Gogeye Goes Live: It's a Prank

Gogeye001, the originator of the mysterious Youtube videos of recent notoriety, went live at 20:00 GMT today at this site. It features a streaming webcam and chat, and was previously advertised in the last Gogeye video posted on Youtube. Despite high expectations, nothing much has happened for the first hour. When the video resumed at 21:00 GMT, it turned out to be an obvious prank.

A few blurry images, a dripping sound, and finally a frozen image of a white monitor that said "Gogeye Is..." were the only notable occurrences prior to 21:00 GMT. And even calling them that is a stretch. Shortly after 21:00, the video resumed with a clear view of a man in a crude monster mask and someone tied up in a chair with a bag over their head. After a moment os silence, Gogeye and his hostage danced to Rick Astley's 1980s song "Never Gonna Give You Up," proof the whole thing was just a clever, but disappointing scheme to draw viewers into a Rickroll.

Throughout the broadcast, the chatroom was filled with a good many members of the Anonymous online group, recently responsible for real world protests against Scientology. Anonymous tends to include many loud youth in its ranks, who typically flood chat rooms and websites with inside jokes and phrases intended to provoke "lulz" (laughs). However, the imageboards of Anonymous have also generated and popularized some of the best amateur works of "creepypasta" floating around the internet today. Thus, it's no surprise that the Gogeye phenomena caught the attention of those in their community with an affinity for horror.

Certainly, Gogeye himself is part of Anonymous, and targeted the creepy films toward them in an attempt to draw them in for the punchline. The group is historically one of the main users of the "Rickroll" prank. Overall, while it was a rather clever stunt for Anonymous, it's an unfortunate conclusion to a campaign that showed eerie promise in its early stages. On the other hand, the mystery is easily closed.

-Grim Blogger