creepypasta
/ˈkriːpiˌpɑːstə/
Very CommonA short horror story or legend that spreads virally across the internet.
The term comes from 'copypasta' (text copied and pasted around the internet). A good creepypasta reads like something that could be real. Many famous creepypastas spawned entire mythos.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | nosleep was basically a creepypasta factory at its peak | The subreddit produced so many viral horror stories it became a defining platform for the genre. | reddit, 2023 |
| 02 | the skinsuit one is still the creepypasta that got me most. could not sleep for two days | A specific story had a strong personal impact. | reddit, 2022 |
| 03 | this message from my coworker literally reads like a creepypasta | The message has an unsettling, horror-story quality. | x, 2024 |
| 04 | slender man starting as a creepypasta forum post and ending up on the news is one of the wildest things the internet produced | A fictional horror character spread far enough to affect the real world. | reddit, 2023 |
Use it when
- Sharing or referencing a well-known internet horror story.
- Describing any short, shareable piece of horror writing online.
- Nostalgically referencing early internet horror culture.
Do not use it when
- You mean a long-form horror series or ARG.Use “arg” instead.
- You mean an SCP article specifically.Use “scp-foundation” instead.
Variations and related forms
Creepypasta vs SCP Foundation
creepypasta
Creepypasta is a loose, viral format with no governing structure.
VS
scp-foundation
SCP Foundation is a collaborative wiki with a defined format, lore, and community standards.
Origin and context
Portmanteau of 'creepy' and 'copypasta'. The term emerged on 4chan and spread through forums like Something Awful and Creepypasta.com around 2007-2009. The genre peaked culturally around 2012-2014.
- First seen
- 2007
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/creepypastaUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0