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{{Distinguish|Urban legend|Copypasta}}
{{Distinguish|Urban legend|Copypasta}}
{{pp-dispute|small=yes}}
{{pp-dispute|small=yes}}
[[File:Тонкий человек.jpg|thumb|[[Fan art]] of [[Slenderman|Slender Man]], one of the best-known creepypastas]]
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A '''creepypasta''' is a [[Horror fiction|horror]]-related [[legend]] which has been shared around the [[Internet]].<ref name="Time"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Considine|first1=Austin|title=Bored at Work? Try Creepypasta, or Web Scares|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/fashion/14noticed.html|access-date=14 September 2015|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 November 2010}}</ref><ref name=feminist>{{cite journal|last1=Henriksen|first1=Line|title=Here be monsters: a choreomaniac's companion to the danse macabre|journal=Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory|date=17 Dec 2013|volume=23|issue=3|doi=10.1080/0740770X.2013.857082|pages=414–423|s2cid=191466919}}</ref> The term ''creepypasta'' has since become a catch-all term for any horror content posted onto the Internet.<ref name=Romano>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailydot.com/culture/definitive-guide-creepypasta-slender-man/|title=The definitive guide to creepypasta—the Internet's urban legends|last=Romano|first=Aja|work=[[The Daily Dot]]|date=31 October 2012|access-date=1 September 2015}}</ref>
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These entries are often brief, [[user-generated content|user-generated]], [[paranormal]] stories that are intended to frighten readers. The subjects of creepypasta vary widely and can include topics such as [[ghost]]s, [[Cryptozoology|cryptid]]s, [[murder]], [[suicide]], [[zombie]]s, [[Extraterrestrial life|alien]]s, rituals to summon entities, haunted [[television shows]], and [[video games]].<ref name="Time"/> Creepypastas range in length from a single paragraph to extended multi-part series that can span multiple media types, some lasting for years.<ref name="Romano"/>


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In the mainstream media, creepypastas relating to the fictitious [[Slender Man]] character came to public attention after the 2014 "[[Slender Man stabbing]]", in which a 12-year-old girl was stabbed by two of her friends; the perpetrators claimed they "wanted to prove the Slender Man skeptics wrong".<ref name="Time">{{cite magazine|last1=Roy|first1=Jessica|title=Behind Creepypasta, the Internet Community That Allegedly Spread a Killer Meme|url=http://time.com/2818192/creepypasta-copypasta-slender-man/|access-date=17 October 2014|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=3 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Dewey|first1=Caitlin|title=The complete, terrifying history of 'Slender Man', the Internet meme that compelled two 12-year-olds to stab their friend|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/06/03/the-complete-terrifying-history-of-slender-man-the-internet-meme-that-compelled-two-12-year-olds-to-stab-their-friend/|access-date=17 October 2014|agency=The Washington Post|date=6 June 2014}}</ref> After the murder attempt, some creepypasta website administrators made statements reminding readers of the "line between fiction and reality".<ref name="Time"/> Other notable creepypasta stories include "[[Ben Drowned]]", "[[List of creepypastas#Jeff the Killer|Jeff the Killer]]", "[[Ted the Caver]]", and "[[Sonic.exe]]".<ref name="Time"/><ref name="io9">{{cite web|last=Newitz|first=Annalee|date=August 5, 2013|title=Who is "Jeff the Killer"? And is his picture haunted by a real death?|url=http://io9.com/who-is-jeff-the-killer-and-is-his-picture-haunted-by-1016241494|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151219144150/http://io9.gizmodo.com/who-is-jeff-the-killer-and-is-his-picture-haunted-by-1016241494|archive-date=December 19, 2015|access-date=31 December 2013|website=Gizmodo|publisher=io9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://mashable.com/article/creepypastas/|title=17 terrifying creepypastas guaranteed to keep you up at night|last1=Roncero-Menendez|first1=Sara|date=September 18, 2018|newspaper=[[Mashable]]|access-date=March 14, 2019|last2=Piedra|first2=Xavier}}</ref>
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A '''creepypasta''' is a [[Horror fiction|horror]]-related [[legend]] which has been shared around the [[Internet]].<ref name="Time"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Considine|first1=Austin|title=Bored at Work? Try Creepypasta, or Web Scares|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/fashion/14noticed.html|access-date=14 September 2015|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 November 2010}}</ref><ref name=feminist>{{cite journal|last1=Henriksen|first1=Line|title=Here be monsters: a choreomaniac's companion to the danse macabre|journal=Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory|date=17 Dec 2013|volume=23|issue=3|doi=10.1080/0740770X.2013.857082|pages=414–423|s2cid=191466919}}</ref> Creepypasta has since become a catch-all term for any horror content posted onto the Internet.<ref name=Romano>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailydot.com/culture/definitive-guide-creepypasta-slender-man/|title=The definitive guide to creepypasta—the Internet's urban legends|last=Romano|first=Aja|work=[[The Daily Dot]]|date=31 October 2012|access-date=1 September 2015}}</ref>
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These entries are often brief, [[user-generated content|user-generated]], [[paranormal]] stories intended to scare readers. The subject of creepypasta varies widely and can include topics such as [[ghost]]s, [[murder]], [[suicide]], [[zombie]]s, rituals to summon paranormal entities and haunted [[television shows]] and [[video games]].<ref name="Time"/> Creepypastas range in length from a single paragraph to lengthy, multi-part series that can span multiple media types.<ref name="Romano"/>


