Channel Zero: Candle Cove Is a Wonderful, Mysterious Nightmare

When I first saw the trailer for SyFy’s new series Channel Zero: Candle Cove, I was immediately in. Just the flashed of disturbing imagery and the premise of a creepy kids TV show were enough to pique my interest.

For those that are not familiar, the premise of Channel Zero is that it’s based on Creepypastas, short horror stories that often are played off as message board conversations or posts, making readers question whether or not they could actually be real. The first season of Channel Zero is based on a popular Creepypasta named “Candle Cove.” It’s a great premise, but as you can see from the original story, it’s just a premise.

Now that I’m watching the show and we’re several episodes in, what’s actually kept my interest is the underlying mystery of Candle Cove, and not its shock value. Yes, there is a completely disturbing kids show that is enough to give you nightmares by itself. Yes, there are some wonderfully twisted creature designs that stay with you from the moment you see them. But the mystery is what drives this show.

From a creative standpoint, it’s fascinating to see how the showrunners took the premise of the original Candle Cove story and fleshed it out into the mystery we’re seeing played out. It’s a little bit Nightmare on Elm Street, a little bit Stephen King’s It and a little bit Village of the Damned. And I love it.

Do yourself a favor and pay a visit to Candle Cove.