Mister Magic

in a nutshell: 30 years after a terrible incident caused its cancellation, the five surviving cast members of a mysterious children's show, Mister Magic, are called back to the studio to record a documentary on the show's historic final season. This is all despite the fact that, inexplicably, the show seems to have been erased completely from public record. Even the now-adult cast members can't quite remember much of their years on the show, and the very eerie townspeople who are devoted to helping them remember, appear to have a much more sinister plan than they're letting on.

the vibes: Online forums devoted to unearthing creepy half-remembered media from the haze of childhood, along with the inherent weirdness of public access television, sung in a vaguely-threatening rhyming lesson akin to the Oompa Loompas' best work.

main themes: Overcoming childhood trauma, social programming, and Mormonism. Well, not explicitly Mormonism, but, halfway through reading this I thought Is the author by chance Mormon? and sure as shit, she is very publicly ex-Mormon. It's the keep sweet tone of the lessons from the children's show that gave it away.

the writing: Writing style is perfectly perfunctory, nothing memorable. Again, an incredible premise that I guess I expected more from? That could be unfair. Online it seems that the majority of people who read this, really dug it. So the ending worked for most. Maybe I should give it a shake again, but it ended bloodless and a tad too "just believe in yourself, the magic is inside you!" for my tastes. Still, points to the author for using the cult-y brainwashing of a Mormon childhood as the inspo for a fantastical creepypasta.