DARK WEB: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CREEPYPASTA - PART 35: AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH VINCENT VENA CAVA

It's been a long while since I've shared a Dark Web feature on here, but it seems to be a good time to catch up with those features, that were published elsewhere before - sadly - those sites folded. But don't fear, from now on Dark Web will be publishing here - and I've lined up some fantastic stories and interviews with some genuine heavyweights in the field.

It's almost like these interviews could be for an exciting project in the future...

Usually these Dark Web features will focus on a single story, or a connected series, but this weeks does something a little different. Instead I focus on the work of a single author, one of the most successful and popular writers of Creepypasta the genre has produced — Vincent Vena Cava.

With a wealth of work to his name, including iconic pastas such as The Pastel Man, A Favor For a Favor, Picture This and the fantastic Wendall Lane Diaries, the LA-based author has caused quite a stir with his fiction, gaining recognition and approaches from several huge media companies, including 20th Century Fox (when he wrote The Eye of Ra, which was part of a viral marketing campaign for the movie The Pyramid) and Starz. He has also been published multiple times, including the inclusion of his stories Right On Time and Picture This in the short story anthology, The Creepypasta Collection: Modern Urban Legends You Can’t Unread. (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-creepypasta-collection-mr-creepypasta/1123556473)

All of this in just four short years since he first started publishing work on the web under the Vincent Cava name.

He even saw a project successfully funded on Kickstarter that combined his talents with those of genre YouTube heavyweight Mr Creepypasta and top DeviantArtist Chris Oz Fulton. The resulting Creepypasta Comicbook (of which I’m a backer) is a fantastic debut effort and fans are eagerly anticipating subsequent issues from the team.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve had the tremendous pleasure of conversing with the amiable, humble and supremely talented Cava, asking him about his influences, storytelling processes, several of his most notable stories and what the future holds.

Our interview follows below.


HICKEY'S HOUSE OF HORRORS: Hi Vincent, and thank you so much for agreeing to speak with me. First, I'd like to ask you some general questions about your influences, before asking specific questions about some of your stories, including The Pastel Man, Right On Time and your Wendall Lane Diaries series. I hope that's ok?

VINCENT VENA CAVA: No problem, I'd be happy to answer your questions — and btw, you just named two of my worst stories! Haha! Is that what people know me for? Good God.

HHoH: Oh dear, you are too harsh on yourself, they're all fine stories! May I ask which two you're least happy with? As an aside, some of my favourites include The Hall Monitor, The Job, Selfie, The Ocean's Cool Air, and Little Black Bugs. I expect a few of those will be the subject of future features should you be happy to speak with me about them!

VVC: Thanks! The Pastel Man is the first thing people really noticed me for and I'm sure I'll be tied to it forever, haha. I believe the story has weak stakes and the prose is pretty amateur. I've been working for years to hone my craft since I decided this was something I wanted to make money doing and I feel like I've gotten better since then. Right on Time is just fan service and if you aren't familiar with Jeff The Killer then, in my opinion, the story is sort of weak (maybe even confusing?), but it is what it's supposed to be
I am fond of Wendall Lane though. 



HHoH: Here are my first few questions, they're non-story specific, but should give my readers more of an idea about you as a writer.
Which writers, horror or otherwise, do you consider yourself a fan of?

VVC: I'm a fan of so many authors! Some of my biggest influences are Vonnegut, Lovecraft, King, Heinlein, and Philip K. Dick.

HHoH:Do you consider yourself a fan of Creepypasta?

VVC: I'm a fan of anything that has to do with horror, but I'm not entirely sure what Creepypasta even is. It's such a fluid word.
It seems like everyone has their own definition of "creepypasta". What makes something creepypasta? Is it only stories featuring certain characters? Is it only scary stories? Who says what's scary? Does a story have to appear on specific websites like r/NoSleep or creepypasta.com to make the cut?
Last I checked, the author of The Martian, Andy Weir's, short story The Egg is featured on creepypasta.com. I don't think he posted it there, nor would I call it horror, but is it a creepypasta nonetheless? To me, are you a fan of creepypasta is a difficult question to answer because I don't even know how to go about defining it.

HHoH: What work of your own are you most proud of?

VVC: I'm really happy how people reacted to A Favor for a Favor. I've since given it a little rewrite and I think it's a better story now. Picture This was a really therapeutic story to write so I was happy when people responded well to it. I'm also pretty proud of the graphic novel I just took to Kickstarter.

HHoH: What is your favourite Creepypasta by an author other than yourself?

VVC: Hard to answer that question, so I'll stick to writers who are generally known for online horror. Anything by Matt Dymerski, T.W. Grim, Michael Whitehouse, and IPostAtMidnight is usually great. I think they're all really polished writers. Anything by them won't disappoint.

HHoH: You're a prolific writer, regularly releasing stories to the web. How do you keep the creative juices flowing? Is writing a process that you enjoy or is it more about getting your stories out there to an audience?

