creepypasta
Online scary stories
Creepypasta is horror fiction written for and shared on the internet—the name blends "creepy" with "copypasta" (text copied and pasted across forums).
These stories often present themselves as true accounts of paranormal encounters, urban legends, or disturbing experiences: I stayed up all night reading creepypasta about abandoned hospitals.
Characters like Slender Man originated as creepypasta before spreading into broader culture.
Private behind-the-scenes spaces
- skinwalkerNavajo witch who transforms
- entityIndependent existing thing
- monsterFrightening imaginary creature
- creatureLiving, sentient entity
paranormal · supernatural · cursed · haunted · possession · ritual · demonic · occult
Anonymous posting site
- fanfictionAmateur work using existing characters
- ARGImmersive collaborative puzzle narrative
- found footageGenre mimicking discovered recordings
- screenshotCaptured display image
forum · thread · anonymous · viral · shared · online · digital · lost episode
Unverified viral story
- campfire storyTale told outdoors at night
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
tale · oral tradition · hoax · chain letter · superstition · local legend · sighting · encounter
One who tells events
- protagonistStory's central figure
- unreliable narratorStoryteller whose credibility wavers
- first personGrammatical self-reference perspective
- twist endingUnexpected narrative conclusion
log entries · case file · investigation · journal · recordings · evidence · descent into madness · paranoia
backrooms
Private behind-the-scenes spaces
- skinwalkerNavajo witch who transforms
- entityIndependent existing thing
- monsterFrightening imaginary creature
creature · paranormal · supernatural · cursed · haunted · possession · ritual · demonic · occult · nightmare
4chan
Anonymous posting site
- fanfictionAmateur work using existing characters
- ARGImmersive collaborative puzzle narrative
- found footageGenre mimicking discovered recordings
screenshot · forum · thread · anonymous · viral · shared · online · digital · lost episode · deep web
urban legend
Unverified viral story
- campfire storyTale told outdoors at night
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
lore · tale · oral tradition · hoax · chain letter · superstition · local legend · sighting · encounter · testimony
narrator
One who tells events
- protagonistStory's central figure
- unreliable narratorStoryteller whose credibility wavers
- first personGrammatical self-reference perspective
twist ending · log entries · case file · investigation · journal · recordings · evidence · descent into madness · paranoia · isolation
- horrorhorror, terror, fear, dread, haunted
- scaresfrights, scares, chillers, shockers, horror movies
- cyberculturecyberculture, internet culture, online communities, virtual communities, memes
- Internet Folkloreinternet memes, rickroll, rickrolling, Polybius, lost media
- urban legendsurban legend, alligators in sewers, phantom hitchhiker, kidney theft, backrooms
- modern mythsurban legends, modern folklore, ghost stories, cryptids, Bigfoot
creepypastawholesome memes
Positive viral image humor
fluff · bedtime stories · warm fuzzies · fairy tales · lullabies
creepypastapublished novels
Fictional works in distribution
literary fiction · bestsellers · peer-reviewed articles · academic writing · print journalism