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Waiting in the Red Room

“There will be bacon”

Is this the first verified example of a Red Room?
Is this the first verified example of a Red Room?

It started, as these things are wont to do, on 4Chan or Reddit. A couple of days ago; anonymous people posting anonymously “WHOA! Is this Real??” They gave no explanation, just an onion (i.e. dark web) link. The curious, of course, clicked. And they were greeted with a message:

Screen Shot 2015-08-29 at 3.45.01 pm

It went on to say the site owners had captured seven ISIS terrorists whom they would humiliate (“there will be bacon”), torture and ultimately murder live on webcam at the allotted time and date.

Here, it seemed, the ultimate urban myth, was going to become a reality: The Red Room. The modern version of the snuff movie, a Red Room is a live stream of the torture and murder of a person for the entertainment of others. Sometimes viewers may interact, typing instructions on a screen Think of the movie Hostel and add webcams.

And it would be okay to watch! It was ISIS Terrorists getting tortured and killed for our viewing pleasure! And it was all going to be free!

Going darker in the dark web

It’s a tediously common question from those who have visited the Hidden Wiki (a dark web entrypoint for dummies; nicely-laid-out links to a couple of markets, and a whole lot of scams): “How can I go deeper in the deep web? Where’s the really dark stuff? (No cheese pizza* please)”
* child pornography

It is not altogether clear what these people are hoping to find (or what they consider darker than child pornography, particularly hurtcore), but they can usually be placated by sending them along to something like The Human Experiment . Later they will swear black and blue that it’s REAL, they’ve SEEN IT WITH THEIR OWN EYES. Others will insist that there are real-life gladiator fights to the death (there has to be, right?). Or they know someone who knows someone who got one of the Human Dolls. It’s all there, if only you look DEEP enough.

Of course, it is all** crap. Oh, and hitmen? The Nigerian scammers of the dark web.

** other than hurtcore, which is real, and involves children, and is not for this blog

So you can forgive me if I did not believe this ISIS Red Room thing for a second.

So back to our terrorists. Whispers had started: Is this real? Redditors posted RemindMe! bot requests to ensure they would be at their computers, logged in for when the “Red Room” began.

Nobody questioned how we would know that the people being tortured and killed were actual terrorists. The torturers had made some sort of vague comments about it all being funded by interested parties so that Tor users could watch without paying. They didn’t explain how they would give us any sort of video quality via Tor (I mean, seriously, have you tried streaming anything over Tor?) But it was on the internet! It must be true! And they were terrorists! No sympathy for them! A mob was born.

T-3 Hours

We had a date and time which, conveniently for me, was 10am on a Saturday. I was up early and when I checked the site it had updated with more detail of what we could expect in a few hours (which did not include originality or coherence apparently, but given the number of times they mentioned it was FREE could possibly include a set of steak knives):

We are working around the clock.

We are around a warzone and got more urgent things to worry about. But we will deliver and we will hit the deadline.

Maybe not under optimal circumstances as hoped, but the circumstances also makes things even worse for our ISIS pigs.

We are happy to tell you that we have executed two prisoners. The reality is not very beautiful or on our side right now.

Expect fun games, mingle and torture as promised. All interactive. Still fully free. We will make at least the first hour family friendly, and explicitly warn you before things get violent.

Changed plans about their final destiny, whether they live or die at the end of the day.

We won’t stop under any circumstances, torture MUST become death.

No pig have the right to survive today. Two dies. Three are shipped away. They have a nice career ahead of them, read below.

Our proposed business model was always about hurting/defaming ISIS and to fund their enemies.

Red rooms is a hard business and few can stomach it. It also means a lot of attention and extra hassle for us. Therefore, we’ll make a huge business of selling ISIS-assholes instead. That’s right. We will sell their assholes a.k.a. human trafficking.

We want to give ISIS-careers a promising future!

Here’s the best part. Since the funding is dealt with already, everyone get everything for free. All future executions online will be fully free.

We will also upload materials for free. We call it the “instagram” of happy ISIS whores or instagram of Jihad, what do you think? Having their asses sold is just too ironic to not document and eternalize and we promise exactly that.

We make Moviestars of Jihadists. It’s part of the non-optional ISIS-employment with us.

The conditions are good here for the “soldiers of god”. The dogfood (shit flavored) is free and we fill their water bowl with clean water and flavor it with piss.

It’s not our fault if they don’t eat, they called for it. They are such heroes. Again, support us by watching. That’s all we need.

Yet, we are not worse than them.

Enemies of Islamic State

The soon-to-be-killers had also opened up the chat room, but that became very boring very quickly. Spammers are really very spammy and the few non-spam things that came through were by teenage boys spouting semi-literate racist propaganda.