VVC: Keeping the creative juices flowing isn't a problem. I have more stories in my head than I can write. The slowest part of my process comes from crafting my prose and trying to develop a unique and interesting narrative that will fit with what I'm writing. Writing isn't just about telling people a story. It's about HOW you tell them a story. A lot of young writers don't realize that. When you do it correctly, your prose can be poetry.
And most importantly...
Read. Read. Read.
You have to read if you want to be a good writer. And you have to read great writers. I get people asking me what to read. Don't just read horror. Read Hemingway, read Melville, read James Joyce, and Asimov, and Clarke. Read Oscar Wilde, read Doyle, and London. Read non-fiction too! Read, read, read. Great stories can inspire you....you get the picture.

HHoH: Why do you think Creepypasta resonates so much with the fandom?

VVC: I think a lot of the fans of these online, user generated horror stories are younger or at least became fans when they were younger. This...trend is like a gateway for a lot of young people. It can introduce them to the world of literature and I think that's wonderful. Many times, these stories are not written for children so of course there's always intrigue for kids when it comes to taboo subjects.

HHoH: These fans have flocked to some characters, who really have become iconic to the community, such as The Rake and Jeff the Killer, a character you incorporated into your story Right On Time (you can hear Mr Creepypasta’s narration of the story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu9NvCTJbHs )
What inspired you to write a story that contributes to the Jeff the killer mythos?

VVC: I just wanted to pay a little fan service. Jeff is a popular character and people are usually excited to hear a new Jeff story. I figured why not try my hand at a little fan-fiction. I don't know if I'm actually contributing to the "Jeff mythos". I don't really consider any Jeff story to be canon. There are so many tales written by so many people. But that's cool. It makes the character and his personality somewhat amorphous. He isn't really defined by any set of rules and whoever is writing him can put their own spin on it.

HHoH: What drew you to the character?

VVC: The character's popularity is what drew me to him. Haha!
People like reading Jeff stories, I like writing stories, so why not try writing a Jeff story?

HHoH: Your Jeff is less sympathetic than the version traditionally portrayed, he's almost a force of remorseless destruction than a human, a lot like John Carpenter's original idea for Michael Myers in Halloween. What inspired you to portray the character in this way? 

VVC: To be honest, I never found the character to be very interesting and the broken emo kid thing isn't all that scary. That's the problem a lot of people have with Jeff, which is why I decided to write around him.
He couldn't be the protagonist in Right On Time. Protagonists don't give you nightmares. I believe the character can be frightening, so long as you move away from the "woe is me" stuff. If you want him to be scary, don't let the audience into his head.
You have to strip away anything that makes him human. Make him a monster. That's why Michael Myers works. And let's face it, the Jeff character is basically an amalgam of slasher movie clichés. I just followed the trend.

HHoH: What do you think the attraction is to Jeff for Creepypasta fans? 

VVC: I think most Jeff fans are pretty young. He's an antihero, he's counterculture. He plays by his own set of rules. If someone upsets him, he stabs them. I see why teenage girls and boys are into him.

HHoH: Do you have any further plans to feature Jeff in your stories? 

VVC: Not right now. I'd rather not write a ton of Jeff stuff, but maybe in a future comic book.

HHoH: Are you happy with Right On Time? 

VVC: I think Right On Time is good fan-fiction. The problem with it is that you need to know who Jeff The Killer is for it to make a whole lot of sense. Otherwise, it's just an interesting story with an "out of nowhere" twist. If you don't know what Jeff The Killer is, you might read it and wonder what the hell just happened. What did he mean by "go to sleep"?

HHoH: Do you have any plans to write stories featuring any other existing Creepypasta characters? (Excluding the Rake — who Vincent covered as part of his Wendall Lane Diaries series AND for the Creepypasta comic book)

VVC: Yeah sure. I'd love to write more stories based off some of the Internet's more popular characters. It's fun for me. I have no plans at this moment, but if it's something people would be interested in then I'm game for it.

HHoH: I mentioned the Creepypasta comicbook just now. I recently received my PDF copy of the comic and I wanted to extend my most heartfelt congratulations on what is a really great read. You must be very, very proud of it! Any news on whether there'll be an issue 2? I'd certainly be onboard if so!

VVC: Thanks for backing the comic! Glad you're enjoying it. Unfortunately our distributor (backerkit) had some trouble with ios mobile devices, but I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it.
We definitely want to put out a second comic, but first and foremost we want to focus on getting out all the rewards first. We’ll probably have a second comic up next year, hopefully twice as long.

HHoH: The Rake plays a major role in one of the stories in the Creepypasta comic that you have created with MrCreepypasta. I understand you spoke with Bryan Somerville (who I’ve interviewed for this Dark Web series before: http://www.ukhorrorscene.com/dark-web-steven-hickeys-essential-guide-to-creepypasta-part-28-the-rake-re-visited/) about adapting the character for the comic. How was it working with him?

