OriginsPopularity • Genres • ExamplesAfter the PeakMy Thoughts

The creepypasta genre has it's own subgenres of stories that follow a similar formula, these include...

Slasher StoriesJeff the Killer

Stories that focus on at least one slasher villain, detailing their backstory and what they do to their victims. Most of the time they're down to Earth murderers with average human strength, but some stories can have them be incredibly strong despite what their age or physique suggest. Contrary to their insane intent, they might have some sympathetic backstory to them, maybe their entire life fell apart before they just went ballistic, or maybe they were always just a weirdo who likes to harm others.

Cryptids, Demons, Ghosts, Gods, Monsters... etcThe Rake

Like slasher stories, they're about a main antagonist and who or what they are, but as the name shows, the antagonist is much more other-worldly. It might look like a human, or it could be some sort of fleshy abomination, they're most likely stronger than the average person, and in extreme cases incomprehensibly powerful. They might even get a detailed description, and are instead shrouded under a "fear of the unknown" tactic, nothing is scarier, they say.

The Hidden Truth/Theories

That one thing you thought you knew everything about, whether something in reality or a piece of media, is actually hiding something dark from the public. The government is keeping this creature or anomaly from the general public. A classic TV show is actually about real life events that were much darker than the show portrays them. A video game that was secretly used to brainwash people. Educational programming that was actually used for hidden satanic rituals. All right under everyone's noses... Except for the guy who writes the stories, they somehow know.

Lost EpisodesSquidward's Suicide

Someone gets a copy of a film or a TV show episode that was pulled from syndication for the video's questionable content. The video is often a far cry compared to the original media, some times more violent and graphic. In the case of animation, there might be some portions of the video that are realistic compared to the cartoony style surrounding it. There's maybe some deep backstory with one of the writers that caused the video to be produced, or maybe there's no explanation at all.

Video Game StoriesSonic.exe

Like lost episodes, but with video games. The main character gets a cartridge, CD, ROM, executable file, etc, of a game and goes on to play it. Strange things start to happen, things don't go how they're supposed to, and somewhere down the line it's spooky. Glitches, bugs, realism, graphic violence, 4th wall breaking, distortion, messing with the console or computer it's hosted on, etc. The game could even be haunted, and it could start to spill into reality with various anomalies, or, once again, there could be no explanation at all.