Theories galore

So I had a few hours to muse over what might be happening. I let my mind wander the possibilities.

It’s real

Discounted this one pretty much right out the gate. It was just written too much like it came from teenagers who had found the dark web and thought it was a chance for…

A bit of a good troll

Occam’s Razor said that this was just another troll, much like the Human Experiment. The new accounts posting on Reddit all “oh my gosh I am a brand new person who just registered because I found this thing on the dark web – do you think it’s real?” pointed to someone trying desperately to drum up interest. Just keep people refreshing to see what would happen, hope it went viral from people talking about it.

Banal, but reasonable trolling effort, soon to be forgotten. But then, what if wasn’t just a troll, but…

It’s a lesson

Maybe I have too much faith in human nature, but I was hoping at the allotted time, the screen would fill up with something like “BUSTED YOU SICKO”. Even better would be a well-written admonishment of why you should not go looking for red rooms and the dangers of the mob mentality. But then they could go one further and…

It’s a social experiment

Would they actually put on a performance at the allotted time? Would they pretend to be torturing somebody and see how many people chimed in with their torture ideas? Like a Milgram Experiment for the times. See how many people would actually take part when the mob was saying it was okay. Because, terrorists.

Because, terrorists. A thought struck me! What if it was real, but…

It’s a trick

I had such an evil, devious creepypasta thought that I decided it was Reddit-worthy. What if, yes a social experiment, but an evil twisted one like…

You just ordered the sodomisation of that nice American Nun. Gotcha!
You just ordered the sodomisation of that nice American Nun. Gotcha! My post to Reddit

But then I realized that this was pretty damn unlikely – when the URL was first posted a couple of days ago, I did a little investigating and whoever owned it had earlier posted on the Hidden Wiki talk page about how to get listed. They used similar bad-but-not-second-language English. Certainly not Arabic. And then I realised I had totally just created a plot for the next season of Black Mirror, so you can thank me when that airs.

Meanwhile, as I was going through these scenarios, somebody started posting and tweeting round the place that they would spam the fuck out of the chat room so the torture orders couldn’t get through.

Screen Shot 2015-08-29 at 8.06.28 am
Yeah, they’ve been around a day or so and have 13 followers

Vigilantes! We don’t like terrorists, but we will not stoop to their level! We appeared out of nowhere just to carry out our awesome vigilantiness! It was pretty damn depressing to see the bloodthirsty mob scream them down, telling them the “terrorists” (remember, we had absolutely no proof the potential murder victims had any connection to ISIS) deserved what was coming. Much conflict and drama had been created. So I started to wonder if this could possibly be…

Interactive theatre

I could imagine this playing out on the chat rooms. A fight between good and evil, right and wrong! The vigilante spammers against the misguided vigilante murderers! More online hacker games! Or, finally…

Honeypot

The bloodthirsty mob seemed like the types pretty ready to click on any link that promised might lead to a bit of terrorist torture. Malware placement and IP harvesting would be child’s play for anyone so inclined.

I tell you, by the time I had my brekky and was on my sixth coffee, I couldn’t wait to see how this all panned out.

Showtime

Countdown less than three minutes! What would happen? How would this pan out?

Conveniently, the website went down a couple of minutes shy of start time. Page Not Found! Unavailable! What ever could have happened? A rumour circulated that the FBI had put it under attack. Maybe ISIS had found out and stopped it! Did it simply buckle under the weight of all those people refreshing?

Now the whole thing could have moved into mythology right there. Eventually people would start whispers, which would get repeated three times, which would become fact. Like the gladiators and the hitmen and the human experiments, people would convince themselves that they heard what REALLY happened from someone who KNEW.

But like kids waiting for nighttime to let off their fireworks, they couldn’t contain themselves. Less than an hour later, the site reappeared and..

D'oh! Show's over folks! Did you miss it?
D’oh! Show’s over folks! Did you miss it?

Thank you for participating, they said. All over, they said. Whoops, we lost the source footage. What happened to two hours of family-friendly fun before the torture started? What happened to the games, the interactivity, the frivolity they promised would go on for days?

I had no compunction looking at the video (other than the usual is this going to malware the hell out of my computer). I was pretty sure I was not going to be watching snuff. Offensive, maybe. Snuff, no.

The video is a little over 21 minutes long and very dull. Every time they carry out a punishment on the suspiciously pale-skinned jihadist, the video freezes. But…

There is bacon!

Screen cap from the
Screen cap from the “execution” video

Overall, 2/5, would not watch again.

They are doing their best, but they have a way to go before they become really good hoaxers. They needed to plan the long con, so that its not just brand spanking newly registered Redditors who happened to be one of the few to see (and presumably contribute to) the live stream.

