South Park: The Spanish Inquisition

South Park has wound up causing tension more than one time due to the TV show’s jokes about touchy topics. A handful of episodes have even been banned, such as Trapped in a Closet. That episode made various jokes about Tom Cruise, as well as jokes about Scientology. It only aired once before being banned. As part of season eleven, there was another banned episode that was about the Spanish Inquisition. Not only was it banned, but the creators could hardly work on it before the episode was cancelled.

Because of the ban, one unknown employee was angry. Little information on who he is or his whereabouts is known. The only information confirmed is that he was an animator for South Park who ran a YouTube channel in his spare time, until it was banned. The channel was called “South Park Unofficial” and it had tons of fan made South Park episodes. The reason it was banned was that there was a video called “The episode they didn’t want you to see.” It was posted on November 7, 2007 and deleted 5 days later, along with the channel it was posted on.

A handful of viewers have found the video, mostly on little-known YouTube alternatives. The site varies from person to person. Most of these viewers, when they describe the video, are filled with nausea and dread. Many of them have debated what the video was about until they traced the source back to the “South Park Unofficial” channel. After doing so, the viewers expressed outrage and shock that someone would make the video they saw.

The video begins with the words “November 1, 1478,” which look like crumbling rock. The text is then dragged off screen by an old, rusty chain. The shot then fades from black to above a giant city. The art style looked like that of an old painting. There was hardly any color, other than black to highlight shadows. The art style had a very somber feel to it. There was no sound, other than distant talking of people in the town below. The screen stayed like this for almost 30 seconds.

The camera went to the outside of a castle. Like before, there was no color, although there was a bit more detail than before. Indistinct talking could be heard inside the castle. The camera zoomed into a window, coming into a room that looked like a meeting room. At a square table in the center, several men were gathered around. One said in a Spanish accent “But we MUST start the Spanish Inquisition. Those heretics are everywhere!” Another one said in an identical voice “I agree. These heretics could be anywhere. They might be in this room.” The latter man’s face twisted into an evil smile, until the man who talked first slapped him and shouted “He’s a heretic! Take him to the custody of Isabell!”

The shot went to the man who was called a heretic, kneeling in front of Isabell. ”Please, I didn’t mean it!” Isabell walks up to the man and says “Don’t feel so bad. You’ll even be able to help.” “Really,” said the man, sounding relived. Isabell responded “Yes. If I burn you in front of everyone, everyone who is a Jew or Muslim will turn themselves in to be locked away in order to avoid being tortured.” The man paused for a few seconds in shock, then screamed a loud high-pitched scream that lasted for 15 seconds and didn’t pause for breath. Then he collapsed on the floor.

The next scene is considered by the majority of the viewers to be “very disturbing.” It shows the man from earlier to be dragged by a knight across a town. He is then tied to a pole surrounded with hay. The knight lights a torch and is about to set the man on fire when a high-pitched voice-the voice of Isabell- says “Wait.” She came on screen on a horse and called out “See this man! This is a heretic. Let him be a lesson to you of what will happen if you dare hide the unforgivable sin of being one! Turn yourself in, and you won’t be tortured. Now burn him alive!”

The knight nods and touches his torch to the hay surrounding the man. A few seconds later, the fire catches onto the man’s clothes and a few more seconds later, it’s on his skin. The man screams loud, realistic screams as the flames consume him. Just before it goes above his waist, the animation starts happening in slow motion. The man’s skin starts to peel, followed by the muscle, leaving just a skeleton behind. Oddly, the man’s head remained intact and unlike the rest of the animation, the muscles were in color, though still in the same art style. At this point, the camera zoomed out to show the man’s entire body. Text slowly came in from the side that said “Stuart Carson.” There was also an arrow pointing at the corpse, making most viewers think that was the man’s name. Then the video ended.

Me and a few of my friends, who happened to have found the video, did heavy research. After nearly 2 weeks of research, we found out the information that I mentioned at the beginning of this article. We also found out that the unknown man had a former friend who use to help him work on South Park. Shortly before the South Park episode about the Spanish Inquisition was canceled, the man’s friend quit the show and became a lawyer. He took part in the case against the Spanish Inquisition, and therefore it made the unknown man feel betrayed.

The friend’s name was Stuart Carson.