VVC: I didn't really work with Somerville on the comic. I just asked him for the ok and gave him a short summary of the story, then he signed a contract giving me permission.

HHoH: The Rake is one of the more recognisable Creepypasta beasties, and you created one of your own with the monstrous Pastel Man. (Read the story here: http://www.creepypasta.com/pastel-man/)
His story is one that feels very much like an old-fashioned morality play. Was that your intention?

VVC: The Pastel Man is most definitely a morality play. All of my work fits those themes.
I very rarely write about good vs Evil
It is my belief that we all exist on a moral spectrum — No black and white, just shades of gray. That's why most of my characters are inherently flawed.
I also believe that an antagonist with a more sympathetic reason for doing bad is much more compelling than one who just wants to eradicate all humanity or kill a protagonist because he's a bad guy. My protagonists also usually only act out of self-preservation rather than altruism. They aren't heroes.
But they are more relatable… in my opinion at least.


HHoH: It's one of your earlier stories and earlier you stated that you weren't entirely happy with it. Would you ever consider re-visiting the story either with a sequel or rewrite?

VVC: As for my dislike for the story, I believe that it's prose is lacking compared to what I can do now and the protagonist could probably use a bit more motivation. He is, in my opinion, almost too ‘guilty’.
I am heavily considering giving the story a rewrite. I am also considering revisiting The Pastel Man in the second Creepypasta comic.

HHoH: One of your more recent projects to draw considerable recognition from the fans was the Wendall Lane Diaries. In your own words, how would you describe the series?
VVC: The Wendall Lane Diaries are centered around a house where reality is broken. It's a paranormal hot spot much in the same way the Bermuda Triangle is. One might encounter ghosts, monsters, reality warping paradoxes if they stay there long enough. The occurrences are random. The only thing they have in common is that they're confined to the house and the property it sits on.
I worked with the cast of Ash Vs The Evil Dead to put out five new stories in the series, narrated by Bruce Campbell, Lucy Lawless, Ted Raimi and others.

HHoH: I’ve heard the stories via MrCreepypasta’s YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3vq3HFjqkVkZabGSM02I8G960DBHu9xh) and just wanted to compliment you on how awesome they were. Bravo!
I just wondered if you could give my readers a little insight into how the collaboration with Starz came about?

VVC: Starz was interested in promoting their show Ash Vs The Evil Dead so they contacted YouTube creator Mr. Creepypasta to read original stories. They wanted the stories to be loosely connected.
Since he's not a writer, he asked me if I'd be interested in writing them. The whole thing was really intense, I had about two weeks to crank out five stories for the series.
In the end it was a fun opportunity to meet the great actors of the show and to speak with horror icons like Bruce Campbell.

HHoH: And finally, where is the best place for me to send my readers to get more news on your work? Are there any preferred links for me to send my readers to read your literature?

VVC: I'm so stupid, I don't have a landing page haha. But I'm all over social media. Twitter, Facebook, youtube, snapchat, tumblr, Instagram, ect. Every account is @vincentvenacava
Hope that answers your questions!

HHoH: It really does, thanks so much.


As one of the more senior and respected members of the community, Vincent Vena Cava’s story shows that, if you’ve got the talent, Creepypasta really can lead to great things.

Come back next time when I speak with another creative talent who’s been on the scene for a long time about one of the oldest, yet most recognisable and complex pastas ever.

DARK WEB: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CREEPYPASTA PART 34: CHANNEL ZERO - AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH NICK ANTOSCA

THIS FEATURE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED AT UK HORROR SCENE HERE.

ALL SUBSEQUENT FEATURES WILL APPEAR THERE FIRST

In my last Dark Web feature I wrote about how Creepypasta is fast becoming a recognised sub-genre that, rather than cater to a fervent and enthusiastic minority, is starting to branch out into the mainstream. Since the runaway success of The Walking Dead blew open the doors for horror genre television, television producers have sought a ready supply of recognisable brands of dark fiction.

Comics such as Outcast and Preacher have yielded results, but there is no denying that web publishing is a veritable goldmine for horror stories.

One of the first shows to recognise this fact is the superb Channel Zero.





Having just wrapped up its first critically acclaimed season on Syfy, with a second confirmed for late 2017, the show is the brainchild of gifted author and screenwriter, Nick Antosca.

In 2015 the station announced that it had greenlit two six episode seasons, both of which were to be based on popular creepypastas. The first would focus on Kris Straub’s excellent Candle Cove, a story I covered here back in February.

The second would cover Brian Russell’s equally popular NoEnd House.

‘We love the idea of doing seasons of TV like rich, character-driven horror novels, and for Channel Zero: Candle Cove we’ve expanded this great short story Candle Cove into something really nightmarish and haunting and surreal,’ Antosca and fellow executive producer Max Landis said in a joint statement. ‘We can’t wait to dig in deeper and bring this to life with Syfy and Universal Cable Productions.’

