Now I understand that title is very open for a lot of Creepypasta. From the various badly written Exe stories, a majority of lost episode stories, and a whole bunch of stuff. But today I want to talk about what is probably the prime example of Creepypasta cringe.

Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to tell you...the Killer Character Archetype.

Now this is prime example of cringe. The Killer characters all began when the one and only Jeff the Killer came to the website. A story that was notorious back then and continues being remembered for all the wrong reasons. With him, came the tidal wave of emotionally distraught teenagers. Tons of characters were being made being labeled as "Killers," either copying Jeff's story or making one like it, BUT WORSE. Some of the most famous Creepypasta characters are just bad examples of the Killer archetype such as...

Jeff the Killer
Jane the Killer
Clockwork
Nina the Killer
And Ticci Toby

Usually their stories follow as such...

• Character is introduced and shown to be bullied or abused by parents (usually the father)
• Character goes crazy and kills someone
• Character realizes they like killing
• Character kills their family before taking their persona
• Bonus if they are shipped with other Creepypasta characters, usually Jeff

As you can see, a lot of these character ideas come from one simple idea. POWER FANTASY. The writers of these stories want to put themselves in the world of Creepypasta and try to fit themselves in to meet their favorite characters. Thing is, the stories are usually so badly written and fall into so many tropes that it's impossible for you to actually like the character. They try extremely hard to make their characters sympathetic by showing their shitty lives, usually you are supposed to root for their murderous tendencies.

Thing is...that's the main problem I have with the Killer characters. They're power fantasy characters you are supposed to root for...but they're serial killers. People who murder the innocent for their own selfish ways. How the hell are you supposed to actually find those characters likable at all???

They're also just, stupid overpowered. Most of these characters are what, teenagers? But they move like the fucking Flash and are bulletproof for some reason. You're making a horror story not a god damn anime fanfiction.

Don't even get me started on the actual quality of their stories. We all know how bad Jeff was, but to say he was hated was an understatement. His addition to the website was an extremely toxic one, bringing in a wave of Killer character stories that filled the website so much and is possibly what helped turn it into a laughing stock. It got so bad that the actual website deleted the Jeff the Killer story, banned any potential Killer story ideas, and even held a contest to write a better Jeff the Killer story (which is actually still on the website if you want to check it out).

Even a more beloved character like Ticci Toby falls victim to the Killer character trope. Overly sad and overly tragic to the point of ridiculousness. It also felt very fanficky when they tried to add Slenderman into the story, which personally I don't think was too bad since it seemed like Slenderman was just using him as a pawn. Still, he's probably the only good the Killer characters are gonna get.

That's all I got, a really bad and cringe chapter in Creepypasta history. If you want me to try to fix one of the Killer characters in my fixing book or, even harder, make my own Killer character the best I can, tell me. Because what's the joy of writing stuff without a bit of masochism?