Revisiting the Creepypasta
by H.J. Dutton
“Creepypasta” is a spin on the term “copypasta,” which refers to a piece of text uploaded online that circulates through communities via copy-and-paste. Horror writers could share and circulate stories in this manner, which made them an all-consuming presence on the web, especially on cultural hubs like Reddit and YouTube. The phenomenon peaked in the early 2010s, gaining widespread notoriety in 2014 when two Wisconsin girls stabbed their friend 19 times in an attempted “sacrifice” to the Slenderman, a boogeyman from creepypastas that gave him dark celebrity status. The rise of new forms of internet horror such as web series and analog horror videos, however, likely contributed more to creepypasta’s subsequent decline in popularity than a taboo resulting from the 2014 tragedy.
Today creepypasta’s relevance is an echo of what it was a decade ago. Arguably even more instrumental in the decline than the rise of more sophisticated media is the typically poor quality of creepypastas. The classics are riddled with poor grammar, sloppy prose, uninteresting ideas, plot holes, and wince-worthy dialogue. The 2011 story “Jeff the Killer,” whose author only goes by Travis, is infamous for its poor writing, such as unrealistic child dialogue and completely unearned character changes.
All that said, judging these stories becomes more complicated when you take into account the authors’ ages and levels of experience. Most, if not all, authors of classic creepypastas were in middle or high school when they wrote. For instance, Azelf5000, the author of the iconic “Eyeless Jack,” was only twelve when he wrote it. These kids had little to no prior experience as writers when they uploaded their work for the entire internet to judge. So, when revisiting these old stories, you have to judge them not as though they’re professional works but as exactly what they are: products of young creatives still learning the ropes.
“Candle Cove” – Kris Straub (2009)
Of the five creepypastas on this list, this is likely the only one most readers will recognize. Not because it’s a standout, but because of its TV adaptation as season one of Channel Zero (2016-2018). It has a simple premise executed fairly well. Told in epistolary form, a group of anonymous chatters on an unnamed message board discuss an obscure, low-budget children’s TV show about pirates. The more anecdotes chatters add, the more everyone recalls the show’s unnerving details. It culminates in a fitting albeit very cliche reveal in which the author hints at the program’s supernatural nature. For a classic creepypasta, this story is surprisingly measured and restrained in its approach to horror. There are no random interjections of gore, no bleeding eye sockets, no attempts at shock value. Just a slow yet concise build-up of unease and the uncanny. The story, unfortunately, trips over its own feet with its “screaming episode” climax, during which the author forsakes the quiet dread that has characterized the story up to that point in favor of a scene in which the puppets scream their little heads off at the camera. It’s a jarring example of tonal whiplash that, while technically minor compared to the story’s strengths, would inadvertently kickstart the lost episode creepypasta subgenre’s preference for shock value over atmospheric scares.
https://nightscribe.co/s/225/candle-cove
“Penpal” – Dathan Auerbach (2011)
The bulk of creepypasta content is supernatural. It’s that, combined with the small jump in quality, that helped “Penpal” distinguish itself from the chaff of its era. In fact, the story was so popular the author adapted it into a full-length novel a year later. Whereas creepypastas of the same era indulged in haunted video game and creature feature tropes, this story is firmly grounded in reality. Its narrator recounts a school project in which he and his classmates tied letters to balloons in hopes of enticing a stranger to write back. This single act would alter the trajectory of the character’s entire life. Though its plot is bloated and its characters aren’t particularly interesting, “Penpal” still serves as an important turning point for creepypasta (and internet horror as a whole) in terms of general quality. It stands head and shoulders above the slew of video game and lost episode gimmick stories released the same year, effectively raising the bar for what a creepypasta should be.
“Rap Rat” – CanadianCowboy (2012)
This one isn’t good, necessarily, but it does succeed somewhat more than the dozens of similar examples do. One thing that makes this story stand out is its source material. “Rap Rat” was a real board game, produced in 1992 by the now defunct company A Couple A’ Cowboys. It’s one of those board games with an accompanying VHS tape that gives you directions as you play, one that this story uses to lackluster results. The first half of this story is purely shock value, an attempt to upset the audience through images of violence and gore. However, it stands out among its contemporaries in that it ditches its tired shock value gimmicks halfway through and opts for a more traditional haunted house story, a shift that’s entirely unearned but nonetheless stronger than the former half. The image of a repulsive rat puppet crawling through a house at night is genuinely unnerving.
“Borrasca” – C.K. Walker (2015)
Like “Penpal,” this six-part series departs from the traditional supernatural fare of creepypasta and explores a flavor of horror that’s more grounded in reality. But where the former suffers from its pacing and stale characters, “Borrasca” mostly succeeds. It’s actually a surprise just how well-written this story is compared to its contemporaries. Not only does it succeed as a long-form character-driven piece, but it does something only a scant few creepypastas pull off with the same finesse, let alone attempt: misdirection. The story follows Sam Walker as he moves to a small town in Missouri where locals fear the nearby range of mountains. Not long into his stay, Sam learns of the town’s abnormally high number of disappearances. Disappearances that are always preceded by a haunting metallic screech echoing from the mountaintops. I won’t describe the twist in detail because it’s best to experience that for yourself. I will say, however, that you should stick it out through the story’s conventional start and excessive length; the reveal is worth the wait. What begins as tired, cliche folk horror reveals itself as a deliciously bleak exploration of how depraved humans can be when their environments allow their worst qualities to flourish.
“Ted the Caver” – Ted Hegemann (2001)
Have you ever read a book or watched a film that impressed you so much that it made you wonder, “Why the hell haven’t we made anything like this since?” That’s my relationship with “Ted the Caver.” Often described as patient zero of internet horror, this Anglefire blogpost – ancient by internet standards – describes the efforts of an explorer and his friend as they drill through a cave’s wall to access an untouched branch of the underground network. Things go downhill for them from there. While this story suffers from the same length and pacing issues as its successors, the other issues are more or less entirely gone. Furthermore, the author posted accompanying photos in their original blog, all of which they took themselves. That’s right, “Ted the Caver” was an account of a real caving expedition, albeit embellished with speculative fiction elements. It’s a delightful exercise in quiet dread and restraint that rivals internet horror today.