Unmasking a Killer Serial Arsonist
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
- The story of how investigators unmasked the most prolific American arsonist of the 20th century.
PATREON: patreon.com/realhorror
✦ Corrections ✦
There are two chapter IVs. My bad.
✦ Chapters ✦
00:00 Intro
01:49 On the Edge
18:03 Fires Everywhere
24:36 Sponsor: The White Vault
25:49 Escalation
35:26 Burn it All
39:20 Time to Find Out
46:53 Let the Games Begin
50:29 HE WROTE EVERYTHING HE DID OUT IN A BOOK AND TRIED TO GET IT PUBLISHED
55:25 A Strange Story
01:09:36 In Cold Blood
01:18:19 Mask Off
✦ Disclaimer ✦
This video is for educational purposes ONLY. The events described and shown are historically significant, and this educational documentary acts as a comprehensive recollection of those events based on journalistic evidence and reporting. The actions mentioned are in no way condoned. The video uses fictionalized 3D recreations to tell the story. Where possible, these are based on information that is in the public domain, but some creative license is used.
Music is provided by a combination of Epidemic Sound, Artlist.io and Tom Fox/Johnny Harris via @themusicroombyharris. The final outro song is 'Afterthought' by @endlesswithdrawal, with his kind permission. You can listen to the song as well as lots of others on his Spotify (bit.ly/3UT90bO).
✦ References ✦
Newspaper articles and citations shown on screen notwithstanding, the timeline and all other information is from three sources. These sources contain first hand accounts from people who were close to either John and/or the investigation and are as follows:
Fire Lover: A True Story by Joseph Wambaugh (2002)
Burned: Pyromania, Murder, and A Daughter's Nightmare by Frank C. Girardot Jr. and Lori Orr Kovach (2018)
Firebug by Kary Antholis (2023)
Watch the White Vault right here on TH-cam: bit.ly/3UVzASX (or wherever you get your podcasts).
You really out did yourself with this one 🎉🎈🎊
You are so awesome you made me completely reevaluate my views on the British
you did a wonderful job it was an amazing video and you covered the deaths of the four victims with such grace. thank you!
This sponsor pulled my attention more than the video could because, having listened to it, I was so absolutely ready to hear how it connected to the context of the rest of the video. lol
I cant believe I didnt connect your voice to the white vault, Ive been listening to it for quite a while now too
When a TH-cam channel has all of 8 videos and still has managed to amass almost 400k subs it's a pretty clear testament to the quality of those videos.
I haven’t witnessed something like that happen since Barely Sociable.
Not to mention a million views on almost all of them. Quality over quantity.
Indeed. Quality over quantity all day! The sheer amount of research and effort put into these videos is incredible.
Prime example of quality over quantity. A rare thing in modern TH-cam.
Yeah, these AI bots are getting really good.
"It was too bad about the baby, but shit, it wasn't my fault."
Jesus. What a cold-blooded line.
Absolutely inhuman logic.
@@jackskudlarek3138 actually, very human... still wrong
Yeah. That in particular made me gasp aloud.
@namenloserflo you're doing this to get a reaction and its not going to work.
@@jackskudlarek3138 No, I'm doing this because I find people interesting. We shouldn't reduce a person to an inhuman monster, because everything they do, they do for a reason, not out of inherent evilness.
Most people don't want to be evil. They act on very human instincts and emotions. They decide based on previous experiences and genetics. Some people were born "different", some were raised "different" some experienced certain events that led them to a certain path in life
I want to learn more about why people are as they are; a mindset of good people vs bad people doesn't work for that...
I think a real 'devil is in the details' moment can be had at 55:22 when you realise that he wrote "It wasn't my fault" in a book that is written in third person.
NGL I actually gasped at that
Well In the story the criminal is thinking to himself
@@michaelsurratt1864 Maybe oogle what 3rd person means
@@canoaslan1011 yeah I was wrong. I rewatched it.
@@michaelsurratt1864 if that was the case he would've said "it wasn't his fault", the rest of the text passage around the sentence is written in the third person. Grammatically its incorrect to use "my" in a book that is written in such a way (which it is, it's written from the perspective of the fictional character, not from the author, so in the third person), let alone change from third person perspective to first person perspective. A proper Freudian slip.
