There have always been different shows and cartoons from Disney and Nickelodeon, that have a very special place in my heart. From elementary to middle school, I would come home, grab a bag of chips and decompress on the couch while watching cartoons. As I was growing up, I was able to have internet access whenever I wanted including Youtube.
I distinctly remember when I was 12 years old, I was trying to find the “SpongeBob SquarePants” episode where SpongeBob and Patrick blew bubbles in front of Squidward’s house. I thought I was going to find it, but instead, I found Squidward with red bulging eyes and the title say, “Top 10 Darkest Theories.”
When you’re young, you are also naive. I couldn’t sleep after watching that video because of all the disturbing photos of beloved characters like Bugs Bunny, but I wanted to know more.
With a few sleepless nights, I watched at least 20 videos about dark theories along with reading some of those theories from Reddit users. I wanted to understand why people would think of turning characters from silly cartoons made for children into serial killers, ghosts, different types of mental illnesses or kidnappers.
Dark theories have been known and shared everywhere from TV shows to movies to cartoons. No one has identified who created dark theories, but if you look on Reddit there are some people who make up their own theories. When making theories about certain shows or movies, people dive deep into the rabbit hole and analyze every single detail within all the scenes from what they are watching.
There are people on one side who think that dark theories are ridiculous and continue to enjoy their show or movie. On the other hand, there are people who firmly believe the dark theories that Youtube or Reddit accounts create, and they try to convince others how it aligns to the show or movie.
It amazes me how dark theories have taken an influence on different platforms and are still popular topics to be brought up. I wouldn’t have thought a lot of people still talk about dark theories, but I was absolutely wrong once I looked up Reddit.
When I listened to some of these theories, I thought that it was ridiculous, but as I was watching shows like “iCarly,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Hannah Montana,” and “Phineas and Ferb,” I started to understand how those theories could be possible.
One of the main Reddit links that live rent free in my head is about how in “Phineas and Ferb” Candace has schizophrenia, and that her brothers, and their contraptions, are all a figment of her imagination. It sounds ridiculous at first, but once you think about it for a bit, you realize that that theory makes a little bit of sense.
If you watched the show religiously like me, Phineas and Ferb are brothers who make crazy contraptions throughout the whole summer, but their sister Candace wants to bust them. Everytime Candace tries to show their parents the contraptions, they disappear.
Even though I’m in college, I still find dark theories mesmerizing. I still watch some of the cartoons or shows that I grew up with, but I will always remember the theories behind those stories.