Update: 24 hours later, the site was replaced by an FBI “seizure notice” that was likely just as fake as the rest of the site. Apparently another site reopened, but it’s all become a bit boring. Still, there are some people who appear to be clinging to the notion that this whole thing is for real. Probably the same people who think Takedownman is a reporter, rather than an entertainer.

TL;DR Still no verified red rooms (or gladiator fights or hitmen or human experiments or living dolls) on the dark web.

You can buy drugs though. That bit’s true.

Don’t miss PSYCHO.COM: SERIAL KILLERS ON THE INTERNET out now

Don’t forget, it’s always smart to hide your IP from prying eyes, even if you’re not looking for Red Rooms. I use IPVanish

60 Responses

      1. You sir, are a fucking bitch, i’m not saying they do, but some people have been through so much that they do need that little bit more of attention so instead of hiding behind ur screen go do something with your fucking life instead of ruining others.

      2. At least HE cares about the people, he isn’t someone that just lets something happen. He does it, and it’s sad that YOU are the one here crying for attention because you left a hate comment 🙂

  1. All it takes is inspiring one sick individual with a webcam and access to say Skype or something….so how is red room just a myth? I’m sure people who ingage in this pay very good for this service and expect not to be arrested from advertising the illegal act. Red rooms real you just don’t have the money to see it. I’m sure it’s mostly for drug Lord’s and known dictator’s, you know cruel evil people who value the service and would not rat. Not randoms who could easily already be the police patrolling sites for illegal activity. I’m just saying I doubt an old school red box that says ” do you like” in chines really pops up, but some one getting a group of sick individual’s together in a private skype room or what ever. to watch you murder a target through a web cam is something any trailer trash with access to the internet and a web cam can do. I doubt any one would take that risk for like no money is the big reason I say yeah there real but you will never have the money to see one.

    1. with you there. the fact is, it’s too easy for it exist. most killers love flaunting their acts. they make it a game and that also becomes the main reason they get caught (e.g zodiac killer). there’s little stopping them if they know they have an audience.

  2. You guys should try to dig into a.l.a.c.ia and try to see what you can find or how about cicada 3301. Lots of interest there and to those you want to dive into the deep web. Don’t because if you are not an expert at networks you are valnurable to all. And the tor network is is flawed don’t use your entry and exit nodes are exposed to all hackers. This is where the hackers dewell. Fair warning don’t go.

  3. Umm really dude it isnt my site -_-
    oh and i dont want you to give bitcoins to research
    i wanted you to ask gather more info about it like you did with this red room and you can tell that once you pay half bitcoins

  4. Umm really dude it isnt my site -_-
    oh and i dont want you to give bitcoins to research
    i wanted you to ask gather more info about it like you did with this red room and you can tell that once you pay half bitcoins they arent gonna contact you again

  5. sorry i accidently posted a half ver. of my comment :/
    I wanted to ask you one more thing…
    since i hate deep web and i dont wanna visit it plus i am a coward i cant put my mind into it…
    i heard of child snuff in deep web and it disturbes me even if i think of it…
    is there really such thing on deep web or is it just rumor

  6. well about that there was a website called wonderland russian snuff
    in which they made child snuff for pervs.
    and people would pay to watch but…
    it wasnt deep web site it was a normal website

    1. Nope, it’s a dead drop site and anyone can go cyber squat making the page what they want. The same URL has been changed several times since this happened.

  7. To a newbie just discovering the deep web and the hidden wiki (which isn’t all that “hidden”) it does at first glance seem to contain some possibly dark links. However, a deeper investigation into these alleged hearts of darkness rumored to contain real illegal drugs and weapons smuggling, pedophilia, torture, murder, hitmen for hire, cannibalism, human trafficing, satanic cults, and government files on stuff like UFOs/aliens/area51/illuminati conspiracies, are at long last revealed to be mostly FBI STING operations, scammers, or hoaxes. Most of the really dark and maddening material does not exist at all except on Redit, Creepypasta and YouTube (we all know just how unreliable those sources can be). As for the rest though, other than a bunch of down and broken links with weird names, there is absolutely no proof or validity to any of these ridiculous claims about ” dark web”. And as for TOR, don’t be lured into a false sense of security just because it uses a flashy word such as “anonymity”. The deep web is plastered with multiple legal warnings clearly stating that any and all traffic and activities on the deep web are monitored and traced 24/7 by FBI and other government agencies. Even other online apps you utilize are monitored once you download TOR, so it is just the opposite of anonymity, it opens you up to constant scrutiny by the government. As for drug and weapon sites on the deep web, they have all been busted and site owners arrested and then reopened later under slightly different names and are yet to be shut down even with the FBI’s prying eyes meaning those sites are probably nothing more than STING operations setup to catch petty criminals who think they are safe because they’re drug heads who can’t think properly because they’re so fried already. Others are just naive idiots who want to see some sick garbage or purchase something illegal and don’t think they can be busted because it hasn’t happened yet and because TOR promised anonymity regardless of the fact it was the government who created the entire thing to begin with. So yeah, been there, explored, and came to the conclusion that it is all BS people. My advice is don’t be so naive to believe everything you see, hear, or read on the internet people.