The absolute Freudian slip of starting an introspective piece in 3rd person about the acts committed by your character and then ending it with a 1st person remark.
The audacity of this man. Absolutely amazing documentary.
frito bandito, cointosser and pillow pirate are the craziest nicknames for a serial arsonist and i salute you for being able to say these without laughing
its pillow pyro but still funny lol
😂
That strategies highlight on the word "tosser" 😂 Isn't it the UK equivalent of "jerkwad"?
I wonder how pissed the guy was at being given these "cool" nicknames.
@@CloozyBadoozy pillow pyro my bad still funny asf
The Frito Bandito has got to be the funniest nickname for a serial criminal I have ever heard. 😂😂
The guilt I feel for how hard I laughed at that name....
“The potato chip file” lmao
I remember hearing this name as a kid and thinking it was a chip mascot, not an arsonist
@@yerabbit6333 Frito-lay used " the Frito Bandito " in the television commercial.
What about The Butt Bandit in London from a few years ago?
The fact that the Witness descriptions of john described him as 'Average' must have infuriated him
A masterfully created and presented yet another slice of history. Thank you for bringing such events to wider attention.
Wow! Generosity!!
this is by far the largest amount i've ever seen donated via thanks - well-deserved, if you ask me!
@justmagdalenadownhere if I googled the symbol correctly, that's in rupees so comes out to 25 USD. Still a wonderful donation nonetheless
@@matt__7666 oh, i saw it in pounds ☠️ didn't look closely enough. 25 bucks is still good, indeed!
"There's no way John would write all his crimes down in a book and try to get it published"
[Always Sunny music begins to play]
Who wrote that book "(if) I DID IT" ..?
@@macswanton9622 OJ Simpson hahaha
"The Gang Breaks The Son Of Sam Law"
They not only worked in Iraq, those shock and Orr tactics.
The gang goes Jihad (again)
55:00 the pov switch from “not his fault” to “not my fault” in one paragraph. seems like it’s absolutely telling of John’s feelings given everything else in the book
I caught that one too..
I got absolute chills when she read that line
I wonder if they left that in the final draft of the book. It is insane to me that it even got published...
It's truly sickening that this is the way he chooses to write about the death of a small child.
i was looking for a comment pointing this out so i could like it
I remember studying this case during the arson unit in my forensic class. John was still teaching from prison & he is more than willing to give the details from his case as if he is an expert on it & not the one that committed it. it was deeply upsetting, especially as I've grown up around the cities he terrorized years before I was born. my parents & grandparents remember those fires & the fear.
amazing video! really enjoyed it & look forward to the next!
Oof. This made me realize he's probably continued to deny it because so much of his ego is wrapped up in being "law enforcement".
That closing minute was jarring. Genuinely can not comprehend that it's just one person behind this channel. I could've sworn you were a hired narrator, a team of editors, and a graphic designer, at minimum. You absolutely deserve your success and more.
I'm always hesitant listening to true crime due to how often lost lives are brushed passed in favor of the drama, but listening to each victim be named and for us to be reminded of their lives and loved ones was really touching and respectful.
I love that these videos aren't just pumped out true crime media you can put on in the background all day. They are hard to watch just as any video about loss of life should be. Made the people feel like people, people who died in a horrifying way and must have been scared beyond what we could imagine.
(jeezus imagine how that grandmother must have felt dying beside her grandson, shit could keep a person up at night)
i think 90% of “true crime” is exploitative, sensationalist trash, so i’m always super wary of it, but i agree - this is handled with sensitivity and actually has a story worth telling.
not just some horse’s ass youtuber describing a tragedy as if it’s a ‘mystery’, or some other nonsense
And to top it off, we were also told what they did at the time and why they were there. Something that's often also forgotten about. There aren't many channels that do this. Scary Interesting and Coffeehouse Crime are two that does. Part Time Explorer also does when telling the history of America and American disasters, so does Barely and Slightly Sociable, plus Brick Immortar and Solar Sands the few times they talk about true crime. Fascinating Horror doesn't, but he does provide memorial screens and time to acknowledge their existence and mourn their passing, which is fine as his channel is mostly for quick information about certain disasters, essentially providing bite sized samples of history
It reminded me of my first experience with death, a classmate’s mother who passed in a home fire. There was this period of desperate wishing from all of us in the school that perhaps her mother had escaped, before it was confirmed she had not. I felt that sorrow again when hearing Billy’s story. It’s such a gutteral helpless experience, and this video truly feels like a memorial rather than any sort of glorification of the criminal behind it.
