A note on true crime...

Hey all,

One request I often get is to feature more true crime related cases on the channel. I’ve answered this a few times now but I thought it comes up so often that making a post is a more helpful way to get my feelings on this across.

So I have covered a handful of true crime cases, it’s a topic I at least used to be really interested in (as I’m sure many of you are). But I’ve found that I don’t really enjoy making them as much and I also sometimes feel rather out of my depth and uncomfortable while doing it.

Generally when I have done it, it’s because there is an unsolved mystery element to the story that draws me to it. When making these videos I spend at times weeks engulfed in that particular story, researching and reading as much as I can on it. I find that when doing this with violent crimes it isn’t enjoyable or particularly something that is positive for my mental health.

I also find that I don’t really like what true crime has become in more recent years. While there are undoubtedly so many good examples of the topic being done well, youtube is full of people covering these stories and I just can’t shake the uncomfortable feeling that people's very real life trauma is being used as entertainment. This is not intended to shame anyone for enjoying true crime content, its human nature to be drawn to these darker stories. I have spent my entire life reading about dark real life accounts. Nor am I calling any other creators out specifically. It’s just an unavoidable thing when so many people are doing it, that these real life tragedies just become content. Just more noise to add to the internet. And not everyone who attempts to cover it will have the life skills required to really handle it in a mature way.

Even covering mostly paranormal stuff I find that on occasion people either directly involved in the case or people that knew those that were will reach out and talk to me. These have all been really positive interactions, but I always think if I were to be covering some brutal murder case there’s a more than zero chance that someone who actually knew the victims will hear my words and I just don’t know if I have the skill as a writer to really be fully confident I was presenting their tragedy in a compassionate and non exploitation way.

The paranormal to me feels different. While we do touch on some rather traumatic topics at times, the slightly fantastical element to paranormal stories allows my imagination to run a little bit. To explore different ideas. The interesting part of these stories to me is trying to weigh up all the elements and figure out what is true and what isn’t. Not just to recount to you all some horrible event that took place. I’m fully aware that some topics will come close to the line at times in terms of exploitation (most recently Trans-Allegheny), this is a horror channel, I want it to be creepy, I want it to disturb you a little and I play on horror tropes to achieve that. But I really do try my best to not cross the line.

This isn’t to say I will never cover true crime topics, I likely will on some very rare occasions. But any time I do I want to ensure it’s because I think the story itself has something of value to share and also that it treats the victims with respect. I want it to be because a story has actually impacted me in some way and I think it’s important to talk about, not just because I need content that month.

Thanks to the couple of people who asked this question today, it gave me the chance to put some thoughts to paper that have been going around in my head for some time.

You never know what the future will bring, but my intention for the foreseeable future is that The Tape Library is a paranormal show first and foremost (I count cryptids and aliens in that, I don’t care what you say, fite me).

Reading this back it looks like some serious public statement rather than just my rambling thoughts on a topic haha. Hopefully this is clear, I really struggle to put my thoughts on this into words.  Over the past year so many new people have found the channel, so elements of my approach to it obviously won’t be clear to most of you even if they are to me.

So with that in mind, if you have any questions about the channel or the topics I cover as a whole please do drop them below. Not sure how I’ll tackle it yet, if there’s quite a few maybe I’ll answer a bunch in an upcoming video or if not maybe another post with some of the best ones.

Much love to you all

TL