Corruptus

[Slimebeast]

If you really believe in something, it can be yours.

That's how we've been conditioned to think. Mostly, I suppose it's a coping mechanism to keep us from eating the rich. We all think we'll be rich someday if we just want it hard enough. How long has it been since there was a good, old-fashioned culling of the wealthy elite?

That probably wasn't a good way to start this blog post... I'm more than a little tired, but fuck it. I'm leaving it.

"Corruptus".

That was the subject of an email I received before my ISP dropped me. My phone turned into a brick the same day. Hell, I think it was the same precise moment, though it's difficult to know for sure since I only tried it after my laptop couldn't connect.

"Corruptus"... I'd never heard the word before, and to be honest I'm not exactly sure it IS a word at all. It could be Latin. It sounds like Latin. I haven't been able to look it up, and this is the first time I'm getting on the web since my unexpected removal from the grid.

I tried to sign on at the local library, by the way. My card was revoked... unpaid late fees for books I'd never read, much less checked out. Mostly borderline fetish material and self-help books for various mental illnesses. The apparently quite detailed tome on weapons of mass destruction seemed to be of the most concern for the librarian.

I hung around the library for maybe a half an hour, until someone left a computer logged in and unguarded. When I went to check my email, to tweet a complaint about what happened, those accounts were gone, as well. Honestly, I was a pretty huge dumbass for expecting them to be there.

It wasn't long before I noticed the computer's rightful user pointing me out at the front desk. I guess she wasn't a fan of the direct approach. I was out the door before anyone could cause a real fuss.

It's been over two years since I left Mowgli's Palace and never looked back.

The original blog post has come and gone so much... across so many different sites... that I can barely even remember the first place I tried to host it. If I'd known how far this would go, I don't know if I would've been able to hack out that clumsy, flawed account of what happened. The pressure would've been too great, and I suppose there's a certain level of comfort in the idea no one will actually see or care about your work.

It seems like a lot of sites removed the information, either upon direct request from Disney... or on their own in fear of reprisal. I know a really popular YouTuber who pulled readings of my posts from his channel. The rumor was that someone threatened to sue him, some supposed "author" of the "story". Bullshit. I know first-hand that he took it down in a bout of pants-shitting fear when he realized Disney's connection to his partner company.

I tried to keep up my "After Abandoned" blog for a while. I don't know how many people out there saw my notes on Room Zero, Club 22, and so on. They're still around if you look... at least at the time of this writing.

Yes, "Club 22" exists. No, it's not a typo of "Club 33". I later learned, from the same contact, that there's an 11 as well, and supposedly the debauchery only grows as the numbers get lower. I heard of a "Club 00", but I can't confirm that as clearly as I can with the previous contact. I also don't know if it has any connection to the "Room" of a similar name.

Yes, the door probably said "Characters" or "Cast Members" instead of "Mascots". I know, I know, I hear you all. Thank you so much for that. I'm sure your memory is crystal clear in moments of abject terror, right?

Overall, I'm glad that my words have spread so far and wide... but the down side is that so few of you are taking this seriously. I can't stress this enough... Treasure Island? Real. The Utilidors? Real. Just because you can't substantiate the rest doesn't mean it's "a cool story". Instead of picking apart the inaccuracies and making games about how cool it would be to have been in my position, maybe people can start taking this seriously and digging into what's going on.

Maybe?

I don't know. I don't want this to be a rant. I want to stay focused and make sure I post exactly what I wanted to make public. All of the stress... the stalkers, the phone calls, the broken windows... I know that's all supposed to keep me off track. They want me confused, scared, and most of all they want me quiet.

There's a team of men and women in suits that I've seen at random times. Here and there. I call them "The Focus Group" because they pop up with clipboards and pens, taking notes about everything I do. They all have the same outfits, the same thick-rimmed nerd glasses, the same red pens that just scream "we're judging you".

The first time I noticed them, they were following me through the Mall. I looped and turned, trying to be SURE they were following me... and there they were, every step of the way. Days later, I spotted them again in the laundromat window across from my new apartment.