I agree
The fact that John wrote his crimes in a book and tried to publish it is just wild
If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer, written by OJ Simpson
It is but it does make sense considering his psychological profile: an insecure, unstable personality who craved recognition. This is just a guess, but I'm thinking in his head he initially thought they'd connect the dots and there'd be widespread talk of a serial arsonist on the loose (akin to serial killers), and when they didn't and there wasn't the only way for him to get recongition for his acts was to write the book. I'd bet he rationalized it by thinking that no-one will notice (after all, they hadn't connected the dots in over a decade, so one can kinda see how he thought the system would be clueless) and he's going to become a somewhat famous author. Or he's going to get caught, but even in that case, he'd get his fame.
John probably: I'm going to write a self-insert novel about the arsonist. They'll never suspect it's actually m-- I mean it's totally not me, I promise.
(gets arrested)
John: surprisedPikachuface.jpg
What's that quote? Hubris is the downfall of man.
Casual criminalist rule number 1: Don't write down your crimes
The care and respect shown to those who died was so touching, so often people just mention the casualties and then move on. But it is a testament to your storytelling ability and tact to show such respect when talking about the tragedy.
Narrator’s voice and cadence in relating the events to the audience is truly gifted.
The chapter cut in of 'he wrote a book about it and tried to publish it' really caught me off guard, my jaw dropped 😂
Same, LOL
Having watched the 1995 Nova episode on this, I knew that was coming and was already laughing knowing it was coming.
Babe wake up real horror posted‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️
Oh... that's right...
The only reason I’ll ever wake her from a nap is when this channel drops a new one.
Babe wake up real horror is outside our door
@@xenondestiny dont live in fear
Original TH-cam Comment™
11:25 Wow. This was genuinely so beautiful, I usually don't like true crime because of how sensationalized it can be but what a deeply kind and compassionate way of approaching journalism on the subject. Thank you for making this.
you would think you have a full team behind these videos with how perfect they come out. The fact that you are doing this all on your own is incredible. You are one talented human being. And your narrator voice is just so perfect for these types of stories. So glad I stumbled across this page
The narration on this channel isn’t praised enough. It’s softer on the ears, easier to listen to than most other amateur documentarians on TH-cam. This really is professional in every way.
yes!!! the voice is so nice to listen to
Yes. Lemmino is great too.
@@tridipboro7584 About to say this reminds me of Lemmino
Female version of Lemmino 😍
The animation is brilliant as well. I do a spot of 3D animation myself and I like the subtleties in this. The angles used when looking at documents, dof, smoothness etc. all in all an excellent job on all fronts. 🙃👍
14:49
I almost feel ashamed about how hard I laughed at “Frito Bandito”.
Don't worry, I did too. Honestly kudos to the narrator for being able to say that as many times as they did with a serious tone
i suddenly cracked up and was like- wait what? had to rewind
You shouldnt, its stoken in anti-hispanic racist propaganda and shifted the focus away from the true culprit , a white man
LMFAOO NO ME TOO LMFAOOO
At that time ." Frito Bandito " was a popular television commercial.
This documentary is incredibly good. It's thoroughly researched, well-produced, narrated clearly and professionally, and above all, it remembers and respects those who died.
Jim Obdam really deserves to be remembered for his heroism during the Ole's fire. He wasn't a cop and didn't chase after criminals or carry a gun, he was a retail employee who found himself in a horrible situation and chose to risk his life to try and rescue complete strangers. That's a level of true bravery and heroism I don't think John Orr and his loose-cannon cop fantasy realize exists. Jim probably felt horrible that he couldn't save Ada and Matthew, but he did so much more than many people would have.
