Humans have a vital need to tell stories. Even in sleep, the human brain entertains itself with stories through dreams. Storytelling has come a long way, and new ways are still being created. Early people told stories through pictures drawn on cave walls, next through words, then it was books, plays, movies, comics, television shows, and now, unexpectedly, through videos on YouTube.

In some ways, YouTube series are similar to T.V. portraying shows. Videos are released pr to a plot, and new developments are made with each video. These web series may also have a different plot each episode, but still have recurring characters.

However, unlike TV shows, the wait between videos in a lot of series varies. Some can be released within days of each other, weeks or even months. Some series are split into seasons, while others aren’t as organized. But there is one thing all YouTube series have in common: they’re made by regular people, just like you and me.

Many YouTube series take advantage of the first person point of view to create a strong connection between the main character and viewers, which you can’t necessarily get when you watch TV shows and movies because they’re often in third person point of view. You’re truly experiencing the events unfolding along with the narrator. This point of view is especially effective in the popular horror/psychological thriller genre that made its way into many series.

Series like EverymanHYBRID, TribeTwelve, WhisperedFaith, MLAndersen0, CaughtNotSleeping, and, one of the most popular series with over 350,000 subscribers, MarbleHornets, have taken over the horror/psychological thriller genre on YouTube.

MarbleHornets, created by Troy Wagner and co-written by Joseph DeLage, began in June of 2009 when a video titled “Introduction,” was posted to YouTube. In it, fictional narrator Jay explains that his college friend, Alex Kralie, suddenly cut all contact with him and moved away.

Alex, who was working on a film project that he abruptly stopped, was going to burn all of the tapes. Jay didn’t want to see all his hard work go to waste so he convinced his friend to give him the tapes instead. In the videos following, he posted those tapes. However something was strange on the tapes, something was following Alex.

Making their series on YouTube isn’t just a side hobby anymore for the makers behind MarbleHornets. As partners on YouTube, they get paid for the videos they post. Other opportunities have arisen for them as well, such as writing for the video game Slender: The Arrival, the sequel of the hit indie game Slender. MarbleHornets is also being made into a movie which will be released in theaters, but no official release date has been announced yet although the movie has already been filmed.

Horror is not the only genre of YouTube series. Comedy is also another popular genre, with the series Job Hunters, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and Potter Puppet Pals only scratching the surface.

YouTube series are becoming more and more popular because it’s a way for regular, creative people to make and share their own creative T.V. show with a large audience. The success of these series prove that you don’t need expensive equipment or a large cast to create a quality series of your own.