Today I’m reviewing the top ranked creepypastas (at the time of me writing this) on creepypasta.com.
What Is A Creepypasta?
If you’re not familiar with the term, a ‘creepypasta’ might raise an eyebrow or two. A creepypasta is an internet horror story or legend. Think of them as campfire stories for the online world. What makes them different to your average short horror fiction is that creepypastas are often framed as real events; the author writes as if their story is a real experience that has happened to them and are now sharing online.
Other common features of a creepypasta are:
- First person point-of-view.
- Written by an ‘anonymous’ user.
- Meta or Fourth Wall Breaking.
- Uncensored gore, swearing and violence.
To add to the realism, some creepypasta authors may ask for help from those reading, expand on their stories through comments, or even write a sequel framed as an update, as if the events are happening in real time. This is especially common on forums like Reddit, especially under r/nosleep. There’s also a lot of artwork and creepy photoshop going on in the r/creepypasta subreddit, so venture with care.
Over time, the term creepypasta has come to mean any horror story online, meaning there are more conventional creepypastas, told in traditional prose with a less ‘meta’ feel.
The Top 10 Creepypastas (& My Thoughts On Them)
A little disclaimer: There is nothing too frightening mentioned explicitly in this list, but if you do click on any of the links, please remember that most of these are links to horror stories. If you’re creeped out easily, you might want to pass.
Additional warning: creepypasta.com has some seriously annoying adverts, so I’d recommend a good ad blocker if you choose to venture there yourself.
1. Into The Inferno by Hell Tourist.
Not to be confused with the Netflix film, this internet horror story is told in three parts and it’s the third part that has shot to top ranking on the creepypasta archive. To give it a fair shake, I read all three parts.
There’s quite a bit of ametuar writing, which is to be expected from an unedited story. Some sentences could have been phrased better. There’s also a lot of telling rather than showing. This is a common problem with creepypastas, but it’s a shame that this one fell into the same trap. The story follows the protagonist as he descends through the levels of Hell, confronting figures from his past. There was plenty of opportunity to show instead of tell which would have led to a much stronger story.
That being said, the concept is fun and I like how the author is exploring all the levels of Hell and the Deadly Sins. I’ll be keeping an eye out for the next part.
2. If You’re Armed and at the Glenmont Metro, Please Shoot Me by Peter Frost David.
This was really interesting, an honestly unique concept. Can hardly fault it for being so popular. The horror sort of…creeps up on you. A kind of stinking feeling as you start to understand the extent of the situation the main character is in. Very well done. Highly reccomended.
3. He Who Wanders by Simon Simonian.
You can probably guess that this has a similiar concept to the movie It Follows, i.e. a supernatural, inescapable stalker. There’s some great descriptive writing in this, and while I personally didn’t find it too frightening, it was engaging and ends with a fairly interesting twist.
4. Ben Drowned by Alexander Hall.
This one reminded me of creepypastas I used to read as a young teen. Around 2010, a common trend with creepypastas was to base them on a video game and the horror element comes from the game being broken or haunted in some way, a kind of verzephobia: there’s glitches, distortions, and a lot of gore. (The phrase ‘hyperealistic blood’ got tossed around a lot when this particular trend was at its peak).
Ben Drowned is based on the game The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, which I haven’t played (I know, sue me) so my experience reading was not as good as it could have been. I did actually listen to an audio recording of this work which included video footage, so I wasn’t completely missing out. That being said, I don’t think its fair to me to judge what is essentially a fanfic for a fandom I know nothing about.
I will say, however, that the writing is not the best. It’s the weakest story on this list.
5. The Spider and The Orange by Jasmine Rose.
Told from the perspective of a spider in winter, this story excellently characterises its non-human protagonist, making her empathetic and lovable. She might not be a real spider, but she’s incredible.
This story is honestly great. Though the ending is a little disturbing, it’s oh-so-satisfying. I am not being hyperbolic when I say it deserves an award. Publication. A freaking animated short. Something. It’s truly the most unique on this list and, in my opinion, deserves the top spot.
6. Ticci-Toby by Kastoway.
Some of you might not be familiar with Ticci Toby (I wasn’t) but you might be familiar with Slenderman. Slenderman is the fictional, supernatural creature who stalks, psychologically tortures people, abducts them – especially children. Toby is one those victims.
The writing is a little amateur – a lot of awkward phrasings, telling instead of showing, spelling mistakes, and redunant words: “His uneaten food which he didn’t touch.” and a lot of “automatically felt…” Nothing a quick proof-read can’t fix.
Despite that, Toby is a sympathetic character and the story is interesting.
7. I Found a Letter From My Stalker by MinisterOfOwls.
From the title, this sounds like a really basic horror story – but it’s not. It’s hard to explain without spoiling it, but it’s a dark, tragic story about friendship and love, not at all what it first appears to be. While it contains elements of gore and dark themes, I wouldn’t class it as a horror story – more of a supernatural drama.
8. A Peculiar Kind Of Madness by Matt Dymerski.
A grandmother imparts a family secret, telling the story of how she became an orphan. As you can expect, the circumstances aren’t usual. The tension builds, and builds, and the premise is so simple yet so effective. The ending was incredibly chilling too! Highly recommend. Love it.
(Do not love the parents. Those are bad parents.)
9. What Happens When the Stars Go Out by Jesse Clark.
You know that trope – that life flashes before your eyes when your dying? That’s what this is about. It’s not a horror story and far from a typical creepypasta (in fact, IMO, it’s neither) but it is well told with a lovely end.
10. The Bridge Outside My Bedroom Window by William Rayne.
Told from the point of a view of a nine year old boy as he chronicles his encounter with a bridge that appears outside of his bedroom. The POV is really well-written, genuinely feeling like a child protagonist without being too cute. I really like the protagonist and seeing what happened to him, and what happened to his father, was quite heartbreaking. Despite the heartbreak, the story ends on an uplifting note.
There is also a fantastic audio recording of this on YouTube, with some great, creepy animation – highly reccomended!
All of these and more are available to read on creepypasta.com. This is not sponsored or anything. I just wanted to something to read, but check out the site and show the authors some love.
You can also read a horror story by me.
