What is "Marble Hornets"
Starting on June 20, a series of videos appeared on Youtube, posted by a user under the name of "Marble Hornets." These videos made up what seems to be a fledgling horror series by a group of amateur filmmakers surrounding an aborted student film project titled "Marble Hornets" and a potentially-supernatural entity known around the Internet as "Slenderman."
It has continued updating frequently since its start this past summer through a variety of outlets, including Youtube, Twitter, Instant Message and Something Awful postings. Whether it would be best classified ARG or just a new form of film making in the Internet-age is anyone's guess, but it's most assuredly fictional and has garnered a sizable base of viewers, and has even garnered the attention of film critics like Roger Ebert:
http://twitter.com/ebertchicago/status/5495205792.
Overtime, it was revealed that the series is a project by Troy Wagner (Director, Co-Writer, Jay) and Joseph DeLage (Co-Writer, Alex). This section spoilered because some fans in the thread felt that this and other knowledge broke their suspension of disbelief.
The Players"J"/Jay: The uploader of "The Entries". A film student and college friend of the creator of "The Tapes," Alex Kralie, Jay hasn't spoken with or heard from Alex in since 2006 when he was given the tapes and told to burn them by Alex. Needless to say, he never followed this advice and began to look at them three years later, jumping down the rabbit hole he now finds himself in.
It should be noted that Jay's memory seems to be inaccurate in various instances, forgetting events and large gaps of time, both in the short and longterm. It is likely whatever is causing these memory gaps is connected to the events that transpired the production of Marble Hornets.
Alex Kralie: The man behind the student film Marble Hornets. Many of the tapes from which The Entries are taken were filmed by him. It is not yet known what exactly happened to him, but what is known follows: Sometime during production on Marble Hornets, something happened to Alex that affected him for the worse. He became paranoid and irritable and eventually took to filming himself almost 24/7, as though he was watching out for something or perhaps trying to ward it off (or, perhaps, for another purpose entirely).
It appears from the entries that sometime around the start of production he encountered the entity known as "Slenderman." Three years ago, he gave Jay the tapes from the aborted film and moved away, never contacting Jay since.
Tim: One of the actors Alex cast in Marble Hornets. Nothing is really known about him, aside from knowing Alex through his friend and neighbor Brian. Seems to have been involved from the project near it's beginning. Seems to have suffered some form of illness during Marble Hornets early stages and unknown if it continued through the rest of production.
The Rest of the MH Cast and Crew: Brian, Sarah and Seth: Nothing much is really known about these three, aside from the fact that they were involved in the production of Alex's student film.
It is inferred that Seth has been the cameraman for Marble Hornets. Their whereabouts are unknown, but Entry 22 paints a potentially grim picture.
ToTheArk: A person of unknown identity, ToTheArk is the Youtube handle of someone who has been responding to Jay's posting of the Entries through video postings of his or her own. These videos often have odd elements to them, cryptic and coded messages hidden throughout them and footage of TTA's own, some of which dates back to the production of Marble Hornets student film three years prior to the start of the series.
Masked Figure
As the name implies, this is an anonymous, masked individual that made his first appearance one of the later entries. Perhaps even more disturbing than his premier was his second appearance, where
He found his way into Jay's home in Entry 19 while Jay was sleeping, and seems to be involved in Jay's three-hour memory gap of that night.
While his identity is unknown, Jay believes him to be ToTheArk. Fan speculation believes him to be
Tim, as they seem to own the same jacket, among other odd coincidences. However, one does not necessarily preclude the other.
The Entries
These are the Entries that have been posted on Youtube so far. Composed of a mix of footage from The Tapes and Jay's own footage, these chronicle both Alex's descent into the mystery three years ago and Jays attempt to unravel it in the present. Spoiler tagged for length and light spoilers.
