The Mandela Catalogue: How Alex Kister's high school project became an internet horror sensation 

Alex Kister's The Mandela Catalogue started with a simple horror idea. But it did not take long for it to become an internet horror sensation.

Kister came up with the idea while he was in school and wanted to explore familiar religious stories in a horror setting. Later, he made Overthrone for an analog horror contest on Reddit, using The Beginner's Bible: The Nativity as inspiration. In 2021, The Mandela Catalogue was released, directed by Alex Kister, starring him alongside Thorne Baker, Ty Osborne, and Michael Vale.

Let's have a look at how Alex Kister's high school project came to life.

How did Alex Kister turn a school project into The Mandela Catalogue?

The Mandela Catalogue takes place in fictional Mandela County, Wisconsin, where mysterious beings called Alternates can enter people's lives through media. As their presence grows, everyday things start to look dangerous, adding to the horror. Another creepy part is the broadcasts, which feel like the viewer is seeing something they shouldn't.

The story actually began long before it became an internet horror hit. While still in high school, Alex Kister was already playing around with an idea that mixed religion, horror, and a very different version of biblical history. Additionally, his story imagined a world where demonic forces had somehow changed the events people thought they knew.

After finding an analog horror contest on Reddit, he decided to turn that idea into Overthrone, a creepy edit of the children's cartoon The Beginner's Bible: The Nativity. But Kister didn't stop there. He used the pandemic time to take his ideas further, turning them into The Mandela Catalogue.

Additionally, Kister's own quotes about faith also influenced The Mandela Catalogue. By the 1990s, these strange events had become almost normal in this world, and the story is told through found footage, PSAs, and broadcasts.

Speaking of the inspiration behind the project, creator Alex Kister said that he got inspired by analog horror during its first wave of popularity, mentioning Gemini Home Entertainment and The Walten Files, which gave him the motivation to take initiative. He added that he didn't take much inspiration from classics, though he enjoys them.

It grew more ambitious with later volumes. The playlist is available to stream on his YouTube channel and has over seven million views. As a result, what started as an experiment by a seventeen-year-old turned into Hollywood attention, with Steven Spielberg's Amblin now backing the big-screen adaptation.

Steven Spielberg (famous for Disclosure Day and The Raiders of the Lost Ark) and Holly Bario (famous for Carry-on, Ghost in the Shell, and The Thursday Murder Club) serve as the producers. Other producers include Scott Stuber, Aaron B. Koontz, and Nick Nesbitt. Creator Alex Kister is also producing the film alongside Tyler Clifton, adding another role to his involvement with the project.

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