User blog:Dycaite/Lost Media History, Lesson 1: Cry Baby Lane

Cry Baby Lane was long thought to be nothing more than a myth, after a creepypasta mentioning it was posted online. The supposed low-budget horror screened only once on Nickelodeon, on halloween night of 2000. Said to be so terrifying that many parents complained, resulting in the film being banned. While the creepypasta hyped several elements up a bit, there were starting to emerge footage of the film, in the form of a trailer, and several screenshots that people with copies of the tape for sale had provided, (though these tapes were deemed too expensive, and the movie once again faded into the background). However, miraculously, in August of 2011, a Reddit user under the name firesaladpeach, (in a TIL thread about the film), claimed to have a recorded copy of the entire film, and even provided a 2 minute bootleg intro. The shit seriously hit the fan at this point, as we now knew that she legitimate did have a copy, and people all over the thread began pandering for her to convert the VHS to a digital format and release it online.

A day or two passed, with no new correspondence from firesaladpeach, and users had discovered that she had even deleted her Reddit account. Hopes were low, and many people suspected the worst. But then, posting from another account, appeared a comment in the thread, reading something to the effect of "you guys have no faith in me", followed by a download link. In the mad rush that followed, I found myself purchasing a premium account for whatever vague filehost it was shared on, just to get my hands on the tape. Once I did, and saw that it was the real deal, I metaphorically shat my pants. Immediately, I set up a livestream of the film, and posted it in /x/. By the time the stream had begun, we had 100 viewers (maxed out), one of whom was re-streaming my stream to another handful of viewers. It was the single most intense online experience of my life. I streamed the film, in somewhat low quality (at that point in time, not having much knowledge about streaming), but the occasion was still incredibly momentus, much of /x/ having waited to see this film for so long now. The film finished, many memes were generated (nig-kid, kiss or chi-chi) and Cry Baby Lane finally became known as a once-lost now-found film.

Nickelodeon, having previously denied the existence of the film, now jumped on the bandwagon, re-airing the film on halloween night, 2011, on TeenNick's The 90s Are All That, promoting it as a "banned film" (although Peter Lauer later responded to this claim by saying he thought the film was simply a flop, resulting in it not being aired, and was never made aware of it ever being banned. In any case, the mystery of Cry Baby Lane was finally solved, and people worldwide beamed with joy. It seems like only yesterday, and is a moment of internet history that I will never forget. Thanks for taking a short trip back in time with me for our first lesson in Lost Media History. For those who have not yet seen the film, here it is for your viewing pleasure: