So, I think we are all familiar with
the term “creepypasta” by now. Basically, they are the ghost stories of the
internet, passed around to cause sleepless nights. Some of the most well-known
examples—Jeff the Killer, Slenderman, Squidward’s Suicide—are looked upon with
distaste due to how they have been warped with popularity and time. I think we
can all agree that Jeff the Killer is just plain ridiculous in his original
story, Squidward’s Suicide, while fun, is just another lost episode (one of the
first ones, I believe), and good ol’ Slendy has gotten a bad rap from those
recent murders and games and such. I actually still like the Slenderman, but I
prefer the original version of him. You know, creepin’ around kids in the
background with his weird, reality-warping tentacles? But, my preference for
eldritch horrors is neither here nor there.
This article is not about those
creepypastas. This is about the stories that are more likely to send shivers
down your spine, ones that can suck you away into their world. By no means am I
claiming these to be the best stories out there, even if some of them have
gained some notoriety as such, and I am not claiming them to be superior, but
they are some of the ones that have
gotten to me over the years. I have ranked them in the order they have affected
me, but please, read them and judge them as you will. From creepypasta to
nosleep, here is my list of 5 stories I’ve encountered across the internet to
keep you awake at night.
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#5
– Abandoned by Disney series by Slimebeast
“Some
of you may have heard that the Disney corporation is responsible for at least
one real, "live" Ghost Town.”
“Abandoned by Disney” was the first
creepypasta that I ever took a liking to, and perhaps that is why I am still so
fond of it and the sequels that followed. I have heard the series as a whole
being criticized namely for the factual errors and rather flat ending the first
installment holds, but I do not believe that should hold one from giving the
entire series a chance. If you can suspend your disbelief at things like the
80-foot python* and “mascots” being mentioned, the story is still pretty good
in its descriptions. In particular, I like the descriptions of the meat hooks
and sounds the protagonist saw. If you are still distracted by the facts, I
will say that, as bad of a sign that seeing this phrase in a review of sorts
normally is, the series does get
better once you read past “Abandoned by Disney.” So I beckon you, read on. The series
is comprised of four parts, and listed in chronological order, they are as such:
“A
Few Suggestions,” “Abandoned
by Disney,” “Room Zero,”
and “Corruptus.”
In saying that, I would recommend that you read them in the order that they
were published: “Abandoned by Disney” first, then “A Few Suggestions,” “Room Zero,” and finally, “Corruptus,” as
AbD will simply set the stage for what is coming.
Remember how I said that the story gets
better? If you are unimpressed by the original story, please, just read the
prequel, “A Few Suggestions.” People have said it before, and I will have to
repeat their words: the way that story is presented is genius. It really was
unique, using a suggestion box to tell a story, and I admire it for its effect.
I might just be blinded by nostalgia on my
admiration for this story, but please, take the time and read through it. At
the very least, it isn’t some Jeff the Killer crap… While you’re at it, check
out the author, Slimebeast, or Christopher Howard Wolf’s, other works. Here is his official
website. He’s excellent at working horror magic, and he is one of my favorites for
that.
*In
regards to the python, it’s a fact that most people are horrible judges of
size, particularly when spooked. Something like a three-foot garter snake can
easily become a ten-foot rattlesnake to someone unfamiliar with snakes, and the
same can be said for things like spiders and fish. My mother in particular
likes to call the quarter-sized grass spiders and brown recluses I’ve found
around the house “huge” (though she at least has a reason to yell at me to come
deal with the latter—you don’t really want to risk messing with recluses).
#4
– “Penpal”
– by u/1000Vultures. Reposted on the Creepypasta Wiki in a compiled format.
“In a quiet room, if you
press your ear against a pillow, you can hear your heartbeat. As a kid, the
muffled, rhythmic beats sounded like soft footsteps on a carpeted floor, so as
a kid, almost every night—just as I was about to drift off to sleep—I would
hear these footsteps and I would be ripped back to consciousness, terrified.”
This story. Damn. It’s a long, long
read, with each of its six parts being around the size of a good-length short
story, and I really can’t describe it much other than saying that it is an excellent read. It chronicles all sorts
of odd events in a kid’s life, with the main focus being the experience he has
with a childhood penpal. The above quote is from the first installment, and it only
gets weirder from there.
This story has become quite well-known
across Reddit and the web, even more so now that it has actually been published
as a book by the same name. I have not yet had the chance to read the book for
myself, but I believe it has at least been tweaked and reworked a bit for
publishing. I do kind of hope the ending was altered a bit, as the ending to
the version I read did feel a bit…lackluster, and that is why it ended up at
the place it did on this list. Maybe that’s just me, though, and my opinion
certainly shouldn’t dissuade you from giving this epic a chance.
