User blog comment:Dorkpool/A Bit on Jeff the Killer/@comment-25052433-20180308074223

I think I got into the idea of re-writing Jeff the Killer (and the subsequent sequels over on Spinpasta) when I finally found where the value in the original Jeff the Killer was located.

It was not found in the writing, which did not achieve our QS. It was not found in the plot or character development, which was also severely lacking. I found the value of that story in the community that is Creepypasta.

Sure, his name isn't scary. His surviving with no eyelids and deep slices on his face without antibiotics is a massive plot hole and we can all fill in the million other complaints that were lodged at the original story.

But here's the thing... so what?

Despite its conceptual flaws the story succeeded massively at what it set out to do, which I would imagine was to impact the reader. And that's really it. There is no secret sauce in writing, because no writer can ever nail everything they set out to do. It's all in the eyes of the reader, and a ton of readers loved the hell out of the original Jeff story.

This comparison can be made across the board if you're going to try and draw a parallel between technical accuracy and artistic impact. When the first Halloween movie was made, the production staff went out and bought a cheap William Shatner mask, turned it inside out, and then composed a very simple tune on a cheap keyboard for the movie's musical theme.

The first Blair Witch movie was shot by essentially tossing three amateur actors out into the woods and fucking with them at night. That movie had a budget lower than a lot of television commercials, and still, gold was struck.

And I know that I used to be pretty hard on the original Jeff story. It seemed to circumvent the rules and that didn't seem fair. Still though, it was successful beyond measure for a project executed with such bare-bones foundation.

One of the most frequent comments that I see when people negatively review my version of JtK is that the original was better. And you know what, maybe they're right. Sure, mine might have better grammar and plot development with fewer logical errors, but none of that matters two shits if the readers don't like it. Stephen King, Bram Stoker, H.P. Lovecraft and Clive Barker could all team up and re-write JtK, but if it doesn't connect with the readers, then a very real argument can be made that the original was still better.

So, I guess I've mellowed a lot on the original JtK. Its value was always in what it inspired within the community. The artwork, the spinoffs, the YouTubers... all of that came from a short little story with dozens of technical issues. With that said, it cannot be denied that the original story was indeed a classic, not for its prose, but for its impact on the reader.

I can only hope that my version (and the series I'm writing based on my version) can even come close to entertaining horror fans the way the original did.