About

KrainaGrzybowTV (also known as Mushroomland (or Land of Mushrooms) TV, KGTV, or just Kraina Grzybów) is a Polish YouTube channel, which features a series of 1980's themed videos revolving around a mysterious place called Mushroomland. The videos (so far) include: Smile Guide (Poradnik Uśmiechu) episodes 1, 2, 4, and 5, several Smile Guide OST videos, and one episode of Mushroom Melodies (Grzybowe Melodie). Six definite characters have been thus far established: Agatha (in Polish, Agatka), Maggie the Squirrel (Wiewiórka Małgosia), Caroline (Karolina), the Jeansman (Dżinsowy Człowiek), Hatszepsut,and Agatha's unnamed mother.

Style

Smile Guide takes the appearance of an '80's or early '90's-era Eastern Bloc children's educational program which, as the specific video progresses, descends into chaotic madness. Much of its style consists of footage made to look like it was shot on VHS, grammatically incomplete sentences, absurd humor, nostalgic-sounding music (mostly played on synthesizer and designed to evoke Polish television soundtracks from the 1980's ), and, of course, disturbing imagery.

The show is hosted by Agatha, a young girl always seen wearing a blue sweater with red flowers on it. She also wears paper eyes over her actual eyes (as do Caroline and the Jeansman). The premise of each episode is that Agatha is going to teach the viewer how to do something grammatically nonsensical ("how to effectively apple," "how to make from paper"), but this pretense generally gets dropped about half-way through as the video descends into chaos. She is usually joined by Maggie, a talking cartoon squirrel, who acts as something of a co-host. The two generally seem to be friendly, although Episode 2 sees both of them snapping angrily at each other at one point, perhaps to imply everything is not as it seems.

Most episodes also feature what appear to be interviews (although we have yet to hear an interviewer's voice) with Agatha's mother. Her voice is digitally altered, and she is always shown in darkness, as though to protect her identity. Through her, it is strongly implied that Agatha has either been kidnapped or has run away from home in order to go to "Mushroomland" (Kraina Grzybów) and be on Smile Guide.

Two other characters--Caroline and the Jeansman--were both introduced in a separate music video called Mushroom Melodies (although they had been previously teased in pictures posted to KGTV's official Facebook page; see History below). Caroline is a young girl, much like Agatha, although shorter. She wears a denim jacket, and her hair is in a ponytail; and, in addition to paper eyes, she also has blue paper lips over her actual mouth. The Jeansman is a tall, thin man with a perpetual grin, who dresses almost entirely in denim: blue jeans, a denim jacket, and a denim headscarf that covers his forehead and actual eyes (his paper eyes are instead placed on either side of his nose). Exactly how they relate to Agatha and Maggie is uncertain, and has led to much speculation (see Interpretations below).

One final character was introduced in Episode 5: another girl named Hapzsetsut (like Caroline and the Jeansman, she was teased as early as January on the Facebook page). She wears an argyle sweater and her hair in a bouffant with a yellow bow in it, and she apparently lives in Bytom. He voice is sped up so we can't understand anything she says. Very little is known about her, and it is implied in the episode that she is dead. Incidentally, Hazsepsut (or in English, Hapshetsup) was a female pharaoh in ancient Egypt, crowned circa 1470 BC.

History

On December 23, 2013, a group of people (rumored to be university students) created an account on YouTube and Google+ named KrainaGrzybowTV ^[1][2]. The same day, the video Poradnik Uśmiechu 1 – Jak skutecznie jabłko (Smile Guide 1 – How to effectively apple) was uploaded ^[3].

To date, the video has gained over 1,000,000 views. Shortly afterward, an official Facebook account was made ^[4]. On January 6, 2014, KrainaGrzybówTV uploaded Poradnik Uśmiechu OST – Czas Pracy (Smile Guide OST – Work Time) ^[5], and Poradnik Uśmiechu OST – Zmartwienia (Smile Guide OST – Worries_) on February 4 ^[6]. The second episode of Smile Guide (_How to make from paper) made its debut two months after the first ^[7].

Within a few months, a third OST and the first (and so far only) episode of Mushroom Melodies Grzybowe Melodie – Ballada w Rytmie Dżins were both uploaded ^[8][9].

They also uploaded a Smile Guide 3 promo teaser W Krainie Grzybów on April 15 ^[10]. However, it was later set to private by the creator(s); it has since been set to public again. On May 21, a KrainaGrzybówTV website was established ^[11] to sell merchandise, presumably to help finance future episodes. All this time, KrainaGrzybowTV was regularly posting screencaps and photos on the Facebook page. After Mushroom Melodies, the channel took a 4 month hiatus before making a comeback on September 18 in the form of Poradnik Uśmiechu 4 – Jak swoje włosy (Smile Guide 4 – How to your hair) ^[12].

The digit was not a typo, but was confirmed as intentional by an older scheme revealed in a picture on Facebook ^[13]. A fourth OST of music from Smile Guide 4 was published on November 3 ^[14]. On December 6, almost a full year after original Smile Guide, KrainaGrzybowTV uploaded a short, as-yet unexplained video To nie moje (It's not mine) ^[15].

