HISTORY OF CREEPY PASTA…

Timeline of Creepypasta events. For more in-depth information about the origins of Creepypasta see the Collection Sheet tab.

Pre-Internet Era:

- Urban legends and folklore (ongoing)

- Chain letters (1900s-present)

- Campfire stories and oral traditions (prehistoric-present)

1980s-1990s:

- Early internet folklore and urban legends spread via Usenet and email

2000-2005:

- Ted the Caver (2001) - Early internet horror story

- Goatse and other shock images spread (early 2000s)

- Creepy chain emails get popular

2006-2010:

- The Holders Series (2007) - 4chan's /x/ board

- “Creepypasta” term coined (circa 2006)

- Slender Man (2009) - Created on Something Awful forums

- Candle Cove (2009) by Kris Straub

- Marble Hornets (2009) - Slender Man web series begins

- Jeff the Killer (circa 2008-2010)

- The Russian Sleep Experiment (2010)

- Ben Drowned (2010-2011) by Jadusable

2011-2015:

- The Rake (2011)

- Smile Dog (2011)

- NES Godzilla Creepypasta (2011)

- Squidward's Suicide (2012)

- Penpal (2012) - Later published as a novel

- Eyeless Jack (2012)

- Abandoned by Disney (2012)

- SCP Foundation gains popularity (ongoing from 2008)

- Slender: The Eight Pages game released (2012)

- Creepypasta Wiki founded (2012)

- My Dead Girlfriend Keeps Messaging Me on Facebook (2014)

- 1999 (2014)

- Slender Man stabbing incident (2014)

- NoEnd House (2015)

2016-Present:

- Channel Zero TV series (2016-2018) - Adapted various creepypastas into videos by Sci-fi

- Slender Man movie released (2018)- Mixed Reviews

- The Backrooms (2019)

- Creepypasta-inspired analog horror becomes popular (2020s)

Ongoing Developments:

- YouTube narrations of creepypastas (2010s-present)

- Creepypasta-inspired video games (2010s-present)

- rapid Reddit /NoSleep community growth (2010s-present)

- Podcast adaptations of creepypasta stories

- Academic studies on creepypasta and digital folklore

Related Phenomena:

- ARGs (Alternate Reality Games) - Often overlap with creepypasta themes

- Cursed images and videos

- Internet horror art communities (e.g., Trevor Henderson's work)

- Creepypasta-inspired cosplay and fan art