Ten Creepy Stories from Around the Web
Since the dawn of human existence, people have been telling stories and finding multitudes of methods in which to tell them. From cave paintings, to books, to simple word of mouth. And once the internet age arrived, stories both real and fictional exploded across the planet, with any person anywhere having the ability to share their stories with thousands upon millions of people with just one click of the mouse. And while ALL literary genres have been praised and celebrated, when it comes to the internet specifically, there's ONE particular category that seems to get more attention than any other: horror. And from this desire to share spooky, scary stories, there emerged one word: creepypasta.
For the uninitiated, the original definition of a "creepypasta" was a spooky story copy and pasted and spread around the internet akin to a playground rumor, with the intention of trying to trick the reader into believing it was a real event that happened. But over the years, the definition has broadened to where now a "creepypasta" is just a horror story that originated on the internet and not through traditional publishing means. But through this, a countless number of writers have perfected their craft, to the point that many of them are official published authors now, with their own books in stores, and some of them even getting television adaptations!
So, I'm going to take some time today to talk about ten of my personal favorite creepypastas of all time; the ones that I never get tired of reading or listening to over and over. I'm not going to actually rank them or put them in any particular order. Each of these spooky tales are so wildly different and with their own writing styles, I feel it'd be weird trying to determine which one is the quote-unquote "best". They're ALL incredible in their own ways.
I'll leave links to all these awesome stories in their descriptions, and I highly recommend that you check all of them out and read them in full for yourselves, and help support all these amazing authors. And if you want, you can also check out my recent video covering this very topic, where I go a bit further and read excerpts from each story. You can watch and listen along HERE.
So, without further ado, here are ten of my absolute favorite creepypastas.
To any of you who have phobias or deep-seeded fears of large bodies of water, or the ocean and what lies below, you may wanna' sit this one out. "The Ocean is Much Deeper than We Thought" by Richard Saxon, perfectly captures the suffocating horror of being locked in a confined space while surrounded by thousands of gallons of water that could drown and crush you at any moment. Our protagonist is a U.S. army/navy doctor who is called in to investigate an incident that occurred at a government naval base located deep beneath the ocean. He's told there's been a strange virus outbreak there....but the more he investigates, the more he begins to realize the problem is far more dangerous and otherworldly than anyone could've imagined. From here on, our protagonist meets up with the crew of the station and gradually uncovers the true horror of just what they're dealing with, and how badly in danger the world at large could be if this threat isn't stopped. Although it can get a bit graphic, the author does an amazing job at describing the all-encompassing terror and depth of the open ocean, how helpless we are when at its mercy, and the awful extent of the infection plaguing the crew. Word of warning: DON'T be eating anything while reading this. Just don't. Read the story HERE.
Have you or anyone you've known ever suffered a concussion? If so, then I hope to God you never had to go through what THIS kid went through. "I Woke Up in the Hospital 2 Weeks Ago and Everyone Seems....Off?" by Sea-Paper-7418, tells the eerie tale of a young man who wakes up in the hospital after a car crash, and the subsequent days that follow as his parents bring him home and try to help him heal. But as the days stretch on, our protagonist slowly begins to notice that things aren't normal anymore. From time drifting by in weird ways, to his parents acting strange, to people appearing as literal monsters in his mind's eye. And it leaves both him and the reader wondering just what the heck's going on here. Things only escalate in ways that I dare not spoil. But the true beauty of this tale lies in its ambiguity. Is our protagonist merely suffering from a concussion and he's just seeing things? Or did the accident somehow open up some higher level of his consciousness and he's seeing into an alternate dimension? Or did his soul actually enter an alternate universe altogether? It's the kind of story that gives you JUST enough of an explanation without giving TOO much away that will make you triple check your seatbelt before you go driving anywhere again. Read the story HERE.
Before you ask, no; the title isn't referring to a person, but rather, a place. "The Disappearance of Ashley Kansas" by CoasterKid93, is a very short, but VERY effective story. Narrated in the style of a police report, this tiny tale recounts an unearthly event in which a small town community is inexplicably cut off from the rest of the world at large. All attempts to gain access fail, and it soon becomes apparent this event could possibly be biblical in nature. While you'll no doubt be left with more questions than answers, this creepy tale will also leave you looking over your shoulder a bit; wondering if YOUR town or neighborhood could be next on the chopping block. It just goes to show that you don't always have to write a novel-length story to be effective, and that bite size tales can be just as impactful. Read the story HERE.