After that, KGTV's output of teaser images on Facebook slowed, culminating in a complete hiatus from late January to mid-April, 2015 ^[16][17]. On June 2, they uploaded another OST video for Smile Guide 4 ^[18]. On June 30, a teaser image for Smile Guide 5 was posted, announcing the new episode would be uploaded at 20:15 (8:15 PM); however, no actual date was given ^[19]. More than a month later, on August 9, a picture was uploaded to the Facebook page showing a headless dog with a caption roughly translating to, "This dog is named is TOMORROW.^[20]" Sure enough, Poradnik Uśmiechu 5 – Jak poprawnie telefon (Smile Guide 5 – How properly telephone) was uploaded at 20:15, on August 10, 2015^[21].

Reception

The channel has thus far received over 3,000,000 views and 34,000 subscribers, as well as 700,000 Google+ views and 300 followers. On Facebook, it has received about 69,000 likes, with an average of 2,000 likes per post.

Impact

On May 8, 2014 a Polish YouTuber and critic NiekrytyKrytyk reviewed first two episodes of the show ^[22]. Two channels, KrainaX and SzopDemaskuje were created specifically to examine KGTV's videos ^[23][24]. On the website Paranormalne.pl 3 KGTV based threads were written, one now closed ^[25][26]. On reddit, a /r/krainagrzybow/ was founded. To date it has 120 readers overall ^[27]. Also, user Svajoklis93 founded a KrainaGrzybowTV unofficial wiki, both in English and in Polish ^[28]. On interia.pl, a KGTV article gained 400 comments ^[29],and on the Polish version of reddit, wykop.pl 40 comments ^[30], on Creepypasta Wiki – 200 ^[31] and on Dwutygodnik – 270 likes ^[32].

Interpretations

KrainaGrzybowTV has been the subject of many different interpretations, some bordering on conspiracy theories. One of the first was the so-called Atomic theory or Nuclear theory, popularized by the KrainaX YouTube channel; the gist of which being that KGTV's videos are secretly about a future nuclear holocaust, and that Agatha is a survivor trying to contact other survivors or even send a warning to the present. KrainaX pointed out (among other things) that the apple scheme in the first episode of Poradnik Usmiechu is in fact a diagram of an atom taken from an American Cold War-era film reel. Further analysis of slowed down background voices and the sources of video clips featured in Smile Guide reveal more nuclear connotations, largely jump-starting the investigation of the meaning of the series or motives behind them (the creator of KrainaX has since abandoned this particular theory, however).

At first users posted their theories and findings directly in the comment section of KrainaGrzybowTV and KrainaX videos and the single thread about KGTV on the paranormalne.pl website. The thread gained a massive popularity, becoming the most commented on the website, but has since been closed and deleted by admins for unknown reasons. Later on, users attempted to join forces in the investigation by creating FB groups and sites dedicated to the cause, but it was a krainausmiechu.phorum.pl that finally managed to become a place for KGTV fans to meet and share their thoughts on the matter in a fairly organized and well managed fashion.

Some other prominent theories include:

-The Kidnapping/Rape/Abuse theory: According to this theory, the Jeansman is some sort of pedophile and/or cult leader who has kidnapped Agatha (and probably Caroline as well) and is sexually or mentally abusing her; Smile Guide, therefore, is a symbolic record of her abuse. This particular theory has a lot of different permutations: the Jeansman could be a lone pervert who has kidnapped the girls himself for his own sick pleasure, or he could be a member (or even leader) of a larger cult-like group which Caroline and Agatha have been brainwashed into joining, with the videos perhaps serving as the group's propaganda.

-The Drug theory: Agatha has become addicted to hallucinogens, most likely psilocybin (Hence "Mushroomland"); Smile Guide is a record of her descent into drug-fueled insanity.

-The_Devil/Biblical_ theory: Agatha is being visited by / has been taking advice of / has made a deal with the devil, who has taken the form of Maggie to lull her into a false sense of safety; Smile Guide is a record of her descent into perdition. Or, in a similar vein, the videos (especially Smile Guide 1) could be a retelling of the story of the Garden of Eden, with Agatha as Eve and Maggie as the serpent.

-The Satire theory: KGTV is a parody or satire of Polish television and society in the '80's and '90's; that is, when Soviet power was declined and American and other western influence was increasing.

-The Advertisement theory: KGTV is part of a viral marketing campaign for some product yet to be announced (See The Book below).

-The Nonsense theory: KGTV has no deeper significance; it is just a series of intentionally confusing/disturbing videos meant to make people look for meanings where none exist or are intended; the apparent connections are all in our heads.

-The Self-Referential theory: KGTV's plot refers to itself and its viewers in a form of self-fulfilling prophecy; that is, the videos hold no intended meaning or significance on the part of the authors, but their goal is to see what kinds of theories the fans will come up with to try to explain the apparent madness they’ve wrought; like a Rorschach test for the entire internet.

