By Julia M.
The word “creepypasta” is similar to the word “copypasta” (text that is shared across the internet, an example would be an email). According to TheBarkBlog, “Copypasta, in turn, got its name from the actions of ‘copy and pasting’ stories in emails, message boards, and websites.” This relates to the idea that people copy and paste these stories on many different websites to share and collaborate while solving them.
But what is a creepypasta? Creepypastas are interactive, horror stories that are shared across the internet on various platforms. In general, creepypastas tend to be text, but they can also include photos, videos, audio recordings and more. Many people enjoy debunking viral creepypastas by uncovering clues throughout a series of different hints and tasks.
Where do creepypastas originate? Although there are thousands of different creepypastas out there, it is still unknown who created the very first one or who even started the ‘trend’ of creating these stories. According to TurboFuture, “A lot of older creepypastas appear to have originated from the /x/ board on 4chan, which is a board dedicated to the paranormal. It’s also possible that a 2001 creepypasta known as ‘Ted the Caver’ was one of, if not the original creepypasta, but this isn’t known for sure.” There are common websites in which you can find these stories, but even then, the authors of these stories are usually not revealed.
You may know of some of the well-known creepypastas such as the backrooms, the Russian sleep experiment or Slender Man. These stories are often popular for their unnerving storylines that make you feel as if they could happen in real life. There are thousands of these chilling stories that you can access through typed stories or chains of videos. I especially enjoy how the creators of these stories always come up with creative plots that will pull you into a rabbit hole of uncovering clues and finding out what happens to the characters.