User blog comment:A-Lord-Over-Birds/Jeff the Killer - Debunked (and dismissed)/@comment-5000412-20140807051357

I'm a bit confused by the hate that I've seen towards Jeff the Killer over the recent months. I'm talking about the story alone, not the character, repeated spin-offs, or any "formulas" that it spawned. There's a reason why the story's featured, and how it's so popular to this date: Because the story's been around since about 2008, and was a story that circulated significantly (and still does today).

When one looks at the story from an critical perspective, yes, it's a rather poorly written work (especially when compared to other featured works). This will hold true if you read the story with the same viewpoint. If you analyze the story for how realistic and well-written it is, it will fall flat on its face.

One needs to remember where these stories first circulated, though. Many individuals browsing through discussion/image boards aren't always looking for a carefully crafted, feasible story. In the case of creepypasta, they were looking to be scared, something that would possibly leave them sleepless for days to come.

I'll use myself as an example: When I first began reading creepypasta, I stumbled into a form of literature that was capable of legitimately frightening me. Suicidemouse creeped me out quite a bit, Smile Dog utterly terrified me, and The Russian Sleep Experiment remains my favorite short story to this day. I looked for some of the more popular stories, and Jeff the Killer was one that seemed recommended at the time.

I read it, and I can confidently say I enjoyed it. I'll note that it even unnerved me, for a bit of time.

Jeff the Killer is by no means a story a writer should take pointers from, and its spin-offs are something that truly need to die off. Many find it to be an awful pasta, it will be such for many looking at it today. However, when an individual wishes to be scared, and lets their mind a bit more lose on realism and real-world accuracy, the strangest, most impossible images can leave a mark.

I might be sounding like I'm holding the story at "legendary" status, which I'm not at all. But many enjoyed the story, and were provided with an experience might've left a memory.

Jeff the Killer might just give that same experience to someone else, at some point.

-E