Your longest video yet and it is SO GOOD. Love your victim-centric approach, never downplaying or sensationalizing what happened to the victims and never portraying the perpetrators as anything but monsters
The fact that we've culturally reached a point where "GTA-style" is an unironic term to describe rampaging is crazy, yet everyone knows what it means, and how it shows crime beyond that of normal criminals.
i wonder what that says about such a famous game, that unthinkable amounts of violence describes it. i'm not one of those "games = violence" people, but i do wonder about the general effects of in-game violence on people 's psyche ://
@@jesss101 It doesn’t affect people at all. It’s a game.
@@fidelio9301 That’s not what updated research says but ok, keep living in the 90s. 😂
@@caittails Cry snowflake
@@fidelio9301 There's evidence that there's short term increases in aggression during play, but also the glorification of violence in media is directly linked to greater acceptance of violence in real life. It's not a direct case of "videogames = violence IRL" but there's a definite link.
It's not the exact same, but look up the pyramid of domestic violence causes; it sounds insane, but the "lesser" crimes of referring to women with demeaning language does literally, eventually, link to actual, physical violence.
I’ve watched TV documentaries on this case over the years, but this is the first time I’ve heard a detailed description of Ole’s layout, and this is the most descriptive, evocative story of that fire. You’re an amazing creator!
She IS, isn't she?❤
Not to mention the anecdote about John and his ex wife at the end. I've never heard that before. And all the documentaries I've watched never went into too much detail of the investigation.
Agree! This is the first time I've ever understood exactly what went wrong at Ole's. Just terrifying.
Credit where due, saying 'potato chips' must have been ...difficult
Holy-- This is just spectacularly made, way better than almost all documentaries I have seen, online or offline. Good enough to give people like Barely Sociable and Lemmino a run for their money.
Keep up the amazing work.
And ofc, thank you for making all these great vids
I simply cannot believe that you’re a one woman team. Some of the best work I’ve seen on TH-cam in my tens of years on this site. You should be… unbelievably proud of what you’ve created here.
50:22 That transition is perfection. *chef's kiss* I am dying.
Yeah, I cackled 😂
I watched a few times. So good.
The music is what really sells it
"it'll be ridiculous-"
John: Hold my cigarettes
Perfection
Not even finished yet but the narration, the story telling, the 3d elements??? There's a reason this channel is so popular with so few videos, it's well deserved
It reminds me of the jack the ripper video some guy made a few years ago that was real well done
@@sillygo0oser that guy was lemmino! His videos are always sooo well done
I have to give it to y'all, I've watched a lot break downs of stuff like this (true crime, disaster documenters, mass casualty events etc.) and considered myself desensitized to it all but something about how you told about those first killed brought me to tears. I don't know what it was, cause it's not an uncommon format to give background on specific victims and then tell the story of how they died, but it really got me this time.
The visuals along with your descriptions & stories about the victims was so well done. This creates a much stronger emotional connection for your viewers rather than just speaking about them and displaying photos. Fantastic job! Bravo ❤
85 mins of Real Horror for the weekend is the most PHENOMENAL event possible
The "Frito Bandito" was the cartoon mascot for Fritos Corn Chips from 1967 to 1971.
Yeah, I kept coming across that little guy when I was looking in newspaper archives! He has a sombrero and whip for some reason. Really made me want a bag of Fritos.
@@RealHorrorChannelBecause Fritos are Corn Chips, which was a Mexican thing just like Tortilla Chips. Frito in Spanish means "Fried".
the fried bandit?
i absolutely love the way that you narrate each case. you put such emotion when covering real tragedies and line your narration with sarcasm in all the right places. i didn’t even realize i was an hour into this video until i was done with my chores.
YESSSS another amazing video!!! your empathy for all the victims is honestly so hard to find in this genre of video... thank you for that ❤
as always, thank you SO so much for including captions right away, it is very appreciated.
This is legit one of the best executed TH-cam videos I’ve ever seen. The balance between fact and emotional weight injected into the narrative of the video is amazing. Such respect for the actual lives that were affected by this case presented in a way that is on par with a Hollywood blockbuster.
