The Reaper
The reaper series is the start of the storyline for "The Journal" and it follows a man who appears to be lost. Several clues to the overall story can be found in the episodes, but many clues will require more than just watching as references to mythology mean doing a little research.
The idea for this series was actually formed out of the first ever Cemetery Chat on the main Josh Bearheart channel. That chat has a brief sighting of the character that would become the Reaper, walking behind me as I sat in the chair talking about why ghosts aren't real. The inspiration for this sighting was more because I wanted to try adding things to videos using masks, and when I saw how it came out, I wanted to do more. My first idea for the concept of The Reaper was that I would find his scythe and he would be trying to get it back.
While the series started off this way, it would evolve quite a bit over time. I bought the costume for the Reaper before I even knew exactly what I wanted to do and bought the scythe off of Amazon as there were none that I wanted in the local stores (before Spirit Halloween opened). The first Cemetery Chat was actually supposed to be a one-off thing and I really only made it because I was frustrated with YouTube and my photography videos not going anywhere. YouTube is a long game kind of thing, and you have to have way more patience than I had early on. The video got so many views (compared to how others had been doing on my channel) that I decided to make a follow up episode and a new series was born. The follow up episode switched to arguing how ghosts could be real and was filmed after a long day of driving around, looking for the right spot to film.
The next appearance of the Reaper came in the third Cemetery Chat and was only half planned. I was up in Mansfield checking out a cemetery there with my wife and decided to make a quick video. I knew I wanted to expand on the reaper story by finding the scythe, but I didn't know how exactly to do that. I wound up starting the video out with me finding it just lying on the ground and added in a little section near the end with the Reaper coming out of a mausoleum in the background, realizing he was missing his scythe. Looking back on it, I think this was a little too subtle for the small audience I had watching my videos to even notice. That would become a theme moving forward as I would go on to add in a ton of small details that would be overlooked. Most of the details I have added will probably never be spotted but having them was still a lot of fun.
The Reaper would appear briefly in another Cemetery Chat from late August 2021, where I talked about the Devil's Chair legend. The short scene was actually meant to be a part of a longer, stand alone, video where the Reaper would be seen in multiple places looking for his scythe. The ultimate goal to have that video end with an over-the-shoulder shot of the Reaper looking at me from a distance as I filmed a video while holding his scythe. Obviously, that video never came to fruition, but there are remnants of the plan I originally had.
The clip shown here of me walking in the costume is the same clip as is shown in the Devil's Chair video, although from a different angle. Lining everything up in order to keep my wife out of frame as she filmed me walking for the main video was a little difficult, but in the end, it worked out better than I expected. Before I started this whole YouTube adventure, I knew very little about directing or acting or filmmaking in general, and it showed in everything I did.
This is where I take a moment to shout out my wife, who has been the rock of everything I have done over the past couple of years. She was the one filming this clip of me, and this wouldn't be the last one she filmed. Being unsure of what she was supposed to be doing, she was basically thrown into the frying pan of filmmaking, learning a whole new skillset along the way. You can hear me telling her in this clip to say "ACTION" when she was ready, just one of the early hurdles we had to figure out as neither of us knew what we were doing. Through everything though, I wouldn't change a thing and I wouldn't trade her company for anything in the world.
After that, it would be a couple of weeks before the Reaper would make another appearance. This time it would be in the form of a direct interaction as I would talk to him as the video began. This marks the start of the transition where the Reaper story would take a more prevalent role on the channel. I argued with him to start off, telling him that I wouldn't be giving the scythe back, but looking back on it I wish I would have added more to the story here. That is one of the pitfalls of writing a creative story, knowing how much to show and how much to allude to. I alluded to the fact that he had been harassing me, but I didn't show anything in relation to that. This also shows how the plans I had weren't coming out as I had planned several other interactions but just didn't film them. Some of that was related to the lack of time I had free to film, and a lot was poor planning with that time.
I want to share a little exclusive behind the scenes stuff here as well, as there was some interesting stuff that happened while filming that particular video. We went up a little later in the day then I would have liked to film, especially because I had 2 videos to film that evening. The first one wound up being the Bloody Mary Legends and Tales video, which would come out only a few days after the Cemetery Chat. The chat itself was filmed second, only about 30 feet from the first filming spot to give the impression that they were in different areas. While filming, we had a couple different visitors in the form of people coming out to either hike the trail that ran next to the cemetery or to visit the supposed grave of "bloody Mary". It felt kind of weird filming in front of people like that as most of the time I was able to complete filming with no one around. You haven't truly lived until you've had people staring at you as you sit in a lawn chair, next to a plastic skeleton, surrounded by creepy props while filming in a cemetery. It was especially fun to see their faces as I dressed up as the Reaper to stand there and quietly make movements with my hands as if I was arguing with the air.
It wouldn't be long before the story progressed further, with the Reaper showing up and trying to steal the scythe back as it sat in the chair during setup for a chat. This attempt would be thwarted as I chased him away and, as it would be implied, beat him with a baseball bat. This would also be the episode where I would use the "magic" of the scythe to conjure my brother all the way from Minnesota to join me for a chat. This video wound up being a lot of work but also a ton of fun to film as I got to use several different editing techniques I had been learning and add some fun elements that I hadn't done before. It was also awesome to have my brother join me, as having someone else involved brought some life to the chat that I don't get to add very often.
