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247:. Another short story, Thomas Lera's "The Fear of Darkness", was controversially shared by some users as a completed version of "Ted the Caver". Its ending explained elements of the story which were left as a mystery in the original. However, "The Fear of Darkness" was merely a fan-made version. After several years, Hegemann resurfaced online and revealed that while "Ted the Caver" was based on his actual caving experiences, he had added many fictional aspects to it.
154:. At the beginning, the narrator refuses to disclose any actual names or locations for the apparent safety of his readers. He and his friend, "B", decide to go caving and find a small hole within the local "Mystery Cave". He finds that the hole leads to a tight passage before opening up further in; excited that it may be an unexplored passage, the pair spend days tirelessly excavating it.
161:
and winds are encountered. In a final blog post, Ted writes that he and his companions are going to bring a gun into the cave after experiencing a series of nightmares and hallucinations, as well as an encounter with what could be presumed as a supernatural being. The blog has not been updated since
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of these stories, the irregular real-time updates gave readers the impression that they were witnessing the events unfold as they happened; in print works, the events described have already concluded. Crawford added that "the final entry only became 'final' retroactively after its readers had given
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Romano observed that some elements of "Ted the Caver" would become creepypasta tropes. He cited the unsettling setting inhabited by a supernatural entity, the "obsessed narrator" who nevertheless continues to return to the danger, and an ambiguous ending implying the danger's continued existence.
304:
speeds—which
Crawford thought gave the reader a sense of apprehension over what would appear. While none of the story's images are disturbing, this technique would be used more consciously in later horror stories such as "The Grifter" (2009). Since the blogs link to the next entry, it makes it
235:
example of what we think of as creepypasta". However, academic writer Tosha R. Taylor cited "Ted the Caver" as an online horror story which did not go viral but largely remained within online "spaces dedicated to discussions of gothic experiences", where it continues to be circulated today.
110:
constantly debated its authenticity. Some users thought it was true by virtue of the many images and technical details, insofar as the cave in the story was able to be identified. After several years, the author revealed that "Ted the Caver" was based on his real
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thought that although it was a "solid" horror film, it could not convey the source material's psychological tension and had an ineffectual twist. H.C. believed that, despite its low budget, the film retained the original's atmosphere.
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website. The first entry is dated 23 March 2001, and the final entry is dated 19 May 2001. The author was later revealed to be an
American man named Ted Hegemann; "B" was his friend, Brad. It is considered by some to be the first
99:
website in 2001. It is presented as the online diary of a man who excavates an unexplored cave with his friends. As he unearths the passage further, the entries become increasingly unsettling.
339:(1999) in that, while the fear has been reduced now that readers know that it is not a true story, it still "stands on its own" as an "effective old-fashioned supernatural mystery".
130:(2013) loosely adapted the story. Another full length independent film was uploaded in chapters to YouTube by the channel Alex Archives that adapts the story nearly beat for beat.
325:. The former was another important example of early online horror fiction. While "Ted the Caver" existed on a single website, "The Dionaea House" was spread across multiple
283:
up hope of a new entry ever appearing", exploiting the fact that readers did not know when the website would receive a new update. Many later online horror works, such as
333:. Crawford wrote that Heisserer's presentation gave the story "a much greater sense of authenticity and immediacy" than "Ted the Caver". H.C. compared "Ted the Caver" to
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and real-time updates as narrative techniques. These techniques are distinctly digital and cannot be replicated in print. In using them, "Ted the Caver" takes the horror
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impossible to know when the story ends until the final hyperlink ends up directing the reader to the same page, implying that Ted had been killed by the entity.
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in the late 1990s meant that anybody could create their own websites and incorporate non-textual elements such as images, animations and
289:("Entry #26", 2010), also use live updates to create tension and anticipation and imply that a terrible fate had befallen the authors.
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play two estranged brothers who, following their father's funeral, reunite to explore a cave which may hold the answers to his death.
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263:'s English department, argued that "Ted the Caver" was significant because it was one of the first internet horror stories to use
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317:" because of its status as one of the earliest creepypastas. The story influenced later Internet horror, such as
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Some users argued that it was genuine by virtue of its many images and details, to the extent that a group of
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335:
781:
Crawford, Joseph (2019). "Gothic
Digital Technologies". In Aldana Reyes, Xavier; Wester, Maisha L. (eds.).