ToTheArk Videos
What follow is the series of videos posted by ToTheArk in response to The Entries. It is hard to say what many of these mean, while others are more overt in at least one of the messages they convey. Spoilered, again, for length and light spoilers in the descriptions.
In addition, there have been correspondences between TTA and others online, supposedly. Here they are, taken from the MH Wikidot site. Spoilered for length:
August 3, 2009:
So………..you are posting videos of sound that may be from the "Entry videos" posted by Marble Hornets.
Maybe you are Alex?
soundiseverything
What do you want us to LISTEN?
listentoitall
August 6, 2009
Hey, I was wondering since you seem to be a pretty nice person with answers, I was wondering if you could tell me another thing.
You seem to have audio for something. You are showing videos of audio that seem to fit with the videos. If you have the audio, you must have been the one taking them from the videos, No?
youare halfright
August 7, 2009
1. Is Regards sound entry No. 4 soundtrack?
2. or is it Entry No. 1 soundtrack?
3. Is Operator sound entry No. 10 soundtrack?
4. What is the meaning of your name and age?
regards remains untapped
operator belongs to others
remaininthought
September 2, 2009
human, therefore no
September 3, 2009
ihavesomething important
Slenderman
Slenderman did not begin with Marble Hornets, but actually dates back to a SomethingAwful thread where, I believe, Goons were coming up with urban legends and myths. From this thread, the concept of "Slenderman" was born. The creature is tall, approximately 8 to 10 feet and bears a resemblance to a skinny, long-legged, long-armed man in a business suit. It's other defining characteristic is the creature's head, which has no facial features whatsoever.
"Slenderman," according to the original myth, had the capability of changing its form to whatever suited it best for tracking or capturing prey, and often showed the ability to change it's arms into tendrils capable into ensnaring said prey. It is also believed that those who witness the creature are drawn to it, in an almost hypnotic state.
Little is known about the Marble Hornets incarnation of the creature. It is presumed that contact with the creature, or pursuit of it, has ill affects on the health of an individual and possibly has some capability in the manipulation of memories. It is believed that strange effects dealt to the footage and audio on the tapes, as shown in the Entires is caused by the presence of the Slenderman.
Fans now suspect that, from the Q&A, Slenderman in this series is known as "The Operator"
Reoccurring Themes and important itemsOperator Symbol: An oval or circular shape with an X in it's center (sometimes even passing the borders of the circle). It's meaning is still unknown, but seems connected with the entity referred to as "Slenderman"
Water: It seems that there is a reoccuring theme of water throughout several of the Entries and responses by ToTheArk. Be it streams nearby, empty waterbottles or simply the thematic elements of TTA's videos, water is an inescapable element within the story.
"Slenderdoll": A doll that Jay found inside the house he visited in Entries 16 and 18. No word yet as to it's meaning.
Bullet casing: A bullet casing found at the house visited in Entries 16 and 18. Now missing after the events of Entry 19.
Bottle of Pills: A bottle of pills found at the house visited in Entries 16 and 18. The label has been removed and the contents missing after the events of Entry 19.
The Tower: A red tower located at one of the locations Alex and Jay scouted for filming Marble Hornets. Believed to be anything from a climbing wall to a practice tower for local firemen, it's existence has taken on a more eerie and mysterious one following Entry 19.5
Entry 22's Tape: Found by Jay at The Tower. How it got there is anyone's guess, but the contents within have Jay fearing for his safety now more than ever.
Alex's Drawings: A collection of frenzied and cryptic drawings and writings compiled by Alex after he encountered the mysterious entity, "Slenderman," during production of Marble Hornets.
Where to check it outJay's Marble Hornets Youtube ChannelJay's Marble Hornets Twitter PageToTheArk's YouTube Channel
You can also find Jay posting, in character, on SomethingAwful from time to time, but I am unsure what thread specifically.
