Paranormal YouTubers Sam and Colby are the viral kings of horror

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In the wild world of social media, where the lifespan of fame is often as fleeting as a viral clip, Sam Golbach and Colby Brock — better known as Sam and Colby — have achieved what few others have: an enduring empire spanning the globe from six-second Vine skits to feature-length films.

The duo, who started out as teenage pranksters on Vine in 2014, have evolved into full-fledged storytellers since the platform's bankruptcy in 2017. On YouTube, they've decided to delve into much darker – and perhaps even more compelling – content: creating thrilling paranormal adventures that have captivated millions of people. (Think a series of nighttime challenges in abandoned hospitals, asylums and ghost towns that combine horror, humor and real friendship.)

With all the success they had online, the duo took their vision from the phone screen to the big screen and debuted their feature film: Sam and Colby: A Week in the Conjuring Housein 2023. A year later, the Kansas-born YouTubers returned to the film world once again with their second film. Sam and Colby: Legends of the Paranormal.

Now Sam and Colby have acquired their largest item yet – a haunted school, Farrar Elementary.

“It's a site that has been investigated for over 15 years and has an incredible amount of paranormal history, and it's unlike any site we've ever investigated,” Sam said Newsweek. “The idea is not just to document it, but to restore it while respecting its history. Over time, we want to make it something that fans can experience for themselves – whether through their own research or something completely new.”

While Sam and Colby have built their careers on a fascination with the supernatural, they too can reach their limits when it comes to engaging in disturbing hauntings.

“The demonic stuff…can definitely suck and put me in a negative mood for a while,” Sam explained. “These are the moments when we pay attention to cleanse, reboot and protect ourselves for future investigations. “It’s about balance.”

As Colby put it, “We've definitely pushed ourselves to some extreme limits, but safety and respect are key.”

Still, the social media stars emphasized that “not every encounter has to be scary or disturbing – some of them feel more like a learning moment,” Sam explained.

“For example, learning how different someone who lived 100 years ago was and how they experienced life. In such cases, I try to capture that feeling and then think about it,” he mused. “It’s not always about fear, sometimes it’s just about understanding another side of the world that we don’t fully know yet.”

As Sam and Colby continue to catapult their careers into as many supernatural corners as possible, it's vitally important to them that their fans can experience these experiences with them.

“The escape room will be the first of many new projects where we bring the paranormal into first-hand experiences,” Colby said Newsweek. “Our goal is to continue to expand beyond the computer screen and give fans the opportunity to experience what they have seen for years.”

He added: “Halloween isn’t the end of our season, it’s the beginning.”