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Crawford, Joseph (2019). "Gothic
Digital Technologies". In Aldana Reyes, Xavier; Wester, Maisha L. (eds.).
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Crawford, Joseph (2019). "Gothic
Digital Technologies". In Aldana Reyes, Xavier; Wester, Maisha L. (eds.).
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374:. The rights were eventually sold to New Films International, which released the film for theatres and
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written by each character and updated in real-time; the accounts also communicated with each other via
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701:"The Horror of Networked Existence: Affect, Connection and Anxiety in Classic Creepypasta Narratives"
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Global
Perspectives on Digital Literature: A Critical Introduction for the Twenty-First Century
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The TRUE Story of Ted the Caver - 100% True - Creepypasta
History S01E01 with Ted Hegemann!
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According to one writer, "there is debate over what exactly counts as the 'first'
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An early internet horror story, "Ted the Caver" is sometimes considered the first
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146:'s feet disappear into a hole, similar to the one the protagonist was excavating.
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were able to identify "Mystery Cave" as an actual cave in the U.S. state of
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673:"The definitive guide to creepypasta—the Internet's scariest urban legends"
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images in the text, it linked to them—a then-common practice which reduced
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in 2007. Scholars have noted similarities between the creepypasta and the
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313:'s Luiz H.C. wrote that "Ted the Caver" has had "a notable influence on
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275:" or "found footage" stories and modifies them for a digital context.
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923:"New Films Releasing Living Dark: The Story of Ted the Caver Today!"
150:"Ted the Caver" is presented as the online diary of a recreational
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on 2 October 2015. The film received little attention. Reviewing
584:"Before Slender Man and CreepyPastas There Was 'Ted the Caver'!"
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95:" is a short horror story by Ted Hegemann, self-published on an
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experiences but he had added numerous creative embellishments.
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292:"Ted the Caver" has a rudimentary website design. Rather than
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for a kind of horror story which is widely circulated online.
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loosely based on the creepypasta. Chris
Cleveland and
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As the explorers move further into the cave, strange
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and popularized several of the subgenre's tropes. An
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Twenty-First-Century Gothic: An
Edinburgh Companion
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Twenty-First-Century Gothic: An
Edinburgh Companion
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Twenty-First-Century Gothic: An Edinburgh Companion
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197:"Ted the Caver" was self-published as a series of
178:", consisted only of text and had to be posted to
231:'s Aja Romano wrote that it "may be the earliest
836:"Living Dark: The Story of Ted the Caver (2013)"
895:"7 movies and TV shows inspired by creepypasta"
217:"Ted the Caver" was widely shared on the early
278:While "Ted the Caver" follows the traditional
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738:The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Gothic
259:(2019), Joseph Crawford, a lecturer at the
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102:The story was widely shared on the early
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865:Cotter, Padraig (31 January 2020).
257:Twenty-First Century Digital Gothic
16:Creepypasta and online horror story
947:Brill, Karen (30 September 2015).
734:"Horror Memes and Digital Culture"
421:", a term which first appeared on
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1030:2000s electronic literature works
638:Botic, Nick (26 September 2020).
1060:Short stories adapted into films
671:Romano, Aja (31 October 2012).
610:Hegemann, Ted (23 March 2001).
321:'s "The Dionaea House" and the
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366:Originally produced in 2008,
174:horror stories, such as "the
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582:H.C., Luiz (17 March 2018).
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789:Edinburgh University Press
703:. In Ghosal, Torsa (ed.).
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458:Edinburgh University Press
736:. In Bloom, Clive (ed.).
732:Taylor, Tosha R. (2020).
188:website-building services
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357:independent horror film
351:David L. Hunt directed
336:The Blair Witch Project
180:bulletin board systems
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709:Taylor & Francis
429:format of the 1990s.
399:List of creepypastas
370:made its way around
261:University of Exeter
997:", archived on the
699:Bimo, Sara (2023).
251:Analysis and legacy
186:. The rise of free
176:black-eyed children
1025:2001 short stories
524:. pp. 74–76.
460:. pp. 73–74.
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1055:Hypertext fiction
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380:Living Dark
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355:(2013), an
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30:Short story
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382:in 2020,
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233:viral
199:blogs
152:caver
1010:Plex
960:2023
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803:OCLC
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