==Definition==
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In the mainstream media, creepypastas relating to the fictitious [[Slender Man]] character came to public attention after the 2014 "[[Slender Man stabbing]]", in which a 12-year-old girl was stabbed by two of her friends; the perpetrators claimed they "wanted to prove the Slender Man skeptics wrong".<ref name="Time">{{cite magazine|last1=Roy|first1=Jessica|title=Behind Creepypasta, the Internet Community That Allegedly Spread a Killer Meme|url=http://time.com/2818192/creepypasta-copypasta-slender-man/|access-date=17 October 2014|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=3 June 2014}}</ref><ref name="DD">{{cite news|author=Alfonso III|first=Fernando|date=August 2, 2013|title=4chan hunts down the origins of an Internet horror legend|work=Daily Dot|url=http://www.dailydot.com/lol/4chan-x-origins-jeff-the-killer/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706034217/http://www.dailydot.com/unclick/4chan-x-origins-jeff-the-killer|archive-date=July 6, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Dewey|first1=Caitlin|title=The complete, terrifying history of 'Slender Man', the Internet meme that compelled two 12-year-olds to stab their friend|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/06/03/the-complete-terrifying-history-of-slender-man-the-internet-meme-that-compelled-two-12-year-olds-to-stab-their-friend/|access-date=17 October 2014|agency=The Washington Post|date=6 June 2014}}</ref> After the murder attempt, some creepypasta website administrators made statements reminding readers of the "line between fiction and reality".<ref name="Time"/> Other notable creepypasta stories include "[[Ben Drowned]]", "Jeff the Killer", "Ted the Caver", and "[[Sonic.exe]]".<ref name="Time"/><ref name="io9">{{cite web|last=Newitz|first=Analee|date=August 5, 2013|title=Who is "Jeff the Killer"? And is his picture haunted by a real death?|url=http://io9.com/who-is-jeff-the-killer-and-is-his-picture-haunted-by-1016241494|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151219144150/http://io9.gizmodo.com/who-is-jeff-the-killer-and-is-his-picture-haunted-by-1016241494|archive-date=December 19, 2015|access-date=31 December 2013|website=Gizmodo|publisher=io9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://mashable.com/article/creepypastas/|title=17 terrifying creepypastas guaranteed to keep you up at night|last1=Roncero-Menendez|first1=Sara|date=September 18, 2018|newspaper=[[Mashable]]|access-date=March 14, 2019|last2=Piedra|first2=Xavier}}</ref>
The word ''creepypasta'' first appeared on [[4chan]], an online [[imageboard]], around 2007. It is a variant of ''[[copypasta]]'' (from "[[copy and paste]]"), another 4chan term which refers to blocks of text which become [[Viral phenomenon#Internet memes|viral]] by being copied widely around the [[internet]].{{Sfn|Blank|McNeill|2018|p=6}}{{Sfn|Bimo|2023|p=82}} Unlike copypastas, creepypastas are all [[horror fiction]] and also encompass [[multimedia]] stories, with creators using [[Video|videos]], [[images]], [[hyperlinks]] and [[GIFs]] alongside text.{{Sfn|Bimo|2023|p=82}}


==Etymology==
== History ==
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{{See also|List of creepypastas}}
''Creepypasta'' is a [[portmanteau]] of the words ''creepy'' and ''[[copypasta]]''; the term was coined on the [[imageboard]] [[4chan]] around 2007.<ref name="Time"/> ''Copypasta'' denotes viral, [[Cut, copy, and paste|copied and pasted]] text; this term was coined on 4chan around 2006.<ref name="Time"/>
According to Sara Bimo, "there is debate over what exactly counts as the 'first' creepypasta".{{Sfn|Bimo|2023|p=82}} Scholars and writers such as ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''<nowiki/>'s Jessica Roy have seen similarities in the [[Chain email|chain emails]] of the 1990s, which disseminated [[hoaxes]] and [[urban legends]], for example, by promising a terrible fate for users who did not pass them along.<ref name="Time" />{{Sfn|Bimo|2023|p=82}} Horror stories such as the Rake, a fictional monster created by 4chan users in 2005, have been retroactively considered creepypastas.{{Sfn|Taylor|2020|p=986}} Some consider the 2001 story "[[Ted the Caver]]" the first.<ref name="Romano" /><ref name=":222">{{Cite web |last=H.C. |first=Luiz |date=2018-03-17 |title=Before Slender Man and CreepyPastas There Was 'Ted the Caver'! |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3488602/slender-man-creepypastas-ted-caver/ |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=[[Bloody Disgusting]] |language=en-US}}</ref>


