"On a real, cursed WV creek, residents fight the inherited trauma—and monsters—brought by the water. You vote on what we shoot first."

Great fiction heals, and so does ethical filmmaking.

We've finalized 22 scripts and beneath the monsters, the series is about the fears, secrets, and trauma people inherit. Its stories confront grief, addiction, faith, and family secrets, written from lived experience and shot like early-90’s horror.

Voting closes August 16, 2026.

The script with the most votes from backers becomes the pilot.

Featured episodes

----"PERPETUAL MOTION" (21 pages)----

----"THE PERFECT SPOT" (20 pages)----

---------------CLICK FOR EPISODE LIST---------------

THE GOAL: GREENLIGHTING THE PILOT & BEYOND

Our immediate goal is to raise $10,000 to fund, shoot, and complete the official pilot episode of Carrion Creek. Because we have bypassed traditional development hell by finalizing 22 scripts upfront, every dollar of this budget goes directly onto the screen.

HOW WE DEFINE SUCCESS

For this campaign, success is not just about hitting a number on a screen. We define success by three major benchmarks:

• The Audience's Choice is Realized: Hitting our $10,000 goal means the exact script you voted for goes into immediate production as our series pilot.

• Disrupting the Indie Grind: We successfully launch our innovative Crew-Equity model, proving that technical film crews can be paid competitive daily rates while receiving true backend ownership.

• Radical Transparency: We pull back the curtain, bringing you along for every setup, practical monster-effect, and creative pivot.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT (AND STRETCH GOALS)

Once we secure the pilot, we aren't stopping. For every hour spent shooting the pilot, we will capture 10 minutes of high-quality behind-the-scenes content.

Here is our roadmap for what happens after we hit the funding mark:

• The Backer Journey: From the moment we are funded, you get VIP access to our closed set. We will bring you along through the filmmaking process.

• Unlocking More Episodes: If we exceed our initial $10,000 threshold, we trigger our stretch goals. Additional funding will directly unlock subsequent scripts from our 22-episode library to go into immediate production.

The town is fiction, Carrion Run is real, Lewis County WV, named after skinned deer were left to rot on its banks. 

Beneath the creature-of-the-week nightmares, Carrion Creek is a raw, visually striking exploration of the heavy things families inherit: addiction, grief, and generational secrets. Written from lived experience, our stories are captured using a stark, haunting visual language that mirrors the internal decay of the town's residents.

The Aesthetic Pillars of Carrion Creek

• Stephen Gammell-Inspired Monochrome: Our visual style adopts a visceral aesthetic inspired by the iconic, ink-wash artwork of Stephen Gammell from the classic Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark anthologies.

• Stark Interiors & Ghostly Portraiture: Playing deeply with light, contrast, and composition, our ghostly, character-first depictions in portraiture are paired with atmospheric interiors. This contrast-rich aesthetic is designed to punctuate the immense loneliness of our ghost town.

• Surreal & Infrared Landscapes: For exterior sequences, we make use of natural and practical lighting paired with specialized infrared landscape work to create an unsettling, otherworldly environment.

• Grotesque Creature Features: Surreal landscapes, aggressive speed ramps, and dark, grotesque creatures-of-the-week will directly punctuate the inexplicable illnesses and terminal decisions that the townsfolk are forced to make.

WE TAKE CARE OF OUR PEOPLE

We know the reality of the indie film grind. Even when a production manages to pay a base day rate and promise a screen credit, it rarely honest-to-god equals the massive amount of time, sweat, and creative energy a crew pours into a project.

We refuse to exploit the technical artists who build the world of Carrion Creek.

That is why we are structuring this production differently. In addition to receiving competitive daily rates and professional screen credits, our crew is cut directly into a backend profit-sharing model. If this series succeeds and makes money, a dedicated percentage of the gross revenue goes directly back to the hard-working crew who built it.

Our philosophy is simple: If the show succeeds, the people behind the lens get paid first.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

The traditional studio development cycle is designed to dilute unique voices. For an atmospheric, high-concept project like Carrion Creek, bypassing the Hollywood gatekeeper system isn't just a fallback option—it is our greatest competitive advantage.

By treating YouTube not just as a video host, but as a decentralized network, we can build a self-sustaining, community-funded franchise.

How Indie Creators Bypassed the Studios: The Blueprints

We do not need a studio when we have an active, obsessed subculture. Several creators have already laid the groundwork for this exact model:

• The Atmospheric Horror Funnel (Kane Pixels / The Backrooms): Using a highly distinct, retro-VHS aesthetic, a teenager bypassed standard indie distribution entirely. By releasing atmospheric, short-form horror directly to YouTube, he built a multi-million-view audience that forced A24 to sign him to direct a feature film.

• The Crowdfunded Pilot Pipeline (Lackadaisy / Iron Circus): They raised money on crowdfunding platforms to build a high-quality, standalone animated pilot. They released it for free on YouTube, accumulated millions of views, and immediately rolled that momentum into a $2M+ follow-up campaign to fund a full season—bypassing traditional networks entirely.

• The Community-Built Studio (SpindleHorse / Hazbin Hotel): Vivienne Medrano used YouTube to release her pilot, leveraging behind-the-scenes updates, character art, and direct fan engagement to build an army of supporters. She proved the audience existed before a single production company ever saw a pitch deck.

Carrion Creek Pilot Episode will have a Summer 2026 shooting schedule with a Fall release window on the Rooks Productions Youtube Channel.

PREVIOUS CAMPAIGNS

I ran successful kickstarter campaigns for my children's book, "OH! SO MANY ME'S!" (5k) and my upcoming horror film, "DARK SPOT" (2.5k).

BEHIND-THE-SCENES

For every hour spent shooting the pilot, we will capture 10 minutes of high-quality behind-the-scenes content.

Risks and Challenges

We have a pretty solid plan in place and an awesome team of producers who have already supported me in successfully writing and planning, composing, and producing, but there is always many risks or challenges associated with a production of any scale.

That said, we are hoping to release the film in the Fall, so please be patient with us if it takes longer than expected to receive a response with regards to awards etc. Everyone over here is really busy. That said, we're excited to be producing this with your help, so we'll do our best do make sure you're all kept informed and feel taken care of.

Your goodies like t-shirts and posters for helping us make this possible will be sent out by a professional fulfillment company. For those of you who are attending an event or joining us on set of a future film, we will do our best to keep you in the loop on our schedule.

If you become an extra or receive a part in a future movie, you must be a US citizen or have a US work visa, and not be a member of SAG/AFTRA.

You must be over 18 or accompanied by a parent or legal guardian (who will count as your plus one) to attend the premiere or visit the set. Extras must also be over 18.

Some rewards may require additional paperwork. If you are appearing in a film, you will have to sign a release.

Some rewards may require travel. We will not take care of any travel expenses - those will be the responsibility of the purchaser.

This fundraising campaign is all subject to applicable rules/regulations for Seed&Spark, movie guild rules and applicable law. If any of this conflicts, we will work with you in good faith to give you a substitute reward.

It's impossible to guarantee everything will come together exactly as planned, but in the end, we will have pulled together a pilot episode that we think you'll like and be proud to have been a part of. Thank you in advance if you can help make this ride possible.

Thank you for helping us start our NEW HORROR ANTHOLOGY CARRION CREEK!

#carrioncreekseries, #horrorshow, #patrickhale_esq,

#rookspro, #seedandspark