"Who's behind me?"
"Not so much of a 'who'; more of a 'what'. And uh, as for what it is, hell, I'm not even sure what makes it tick, but it does its job pretty well. You can consider it just a cameraman, okay?"
In several videos, the camera appears to be operated by one of a group of unknown entities that complicity obey or belong to certain characters (notably HABIT, Dr. James Corenthal, and possibly Slenderman). They almost always inspire disgust and hatred in those nearby. In The day the world ended, HABIT addresses a Thing as "Camera", and James Corenthal seems to be allied with a particular Thing, One-fifty-one (believed to be Rabbit #151).
Appearances[]
First appearance: -.-.[]
During Evan, Jeff and Vinny's conversation in the candleverse, the Thing has a high angle over the scene and wanders slowly behind them, around the circle. Evan notices it and refers to it as "one of those fucking things", and Jeff comments on their "thousand mile stares" that he says he could never get used to.
Interestingly, Vinny refers to the thing as though it is "part of his game"—and later down the track, it may be justifiable to infer that he's referring to HABIT. Vinny also appears to communciate with it in this video, though later in the series (in Three's company), he states that he doesn't know if they can talk.
Second appearance: MOVING IN[]
In the youtube description for this video, Habit refers to the Thing as "Numnuts". It is evident here that the Thing can be controlled and instructed by HABIT. HABIT's instructions imply that it has the capability of plugging in electrical appliances. Again, HABIT refers to it in the usual manner, demonstrated in the last line of the video: "You things give me the fucking creeps. I hate you so—"
Third appearance: :D[]
Here, the Thing acts as HABIT's camerman again. Jeff asks HABIT who's behind him, and HABIT responds like so:
"Not so much of a 'who'; more of a 'what.' And uh, as for what it is... hell, I'm not even sure what makes it tick, but it does its job pretty well. You can consider it just a cameraman, okay?"
Fourth appearance: Next[]
In this video, a Thing follows HABIT around filming his exploits, and again, HABIT calls it a "fucking weird-ass thing". He addresses it as though it has low-level intelligence, and, after seeming to understand its silence as meaning something, tells it it's a "good dog!" It doesn't seem able to object to being patronised.
It may be worth noting that neither Daniel or Alex react to the Thing in this video.
Fifth appearance: Isolation[]
In the second half of this video, the Thing follows Evan around for a majority of the vide, filming him from the back seat of his car and then in the wooded area where he prepares himself to fight the Rake.
Sixth appearance: Three's company[]
In Three's company, Vinny sees a Thing crouched low on the stairs and is startled, expressing, "Fuckin' hate you things." Vinny asks it if it can talk, or if it's even tried to (implying it has something resembling a mouth). It makes gargling, choking noises and Vinny looks disgusted and says, "Never mind."
When Vinny goes to open the door for the guest, he waves for the Thing to hide behind the wall and it hurriedly obliges, which suggests that it is either going along with the plan, or apathetic and simply following instructions.
A video of the same event was uploaded to the MLAnderson YouTube account, presumably by HABIT. The footage shows the side of a Thing; it appears to be humanoid and in a black t-shirt, and walks with a limp.
Seventh appearance: Half-acre of ash[]
The implications of the Things' appearances in these three videos complicates matters.
In "Half-acre of ash", HABIT sees a Thing and asks it, "Are you for me?" and implies that Corenthal sent the Thing to watch HABIT to act as the eyes for "witnesses", "unwilling conspirators" and "unknowing accomplices" — referring to iterations of the cast (or possibly the viewing audience). HABIT is quick to point out with a cruel laugh that Corenthal "thinks those are eyes", suggesting that the Things have a pair of features that are like eyes, but very much not. Additionally, with an uncharacteristic sadness on his face, he calls the Things "empty".
In another segment of this video, James Corenthal politely talks to whoever his cameraman is, which he calls "One-fifty-one". It is not clear whether he is employing Rabbit #151 in the same manner as the Things, or whether Rabbit #151 has become a Thing. However, Rabbit #151 is totally silent, even when directly addressed.
Considering HABIT treated Rabbits #151-153 with particular disdain when eliminating them from the Trials, it's not impossible that HABIT made them into Things as a form of punishment. However, if this is the case, how Corenthal was able to gain control over Rabbit #151 remains unknown.
Eighth appearance: The day the world ended[]
In "The day the world ended", Corenthal once again chats to One-fifty-one, rhetorically asking it if it has kids (not waiting for an answer). This could perhaps imply it was once human.
In another scene, Vinny sees a Thing and asks HABIT what it is, despite being very familiar with them. HABIT tells him not to worry about it, and that "that's mine". This may be because the Thing HABIT uses in this video is a different Thing to the one HABIT and Vinny worked with four years previously. When moving up the stairs, HABIT notices the Thing is lagging behind and says "C'mon camera, fuck — keep up!"
Ninth appearance: Introductions[]
Rabbit #151 again appears as the cameraman for Corenthal in this video. However, he does not appear to be a Thing; in the brief moment his face is visible, he appears totally human. He also talks to Vinny several times at the end of the video. Though confusing, it seems that all along, Rabbit #151 was just a regular human being that was assisting Corenthal.
Notes[]
Evident characteristics[]
- Has the capacity to film; is a cameraman frequently referred to as a "Thing."
- Can film up high or down low, so its physical form is mostly unknown.
- The MLAnderson video of the Three's company events show it to be humanoid, and that it walks with a limp.
- Presumed to have a characteristic that makes it creepy or shocking in appearance.
- May have something resembling a mouth, but cannot physically talk (though HABIT seems to understand its silence as meaningful).
- Has a pair of features on its face that resemble or act as eyes, but are not eyes at all. They may be camera lenses.
- Each Thing filming is one of a group of Things (supported by it always being referred to as "one of those things").
- Appear to be owned or allied with either HABIT or Dr Corenthal.
- Inspires disgust and hatred from those nearby, including Vinny, Evan and HABIT.
- One-fifty-one, however, does not disgust Corenthal.
Speculation[]
- The Things are proxies, which explains how the one in "Next" didn't elicit a reaction from Daniel or Alex; they may either resemble someone from the main cast, or the other zombie-like proxies wandering around in the house.
- It may also explain the "thousand-yard stare", Vinny being curious about their inability to speak, and its limping, humanoid form in HELLO.
- The Things resemble the main cast, because in "Next", Daniel and Alex don't react to it.
- The "things" have cameras where their eyes could be, explaining Jeff's reference to a "thousand mile stare".
- The shadow of the cameraman in :D implies that he is holding a camera.
- The Things float, which explains their ability to easily film at different heights.
- The Things may be invisible to specific people (as Daniel didn't notice it at all during Next, and Evan couldn't see it sitting in the back seat of his car during Isolation).