Casting notices followed, an on 20 June this year a Variety exclusive article announced that Paul Schneider and Fiona Shaw would star in the first season.

This was followed by the reveal that Craig William Macneill (director of The Boy) would be behind the camera for all six episodes of the season. This was quite the coup for the show and interest intensified massively.

As the hype machine gathered more momentum, we finally started to learn more about the show’s storyline.

It was revealed that Schneider would play Mike Painter, a child psychologist who returns to his childhood hometown of Iron Hill to investigate the mysterious disappearance of several children back in the 1980s, including his twin brother, Eddie (with child actor Luca Villacis portraying both of the young Painter boys). He has reason to believe that these unsolved crimes could be related to a mysterious and creepy children’s television show, the titular Candle Cove, but his return to the town kickstarts a new and terrifying chain of events. Aided by his reluctant mother, Marla (Shaw) and childhood sweetheart Jessica (Natalie Brown), Mike must solve the mystery before a new generation of children succumb to the evil that devastated his life 30 years ago.



Of course, using a well-known short story for inspiration is one thing — using it well is quite another. What works in literature does not always translate as well to the screen, while stretching a few hundred words to fill six hours of screen time is obviously a huge challenge.
Luckily, it was one in which Macneill, Antosca, Landis and their crew were more than up to the task.
What he did was use the Candle Cove story as a jumping on point for a massively expanded tale which took in a large cast of characters and an even richer mythology.
Yes, Kris Straub’s fictional nightmarish children's show is present and depicted very faithfully indeed, but some of the show’s most chilling creations (such as the deeply disturbing Tooth Child) are brand new, original creations for Antosca’s story.
The show gives Candle Cove’s fans everything they want, but it also gives the viewer new, compelling characters and situations optimised for visual storytelling.
Finally the show debuted on 11 October and, over the following five weeks it told a deeply compelling and legitimately unsettling story that won plenty of fans.

Proving a resounding success with critics (the show boasts a solid 75/100 rating at Metacritic — and a whopping 92% at Rotten Tomatoes) and with much buzz already surrounding a second season which is still quite a wait away, Channel Zero proves what Creepypasta fans have known for years — the next wave of classic horror fiction is already here, just waiting to be discovered in the darkest recesses of the internet.

Of course, the show would never have proven such a triumph in the hands of a less talented show-runner, and it is for precisely this reason that we all owe Nick Antosca a debt of gratitude.

So what is next for Nick and his groundbreaking creation? Well, I was fortunate enough to be able to speak with him about Channel Zero and it gives me tremendous pleasure to present our interview below.

HICKEY’S HOUSE OF HORRORS: Hi Nick, and thank you so much for agreeing to speak to Hickey’s House of Horrors about Channel Zero.

First, why creepypasta? Translating bite-sized literature into serialised visual media isn't the most obvious of steps, so what inspired you to do so?

NICK ANTOSCA: Great ideas can come from anywhere. Candle Cove was such an exciting story to adapt, and I just thought why not do more? I love that the best of these stories are a strong, terrifying concept that you can build on. They leave room for creativity.



HHoH: Why do you think Creepypasta has resonated so well with the fandom?


NA: There's something about the "true story" quality of the best ones. Great creepypasta stories tend to capture a feeling of familiarity. You feel like they're describing something that happened to a friend of yours one time.

HHoH: How did it feel to see the tremendous reception that Channel Zero received from critics and viewers alike? Why do you think it was so well-received by audiences?


NA: You don't necessarily get a lot of chances to make a TV show, so I feel like if you get to do it, make sure it's something you'd want to do watch and that you'll be proud of later. Craig and I were really just trying to make the kind of horror we wanted to watch. So it was really gratifying that viewers and critics seemed to respond to it.


HHoH: The choices of creepypasta of the first two seasons of the show suggest that the Channel Zero team are fans of the genre. It would have been easy to adapt more well-known and ‘trendy’ stories such as Slenderman, Jeff the Killer or the Rake, but instead with Candle Cove and NoEnd House, you've picked stories with serious fan cred. Are you guys pasta fans? If so, what are some of your favourites?

NA: Of course we're fans! Some other favorites (and this does not mean we'll necessarily adapt any of these if we get another season, just that I personally like these stories) are Goatman, Search and Rescue Woods (aka "the staircase one"), Abandoned by Disney, Ted the Caver, and Psychosis.

HHoH: Why did you pick Candle Cove? And why NoEnd House?

NA: Those two stories are perfect examples of the kind of story we want to adapt — distinctive, iconic concepts that we can build worlds around. A mysterious kids' TV show. A sinister horror house. Plus a great sense of atmosphere and dread.

HHoH: What challenges came with adapting such well-loved stories?

NA: It was important to preserve the sense of eerie dread that's baked into the stories. We wanted to build worlds and mythologies out of these very short stories, but we had to make sure the spirit of the originals didn't get lost. It's easy to do jump scares but it's harder to create six hours of slow-building nightmare.