I chased one down, once. The tubbiest one. They stayed silent through the entire chase and even the scuffle that ensued. When I wrenched the clipboard from his hand, I only found page after page of off-kilter, random gibberish coupled with crude Mickey silhouettes. All in the same red ink.

I know it sounds insane, to say that a group of men and women in black are following me and taking nonsense notes, but I think that's the point. I think the idea is that it SHOULD drive me insane, and if it doesn't, you'll still think I'm crazy just for saying it.

It's a no-win situation.

I will forever regret that trip to Emerald Isle, but on the other hand I'll always be grateful to the people who have come forward, anonymously, to share their experiences with me. Whoever mailed me the suggestion box from the resort is basically my hero at this point. To read what I'd written about the place and still brave the journey... wow. I can't imagine how that felt, whoever you may be. You even left the original, corroded lock in the box so I'd know it was legit. To do all of that without even taking a look inside for yourself must've been really hard. Thank you.

If you haven't noticed, I'm treating this post a lot like my "final installment". There's a reason for that. I don't know how long I can keep subverting Disney's attempts at silencing me before some sort of final action is taken. I have no doubt that somewhere, at this very moment, someone is using my identity to commit a crime that would discredit me. That, or the men in white jackets are about to show me a lovely little padded cell. I don't know what's going to come of this, and that's the worst part I suppose. All I know is that it's coming.

So what is "Corruptus"? Well, as I mentioned it was the title of an email I received. One that was presumably deleted along with my account. It was blank, and seemed to exist for the sole purpose of placing an attached text document in my hands.

Too bad for the powers that be... I had already printed it the moment I saw it.

Not much they can do to reverse that, can they?

I should've mentioned... remember that library? I used their copier to run off a few thousand duplicates of that letter. A few hundred are stapled in random places, a few hundred were passed out to random people, and the rest...  let's leave those as a little surprise. Have fun trying to stifle THAT, you horrible mouse-fuckers.

Without any more rambling, here's the letter. Word for word. It arrived from a source whose email address I won't disclose... though I assume it's an untraceable dummy account, anyway.

-----

Summation of CORRUPTUS incidents for January, 2015

For office use only. This message contains information that may be confidential or proprietary, or protected by the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine intended solely for the use of the addressee(s) named above. Any review, disclosure, distribution, copying or use of the information by others is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error or without authorization, please advise the sender by immediate reply and delete the original message.  All email sent to this address will be received by the Disney corporate email system and is subject to archiving and review by someone other than the recipient. Violation of this disclaimer as written will result in prosecution.

Please refer to official guidelines with relation to "known" and "unconfirmed" incident reports. Respect regulation as per ongoing and/or finalized designations.

* Known CORRUPTUS incidents up to and including January, 2015

- Treasure Island
-- Extreme agitation/inappropriate activity within Vulture population.
-- Mild to moderate agitation/inappropriate human activity.
-- Resolved CORRUPTUS: Unidentified Avian Species
Abandoned. Final.

- Disney's Pop Century Resort
-- Misplaced and mobile objects.
-- Chronological Displacement/Anachronism.
-- Unresolved CORRUPTUS: Wandering entity.
Pending.

- Disney's River County
-- Microorganism infestation.
-- Unresolved CORRUPTUS: "Clear Man" aka "See-Thru Man" aka "Friendly John".
Abandoned. Final.

- ImageWorks: The What-If Labs (2nd Floor)
-- Multiple missing persons reports regarding Dreamfinder's School of Drama.
-- Pin screen fatality.
-- Vibrating mirror sickness.
-- Unresolved CORRUPTUS: "Wily Wizard" installation
Abandoned. Final.

- Mowgli's Palace
-- Auditory hallucination and/or projection.
-- Misplaced and mobile objects.
-- Moderate to severe agitation/inappropriate human activity.
-- Unresolved CORRUPTUS: Inverted Character
Abandoned. Final.

- The New Global Neighborhood
-- Resolved CORRUPTUS: Fiber Optic Worm (NGN C 1)
-- Resolved CORRUPTUS: Digital Howl (NGN C 2)
Resolved. Repurposed.

