Youtube is a vast and sometimes mysterious place to be. You can find anything from DiY crafts to horror shorts. Two weeks ago a new video series popped up in my ‘Recommended’ feed (brought to me by the mysterious gods of the Youtube algorithm). I’m very glad it did. There are five episodes so far. It appears to be the beginning of a webseries. At present the five videos are a voice-over over mostly dark backgrounds with the logo “Linger” at the end of it. They’re very short, for now, but I’m hoping many more are to come. The narrator is voiced by Youtuber Noir Ascii and he does a damn good job. I recognized his voice from his Petscop theory videos. It’s very distinctive.
Episode 1 has our as yet unnamed narrator alone, wondering what happened. He appears to be alone in a world that is very industrial looking with rusty metal pipes, dripping their contents down into pools of…whatever liquid it is. It smells, it’s musty. In my head I picture it as looking something like Silent Hill’s Otherworld. The narrator is taking you through the events his way. The way they’re perceived by Narrator.
Episode 2: Narrator is wondering if it’s an elaborate practical joke but rejects that idea as being impractical and unfeasible. At this point (which may or may not be after the first episode in the timeline) the world seems basically the same but devoid of people. He mentions that he’s experienced hallucinations and sleepwalking before (which may be a clue) but never to this extent.
Episode 3: This episode appears to be before the Event. Narrator is talking about an co-worker who annoys him. A blowhard who complains to the Narrator about how rough his life is and brags about his many years at the Company. The co-worker has tenure but the Narrator theorizes that he’s just so undervalued that they forgot about him and don’t care whether he’s there or not. This episode shows a small glimpse of a desk on which you can see a keyboard, a partial view of a monitor and maybe a chair.
Episode 4: At this point it has been three weeks since the Event and the lack of people s taking its toll on the environment. Trash is stagnating and dust is building up in the corners. Grass is growing longer in the nearby park. The reality of his situation is starting to settle on the Narrator. He also comments that he’s used to “unprecedented situations” (another clue, perhaps?). Whatever happened was sudden. Interestingly, the power is still on and he’s been stockpiling canned goods. He’s been boiling his water because the water treatment facility’s condition is unknown. Narrator has also been exploring in small areas each day. He hasn’t found anything but if he encounters a locked door he slides a note in, just in case. This episode also has a faint bluish image of a park? It looks like a street with a wall of foliage on the other side of it.
Episode 5: Narrator says that hate is a strong word but he absolutely hates Call Centers and outlines his reasons why. Nonetheless, he’s applying for a job at a call center and seems very bitter about bills and material items. He also thinks that those who look only for a job they enjoy are naive. Basically, life sucks. The Call Center employs at least 500 people and are employing more each day. The only one who looks happy is the previosly mentioned Co-Worker. This episode must take place before the Event. This episode has three empty chairs drawn up to a conference table.
Episode 5 is the last episode at present so I will keep you guys updated as more get added to it. I like the webseries where the clues can be found within the episodes themselves. I’m very intrigued by this budding series. I should also mention that I am in no way involved with the production of this except as a viewer and commentator. The writing is solid as are the voice overs. I’m very intrigued to see where it will lead and the more viewers it has, the more it can accomplish.
If you’re interested in checking it out for yourself you can find it on Youtube at Linger . I urge everyone to take a look and show some support if you like it by sharing and possibly subscribing so you get notified when a new episode is released.
GracieKat was the first co-host of Sci-Fi & Scary, Lilyn’s partner-in-crime, and sub-head of the Kali Krew. She reviews horror books, movies, and games for the site. She also does a weekly Focus on the Frightful feature, and is the site list-maker. She is also in control of the Sci-Fi & Scary podcast which will relaunch soon.
I’d made a list of horror shorts YouTube channels from your prior posts, for summer viewing. So here’s another to consider.
Oh, and I’ve started my project of comparing “Night Gallery” episodes with the original short stories on which slightly over half were based. First conclusion? Rod Serling is one hell of a screenwriter/adapter.
I can’t wait to read your analysis and comparisons on Night Gallery!
I’m glad you like them! I’m going to put out another list of shorts next Friday, as well.
And Linger just put out another episode, lol, the day after my post. I will do another post when it hits ten episodes, hopefully.