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The earliest creepypastas originate from 4chan, and the [[website]]'s culture was influential in shaping the characteristics of the genre.{{Sfn|Bimo|2023|p=82}} Major dedicated creepypasta websites started to appear from the late 2000s: Creepypasta.com was created in 2008, while the Creepypasta Wiki and [[Reddit]]'s r/NoSleep were both created in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 3, 2014|title='Slender Man' Cited in Stabbing Is a Ghoul for the Internet Age|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/slender-man-stabbing/slender-man-cited-stabbing-ghoul-internet-age-n121741|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607040340/http://www.nbcnews.com/web/20140607040340/http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/slender-man-stabbing/slender-man-cited-stabbing-ghoul-internet-age-n121741|archive-date=June 7, 2014|access-date=June 24, 2017|website=NBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.denofgeek.com/us/culture/creepypasta/249766/beware-the-creepypasta-scary-storytelling-in-the-internet-age|title=Beware the Creepypasta: Scary Storytelling in the Internet Age|last=Bojalad|first=Alec|date=22 January 2017|website=Den of Geek|access-date=24 June 2017}}</ref> According to ''Time'' magazine, the genre had its peak audience in 2010 when it was covered by ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name="Time" />
==History==
Jessica Roy, writing for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', said that creepypastas emerged in the 1990s when the text of [[chain letter#Channels|chain emails]] was reposted on [[Internet forum]]s and [[Usenet]] groups.<ref name="Time"/> Aja Romano, writing for ''[[The Daily Dot]]'', stated that ''Ted the Caver'' was arguably the earliest example of creepypasta. The story, posted on [[Angelfire]] in 2001, was written in the [[First-person narrative|first person]] from the perspective of Ted as he and several friends explored an increasingly frightening cave system.<ref name="Romano"/>


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The definition of creepypasta has expanded over time to include most short horror fiction whose first publication is online.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/130057-what-is-creepypasta-heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-internets-spookiest-stories|title=What Is Creepypasta? Here's Everything You Need To Know About The Internet's Spookiest Stories|last=Peters|first=Lucia|date=25 December 2015|website=Bustle|access-date=24 June 2017}}</ref> Over time, authorship has become increasingly important: many creepypastas are written by named authors rather than by anonymous individuals.<ref name=":5" />
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Many of the earliest creepypastas were created on the /x/ board of 4chan, which focused on the paranormal.<ref>Shira Chess (14 October 2016). [https://web.archive.org/web/20170624040740/https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/10/14/whats-behind-the-spreading-creepy-clown-hysteria/sinister-clown-sightings-are-a-manifestation-of-fear Sinister Clown Sightings Are a Manifestation of Fear]. New York Times. Retrieved 24 June 2017.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Chess|first=Shira|date=October 14, 2016|title=Sinister Clown Sightings Are a Manifestation of Fear|url=https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/10/14/whats-behind-the-spreading-creepy-clown-hysteria/sinister-clown-sightings-are-a-manifestation-of-fear|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624040740/https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/10/14/whats-behind-the-spreading-creepy-clown-hysteria/sinister-clown-sightings-are-a-manifestation-of-fear|archive-date=June 24, 2017|access-date=June 24, 2017|website=New York Times}}</ref> Major dedicated creepypasta websites started to emerge in the late 2000s to early 2010s: Creepypasta.com was created in 2008, while the Creepypasta Wiki and r/NoSleep (a [[Reddit]] forum, or subreddit) were both created in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 3, 2014|title='Slender Man' Cited in Stabbing Is a Ghoul for the Internet Age|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/slender-man-stabbing/slender-man-cited-stabbing-ghoul-internet-age-n121741|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607040340/http://www.nbcnews.com/web/20140607040340/http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/slender-man-stabbing/slender-man-cited-stabbing-ghoul-internet-age-n121741|archive-date=June 7, 2014|access-date=June 24, 2017|website=NBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.denofgeek.com/us/culture/creepypasta/249766/beware-the-creepypasta-scary-storytelling-in-the-internet-age|title=Beware the Creepypasta: Scary Storytelling in the Internet Age|last=Bojalad|first=Alec|date=22 January 2017|website=Den of Geek|access-date=24 June 2017}}</ref> According to ''Time'' magazine, the genre had its peak audience in 2010 when it was covered by ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name="Time" />


== Cultural impact ==
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The definition of creepypasta has expanded over time to include most horror stories written on the Internet.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/130057-what-is-creepypasta-heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-internets-spookiest-stories|title=What Is Creepypasta? Here's Everything You Need To Know About The Internet's Spookiest Stories|last=Peters|first=Lucia|date=25 December 2015|website=Bustle|access-date=24 June 2017}}</ref> Over time, authorship has become increasingly important: many creepypastas are written by named authors rather than by anonymous individuals.<ref name=":5" />
[[File:Backrooms_model.jpg|thumb|The common depiction of [[the Backrooms]], derived from one of the images that inspired the creepypasta]]
Numerous short films, games, feature-length films and merchandise have been produced based on creepypastas, such as ''[[Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story]]'', ''[[Slender Man (film)|Slender Man]]'' and ''[[Beware the Slenderman]]''. In addition to merchandise and film adaptations, numerous amounts of fan content and independent settings/mythos have been established from creepypastas, such as with the [[SCP Foundation]], [[the Backrooms]] and [[The Mandela Catalogue]], with the prior serving as an example of the creepypasta descendant subgenre, [[analog horror]].