- Room Zero
-- Sudden-onset mass-hysteria.
-- Auditory hallucination and/or projection.
-- Unresolved CORRUPTUS: Unknown
Contained. Final.

Please note: Nara Dreamland is not an officially licensed Disney park and no information or resources are to be shared with any responsible for containing its residents.

A complete list of suspected CORRUPTUS incidents and reports may be available.

-----

It took a few readings before I could get my head around this. Essentially, if the attached file was to be believed, then the events I had experienced were not part of an isolated incident. The events within Room Zero... the Gascots... they seem like part of a much larger problem.

What is "Corruptus"?

Corruption. I mean, I don't need to run Google Translate for that, even if I felt like I COULD take a break from writing without the risk of someone finding and disconnecting me at any moment.

Corruption of what? Dreams? Ideas? Desires?

I've never been a religious man, but I was dragged to Sunday School more than enough times to know about Golden Calves. False Gods created by man... icons, graven images...

Characters. Mascots.

If you believe in the Bible at all, and I'm not sure I do, especially not after what I've seen... then maybe God wasn't angry because people worshiped other things. Maybe he was afraid. Maybe if enough people believe in something hard enough, there's a chance it will come to be. Since we're naturally flawed beings, that means there's a very good chance such a thing would become corrupted.

If you think about it, Disney's animated films have always had one overriding message.

Clap your hands and believe hard enough, and Tinkerbell will live. When you wish upon a star... anything your heart desires...

People like to say Disney has some connection to Satanism, but I never bought into that. I still don't. I think they've been trying to create that Golden Calf... a God-Idol that everyone believes in... one that everyone loves... It's almost as if any dream or idea that is shared by enough human hearts and minds has a real chance of being born into the world.

The creatures... if any exist beyond what I saw with my own eyes... I think they're the deformed half-starts. Random manifestations of some dark, unquantifiable non-life that seeped into our state of being. They're mistakes of reality. Cosmic abortions.

The Corrupted.

Did everyone in Emerald Isle harbor such a negative impression of Mowgli's palace? How potent was the fear of nuclear war on the day Room Zero became full? If you want to find Gascots and mystery voices, does that search bring about the very thing you're looking for?

How many children have been disappointed, confused, or scarred for life when they saw Mickey without his "head"?

These are questions I'm never going to be able to answer. I don't know if anyone can. Speaking personally, this will probably be the last time I talk to you about Disney and everything I've learned about them. I'm truly sorry for that, especially since there's so much more I could say... unconfirmed rumors, documents and items I received that now seem to be gone forever...

I thought they were just trying to contain that Mickey costume. I thought that's why they went out of their way to keep the public in the dark about so much. Why they coerced and bullied to get their way.

Now I realize I was wrong.

It was this, all along.

They didn't want anything like THIS getting out.

I wish you all good luck, and I know I need the same from you.

Thank you.

[theboywithburninghands]

Dude. DUUUDE. Is this really the end? I don't think I've ever seen this idea played into before, and... wow, man. Just wow.

It's quite the way to end a series, leaving us wanting more while still giving us an explanation. But... is there a chance that we'll ever find out who or what "Friendly John" is? He seems like he could carry a story on his own.

You rock, man. Keep up the good work.

[Bluesunnyday]

That's it, wrap it up folks, we're done, we've reached the pinnacle of internet horror.

Also, is it wrong that now I really want to hear about the other Corruptus incidents? Like, how the hell you "Resolve" eldritch beings apparently spawned by a botched attempt at summoning sheer belief?

What did the "Wily Wizard installation" do that required an abandoning? Why is the See-Thru man known as "Friendly John"? You raise so many questions and it drives me crazy in the best way possible.

You rule, slimebeast!

[hbot]

Wait, so did Disney create these things, or did they just appear?

[Tim Jong Thrillin]

I really like the term "cosmic abortions" in regards to these things.  That whole paragraph where that term appears is pretty rad.

