If you like creepypastas, there’s no doubt you’ve heard of SyFy’s Channel Zero. The four-season series took well-known creepypastas and expanded on them in gloriously insane fashion, bringing our wildest dreams and deepest fears to life. My favorite season was the second: NoEnd House. Based on the creepypasta of the same name, this season took a group of 20-somethings and walked them through a haunted house that changed their lives forever.
The “NoEnd House” is a haunted attraction that moves from place to place, never staying in the same location for long. There are few advertisements, if any, and most of its news is spread through word of mouth. Normally, haunted houses aren’t that scary; they have animatronics that jump out at you, loud bangs and screams, and some cobwebs thrown in for good measure. NoEnd House is different. First, you must go through alone. Second, everyone who enters has a drastically different description of what went on while inside. It’s only supposed to be a few rooms: get through them and you win! It shouldn’t be that hard, right?
Out of all the Channel Zero seasons, I really liked NoEnd House because its story absolutely held me against my will. Where other seasons like Candle Cove and Butcher’s Block had moments of blandness — and The Dream Door‘s most-of-the-time moments of stubborn character actions — NoEnd House stuck in my mind from beginning to end (no pun intended). I needed to know everything about this mysterious haunted attraction. I needed background into the character’s lives. I needed to see inside the world of the house, to live inside of it. It’s a strange attraction to a fictional show that mirrored the deadly beckoning of the house itself.
And though all seasons had points of character development that dealt with trauma, I didn’t feel bogged down by NoEnd House. I wasn’t annoyed by anyone in particular either. The characters were level-headed and I empathized with each one of them.
NoEnd House didn’t skimp on horror either. Though highly effective, NoEnd House didn’t rely on gore or jumpscares; don’t get me wrong, there were some, but it wasn’t a child made of teeth or a contortionist breaking bones. It was a kind of existential horror, as if you were being toyed with by an Eldritch Terror. The house is alive, and you know that from the very beginning. Going in to NoEnd House is walking directly into the void.
Channel Zero itself is a wonderful concept: taking infamous horror stories and making them real. Channel Zero: NoEnd House is on a whole different level. Where the other three seasons had some level of disbelief to them (for example, the personal experiences oftentimes wouldn’t be relatable to the average person), everyone has the ability to go through a haunted house and be utterly scared out of their mind. Channel Zero gives viewers whole worlds to escape into, and NoEnd House does that to the millionth degree. Sure, a world of flowers or doors to other dimensions is scary, but imagine being in a world just like yours, only slightly off. That, is disturbing. That is anxiety-inducing. NoEnd House is the perfect abomination.
What did you think of No End House? Let us know in the comments!
