‘Creepypasta’: Internet’s perilous horror show

Most Filipinos associate the days from 31 October to 2 November with the onset of Holiday celebrations which is ironic since these are days when deceased loved ones are remembered by visiting their graves.

By tradition, family reunions are held within this period in cemeteries, lighting up candlesticks and holding vigils

However, this period is also tied in with Western traditions of trick-or-treating, wearing scary costumes, and, of course, re-telling stories about the bizarre or the unexplained.

Indeed, Halloween stories are popular staples during this period, as evident in films that are associated with the festivity.

Even as people grow older, and with the advent of technology, hair-raising stories remain a favorite during family gatherings.

Storytelling managed to adapt to the new generation with the emergence of Internet horror stories known as "Creepypasta."

Product of pop culture

Jessica Roy of Time Magazine noted in 2014 traced the origins of Creepypasta from a similar Internet trend known as "copypasta," which is done through copy-pasting chunks of texts found in forums to create a storyline

Creepypasta does this, except that it contains the recounting of frightening experiences that are beyond the ordinary.

This new way of horror storytelling is everywhere on the Internet, particularly on Halloween, especially for fans of the bizarre.

If you dig deep into the so-called creepypasta rabbit hole, you'll be able to read lots and lots of horror stories submitted from all over.

Some of these are obvious works of fiction and imaginative minds, while others are too convincingly true because of the storytelling and added audio and visual elements.

A dedicated website, creepypasta.com, has emerged to compile user-submitted creepy stories and a throve of pop-culture horror lore, apart from other Creepypasta forums on Reddit and 4Chan.

Creepypasta stories range from stories inspired by local folklore, obscure pop culture references, lost media, and even much older internet rumors that have been repackaged n Internet forums.

Some Creepypastas have been spun to other forms of media and popular culture such as the cult of Slenderman, a tall, thin, faceless being who wears a black suit.

He is a popular creepypasta character created in 2009 and became a popular fan art. Slenderman also spawned some references in popular series, movies, and especially, online games and memes.

However, much like most other things on the Internet, creepypastas can go a bit too much, especially on netizens who are easily swayed by the stories to act irrationally.

Mind bender

One popular example of this is when 12-year-old Payton Leutner was stabbed 19 times by friends Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier in a wooded location in Wisconsin in 2014, in what they believed was "an attempt to please Slenderman."

Leutner survived the stabbing and both Geyser and Weier were placed in a mental institute, with the latter eventually released but was ordered by the court to undergo supervision until reaching age 37.

The incident showed the potential adverse effects of creepypastas to users, especially minors.