Daz Black

Darren Black, more commonly known as 'Daz' Black, helms a youtube channel called 'Daz Games'. His channel currently has 8.99 million subscribers and was originally created during the December of 2013 with his first video being uploaded during the January of 2014. Originally, Daz was known for comedy sketches which he uploaded to the Vine plaform from 2013. Daz has since collaborated with the Alton Towers theme park, completed a sell out tour, worked with Dwayne Johnson, and has investigated the paranormal on multiple occasions. While his channel is not investigation focused, and he calls these investigations 'ghost hunts', Daz has still investigated a number of well known haunted locations such as Jamaica Inn, Chillingham Castle, and the Ancient Ram Inn. These investigations have garnered the attention, and praise, of other figures involved in the paranormal such as Beardo from 'Beardo Get's Scared'; a well-known debunker in the paranormal community.

History

Darren Black was born on the 7th of August 1985 in Hastings, England. His proper full name, which has been shortened to 'Daz Black', may be Darren Blackmore. Sources refer to his daughter by the 'Blackmore' last name, however sources only seem to refer to Daz by the last name of 'Black'. Details on if Daz has any siblings are unknown, but his mum is a South African woman called Kim Black. No name has been found for Daz's dad, but it has been said that his profession was a carpenter. Daz attended the Hastings College of Arts and Technology, and was later employed as a construction worker.

Daz's social media career started during the April of 2013 when he begun creating content on Vine. Within a year he had millions of fans on this platform, and after he hit one million followers he decided to focus on Vine full-time. On Vine, he created comedy sketches featuring characters by the name of 'Tea Party', 'Happy Cloud', and 'Predator'. According to a BBC News article from 2017, Daz became the most followed British Viner. He has also collaborated with other Viners such as Leslie Wai and Stuggy. Vine officially shut down during the January of 2017, and ever since Daz has been known for his YouTube content. He created his 'Daz Games' channel on the 31st of December 2013 with his first video on this channel being uploaded on the 2nd of January 2014. It was titled 'Welcome to Daz Games! Killzone Start Up!' and, at the time of writing this, it has 263k views.

Despite his Daz Games channel being the most well known which he operates, he does have a second channel which he created during the November of 2007; making 'Daz Games' his second channel. The first channel he created was called 'Daz Black' and featured a number of comedy sketches he created. This channel has since been renamed to 'Off The Hook' and features videos of himself and a friend, called Will, doing activities such as fishing, staying at Air B&Bs, and cooking. Daz and Will's Off The Hook channel currently has 1.4 million subscribers and eighty-five uploaded videos.

Going back to Daz's most known channel, Daz Games, it initially begun as purely a gaming channel. It has since evolved to feature a range of content including a series called 'Daz Watches...' which shows Daz react to 'Try Not To Laugh' challenge videos along with videos recommended to him by his followers. As he is known for laughing at almost everything he watches, he constantly fails these challenges. Initially, this series was first known as 'Daz Reacts To...' and one of his first reactions was to 'Don't Hug Me I'm Scared' back in 2015. Apparently the first reaction he did occured during 2014 while he was playing 'Happy Wheels'. I've tried finding this blooper to see if the story is true, but I've had no luck and so am unsure of how true it is. Regardless, the story is that while Daz was playing Happy Wheels, an ad opened on a new page and begun playing a video. Daz then switched to the tab and found it showed a video about a sex toy called 'The Autoblow'. His reaction to this video is said to have been responsible for the creation of 'Daz Watches'. As I know he has reacted to these kinds of things in the past, I can absolutely see this story being true.

Aside the reactions, Daz is also still known for his gaming. He commonly plays horror games and is known for his funny over-the-top reactions to the jumpscares featured in them. It was probably his horror gaming which led to him collaborating with the Alton Towers theme park to create his own live-action scare game for the Scarefest event of 2023. This game, called 'Daz Games: Panic' was an addition to the park's scare maze line-up. At the start of the game, people were given wristbands and they had to find two symbols within the maze within seven minutes. Upon finding the symbols, they would be scanned with the wristband.