I really reccomend the Helios flight video, that made me cry.
Absolutely. I believe the narrator was as good as Peter Thomas, a master at interjecting the right emotional weight into the otherwise dry episodes of forensic files.
You always hold so much dignity for the lives lost that you feature in these stories.
The amount of quality in this channel is sooo refreshing. The animations, the scenes, the research, the evidence, the storytelling, it’s all delivered in such a damn good way.
These are some of the highest quality videos on TH-cam; the research, the animations, the writing, the production quality, the whole vibe you have in your telling- it's phenomenal. Keep it up!
I've lived in LA for nearly 13 years, have a lot of family here, am a born & bred Californian, and never knew about these fires. Horrifying. The lack of interdepartmental communication reminds me of the Zodiac case, another California one. Sigh. So much could be solved much faster by collaboration, I really don't get why it isn't a priority in these kinds of things. Glad it eventually ended up in collaboration at least.
Thank you for the brilliant work as always.
Not sure about Orr, but I think Zodiac did that on purpose, to slow down the investigation.
@@Milkman4279 oof yeah. Certainly would make sense.
A lot of it was simply the time period. Nobody had computers, especially in smaller cities/towns, and even when they did it took decades for the data to be compiled into databases that could be accessed by multiple agencies. It was a different world.. everything was forms and paper files stuck in a storage room somewhere. At the time they did the first fingerprint search it most likely involved a series of individual phone calls to each agency, a request put in to a clerk who would make a photo copy of the original document which was then faxed to the inspector.. a process that probably took a week or more with ten agencies to contact and wait for response from ..and then those low resolution images would be compared visually. These days you pop open software, update your sample, and it can search the entire country in a few hours at most, with a result that not only shows matches but anything close within a percentage of probability.
Lived in Pasadena for years. Only older people even know this story, and they don’t like talking about it.
The fires started 40 years ago, in the 1980s. Unless you're in your 50s or older, you wouldn't have really heard about them or cared about them much. Not really an issue of communication in that case.
Not even 20 minutes in and my eyes are sweaty. I really love how this channel emphasizes the fact that the lives lost in tragedy aren't just numbers, but are people who lived lives. A lot of the times videos like this skim past the names of people and you tend to forget the value that each life holds. It feels really respectful the way that you portray them
Right at @11:10 I started tearing up after the narrator said that
This one has me thinking. I used to be mean and vindictive, but never acted on it. Several things happened in my life that could have boiled over into me being a monster. I found help and i found love. John, however, is someone i could find myself being a monster towards. Everything this boy did came from deep insecurity and instead of taking accountibility and fix himself, he not only destroyed lives but ended some too. All the while stuck in his dillusion of being some kind of anti-hero. Those poor people had nothing to do with him. He chose to make sure others had to suffer. Heck that dude.
lol STFU your still a monster if you were ever capable of setting fire to some building with people in it. You’re a pssy, imagine having sympathy for this pig fck. I’d make sure you didn’t do shit you freak.
Really fantastic piece of work! I appreciate your detailed research and the sensitivity of how you discuss these sometimes quite difficult and emotionally challenging topics. The clarity of presentation is also really valuable; I was noting to my partner the other day that when you release a video about an event I already know a bit about, I always feel like my understanding of what happened is hugely strengthened by seeing your take on it. These must be tremendously labour intensive to create, but all that work pays off in the quality of what you release.
bro that book twist was so hilarious man lmao
Your writing style and narration are simply masterful. Technically, I'm taking a night stroll around my city, that is somewhere in Central Europe, but I don't see it. You've transported me in time to erratic Los Angeles. I feel like I can taste the hot air while being amongst the heroes, the victims and the villains of this heartbreaking story of power abuse and betrayal.
The quality of this is phenomenal! you've clearly put a lot of work into this, keep it up! You really did this story justice
bruh, I LEGIT just thought of this channel this morning and then this appeared in my feed - definitely subscribed now, I LOVE how high quality these videos are
now i’m a young, broke preschool worker who vehemently enjoys plenty of small TH-camrs, but i’ve never considered becoming a patron of a TH-cam channel as much as i have once i stumbled across your channel. and knowing now, based on your end card, that you’re in fact a solo creator, i just *need* to give you some money for the absolutely brilliant, dedicated work you do. the respect you pay the victims of the crimes you discuss, the incredible effort put into both script writing and visuals, the way you (as so few creators unfortunately are able to) manage to not sensationalize or romanticize these horrific crimes - you are truly one of a kind. i’m so looking forward to seeing more content in the future. thank you!
