ECHO ROSE: A Murder Mystery Hidden Inside Lifestyle Vlogging

She's an astrologer, psychic, empath, fashion icon, and White Claw enthusiast. But above all, she's the detective leading the world's hottest new ARG investigation.

By Kathryn MilewskiPublished 4 years ago • 6 min read

On July 18th, 2017, a video titled "How I Feed Alan" was uploaded to Youtube by a mysterious user named Daisy Brown. Only two minutes long, the video featured a woman off-camera, "Daisy," feeding her pet, "Alan," some sugar pills: the only thing he could properly digest. Just by looking at the video's thumbnail, viewers could tell Alan wasn't any normal household pet. Alan was a miniature monster.

Some people freaked out in the comments section and believed Alan - who looks like a potato had a baby with an angler fish - was real. More cynical viewers surmised "Alan" was nothing more than a puppet. (And a damn well-constructed one at that.) In any case, the video went viral, hitting over two million views, and Daisy Brown gained over 157,000 new subscribers. As weeks passed, Daisy uploaded more and more videos featuring Alan the monster: more feeding videos, baby Alan's origins, and even makeup tutorials that used his skin as a base for eyeshadow swatches. The people wanted more, and Daisy certainly delivered.

*Baby Alan with pink, purple and blue makeup swatches across his body and eyes.*

Despite Alan's inherent creepiness, Daisy's videos were lighthearted and at times, very funny. As weeks went on, viewers learned Daisy was an innocent ray of sunshine who seemed to lead a very sheltered life. Alan was created by her father - a scientist. Things were going swimmingly between the human and monster duo...until November, when this happened...

...And that's as far as I'll go into the series. The channel, Daisy Brown, is what's known in the horror community as an ARG: an augmented reality game. It's an interactive story which uses the real world as a platform to tell a narrative across different mediums. (In Daisy's case, through Youtube and Twitter.) The line between fiction and reality is blurred, and the audience actually has some impact over how the story is told. Daisy would read comments and over the course of the series, respond to viewers' questions, concerns, and even some criticisms.

To many's surprise, Daisy Brown officially ended on August 31st, 2018: a little over a year after the first video was posted. This historical conclusion came as a shock to ARG nerds, as most ARGs, especially popular ones, tend to go on for several years. Some even seem to end, only to revive months or years later. But the title of Daisy's last upload, "Final Video," made it clear her vlogs were over. Additionally, the storyline of the finale left no doubt in anyone's mind that Daisy wouldn't be uploading anymore.

*A full shot of Daisy. Her face remains off-camera for every video.*

With Daisy Brown's conclusion, fans were left with questions. Who was the real woman behind the camera? Why had she decided to end her hit series after only a year?

On May 29th, 2019, a new Youtube channel was born, and we all got some answers. Meet Echo Rose.

An astrologer, psychic and empath with a goofy-yet-lovable personality and fondness for vibrant wigs and White Claw, Echo Rose has become another viral sensation. It might be hard to tell over her heavy New York accent, but attentive viewers quickly realized Echo's voice is the same as Daisy Brown's - drawing the conclusion that both ARG characters are played by the same actress.

That actress is Julia Dapper: an Augsburg University alumni hailing from the Great Lakes area. While Dapper wrote Daisy Brown on her own, Echo Rose was created by her Augsburg peer, Lela Nesheim. Lela appears as the character "Carma" on the series: a "film bro" college kid who quickly becomes Echo's best friend.

*A still of Echo and Carma together in the video, "Full Moon Party."*

The quirky power duo meets over a spooky circumstance. Echo decides to do an investigation on Nettlebrook, the small town where she's moved, because she's convinced "the energies are so strong here...small towns can be creepy, y'know?" As time passes, Echo stumbles upon a Youtube video set in Nettlebrook made by a channel called Zipper Films. (Which Carma is a member of.) Towards the end of the video, there's noticeable distortion and an odd figure looming in the background. It's clearly not intentional, and Echo proposes that she and the group collaborate to look into the mystery. Doing so opens up many cans of worms, and uncovers dirty little secrets the rich townspeople of Nettlebrook would rather keep hidden...

*Still from the video, "GHOST CAUGHT ON CAMERA?" uploaded by Zipper Films*

There are a few similarities between Echo Rose and Daisy Brown. Both incorporate supernatural horror elements into their narratives, and both utilize social media platforms besides Youtube to tell their stories. (Twitter for Daisy Brown and Instagram for Echo Rose.)

At the same time, the two series couldn't be more different. While Daisy Brown's horror elements are apparent right from the get-go, Echo Rose's horror is subtle and rare. In-your-face style editing and cheeky humor is present in the majority of Echo's uploads. Some videos contain no horror or very little plot developments at all. And that's okay: the characters in Echo Rose are so entertaining on their own, viewers find it refreshing to watch vlogs where not much happens, and Echo and her pals are free to be their zany selves.

*A still from Echo's video, "JUST AS I THOUGHT."*

While Daisy Brown is a lonely series, Echo Rose contains a huge ensemble of characters, both on and off the screen. In fact, one of the defining features of Echo Rose is allowing fans' curiosities to be rewarded as they scroll through the Instagram accounts of Nettlebrook's many residents. The further you dig, the more characters to be found, and the more secrets you can uncover before the web series addresses them over a new Youtube video.

Additionally, Echo Rose feels far more interactive than Daisy Brown. Because Echo herself is an extrovert, she replies to and likes comments more often. Recently, the channel did a giveaway where participants answered some questions on a Google form, and lucky fans were sent personalized letters and gifts from Echo and Carma.

And like any good ARG, Echo Rose videos are littered with clues for Reddit investigators to pore over. They include binary code, curiously-placed glitches, and objects with deeper meaning - such as rotten apples in the episode, "Pumpkin Spice Disaster!!1!" There's even a Blogspot account where Nettlebrook's local reporter, Hunter Holloway, posts the occasional article. Significant plot developments and more insight into Nettlebrook's politics can be found within them.

Personally, I really love the community surrounding Echo Rose. It's smaller than Daisy Brown's, but just as vocal, diligent, and dedicated. Not only are there talented investigators who can spot the most miniscule of details within a video, but there's also skilled artists who bring the series to life just a little bit more. To give you an example of what I mean: when a significant event happened within the series, Echo made a post on Instagram to address her fans about it. I left this comment on the post...

And within a day, someone made this! Echo put it on her story...

*Fan art of Echo and Carma as Scooby Doo characters.*

I have no idea if the artist saw my comment on that post or not, but regardless, it's nice to know fans have enough hive mind to make quality memes about the series.

Need something to keep your mind occupied during quarantine? Now is the perfect time to get into Echo Rose. Not only are the episodes more entertaining than the average Netflix show, but there's enough clues scattered within the ARG to send you down several rabbit holes. Within hours, you'll become an addict like me.

So what are you waiting for? Grab a White Claw and watch the first episode of Echo Rose on Youtube!