Terrorizing the Internet since the early 2000s, creepypasta stories have the potential to become the next publishing craze, with books like Dathan Auerbach's Penpal and the anonymously published Slender Man capitalizing on web-based horror stories. For the list below, I've got 13 creepypasta stories that should be books, so read them and wallow with me in your hope for hardbacks.
Ever since "Ted the Caver" hit the web in 2001, many Internet users have been obsessed with reading and sharing spooky tales from fellow, faceless Internet users. Sometimes, those stories have managed to cross the barrier from cyber-fiction to real-world horror, as was the case in 2014, when two pre-teen girls stabbed a third friend in an attempt to appease Slender Man. It was a horrific crime and one that certainly doesn't reflect on the community as a whole. It also did little to dim the appeal of Slender Man, as the infamous creepypasta character featured in both a movie and a YA novel in 2018.
Some of the creepypasta stories on the list below have been the subjects of Channel Zero seasons, movies, and other media, and some have even been included in books as short stories, but none of them has been turned into a novel-length work of fiction yet. After reading these spooky stories, you'll see why they deserve to be books.
"Candle Cove" by Kris Straub
The creepypasta that inspired the first season of Channel Zero is available in author Kris Straub's short-story collection, Candle Cove and Other Stories, but fans know it totally deserves its own, book-length work of fiction. In "Candle Cove," posters on a message board share memories of a creepy children's show about pirates, which featured a villain known only as "The Skin-Taker."
"Psychosis" by Matt Dymerski
In this disturbing creepypasta, the narrator comes to believe that a mysterious entity is spying on every person it can, and takes proactive measures to avoid being observed.
"Room 733" by C.K. Walker
If you live in a dormitory, you may want to avoid this story, which centers on a cursed room that kills all who come to live in it.
"The Expressionless" by T-Jay Lea
Based on a creepy image depicting a mannequin in a hospital bed, this anonymously authored creepypasta imagines a catastrophic event at Cedars-Sinai in 1972.
"A Story to Scare My Son" by OvenFriend
A father wanting to teach his son a lesson in Internet safety may have revealed a deep, dark secret by the end of this creepypasta story.
The Holders Series
There are several hundred short stories in this series, but every one of them will leave you with a single, burning question: What happens when they come together?
"Has Anyone Heard of the Left/Right Game?" by NeonTempo
If you like tales of the Elevator Game, allow me to introduce you to the Left/Right Game, which — like the Japanese invention you're probably more familiar with — can lead you to some strange, new places.
This Untitled Creepypasta by coratel
Posted as a response to another user's request for creepypasta faves, this story might take a second read-through in order to understand just what makes it so scary.
"The Bad Dream"
This creepypasta is super short and suuuuuper unsettling, so you might not want to read it before bed.
"There Is Something Very Strange Going on with My Wife" by Darkhawkz
Another story about a loved one being replaced with something else, "There Is Something Very Strange Going on with My Wife" will make you nervous about looking your significant other in the eye.
"The Smiling Ones on Space Station Mir" by Darius Pilgrim
Recounting the days leading up to the 2001 deorbiting of Mir, this creepypasta weaves a conspiracy theory involving a Russian cosmonaut named Aleksei Ledovsky, who reportedly died in the 1950s, into its narrative about a crew who discover that humanity is not alone in space.
"The Smiling Ones on Space Station Mir" was supposed to be published as a book earlier this year, but I couldn't find any evidence that this has happened, as of this writing.
"Search and Rescue Woods" by Kerry Hammond
Told as a series of on-the-job recollections from a U.S. Search and Rescue Officer, this creepypasta also has a reported book deal on the horizon, but updates have been scarce lately.
"I Found a Hidden Door in My Cellar" by v0ids
If you like weird fiction with some light body horror, this is the story for you. I'd love to see this expanded into a novel-length work of fiction, and you're sure to agree with me after you read it.