This is where things really start to pick up.
I was sitting at 47 subscribers on my channel and had been feeling a bit stuck as that number hadn't really moved a lot in a few weeks. It wasn't a huge deal, but I really wanted to hit that special number of 50. I started off the next cemetery chat by offering the Reaper a deal where I would give him back his scythe if I hit 50 subscribers. At the time of filming, I thought it would be a few weeks before I actually cracked that threshold, but that assumption would be proven wrong when I got shouted out by World of MrGrey in one of his videos. My video with the Reaper deal would come out on a Tuesday morning, around the same time as the shout out, and within a few hours I would break 50 subscribers, ending up just over 60 when all was said and done.
While hitting the goal I had set was awesome, I was now in an odd situation. Not only was I unprepared for the next part of the story to unfold, I was also seeing an issue with retention in my videos when I opened with the Reaper story. I had to make a decision, either move the Reaper stuff to the end of videos or have them release on their own. Neither set up was technically ideal from a channel growth standpoint, but I knew I wanted to tell a story. With that in mind, I decided that the series would become its own stand-alone thing as soon as I gave the Reaper back his scythe. I would open the next cemetery chat by reluctantly returning the scythe, but would find a new object to obsess over - The Sceptor. I had no idea where exactly I was going with this story, but there was an idea. I just needed to figure out how I wanted to present it.
To summarize briefly where are at this point, I had been planning a creative story, though the actual details of the story were not really set in stone. It had morphed from a simple tale of me finding the scythe and the back-and-forth shenanigans that would ensue as the Reaper tried to get it back, into a more complex tale of me giving back one powerful object only to have another one land in my lap. No one has yet deciphered the strange thing I said to the Sceptor, but maybe one day someone will figure it out.
As time went on, I slowly started to form an idea of where I wanted the story to go. Initially, I thought I might have it center around a rivalry between my 2 skeleton sidekicks, Fred and Frank. That idea lasted all of 5 minutes, but the premise would become kind of cannon. Frank would be the one driving me through the Sceptor, influencing me to get back the scythe by killing the Reaper.
But there had to be more to it.
It would take a bit to figure out what I wanted to do with the story, but the extra time would wind up being worth it...at least to me.
This short "Prequel" video would be a filler video that I released around New Years, trying to keep some interest (or gauge what interest there was) in the story. I wanted to kind of consolidate everything in one place and make the whole story easier to digest, but that was easier said than done.
Each episode took a lot of time and effort to put together. There was a script to write, locations to be scouted, costumes to be prepped. Then I had to actually film the episodes and edit them, which took varying amounts of time. All told, I was putting about 30+ hours into each episode.
The time in and of itself wasn't an issue. I was having a blast with the process and would happily have spent 100 hours or more on each one if I had the time available. The issue became a multi-pronged monster that would wind up tying me down. But I am getting a bit ahead of myself.
Episode 1 of The Reaper would be the kick-off to a whole new side of the story. I would introduce the priest, who is supposed to be a kind of guiding force, leading Josh down the path he is supposed to take, and layer in some clues as to the direction I was going. If you pay close attention to the dialog, there are some hints to be found, and the name on the headstone at the end really lays a lot out there. Many of the clues won't really be of much help right away, but when combined with other clues from both The Reaper as well as The Journal, they will tell a very sad tale in the end. For now, we can catalogue the things that stand out and move on to the next episode. The priest mentions Josh is on a trip through the Asphodel Meadows, which are known in Greek Mythology as a place where the dead go to live when they die. While nothing can be definitively proven, there is a lot to infer from this.
Episode 2 seems to be leading down a different path at first. We open by seeing an old man walking down a path, seemingly with no cares. As he stops to rest on a bench, he is greeted by the Reaper who appears to be an old friend. From the dialog we can infer that this man, John, was supposed to die 10 years prior but was given an extension by the Reaper so he could see his daughter get married and make sure she was taken care of. There are some key details in the dialog here as well, especially around the way our lives flow as a river. The end of the episode introduces a new, darker, character who appears to be working with the Reaper. Their brief conversation ends with the Reaper stating that he needs Josh to accept the truth. What this truth is, is yet to be revealed. This is also the second time we see the new scythe, implying a role it has in the Reaper's plan as well.
Episode 3 is the most recently released episode, but not the final one. There is a lot to unpack, though at first glance it seems like just a casual conversation between Josh and the Reaper. The Reaper almost seems to be encouraging Josh to push on and gives him some advice that he has heard before from someone else. After the Reaper leaves, Josh hears a disembodied voice say, "You must get back to them" and "Don't give up! Your sacrifice must not be in vain.", before the screen fades to black and the episode ends with the sound of a gunshot. Again, this episode on its own doesn't mean a lot, but combined with the other episodes, a narrative begins to unfold. Read on only if you want a lot spoiled or if you are wanting to validate your own theories about the story so far.