I'm sure many of you have heard the old myth of Pandora's Box. Here's a modern day equivalent that'll remind you to mind your own business. "Something Walks Whistling Past My House Every Night at 3:03" by Grand_Theft_Motto, is another relatively short, but effective scare that'll keep you up at night. The title of this one also sometimes comes with the addition of "We Weren't Allowed to Look", and is also sometimes referred to as "The Whistler at 3:03AM". But no matter what title you find it under, our kid protagonist informs the reader that his neighborhood is unnaturally blessed by a supernatural entity that makes its presence known in the wee hours of the morning, EVERY morning. And if the neighbors want their good luck to continue, they must follow one simple rule: do NOT look at the entity that stalks the streets. So what IS the whistler, exactly? Well, you'll just have to read the whole story to find out. But the real question is: are you willing to satisfy your curiosity at the risk of your life being ruined? Or is ignorance truly bliss? Read the story HERE.
Have you ever been so bored that the minutes dragging by felt like hours? Well, in this person's case, it's literal. "If You're Armed and at the Glenmont Metro, Please Shoot Me" by Peter Frost David, tells the agonizing tale of a man who volunteers to be a test subject in an experimental drug trial. What the drug is SUPPOSED to do is speed up a person's brain function so much that they'll be able to think and respond at superhuman speeds......but let's just say the doctors should've told our protagonist what the side effects would be before he subjected himself to a nightmare world of slow motion. Things only get worse as our protagonist does everything in their power to try and return their body to normal, or at least find ways to stave off the boredom of having everything running five times slower than they should. The author does a terrific job at describing how awful it would be to have eye blinks last years, and capturing the utterly horrific helplessness of being a prisoner within your own body. It brings a whole new meaning to what being trapped in a living hell truly is. Read the story HERE.
Once again, the short-but-sweet ones turn out to be the most effective. "It All Started With a Hot Air Balloon" by manen_lyset, is a spooky "man vs. nature" tale in which a single mother and her young son are beseeched by an increasing number of strange events happening around their farm. As the title suggests, it begins with an empty hot air balloon, and then it just spirals from there, with the unseen danger creeping ever closer....and ever more downward. What exactly is this odd sound and what threat does it pose? Well, let's just say that once you read this in its entirety, you'll think twice about getting in an airplane ever again. Read the story HERE.
Next up, we have what is, in my opinion, one of the most terrifying creepypastas I've ever listened to, primarily because it's a horrific thing that CAN happen and HAS happened to people in real life. " Pen Pal" by Dathan Auerbach, involves an adult man recounting a series of odd events from his childhood and young teenage years....only to eventually piece together that he was the target and victim of an obsessive stalker. What makes this series of tales so chilling is how each chapter begins with all the naiveté and innocence we all have as children, but you as the adult reader are able to pick up on all the ever-increasing context clues that something far more sinister is going on without any of these kids even realizing it. Each memory the narrator recounts is told out of sequence (which is realistic---we often recall various memories at various times), but once you piece them all together, it paints a terrifying picture of something that NO person, let alone a child, should ever be faced with. The author has since fleshed out the story even more and published it as an actual book that you can buy in stores, and trust me, it's well worth your time. Just be prepared to have a tissue box ready. Let's just say the sentence, "I'm sorry you chose me" will forever haunt me. Read the story HERE.
