Since May 29th, Creepy Kingdom has pretty much gone dark. I could not, in good conscience, keep posting about theme parks and movies while our country is burning. Ever since I created Creepy Kingdom, back in 2011, it has always been about escapism. Escapism for myself and all others who share a similar passion for this niche within a niche within a niche. Earlier this year, when the pandemic hit, I made a choice to keep producing and releasing content, so that we could continue to provide some form of escapism for our followers, listeners, and viewers.
In the past, we have mostly kept politics out of Creepy Kingdom. I made a strong effort to focus on what brings people together, instead of what tears them apart. This was very apparent to me when I was making the Foolish Mortals documentary during the fall of 2016. The country was strongly divided because of the presidential election, yet people who had polar opposite views welcomed me into their homes to talk about our shared love of The Haunted Mansion. That experience made a huge impact on me. It inspired me to try to find common ground with those with opposing viewpoints.
That was pretty much the Creepy Kingdom philosophy, until last week. First of all, Black people being murdered by law enforcement in the United States is not a political issue, it is a human rights issue. Secondly, I have realized that Creepy Kingdom ignoring the injustices in the world is irresponsible. We all need an escape from real world horrors, but we have a huge platform that can also be used to inspire positive change, as well as entertain.
My friend and CK contributor Sabina Graves posted on her twitter account a few days ago that Creepy Kingdom is one of the most inclusive places in the horror community. This really touched my heart, because this happened organically. We never had a quota to have token representatives from all walks of life on our team. It just so happens that we attracted like-minded individuals from all walks of life. Our doors are open to all that have a love for the spooky lifestyle, and share our beliefs that all humans deserve equal rights.
This open invitation is obviously extended to those who consume our content. It warms my heart and gives me so much hope for the future that the vast majority of our followers, viewers, and listeners support the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as equal rights for all human beings. In the past week, we have posted two BLM posts (Thank you, Roxy) and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve seen my friends and other companies met with so much opposition when they posted similar content. I am so proud that our audience truly are like-minded with us.
I am glad that we don’t have to overcome the hurdle of convincing most of you that, yes, all lives matter, but right now Black people are being murdered at an alarming rate, and we, as humans, need to come together and put an end to it. So I’m going to move on to step two, taking action. I think it’s amazing that so many people, brands, and companies are taking steps to fight racism on such a large level. But work also needs to be done on the ground floor.
We need to fight all forms of hatred and oppression in our own subculture communities. Staying silent on these matters is how we got here in the first place. We need to hold accountable those who make hateful comments and actions, especially those we give our money to. But I implore you to not just “cancel” them, but to give them a chance to listen, learn, and grow. I know some people are lost causes, and we are better off without them, but you just might be able to plant a positive seed in someone’s head, and that might end up making the world a slightly better place. Isn’t that what all of this is all about?
The next step might be the hardest to take, but probably the most important. Before making a judgement, consider a life experience other than your own. That does not mean tolerate mental / physical abuse or toxic behavior. It means some people that are different from you have a different life experience, so don’t judge their words and actions based on your personal life experience.
While specific plans have yet to be worked out, I am publicly making a commitment that we are going to continue this conversation on our platform indefinitely. We are going to continue producing entertainment-based content, but we are no longer going to shy away from addressing controversial issues of injustice, as it pertains to the content we cover and to our community. Creepy Kingdom as a company is against all forms of police brutality, racism, sexism, homophobia, and any other form of hatred and oppression. If you truly don’t believe that all human beings deserve equal rights, then Creepy Kingdom is not the place for you.
I make this entire statement as the son of a (retired) Secret Service agent, as a victim of constant racist police harassment in my youth — including having a racist, white police officer point a loaded weapon at me, with his finger on the trigger, because I was driving in a neighborhood that he didn’t think I belonged in — as the co-owner and founder of Creepy Kingdom, as a Black man, as an American, as a Human.
Stay Safe,
-JHC2