Tantilizingly good, as per the previous installments. 

[Demos]

I have read all the stories here and they are simply amazing, just registered to tell you that I love your work, and hope you to post many more of these amazing creepy tales 

[squareArm]

Abandoned by Disney has always been by far my favourite pasta, so it is sad to see it coming to an end. Keep up the good work, Slime, maybe you'll make something even better! 

[SomnusInterruptus]

I have always loved dark Disney stuff (while most people are looking at the cute little animatronics and singing along on the Small World ride, I'm always checking the ceiling for a hanging body). Your previous Disney stories were no exception, but this one . . . holy shit dude, I'd expect to see a copy of the Corruptus email on Fox Mulder's desk! I thought all the places mentioned were of your own creation, like Mowgli's Palace, but then I stumbled upon this http://io9.com/the-trashed-remains-of-abandoned-disney-projects-1466546591.

Mind double-blown!  Nice work, hope there will be more Corruptus leaks down the road! 

[xxkapamikey222xx]

A few questions linger... Who was the one who asked to shut the door in the bomb shelter? What does "Please help,costumes are heavy with people inside and there's no hook left for me" mean? Was the one not on the hook the Mickey coustume? Why did the Mickey want to pull off his own head? Who was inside the Mikey coustume, and what exactly is it? And finally, the most important question, will there be another story?

[LookingForScaryStuff]

Here's how I see the whole "Corruptus" thing.
The Treasure Island Corruptus was the most confusing one, unidentified avian species? From sheer belief and the animals on Treasure Island this ended up creating a new type of avian species. I imagine it wouldn't be as bad compared to the Room Zero Corruptus. Keep this in mind, it's not THAT bad. If the unidentified avian species was anything as bad as the inverted Mickey costume. Then I would say that it was a good idea to abandon Treasure Island. The irritation/agitation with the vulture population was most likely caused by the new species of bird that was created. We can only imagine what that new species looks like

Disney's Pop Century Resort Corruptus had some being that was created out of 80's/90's pop culture. As stated in the report "-- Chronological Displacement/Anachronism."  Anachronism basically means that something is out of place in history, something that shouldn't belong in another time period.  The "Wandering Entity" is something we can only imagine. Taking a look at the resort and everything around it, I think it's come disfigured creature made up of 80's/90's pop culture. When it says Pending, it most likely means that Disney is thinking of a way to contain the creature and eliminate it.

Disney's River Country Corruptus is the most true when looking into the park's history. There was a microorganism infestation that was dangerous to humans. The "Friendly John" is a being that was created through the fear when people heard news of the dangerous microorganisms. If anyone has ever read the Creepy Pasta: The River Country Film the maybe Friendly John is something similar to the man on the tape in the story. The one part with the protagonist watching the film with one of the men on the tape running away from his friend who is disfigured. Either that or something entirely worse.

ImageWorks: The What-If Labs (2nd Floor) Corruptus, if I'm correct, this one has to be the most messed up one of all. From a little research about the attractions I figured out what the Corruptus did. The Dreamfinder's School of Drama disappearances is most likely the "Wily Wizard" installations fault. Listening to the Undercooked Analysis(checkout that podcast, it's funny and a good listen) they had come up with a theory that the installation was pulling people into the screen. The Pin Screen fatality sounds like a horrible death, at least to me when I think about it. The pins probably stabbed into the person that was against it. The "Vibrating mirror sickness" sounds like an illness that affects a persons body through something similar to motion sickness but times ten?

Mowgli's Palace Corruptus we know more about than any other Corruptus. The auditory hallucinations and/or projections is shown in A Few Suggestions. The "No Face Kids" that are mentioned in the story and in the Room Zero story were hallucinations(or another Corruptus in itself? ) The inverted character was just the suit at first. The human who wore the suit BECAME the Corruptus itself, that's my theory however. Evidence to back up my theory is the gascots. Whatever was in Room Zero turned all those people down there into what we know now as the gascots.

