Kuwa6226: a new horror-mystery serial

A little about Kuwa6226, my new YouTube serial.

I’ve always been interested in urban legends.

I grew up in pre-Internet times, when it wasn’t possible to verify things online. In that era—let’s say, the late 1970s and early 1980s—you grew up with a lot of half-true and completely fabricated campfire stories. Some of them were rather disturbing, especially when they came from seemingly trustworthy sources.

For example, when I was eleven years I was in the Boy Scouts. In March of 1980, our troop was getting ready to go on an overnight hike and camping trip at East Fork State Park, a reservoir and public woods in southern Ohio, not far from Cincinnati.

Just before our departure, our scoutmaster warned us not to wander off the path, and get separated from the group. A reasonable enough suggestion, of course.

Then he told us the story of another boy, from another scout troop, who had wandered off the path at East Fork State Park two years ago, shortly after the park opened. The boy, according to our scoutmaster, had been driven mad by what he had seen and experienced in the woods. He had gone feral, and was believed to be lurking in the woods. He no longer looked entirely human. His hair, now long, had gone white, and he wore the tattered remnants of Boy Scout uniform.

Our scoutmaster added that if we heard the sound of anyone scratching at the opening of one of our tents late at night, we should remain still and make no response. It would probably be the feral, lost boy, looking for food. But he would go away eventually, if we simply remained silent.

This story was delivered to us deadpan. Was it true? Forty-five years later, I am certain that it was pure hokum. I suspected as much in 1980. But at the age of 11, I wasn’t entirely sure. And it wasn’t like I could Google it back then.

Kuwa6226, the story presented in the videos that follow, is a tale about an Internet-based urban legend: an entity that supposedly tracks down and kills those who make online inquiries about it. Is Kuwa6226 a supernatural entity? Or is it a human conspiracy of some kind? That is the mystery.

The story takes place on two continents: Asia and North America, with two groups of urban legend hunters: one American, and one Japanese.

In the first installment, we meet Hajime Takagawa, a 34-year-old Japanese office worker who is searching for a different urban legend: the gashadokuro, a mythical creature from Japanese folklore.

-ET

A short history of the guillotine

I have long been interested in the French Revolution. I was first introduced to it in my high school European History class. In the many years since then, I have read Simon Schama’s Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolutionand various other books on this violent, fascinating period.

But the French Revolution is a subject that should really be explored in French, if at all possible. 

My comprehension of French is not as good as I would like it to be. But I enjoy this young woman’s YouTube channel: French Mornings Podcast.  The content is designed for people like me: those who have some knowledge of French, but need some hand-holding.

The above video is entitled, “Petite histoire de la guillotine”. If you have a basic grasp of French and you like European history, I recommend that you give this a listen.

Also consider subscribing to her YouTube channel. Your French will definitely improve as a result!

-ET