Creepypasta is an internet-borne genre of storytelling based on copy/pasting scary stories to disperse widely online. It takes its name from “copy pasta” which is the practice of taking blocks of text and repeating them in many different contexts.
It is the direct predecessor to containment fiction, and confic can be seen as a spin-off or branching variant from creepypasta. Some formats, such as the Parawatch stories on the SCP Wiki lean into its tropes and aesthetic but for the most part there is a delineated difference between modern containment fiction and creepypasta old and new.
The history of horror fiction on the Internet started on Usenet in the 1990s, and continued through the rise of creepypasta on the /b/ board of 4chan in summer 2006, and concluded with the creation of Creepypasta.com in March 2008.
Early horror fiction on the internet
20th century
Horror fiction has been present on the Internet and its predecessors since at least 1990, when horror stories were being posted in Usenet groups such as alt.folklore.urban, alt.horror, and alt.horror.creative. Some of these early internet horror stories were pre-existing urban legends such as Bloody Mary while others were written by authors who wanted to break into the publishing business. Regardless of source though, these stories were being shared and re-distributed across the early internet throughout the 1990s.[1]Crawford, pages 72-73
Quite possibly the most significant horror tale of the era was the Black Eye Kids (or BEKs for short).[2]Crawford, page 73 The Black Eyed Kids are strange children with black eyes who attempt to gain entry to people’s cars or houses.[3]Wayback Machine (archive.org) The oldest extant tale regarding the Black Eyed Kids was shared on a ghost discussion mailing list in 1998 and was later reposted to alt.folklore.ghost-stories.[4]Wayback Machine (archive.org); Crawford, page 73
Early 21st century
Probably the first significant online horror fiction of the 21st century was Ted the Caver, the online blog of a caving enthusiast named Ted.[5]Ted’s Caving Page, with the story of his discovery in a local cave. (angelfire.com) (archive) Hosted on Angelfire, the blog described Ted’s exploration of a mysterious cave system complete with strange winds, screaming, and mysterious hieroglyphics. The blog ran from March 23, 2001 to May 19, 2001. The final blog post consisted of Ted stating he would be exploring the cave system one final time and that he would provide answers once he got back.[6]https://www.angelfire.com/trek/caver/page10.html (archive)
Another major internet horror story of the era was the “The Dionaea House.” The story, about an Eldrich abomination type-house, was spread across blogs, a Livejournal, and a website; the story was published from 2004-2006.[7]Crawford, page 76
4chan and the origins of creepypasta
Early history (2003 to 2005)
4chan was created in 2003.[8]Modest Web Site Is Behind a Bevy of Memes – WSJ.com (archive.org) Almost no archived posts exist from the first few years of 4chan. While a few hand-curated archives exist such as the Penfifteen archive,[9]rx.vyrd (archive.org) few if any horror related posts appear to have been saved in these archives.
Know Your Meme claims that the Rake (a pale humanoid creature that stalks and attacks people) was created on /b/ in late 2005.[10]The Rake | Know Your Meme (archive) This claim is almost certainly erroneous. The only evidence provided is text from one of the purported 4chan thread in which the Rake originated; no source is provided for this text. That text contains a reply to post # 14832777. This specific /b/ post was actually made on October 26, 2006 in a non-horror thread about computers and cell processors.[11]/b/ – Random » Thread #14832227 (sage.moe) (archive) The oldest confirm writings about the rake were posted to panda6.net on July 20, 2006.[12]panda6.net » Horror Theater – The Rake (archive.org)
Short horror stories emerge on /b/ (April to July 2006)
The 4chan Text Archive[13]4Chan Threads Text Archive Ten Billion 2009 : Anonymous : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive provides a nearly comprehensive archive of 4chan posts from 2006 to 2008; the archivist behind the project started archiving most extant boards (including /b/) in April 2006.[14]Oldfriend Archive » Stats (sage.moe) (archive) As a result, a more comprehensive historical record exist for this time period.
