This is gonna be spicy. I've met plenty of people who like to gatekeep literature and what formats "qualify" so we'll see how this goes.
For the uninitiated, creepypasta is basically internet campfire stories. The term is an offshoot of copypasta, a term for a story that gets randomly already around (copy and paste, hence the name)
I think creepypasta is a great thing because it allows for writers to get their work out there in a way that bypasses much of the barriers writers face. And if you need any proof of it's quality and potential, some have been adapted into film and some writers have managed to parley their online success into traditional publishing. (Dathan Auerbach's Penpal is a standout example)
Some other standouts would be 1999, Ted the Caver, Candle Cove, The Russian Sleep Experiment, No End House, The Art of Jacob Emory, House of Rules, Psychosis (though I despise the ending because I think it ruins the story,) The Harbinger Experiment, Ben Drowned (the OG of stories about haunted copies of video games, sadly most that have tried to copy the idea are very poor quality) And though I love the longer ones, I should mention some shorter classics like The Portraits, Lightning and White with Red.
A very much related subjects would be the SCP Foundation. A fictional government organization tasked with Securing, Containing and Protecting (hence the name) anomalous objects. Examples include a weeping angel type statue that will pursue people with deadly intent if it's not being looked at.
-A creature on the opposite end of that spectrum that hates being looked at and will chase down anyone who looks at him, with no known material able to stop it (even more disturbing is looking at a security camera footage of it has the same effect. Even looking at a photograph of it while miles away, it will immediately know)
-A clever entry of a being that will cause harm (cant recall the exact nature of what it will do, it's been a while) if anyone writes about it, so the whole entry is drawings depicting someone writing about it and then something bad happening.
-A vending machine that can produce any liquid. And I mean any. Acid, melted gold, anything. An excerpt from the entry: August 21, 2005, Agent Joseph ██████ attempted to use Item SCP-294 to obtain coffee during his allotted break time at 9:30 AM. At the request of Agent █████ █████████ "to see what it would do", ██████ requested "a cup of Joe" from the item. Moments after confirming the selection, Agent Joseph ██████ began to sweat profusely and complained of dizziness before collapsing. After moving the unconscious agent to the infirmary, the medical team recovered the contents of the cup dispensed by Item SCP-294: a combination of blood, tissue, and other bodily fluids.
-My personal favorite being a lake of blood that, after some testing, a submarine crew is sent into. I won't say any further.
Sadly, many look at this type of content in the way older literary snobs would look at "Penny Dreadfuls"
A particularly creative form of this concept, which to the likely chagrin of some I would compare in creativity to books like House of Leaves, is that of the Mystery Flesh Pit National Park. A story told through various materials ranging from brochures and hiking safety guides to classified documents and letters. And can I just say that the idea that some miners stumbled into a massive pit of flesh and immediately thought "how can we monetize this?" Is the most accurate and realistic depiction of how people would really react to some kinda cosmic horror lol.
Anyway, although I'm curious about your opinions on this nascent storytelling format, I'd also like those who enjoy them to share some lf their favorites. You know, since that's technically the whole point of this sub 😅
by CranberryFormal2867