In Part V of my Halloween Video Series that you can simply skip to and view below, some people check your social media because they want to know how you’re doing. Other people check it like there will be a final exam, and your entire life is on the study guide. If you’re looking for scary stories for Halloween, “Chad Unhinged” invites you to consider which kind of person might be looking at yours.
There is something comforting about a monster that announces itself. Fangs are helpful, and a dramatic entrance through a cemetery gives everyone a fair opportunity to leave. A man sitting at a computer, assuring himself that his behavior is perfectly reasonable, presents a considerably more complicated identification process.
Welcome back to Jeph’s world, where the explanations come easily, and the self-awareness apparently has somewhere else to be. He has an impressive ability to approach a boundary, step over it, and then congratulate himself for respecting boundaries. Watching that process unfold is funny right up until you remember that someone else is on the receiving end.
“Chad Unhinged” finds its uneasiness in the ordinary details of life. College hallways, private worries, awkward conversations, and the things people casually share online all belong to a recognizable world. That familiarity gives the darker moments somewhere to hide, because nobody expects a perfectly normal afternoon to require ominous background music.
Julie has enough to think about without becoming the subject of someone else’s private research project. She has classes, friendships, family concerns, and the exhausting business of dealing with people who think an explanation automatically counts as an apology. Somewhere, there should be a college credit available for surviving conversations you have repeatedly attempted to leave.
That is part of the uncomfortable appeal of this chapter. You can recognize the irritation of someone refusing to take a hint before you recognize the larger danger of someone refusing to accept another person’s independence. The distance between those behaviors starts to feel smaller when you watch the excuses accumulate.
Then there is the internet, humanity’s greatest achievement in connecting people who probably should have remained several continents apart. Somewhere online, a man can ask for romantic advice and receive an answer that ought to come with a court date. Unfortunately, confidence and wisdom look remarkably similar when both are typed by strangers with usernames.
The dark humor in “Chad Unhinged” lives inside that gap. A ridiculous thought can make you laugh, while the reasoning behind it makes you wish someone would unplug the computer. Jeph supplies plenty of opportunities to experience both reactions, sometimes before you have finished processing the first one.
His imagination is particularly generous to him. Real people tend to have inconvenient opinions, competing priorities, and the ability to say no. Fantasy offers much better customer service, especially when the person inventing the conversation also gets to write every response.
That makes “Chad Unhinged” an unsettling Halloween watch for anyone who enjoys psychological suspense with a crooked sense of humor. The tension comes from listening closely, noticing the little justifications, and wondering how much a person can excuse before the excuses become the most frightening thing about him. You may catch yourself laughing and then immediately reconsidering what, exactly, you just laughed at.
If your October entertainment needs a little less creaking attic and a little more creeping discomfort, this chapter has a seat waiting for you. Bring your curiosity, keep your skepticism handy, and remember that knowing someone’s favorite things does not mean you know them. It certainly does not mean they owe you a place in their life.
Watch Joker Joker Deuce Halloween Series Part V – “Chad Unhinged” below and spend a little time with a man who has everything explained to his own satisfaction. Pay attention to what he calls harmless. That word is doing an awful lot of work.
If you’d rather read it than watch it, here is the link where you can start from the beginning: Joker Joker Deuce Halloween Series Part I – A Monster Awakens
These scary stories for Halloween are based on the novel, Joker Joker Deuce! These are not the same stories you’ll find in the book. This is the prequel to who Jeph actually becomes when he hits full stride and starts learning more about himself than anyone wants to know…
Happy Halloween!