Along with the maze aspect, the game also featured numerous scare actors, strobe lighting, and smoke effects to make the game harder. This attraction did return to Scarefest during 2024 under the title 'Daz Games: Panic Reloaded'. Regarding pricing, I've found the 2023 maze to have been priced at £10 per ticket and the 2024 maze to have been priced at £12 per ticket. The purple wristband featured the logo of the company called 'Conductr' which is an attraction and experience design agency. They focus on merging immersive physical experiences with innovative technology, and they were involved with the development of 'The Curse At Alton Manor'; a dark ride at the Alton Towers theme park which is available throughout the year. Saun Evans, the YouTube creator who operates the theme park channel 'Lift Hills and Thrills', has said the following about both 'Daz Games: Panic', and 'Daz Games: Panic Reloaded':

"Daz Panic is a very strange attraction for Alton Towers Resort but sadly the high pricing takes away the enjoyment as you run around trying to get the highest score surrounded by actors. The maze is by no means scary or well themed but the technology implemented into the maze is smart and well executed, it’s just a shame it costs an arm and a leg. Maybe Alton Towers wasn’t the best park to host this fun, yet expensive, Halloween addition."

Given his involvements with horror games and scare mazes, it's no surprise that Daz has investigated the paranormal on a number of occasions. Daz begun to be publicly involved with paranormal investigation when he uploaded his first ghost hunt video, titled 'Ghost Hunt', on the 18th of October 2016. This video is nine minutes long and currently has 1.1 million views. This video featured both Daz and Leslie Wai, plus it was done at The Shakespeare Hotel in Stratford-Upon-Avon to promote the film 'Ouija: Origin of Evil'. His second paranormal video was titled 'Ghost Hunt #2'. This video served as a second part to 'Ghost Hunt' and was uploaded on the 19th of October 2016. It currently has 806k views and is 8 minutes long.

Sticking with the reason of film promotion, Daz's third paranormal video was titled 'Exploring Haunted Caves' and was uploaded on the 19th of January 2017. During this video, it's said that the cave exploration was done as promotion for the release of 'Blair Witch' on Blu-ray and DVD. It's also explained that they were being put in scenarios which tie in with the film. The particular caves explored are located in Buxton. That video is fourteen minutes long and currently has 1.2 million views. The fourth paranormal video Daz uploaded was not for promotional purposes, and it's the first 'proper' ghost hunt which Daz uploaded. This video was titled 'Daz Ghost Hunt | The Bradford Playhouse (WE CAUGHT SOMETHING!!)' and was uploaded on the 22nd of December 2017. It is fourteen minutes long and currently has 1.2 million views.

The Bradford Playhouse ghost hunt saw Daz investigate with the pop singer Soheila Clifford. Soheila and Daz were in a relationship during 2019, and according to IMDb this relationship begun during the May of 2019 and ended during the September of 2019. Soheila had performed on the X Factor during 2016, and she features in a number of Daz's videos on YouTube; including three ghost hunts. The fifth ghost hunt video was titled 'Daz Ghost Hunts | A GHOST SAID MY NAME (REAL)!!', and was published on the 3rd of December 2019. This video was twenty-two minutes long and featured Daz and Soheila investigating Ebenezer Chapel which is located in Belper, Derbyshire. This video currently has 2.4 million views. The final ghost hunt to feature only Daz and Soheila investigating was titled 'Ghost Hunt | Ghost Moves Item On Camera!', and it was uploaded on the 22nd of January 2020. This video featured Daz and Soheila investigating Tupton Hall, was sixteen minutes long, and currently has 1.9 million views.

Following the sixth ghost hunt, the paranormal videos became more like how they currently are today as they officially became the series known as 'DAZS GHOST HUNT'. The first of this series, which is Dazs seventh paranormal investigation video, was titled 'DAZS GHOST HUNT | Caverswall Castle', and it was uploaded on the 24th of December 2021. This video was thirty-six minutes long and currently has 1.9 million views. In this investigation, he investigated with three guys called 'Alex Duggan', 'Michael York', and 'Nick Stoppani'. Michael is commonly referred to as 'Mick' in Daz's videos, and I have found these three to be part of a paranormal investigation team called 'UK Haunted'. This team's channel is 'officialukhaunted' and they have 27.7k subscribers on YouTube. Their latest video is titled 'DAZ'S GHOST HUNT 'EXTRA' AT FALSTAFF TUDOR WORLD', and it was uploaded on the 11th of September 2022. This video includes Daz, Alex, Mick, and Nick.