HHoH: One of the first season's biggest strengths was the manner in which you faithfully adapted a relatively small-scale story but built on this mythos to tell a bigger, yet more personal story. Is this the route you plan to go with subsequent seasons, taking a strong core premise and giving it your own unique spin?

NA: Yes, that's a good way of putting it. That's pretty much exactly what I hope to do. Each season will have a different visual style and cinematic voice, though.

HHoH: I was fortunate enough to interview Kris Straub last year and he was very excited about your vision for Candle Cove. What was it like working with him? And how were things with NoEnd House's Brian Russell?

NA: I love Kris's story and I'm really glad he's into the show. I sent him the pilot script to approve before we got greenlit and we kept in touch throughout, but the actual writing process was pretty separate. Brian is actually working on The Exorcist on Fox right now, so we had lunch early in the NEH process and he's read the first couple scripts. Both writers are awesome and I'm grateful to them for letting us create elaborate fanfiction based on their stories.

HHoH: Channel Zero has assembled a tremendous cast for both seasons. How important was it to find the right actors rather than 'flavour of the month' names? Can we expect to see you work with any of the season one cast again?

NA: I can't overstate the importance. Cast distinguishes something like this.One of the advantages of being kind of an under-the-radar, low-profile show when we were in production is that we were able to go after actors based purely on talent, rather than the casting department's idea of a "get" or someone with a big social media following.

HHoH: While I understand that from a contract standpoint it's very difficult to discuss future plans for Channel Zero, do you feel at liberty to tell us any more about plans you might have for the show? Are there any stories you'd be keen to cover in future seasons?

NA: I know what story I want to do if we get a third season. I can't say what it is yet, though.

HHoH: And finally, something a little more fun here, I've seen some wonderful examples of fan art on the web (including some awesome Toothchild images). Are there any pieces of art that have impressed you or the Channel Zero cast and crew?

NA: Fan art? Yeah, I'm impressed whenever anyone creates Channel Zero fan art, for sure. I like everything I've seen!

If you want to find out more about Nick, Channel Zero and his other upcoming projects, be sure to follow him over at twitter: @NickAntosca

With touted movie adaptations of multiple Creepypasta properties, plus the second season of Channel Zero on the way, now, more than ever, is an exciting time to be a creepypasta fan.

Come back next time when I’ll sit down to talk to another of the genre’s most prestigious, recognised and lauded authors over his substantial body of work within the community.

If you haven’t already, do please check out and like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House@HickeysHorrors
Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

DARK WEB: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CREEPYPASTA — PART 31: JEFF THE KILLER 2015

Some Pasta icons are just too big to cover with one feature… or even two!

This week, I’m returning to everybody’s favourite, hoodie-wearing, scarred, grinning Creepypasta psychopath — Jeff the Killer.

Sure, I’ve written about the character here in the past, both as an exploration of the myth and my recent exclusive interview with Jeff’s creator, Sesseur/KillerJeff. What more could I write about the character and his pretty threadbare story. In truth, not a lot… unless somebody else were to write more about the character first.

Hmmmm…

Of course, it is these musings that lead me to a source of Creepypasta that will be very familiar to long-time readers of this series (and Pasta fans) — the creepypasta wikia.

As a place known for its extremely strict quality standards (some have argued overly so, but I do appreciate that the admins of the site are doing their best to ensure that no Crappypasta slips in), it should come as no surprise to learn that the most well-known and widespread version of the JtK story was not well liked at the site.

As a story chock full of grammatical errors, clunky phrasing, awful plot holes and some pretty laughable cliches, even with its cult-like popularity and significance to the spread of Creepypasta, the decision was made to delete the story from the Wiki.

However, shortly thereafter user BanningK1979 posted a proposal to the site’s forum on 26 September 2015 — that Jeff be reincluded on the site BUT only after the story was rewritten, reworked and polished by the Creepypasta Wikia users to match the quality standards expected.

The idea was a hit, and soon a number of rival Jeff stories were submitted to the judges who were tasked with crowning one of these THE definitive Jeff the Killer post for the site.

You can find a full list of entries at the contest’s page on the wiki here.

Finally, on 6 December of last year, the judges reached their decision.

In third place was the The Testimony of James Lamb by JZoidberg. The Pasta focused on the story as told by a retired Police detective (the titular Lamb). In JZoidberg’s version of the story, Jeff (here with the surname Keaton) is insinuated in a series of break-ins that escalate to murder. Desperate for a lead, Lamb interviews Keaton’s younger brother, Liu, an inmate at a juvenile detention facility. Through a series of interviews, Lamb gets to know the man he is hunting from the one person who knows Jeff best.

The second placed story was My Liu by Sirius Nightshade. It makes quite a few changes to the traditional tale, and although it features Jeff and Liu once again, this time Jeff is the youngest brother, while the two siblings live apart following their parents’ divorce. Liu is stuck with their abusive father, while Jeff is racked with guilt over his inability to intervene.