By the start of archival efforts in April 2006, so-called “creepy threads” had already started appearing on /b/.[15]/b/ – Random » Thread #7265365 (sage.moe) (archive) These increased in frequency and by June it was not uncommon for multiple “creepy threads” to be posted in a single day.[16]see, for example, /b/ – Random » Searching for posts that contain ‘creepy thread’ and that are only OP posts. (sage.moe) (archive) Within these creepy threads, an anon would usually post something along the lines of “creepy thread go!” and there would be discussions about horror related topics. These topics ranged from horror media (including the works of horror manga artist Junji Ito), disturbing Wikipedia articles, bizarre paintings and images, and existing Internet horror (including Ted the Caver and The Dionaea House).[17]See, for example, https://old.sage.moe/b/thread/9825922/ (archive) and https://old.sage.moe/b/thread/10477898/ (archive)
Creepy stories started to be posted to the /b/ thread in June and July 2006. Many of these earliest stories involved Anons describing their supposed encounters with paranormal beings. For example, on June 1, 2006, an Anon posted a series of stories documenting his interactions with legendary creatures such as trolls, gnomes and goblins.[18]/b/ – Random » Thread #8519302 (sage.moe) (archive) Another early creepy story was posted by an Anon in a July 11, 2006 /b/ thread about shadow people. The story read as follows:[19]/b/ – Random » Thread #10141860 (sage.moe), post # 10143156 (archive)
When I was about 6 ish creepy shit happend in my room, at night sometimes I’d hear whiospers, if I slept downstairs and I woke up I saw faded white images of my family members, My TV sometimes randomly turned on, in OnE and only one occasion I was sleeping and was awoken by being thrown out of my bed, everytime I slept on my back I was awoken by something tapping my shoulder, and if I woke up in the middle of the night, I saw usually 2 shadow people one was tall and thin one was fat and short, sitting on my windocil parralel to my bed, if music was on (i swear to god this happend) they would dance. it was freaky shit..
The Gideon’s Key Post and continued expansion of short horror stories (July 2006 to December 2006)
On July 10, 2006, an article entitled “Street Theory” was published on the occult-themed Hidden Armies website. The article, credited to an individual named Dan, consisted of “[s]treet-level rumors, story seeds, and anything else a crackpot will tell you for a pack of smokes.”[20]Unknown Armies (archive.org) One of the entries in the article read as follows:[21]Unknown Armies (archive.org)
There are seven words in every Gideon’s Bible – y’know, the one they stuff in every hotel room – that can’t be found in any other bible. If you repeat those seven words to yourself while grasping the doorknob to your room, the door will open to any hotel room in the world. Of course, if you want to control where you’re going, you’ll need to know the Gideon’s Key – one more inserted word, unique to each copy, that acts as an index for each room.
On July 19, 2006, an anon re-posted the Gideon’s Key story to /b/.[22]/b/ – Random » Thread #10436188 (sage.moe) (archive) Within the ensuing thread, Anons began posting a large number of short stories. These short stories, most of which were only a few sentences in length, provided descriptions of extraordinary locations or entities. Many of these short stories were instructional in nature. As an example, these stories were all posted in the July 19, 2006 thread:
The body of 4 children murdered in the 1800’s are perfectly preserved under the Reunion Tower in Dallas, Texas. In their genes lies the cure to countless major diseases (Including the cure for AIDS). (Post # 10437729)
If you travel to the furthest glaciers in the south, it is said you can walk into the canyons of ice there. If you find the junction of two canyons that form a perfect square, you can lie down in the middle there and feel no cold. If you listen, the ice will speak and what it says will make poor men rich, and sane men mad. (Post # 10438103)
In a cave, somewhere, is a severed mummified head. If you remove your own head and replace it with the severed mummified one, you will be imbued with immeasurable arcane power. The trick is getting your head off and replacing it without dying. (Post # 10443221)
Creepy short stories would continue to be posted through the remainder of the year and beyond. The short stories would grow in length, with many being several paragraphs of text. [23]See, for example, /b/ – Random » Thread #12205117 (sage.moe) (archive) As the year came to a close, it became common for entire threads of these creepy stories to be posted.[24]See, for example, /b/ – Random » Thread #17046286 (sage.moe) (archive) These early short stories largely provided steps and instructions that could be performed at some location (often extraordinary in nature) to either see something unusual or even get some benefit. These stories generally lacked a protagonist beyond the reader themselves; second person was common. Some of the ritual pastas involved entities that were little more than curiosities. Others could be life-threatening and required the reader to follow specific instructions to stay alive. An archive of many of these early creepy stories can be viewed at the King of Wolves website (which is itself now archived on the Internet Archive).