Due to its online prevalence, a portion of creepypastas has been archived by [[American Folklife Center]] and added to their digital culture web archive under their initiative to document the development of web culture.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About this Collection {{!}} Web Cultures Web Archive {{!}} Digital Collections {{!}} Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/web-cultures-web-archive/about-this-collection/ |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Saylor |first=Nicole |date=2014-09-26 |title=Creepypastas, Memes, Lolspeak & Boards: The Scope of a Digital Culture Web Archive {{!}} Folklife Today |url=https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/09/scoping-a-digital-culture-web-archive/ |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=The Library of Congress}}</ref> Some folklorist view creepypastas as the digital age manifestation of legend,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite report |url=https://keep.lib.asu.edu/items/168623 |title=The Case for Creepypasta: Defining the Genre and Finding the Horror |last=Ramirez |first=Makayla |date=2022 |publisher=Arizona State University |language=en}}</ref> while others view the majority of creepypastas as anti-legends.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Koven |first=Mikel J. |date=2015-12-31 |title=Slender Man: A Dissenting View |url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/cl/article/view/35106 |journal=Contemporary Legend |language=en |volume=5 |pages=105–111 |issn=0963-8334}}</ref> Anti-legends are similar to legends except that they seek to purposely subvert the legends of the era by challenging the audience's exceptions of what constitutes a contemporary legend.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jolles |first1=André |last2=Schwartz |first2=Peter J. |date=2013 |title=Legend: From "Einfache Formen" ("Simple Forms") |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23489318 |journal=PMLA |volume=128 |issue=3 |pages=728–743 |doi=10.1632/pmla.2013.128.3.728 |jstor=23489318 |s2cid=161186978 |issn=0030-8129}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mould |first=Tom |date=2022-10-01 |title=Counter Memes and Anti-Legends in Online Welfare Discourse |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5406/15351882.135.538.03 |journal=Journal of American Folklore |volume=135 |issue=538 |pages=441–465 |doi=10.5406/15351882.135.538.03 |s2cid=252763522 |issn=0021-8715}}</ref>
==Examples of creepypasta==
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{{main|List of creepypastas}}


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In May 2015, [[Machinima, Inc.]] announced plans for a live-action web series curated by [[Clive Barker]], titled ''Clive Barker's Creepy Pasta'', focusing on Slender Man and ''Ben Drowned'';<ref>{{cite news |last=Rife |first=Katie |date=5 May 2015 |title=Machinima announces web series from Clive Barker, Bruce Timm, RoboCop, and more |url=http://www.avclub.com/article/machinima-announces-web-series-clive-barker-bruce--218969 |access-date=14 September 2015 |newspaper=The A.V. Club}}</ref> although following the shutdown of Machinima, the series was never produced. Each season of the American television series ''[[Channel Zero (TV series)|Channel Zero]]'' is based on a different creepypasta. Filmmaker [[John Farrelly (director)|John Farrelly]] was set to release a film titled ''The Sleep Experiment'', based on the [[Russian Sleep Experiment]], in 2020,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lynch |first=Richard |date=February 22, 2019 |title=John Farrelly Set to Release Debut Feature Film The Sleep Experiment |url=https://www.ilovelimerick.ie/the-sleep-experiment/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215084537/https://www.ilovelimerick.ie/the-sleep-experiment/ |archive-date=December 15, 2019 |website=I Love Limerick |publisher=RichardKnows}}</ref> but the project never materialized.
===Slender Man===
{{main|Slender Man}}
Slender Man is a thin, tall humanoid with no distinguishable facial features, who wears a trademark black suit. The character originated in a 2009 [[SomethingAwful|Something Awful]] [[Photoshop]] competition, before later being featured as a main antagonist in the ''[[Marble Hornets]]'' [[alternate reality game]]. According to most stories, he targets children. The legend also caused a controversy with the [[Slender Man stabbing]] in 2014.


===''Jeff the Killer''===
== Genres ==
''Jeff the Killer'' is a story accompanied by an image of the title character. In the story, a teenager named Jeff is on his way to school with his younger brother when they are attacked by a group of [[Bullying|bullies]]. Jeff defends himself and his brother and leaves the assailants lying in the street beaten, their hands and arms broken. After his brother claims he injured the bullies and is arrested, Jeff spends several days distraught, before going to a birthday party in the neighborhood where he is attacked by the bullies again. Although he manages to kill all of the assailants, he is severely burned during the confrontation after being set on fire. During a stay at the hospital, Jeff realizes that he enjoys harming people, and goes insane. The night after he is discharged, he slices his face, leaving [[Glasgow smile|a scar in the shape of a smile]], and cuts off his eyelids, so that he will never sleep. He then murders his parents and brother, whispering "go to sleep" while killing his sibling. He becomes a [[serial killer]] who sneaks into houses at night and whispers "go to sleep" to his victims before killing them.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sesseur|date=12 August 2012|title=Jeff the Killer|url=http://www.creepypasta.com/jeff-the-killer/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815031326/http://www.creepypasta.com/jeff-the-killer/|archive-date=2012-08-15|website=Creepypasta}}</ref>

The legend of Jeff the KIller can be traced as far back as 2007 to a YouTube video posted by DarkYKnighT <ref>{{Citation |title=NNN臨時放送 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWyWyoBwy3w |access-date=2023-07-02 |language=en}}</ref>

