|
Urban legends are stories that are passed by word of mouth from person to person as true, but usually have very questionable content and/or origin. Most any place you go has some form of these wild, too-good-to-be-true tales. I have come into possession of a video tape which appears to mimic an urban legend about such a tape with a "curse" on it. The most popular version of this legend says that anyone who watches the tape will die some amount of days later, usually seven. The tale has made its way to other countries, and varies according to the telling. Sometimes the period is thirteen days, and sometimes the viewer will simply be driven insane by the tape, or be "absorbed" by it. Whether there is any "escape" from this supposed curse is unknown. The story has the usual trappings of many urban legends, including the "punishment" of human imperfection, in this case, overt curiosity. Why would you watch a tape if you knew it could cause your death? Because human beings are, by nature, curious. Whoever made this tape gave it a very good try, to make a film that could live up to the legend this "cursed" tape has. It is genuinely creepy, and presents the viewer with a series of what seem to be random images. I believe, however, that there is a narrative here, which I intend to crack, and follow it back to the tape's creator. As an investigator of the paranormal, it is a rare, fascinating opportunity. We'll see if my own curiosity will be my end. There is a slight chance that this legend could be real. Three teenagers who have been confirmed to have watched this tape died 7 days later. At this point, though, even I am doubtful of its authenticity. Urban legends are far too easy to imitate, and those incidents of mimicry to be identified as true examples of the legend. My organization wants to be sure we have a true paranormal occurrence here before we declare this case authentic. As I mentioned, I intend to unravel this mystery. Simply viewing stills from the tape should not "kill" anyone, since such a thing has never been a part of the story. The cursed tape legend is being investigated by Sodalitas Quaerito, who would appreciate any input that other paranormal investigation groups can provide. This is an oral myth; it relies on word of mouth to survive. Therefore, it may rely on word of mouth to be solved. Sodalitas Quaerito is:
|
 1. Static |
 2. Eclipse? Ring? |
 3. Another shot |
 4. Hairbrush |
 5. Woman & child |
 6. Detail |
 7. Moving mirror |
 8. Girl |
 9. They turn their heads |
 10. Detail of last still |
 11. Ocean with man |
 12. Girl in cabinet |
 13. Closed cabinet |
 14. Dead horses |
 15. Woman in mirror |
 16. Turning around |
 17. She's noticed us |
 18. Engaging the viewer |
 19. Fourth wall |
 20. Maggots |
 21. Pile of humans |
 22. Box |
 23. Centipede |
 24. Straight razor |
 25. Woman on cliff |
 26. Suicide |
 27. Falling |
 28. And she falls |
 29. Artistic tree |
 30. Tree on fire |
 31. Burning tree |
 32. Crescent moon |
 33. The well |
|
Still #1: Static. This part is very hard to represent with just one still; it is better appreciated in motion. The tape begins with a black, blank screen, but eventually some very jarring static comes on, jarring because it comes on suddenly and goes in and out between the static and the black screen for a few seconds. How the interference was caused is unknown, since it happens on every vcr, and the problem does not seem to be with the tape. I imagine it's a special effect or the problem was with the original broadcast. Still #2: Eclipse. I am really not sure what this is. It appears to be an eclipse of the sun, or some other light source. Ms. Santos refers to this as "the ring" because, simply, it is a ring of light. What is the debris around the ring? Is it light effects from the eclipse, or could it be rocks, as Evelyn thought? It is all currently unclear. Still #3: Another shot of "the ring." Still #4: A hairbrush going through dark hair. Very artistic, surrealistic sort of shot. Still #5: A woman brushes the hair of a blonde child. Are they mother and daughter? Another artistic shot, as the mother and child cannot be seen in the room, only in the mirror. Still #6: Detail of the woman and child from Still #5. With such a clear shot, it should not be too hard to find the actresses who played these parts, unless they are virtual unknowns. Still #7: Moving mirror. In this shot, the mirror shakily travels across the