The term creepypasta is coined (August and September 2006)
Creepypasta is a derivative of the word copypasta, which refers to text that is copy and pasted across the internet. The oldest post in 4chan Text Archive using the term copypasta was an October 2005 post to /r/ (the request board); by the start of widespread archiving efforts in April 2006, the term was in frequent and widespread use.[25]Oldfriend Archive » Global Search » Searching for posts that contain ‘copypasta’ and in ascending order. (sage.moe) (archive) On August 30, 2006, an Anon started a creepy story thread. That day, another Anon posted the following comment in response to a story about mirrors:[26]/b/ – Random » Thread #12294957 (sage.moe) (archive)
Ooh, that’s a good one. Mirror-related creepypasta freaks my shit right out.
This post was the first recorded instance of the term creepypasta. The term continued to pop up repeatedly throughout September and October 2006.[27]Oldfriend Archive » Global Search » Searching for posts that contain ‘creepypasta’ and in ascending order. (sage.moe) (archive) There is no evidence within the 4chan Text Archive of the term being discussed or gradually evolving over time; the word appears to have simply fallen into widespread use.
The rise of The Holders (2006-2007)
Main article: The Holders
The Holders is an early creepypasta series about mysterious Objects that were in the possession of entities called Holders, which could be sought out by Seekers. Each followed a general format that introduced a scenario in which an Object could be sought after, its Seeker met, and at times the Objects obtained. The Holders series originated with the Holder of the End.
The exact origins of this early creepypasta is murky. Wikichan (the first Holders community) claimed that an individual named Sonic-Blade was the author and that the story was originally posted on Tokyopop (an American distributor of manga and anime that hosted a large fan community on its website).[28]Holders Series – Wikichan (archive.org) The veracity of this claim is unknown and impossible to determine.
The Holder of the End was first posted to /b/ on September 1, 2006 (August 31 in Eastern time) in the middle of an ongoing creepypasta thread.[29]/b/ – Random » Thread #12344620 (sage.moe) (archive)
The original Holder of the End post to /b / and multiple ensuing replies. Courtesy of old.sage.moe
The Holder of the End was rapidly re-posted on /b/ over the next few days.[30] Oldfriend Archive » Global Search » Searching for posts that contain ‘holder of the end’ and in ascending order. (sage.moe) (archive) These reposts would continue for many months. On October 3, 2006, the first known posting of a Holder’s Object other than the End (specifically, the Holder of the Beginning) occurred on /b/.[31]https://old.sage.moe/b/thread/13737884/ (archive), post # 13746526 On January 5, 2007, the Holder of the End, the Holder of the Beginning, and six new Holders were posted in a creepy thread.[32]https://old.sage.moe/b/thread/18525751/ (archive) On January 7, 2008, a page on Wikichan was created for the purpose of posting new Holders Objects.[33]See /b/ – Random » Thread #18632177 (sage.moe) (archive) Wikichan was unstable and routinely crashed. By November 2007, TheHolders.org, the first freestanding Holder’s website, was created by an individual known as Sysop to act as a stable alternative to the Wikichan website.[34]See the oldest known post from TheHolders.org here
The rise of /x/
/x/ is the paranormal board of 4chan and heavily responsible for the spread of creepypasta from 2007 onwards.
The general photo board (January to February 2005)
The /x/ board originated as a short-lived “general photo” board. The board was announced on January 27, 2005. It was added on a trial basis and was meant to replace /p/ as “a general all around photo board.” (The /p/ board was retained as a board for photographs by 4chan users and other photographers on the Internet).[35]News – 4chan, NEW BOARDS by moot – 1/27/05 @ 1:30AM EST (archive) The photography /x/ board would be deleted by February 26, 2005 without ever having left its trial phase.[36]News – 4chan, DING DONG IMPORTANT by moot – 2/26/05 @ 5:30AM EST (archive) One anon, summarizing the board in a June 2006 post, stated in part:[37]/b/ – Random » Thread #8773808 (sage.moe) (archive)
/x/ _was_ the crappy version of /b/. It was “general photo” for a short time, except that there was nothing useful or interesting ever posted there. Basically, /b/ with the moderation of /v/.
