5 Characters Who Could Be Behind Riverdale’s Creepy VHS Tapes

In just a few years, there’s been a whole lot of drama in Riverdale. In fact, it seems like the residents of The Town With Pep cannot catch a break.

Jason Blossom was murdered; the town was terrorised by the Black Hood; The Farm took over the town and everyone became obsessed with Gryphons and Gargoyles, as well as The Gargoyle King. Oh, and there was the whole mystery of Stonewall Prep — and not to mention, Jughead’s ‘death’.

And, in the most recent season, there were those super creepy and mysterious videotapes that were being sent to just about everyone in town. The voyeuristic VHS tapes, which were being left on the porches around town, featured footage spying on various locations throughout Riverdale — namely, people’s homes — as well as murder. Or, at least, recreations of them, in the case of the tape showing Jason Blossom’s death and the one showing “Betty” killing “Jughead” with a rock.

The storyline originally kicked off early in the fourth season, but it took a backseat for a while Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead were more focused on what was going on at Stonewall Prep. And with production getting shut down early due to the coronavirus pandemic, the mystery remains unsolved — at least for now.

But Betty, Jughead and the gang are unlikely to let the mystery go that easily: the final three episodes of the season are set to roll over into next season, before Riverdale undergoes a big time jump. In those episodes, fans can expect to see prom, graduation and who has been responsible for the tapes and why they’ve been sending them.

With season five of Riverdale set to premiere in January, it’s time to take a look at 5 people who could be behind the sinister VHS tapes.

 

1. Mr. Honey

Yes, technically we saw him get killed by a group dressed as Archie and the gang in the season finale, Killing Mr. Honey. But it wouldn’t be the first time that Riverdale has seen a character fake their death — and, let’s face it, it probably won’t be the last. Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the last few years of watching Riverdale, it’s that you should never believe someone is dead until you see the body.

Honey was mysterious, smart, and ruthless when needed — and he also was caught making a movie of his own. Betty realised that Honey was trying to be a copycat after noticing him in a blink-and-you-miss-it moment in the tape of a voyeur stalking the halls of Riverdale High. When he was called out for making the tape by Jughead, Betty and Charles, he insisted that he was trying to protect the students, not hurt them. Although, it does seem suspect that he made a quick escape later in the episode, when he announced he would be leaving the school to become the headmaster of Stonewall Prep.

So, while it seems to be a bit of a rookie move to get caught making the tape, Honey could have been trying to throw the gang off his trail — and he could have faked his own death to further whatever sinister plans he has.

 

2. Bret, Donna, and the Quill and Skull gang

For the whole of season four, it seemed like it was just one or two people were making the videotapes. However, the finale ended with a surprising reveal: it could be a big group of people behind the creepy clips.

In Killing Mr. Honey, the Core Four watched as the former principal of Riverdale High was seemingly murdered by six people — each of whom was wearing a mask with one of their faces on it. Oh, and it’s (roughly) around how many members of the Quill and Skull society there are.

While Riverdale seemed to close out the Stonewall Prep storyline a few episodes earlier, it could be that the voyeuristic VHS tapes were created by the Stonies, who are playing the long game. It wouldn’t be the first time that they used a videotape to get revenge on someone — and they do have an axe to grind with the Core Four after they were arrested when their plan to murder Jughead and frame Betty for the crime was exposed by Riverdale High’s would-be super-sleuths (aka: Jughead and Betty).

 

3. Evelyn Evernever

With the help of Betty and Alice, most of the members of the cult, The Farm, boarded a bus to escape towards the start of the fourth season, heading for safety, or just somewhere that’s not Riverdale. However, Evelyn found herself in Shankshaw Prison — and she’s definitely not a fan of Betty’s. Or a fan of the rest of the town, either.

The Farm was known for making video tapes of its members as part of their interviewing process, to try and get the candidates to share their darkest fears and their secrets. And so it’s possible that she’s just taken things up a (very sinister) notch and is using the films to control everyone.

She could be sending out the tapes in an effort to try and get revenge for the death of her husband, Edgar. However, since she’s behind bars, she would definitely need some help from somebody on the outside…Like, say, Mr. Weatherbee? The former principal of Riverdale High was last seen helping Farmies escape — but he did seem pretty deep into the cult before that happened, and so it’s possible that he’s still a believer of The Farm.

Also, it’s entirely possible that if Evelyn is behind the tapes, she’s been assisted by Edgar. Yes, after this showdown with Alice, he’s most likely dead. But it wouldn’t be the first time that a long-thought-to-be-dead character made a return to Riverdale (we’re looking at you, Hal).

 

4. Jellybean Jones

Sure, there are plenty of others who have stronger motives to try and takedown Archie, Veronica, Betty and Jughead — but it’s definitely possible that Jellybean has something to do with the creepy cassettes.

Jughead’s younger sibling didn’t have much screen time in season four, but when she did appear, it wasn’t exactly under the best circumstances — her appearances coincided with the discovery of one of the video tapes. Between moving across the country with her mom, her mom subsequently being sent away, getting sucked into Gryphons and Gargoyles and her dad moving them in with his new girlfriend (who is also the mom of her half-brother), Jellybean’s had her life upended in the last few years.

That kind of stress that would get to anyone and, really, people in Riverdale have rebelled over less. Like when Archie kept going with his vigilante group despite, well, everyone telling him not to, and trying to convince him. Or when he rebelled against his father after a fight about almost everything in the second season, only to end up becoming Hiram Lodge’s right-hand man.

And if it’s a case where people aren’t actually being killed in the videotapes, we already know that Jellybean’s got the makeup skills to create some gruesome special effects, like when she tried to trick Betty into thinking she had been murdered in the Halloween episode in season four.

 

5. Charles Smith

There’s definitely more to Charles than meets the eye — or, at least, that’s what fans have suspected since Betty and Jughead’s half-brother showed up in season three. He’s been keeping secrets, like the fact that he’s still in contact with the person who pretended to be him back in season three and that they actually seem to be quite close. What’s more, he’s been shown to be secretly monitoring the calls between Jughead and Betty as they investigate the videotapes. And it definitely doesn’t help that right before the first tape showed up, Jughead was asking Betty if she thought they could really trust Charles.

Throughout season four, Charles helped Betty and Jughead investigate the sinister tapes that were showing up throughout town. And yet, the student sleuths are no closer to figuring out the mystery — it’s kind of like someone on the inside of the investigation is keeping them from the truth? Combined with Charles’ secret relationship with Chic, it definitely seems like he’s hiding something from the Core Four and the rest of Riverdale. And knowing how secrets tend to pan out in Riverdale, it’s definitely not good.

READ MORE: Riverdale: Betty And Veronica Steal The Show