At the start of the Caverswall Castle video, Daz says that Covid screwed him over and so he couldn't get any locations until that video. In total, the ghost hunt playlist on Daz Games has twenty-two videos, and the seventeenth of these videos is the first since the Caverswall Castle video to only feature Daz and Alex. Both Mick and Nick's absence is seemingly persistent, and there is no known reason why. The seventeenth paranormal video was titled 'DAZS GHOST HUNT | The Roundabout Fort Museum' and was uploaded on the 25th of March 2024. It was thirty-four minutes long and currently has 407k views. Since this video, Daz and Alex have been consistent team members who are occasionally joined by other people.

Daz did do a live ghost hunt on the 31st of October 2022 titled 'DAZS GHOST HUNT LIVE!', and this video was two hours and twenty seven minutes long. Currently it has 457k views, and the ghost hunt was conducted with all of the UK Haunted team members; Alex, Mick, and Nick. Daz has uploaded videos of him conducting 'ghost hunts' at a number of well known locations. These include the Ancient Ram Inn, uploaded on the 27th of February 2022, Jamaica Inn, uploaded on the 1st of December 2022, The National Justice Museum and Caves, uploaded on the 5th of March 2023, and Chillingham Castle, uploaded on the 8th of May 2024. Daz has stated that he doesn't believe in ghosts, but that he is open to be proven wrong.

Daz's most recent ghost hunt was titled 'DAZS GHOST HUNT | Hellfire Caves', and it was uploaded on the 5th of December 2024. This video was one hour and nineteen minutes long, and it currently has 309k views. The paranormal investigators 'Sam and Colby' uploaded a video on the 20th of August 2023 titled 'The Demon of Chillingham Castle. (w/Daz)', and this video was one hour and sixteen minutes long. It currently has 12 million views and features both Daz and Alex. All four of them investigate the castle together. Daz's own Chillingham Castle video was titled 'Dazs Ghost Hunt | The Demon Of Chillingham Castle', and it was uploaded on the 8th of May 2024. This video was forty-eight minutes long, currently has 412k views, and is the only ghost hunt video so far where the title has featured the word 'Demon'. Both videos from Daz and Sam and Colby feature the historian Neil Storey. Neil has been featured a number of times on the TV programme 'Help! My House Is Haunted'. It's also important to mention that Daz's ghost hunt video of the castle does not feature Sam and Colby, only Daz and Alex.

Daz's ghost hunts have gained the attention of not only paranormal investigators, but debunkers too. Beardo, from the YouTube channel 'Beardo Gets Scared', has covered Daz twice in his videos. The first time was during a video titled 'Did Daz Black capture a ghost on camera', and this was uploaded on the 22nd of August 2024. The video was forty-one minutes long and currently has 27k views. The second time Beardo covered Daz was in the video titled 'Daz Games Investigates, this was really good!', and this was uploaded on the 4th of November 2024. This video was fifty minutes long and currently has 14k views. At the end of Beardo's second video, he said the following about Daz's ghost hunt:

"What a pleasure to watch. Gets to the end, obviously they've had those bangs, those bumps, and the little bits that they caught; and that's all he's described them as is little things. He hasn't described any of it as paranormal and then said, you know, maybe this place is haunted but we haven't experienced that tonight. A good, honest, investigation and good, honest, results at the end. I like that when they were hearing things, they go towards it. They try to recreate it, and then they split off into seperate rooms to see if it happens then leaving trail cams, and because the trail cams and the other bits of equipment they left around captured nothing; they didn't feel the need to show it. Absolutely fantastic again from Daz and his ghost hunts. Really, really enjoyed that again. As I said earlier on in the video, I would love to see him work with teams like the Ouija Brothers, Ghosts on Trent, Real Evidence, just to sort of bolster this cluster of channels that are putting out honest content where if nothing happens, nothing happens; or if you hear a bang, you go and investigate what could have caused it and not jump on everything being a ghost. Absolutely fantastic. Really enjoyed that again."