This means a lot me, thank you so much.
LA Native here, we recently had an arson case just last year. It took down one of the busiest exits on the I-10 freeway for about a week. The fire broke out underneath one of the exits which is covering a car storage yard. I read that the front of the fire truck closest to the fire had started melting.
Oh my gosh! I am sorry to hear that.
Absolutely devastated that I'm caught up with all your videos- you might have some of the best narration I've heard on this site. Your voice is lovely while your writing is beautiful and fascinating. Amazing work.
TH-cam has been recommending this video to me for a while and ive finally watched and am just jaw dropped at the quality of story telling, the way you handle the people in it in a way that made me tear up and the editing. Immense talent... thank you for sharing it.
Please don't ever change or leave us, you're amazing. 🥺
I had to pause this, as the emotion flood of the first fire having a taken the lives of 4 people really overwhelmed me.
Thank you for succinctly, and respectfully, reporting on these people's lives. They mattered, and I'm glad to have learned about their tragedy here.
You're kidding right? Grow up.
@@cessnacitation-x Oh the irony.
@@cessnacitation-xAre YOU kidding? Or do you just not understand basic empathy and human emotion?
@@cessnacitation-x my first reaction was the same as urs but then i realised that this person is most likely healthier and just not as desensitised to the horrors of the world as us degens
Yeah, same, that was horrific. Between Billy trying to get his family and then the doors falling shut and not being able to open them back up... everything about that situation is, as you said, just such a heartbreaking and monumental tragedy.
Your writing and narration is so well done, I’ve cried every video because of how sad and/or terrifying the situation is. Thank you for making these videos, and keep up the good work!!
This is exactly the content I want to see, Long form, narrative analysis with just enough visual representation to add to the narrative without requiring me to look at something to infer meaning. I am typically painting as I listen, so this is PERFECT.
Subbed. I look forward to what you do next.
This is truly outstanding writing, editing, and narration. With true crime becoming overrun with derivative, uninspired content, this is a masterclass in video essays-- hell, in storytelling in general. How you don't have millions of subscribers, I genuinely don't understand. This is the most underrated channel on TH-cam, and it's not a close race. Bravo.
The channel has just eight videos so the "low" (384k is still a lot of people) subscriber count makes sense.
literally dropped everything I was doing, this channel is so addictive
Same!
the thing i love about this video is not JUST the quality (hat goes without saying to be honest) but the manner of story telling. what happens with these videos is that the people involved are lost in the sake of telling the series of events, but this one is careful, respectful, and clever enough with the introduction of details not just about the events but especially about the people. i was already so hooked and so interested but when capt marvin came in i was glued to the screen as you were narrating his plight not just in the context of the case but also as a person struggling in his environment. then comes the introduction for the Three Amigos with their supervisor. but i most especially appreciate the care you've put into telling the story of the Deals and other victims during the first Ole fire because it's true they're not just statistics, they had a name and a life too. well done!
I just had to say well done. I found this video for a listen on my way home from work, and it was enthralling. You put a lot of effort into producing this and it shows! Warning the viewers at the beginning, citing references... The narrative and narration are calm, straightforward (and witty at times), but sensitive to the loss of life and vast damage caused. Kudos.
It’s been so long since we saw you last, I had almost forgotten about you entirely. I say that with all due respect, as I also nearly forget that Lemmino still exists as well. He’s the only other creator that I can think of that vanishes for 6 months, drops an incredible documentary out of nowhere, then goes back into obscurity until the next one.
for me another is bobby brocoli (he does more science stuff but he's so slay)
Shoot, it probably takes nearly that long to create such well researched, lengthy videos, and put them out.
I also really like JCS (Jim Can't Swim)
I appreciate an artist who lets the work speak for itself.
