The Occulterers: Halloween Fun For Mobile/Web

Getting ready for Halloween? There’s no better place to start than with The Occulterers, which debuts tonight and ends with a bang–and a flash mob–on Halloween Eve. The mobile/web series written, directed and produced by Hayden Black, the British comedian behind such digital hits as Goodnight Burbank: Hollywood Report and Abigail’s X-Rated Teen Diary, is distributed by Babelgum, on its new SciFi Horror Comedy Channel.

The first horrifying fact is the speed with which The Occulterers went from idea to reality. “I was fascinated with the ghost hunting milieu and thought it was good for comedy,” says Black. “I went for a walk with my dog and fleshed out the idea behind The Occulterers, which is about four incredibly dysfunctional ghost hunters.” He then gave Amber J. Lawson, Babelgum’s comedy publisher, a call.

“I was at the gym, thinking how much I was into zombies and vampires, and two hours later, Hayden calls me on the phone to tell me he had a vampire project for me,” says Lawson. “I was looking for something multi-platform that’s smart comedy and plays into interactivity.” Sold.

Two weeks later, the six-episode series was cast, shot and finished. The first coup was the casting. The leading “ghost hunter” is played by James C. Leary (who played Clem the Loose-Skinned Demon on Buffy the Vampire Slayer). “I worked with him on the pilot for The Caboanuts so I wanted to work with him again,” says Black. Playing the cynical scientist is Ellen Sandweiss, well-known for playing Cheryl in Evil Dead movies. “She approached me at one of these events I’d spoken at and said she’d love to work with me,” Black said. “This couldn’t be a more perfect venue for her.” Also on board is Amy Kline, who has starred in a couple of web series, including I [Heart] Vampires, and Camden Toy, who’s played a few seminal vampire characters in both Buffy and Angel. Black plays the sexually ambiguous Belgian psychic named Herve Veillechez. “Herve is the most outrageous, over-the top character I’ve ever dreamed up or played,” says Black who says he wears a skirt, red velvet shoes, a black wig with red pony tail.

A new 5-minute episode will be released every day from Oct. 26 though Halloween Eve. In addition, each evening will showcase an hour fake “live web feed” from one room inside the haunted castle. “You’ll see Occulterers walking around and hear sound fx,” says Black. “Most importantly, Count Vampire (played by Toy) will suddenly and magically appear from time to time, talking to the webcam.” If you want Count Vampire to call out your name, send it in now to #TheOcculterers. “We’ll pick names at random,” promises Black.

“What we’re doing is encouraging people to watch the “live” feeds and tweet in what they see and when they see it on the Babelgum page,” he explains. “It will allows others to follow the clues and see what everyone is seeing and doing.” The webcam feed is important for another reason: the story will wrap up, not in Episode #6, but on the webcam feed on the sixth night. “It’s crucial to see what happens to Jennica, Ellen Sandweiss’ character,” says Black.

Lawson is also in the midst of planning a Halloween Eve flash mob from the show’s finale. “We want to do a flash mob of vampires showing up in West Hollywood around the street festival,” she says. “It’s exploiting the 360-vision of entertainment called The Occulterers that Hayden, king of the web, has created.”

The Occulterers–which Lawson dubs “the tentpole project”–is only one of the new shows that will appear on Babelgum’s Sci Fi Horror Comedy channel. She also commissioned season 2 of sci fi comedy The Crew, and will also launch zombie comedy Cannibal Run, a spoof on Cannonball Run. “The zombies are going across the country but they’re so slow they don’t get far,” says Lawson. “They start at the Santa Monica Pier but only get as far as Hollywood.” Another soon-to-be-released series is Hurtling Through Space at an Alarming Rate.

“The Occulterers is super cool,” says Lawson. “The focus is a rabid audience that’s already congregated online. It really takes advantage of the platform, Hayden’s fan base, Twitter–and creates an entirely immersive experience around itself. “

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