Photo Creds: THE MONUMENT MYTHOS | Season One Teaser
Preben Svitzer, Review Desk Lead
Alex Casanas’s “The Monument Mythos” is an older YouTube analog horror series based on American national monuments and landmarks. It has three seasons and over 33 episodes, each lasting between 10 and 20 minutes. The series debuted on September 26, 2020, and concluded on April 30, 2023.
“The Monument Mythos” is set in an alternate history where many historical events have dark and supernatural twists. Utilizing found footage, mockumentary, and classified documents, Casanas reveals dark secrets and entities beyond human comprehension. The series also explores conspiracies and unexplained phenomena tied to American landmarks such as the Washington Monument, the Statue of Liberty, and Mount Rushmore.
While nearly every analog horror focuses on the supernatural, “The Monument Mythos” is unique in the sense that it is the sole analog horror series that highlights historical monuments and events, creating a fresh narrative. As the first series of its kind, it does a great job of portraying the periods shown. Casanas made sure to include age-appropriate video artifacts, vintage news clips, and clips of historical public figures to mimic the way modern-day documentaries cover history. The inclusion of historical figures, events, and institutions also grounds the horrors in reality and adds a layer of real-world anxiety.
Like many other analog horror series the horror aspect is vital for its uncanny success, but “The Monument Mythos” takes a different approach to its supernatural horror. Casanas decided to build tension through the atmosphere rather than jump scares or gore. The series thrives on slow-burning unease where the frightening moments don’t come from what is shown but from what is implied. “The Monument Mythos” heavily relies on psychological horror and the fear of the unknown, where many of its monsters are only partially visible or described indirectly. This ominosity leaves much to the viewer’s imagination, which can sometimes be more frightening than explicitly showing the monsters.
Overall, “The Monument Mythos” stands out in the analog horror genre by seamlessly blending the absurdity of the supernatural with the eerie tales of history. Its unique approach to storytelling creates a chilling, yet plausible, version of reality that lurks between the line of fiction and reality.
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