The New Global Neighborhood Corruptus is something that I can't think of a theory for. All we know is that there were two creatures that were on sight. We only know that one of the creatures was a worm of some sort. The "Digital Howl" was, I think, was some sort of infection within the technology that was used in the attraction. Maybe it affected whoever was in the attraction with loud noises. Although I could be entirely wrong about this. In the report it says that the attraction was resolved and repurposed, even though Disney abandoned The New Global Neighborhood. For what? I don't know, maybe it had something to do with the Corruptus that was created or just legal issues. All we know is that this Corruptus was taken care of, at least, we THINK so. For all we know, those creatures are still there. NGC C 1/2 is something I'm clueless about.

Finally we have the most ominous Corruptus. Room Zero. This is the most creepy Corruptus of them all because we don't know what was created. How does something created through fear just make a whole theme park amount of people disappear? It's scary just thinking about it. All those people, screaming, crying, yelling for help, just gone. We only know one thing about the Corruptus that was created, it had a voice. That's it. At least it's contained, somewhat. The gascots are the result of whatever was down there. Lets just be thankful that whatever IS down there doesn't come out. Ever.

Nara Dreamland is a Corruptus that was inspired by Disney. People wanted a park similar to the Disney parks and it was created. But just like some of Disney's projects, it was abandoned. There are Corruptus beings there, 'it's residents" must be something similar to the gascots.

So that's how I see the whole "Corruptus" thing. We only know so little about it all, there are more incidents and more are popping up. Disney bought Marvel and Star Wars, Corruptus related to those will appear. I can only imagine worse creatures being created through people's belief. Like for instance, It's A Small World ride or Toon Town. Toon Town is probably FILLED with inverted characters or something even worse. Maybe in the future there will be more continuation of this series. I hope so, I need to know more about Corruptus. What do you guys think of my theories?

[Slimebeast]

I think  -  that I'm incredibly flattered you took the time to write that, much less think it over! While I like people to come to their own conclusions, I can still say that you're not really off base on anything. Only reason I wouldn't confirm/deny is so other people can think of their own reasons later without it being "No, this was the explanation".

[BloodCrypt]

While I don't wish to go on a religious debate I have one thing that bothers me about this story while I like the similar concepts (things born from human beliefs) but it was ruined with this entry.

I've never been a religious man, but I was dragged to Sunday School more than enough times to know about Golden Calves. False Gods created by man... icons, graven images...

Characters. Mascots.

If you believe in the Bible at all, and I'm not sure I do, especially not after what I've seen... then maybe God wasn't angry because people worshiped other things. Maybe he was afraid. Maybe if enough people believe in something hard enough, there's a chance it will come to be. Since we're naturally flawed beings, that means there's a very good chance such a thing would become corrupted.

First of all if you knew history, Golden Calfs were common depictions of the Bull of Heaven or El the bull the God most High which was the Head God in the Canaanite pantheon which ironically anough, Yahweh who was the "Lord of Hosts" a War-Storm deity, mostly worshipped by nasty bandits and raiders who made a living out of pillaging villages around Egyptian-controlled territories in Canaan, was one of them. It was until monotheism centered around Yahweh came along and declared those as "Idolatry" and had them destroyed.

One major problem I have with this is that, it seems you're attempting to once again give legitimacy to Abrahamicism by saying "oh Yahweh wasn't jealous, he was afraid we would create other Deities than him" which I highly find this narrative or guess very problematic saying that Yahweh is the only 'real' God while further justifying monotheism even though the Bible/Torah/Quran acknowledges the existence of other Deities but in actuality though, Yahweh only comes out as some jealous abusive prick when people worship other Deities just like the same way a abusive partner get's jealous towards their partner if they dare to have multiple partners or even friends. I just find it assaulting that this story tries to justify Yahweh's abusive behavior with alternative explanations as a attempt to make Abrahamic religions sound more legit than others which is highly problematic.

Anyways, I think the alternative suggestion you could have taken explaining the corruptus which you could have delve into metaphysics and philosophy (like consensual reality, hyperrealism which plays a big role in Disney, Tulpa, etc) but nope instead you had to give some religious tirade about how a mass murdering, rapist (that's how Jesus came into the picture) War-Storm deity is the only God and the rest are "icons". Very disappointing.

