Creepypastas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Short horror narratives or supernatural tales written and shared on internet forums and websites, often featuring disturbing or frightening content
2. Online horror fiction pieces, typically posted on imageboards or creepypasta websites, that describe spooky or unsettling scenarios meant to frighten readers
3. Internet-born scary stories and paranormal accounts circulated through social media and dedicated platforms, designed to unsettle and disturb audiences

Etymology: "Creepypastas" is the plural of "creepypasta," a blend of "creepy" and "copypasta." Copypasta refers to text copied and pasted across online forums and message boards, from "copy" and "paste," the computer commands for duplicating and inserting text. The "-pasta" ending is a playful echo of the Italian food, a joke that suits content meant to be passed along. The blend joins two online habits: sharing a chain of text and telling something unsettling. Creepypastas are short horror stories, legends, or fake documents, often written to look like true accounts, that circulate the same way copypasta does.

Synonyms: horror stories, internet horror