  8. If you actually think that there ISN’T sick, disturbing images and such on the Dark Net you didn’t look hard enough. Seriously. You sound like you don’t know WTF you’re talking about. Insinuating that the DW is nothing but a hoax is naïve, and again, you clearly haven’t gone to some of the places that exist there. And saying that all the drug markets are “shut down”? That is laughable. There are MANY operating right now, and for every one shut down, 2 more emerge. Get real, and while it may be hyped, to a degree, the DW and all its filth is very much available to those that know how to access it. And no…your average Joe with Tor and limited knowledge of how to navigate the DW isn’t enough to get to the places that are truly hidden. It’s hard to find for a reason. So, Red Rooms are likely not real, as the bandwidth necessary to stream HQ video feeds is largely hindered (it’d be hard enough on the clearnet), among other reasons, but yes…there is an incredible amount of very illegal, very vile materials on the DW. And plenty of criminals and hackers, to boot.

  9. Go to fucken hell how could u shit like that you because of this comment u want to do the same to me fine then come for me my name is Deniz Ali and I’m 12 I live in Bedford and I got to Mckelvie school and the name of my apartment is Bedford Green 37 hauthorne drive

  10. Takedownman. And similar individuals are the reason things like this get perpetuated. He’s is probably the worst bullshit artist on YouTube.

  11. You suck. You trolled us readers by writing this long ass summary when all you had to say was yeah it was probably fake. If you want people to read, give them something worth reading.

  12. Your research sucks. Look up Peter Scully. He is in prison for operating a Red Room you claimed​ to be fake. The scariest part of the Dark Web is the large number of sites with nothing but a blank login page. Is modern society so stupid to believe that they can access all information or be privy to any slice of evidence that something exists. I wonder who could be watching David Parker Ray’s videos right now since he had made many and the general public doesn’t know about them. Just because you’re not privy to the​ information doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

    1. Sorry but you are wrong about Peter Scully. I sat through the entire court hearings of Lux, owner of Hurt2theCore, who hosted Daisy’s Destruction so got a blow-by-blow description of everything on it. Scully is in prison for Daisy’s Destruction (a video of torture of a toddler, but nobody was killed) and also because the remans of a 12-year-old girl were found at his house (but no video). You have been believing too many creepypastas. Scully’s crimes were bad enough without people mythologising them.

      See https://eileenormsby.com/2015/09/11/you-wanted-darker-web/ for more info

  13. I like it exect how could the crab that is food on here is scary or look dugising I don’t get it at all and the picture of the young guy have stress and being depress but yeah anyway I would not mine being on this page and if people give me creepy comments I will annory them because I am not scary I mean I might get depress or emothial but not scared and I will also like to comment on this even know I do not really know what to say but I will try those because I do like commening on stuff because I do it on facebook speial sad thing like animal abuse and stuff like that I mean yeah I know there is nothing u can do but when I comment or people comment on stuff like this it is kind of supporty people and repecting there stuff and that is why I am here I am here to support stuff that people put on here and I may not comment right away if I dont know what it is or if I am not in the mood that day or something I may not comment but I may do a like those and yeah but I am first time so I may not intentionally know about stuff on here but I will comment on most stuff but yeah when I saw that first post of a young guy being depress that is ok but the second post with the food which is that crabs by the way it looks interesting but honstly too me it just and this is my opinion but it look like dry yucky shrip like it either look too wet or dry even

  14. I’ve been seeing a lot about the ‘Red room’ lately. Has anyone seen it first hand? Or are we all losers that are to afrid to look for it, cause all go and look for it.

  15. hehe, all you little kiddies think red rooms are a joke, lmaoo, ive witnessed one btw you dont understand, you use the dark-web to access the link but your redirected to the surface web its hidden in plain sights. “the best hiding spot is in plan sight”

  16. Thank you for this. I ended up noping out before it “started” and saw the video files when I came back later on, so I didn’t know what the hell happened.

  17. The red room, also known as “the waiting room,” was an anomalous extradimensional space connected to Glastonbury Grove in Twin Peaks ‘ Ghostwood National Forest. First discovered as early as the 18, the red room was believed by many to be the Black Lodge of local Native American legend. Many spirits appeared to “live” in the red room, most notably one calling itself ” the arm .”

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