=== ''11 miles ritual'' ===
In the ''11 miles ritual'' creepypasta, a person who wishes to fulfil one's wish follows 11 miles of an unknown road with a frightening obstacle at each mile. In the case that the ritual doer reaches the 11th mile, then the ritual is said to have been completed, leading to the fulfilment of the wish.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-10-09 |title=11 Miles – Creepypasta Wiki |url=http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/11_Miles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009051251/http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/11_Miles |archive-date=2013-10-09 |access-date=2022-10-26 }}</ref>

===''Ted the Caver''===
{{main|Ted the Caver}}
''Ted the Caver'' began as an [[Angelfire]] [[website]] in early 2001 that documented the adventures of a man and his friends as they explored a local cave. The story is in the format of a series of blog posts. As the explorers move further into the cave, strange [[hieroglyphs]] and winds are encountered. In a final blog post, Ted writes that he and his companions would be bringing a gun into the cave after experiencing a series of nightmares and hallucinations. The blog has not been updated since the final post.<ref name=Romano/>

In 2013, an [[independent film]] adaptation of the story was released, called ''Living Dark: the Story of Ted the Caver''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-living-dark-the-story-of-ted-the-caver-v500949|title=Living Dark: The Story of Ted the Caver (2013)|last=Bencic|first=Sandra|work=[[AllMovie]]|access-date=25 April 2021}}</ref>

===''Ben Drowned''===
{{main|Ben Drowned}}
Created by Internet user Alex Hall (a.k.a. "Jadusable"), ''Ben Drowned'' tells a story of a college student named Matt who buys a used copy of the video game ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask]]'' from an elderly man at a yard sale. Matt finds that the cartridge is haunted by the ghost of a boy named Ben, who drowned. After deleting Ben's [[saved game|savefile]], Matt encounters disturbing glitches and scary messages such as "You shouldn't have done that..." and "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://killscreen.com/articles/the-lingering-appeal-of-pokemons-greatest-ghost-story/|title=The lingering appeal of Pokémon's greatest ghost story|last=Hill|first=Mark|date=25 February 2016|work=Kill Screen|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314190606/https://killscreen.com/articles/the-lingering-appeal-of-pokemons-greatest-ghost-story/|archive-date=14 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In May 2015, ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' reported that [[Clive Barker]] was developing a [[television series]] adaptation of ''Ben Drowned'' in partnership with [[Warner Bros.|Warner Brothers]], but Hall later confirmed that the project was no longer in development.<ref name="Variety">{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/digital/news/newfronts-2015-machinima-announces-robocop-clive-barker-series-1201486779/|title=NewFronts 2015: Machinima Announces 'RoboCop', Clive Barker and Other Series|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=2015-05-04|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2019-10-24}}</ref>

=== ''Mereana Mordegard Glesgorv'' ===
Created by an anonymous user, this story is about a mysterious YouTube video of a man in a dark red room who stares at the camera. The video has no audio; those who view it either go insane and gouge their eyes out or commit suicide; some victims somehow and inexplicably mailed their ripped eyes to [[YouTube|YouTube’s]] headquarters. The video in the story was re-created many times on YouTube.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lilith |date=2015-12-07 |title=Mereana Mordegard Glesgorv - do not watch this video! |url=https://emadion.it/en/legends/urban-legends/creepypasta-en/mereana-mordegard-glesgorv-do-not-watch-this-video/ |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=Emadion |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-11-21 |title=The Mereana Mordegard Glesgorv Urban Legend |url=https://wafflesatnoon.com/mereana-mordegard-glesgorv/ |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=wafflesatnoon.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Sub-genres of creepypasta ==