Most of my subscriptions do that, lmao
Out of all the horror channels I listen to, you are my favorite. I get so excited when you upload!
Same, I felt like I had come across such a special gem when I found this channel a few months back. But I’ve been worried there might not be another upload, so an hour and 25 mins of content is awesome. Her voice is such a good fit for this content, really gives it the emotional resonance it deserves.
"write about what you know", they said
Please upload more i am massively impressed with all your videos. Especially this 1, absolutely brilliant analysis of a crime that i already knew lots about, but you dig so deep, loads more information. You make me feel for the victims than any other channel does. Keep it up.xx❤
An HOUR AND A HALF???? Christmas came early!!!
Too long
Somewhere Simon Whistler is screaming, “Don’t write down your crimes!” Haha 😂
Was waiting for someone to say this lmao
Just wanted to say I love your content so far! Coincidently, I was thinking about your channel this past week and you ended up posting this. Keep it up!
The gap between uploads is so worth the wait with the amount of care, work and detail that goes into each video. I so look forward to your uploads and get excited when I see a new one. I am happy to wait because every single one of these videos is fabulous quality story telling and entertainment.
Reminds me of Stephanie Lazarus who was a police detective for 20 years until they found out she committed a murder before she became a cop.
The absolute quality of this channel is unbelievable. It's seriously better than most professionally backed productions. Well paced, no added drama, fantastic narration. Top quality
I've found out about the channel from the "Horror's of being Lost" and I loved the production, story presentation and your thoughts about these incidents!
Safe to say the wait is well worth it! Thank you for the love and effort you put into these videos
Congratulations! That was a masterful piece of work: thoroughly researched and extremely well told. I am no expert on the subject, but my grandmother used to live in northern L.A. at around that time and I remember arson being a significant news item and topic of conversation. It’s amazing how prolific he was and how he got away with it for so long. Thank you for the effort you put in to relate this to us. I wish you great success.
i already knew the title card was coming from the timeline but the way you transitioned into it at 50:21 got a way too hard of a laugh out of me and was some very much needed relief in all of this.
Not even a full five minutes in and I immediately caught on to your new way of reading the script. Excellent production value on an excellent video!
YES!! I’ve rewatched your trapped sailors video so many times in waiting for another fantastic upload. Incredible work as always, this will be my next looped documentary for sure. 🔥
Absolutely exceptional video! The quality of your content is extraordinary, and the visuals coupled with the way you structure retelling these events is so captivating from beginning to end. The fact you make these pieces yourself is incredible, cant wait to see what future videos you create.
In regards to the events documented, it's truly tragic hearing of the lives lost to someone who was supposed to protect and serve his community. Feel so awful for the families involved, truly heart-breaking.
The level of respect and humanity you treat all of these cases with is far greater than a lot of true crime podcasts/docuseries/videos even bother to achieve. The dramatization and disrespect of true crime lately has made me greatly distance myself from most of it and I truly wish people could take a note or two from your work to just tell the stories as they are because they're horrible enough without the gratuity and incentive ways victims are discussed. Thank you for focusing on what's important, which is the facts and the tragedy that lives we're lost.
Its crazy how close to home this is. My whole family were born and raised in LA, and my dad knew John Orr. Orr was the brother of his scout leader, and he spent the night at his house before going deer hunting with him at the height of the arson attacks. Its scary how small the world is sometimes.
@The_Gothic_Pickle Hits me super close to home, too. My brother was good friends with the Orr family here in Glendale.
I’ve been here since the horrors of becoming lost video and this is the first new upload since I’ve been subbed. I’m so excited to watch it, I would sporadically check if you’d uploaded anything new because your videos are such amazing quality
this is truely one of the best put together videos I've ever seen in my life ! the way the story is put together , the narration , and the visualized text is all jaw dropping and astounding that so much effort and time was put into such a video and I just wanted to say thank you for dojng so . idek how to explain the amount of adoration i feel for all the people who put together such a project . good job yall !
i was literally rewatching your videos last night thinking "there's gotta be a new one coming soon"
I’d forgotten about the book! Belongs next to OJ Simpson’s “If I did it.”