Here's arguably one of the most famous and well-known creepypastas of all time, and once you read it, you'll realize why it got so popular. " I'm a Search and Rescue Officer for the U.S. Forest Service; I Have Some Stories to Tell---AKA--The Stairs in the Woods" by Kerry Hammond, is a very long, but VERY entertaining and effective series of various vignettes centered around a forest ranger and their stories about all the weird things they've encountered and experienced while on the job. The stories range from sad, to creepy, to outright bizarre, to downright terrifying, as it soon becomes obvious that SOMETHING is out there in the woods and there's nothing that anyone can really do to stop it. From missing kids, to people vanishing and inexplicably reappearing elsewhere, to things that are trying to mimic humans but getting certain details wrong, to ghosts---anything and everything is on the table. But the strangest thing, by far, are the staircases that appear in the middle of the woods. Much like "Pen Pal", this is another series that began life on the internet, but is now not only a published book, but even got a television adaption on the Sci-Fi Channel anthology series, "Channel Zero" (though I've heard it greatly deviates from the original plot, so watch at your own discretion). It just goes to show how effective campfire legends can be, and it'll make you think twice next time you decide to plan a camping trip in the great outdoors. Read the story HERE.
If you know me, you know how much I love science fiction, so of course, at least one space-related story had to make it on the list. " The Only Other Astronaut on this Mission Died 6 Weeks Ago, but the Computer Insists Their Life Signs are Still Stable" by Christian Wallis, recounts the harrowing tale of an astronaut who, while in space, their mission partner suddenly dies without warning, and he's left to take care of the body and all his partner's belongings.....and when he stumbles across his partner's personal journal, let's just say his death may not have been natural causes. Things just get freakier as our protagonist checks on the body he was forced to have to tie to the side of the ship, and when he opens that body bag, well.....you'll just have to read the whole thing to find out. Christian Wallis has since become a very prolific writer in various online circles, and almost all his stories are bangers, but for my money, this is one of my personal favorites of his. If "The Ocean is Much Deeper than We Thought" emphasized the terrors of the open ocean, then THIS tale serves to remind us of how vast and unknowing and beautifully dangerous deep space is. Read the story HERE.
And now, for our final entry, we're going ALL the way back to the year 2000. To the one that started it all. To the story that is often credited with being the very first creepypasta. The one, the only, the original; "Ted's Caving Journal---AKA--- Ted the Caver" by Ted Hegemann. The story is presented as a chronological online journal in which a man named Ted and his friend "Bee" explore a local, unmapped cave system they call "Mystery Cave". They soon stumble across a small, restricted opening deep in the cave. Following the caving rule "if it blows, it goes" (meaning a strong airflow indicates a hidden passage), they decide to chisel and hammer the tight hole open. But as they expand the hole and crawl deeper, strange things happen. They hear weird howling winds, low rumbles, scratching noises, and an overpowering foul odor of decay. Long before modern digital or analog horror, the site used simple Web 1.0 journal entries and matter-of-fact technical caving details, and what makes this story even better and more effective is the various real-life photos that are included from actual caving trips the author went on, which makes the story feel that much more real, and actually DID trick many readers into thinking it was legit. Over 25 years later, its legacy can be felt through all online horror storytelling, inspiring various dramatic audio adaptations, independent film projects like 'Living Dark: The Story of Ted the Caver', as well as a VERY well acted YouTube series that I highly recommend. What started as a simple prank to pull on the author's friends and family has now left a lasting impact that will most likely live forever. From the depths of the ocean, to the depths of space, to the depths of the woods, to the depths of the Earth itself, nothing is scarier than nature itself and the unknown that lies beyond. Read the story HERE.
And there you have it! Those are ten of some of my favorite creepypasta stories! Like I said, there exists TONS of these, and it was hard to narrow them down to just ten. Maybe next Halloween season, I'll feature a few more! And of course, be sure to click the links to read all these stories for yourself and support all these amazing authors and their works! And if you feel inclined to help out an author like ME, be sure to sign up for my newsletter for tons of upcoming new projects!
Things I Got Done This Week
--continued coloring the next "Jamie Jupiter" episode
--continued writing my next "Rini Boe" book
--posted My Top 10 Favorite CreepyPastas video, which you can watch HERE
Do you want to see behind-the-scenes photos, short story previews, and commentary on all these projects? All of this is available in my totally free newsletter! The next one comes out October 14th!
NOTE: I’ll be attending the “Monster Bash Conference” this October 16th-18th (see the “upcoming events” tab for details), so I’ll be skipping a blog entry for next week. Stop back here October 24th for more rambles!
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