At the beginning of the year, February 4th to be exact, a new “entity” began planting seeds that would soon germinate and begin to take root. The Tension Experience commenced a social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Days later, on February 8th, HorrorBuzz received the following email…
buzz, buzz, buzz goes horror-bees of a hive mind.
are you one of many? or are you different?
the path of enlightenment begins here.
www.TheTensionExperience.com
Our interest piqued, we visited the site and discovered a beautifully designed interface that beckoned users to fumble with and solve an interface that would open to a registration page. Of course, we immediately signed up and awaited the next interaction. Days after signing up on the website we received the following email…
you have signed up, that was the first step, there will be others, now you wait – you will be called upon soon.
OOA
4/1
16
With the promises of a blurring between life and death, reality and fiction, The Tension Experience continued to build a paranoid narrative that was both alluring and mysterious. A cryptic image was sent to those subscribed to the mailing list on February 13th.
On February 22nd The Tension Experience posted the following image to their Instagram page.
Sharp-eyed followers quickly spotted the numbers on the young girl’s collar. A seemingly unimportant circle of digits, if dialed in the correct order, connected callers to the O.O.A Institute. Encouraging people to live well and follow light, the institute scheduled appointments for in-person consultations with the select few that figured out how to reach them.
February 27th rolled around and, along with the consultations that occurred during the day, a message was sent out to all on the mailing list for The Tension Experience.
The O.O.A. propaganda continued on Instagram with this expertly crafted, Scientology-like flyer. Meant to invoke paranoia, the image asked readers, “What’s Really Going On?”, it went further to answer, “The OOA Institute has answers to your questions.”
The Tension Experience continued to slowly reveal more and more to it’s fans, followers, and the curious over the next few weeks. On March 13th Tension released another message was sent out to followers.
In what appears to be a scanned copy of a poorly designed internal newsletter, we learn of a next level of enlightenment called “Ascension”. An elderly woman named Dorthy is preparing to ascend on Friday. We also learn of a timeline of upcoming events.
April 3rd, days after the site opened to the general public, welcoming visitors to register
GLORY BE…
As the Oracles foresaw, so mote it be.
On April 1st, the Tension site was updated with new information pertaining to Your Ascension.
If Your journey is to continue, then you must complete registration with the Institute.
Please remember, nothing is random, and You will only ever get that which You put in.
We wish You success on Your continued quest for light,
Addison
Attendent One
With the storyline for a draconian cult bent on eerie enlightenment in place, Tension reached out to a broader audience, inviting all who were interested to come register on their site. Through filling out an extensive questionnaire that covered subjects both mundane and disturbing, followers of the O.O.A. were included on Tension’s mailing list.
On April 12, a new element was introduced. Something called The Omega Council began what appeared to be a counter campaign. In a post from Tension’s Instagram, the Council stated that “We believe there should be consequences to ones actions. We are that consequence.”
Next, a series of videos are released that feature blips and flashes of conspiracy theories, news clippings, and the same degraded textures, peppers with more paranoid warnings.
Tension
The TENSION Experience
The Tension Experience is building one of the most complex and detailed campaigns for any single haunt in recent memory. Fans are being invited to dive, headlong, into a world of secrets and conspiracies, laced with religious fanaticisms and dangerous obsessions.
It is clear that the producers behind this new piece of performance art have a very specific tone that are going for. Every texture is worn, oxidized, in stark contrast to the sunny tone that the O.O.A. Institute exudes. This creates a subconscious paranoia that sneaks up on people looking further into this mysterious world.
We want to report to you what we have found, but to report too much would be a disservice to the layered world the creators of this show invite you to explore. If you are a fan of conspiracy theories, paranoia and outright insanity, we suggest you get on board now. Look for clues, find patterns, the creators of this show insist over and over that you only get out of it what you put into it.
So, when is your ascension? Glory Be.
If this type of immersive theatre intrigues you, even calls to you, then you need to sign up immediately at http://thetensionexperience.com. Fill out the questionnaire. Create an account on their site.