===Lost episode creepypasta===
===Lost episode creepypasta===
[[Lost television broadcast|Lost episode]] creepypasta describes supposed television episodes, typically kids' shows, that were either never aired or removed from syndication due to their violent and grotesque content. These supposedly lost episodes often focus on suicide or imply the viewer will suffer great harm. Some lost episode creepypastas focus on local public access shows rather than nationally syndicated shows. Notable examples include [[Squidward's Suicide|''Squidward's Suicide'']], [[Suicidemouse.avi]], ''[[Dead Bart]]'', and ''Max and Ruby 0004''. There are, however, actual instances of cartoon episodes being pulled off or banned from broadcast due to the episode's content being inappropriate for kids; for example, a ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'' episode, titled "[[Rude Removal]]", was never aired due to the episode featuring severe swearing.<ref name=Grippo>Grippo, p. 176.</ref> Another example is the original version of the ''[[Teletubbies]]'' episode "The Bear and the Lion", which was pulled off from further broadcast due to criticism for its unsettling cinematography, character design, and music. A ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' episode, titled "[[SpongeBob in RandomLand]]", had to re-edit a scene that referred to the ''Squidward's Suicide'' creepypasta.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.avclub.com/yep-spongebob-just-directly-referenced-a-classic-creep-1838314120|title=Yep, ''SpongeBob'' just directly referenced a classic creepypasta about Squidward killing himself|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|author=William Hughes|date=September 21, 2019|access-date=May 21, 2023}}</ref>
Some creepypastas exploit childhood [[nostalgia]] and distort it into something more horrific, unfamiliar. Creepypasta.com describes purported [[Lost television broadcast|lost episodes]] of television shows as one of the most popular [[Trope (literature)|tropes]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stoeber |first=Jenna |date=July 12, 2018 |title=Creepypasta and the psychology of negative nostalgia |url=https://www.polygon.com/videos/2018/7/12/17562402/fiendzone-negative-nostalgia-petscop-creepypasta |access-date=April 14, 2024 |website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]}}</ref>{{Sfn|Bimo|2023|pp=86–87}} These episodes often focus on suicide or imply the viewer will suffer great harm. Some lost episode creepypastas focus on local public access shows rather than nationally syndicated shows. Notable examples include ''[[List of creepypastas#Squidward's Suicide (Red Mist)|Squidward's Suicide]]'', ''[[List of creepypastas#Suicidemouse.avi|Suicidemouse.avi]]'' and ''[[List of creepypastas#Dead Bart (7G06)|Dead Bart]]''.{{Sfn|Grippo|2016|p=176}} Another example is the original version of the ''[[Teletubbies]]'' episode "The Bear and the Lion", which was pulled off from further broadcast due to criticism for its unsettling cinematography, character design, and music. A ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' episode, titled "[[SpongeBob SquarePants season 12#ep256|SpongeBob in RandomLand]]", had to re-edit a scene that referred to the ''Squidward's Suicide'' creepypasta.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.avclub.com/yep-spongebob-just-directly-referenced-a-classic-creep-1838314120|title=Yep, ''SpongeBob'' just directly referenced a classic creepypasta about Squidward killing himself|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|author=William Hughes|date=September 21, 2019|access-date=May 21, 2023}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite web |date=2022-03-01 |title=What is a Creepypasta? |url=https://www.talesbytravel.com/tays-blog/what-is-a-creepypasta |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=Tales by Travel |language=en-US}}</ref>


===Video games===
===Video games===
Video game creepypasta focuses on video games containing grotesque or violent content; this content may spill over into the real world and cause the player to harm themselves or others. Many video game creepypastas reveal the conflict to be caused by malevolent entities such as ghosts or artificial intelligence.<ref name ="Grippo"/>
Video game creepypasta focuses on video games containing grotesque or violent content; this content may spill over into the real world and cause the player to harm themselves or others. Many video game creepypastas reveal the conflict to be caused by malevolent entities such as ghosts or artificial intelligence.<ref name="Grippo">Grippo, p. 176.</ref>

===Psychotic killers===
These creepypastas tell of people, usually a teenager, becoming a psychopath or killer, often involving a trademark disfigurement due to the effects of a bad childhood, accident, bullying, experiment gone wrong, or supernatural menace.

===Supernatural monsters===
These creepypastas involve either supernatural beings or actual legendary, mythical, and folkloristic monsters.

=== Rituals and rites ===
These creepypastas typically contain instructions on how to perform various entity-summoning rituals, including their do's and don'ts. The main aim of these rituals is to have the ritual doer's wishes realised upon successful completion. Other types of rituals which do not have the effect of granting wishes are often performed for recreation.

==Adaptations==

* In May 2015, [[Machinima, Inc.]] announced plans for a live-action web series curated by [[Clive Barker]], titled ''Clive Barker's Creepy Pasta'', focusing on Slender Man and ''Ben Drowned'';<ref>{{cite news|last=Rife|first=Katie|date=5 May 2015|title=Machinima announces web series from Clive Barker, Bruce Timm, RoboCop, and more|newspaper=The A.V. Club|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/machinima-announces-web-series-clive-barker-bruce--218969|access-date=14 September 2015}}</ref> although following the shutdown of Machinima, the series was never produced.
* Each season of the American television series ''[[Channel Zero (TV series)|Channel Zero]]'' is based on a different creepypasta.
⚫
* Filmmaker [[John Farrelly (director)|John Farrelly]] was set to release a film titled ''The Sleep Experiment'', based on the [[Russian Sleep Experiment]], in 2020,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lynch|first=Richard|date=February 22, 2019|title=John Farrelly Set to Release Debut Feature Film The Sleep Experiment|url=https://www.ilovelimerick.ie/the-sleep-experiment/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215084537/https://www.ilovelimerick.ie/the-sleep-experiment/|archive-date=December 15, 2019|website=I Love Limerick|publisher=RichardKnows}}</ref> but the project never materialized.