Currently, the Daz Games channel features 1.6k videos. It's common for Daz to use his platform to advocate for mental health awareness, and he often promotes positivity and self-care. With this, he also encourages viewers to prioritise their own well-being. Daz has also used his videos to highlight wrongs in the world. He created a video on the YouTube channel 'DaddyOFive', and the people behind this channel were brought to the attention of child protective services for apparent mental and physical abuse of their children. Daz agreed with these claims while reacting to their video and said the children don't see the humour in the pranks. Another example is his video regarding a controversy which occured surrounding the youtuber 'Logan Paul'. The controversy in question was around Logan having created a video of himself filming a dead body which he found in Japan's Aokigahara Forest; also known as 'Suicide Forest'.

Aside from gaming, reactions, and paranormal investigstions; Daz has also dabbled in acting. He cameod as 'Chippy Staff Member 2' in the 2016 film 'Brotherhood', and he was an uncredited bus passenger in the 2016 film 'Eddie the Eagle'. He's also appeared as 'Young Ben Lyk' in 2018s 'Kill Ben Lyk', as 'Mitch' in 2020s 'Lockdown Kings', as 'Daz Black' in 2023s 'Mia and the Dragon Princess', and as himself in 2023s 'Daz and Dave Survival 2'. Daz has also appeared on the game-show 'Michael McIntyre's The Wheel' during 2020 as an expert. Along with working in film and TV, Daz has also worked with famous actors such as Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, and Tobin Bell.

He worked with both Hart and Johnson for 'Central Intelligence'. His sketch, titled 'The Rock Confronts Daz Black', was uploaded to YouTube on the 22nd of June 2016. The video is two minutes long and currently has 815k followers. Daz has worked with Dwayne Johnson for a second video done to promote the film 'Rampage'. This promotional video was titled 'Dwayne Johnson's Stuntman IS Daz Black', and it was uploaded on the 3rd of April 2018. This video is six minutes long and currently has 753k views. The sketch titled 'Jigsaw Vs Daz', starring Tobin Bell, was uploaded on the 31st of October 2017 to promote the film 'Jigsaw'. It currently has 3.1 million views and is a little under five minutes long.

Daz has gained many fans over the years, and he refers to these as 'Dazzlers', and at the start of his gaming videos he opens by saying 'how's it going Dazzlers? Welcome back to Daz Games'. He also has his own merchandise at dazblackshop.com where you can buy his iconic pink beanie hat amongst other items. It was during 2019 that Daz completed his first sell-out UK tour called 'Daz Watches Live'. This tour featured comedy, gameplay, and audience interactions. During 2023, Daz went on a 23-date tour across the US. It's been said that he completed a global tour during 2023, so it's unclear if he toured in other countries too. During 2019 he performed his first stand up gig at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and he returned there during 2023. You can see the subscriber progression of his Daz Games channel below:

1. One million subs = 5th of July 2016

2. Two million subs = 4th of June 2018

3. Three million subs = 8th of September 2019

4. Four million subs = 10th of April 2020

5. Five million subs = 17th of August 2020

6. Six million subs = 21st of February 2021

7. Seven million subs = 5th of November 2021

8. Eight million subs = 23rd of August 2022

Daz's 'Daz Black' channel hit one million subscribers on the 9th of August 2021. Daz is also an avid guitarist and has a pet dog called Gizmo. As mentioned at the start of the article, he does have a daughter called 'Sarah Blackmore'. Sarah sometimes appears in Daz's videos. Sarah's mum is called Kate, but that's all I've managed to find about Kate aside from the fact her and Daz are no longer together. Some sources have said that Kate is an ex-girlfriend of Daz's, but a source has said they met during 2017 and were married during 2019. I'm assuming this is incorrect given it seems Daz was dating Soheila around the time of 2019. IMDb has said Daz was with Kate until 2018. A source has also said Kate currently has her own YouTube channel about beauty, fashion, and lifestyle. Again, this could be wrong. The same could also go for sources who have referred to her as Kate Elizabeth, and Kate Elizabeth Jarvis. Daz is currently in a relationship with Em Harriss, and he got engaged to her during the May of 2023. More specifically, on the 28th of May 2023, he posted on Instagram announcing the engagement. It seems, from this post, that they became engaged at Machu Picchu.

