTube series LOCAL58, centred around strange broadcasts from the fictitious public-access television channel where Candle Cove originally aired.
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Adaptations
Candle Cove is a widely known and popular creepypasta story by Kris Straub that takes the form of a discussion on a childhood nostalgia forum. As the posters share their recollections of a fictional children's television show, the things they remember become increasingly sinister and disturbing.
The story has inspired numerous adaptations and fan works, including videos, fan art, music, and porn. Fans have also produced videos claiming to be footage of the fictional show itself, as well as videos of people reading the original creepypasta.
In 2015, the SyFy Channel announced their intention to adapt the Candle Cove story for television 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 who returns home to investigate the disappearance of his brother and other children in the 1980s. Channel Zero: Candle Cove premiered on 11 October 2016 and stars Paul Schneider and Fiona Shaw.
Straub also began a spin-off YouTube series called LOCAL58, centred around strange broadcasts from the fictitious public-access television channel where Candle Cove originally aired.
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Frequently asked questions
Candle Cove is a widely known and popular creepypasta about a fictional television series. It is written in an epistolary form, made up of exchanges between members of the NetNostalgia Forum, who are trying to recollect a strange children's show from their youth.
As the posters share their recollections, the things they collectively remember become more sinister, with characters clearly unsuitable for children’s viewing. Notable examples include Horace Horrible, a one-eyed character with large teeth, and most famously, a skeleton character known as 'The Skin-Taker' who wears the flesh of children.
Candle Cove was written by web cartoonist and author Kris Straub. The story was inspired by a satirical Onion article titled "Area 36-Year-Old Still Has Occasional Lidsville Nightmare".
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