“The Complete Case of Finding Vanessa” Review

Another staple in the Online Horror Community is a channel known as MrCreepypasta, run by an anonymous YouTuber who is known and praised by his distinctive voice and aptitude for character voicing and storytelling. Some of his best works are those that span multiple hours in one video, as is the case with our subject today, The Complete Case of Finding Vanessa.

Following a disgruntled Private Investigator from New Orlenes who travels back to his hometown to solve the mystery of his missing niece (the titular Vanessa), the story takes on a tone of dry humor and is told in loosely connected accounts detailing town’s otherworldliness while he goes from clue to clue.

One of the friendlier accounts that stuck out to me was when the P.I (named Jason) stumbles upon a gas station at the edge of a vast forest. Once inside, he goes to the men’s restroom where he encounters a man who continually strums House of the Rising Sun while disappearing and reappearing at random intervals. Other stories implied to share a universe with Vanessa feature a mention of the same “Bathroom Cowboy”, which is an intriguing way to tie many narrations together without explicitly making a connection with their main storylines.

As for the story itself, it has become one of my favorites in the three-hour listen. Told with a clear voice that exemplifies a middle-aged P.I and adding sinister voices to the villains (most notably suspect Spencer Middleton and a family of cannibals that kidnap him after his encounter with the “Bathroom Cowboy”), the story drew me in with its creative voice work and pleasing background soundtrack (serval mixed jazz tunes).

The only critique I would have would be its ending, as Vanessa’s disappearance and Jason’s conflict with his nephew is never resolved. This lack of resolution is more evident of a beginning installment than a concrete standalone story. Regardless, I greatly enjoyed this piece and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a way into the online horror community!

More to come in the way of long stories!