With such a decorated history, it's no surprise that Daz is greatly adored by his 'Dazzlers'. My sister and I have watched a great number of his videos ourselves, and we have met him while attending his UK tour. For this article, because I want to remain as neutral as possible until the 'my thoughts' section, I asked my sister to provide a quote about Daz and why she personally enjoys his videos so much. I honestly was not expecting what she sent me as she isn't the most openly emotional towards me as I'm her older brother, but what she sent feels like a fitting summary as to why Daz is so popular. My sister, Kayleigh, has said the following:

"Watching Daz Black all started through my best friend around 8 years ago. She showed me one of his videos and I was instantly hooked. I’d never laughed so much at a YouTube video before and I knew I had to keep watching. I ended up showing one of his videos to my brother and he instantly felt the same way that I did. We both had turbulent teenage years with lots happening around us but one thing was guaranteed, if we were both watching Daz, we’d both be happy. In a world and household full of chaos, watching Daz was the one thing that made the world feel normal for a while. If ever one of us was sad, watching Daz games sat on the sofa next to each other was the instant fix. We never really spoke much about what was going on in our heads at that age but we didn’t need to. We’d both sit next to each other on the sofa and catch up with whatever Daz Games videos we’d missed and we’d be in stitches with laughter. It may sound cheesy but I do think that watching Daz brought me and my brother closer together. We never really had the same interests and hobbies but the one thing we had in common was this. Daz Games has had a big impact on the pair of us, he was our escape and never failed to, not even just make us smile, to have us in fits of uncontrollable laughter. And he still is my escape all these years later. If I need cheering up or I’ve had a bad day at work, Daz always gives me a reason to smile."

My Thoughts

Daz Black has clearly had a large impact on a wide audience across a varied range of subjects. Personally, I do respect the work he's done; especially as he seems to have brought an astounding amount of positivity to people's lives. It seems like Daz has a strong sense of morality, and this shines through his work both paranormal and otherwise. I completely agree with Beardo's statement and I do think that Daz is a good reference for how paranormal investigation should be. I don't know the legitimacy of UK Haunted, and I appreciate that Daz hasn't uploaded a video featuring Sam and Colby given what I've heard about them, but Daz seems like someone who is absolutely investigating to find the truth about the paranormal. He doesn't seem to be doing it for a profit, or for a following, and I believe this is shown through how his ghost hunts have evolved. First they were promoting films, then they seemed like a fun activity with his girlfriend, and finally they evolved to be more professional and about finding the truth.

I really do think that more people should pay attention to Daz's ghost hunts, and I hope he does many more in the future. As a whole, Daz seems like a genuine person who wants to help whoever he can. I think this is something appropriately emphasised by my sister's statement, and I know it isn't only her who thinks this way. I remember when seeing Daz live, he took questions from the audience and there was a girl who said very similar things to him about how his videos had done great work to cheer her up and get her through the days. As Daz was so moved by this, he interacted with the girl and had a proper little moment with her when he really didn't have to. I can't remember if he left the stage and approached her in the audience after her message to him, or if he invited her on stage; but one of the two definitely happened. The amount of love I felt from the audience towards Daz that day was something I haven't experienced anywhere else before, and it was remarkable. His kind nature, combined with his honesty, makes Daz a true credit to the paranormal field. I will definitely be keeping a close eye on his career.

Thank You!

Thank you for reading this article! Apologies that it's a little later than usual, I had an important family gathering to attend and so couldn't get this article published at the usual time. I highly recommend that you check out the channels Daz Games, Beardo Gets Scared, and Lift Hills and Thrills. All three channels are run by good, honest, people; something which is quite rare to find these days, especially on social media platforms. If you want to watch these channels, you can click on the links below:

1. Daz Games

2. Beardo Gets Scared

3. Lift Hills and Thrills

The next article will definitely be published at 8pm UK time on Monday the 10th of February, and it will document a haunted location in Somerset, England. The following article will document someone's paranormal experience, and it will be published on Friday the 14th of February.

