DARK WEB: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CREEPYPASTA — PART 27: JANE THE KILLER RE-REVISITED – AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH PASTASTALKER64

PLEASE NOTE, THIS FEATURE FIRST APPEARED OVER AT UK HORROR SCENE HERE.

ALL SUBSEQUENT CHAPTERS WILL APPEAR THERE FIRST.

Last week’s Dark Web feature saw me return to the polarising Creepypasta creation of MrAngryDog (MAD), Jane the Killer AKA Jane Richardson.

Loved and loathed in equal measure by Pasta aficionados, Jane is among the most well-known Creepypasta icons and has garnered a lot of attention from the fanbase since MAD’s first post to DeviantArt back in 2012, a post that has since come to be known as Jane’s Letter. However, there’s still some debate as to WHICH Jane is these fans’ favourite.

You see, Jane Richardson is not the only Jane the Killer out there.

Shortly after Jane’s Letter hit the internet, another web user, PastaStalker64, posted her own story to the web, this one titled Jane the Killer: The Real Story.

You can read it over at the Jeff the Killer Wikia here.

Unlike MAD’s story, in which Jane is described simply as a relentless, remorseless enemy of Jeff with little explained motivation (until the author’s subsequent updates in which it is revealed that Ms Richardson was once a popular, normal girl in a happy relationship with her girlfriend Mary, Jeff slaughtered her family, prompting Jane to volunteer for a government experiment of a drug codenamed ‘Liquid Hate’ which gave Jane near superhuman strength and stamina, at the sacrifice or her mental stability), PastaStalker64’s Jane Arkensaw is revealed to have been a part of Jeff’s life since before that fateful day in which Jeff was left disfigured by bullies. The story weaves key plotpoints from the well-known Jeff origin tale into a fresh narrative about a seemingly normal and caring young girl.

However, soon Arkensaw’s proximity to the deranged Jeff sees her fall under his malevolent gaze. Jane is subjected to a terrifying ordeal, during which Jeff sets her alight, planning to burn her skin so she will become ‘beautiful, like him’. The story finishes after Jane wakes in hospital, having received a mask from Jeff as a part of their twisted ‘courtship’ — a mask which she dons before heading out into the night to hunt her nemesis under her new name: Jane Everlasting.

In my first Jane the Killer feature I admitted that of the two origin stories, I might actually prefer this one because it feels a more natural part of the Jeff the Killer mythos. Sure, there are definitely some clunky moments, but as a Creepypasta and (especially) as a spin-off, I think it’s actually a pretty successful attempt at storytelling. PastaStalker64 was just a teenager when she penned the story, and while some of her inexperience shines through at times, she shows tremendous potential as a fiction writer.

Despite this decent effort, some elements of the Creepypasta fan community were rather hard on PS64 for her story, especially those who felt she had plagiarised MrAngryDog. MAD himself was pretty put out and made contact with PastaStalker64. Luckily the pair were able to resolve the issue amicably, agreeing that both Jane Richardson and Jane Arkensaw would be different, separate entities operating within the larger Jeff the Killer Universe.

From here Jane has gone from strength to strength and, minor disagreements between pro-Richardson and pro-Arkensaw fans aside, PS64’s Everlasting has built a large following, at least if the number of examples of fanart on DeviantArt, YouTube and other sites are anything to go by.

The character is even a regular in stories by other authors, including numerous takes on Jeff vs Jane (some of which are actually pretty good).

But of course, whether you adore or abhor Jane Arkensaw AKA Everlasting, she could never have existed without that first story by PastaStalker64. For this, PS64 is well-deserving of praise.

I reached out to PastaStalker64 to ask if she’d be prepared to answer some questions about her role in the creation of one of Creepypasta’s most iconic characters, and she kindly agreed. The interview follows below.

HHoH: Hi and thanks so much for agreeing to answer my questions.

The most obvious first — what served as your inspiration for the story?

PASTASTALKER64: Well some of the inspiration came from the original Jane the Killer, or rather the chaotic information surrounding her. I found out about her when I was about 14 years old, and didn't really know how to traverse the Internet. So when I couldn't find anything concrete enough for my liking  I thought, "Why not write my own backstory and spare others this headache?" The rest of the inspiration came from my own source of constant rage, and feelings of vengeance against someone who bullied me as a child. Then I just built up my Jane based on those feelings. Actually ever since I wrote Jane's story my rage has ebbed considerably.

HHoH: Which writers, horror or otherwise, do you consider yourself a fan of?

PS64: I don't really keep track of the authors I read. But the ones that immediately spring to mind are Scott Lynch and Stephen Jay Gould.

HHoH: Are you a Creepypasta fan? If so what is your favourite Creepypasta by an author other than yourself?

PS64: I'm not that much of a creepypasta fan anymore, but I still admire the way the authors blur the line between fact and fiction so easily. My favourite is Mr. Widemouth. The writing style is nice, and it's about a furby that tries to kill children, what's not to like?

HHoH: Some Jane fans are very passionate about the story. Are there any examples of fan art, such as films or readings, in particular that have impressed you?

PS64: My favourite reading definitely has to be by YouTuber AmneFar. She has the exact voice I imagined Jane would have and brings her to life perfectly. 

HHoH: I feel the character of Jane is wrongfully maligned by some segments of Creepypasta fandom. Have you read any of these negative comments? How do you feel about them? Have the fans been as vocal in their support as the dissenters?

PS64: I've read a few of the negative comments, and some of them are true. The writing is a little unclear at times, and some plot points are unneeded, I'll be the first to admit it.

But most of the negative comments actually seem to come from MrAngryDog's side of the fandom. It's mostly just "the original Jane was better" or something along those lines, which is more annoying to me than anything.

Fans have definitely been vocal in defence of this alternative version of Jane, and I doubt she would still exist if it wasn't for them. From outside the fandom it seems like things have calmed down and both sides of this fandom coexist peacefully.

HHoH: Mr AngryDog famously created the first version of Jane the Killer. He seemed a little upset at first over your version of Jane but it seems things were soon sorted out between you both and now you're friendly. How did that come to happen? Have you had much interaction with Mr AngryDog?

PS64: He actually contacted me a couple years after I wrote the story, probably expecting a fight of some kind. Instead I immediately apologized for plagiarizing his character, and we came to an agreement that both characters would exist separately as individual characters. We've only spoken the one time, but he seems to come across as a relatively level-headed individual.

HHoH: Do you have any other Creepypasta creations either in the pipeline or already out there that you'd like to share with our audience?

PS64: I only posted the one story, but I have tried creating other stories. None of them were up to my standards, or just seemed like knock-offs of stories that had better execution than mine, so I never finished or posted them.

HHoH: And finally will you ever return to the story of Jane? And what else can your fans look forward to from you in the days ahead?

PS64: I have tried writing a sequel at least five times, with three different narrators, different settings, and I didn't like a single one. I have a definite ending for Jane that I think fans would be satisfied with, but it's the middle I have trouble with and really getting inside character's heads (other than Jane). I might post a story sometime, but definitely not in the near future. I don't think fans should expect much from me otherwise.

HHoH: Thank you for speaking with us.

With Jeff as popular as ever, it seems that his nemesis, Jane, won’t be going anywhere either.

It’s great to talk to the creative minds behind some of our beloved genre’s biggest characters and stories, and for the next feature in this series I’ll be speaking with one of the creators of a creepypasta A-Lister.

You will know who He Is...