Charlie: The Viral Ghost that Got a Movie Deal

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of all things horror. Ghost stories, scary movies, being trapped in a maze full of actors paid to terrorize you — I want it all. There’s just something so inviting about a good scare. Something so addicting. I mean, I admit, I usually go into it with a cross around my neck, covered in holy water and saying ten Hail Mary’s, but there’s just this certain feeling of dread that weirdly entices me to stick through until the end. I’m sure you understand that feeling, right? You know, that palm-sweating, shaky-breathing, one-eye-covered, electrifying feeling? Okay, maybe you don’t. But let me tell you, Warner Brothers definitely does.

Throughout May of 2015, teenagers across the globe decided to stack two pencils on top of a piece of paper with “yes” and “no” written on it, followed by the chant “Charlie, Charlie, are you here?”, in an effort to communicate with a Mexican demon named, you guessed it, Charlie. The activity quickly became a viral game known as the Charlie Charlie Challenge (try saying that ten times fast), that turned to every and all forms of social media:

Even many popular public figures took a stab at it:

Some people even tried to make light of the whole terrifying trend by adding a twist to the game:

Or just straight up shutting it down:

Nonetheless, it was all pretty scary. But many shaken up teens later, it was revealed that the whole entire thing was actually just an advertising scheme to promote the upcoming new-age horror film La Horca, or The Gallows for English — courtesy of Warner Brothers of course. On May 26, 2015 a post from the Warner Bros. and The Gallows’ Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts consisted of a ten-second teaser showing kids speaking to Charlie through the challenge, and everything going horribly awry:

Turns out, The Gallows is a found-footage horror movie, much like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity. It tells the story of a teenager named Charlie who died in a horrible accident during a high school play and then, presumably, comes back as a demon to “fuck shit up” (actual words used in the movie, not mine). The fact that practicing witchcraft was just to get you to watch the movie, considering teenagers actually tried it, is some pretty twisted stuff. But being the horror buff I am, you best bet I was there front and centre for the premiere in support of any demon. And hell yeah did I enjoyed it! But if you ask me where “Charlie is Mexican” came from, I would never have an answer for you.

However, before the movie released, a bulk of articles began to hound Warner Bros. for their “poor taste in marketing schemes as it went too far” (Seventeen Magazine). Many critics took defence and said that the trailer could have easily been cut after the internet fad took off and is not proof that the whole thing was a marketing scheme (Uproxx). The dismay even began an entire internet search party that dug deep for answers as to if it was even a marketing ploy to begin with. And after hours of delving into that deep hole and looking for answers myself, it is safe to say The Gallows’ has a genius marketing team. Still a little iffy about it? Here are some facts I uncovered that might help you make a decision:

1. The demon in the The Gallows is in fact named Charlie. But in the movie he’s not summoned by any game involving pencils or paper. Despite the similarities in their names, a central point of the film is to NOT say his name, while the game was in point to say Charlie’s name as a peace offering (UK’s Independent).
2. The film was made before the Charlie Charlie Challenge took off. But because the game isn’t actually played in the movie, looking at the teaser shows that the part with the pencils was probably put together after and spliced in with footage from the real film (Complex).
3. There is no mention of The Gallows in any available marketing materials before the challenge became popular. Nor was there any connection or promotion of the film within the first wave of the publicized challenges from users (Daily Dot).

So was this whole Charlie Charlie Challenge a viral marketing campaign cooked up by Warner Brothers? Or did the studio see an opportunity to infiltrate the kids of the world while the trend was hot?

*ghost ouuuuuu* No one will ever know.

Either way, the challenge was certainly utilized by The Gallows‘s marketing team. Even though it appears that the marketing tie-in was created after the fact, and that the film was neither an initial part of the story nor the driver of the viral trend’s popularity, it still strikes as odd timing for everything to go down the way it did. Whether the Charlie Charlie Challenge was The Gallows’ original marketing strategy, or not, it sure was the talk of the town. The social-media-driven marketing scheme attracted attention and it worked. With only a budget of $2 million, The Gallows grossed $43 million worldwide. That’s a $41 million profit! So, I gotta give props to this mischievous yet clever Hollywood marketing. Why? because they used fear to get to you. Haven’t you heard? If played well, fear is the best enticer yet.

Take a look at The Conjuring’s marketing campaign. Every film in the franchise really plays up the “based on true events” gimmick. Because the stories revolve around real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, using “based on true events” is easy to sell and captivate curious people. On the other hand, for The Conjuring 2 pre-screening, they used the “only the brave can handle it” type of enticement. Remember this?

Yeah, there was no Father Perez when I went. Trust me, I looked for him. This image went viral weeks before the movie premiered in theatres, and I specifically remember seeing people on Twitter tag their movie buddies and comment something along the lines of “Oh shit, bring it on!” or “I’ll bring the bible, you bring the popcorn”. Priest or no priest, people still went and enjoyed the film. In fact, The Conjuring 2 did so good that it grossed $319 million worldwide, and started a whole franchise following up with Annabelle.

Oh and how can we forget the good ol’ Paranormal Activity marketing campaign. Similar to The Conjuring 2, the Paranormal Activity franchise led their first film’s advertising with this footage from their pre-screening:

They released this video weeks before the actual premiere, and it truly did become what drove people to watch the film in the coming weeks. And I was one of these people. But hey, maybe you weren’t. Maybe you’re still puzzled as to why people would even put themselves through the ordeal of watching such movies. Let me tell you, its fear. It’s like a gateway drug. It’s been scientifically proven that horror films are dearly loved because of people’s ability to have control in an uncontrollable situation. In other words, seeing other people go through horrifying things makes you feel better about your own life.

So, the next time you see “based on true events” followed by live-footage of a clown chasing after you in the middle of the night, just remember, *DJ Khalid voice* they want you to be afraid.