==References==
==References==
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===Bibliography===
===Bibliography===
* {{Cite journal |last=Balanzategui |first=Jessica |date=2019 |title=Creepypasta, 'Candle Cove', and the digital gothic |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1470412919841018 |journal=[[Journal of Visual Culture]] |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=187–208 |doi=10.1177/1470412919841018 |issn=1470-4129}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bimo |first=Sara |title=Global Perspectives on Digital Literature: A Critical Introduction for the Twenty-First Century |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |year=2023 |isbn=9781000875270 |editor-last=Ghosal |editor-first=Torsa |page=1902 |language=en |chapter=The Horror of Networked Existence: Affect, Connection and Anxiety in Classic Creepypasta Narratives |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aEa8EAAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA1905}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Blank |first1=Trevor J. |title=Slender Man Is Coming: Creepypasta and Contemporary Legends on the Internet |last2=McNeill |first2=Lynne S. |date=2018 |publisher=[[Utah State University Press]] |isbn=9781607327806 |pages=3–23 |chapter=Introduction: Fear Has No Face: Creepypasta as Digital Legendry}}
* {{cite book |last=Grippo |first=Marisa C.|editor-first1= June|editor-last1= Pulliam |display-editors=etal|title=Ghosts in Popular Culture and Legend |publisher=ABC-CLIO, LLC|date=26 September 2016 |pages=174–176 |chapter=Internet Ghosts |isbn= 9781440834905}}
* {{cite book |last=Grippo |first=Marisa C.|editor-first1= June|editor-last1= Pulliam |display-editors=etal|title=Ghosts in Popular Culture and Legend |publisher=ABC-CLIO, LLC|date=26 September 2016 |pages=174–176 |chapter=Internet Ghosts |isbn= 9781440834905}}
* {{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Tosha R. |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-33136-8_58 |title=The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Gothic |date=2020 |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |isbn=978-3-030-33135-1 |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Clive |place= |pages=985–1003 |language=en |chapter=Horror Memes and Digital Culture |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-33136-8_58 |s2cid=226618766}}


{{Urban legends}}
{{Urban legends}}

Revision as of 17:07, 12 July 2024

Not to be confused with Urban legend or Copypasta.

Fan art of Slender Man, one of the best-known creepypastas

A creepypasta is a horror-related legend which has been shared around the Internet.[1][2][3] The term creepypasta has since become a catch-all term for any horror content posted onto the Internet.[4] These entries are often brief, user-generated, paranormal stories that are intended to frighten readers. The subjects of creepypasta vary widely and can include topics such as ghosts, cryptids, murder, suicide, zombies, aliens, rituals to summon entities, haunted television shows, and video games.[1] Creepypastas range in length from a single paragraph to extended multi-part series that can span multiple media types, some lasting for years.[4]

In the mainstream media, creepypastas relating to the fictitious Slender Man character came to public attention after the 2014 "Slender Man stabbing", in which a 12-year-old girl was stabbed by two of her friends; the perpetrators claimed they "wanted to prove the Slender Man skeptics wrong".[1][5] After the murder attempt, some creepypasta website administrators made statements reminding readers of the "line between fiction and reality".[1] Other notable creepypasta stories include "Ben Drowned", "Jeff the Killer", "Ted the Caver", and "Sonic.exe".[1][6][7]

Definition

The word creepypasta first appeared on 4chan, an online imageboard, around 2007. It is a variant of copypasta (from "copy and paste"), another 4chan term which refers to blocks of text which become viral by being copied widely around the internet.[8][9] Unlike copypastas, creepypastas are all horror fiction and also encompass multimedia stories, with creators using videos, images, hyperlinks and GIFs alongside text.[9]

History

See also: List of creepypastas

According to Sara Bimo, "there is debate over what exactly counts as the 'first' creepypasta".[9] Scholars and writers such as Time's Jessica Roy have seen similarities in the chain emails of the 1990s, which disseminated hoaxes and urban legends, for example, by promising a terrible fate for users who did not pass them along.[1][9] Horror stories such as the Rake, a fictional monster created by 4chan users in 2005, have been retroactively considered creepypastas.[10] Some consider the 2001 story "Ted the Caver" the first.[4][11]

The earliest creepypastas originate from 4chan, and the website's culture was influential in shaping the characteristics of the genre.[9] Major dedicated creepypasta websites started to appear from the late 2000s: Creepypasta.com was created in 2008, while the Creepypasta Wiki and Reddit's r/NoSleep were both created in 2010.[12][13] According to Time magazine, the genre had its peak audience in 2010 when it was covered by The New York Times.[1]

The definition of creepypasta has expanded over time to include most short horror fiction whose first publication is online.[14] Over time, authorship has become increasingly important: many creepypastas are written by named authors rather than by anonymous individuals.[14]

Cultural impact

The common depiction of the Backrooms, derived from one of the images that inspired the creepypasta

Numerous short films, games, feature-length films and merchandise have been produced based on creepypastas, such as Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story, Slender Man and Beware the Slenderman. In addition to merchandise and film adaptations, numerous amounts of fan content and independent settings/mythos have been established from creepypastas, such as with the SCP Foundation, the Backrooms and The Mandela Catalogue, with the prior serving as an example of the creepypasta descendant subgenre, analog horror.

Due to its online prevalence, a portion of creepypastas has been archived by American Folklife Center and added to their digital culture web archive under their initiative to document the development of web culture.[15][16] Some folklorist view creepypastas as the digital age manifestation of legend,[16][17] while others view the majority of creepypastas as anti-legends.[18] Anti-legends are similar to legends except that they seek to purposely subvert the legends of the era by challenging the audience's exceptions of what constitutes a contemporary legend.[19][20]

In May 2015, Machinima, Inc. announced plans for a live-action web series curated by Clive Barker, titled Clive Barker's Creepy Pasta, focusing on Slender Man and Ben Drowned;[21] although following the shutdown of Machinima, the series was never produced. Each season of the American television series Channel Zero is based on a different creepypasta. Filmmaker John Farrelly was set to release a film titled The Sleep Experiment, based on the Russian Sleep Experiment, in 2020,[22] but the project never materialized.