-The Hauntology theory: KGTV is an example of the artistic style or technique known as "Hauntology", which uses deliberately bizarre or disturbing imitations or recreations of historical art styles to examine the differences between the past and the present, the real and the imagined. ^{[33] [34]}

These and other theories are often put together in countless variations. The Atomic theory is still the most prominent and the best-known, but it has also been mostly dismissed or discounted by the hardcore KGTV fans.

Conspiracy theories

The rise of the “Atomic theory” happened to coincide with the Ukrainian Revolution and several other Eastern European political issues (like Putin’s ban on polish apples), which became the fuel for conspiracies enthusiasts who saw KGTV's videos as a deliberately coded warning for a planned atomic war. This theory was also inspired by KGTV's own (often cryptic and nonsensical) responses to some of the comments on their fanpage, which sometimes contained geographic coordinates and radio frequencies. Some users have as gone as far as sending baits to KGTV, as well as people suspected to be the authors (for example Marcus Molibdenus, see Riddles.pl below), in order to get their IP addresses and pinpoint their location. The results were inconclusive however, as various attempts produced different outcomes pointing the location to several Ukrainian, Polish and Italian cities.

Throughout the second half of 2014 Krzysztof Osiejuk, a right-wing publicist, claimed in a series of articles that KrainaGrzybowTV is the "most profound incarnation of pure satanism" he had ever encountered. In December 2014, after a tragedy in Rakowice (Poland), where a young poet and her boyfriend murdered said boyfriend's parents, Osiejuk pointed out that the girl (as analysis of her Facebook profile showed) was a KGTV fan, which led him to believe her actions might have been influenced by the YouTube channel.

The Book – Zofia Kopytlanka and W Krainie Grzybów

KGTV’s Facebook activity, besides posting teaser photos from past or incoming videos, has also included posting pages from a seemingly non-existent children’s book about Mushroomland entitled W Krainie Grzybów (In the Land of Mushrooms), written by the seemingly non-existent author Zofia Kopytlanka. So far, there have been four pictures from the book uploaded to the Facebook page, including the cover^{[35][36][37][38]}. The story appears to revolve around Caroline and Maggie, but there is nowhere near enough information to figure out what, if anything, the book is about or how exactly it relates to the videos.

This has led some people to believe the whole channel is really just a promotional gimmick for the book. The book did appear as an item in the official KGTV webstore, but with an annotation that said that it had already sold out at the time of the website's launch and had a printing of four copies only. A few people claimed to have bought the book, some going as far as producing a hoax photos and videos of it, but no real evidence of its existing was ever found.

A fan-made spinoff of the book, called “Caroline’s Story” (http://historiakaroliny.blog.pl/) was made, presented in 167 parts ^[39].

Video Games

There are, as of yet, two KGTV inspired video games. The first one, “_Kraina Grzybów The Game_” is text-based, and the gameplay has been presented on the youtube channel ClassyBrute – it is not available to the public yet. The second one, Smile Guide: Interactive! is a point-and-click type of game, created by Matt Martin and available to download in both English and Polish language version. It features fully animated characters and locations inspired by KGTV artwork.

Agatha's Identity?

On wykop.pl, a user identified the actress portraying Agatha as a Maria Curie-Skłodowska University student named Diana Klimowicz ^[40]. This identification seems to be confirmed by matching of freckles on the two women's faces. Furthermore, an article in the online magazine Szum, apparently written by a friend of the (unnamed) creator of the series specifically places them in Lublin, where Ms. Klimowicz is from ^[41]. As of yet, neither Ms. Klimowicz nor any of the other people behind KGTV have come out to identify themselves publicly, however, likely to help preserve the mystery of the series.

Riddles.pl

There was a KGTV related thread originating from the uminus.pl website ^[42]. The main character – Marcus Molibdenus- had a related theme and references to KrainaGrzybowTV. Then, bohrystrojka.vot,pl, redirected to bohrystrojka.pl, concentrated on a character named Bohrys Mikołajewicz Helcyn, apparently based on Russian president Borys Jelcyn, Wiktor Mikołajewicz Helcyn and Nadieżda Pietrowa Kuzniecowa ^[43][44]. This website featured a calendar with drawings of Agatha, Maggie, and the Jeansman, and a Maggie drawing on a mystery video note. Later, the same webpage was apparently "hacked" by Molibdenus, later revealed to be the same person. The author revealed himself as Plaster Rzeczywistości, supposedly the semi-creator of KrainaGrzybowTV ^[45]; this is not confirmed. On December 19, 2014 a Bohrys-related site was launched. It's character's name is Mrots Dnasedurad, a pun from Darude – Sandstorm, a well known meme ^[46].

Teufel

Teufel – the German word for devil, refers to a rumor based on a throwaway caption from Smile Guide 1, that Maggie the squirrel is actually a demon trying to abduct Agatha from her mom or otherwise tempt her (See the Devil/Biblical Theory above).

Fandom

On KG related posts, Facebook users posted fanarts, cosplay, reaction images, and remixes. On YouTube people upload KGTV reveal videos and episode parodies.

Exploitable comic

On June 6, 2014, on Facebook, KrainaGrzybowTV posted an image with a "wytłumacz jej" ("explain to her") postscript, which received over 160 comments with edits of the comic ^[47].

Notable Examples

Search Interest

External References