The internet is replete with a wide variety of stories that make the heart melt or raise the hair on your neck. These tales include romantic sagas, mind-blowing fables, gross misconceptions, chilling warnings, or mysterious puzzles. They have a way of traversing nations to earn them a place in the popular online folklore that almost everyone has encountered. In this post, we will take a look at seven of the most famous internet stories to date.
1. Martie Allen & Kristy McNichol: A Tale Of Enduring Love
Martie Allen, born on January 1, 1960, in the United States, gained recognition primarily as the longtime partner of actress Kristy McNichol. Their relationship became widely known in 2012 when McNichol publicly came out as a lesbian, revealing their enduring bond. Despite the public attention, much of Martie Allen early life remains private, with scant details available about her family background or education. She harbored a passion for television and entertainment from a young age, aspiring to make her mark in the industry. Their story is a touching testament to love and resilience, resonating deeply with many fans and supporters.
2. Slender Man: The Internet’s Creepiest Creation
Slender Man is a fictional character created on the internet as a creepypasta or a short piece of horror story written to disturb the reader. He was first described on the Something Awful forums by Eric Knudsen or by his nickname “Victor Surge” on September 10, 2009, in a thread about making fictional images of creepypasta monsters. He is a tall, thin figure who is completely bald and lacks facial features with dark clothes. The character would later grow into a popular culture icon in the paranormal, being used as a motif in several drawings, stories, as well as film and music. The Slender Man legend and mythos have influenced real-world events such as the 2014 stabbing attack by two 12-year-old girls in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
3. The Tale Of Polybius: The Haunted Arcade Game
Polybius is an urban legend about a supposed arcade game that was reported to have been released in Portland, Oregon, in the early 1980s. The game, which featured an unknown and mysterious origin, was also claimed to be a military-sponsored experiment to study the psychology of players. Polybius had very addictive gameplay which reportedly made the players feel high and hallucinate when playing. The game would then make the players develop memory loss or amnesia, suffer from nightmares, insomnia, and in some severe cases, suicidal. The game was also said to have disappeared without a trace in a month. Even though the existence of Polybius has been disproved in several sources, several games still appear from time to time purporting to be Polybius.
4. Henry Olyphant: Growing Up In A Hollywood Legacy
Henry Olyphant, born in 2001 in California, USA, comes from a distinguished Hollywood lineage. His father, Timothy Olyphant, is renowned for his diverse roles in films such as “Live Free or Die Hard” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Raised alongside his mother, Alexis Knief, and sisters, Vivian and Grace Katherine, Henry’s early life was significantly influenced by the entertainment world. This unique environment instilled in him a nuanced perspective on privacy and fame, allowing him to witness the captivating yet challenging aspects of celebrity life from an early age.
5. The Enigma Of Cicada 3301: An Internet Puzzle
Cicada 3301 has become the term for an internet mystery organization which posted puzzles online to recruit intelligent people with particular skills and interests. The primary focus of the puzzles is on cryptography, steganography, and data security. Solvers are required to understand literature, arts, secret and specialized government programs, and advanced mathematics to increase their chances of finding Cicada 3301. The first puzzle was released on 4 January 2012, but it is still unclear what the organization was doing or if it is still around.
6. The Great Emu War: Australia’s Oddest Conflict
In the year 1932, Australia faced one of its weirdest conflicts ever with a bird. After the World War I, several Australian soldiers took to farming as a career. They would later be faced with an invasion of the large flightless bird known as the emu, which was destroying their plantations and farms. In an attempt to curb the animal population, the government sent in soldiers armed with machine guns, but to no avail. The birds won the battle and the soldiers were forced to quit the fight, making the war Australia’s wackiest folklore ever.
7. The Phenomenon of “Dear David”: A Ghost Story Unfolds On Twitter
Adam Ellis, an illustrator living in New York, found himself recording a series of paranormal activities in his apartment over the Twitter app in the year 2017. The haunted nature of the house was due to David, a dead child with a misshapen head who would supposedly cross over to the afterlife. Ellis would then go on to write a ghost story under the #DearDavid hashtag that would quickly go viral and have everyone on the edge of their seats. The story would get over 180,000 likes in less than 5 months and have followers count to the millions.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the seven stories of today are only a few of the many tales that are spread across the internet. They are extremely captivating to read for various reasons including underlying lessons, beliefs, relations to or even awareness of the audience’s reality. From the social, the romantic to the mysterious and plain crazy, these internet stories have become popular culture and folklore of this generation and will continue to do so for many more.
FAQs:
Q1. What is the story behind Martie Allen and Kristy McNichol?
Ans: Martie Allen is known for her long-term relationship with actress Kristy McNichol, which became public in 2012 when McNichol came out as a lesbian.
Q2. Is Slender Man a real entity?
Ans: No, Slender Man is a fictional character created on the internet as part of a horror story, but it has had real-world impacts.
Q3. What is the mystery of Cicada 3301?
Ans: Cicada 3301 is a mysterious organization known for posting complex puzzles on the internet to recruit highly intelligent individuals, with its true purpose and identity remaining unknown.
Q4. Did the Great Emu War really happen?
Ans: Yes, the Great Emu War took place in Australia in 1932, where soldiers attempted to curb the emu population that was destroying crops, but the emus ultimately won the conflict.