Creepypasta and the Evolution of Internet Horror


Origins • Popularity • Genres • Examples • After the Peak • My Thoughts
Although not dead, the genre that is creepypasta has been dying down due to various issues. The first being the issue of quality, of course not every story is going to be a hit, but there had been a plethora of poorly written stories getting noticed and mocked. The (now deleted) Trollpasta Wiki had its own section dedicated to making fun of bad creepypastas, YouTube series and other audio commentaries gained traction, large written critiques would be posted on a storys page or on social media. Some of the stories that are referred to as "classics" in the examples page had incredibly poor quality despite being widespread, such as Jeff the Killer, Sonic.exe, Squidwards Suicide, and more. This caused creepypasta to become the butt of an ironic joke, with gags like "Who Was Phone?", "A Skeleton Popped Out.", and "Man Hook Hand Car Door". The Trollpasta Wiki was also dedicated to these ironic stories, "trollpastas", hence the name. Another contributing factor to the downfall was an incident involving an incident in which 2 girls stab their friend to "appease the Slender Man". Although originally not a creepypasta, the online urban legend was a large part of the community. The incident cemented the end of the once popular genre, after it got engrossed in the debate of the safety of children online. It didn't help that Sony made a money of the same creature that was a complete critical failure. The genre didn't go away without making a mark, far from it, it singlehandedly changed the way online content worked. It created an interest in making horror with only the tools avaliable online, whether it would be literary, audio, video, video game, or anything else. Popular horror webseries like Local58 and Petscop have gained dedicated followings, eager to solve mysteries or to go along with the ride. Certain stories with remarkable quality have outlived the genre too, BEN Drowned being one such example, although the not so good stories also have some staining power as there are a plethora of fan content for Sonic.exe. That story in paticular inspired a plethora of haunted games made by fans. Adaptations are rempant, although the previously mentioned Slender Man movie was a disaster, an anthology series was made with each season taking inspiration from a different tale. Although the genre is in this odd purgatory of stagnant mediocrity, its not leaving without being heard.

Origins • Popularity • Genres • Examples • After the Peak • My Thoughts

Although not dead, the genre that is creepypasta has been dying down due to various issues. The first being the issue of quality, of course not every story is going to be a hit, but there had been a plethora of poorly written stories getting noticed and mocked. The (now deleted) Trollpasta Wiki had its own section dedicated to making fun of bad creepypastas, YouTube series and other audio commentaries gained traction, large written critiques would be posted on a storys page or on social media. Some of the stories that are referred to as "classics" in the examples page had incredibly poor quality despite being widespread, such as Jeff the Killer, Sonic.exe, Squidwards Suicide, and more. This caused creepypasta to become the butt of an ironic joke, with gags like "Who Was Phone?", "A Skeleton Popped Out.", and "Man Hook Hand Car Door". The Trollpasta Wiki was also dedicated to these ironic stories, "trollpastas", hence the name. Another contributing factor to the downfall was an incident involving an incident in which 2 girls stab their friend to "appease the Slender Man". Although originally not a creepypasta, the online urban legend was a large part of the community. The incident cemented the end of the once popular genre, after it got engrossed in the debate of the safety of children online. It didn't help that Sony made a money of the same creature that was a complete critical failure.

The genre didn't go away without making a mark, far from it, it singlehandedly changed the way online content worked. It created an interest in making horror with only the tools avaliable online, whether it would be literary, audio, video, video game, or anything else. Popular horror webseries like Local58 and Petscop have gained dedicated followings, eager to solve mysteries or to go along with the ride. Certain stories with remarkable quality have outlived the genre too, BEN Drowned being one such example, although the not so good stories also have some staining power as there are a plethora of fan content for Sonic.exe. That story in paticular inspired a plethora of haunted games made by fans. Adaptations are rempant, although the previously mentioned Slender Man movie was a disaster, an anthology series was made with each season taking inspiration from a different tale. Although the genre is in this odd purgatory of stagnant mediocrity, its not leaving without being heard.