wall. It's a very fast shot; you don't even see this frame unless you pause and slo-mo the tape. Definite special effect. You should be able to see the cameraman in this shot, but you cannot. Still #8: Girl. A young girl with her hair brushed over her face fades back into the darkness. Evelyn calls her "Cousin Itt." :) Still #9: Turning to look. The mirror moves back to its original position, and the woman and child turn their heads to look at the place where the other child appeared in the mirror. Still #10: Detail of last still. Still #11: Ocean with man. A man with a white cloth over his head stands in front of an ocean backdrop, pointing at something off camera. Very symbolic, but of what? Still #12: A girl in a cabinet. A dark-haired girl sits inside a large cabinet, her face hidden by her hair. Most likely this is supposed to be the little girl from frame #8, but older. Still #13: Closed cabinet. The cabinet closes with the girl still inside it. Still #14: Dead horses. Dead horses lay on the shore while the ocean laps at their carcasses. The next frame pans over a bit to show that there is a lighthouse up on the cliff in the background. Still #15: Woman in the mirror. The woman from earlier in the tape, looking much more haggard, fixes her hair in the mirror, also seen earlier. Still #16: Turning around. She starts to notice she is being watched, and begins to turn. Still #17: She's noticed us. She definitely "sees" the viewer now. Still #18: Engaging the viewer. The woman engages the viewer. Still #19: Breaking the Fourth Wall. Woman breaks the Fourth Wall by looking the viewer full in the face. She does not seem happy with us for spying on her. A very nice, effective "scare tactic," in that it usually causes the viewer to feel as if they are really being seen through their television. This effect is enhanced by the overall creepiness of the entire tape. Still #20: Maggots. A pile of writhing maggots, which morphs into a group of writhing human bodies (see next still). Still #21: Human bodies. The maggots turn into a pile of writhing human bodies. Could be symbolic of how the tape's maker feels about people, that we come from maggots? Still #22: Box. A very nice shot of a wooden box with its top off. We cannot currently see what is inside the box. Still #23: Centipede. The chair next to the table moves, and a gigantic centipede crawls out from under it. Most likely this was a miniature set with a normal-sized centipede, or a special effect. Still #24: Straight razor. We now see what is inside the wooden box. It is a black-handled straight razor. Still #25: Woman on a cliff. This appears to be the woman from earlier in the tape, though it's of course hard to tell conclusively from the back. Here she stands on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Still #26: The woman commits suicide. Here, the woman spreads out her arms and falls over the side of the cliff, apparently committing suicide. Still #27: Falling. Another still of the woman falling. Still #28: Parting shot. The final view of the woman plunging over the cliff. Still #29: Artistic tree. An artistic rendering of a tree. Very nice. Hard to tell if it is a painting or some sort of shadowbox effect. Still #30: Tree on fire. The same tree, now on fire. Still #31: Burning tree. Another still of the burning tree. Appears to be some form of art as opposed to a real tree on fire. Could be a mixture of both art and a photograph. Still #32: Crescent moon. This still gives more credence to my theory that this is some sort of eclipse. It looks very much like a crescent moon. Still #33: The well. The last shot on the tape, of what seems to be a well in a quiet forest glade. |
| (This is of course all fictional, based on the Japanese Ringu movie series, and the American remake The Ring. The SQ characters come from the tv series Miracles, which is (c) 2003 Spyglass Entertainment and Touchstone Television. The Ringu series is (c) 1998 The Ring/The Spiral Production Group. It is based on the novels by Koji Suzuki. The motion picture The Ring is (c) 2002 DreamWorks Pictures. The e-mail address for Alva Keel really works! E-mail Alva! :D The art of the little girl was originally done by Nancy, and modified and colored by Laurel. Everything else on these pages was done by Laurel (Sailorhathor) [the writing, other art (which was traced), and screen grabs]. No copyright infringement is intended by this fanfic cross-over.) |