When Jeff sees local bully Randy displaying similar tendencies towards a girl as his violent father, Jeff steps in. This leads to Randy taking a vile revenge against Jeff, starting a domino effect that will lead to madness and murder.

The winner of the competition was Jeff the Killer 2015 by author K. Banning Kellum, the very same individual who suggested the rewrite contest. You can read the story in full here.  

I do recommend that you check it out, but to summarise, it covers the story of Jeff and Liu Woods when they move to a new home and struggle to fit in, while their neglectful parents focus on how to be accepted by the local community.

Shortly after moving into their new home, the two brothers cross paths with local bullies Randy, Keith and Troy. The other kids give them a hard time but Jeff decides to walk away… right up until one of the boys assaults Liu.

Suddenly overcome with rage, Jeff administers a violent beating on their assailants before Liu is able to drag him away and the pair flee.

However, when local police arrive at the boys’ home, Jeff comes to realise that Randy’s family is well connected and Jeff is warned that the local authorities will be keeping a close eye on him.

To compound matters, Liu is subsequently sent away to spend the summer with their aunt. When it emerges that Randy’s father is actually Mr Woods’ boss, Jeff’s mother suggests that her son try to make amends with Randy. She drives Jeff to Randy’s home and at first, it seems as if the two boys may be able to bury the hatchet.

However, it isn’t long before Randy’s true colours shine through, and the boy and his cronies try to threaten Jeff with a flare gun… with terrifying consequences.

This ‘remake’ addresses a lot of the problems in the original story, more firmly grounding Jeff’s origin in reality while still maintaining a number of the key elements from the popular ‘bully’ origin. It is a far more polished piece of prose (Banning is a talented writer who has a number of quality pastas up at the Creepypasta wiki), and the story manages to combine this realism with a far more tragic horror than that of the original story.

Thematically, it is a perfect fit with the familiar tale that has enchanted Jeff fans for years, without the vast majority of the tales flaws.

In short, it does EXACTLY what it set out to do!

I was able to speak with K. Banning Kellum about his take on this most infamous of pastas, in which he was kind enough to talk me through his creative process.
You can read this conversation below:

HICKEY'S HOUSE OF HORRORS: Hi, thanks so much for agreeing to speak with me.

K BANNING KELLUM: Hi, Great to hear from you and I am glad that you took an interest in Jeff the Killer 2015. I certainly hope your week is off to a great start. So, let's get down to these questions:

HHoH: OK, the most obvious first — in your own words, tell us a little about your version of Jeff the Killer?

KBK: Well, the big goal of the re-write contest was to try and fix all the issues with the original story. There were a lot of logical errors in the first Jeff story that couldn't even be justified in the strictest of fictional sense. Issues like Jeff's super powers that seemed to come from nowhere, the fact that the police officers not only drew their guns on a kid but apparently were able to decide his punishment and length of jail time, and most of all, the bleach and liquor turning his face white. So, I set out to draw Jeff as a real person. A young man that was going through some tough times, such as moving to a new town and trying to fit in with the local kids. I also focused on his parent's lack of attention and their obsession with their professional lives over the emotional welfare of their children. I wasn't trying to make Jeff an anti-hero or a tragic-hero. The goal wasn't to to have the reader feel sorry for him at the end, but rather to paint a realistic map that could take a fairly well adjusted kid and turn him into a killer.

To create this, I decided to trigger Jeff with a series of small events leading into the catalyst at the end in order to push him over the edge in a believable manner. The parent's neglectful attitudes provided that constant background agitation. The bully's instigating Jeff and Liu and essentially getting away with it because of their status in the town was another. Liu being sent away for the rest of the summer and of course the big one, Jeff being disfigured and overhearing that his mother's chief concern was how his appearance would affect their standing in the community.

So, I guess to summarize, my version of Jeff was a rather honest kid who was constantly placed in situations that he couldn't control, even when he was in the right. It was about him losing control first over his life and then over his own mind. Jeff didn't want to fight the bullies at the start of the story, but they forced him to. Jeff didn't want to try and befriend Randy but his mother forced him to. Jeff surely didn't want to become disfigured, but fate as it was forced him to. My version of Jeff is a nice guy that is simply robbed of the most basic mechanics of control over and over again, until he can no longer control himself.

HHoH: What served as your inspiration for this story?

KBK: Two things really. First of all, let's go back to 2012 or so. I was still in the US Army at the time, stationed at Fort Hood, TX. I'd just recently discovered Creepypastas while deployed in Iraq and then Kuwait. So, after returning to the States after the year-long deployment, I wanted to make as much time with my family as possible.

Now, my son, Tristan, is from my first marriage. My first wife still lives in New Orleans, and since I was stationed out in Texas, I couldn't exactly go and pick up my son every single weekend. Due to the demands of the military, and the distance from Fort Hood to New Orleans, I generally could only go and get Tristan on long weekends or when my unit took some form of leave. This of course meant that my time with Tristan was that much more precious, since it could be up to a month before I'd be able to drive down and get him again.

