If This, Then That: Fascinating Horror and Associated Channels

Media consumption is an exercise in associations. When you finish watching a new movie or show, the memories you formed follow you to the next piece of media you consume. (Accurately speaking, the process doesn't stop; it's the next piece, and the next, and the next). The more media you consume, the bigger this web of impressions and experiences becomes. The bigger the web becomes, the more connections you're able to propagate. You start to find conceptual similarities between the media pieces that attract you, and as time progresses, your ability to communicate these similarities improves. This ability is foundational to the art of creating an effective, associative media recommendation: the art of 'if this, then that.' In this essay, it's precisely what I hope to do. My media choice is a lesser-known YouTube series whose creator goes by the username, 'Fascinating Horror.' Henceforth, I will use his username to refer directly to the series.

Fascinating Horror is an ongoing recount of real, human tragedies, both modern and past. Beat by beat, the series retells the stories of various fires, explosions, industrial accidents, and theme park ride disasters. Death and destruction on a historic scale is a frequent theme, but even the loss of a single human life is significant enough to be featured on its own. Fascinating Horror expertly displays the horror of hindsight; with its signature attention to detail, one can trace disasters back to mundane structural errors and other lapses in human judgement, but only ever backwards in time. The people directly involved in these tragedies are never quite so lucky.

Humans have a voyeuristic relationship with death and disaster, so Fascinating Horror isn't unique in this respect. From news outlets to online forums, there are plenty of places you can go to watch people lose limbs or lives. Fascinating Horror is primarily unique in the way the creator chooses to display these horrors. The videos are completely devoid of visual gore, instead favoring a methodical voice-over and educational depictions of settings both pre- and post-disaster. The 'About' section of the channel says it best; it highlights 'in-depth research, respectful storytelling, and learning what we can from the mistakes of the past.' Regarding the third phrase, each episode also details any safety regulations that improved in the wake of these disasters. It's among my favorite parts of Fascinating Horror. It shows that there is hope for the future, despite the bloodstains from the past.

I urge you to give Fascinating Horror a watch. If you enjoy it, you can support the channel at no additional cost by liking the videos, subscribing to the channel, and sharing it with anyone else who may find it valuable. If you like Fascinating Horror as much as I do, then allow me to recommend some additional channels.

A YouTube channel aptly named 'TheFlightChannel' is my first pick. It takes on a similar storytelling style as Fascinating Horror, with a distinguishable beginning, middle, end, and aftermath or legacy to each disaster. Like Fascinating Horror, key players in the disaster – those who caused it, and those who suffered – are identified from the get-go. The viewer is then taken on an audiovisual journey that follows the given disaster as well as its denouement. However, the subject matter on this channel is much less diverse than Fascinating Horror; it exclusively investigates aircraft related tragedies, namely, crashes, collisions, and explosions.

My second recommendation would have to be a small YouTube creator who goes by 'Ship Geek.' He explores the mysterious world of both modern and historical maritime disasters. His videos share real stories regarding the people aboard, with special care taken to highlight the stories of those who survived mind-boggling circumstances. He does not have nearly as many videos as Fascinating Horror does, but all the same, his compassionate voice-overs and attention to detail brings Fascinating Horror to mind all the same. I recommend you start with 'The Story of Andrea Doria's Miracle Girl,' both because the Andrea Doria is such a famous 20th century shipwreck, and because Ship Geek gives additional sources that any interested party can read through for free.

That concludes my recommendations for viewers who enjoy Fascinating Horror. I won't hold you any longer; go on and enjoy the wealth of information that channels like Fascinating Horror have to offer.