The story to this point is a little complex but lays out very nicely when the pieces are all there.
Based on the information in episode 1, it is safe to assume that Josh is most likely dead as he is roaming the Asphodel Meadows. Persephone is the name on the stone that the priest was looking at, hinting at that name being important to the story in some way. In Greek Mythology, Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter who was abducted by Hades and forced into being the queen of the underworld. Her mother, Demeter, would search for her to no avail, until being informed that Zeus had allowed Hades to take Persephone as his bride in the underworld. Demeter, who controlled plant life and nature, would protest against this union by causing all the plant life on earth to die. Zeus would demand that Hades let Persephone go, but Hades had tricked Persephone into eating some pomegranate seeds from the underworld, dooming her to spend eternity there. Zeus would issue a decree to work around this, allowing Persephone to leave the underworld for some months out of the year to be with her mother, spending the remainder of the year with her husband in Hades.
If it isn't already clear, this story is an explanation of the seasons and why things don't grow in the winter months. The big question, however, is how does this play into the overall story laid out in The Reaper?
Something that hasn't been mentioned yet is the name of the priest. He appears to be of some importance given he is the first character to get some screen time outside of Josh and the Reaper. He appears to be guiding Josh in some way, almost as if he is meant to. While the name hasn't been officially given in context of the story, it can be inferred based on some knowledge of Greek mythology that this is most likely Hermes Chthonius, the guide to the underworld.
So, now we've established there is a heavy Greek mythological influence on the story, but what else is there? The interaction with the Reaper and John has a lot going on, with the inference that the Reaper granted John an additional 10 years on earth based on his life directly influencing another's life. John has a wife who had passed on before him, and a daughter who got married at some point in that 10-year time frame. We can assume that John's life being extended is linked in some way to Josh's life ending based on the conversation that John has with the Reaper, though that link is not solid yet and needs more evidence to back it up.
The most recent episode has Josh stumbling through the forests, lost in fog among the dead trees and plants. He stops to rest, and the Reaper appears to encourage him to keep pushing on. Another sign that Josh is no longer among the living is present in the way he mentions he can't sleep, and that food doesn't fill him up. He also mentions here that he feels like he is lost but doesn't know where he belongs. The Reaper assures him that he isn't being tortured, and that the things that are happening are tied to Josh's choices. The new staff is mentioned, with the Reaper directly asking about it and where it came from. It isn't completely clear how much the Reaper knows, but he seems to be insinuating that he knows more than he is telling Josh.
And that is where the Reaper series has been paused.
My original plan was to have 4 more episodes released before April 2022, but that wound up not happening. Part of the reason for the delay falls on my health. In early February, I started to experience some pain in my jaw and into my sinuses unlike anything I had felt before. My wife insisted I go to the dentist to get my teeth checked as a lot of the pain emanated from a particular tooth. The dentist identified a lot of issues that would need to be addressed, warning that if I didn't get the work done, I might wind up losing more than my teeth in the long run. It turned out, one of the problem teeth was infected and that infection had grown up into my sinus cavities, which is what was causing the pain. I would wind up having several visits, with 4 teeth being removed, a ton of cavities being filled, and a couple of root canals being done. I don't remember most of the visits as they gave me a sedative to help with my anxiety, but the pain in the healing process really held me down.
I also decided to quit smoking on February 16, coinciding with my first set of dental work, as I knew that would be better for me in the long run and figured I might as well make it all happen at once. I wasn't allowed to smoke for a couple of days after that first appointment anyway, so the timing made sense.
Aside from the health issues, I had a ton of stress from work. Part of that stress was due to quitting smoking and the dental work all happening at the same time, but it was also linked to some changes happening with the company I was working for. We were short-staffed due to some problems my coworkers had in their own lives, and business seemed to be picking up more and more. All of this would have only delayed my continuation of the story I was working on by a few months, but then I was laid off in late May, setting up another set of issues and leaving me confused and unsure of what would happen next.
As the summer moved on, I completely overhauled my brand, moving Cemetery Chats to their own channel and focusing on some new Legends and Tales videos. My Reaper story, as well as the new branch of it "The Journal" wound up on hold, waiting for the right time to continue the story. Even though there were no new episodes, the ideas swirled around in my head over the summer, leading to the decision in early September of 2022 to continue the story over the fall and winter, but in a new way.
This website is going to be the hub for all things creative, starting with this story. I always wanted the main part of the story to be an ARG, where I can tell some of the story from a first-person perspective. I introduced a character to the story back in January that most people missed, someone named Heath Borjears. There was also a lot shared around The Journal in that time, including some written story that was always meant to feed into a series of videos. That series will be coming in October 2022 to a new channel named "Heath Borjears". The story will unfold in a more natural setting on that channel but will also be written here on the site.
The Heath Borjears channel will be a collection of videos that detail some of Heath's jobs prior to his disappearance. The primary idea is that he would record an audio journal following each case to help document them, though eventually the recording would move to a written journal. This project is meant to be a complimentary piece to go along with the book I am writing. That book will be featured here on the website as a serial novel until it is finished, at that point it will be self-published as an eBook, hard cover and paperback and sold here on the website.