Genres

Lost episode creepypasta

Some creepypastas exploit childhood nostalgia and distort it into something more horrific, unfamiliar. Creepypasta.com describes purported lost episodes of television shows as one of the most popular tropes.[23][24] These episodes often focus on suicide or imply the viewer will suffer great harm. Some lost episode creepypastas focus on local public access shows rather than nationally syndicated shows. Notable examples include Squidward's Suicide, Suicidemouse.avi and Dead Bart.[25] Another example is the original version of the Teletubbies episode "The Bear and the Lion", which was pulled off from further broadcast due to criticism for its unsettling cinematography, character design, and music. A SpongeBob SquarePants episode, titled "SpongeBob in RandomLand", had to re-edit a scene that referred to the Squidward's Suicide creepypasta.[17][26][27]

Video games

Video game creepypasta focuses on video games containing grotesque or violent content; this content may spill over into the real world and cause the player to harm themselves or others. Many video game creepypastas reveal the conflict to be caused by malevolent entities such as ghosts or artificial intelligence.[28]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Roy, Jessica (3 June 2014). "Behind Creepypasta, the Internet Community That Allegedly Spread a Killer Meme". Time. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  2. ^ Considine, Austin (12 November 2010). "Bored at Work? Try Creepypasta, or Web Scares". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  3. ^ Henriksen, Line (17 Dec 2013). "Here be monsters: a choreomaniac's companion to the danse macabre". Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory. 23 (3): 414–423. doi:10.1080/0740770X.2013.857082. S2CID 191466919.
  4. ^ a b c Romano, Aja (31 October 2012). "The definitive guide to creepypasta—the Internet's urban legends". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  5. ^ Dewey, Caitlin (6 June 2014). "The complete, terrifying history of 'Slender Man', the Internet meme that compelled two 12-year-olds to stab their friend". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  6. ^ Newitz, Annalee (August 5, 2013). "Who is "Jeff the Killer"? And is his picture haunted by a real death?". Gizmodo. io9. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  7. ^ Roncero-Menendez, Sara; Piedra, Xavier (September 18, 2018). "17 terrifying creepypastas guaranteed to keep you up at night". Mashable. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  8. ^ Blank & McNeill 2018, p. 6.
  9. ^ a b c d e Bimo 2023, p. 82.
  10. ^ Taylor 2020, p. 986.
  11. ^ H.C., Luiz (2018-03-17). "Before Slender Man and CreepyPastas There Was 'Ted the Caver'!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  12. ^ "'Slender Man' Cited in Stabbing Is a Ghoul for the Internet Age". NBC News. June 3, 2014. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  13. ^ Bojalad, Alec (22 January 2017). "Beware the Creepypasta: Scary Storytelling in the Internet Age". Den of Geek. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  14. ^ a b Peters, Lucia (25 December 2015). "What Is Creepypasta? Here's Everything You Need To Know About The Internet's Spookiest Stories". Bustle. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  15. ^ "About this Collection | Web Cultures Web Archive | Digital Collections | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  16. ^ a b Saylor, Nicole (2014-09-26). "Creepypastas, Memes, Lolspeak & Boards: The Scope of a Digital Culture Web Archive | Folklife Today". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  17. ^ a b Ramirez, Makayla (2022). The Case for Creepypasta: Defining the Genre and Finding the Horror (Report). Arizona State University.
  18. ^ Koven, Mikel J. (2015-12-31). "Slender Man: A Dissenting View". Contemporary Legend. 5: 105–111. ISSN 0963-8334.
  19. ^ Jolles, André; Schwartz, Peter J. (2013). "Legend: From "Einfache Formen" ("Simple Forms")". PMLA. 128 (3): 728–743. doi:10.1632/pmla.2013.128.3.728. ISSN 0030-8129. JSTOR 23489318. S2CID 161186978.
  20. ^ Mould, Tom (2022-10-01). "Counter Memes and Anti-Legends in Online Welfare Discourse". Journal of American Folklore. 135 (538): 441–465. doi:10.5406/15351882.135.538.03. ISSN 0021-8715. S2CID 252763522.
  21. ^ Rife, Katie (5 May 2015). "Machinima announces web series from Clive Barker, Bruce Timm, RoboCop, and more". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  22. ^ Lynch, Richard (February 22, 2019). "John Farrelly Set to Release Debut Feature Film The Sleep Experiment". I Love Limerick. RichardKnows. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019.
  23. ^ Stoeber, Jenna (July 12, 2018). "Creepypasta and the psychology of negative nostalgia". Polygon. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  24. ^ Bimo 2023, pp. 86–87.
  25. ^ Grippo 2016, p. 176.
  26. ^ William Hughes (September 21, 2019). "Yep, SpongeBob just directly referenced a classic creepypasta about Squidward killing himself". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  27. ^ "What is a Creepypasta?". Tales by Travel. 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  28. ^ Grippo, p. 176.

Bibliography

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