[Slimebeast]

It doesn't really matter if anyone finds it "problematic" or is offended. When it comes to fiction/art, being offended shouldn't matter to anyone but the person choosing to take offense.

Also, the history of the characters is irrelevant in a fictional story where someone is theorizing about what they've seen in a supernatural situation.

I also made no statement about who "the only God" is.

You're bringing way too much baggage and inventing your own content that isn't in the story.

[BloodCrypt]

It doesn't really matter if anyone finds it "problematic" or is offended. When it comes to fiction/art, being offended shouldn't matter to anyone but the person choosing to take offense.

Also, the history of the characters is irrelevant in a fictional story where someone is theorizing about what they've seen in a supernatural situation.

I also made no statement about who "the only God" is.

You're bringing way too much baggage and inventing your own content that isn't in the story.

Thank you for the explanation and I apologize for my antagonizing tone which I mean no further disruption, I think I may have missed this is through of a perspective of the protagonist who had a history of going to sunday school and may have been taught this but it doesn't mean their perspective is the definitive explanation but rather the protagonist is trying to 'rationalize' the supernatural occurrences through their christian lens.

Of course you could have made the character delve deeper into philosophy like Hyperreality which even more interestingly enough it has it's own section about Disney Land which according to the transcript:

Disneyland

Both Umberto Eco and Jean Baudrillard refer to Disneyland as an example of hyperreality. Eco believes that Disneyland with its settings such as Main Street and full sized houses has been created to look "absolutely realistic," taking visitors' imagination to a "fantastic past."[15] This false reality creates an illusion and makes it more desirable for people to buy this reality. Disneyland works in a system that enables visitors to feel that technology and the created atmosphere "can give us more reality than nature can".[16] The fake animals such as alligators and hippopotamuses are all available to people in Disneyland and for everyone to see. The "fake nature" of Disneyland satisfies our imagination and daydream fantasies in real life. Therefore, they seem more admirable and attractive. When entering Disneyland, consumers form into lines to gain access to each attraction. Then they are ordered by people with special uniforms to follow the rules, such as where to stand or where to sit. If the consumer follows each rule correctly, they can enjoy "the real thing" and see things that are not available to them outside of Disneyland's doors.[17]

In his work Simulacra and Simulation, Baudrillard argues the "imaginary world" of Disneyland magnetizes people inside and has been presented as "imaginary" to make people believe that all its surroundings are "real". But he believes that the Los Angeles area is not real; thus it is hyperreal. Disneyland is a set of apparatuses which tries to bring imagination and fiction to what is called "real". This concerns the American values and way of life in a sense and "concealing the fact that the real is no longer real, and thus of saving the reality principle."[18]

    "The Disneyland imaginary is neither true or false: it is a deterrence machine set up in order to rejuvenate in reverse the fiction of the real. Whence the debility, the infantile degeneration of this imaginary. It's meant to be an infantile world, in order to make us believe that the adults are elsewhere, in the "real" world, and to conceal the fact that real childishness is everywhere, particularly among those adults who go there to act the child in order to foster illusions of their real childishness."[19]

And of course there's Tulpa as well which can easily explain what the corrupti are if you combine it with the Hyperrealism which is something worth thinking about here...

[mask213]

After two whole years I discover that there's an ending to this wonderful series... Well, that's what happen when you  live in France.

Am I the only one who screamed "DOGMA!" when I read the Golden Calf part?
(For those who don't know what I'm speaking about, Dogma is a religious-comedy film about fallen angels trying to go back to Heaven, and so they want to do a last "good deed" to honor God, like in the "good old times" of the Ancient Testament. And so they decide to punish the new worshipers of the "Golden Calf", aka the heads of a Disney-company-parody whose mascot is ... Mooby the Golden Calf.)

Also gives me a lot of Terry Pratchett and Discworld vibes, but I guess that just comes from the idea of "nightmarish creaturesborn from and feeding on belief".