#3
– “The
Showers” by u/clover10176 (Dylan Sindelar, I believe his real
name is)
“Every
area in all parts of the world has those area-specific urban legends that just
refuse to die. Whether the stories are about a haunted asylum on the outskirts
of the city, a creature that lives in the nearby woods, or a ghost that haunts
a lonely stretch of road outside of town, there is always a common thread
within the tales; no one has ever been to these places, seen the creatures, or
witnessed any hauntings with their own eyes.”
Again, this is a story I took a
liking to a while ago. I think I encountered it through a series of YouTube
readings…I believe it was MrCreepyPasta’s? Here
are the parts, compiled into a playlist.
I’m not really sure what it is about
this story—maybe it’s because I actually had a teacher with the same name as
the one in this story, an awesome teacher who I could actually see telling a
story like this, or maybe it’s because of how nothing is ever really explained.
The preservation of the mystery is always a great thing to be found in horror. What
really happened in the story? Was what the teacher and protagonist saw real, or
was it just a hallucination? If it was real, what the hell is going on? What is
up with the titular showers, and who was it that helped the protagonist out at
the end? I don’t know the answers to those questions, and I don’t think anyone other
than perhaps the author ever will. That’s the beauty of horror. It works best
when the threads are left hanging. This story certainly achieves that.
#2
– “Candle
Cove” – by Kris Straub
“Does
anyone remember this kid’s show? It was called Candle Cove and I must have been
6 or 7.”
Ah, yes, “Candle Cove.” A classic in
the Creepypasta community, and in my opinion, one of the best short reads out
there. The premise is that a group of people are reminiscing about a show they
watched when they were younger, and slowly, it becomes clear that their
memories are not quite as innocent as first assumed. The presentation is
wonderful, reading as a series of messages from a nostalgia-themed forum, and
the ending is brilliant. Simple, yet chilling, giving you something to think
about for long after you close the story’s tab. The story might have less of an
impact now, especially since it has been around for so long and everyone has
become accustomed to twists in stories, but it is still excellent. If you are
old enough to remember when local TV stations were common (are those still
around? I’ve heard rumors…), then this is definitely a story you should give a
chance.
#1
– “I’m
a Search and Rescue Officer for the US Forest Service…”
– by u/searchandrescuewoods
“I've
been an SAR officer for a few years now, and along the way I've seen some
things that I think you guys will be interested in.”
Alright… So, if there is one story in this
list that you should check out, it would probably have to be this one. Really,
this is a collection of stories and posts, presented as someone (a SAR officer,
obviously) recounting their experiences, and you will have to follow some links
to read all of them, but the time this will take is well worth it. Just set
aside an afternoon to read through them or listen to a reading (I am listening
to Corpse
Husband’s reading as I type this, actually). You will not
regret it.
I think the best part of this story is how
real it seems. While it may feature
some possibly paranormal happenings, none of it is really that outlandish. Yes,
things like a “fuzzy man” and man with no face sound really fake, but the way
they are spoken about in the story…I don’t know. No one can really deny that
weird crap happens in isolated areas like forests all the time, whether it be
just hallucinations brought on by the isolation and such, supposed Bigfoot
sightings, or just weird people wandering through. I’ve personally encountered
some pretty weird stuff, but that is neither here nor there. The point is, this
story doesn’t really ring with the same untruthfulness that most
creepypasta/nosleep stories hold. Others might be creepy, but you know that the
things in them could never happen. Ghosts, if they are real, are not likely to
possess old video game cartridges, and even the creepiest YouTube videos are
not going to affect you in any adverse way (jumpscare-induced heart attacks aside).
This story is something that could
actually be seen as true, and read as such so strongly that many Redditors
believed it.
Unfortunately or not, this actually is
just a story, as admitted by the author on multiple occasions, but that does
not make it any less creepy. There actually have
been disappearances in the forests of North America that could compete with
those in this story, most of which have never been solved. A man named David
Pailides (who is mentioned in the SAR story) is heavily involved in the
research of these cases and has published several books on the subject. If you
are interested, he has a site called canannissing.com with more info.
I think the strangest part of this story for
me is the stairs. That’s just…weird. Eldritch. Nothing is really explained in
the story, including the stairs, and that is great. It’s amazing. I love it. And
that is why this is at the top of my list. I keep revisiting the story, and it
never loses my interest. Hopefully, it will have the same effect on you.
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Sweet dreams.
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