Demands for a paranormal /x/ (2006-2007)
By May 2006, posts on /b/ requesting a paranormal /x/ board started to pop up.[38]/b/ – Random » Thread #8194754 (sage.moe) (archive) Threads requesting the creation of a paranormal /x/ board continued to be posted through June and July 2006. For example, in one July 23, 2006 thread, an Anon argued that a new /x/ board dedicated to the supernatural and creepy/weird would be a great addition to 4chan. In regards to the content of /x/, the anon stated the following:[39]/b/ – Random » Thread #10622846 (sage.moe) (archive)
What will be posted on /x/? Look in every “creepy thread” and that will be only half of it! There will be discussions and images of UFOs, other alien technology, spontaneous human combustion, etc. And, of course, teleportations using the hidden magic words in Gideon’s Bible.
On August 5, 2006, Moot (the founder of 4chan) and Shut (a coder for 4chan) chaired a 4chan panel at Otakon 2006 in Baltimore, Maryland. During a Q&A questions, one of the audience members stated the following:[40]FULL 4chan Otakon 2006 Panel, 32:06-32:12
There’ve been like a lot of creepy, creepy threads lately and I think, I propose that we make an /x/ board because I think that would be awesome.
In response, Moot stated that he had seen the suggestion for a paranormal board on the suggestion board and that he would consider it. Shut stated that he would write the suggestion down since they did not remember anything. Shut then proceeded to reach over Moot for a writing utensil and write the idea down.[41]FULL 4chan Otakon 2006 Panel, 32:12-32:35
7chan, another online image board, had created a paranormal /x/ board by the end of August 2006.[42]/b/ – Random » Thread #12117795 (sage.moe) (archive) Over the following months, multiple threads were created on /b/ asking for an /x/ board for the creepypasta being widely posted to /b/. [43]See, for example, /b/ – Random » Thread #12117795 (sage.moe) (archive) and /b/ – Random » Thread #12380365 (sage.moe) (archive)
Paranormal /x/ is created (February 2007)
The paranormal /x/ board was finally created on February 15, 2007. The first post to the board, made by “The Red Barron” read as follows:[44]/x/ – Paranormal » Thread #1 (sage.moe) (archive)
Do g0stz ecskitx
The /x/ board would quickly become a common posting place for creepypasta.
The rise of the SCP Foundation (2007-2008)
See: The SCP Foundation on 4chan and EditThis
Archive of the original SCP-173 post and the first two responses
SCP-173 was originally posted to the /x/ board of 4chan on June 22, 2007 at 1:40 AM by Moto42 (then going by the name S.S. Walrus); SCP-173 would be heavily edited within that thread. SCP-173 would be re-posted throughout the rest of 2007, with new SCPS first being proposed in a September 5, 2007 thread.[45]/x/ – Paranormal » Thread #256661 (sage.moe) (archive) Mid-January 2008 would see a mass posting of new SCPs which would ultimately climax in the creation of a standalone SCP wiki on the EditThis wiki farm on January 19, 2008.[46]Main Page – History – Scp Wiki (archive.org)
The creator of the EditThis wiki around midnight between January 21 and 22, 2008 leaving the wiki without an Admin or any sort of staff. The EditThis wiki reached 128 entries by late April 2008, although this number was buoyed by poorly written articles that could not be deleted due to the lack of wiki staff.[47]Talk:SCP Series – Scp Wiki (archive.org), SCP Revision Rant The early SCP community later migrated to Wikidot in July 2008 under the leadership of FritzWillie after EditThis switched to a paid model and threatened the SCP wiki with deletion.
