The Deranged Arsonist Who Filmed Their Own Crime • Mystery Files

Sensitive Topics: Arson, satanic cults, a brief mention of violence towards animals

Have you ever found yourself on a Wikipedia deep dive on the weird side of the internet? In this show - weird thing enthusiasts Ryan and Shane take turns presenting their latest fascinations to each other covering everything unusual, unexplained, and unhinged! This week's topic: The House On Fire Tapes!

Bloopers! Bonus Content!

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HOSTED BY
Ryan Bergara

WITH
Shane Madej

DIRECTOR
Annie Jeong

PRODUCER
Brittney Lee

EDITOR
Charlie Clay

MOTION GRAPHICS
Diana Arana

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Jucel Andrin

PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Billy Jett

RESEARCHER
Rob Blake

WRITER
Rob Blake

CAMERA OPERATORS
Jay Tran
Jucel Andrin
Mark Celestino

GRIP & ELECTRIC
Jay Tran

SOUND MIXER
Jacob Fuller

SET DRESSER
Darren DeMatteis

CONSTRUCTION COORDINATOR
John Terry

PROP DESIGNER
Violet Rawlings

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Carter Lau

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Brendon Ryu Violet Rawlings

POST PRODUCER
Sam Young

ASSISTANT EDITOR
Hailey Leonard

BRANDED PRODUCTION MANAGER
Kat Hartman

BRANDED EDITOR
Patrick Ward

HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT
Katie LeBlanc
HEAD OF PRODUCTION
Lizzie Lockard
HEAD OF POST PRODUCTION
Sam Young

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Steven Lim, Ryan Bergara, and Shane Madej

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[georgiacollings]

Shane: “I’m not an arsonist”
Also Shane: “I’ve watched a lot of videos of fires starting”

[finpin]

Tbh as soon as I heard "this is my domain..." I immediately knew it was gonna be an edgy teenager at the center of this case.

[nithyanair]

Nothing could’ve prepared me for how unserious that tape was

[victoriaspongecake]

imagining the police guy filming thinking he's going insane just hearing the faintest muffled voice of the arsonist's excitement in the distance

[chelseawhite]

🤣 I loved Shane’s reactions to the evidence against “John” being converted into stickers that say “uh ohh!” “ewww” “euuughh” “chirp?” And “yaak”

[kino]

gotta love the thumbnail referencing that one meme of the little girl Infront of a house on fire

[valor]

Fun Fact: You are only considered a pyromaniac after your 2nd fire, which means that everyone gets 1 freebie

[generalsleepy]

I love Ryan saying "millions of dollars of losses" and then immediately cut to Shane being just delighted.

[katherine]

"i gotta go now" like their mom is coming to pick them up from arson practice

[caithenry]

Shane looked like a disgruntled high school teacher forced to watch over a science fair during the outside bit and its amazing

[timpaxew]

When I was a kid my grandpa was an arson investigator and he would point out whenever we did something dangerous like “June. 1986. Oakbrook. Two dead.” Meanwhile I was just trying to light a candle

[eatmorespiders]

Ryan is absolutely killing it on that inflatable sax

[adaorawrld]

shane: "seems like a nice part of the state 😃"
ryan :" its where the zodiac killed a bunch of people🙂 ... anyway "

[thebluereason]

Ok but can we talk about how committed this guy was to film the arsons in 89? Like video recorders back then were the size of movie production cameras today. This guy stood there with essentially a microwave on his shoulder for who knows how long because of angst

[thesmilingbumblebee]

Glad to see the return of Shane “eat the rich” Madej

[rolanslide]

In retrospect, makes so much sense to me that a teenage boy did this. The way he talks in the video screams "I'm a twisted fucking cycle path". I feel like I could have known this guy in high school

[WaitingtoHit]

Thank you for specifying that this was a _deranged_ arsonist since some arsonists are perfectly stable individuals.

[fromisabella]

If this happened in 2024 those Geoguessr mofos would've had this case open and shut in .7 seconds

[allyrharris]

The effort Watcher puts into their sponsored segments is actually unmatched

[poke]

I’m glad they changed their minds about the paywall. Mistakes were made and I’m glad I can still support them in this way