A week after user Magus posted his "prize" from the Hybrids, two videos were found in the "Related Videos" section on Youtube. The videos show the cast in situations that seemed to be EMH-themed, but do not fit directly into the timeline established by the canon videos. The videos had actually been posted a week before the "Congratulations Magus" video, on October 8th. One is titled "Slender man", and was posted on what seems to be Vince's private, out-of-game YouTube account. The other was titled "Welcome to the ARK", and was posted to Evan's personal YouTube account. They have since been taken down. It was later confirmed by the cast that both videos were created as entries for a horror movie competition.
Non-canon status confirmed[]
After EverymanHYBRID ended, the cast stated in the video #askEMH - Q&A Chat #1 that these two videos were entered into a Halloween short horror film competition for the now defunct cable horror channel Chiller (The competition video). The cast said these videos were technically non-canon to the main story and should be treated as "concept art" or screen tests for the series.
"Slender man"[]
Slender man was the first video uploaded (posted on Vince's Youtube called Crash621; watch a re-uploaded version here). Before the videos were confirmed as non-canon, this video in particular seemed to fit most smoothly into the known canon as it depicted Evan speaking to an empty chair in a scene that was directly reminiscent of the hidden footage of Ryan & the SEVENTRIALSOFHABIT.
"Welcome to the ARK"[]
Since the initial leak, the "Welcome to the ARK" video has been taken down from Evan's presumed Youtube page (called SocialOddity, now closed). But it then was uploaded on Megaupload by a user on UF and has been mirrored on youtube several times since Megaupload's demise (watch a re-uploaded version here). It seems likely it is a continuation of the first video of the leak, "Slender man."
At the time of the initial release "Welcome to the ARK" held less in common with the known EMH storyline, but it did contain all of the main characters of the series, as well as The Rake, Slenderman, purple tape, and direct references to the fitness series. However, as EMH has progresse,d the events of the videos began to connect much more directly to the series, including concepts such as the Candleverse, The Iteration Theory, and Dr. Corenthal being alive.
Fans have speculated that the location the crew during "Welcome to the ARK" is in fact the ARK (Candleverse) itself. Judging from the conversation the crew has in this specific video, several attributes of the ARK can be deduced:
- Time does not pass in a comprehensible way within it.
- Both weather and planetary rotation (and perhaps even celestial movement) have altogether frozen in their places (possibly as a result of the nature of the passage of time within it).
- No humans seem to naturally reside in it.
- Light and darkness seem to have some influence on what beings do reside there.
"Canon?" (April Fool's video)[]
On April 5th a video called "Canon?" was uploaded on Jeff's OOG YouTube channel (called JeffreyKoval) as a late April Fool's joke. Presumably, fans are intended to believe it was real. It shows Evan and Jeff fighting in the basement and Vince coming in and shooting them both with a shot-gun. At the end of the video Jeff, Vince, and Evan get up and have a good laugh. The video is in slow motion and the only thing that can be heard is the 1959 instrumental song "Sleepwalk" by Santo & Johnny. It should be noted that in the tags of the video are "Welcome to the Ark" and "Slender man," and also that the text saying "love, everymanHYBRID" is the same text style seen in the "Hidden" videos along with a sort of time indicator at the bottom of the video, starting at second 01-29, then 1min-1:14.
The video's name is most likely a tongue-in-cheek nod to the audience's confusion over the canonicity of "Slender man" and "Welcome to the Ark."
Notes[]
- The opening moments of "Welcome to the Ark" were used again in the final moments of "Twenty-four months."