[Start recording]
State your name for the record, please.
Helena [Name withheld for privacy]. I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?
No, no, Helena. Can I call you Helena?
Sure, I guess.
We've heard that you're quite the expert on certain recent...developments, in the online community.
What do you mean?
Could you tell us what you know about Sean Mcloughlin?
[Pause] What does he have to do with anything?
Helena, we're trying to help. Please, we need you to tell us what you know.
[Another pause] I...don't think you can help.
What do you mean?
I mean...I think he's too far gone.
Can you explain?
[Long pause] I've started calling them Hyde Glitches.
Hyde Glitches? As in, Jekyll and Hyde?
Yes, exactly. Some call them monsters. Some call them demons. Some simply call them the...darker...parts of us. All of them are right to some degree. These things...they're somewhere in between. Near as I can figure, they're a type of thought form, something created from the minds of people, brought into real life by enough concentration from enough people for a long time. These specific thought forms, they come into being through the internet. Youtube, primarily.
And how does that happen?
Fandoms. They...they grow around these people, thousands or...or millions of people, who're watching, focusing, thinking about this one...focal point.
Does the entity just...come into being? Naturally?
Well, no. Not usually. I think it starts when someone...some mad bastard has the brilliant idea to write up something...dark, about these creators. A fanfiction. They write them a dark side, a hidden psychopath. And then for some sick reason, people latch onto these dark sides. They name them. They draw them. And the longer this idea is around, the stronger the creature gets, until...until they take control. [Pause] I think that's what he's doing now.
And what's his name? This..."thought form" version of Mr. Mcloughlin?
He's got a couple of them...but...the most popular...
Yes?
They...call him Anti.
"Anti"? As in, opposite?
Yes. [Nervous laugh] I never said it was terribly creative. It's short for Antisepticeye. A play on the channel name.
Alright. So..."Anti". This creature has control of Mr. Mcloughlin? Is there any way to destroy it?
[Pause] You believe me.
Yes.
Why?
Helena, it's my job to believe in...unusual things.
[Pause] Yes. There might be a way.
How?
Well...Sean's got to do it. He's got to fight him off. That's why I call it a Hyde Glitch. They're dark sides, so the only way to defeat it is for the light side to win.
Do you think that Sean is strong enough to do that?
I think...he has to try. I hope to god he is.
Why is that?
Because no one else has a chance at stopping him, once he's free.
[Pause] Thank you for your time, Helena.
[End recording]