Cameraheads (found early creepypasta; 2009)
Screenshot of a 4chan post asking about the story.
Status: Lost
Cameraheads (otherwise referred to as Camerahead, The Cameraheads, "I killed a Camerahead", etc.) is an early creepypasta first posted on the paranormal boards of 4chan in 2008 (reportedly predating popular creepypastas such as Slenderman, The Rake, Smile Dog, and Jeff the Killer among others).
Story
The plot of the creepypasta involved a man who discovers a collection of books and a torn backpack scattered on the ground while walking, with signs of a struggle being indicated. Inside the backpack, there was a video tape, a broken camera, and a handwritten note that says "I killed a Camerahead". The man begins to research what happened and what the Cameraheads are, only to quickly find himself being stalked by the creatures, whereupon he begins to descend into madness.
Supplementary Material
The story was purported to be similar in format to the novel House of Leaves, and featured elements of an ARG, with "cursed" images from the video tape (claimed to be memories of what the Camerahead itself had seen) and documents of the Camerahead's previous victims being posted alongside the story itself.[1]
Descriptions as to what the Cameraheads themselves look like vary, with some sources describing them as outwardly human creatures that acted (perhaps unwittingly) as living surveillance cameras, others describing them as having cameras instead of heads (hence the name), and some claiming that they were of a biomechanical design similar to the works of H.R. Giger.[2][3]
Availability
Following the initial posting of the story in 2008, it became the first creepypasta to be posted on the paranormal board's wiki "/x/enopedia" following its establishment in 2009. It is here that the story would remain for several years, even being featured in the "bullshit" category of the wiki, indicating that it was frequently reposted to the point of oversaturation. Over time however, interest would gradually begin to wane in the site, which, alongside numerous attacks from other image boards, lead to its rebranding and eventual shutdown.[4] When this occurred, all media posted on the site, including Cameraheads, went with it. Unlike most of the site's contents however, Cameraheads and all material accompanying it remain completely unaccounted for, with no reposts or online archives of the /x/enopedia page being known to exist. The same is true for the paranormal boards, of which no archives are known to exist prior to 2014, by which time people were beginning to take note of the unavailability of the story.[5] To date, the story and its accompanying images remain entirely lost.
Gallery
Screenshot of a (currently non-functioning) archive of the "bullshit" category on /x/enopedia featuring Cameraheads.
External Link
- ObscUrban Legend Wikia page for the Cameraheads. Retrieved 20 Jun '20
References
- ↑ 4chan post featuring a user's recollection of the story. Retrieved 20 Jun '20
- ↑ 4chan thread giving a description of the creatures. Retrieved 20 Jun '20
- ↑ YouTube video briefly discussing the story and information surrounding it. Retrieved 20 Jun '20
- ↑ Reddit post describing the history of /x/enopedia. Retrieved 20 Jun '20
- ↑ Reddit post about Cameraheads. Retrieved 20 Jun '20