I’m no mental health professional, but I’d guess he’s a malignant narcissist whose reality never lined up with his self image. Failure after failure, a career developed not through skill and talent but by taking advantage of weak spots in the system (a fire department desperate for firefighters, willing to take even unsuitable candidates, then has no arson investigator so he can step into the role). If he’d managed to become a policeman, his career probably would have been marked by disciplinary problems, screwups, and repeated firings, leading him to become a “tramp cop” moving from place to place until he screwed up again.
I had no idea he was as prolific as he was, and as someone who grew up in Northern California, mention of the brush fires he set is even more chilling. Any one of those could have turned into a massive wildfire. I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest for 25 years now, and your mention of those hot, dry winds in the fall made me immediately remember how they feel on your skin and in your nose and throat, and the way they rattle the dry grasses bleached tan by the summer heat, and the tickle of fear always in the back of your mind that one tossed cigarette or match could cause a fire that threatens homes and lives.
I remember watching a forensic files episode about this case last year so it's interesting to see someone go really into depth about the extra details. Fantastic video
You are my favorite crime channel ever! You always choose interesting and obscure stories, and retell them masterfully (and aesthetically).
The fact that you do this all by yourself is crazy. The writing, voiceover, visuals, editing etc is nearly perfect. You deserve sooooo many more watchers
"Babe wake up Real Horror uploaded a new vid".
This video was something else , the quality , the 3d graphics some good tier shit right here
im so glad ive found your channel so early on in this work. a few vids back i recommended you to a friend and im happy i did. your work is fantastic and so in depth, the quality is phenomenal. keep up the good work!
For most TH-cam true crime docs (mostly podcast, but not all), I've definitely got my phone out or I'm cleaning or something at the same time - not Real Horror. 100% transfixed, every time. These are so harrowing and engrossing and WELL DONE. I love it so much; thank you for the insane level of time and effort they all must take!
Holt shit the reveal was absolutely astonishing. Another banger fucking video I’m so glad I found this channel. The quality is great and the story telling plus visual are astounding. Great job!
Awesome job! I grew up in Burbank in the 80's and 90's and vaguely remember this story because of all the chaos that goes on in L.A. (i.e. the Rodney King beating and subsequent riots, O.J. Simpson trial, Northridge earthquake, etc...)
I have to absolutely salute you for the time and care you put into these.
I'm very happy that you took the time to mention the losses and how you went over them being real people and not 'statistics'. Not many people do that.
The production value, including scripting, imagery, sound quality, and just general thoroughness of the subject matter on these videos is _astounding_ for such a young channel. I cannot wait to see your next project. (And the one after it. And the one after that...)
50:00 I LOVE your sense of humor. Great video as always!!
i literally gasped at the reveal…. like Mouth wide open
Same here 😂 It was shocking and the it's narrated so good!
It was a Hollywood level twist honestly.
Same, I had to pause just to process it and then him also writing a book. You can’t make this stuff up.
Me too! It was also great to hear the tragedy behind the monster: he didn't get the job he wanted and failed to see that he had become a valued expert in another field, and how that really made him someone, a valuable contributor to society - and by passing on his knowledge probably for decades after his own death too, through people he trained and people trained by those people. He threw all of that away because he did not see who he had become and how much pride there was to be taken from that. Blinded by what he did NOT have.
In the end, he made a conscious decision to be evil, in my opinion, which makes him more evil than many others.
what a twist! great story telling. your best video yet!
You're narration is so good and engaging, it was so good to listen to. Thank you for the video and keep up the amazing work!
haha David Ault's voice comfused the hell out of me but thank you for letting me know there's a new White Vault season out - great series
Loved him in The Byron Chronicles.
You know when you have a channel in your subscriptions that only produces videos every couple of months but when that dot pops up it's guaranteed to be a really big deal?
You are that channel. Superb visual quality, unique and interesting style of narration presented in a movie-length video, not some opinion that ends after 10 minutes.
Masterfully done as usual.
I have, in the last 2 days, binge watched every video on your channel and they have all been magnificent! Raw, compassionate, eloquent tellings of some of the awful tragedies humans have known. 10/10 excellent videos all!!