A special thank you goes to Damain, Nicolette, Kerry, GD, Gran, Chris Willcx, Nicola Jada, Nita Raveling-Hamilton, David Lee Jones, theinoculator, 1141520851813892291920, Angeles Wernicke Zapiola, Ke v, Crispinfandom, Thiago Lima, Edgar Darnell, Megzii Hughes, SPIDEY/theronwhittet, Baptist Dsouza, Mike Olsvig, Karin Beasant, Jacqueline Dixon, Beth Beauxis, Andy Lindon, Tracy Lindon, Glen Hunt, Yvette Fielding, Rye Voss, Paul Anthony, Cambria A Sheridan, warIIikeparakeetiii, Perkeleen Rotta, archivistforager, Christa Hoelters, missluna70, chalswhoelse, Muhammed Adel, Saun Evans from Lift Hills and Thrills, Jacks-and-graves, The Cornish Ghost Whispers, Beardo Gets Scared, Starlight Phoenix Paranormal, Paranormal Penny Pinchers, the Australian Paranormal Society, Codegas Codex of Curiousity, Phantom Detectives LLC, Shadow Walkers Paranormal Investigators, South Of Spooky, Don't Scare Claire, blogparanormalexpresso2stuff, Paranormal Connections, Phantom Seekers Paranormal, chatibelieveinghosts, Purbeck Paranormal Investigators, Ghost Investigations, ParanormalTruthNetwork, haunted, Kev Kerr Paranormal, Verona Ghosts, Conjure Quest Paranormal Investigations, Edge Paranormal Research, Soulsearchers Northumbria, Paranormal Among Us, Wolf Royalty Paranormal, Spirits Beyond, Paranormal Operator, Ncghosthunter- Weird World, and Tamworth Castle for your continued support of The True Paranormal. If you want to be thanked in an article, or in the monthly appreciation post I make across social media, then please share my articles and tag 'The True Paranormal'. If I see that you've shared, then I will publicly thank you!

If you want to follow The True Paranormal you can do so on Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram, YouTube, X (formerly known as Twitter), Tumblr, and Pinterest. You can also subscribe to The True Paranormal on YouTube, or directly to this website through the bar on the left which will give you email notifications. That bar also lists all of the links which will take you to The True Paranormal's various social media platforms. If you want to contact me about your own experiences, or about anything at all paranormal, you can email thetrueparanormal1@gmail.com

A Donation Message

If you've enjoyed this article, it would be massively appreciated if you could donate anything you can towards The True Paranormal. With your donations, I can continue to build up the database and document haunted locations, paranormal experiences, the individuals who are involved in the paranormal, plus more. If you are interested in donating, then you can do so when I am live on tiktok. If you donate, I will be sure to thank you across social media and in my articles. Anything donated is much appreciated. A new feature starting from 2025 is the ability to subscribe on tiktok. As of writing this, you can subscribe from £3 a month.

Thank you very much to b0nez67, enthusiastic_bum_muncher, ssjb.17, frankiesbarbers, niamh.gallagher10, leomowatt, preppy-chloe11, autistic willy wonka, Rishi, Shay, Ruaridh, Brainrot mash, Erikthompson1971, Rhianna.private, Niamh, Boris, SPIDEY/theronwhittet, Jamie, LLA, kay1, UnknownUserOffical, JOSHY, Spoon., josh.309, Meeehow, evan.cowell1, D.Thornton, Leo, Maisy, Fr@nkie0'Reilly, ParanormalExplorationsuk, *.chloe.*, Sel, . , Zoro, Bertie boy, j.br2590, MIKOsousa, Natedog, PETER IS BACK, matsdyrnes, Josh, liampxyne, z7moz, GratsTrash, @ryan_yates26, bencottis, Darcy, Sam_dman, "GOO GOO PIG", yungzemi, Megan.sherriff, xkayycee0, jaidavis_, and perilla99 for your amazing donations on tiktok. Anyone else I see donate after a tiktok stream has finished will be added to this thank you list. I'm really sorry if I miss any names as I don't know if tiktok tells me everyone who has donated, but I will try my best to thank you all.

Sources I Have Used

1. Famous Birthdays

2. Fandom

3. Skwiki

4. IMDb

5. Favicon

6. Independant Talent

7. TMBD

8. The Famous People

9. Skwiki: Net Worth

10. Instagram

11. Towers Times