What Is "Internet Horror"?

    Horror as an entertainment genre has persisted throughout the years as something that is enjoyed by the masses, be it in movies, books, or even TV shows. Outside of those mainstream media, some of you may have heard of names such as "Jeff the Killer", "SCP Foundation", and recently "The Backrooms". Said titles and names can often found randomly through social media algorithm, or shared by the people around you. Unlike books, and and movies, Internet horror is a digital phenomenon that is often interractive, collaborative, and immersive. Blurring the line between real and imagined horror, it is able to immerse the audience in a unique way, sometimes even interacting with the audience themselves. Internet horror encompases many different formats such as Creepypastas, ARGs (Alternate Reality Games), creepy websites, Reddit's r/nosleep, horror YouTube series, and the recent trend of analog horror. Each of these forms offers the audience destinctive experience of horror in the way they tell horror stories. This entry of the blogspot will act as an introduction to the concepts of
Creepypastas and ARGs.

    It is arguable that one of the earliest form of internet horror are Creepypastas. This format tend to be in a form of short stories that are shared and spread across various social media platforms and forums, sometimes as if they are real. The lack of distinction or indication that these stories are fiction creates a sense of imersion and dread towards new audiences. The term itself is derived from "copypasta", which is a term for easily sharable text that can easily be copied and pasted across the wide web. There are no boundaries of a horror topic that can be considered a Creepypasta, therefore it can range from simple ghost stories to unsettling accounts of psychological horror, written as if it is a real life story. "Ted the Caver" is a short story about a man who excavates an unexplored cave with his friends. The story is self published on an Angelfire website in 2001, and is presented as an online diary of the main character. Being one of is not the first Creepypasta, many people at the time wasn't sure on whether or not the story is real, immersing the reader even inbetween posts.

    ARG, short for Alternate Realiy Games while not strictly used as a horror medium, can amplify the genre if done correctly. ARGs actively involves the audience throughout the storytelling process, by including cryptic messages, and puzzles to solve. Making the use of the internet, and sometimes even real-world location, the audience are prompted to find clues and involve themselves in real-time interactions. Combining the storytelling into a game that requires a group of people on the internet to work together will create a sense of community and as a result the story itself feels eerily personal. An example of this would be "Marble Hornets", a YouTube series that will inspire the later renditions of Slender Man. In the videos, the creator hides clues and secret messages in the video which uncover certain parts of the story.