Archival of creepypasta begins (2006 to 2008)
Rapidshare (2006 to 2008)
As creepypastas continued to be posted on /b/, many anons began compiling the creepypasta into a single file, uploading them to Rapidshare, and then sharing the Rapidshare link on 4chan. The first known instance of this occurred on September 4, 2006. On that date, an Anon announced that they had saved a nearly completed creepy thread into Rapidshare by posting the Rapidshare link near the end of the archive thread.[48]/b/ – Random » Thread #12453330 (sage.moe) (archive) The next major Rapidshare post occurred on December 16, 2006. On that date, an Anon announced the following:[49]/b/ – Random » Thread #17401770 (sage.moe) (archive)
Sup /b/. Like you guys, I fucking love creepypasta. That’s why a 2 or more months ago I began collecting creepypasta in a word document. I’m up to 104 pages of delicious creepyness with no repeats that has been carefully edited for grammar and spelling. Although I won’t post the whole thing, not yet anyway, /r/ any story you remember reading and I’ll most likely have it and post it for you.
The anon posted the file to Rapidhsare after pleading from multiple anons.[50]/b/ – Random » Thread #17401770 (sage.moe) (archive) (One anon noted that the file was actually 25 pages, not the promised 104 pages).[51]/b/ – Random » Thread #17401770 (sage.moe) (archive) Links to Rapidshare would be posted to /b/ through early January 2007; Rapidshare posts would resume in and continue through 2008.[52]Oldfriend Archive » Global Search » Searching for posts that contain ‘creepypasta rapidshare’ and in ascending order. (sage.moe) (archive)
B’s Epic Creepy Stories (2006 to 2007)
B’s Epic Creepy Stories on February 10, 2007
B’s Epic Creepy stories was a forum for /b/ creepy stories which was presumably created on 9/2/2006 (the “last comment” date provided for sub-forums not containing any comments). The forum was first shared to the /b/ board on 9/3/2006 without receiving any comment.[53]/b/ – Random » Thread #12411519 (sage.moe) (archive) The forum was brought up again during a September 4, 2006 creepypasta thread when an Anon asked if the new creepypasta being posted in the ongoing /b/ thread would be posted to the forum.[54] /b/ – Random » Thread #12453330 (sage.moe) post 12455839 (archive) Another Anon, presumably the creator of the forum posted the following in response:[55] /b/ – Random » Thread #12453330 (sage.moe) post 12456479 (archive)
The board shall be updated! Keep up the new ones, guys! And feel free to post your own stories on the board, or claim the ones I’ve already put up there.
The creator would go on to post two more links in the thread to promote the forum and encourage other Anons to post creepypastas there.[56] /b/ – Random » Thread #12453330 (sage.moe) posts 12459779 and 12461565 (archive) Links to the forum would be frequently posted through September 2006 and into October 2006. [57]Oldfriend Archive » Global Search » Searching for posts that contain ‘bbsepiccreepystories’ and in ascending order. (sage.moe) (archive) Activity on the forum appears to have died off by the end of November 2006, although links to the forum would continue to be sporadically posted throughout 2007.[58]Oldfriend Archive » Global Search » Searching for posts that contain ‘bbsepiccreepystories’ and in ascending order. (sage.moe) (archive) The final link to the forum was posted on December 1, 2007.[59]/x/ – Paranormal » Thread #363940 (sage.moe) (archive)
The King of Wolves (May 2007 onward)
The King of Wolves was an anonymously maintained free webs page containing numerous creepypastas and other internet horror stories. Content listed on the page included Gideon’s Bible, the Black Eyed Kids, and lengthy analysis of the Holders series. The website was first linked to on the /x/ board of 4chan on May 15, 2007 during the middle of a shadow person thread.[60]/x/ – Paranormal » Thread #97423 (sage.moe) (archive) The website would be routinely linked on 4chan[61]Oldfriend Archive » Global Search » Searching for posts that contain ‘thekingofwolves.webs.com/index.htm’ and in ascending order. (sage.moe) (archive) as well numerous confic and creepypasta websites such as the SCP Foundation[62]Links – The SCP Foundation (archive.org) and creepypasta.com.[63]creepypasta.com » Links (archive.org)