So, during one of the block leave times, I want to say this was in the fall of 2012 or maybe early 2013, Tristan starts telling me all about the Creepypastas that he and his school friends have read. It was the normal ultra popular ones, like Jeff and Slenderman. At that time I had just gotten into Creepypastas, and honestly wasn't too familiar with Jeff the Killer. So, Tristan convinces me to play the Mr. Creepypasta reading, and we sat there together and listened to it while Tristan continued to explain this and that. It was a special little bonding moment that sort of left me with a little bit of a soft spot for Jeff the Killer.

Anyway, a couple years later, I'm out of the Army, my wife and I are back living in New Orleans, and thankfully we can now pick up Tristan every weekend. During that time, I was still making a name for myself on Creepypasta Wikia. I'd written Secret Bar and The Demon in the Mirror Trick I believe, but that was it. Anyway, around this time, the big debate was about whether or not Jeff the Killer deserved to remain on Creepypasta Wikia. The site admins at the time had established some respectable quality standards, and the Jeff the Killer story on our site at the time didn't meet any of the criteria. However, it was considered a classic and was essentially grandfathered into the community. However, it started to become more difficult to justify allowing it to remain.

Admins were deleting stories that were clearly better than Jeff, yet Jeff was allowed to remain due to his popularity. In the end, it came down to a vote. I actually supported removing the original Jeff, as I agreed that it didn't meet the quality minimums to remain on the site. However, as I was helping in the story's deletion votes, I also began to wonder if I could do better. I became really curious as to how I could improve on the Jeff formula, without actually making an entirely new story. I was interested in doing a re-telling, not so much a re-make. And like I said above, I still had a soft spot for Jeff the Killer because my son and I spent some quality time listening to Mr. Creepypasta take us through the original Jeff story.

Fast forward another year and it became apparent that a lot of people out there wanted Jeff back. They argued that it was a classic, and honestly, I agree. Like it or not, the original Jeff the Killer was to Creepypasta as Hulk Hogan is to professional wrestling. That's when I got the idea for a contest. Give the people, myself included, a chance to retell the story and fix the original issues. The vote passed in a majority landslide of support to retell the story. Since I was participating, and was also an admin, I passed all the technical ends of the the contest over to the other admins. Voting was done off site and moderated by another member of staff, and in the end, my story was selected.

Now, as far as specific inspirations, I used a lot of settings that I enjoyed when I was Jeff's age. Obviously setting it in and around New Orleans. Mandeville, the town where Jeff's family moved, is a real place, although I never lived there. The Friendly Video store was also a real chain down here that only recently went out of business in 2015. Jeff's incident with the three bullies messing with his bike was based off of some of the neighborhood antics that bullies did to us when I was a kid. There used to be these three brothers that lived down the street, and if they saw you ride your bike past, they'd all mount on their own and chase you. They caught me once the oldest brother kept twisting the seat on my bike until it finally broke. So, I sort of had an understanding of how Jeff and Liu felt when they walked out of the video store and say Randy and his pals messing with their bikes.

HHoH: Seeing your activity over at the Creepypasta Wikia it's pretty obvious that you're a fan of Creepypasta. What is your favourite Creepypasta by a creator other than yourself?

KBK: Well, it's hard to actually cite a specific favorite, because I love quite a few of them. The Disappearance of Ashley Kansas was one of the first that I read and was blown away. Another short one called Piggyback was chilling. As far as specific writers on the site go, Blacknumber1 is a great long pasta writer. Humboldt Lycanthrope is a master of the NSFW stories. Empyrealinvective has a massive library of impressive stories. GreyOwl is one of my favorites, as she consistently brings high quality stories to the Wiki. The Tale of Robert Elm is a masterpiece in my opinion. There are simply so many great stories and great writers that it's difficult to ever just say one name.

HHoH: Why do you think Creepypasta resonates so well with the fandom?

KBK: I think the main reason for Creepypasta's popularity with the internet in general is because it is for the fans, by the fans. All you need to do to write a great pasta is to have an idea and some basic writing skills, and before you know it you can possibly be creating the next Jeff or Slenderman.

You don't need money, an editor or a book deal in order to pursue a love of writing.

And since Creepypastas are open-source for the most part, it appeals to all reaches of artists. Writers, sketch artists, poets and musicians alike can find something within the realm of Creepypasta to sink their teeth into. Plus, at least as far as Creepypasta Wikia is concerned, we are a very supportive community. If someone needs a critique or writing advice, there are always tons of people more than happy to do so.

HHoH: What do you think the appeal of Jeff the Killer is to fans?

KBK: That is a tough question in a lot of ways. Keep in mind I was one of the people that supported deleting the original. I would say with the original Jeff story, the popularity was all about timing.

Jeff came around when Creepypastas were a fairly new thing. It was also marketed well, since it started as a Youtube video and then evolved to a story.