As well, there appear to be other "Slenderman"-related projects popping up around the net in the wake of Marble Hornets but do not appear to be related to the series. If something new pops up that does tie into the series, Jay will acknowledge it in some fashion. There also appear to be attempts of other fans trying to tie themselves into the game. One such individual being "BluShoe77," who has yet to be acknowledged by Jay. It would seem this is a Youtube User who simply stumbled across the areas where the series is being filmed.
And, because it's Christmas
--Suspension of Disbelief Zone--
As some have found that talking about the series outside of the fiction breaks their immersion, this section shall be spoiler tagged
--Suspension of Disbelief Zone--
And now... a Hiatus
So, for now it would appear that Marble Hornets is on hiatus and it is uncertain when new entries will appear. So what does one do in the meantime if they're looking for more online horror action?
Well, you're in luck, because not just one, but two series have popped up online and are sure to keep viewers occupied for a while. These series are...
EverymanHYBRID: Based around three friends making a fitness series, it appears that they're being stalked by a familiar and mysterious entity. Pretty good so far, with an interestingly meta twist in the recent episodes. The format is less rigid than Marble Hornets, due to the set up. Personally, I find the characters are rather likable, and while it's a slow build-up make the series worth watching in the meantime.
Everyman Hybrid InfodumpTribeTwelve: Following the story of two cousins, one of whom is being stalked by a familiar entity. If EverymanHYBRID was a deviation from form, then this series could be said to follow the styling of Marble Hornets perhaps a bit too closely, to the point that some may be vindicated in calling it a knockoff or worse. However, the familiarity may be an added benefit to some MH fans turned off by the way EvermanHYBRID handles itself. Personally, I find it to be good, although the acting is a bit rough at times.
TribeTwelve Infodump
And, if you're new to Marble Hornets, Drez has kindly provided a series of links for all of the Entries and totheark videos arranged in order for easy viewing. You can find that
here.
EDIT: OH HAY Hiatus over :V
Marble Hornetshttp://twitpic.com/31g2ab
46 minutes ago from Twitpic
Posts
Speaking of Alternate readings: Someone pointed out, on another forum that's following the series, that "ToTheArk" could also be rendered as "Tot Heark," which they claimed was German for "Death Call"
That's how I've always read it, but I didn't know about the German.
Edit: Google translate says Dead Hearken, which is roughly equivalent.
So either Jay is royally screwed, or has the undead screwing with him?
But seeing how it's from SA, maybe that's intentional.
In any event, I hope more Youtube series of this caliber get made.
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also, anyone else notice that the thumbnail for Entry 21 is the hole?
I wasn't aware of the second youtube account with seemingly related goals, though.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
PSN: Corbius
PSN: thpace | Steam: MasterCylinder
PSN: thpace | Steam: MasterCylinder
But I'm usually on the computer only after midnight, so...
Yeah I liked it initially, and it peaked in my opinion around the video where you see his shadow move past his bedroom door. After that it got pretty dumb, I'm thinking especially
I actually think that is intentional. Otherwise they wouldn't have zoomed in on his mask in a future entry.
EDIT: odd iPod posting glitch
Like I am entertained by it, but id never tell a buddy to watch it.
Awesome. I was hoping there'd be some "reply" to these. I wonder which one'll he be replying to. Either way, looks like the "christmas break" is over.
PSN : Bolthorn
Others it just looks like a couple of folks making a fan film after watching those weird VHS parts for The Ring.
Even the 10th time or so I rewatched it, I felt my spine freeze over when
"...Alex?"
And it did before when magic sideburns (tim?) was there. So is tim the guy in the mask or have I missed something.
Huh. Didn't expect that. It made sense for TTA to reply next since
Also, InHuman:
Next step:
Re: your reply to InHuman:
TTA though, hard to say now if he's Mask or another party
And this time, take someone with you
Anyone else feel that the longer this goes on the less interesting it has become?
PSN : Bolthorn
This. Considering Jay is supposedly still stuck in his house and has the leisure of waiting a month to do anything.