The Monument Mythos

Last updated

The Monument Mythos
GenreAnalog horror
Created byAlex Casanas
No. of episodes33
Original release
ReleaseSeptember 26, 2020 (2020-09-26) –
April 30, 2023 (2023-04-30)
Related
The Nixonverse

The Monument Mythos is a YouTube horror webseries created by Alex Casanas and set in a paranormal alternate history of the world, depicting supposed horrific secrets behind major monuments and landmarks across America and beyond. [1] [2] The episodes use analog horror, found footage, and mockumentary formats to depict the fictional US presidencies of J.D. Rockefeller, James Dean, [1] and Al Gore, alongside various fictional conspiracy theories and inexplicable events. [1] [3] [4] [5] The debut episode, "LibertyLurker", released in September of 2020 and depicted a massive, carnivorous beast contained in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, with further topics including Mount Rushmore or Alcatraz Island as they are affected by alternate realities or Lovecraftian entities. [1] [6] Three seasons were produced, each consisting of 11 episodes. [1] The series ran from August 26, 2020, to April 30, 2023.[ citation needed ] The storyline had been written in its entirety before the series' release, but in May 2021, the author began to make changes to it. [4] The series' production included original music [4] and voice acting. [7] [8]

Contents

A spin-off series titled The Nixonverse, set in a timeline in which former U.S. president Richard Nixon became a god, ran from May 14 to August 13, 2022. A compilation film, The Absolute Nixonverse, which added new sections and removed certain sections from the original series, was released on October 1, 2023, on the Dwight Comics YouTube channel.[ citation needed ]

A second spin-off series titled The Modern Day, set in an alternate timeline in which English actor Robert Pattinson won the 2024 United States presidential election, ran from September 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024, with multiple episodes being released out of order. The series explored political subject matter much more directly than its sister series, including criticism of several political candidates, the political and social division caused by the United States' two-party system, and the dangers of nuclear weaponry. The series was eventually removed from Casanas' YouTube channel for personal reasons.

Reception

Nestor Kok of F Newsmagazine described the series in positive terms in 2022, writing: "There is nary an analog horror series, let alone a YouTube web series of any genre, that comes close to matching the scope and ambition of "The Monument Mythos"." [4] According to Joe Hoeffner of Collider in 2023, the series was among the most popular entries into the genre, alongside Local 58 , Gemini Home Entertainment , and The Mandela Catalogue , all of which have "increasingly elaborate backstories and mythologies, usually parceled out one cryptic piece at a time"; however, he singled out The Monument Mythos as being particularly engaging for its narrative puzzles. At the same time, he commented that the approach risks becoming clichéd. [9] Tilly Lawton of Pocket Tactics classified the series as a type of an alternate reality game, albeit one with a "[narrative] that [doesn't] alter regardless of player participation" (using the novel term "unfiction"). [10] According to the author in 2022, a community of followers was gathering in the series' Discord server, where various thematic events were organized. [11]

Plot

Most episodes consist of mockumentary material gathered around a particular subject, such as the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Egyptian Pyramids, or Ever Given Suez grounding, and progressively diverge from real history over the course of the narrative. [1] [3] [4] [12] [13] Recurring elements tying episodes together include "Special Trees", extradimensional organisms capable of bridging parallel universes; "Giza Glass", an extremely sharp material capable of beheading or dismembering humans without killing them; Maize, a massive technology monopoly analogous to Apple Inc.; and a sentient and violent Freedom armed with a Giza Glass sword. In-universe sources of information include the independent New Delaware Journal, an online video channel called Doctor Disturbing, and Maize's "TWTTR" social media platform.

President Rockefeller was unintentionally responsible for an alternate World War against Germany after allowing them to use Freedom's victims to power an alternate version of zeppelins. The airfleet was only defeated by a Giza glass-powered energy weapon, which unintentionally vaporized the attending American soldiers and caused them to later coalesce into a figure nicknamed the "Air Force One Angel". Dean defeated Nixon's reelection campaign in a blowout, apparently able to drive citizens into a frenzy of support at the slightest provocation. America under Dean suffered viscous domestic terrorist attacks by his opponents, who united under the far-right and Christian fundamentalist Anti-Dean Association. The ADA then reorganized into the Anti-Device Association with the rise of "TWTTR-Machines", and later into the Advocates for a Divided America after the contiguous States were unified into the Alcatraz, Rushmore, and Washington "Zones" to better contain paranormal phenomena.

Fictional characters include the Arnoldson family of dissidents and amateur investigators, in particular one Virginia Arnoldson who trades places with an alternate universe double after encountering a Special Tree in place of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.

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References

Works cited

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Heath, David (January 24, 2023). "12 Scariest Analog Horror Series". Game Rant . Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  2. ↑ Wehs, Garet (February 22, 2022). "Analog horror: The bizarre and the unsettling". The Signal (Student newspaper). Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Saab, Hannah; Cabezas, Nikolas (October 24, 2022). "12 Creepiest Analog Horror Series on YouTube". Collider. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Kok, Nestor (January 21, 2022). "Ghosts in the Machine: The Star-Spangled Monsters of Mister Manticore's "The Monument Mythos"". F Newsmagazine. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  5. ↑ Armstrong, Jenna Claire (March 3, 2022). "What Is Monument Mythos?". DC Tribal Media (Student newspaper). Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  6. ↑ Szczesniak, Alicia (January 13, 2022). "A look into analog horror". The Post (Student newspaper). Ohio University . Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  7. ↑ Galante, Gerardo (April 17, 2022). "¿Qué es el Analog Horror? Descubre el nuevo terror de Internet" [What is analog horror? Discover the new terror of the Internet]. El Generacional (Student newspaper) (in Spanish). Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  8. ↑ Northerner, Kenneth (January 18, 2022). "FSU-based YouTuber ALEXKANSAS creates online content". FSView & Florida Flambeau (Student newspaper). Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  9. ↑ Hoeffner, Joe (January 14, 2023). "How 'Skinamarink' Uses – and Expands Upon – the Tropes of Analog Horror". Collider. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  10. ↑ Lawton, Tilly (December 30, 2022). "A beginner's guide to the world of ARGs and Unfiction". Pocket Tactics. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  11. ↑ Northerner, Kenneth (February 13, 2022). "Catching up with student YouTuber Alex Casanas". FSView & Florida Flambeau (Student newspaper). Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  12. ↑ Armstrong, Jenna Claire (March 3, 2022). "What Is Monument Mythos?". DC Tribal Media (Student newspaper). Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  13. ↑ Szczesniak, Alicia (January 13, 2022). "A look into analog horror". The Post (Student newspaper). Ohio University . Retrieved April 13, 2024.
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