The website does not appear to have been updated frequently; the creator of creepypasta.org noted they were “not sure if it’s updated often (or at all)” on a page archived in May of 2008.[64]creepypasta.com » Links (archive.org) The last archive of the page was made on April 22, 2015.[65]Serene Knowledge – (archive.org) A June 2018 archive shows that the website was frozen;[66]This website is frozen. (archive.org) the King of Wolves was deleted by November 2020.[67]Page Not Found – Webs (archive.org)
Creepypasta page on Encyclopedia Dramatica (September 2007 onwards)
The creepypasta page on Encyclopedia Dramatica appears to have been created in late September 2007. While the creation date of the page is not itself preserved, the corresponding talk page was created on September 27, 2007,[68]Talk:Creepypasta – History – Encyclopedia Dramatica (archive.org) and the article was first linked to on 4chan on September 28, 2007.[69]/a/ – Anime & Manga » Thread #6415021 (sage.moe) (archive) The article itself contained a very short definition of creepypasta at the top, a collection of creepypasta in the articles main body, and a “Gallery of FEAR” at the very end. The page had 28 creepypastas listed on October 11, 2007 (the date of the earliest archive);[70]Creepypasta – Encyclopedia Dramatica (archive.org) the page would list 67 creepypasta on October 17, 2008.[71]Creepypasta – Encyclopedia Dramatica (archive.org)
On the Creepypasta talk page, multiple editors curated the article to keep out out sub-par creepypastas. On October 3, 2007, Spacey (an Encyclopedia Dramatica contributor) created a “Creepypasta that didn’t make the cut” section on the talk page to archive creepypastas removed from the main article. Regarding the removed creepypastas, Spacey stated:[72]Talk:Creepypasta – Encyclopedia Dramatica (archive.org)
Some of these are ripped off of novels etc, some are meant as jokes or parodies, and some are just mediocre and not scary. I’ve moved them here for the curious
Spacey’s archive had seven entries on October 27, 2007[73]Talk:Creepypasta – Encyclopedia Dramatica (archive.org) and expanded to 36 entries by October 20, 2008.[74]Talk:Creepypasta – Encyclopedia Dramatica (archive.org) Back on 4chan, the link to the Encyclopedia Dramatica creepypasta page was frequently posted from September 2007 through the conclusion of archival efforts for the 4chan Text Archive in November 2008.[75]See Oldfriend Archive » Global Search » Searching for posts that contain ‘encyclopediadramatica.com/Creepypasta’ and in ascending order. (sage.moe) (archive) to Oldfriend Archive » Global … Continue reading
Creepypasta.com (March 2008 onward)
Creepypasta.com is a popular repository of creepypasta. The website has been continuously posting creepypasta on a near daily basis since March 2008; creepypasta.com is one of the most popular sources of creepypasta on the internet.
The website was created by “Who Was Phone”, a then 23-year-old woman named Sarah. Regarding the purpose of the website, Who Was Phone stated:[76]creepypasta.com » About (archive.org)
This website exists as an archive of my personal favorite creepy stories; while a few other collections of “creepypasta” exist, I wanted to try and make a more comprehensive collection that would be searchable and easy to navigate.
The first story post to Creepypasta.com consisted of the “Who Was Phone?” creepypasta on March 19, 2008.[77]creepypasta.com (archive.org) (Who Was Phone? is a creepypasta notorious for its lack of proof-reading and butchering the line “who was on the phone?”). Many of the oldest creepypasta posted to the website were taken directly from /x/ and other sources on the internet.[78]creepypasta.com » About (archive.org) See creepypasta.com (archive.org) and creepypasta.com (archive.org) for specific examples of creepypastas taken off of /x/.
By April 2008, Creepypasta.org was accepting direct submissions by email.[79]creepypasta.com » About (archive.org) Creepypastas submitted to creepypasta.com had a credit at the bottom;[80]creepypasta.com » FAQ (archive.org) the first such creepypasta (The Bad Dream) was posted on April 5, 2008.[81]The Bad Dream – Creepypasta (archive) Creepypastas sourced from /x/ would be the most commonly posted creepypastas for much of 2008 [82]see, for example, creepypasta.com (archive.org) but by 2009 user submitted creepypastas were becoming increasingly common.[83]See, for example, creepypasta.com (archive.org)
Bibliography
- Crawford, Joseph (2019). “Chapter 5: Gothic Digital Technologies.” In Wester, Maisha & Reyes, Xavier Twenty-First-Century Gothic: An Edinburgh Companion. Edinburgh University Press, pages 72-86.
References