The famous white faced Jeff picture that is associated with the original work no doubt played a huge role in the story's success as well. There was an undeniable unnerving quality to that picture. The aesthetics were so off that it was difficult to really look at. Couple that with the overall mood that horror stories can create, and you have a recipe for success.

Artists also did a lot to push Jeff forward. There are tons of Jeff the Killer drawings all over the internet. With indie games dedicated to him and lots of other Youtube videos and cos-players keeping the legacy of Jeff going, it's clear why he's so well received by his fans.

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

KBK: Well, I am a huge Stephen King fanatic. I have been reading his work since I was a kid, and continue to buy all of his new books to this day. The Dark Tower was such a powerful story, it had me locked in for years, and I still dip into it from time to time.

H.P. Lovecraft has also inspired me on many occasions, as has Clive Barker. But in the end, Stephen King remains my all time favorite.

HHoH: What work of your own are you most proud of?

KBK: My Hyraaq Tobit series is my all time favorite product of my own making. I've been grinding away at that series for around 2 years now and I am thrilled to announce that I am nearing completion of the last story in the series.

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

KBK: Passion impresses me. So, anything that someone has taken the time to sit down and develop out of a love for the source material gets my respect. There are some outstanding images of Jeff as well as other Creepypasta icons all over Deviantart and the internet as a whole.

Anytime I see that someone has taken to time to sit down and create something drawn and fueled by their passion, that will impress me.

HHoH: Jeff the Killer 2015 was voted to be THE official Jeff the Killer entry by the users of Creepypasta Wiki. How did it feel to get that recognition from your peers? What does the support of the Creepypasta community mean to you?

KBK: The recognition from peers was incredible, and I've said it once and will continue to say that their support is everything. When I sat down and wrote Jeff the Killer 2015, I knew that I was throwing my name into a hat that would be filled with many other talented writers. Initially the story I wrote was a massive 20,000 work novella, and I loved it.

However, I later learned that the contest rules stated no entries over 10,000 words. So, I had to really cut my story up in order to make the cut off. Honestly the edited down version didn't feel as complete as my first draft, so I gave myself 50/50 odds that I'd win.

When I was informed that I won the contest, I was just filled with tons of gratitude and admiration towards this incredible community. Their support is paramount to my success, and I am beyond grateful each and every day that people out there are getting behind my work and helping me advance as a writer.

HHoH: Will you ever return to the story of Jeff in the future? And what else can your fans look forward to from you in the days ahead?

KBK: As for future Jeff stories, I doubt that will happen. I set out to create a better Jeff the Killer and I feel that I accomplished that. Jeff the Killer is a true Creepypasta icon, and for that reason he belongs to the entire community. I am confident that with the huge bank of talented writers out there, Jeff will have many more adventures to look forward to.

As far as the days ahead, as I mentioned above, my final entry into the Hyraaq Tobit series should be showing up this week. I'm almost there and cannot wait to finally complete that story.

HHoH: Finally, are there any links to which you'd like me to send my readers to see more of your work?

KBK: Most certainly. If anyone wants to get into the Hyraaq Tobit series, please start with the first story:  The Demon Tobit of Delphia (http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/The_Demon_Tobit_of_Delphia)

Just keep clicking the "next" button at the bottom of each story to read them all in order.

If you'd like to hear some amazing Creepypasta readings, including quite a few of mine, please check out Creeparoni's Youtube Channel. She is an incredible talent and is actually in the process of reading all of my Tobit stories in order, which is a massive undertaking. Check her out here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK3i6JixKgwP6emDIX4tKB

You can also follow me on Twitter: @banningk1979

And if you'd like to check out all of my horror stories, here is the link to my Creepypasta Wikia user page, which contains like to all my stories, links to some awesome Youtube readings of my work, and lots of other fun stuff: http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/User:Banningk1979

UKHS: Thanks for the interview.

The reason I’ve included Jeff the Killer 2015 in this series, aside from the fact that it’s an excellent story in its own right, is that it really showcases two major trends in the Creepypasta community as a whole.

First, it highlights the increased quality and standards expected as the genre evolves and expands. The slapdash, poorly told stories of yesterday are very much a thing of the past and simply won’t be tolerated by the more discerning audience of today. With writers such as K. Banning Kellum and the admins of the creepypasta wikia keeping a watchful eye over the latest efforts, the future of Creepypasta is in good hands.

Second, this story is an excellent example of the way in which the creepypasta community adopt and reshape different characters and stories. K. Banning Kellum is far from the first author to write about Jeff the Killer and, I can state with confidence, that he won’t be the last either. But he has crafted the tale, added his own unique take and, most importantly, contributed to mythos as a whole. It’s precisely this ‘open-source’ nature, as K. Banning Kellum describes it, that makes the community the lively, imaginative and innovative collective that it is.

Come back next time when I’ll look at another fresh continuation and reimagining of one of Creepypasta’s most disturbing tales.

If you haven’t already, do please check out and like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House@HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.