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Cave of Shadows is an Alternate Reality Game portraying itself as a series of broadcasts for a mysterious broadcasting system called "Cave of Shadows", apparently run by an Ambiguously Evil entity named "The Overwatcher".
In the first broadcast, there were several segments to the show:
- Introduction and a word from the Overwatcher: Self-explanatory.
- You Know More!: An information segment, sometimes discussing things that are disturbing—for example, the first one involved a man born with an undeveloped twin on his face. As the series goes on, its quality starts to deteriorate; in episode 3, for instance, it's hosted by a sock puppet.
- Mr. Giraffe: A series of shorts involving a giraffe puppet, named "Mr. Giraffe". He performs basic tasks but doesn't do them easily, making mistakes...and those mistakes cost him...
- Weather Forecast: Exactly what it sounds like, though handled in an odd and profoundly creepy way. Subsequent airings have it being repeatedly intercepted by the Overwatcher, due to "material under investigation".
- Relaxation: Music played over random footage while encouraging messages are played on camera.
- ???: In the first installment, it's little more than static with an ominous voice narrating something.
- Closing Remarks: The Overwatcher provides closing statements.
Other segments were added, however, including:
- Blank Room: First appears in episode 2. It's first seen with a narrator named Xavier who hosts a segment referred to as "Somnum", involving a volunteer from the viewership assisting him by lying in a bed and trying to go to sleep. The segment never finishes, as the Overwatcher intercepts it due to "sensitive material".
- Storytime: First appears in episode 3. Similar to "Mr. Giraffe" in that it involves animal puppets. The first one involves a penguin named...Penguin, and his trip down memory lane, including his favorite memory of when he helped his young friend do...something in the bathroom after a little league game.
- Radio: First appears in episode 3. It plays music in its first appearance.
Tropes
- Affably Evil: The Overwatcher maintains a calm and cordial demeanor at all times. Though he might be Faux Affably Evil instead.
- Ambiguously Evil: The Overwatcher. He is in charge of this bizarre and sometimes terrifying series of videos, but his broadcasts do occasionally give good advice and encouraging words. His interruption of the first "Storytime" segment implies that he disapproves of sexual abuse too.
- Arc Words:
- "He is watching"
-
"He knows where you are now." - From the "Mr. Giraffe" segments: "We all make mistakes, but the one Mr. Giraffe made cost him."
- Big Bad: The Overwatcher, though it's possible that he's actually the Big Good.
- Big Brother Is Watching: The Overwatcher, as his name suggests.
- Deadly Euphemism: Mr. Giraffe's mistakes "cost him".
- Even Evil Has Standards: In "Storytime", just before we get a description of what Penguin "helped" his young friend with in the bathroom, the Overwatcher intercepts the broadcast and cuts it off, implying that even he doesn't want people seeing a story about child molestation.
- Harmful to Minors: Whatever the heck Penguin did with that little boy in "Storytime", it can't have been anything good...
- He Knows Too Much: Implied to be the case with Mr. Giraffe in episode 3.
- Honest John's Dealership: Episode 3 shows how this series can successfully make this trope extremely creepy."Don't make yucky business deals"
- Jump Scare: The series often cuts to loud noises at random, which can startle the viewers.
- Mind Screw: All over the place.
- Nothing Is Scarier:
- Also all over the place. The first episode even had a profoundly creepy segment simply called "???".
- "Removed by the Overwatcher due to material under investigation/sensitive material"
- The opening to episode 2. The "System" provides an announcement in the form of...footage of a sewer opening that it holds on for a while as loud music plays in the background. The sewer opening returns in the next episode, with the implication that Mr. Giraffe was murdered and his killers left his body to rot on it.
- Subverted Kids' Show: Well, more like Subverted Family Show. The "Mr. Giraffe" and "Storytime" segments are particularly noteworthy here—cute giraffe and penguin puppets being killed horribly and dealing with guilt over implied child molestation respectively.
- They Killed Kenny Again: The "Mr. Giraffe" segments end with Mr. Giraffe dying horribly in some way.
