The Girl in the Photograph

                Hello again, everyone. I have returned, and with me, I have brought another review. This one is more personal to me. Not the kind of personal that involves me staining my keyboard with the tears of reminiscence, but rather, this was my first creepypasta. Well, my first when I knew what a creepypasta was. But like I said the last time I said that, that's a review for another time. Because that one's a doozy. So, here's a lesser known one. With this pasta, I plan to demonstrate just how effectively a twist ending can make a mediocre pasta, into a not so mediocre pasta.
               But first, a little news in the world of creepypasta. As anyone who's anyone in this business (creepypasta isn't a business) knows, Tribe Twelve had a livestream on the 11th! And guess who attended? All in all, I'd say it was pretty boring. Up until the end, of course. I was kind of hoping the Observer would come and crash the party, but hey, we got a new video out of it. Guess it's not all bad. I took some pictures.

              I even got myself on camera! See, I'm on the top right. Now, I will be touching upon the topic of TribeTwelve and the mythology within, but for now, we talk about "The Girl in the Photograph." 

             Do you, if ever, remember the first time you lay awake at night after watching a horror film, afraid to shut your eyes, but afraid to look about your room? I remember mine. I watched the film Night of the Living Dead. An excellent film, one I recommend highly. Now, for those who have seen it know, but for the rest of you, the ending (no spoilers) is one of the most underhanded and darkest endings out there. Needless to say, my young brain was not prepared. I spent several hours wide awake, the ending replaying in my brain like a gif image. Now I have an appreciation for such things, but it took a long while, and many hours of sleep lost. Why do I bring up that movie in conjunction with this pasta. Simply put, much like Night of the Living Dead, the ending shed a few hours of sleep from my regular sleep schedule. How could it do that? I only read this like a few years ago. By that point I was a hardened horror fanatic. I could sleep peacefully while demons circled my beds. Ghosts? Please. I walked through Eastern State Penitentiary without so much as an eye bat, whatever that means. So why did a story about a picture, that really isn't all that good anyway, keep me up at night? Well, let's take a look shall we? 

[Link to story] 

                Initial Thoughts: At face value, this pasta isn't that impressive. It just goes places, aimless. For such a short story, that isn't what I call excellent writing. Wait, what's that? At the bottom? What is THAT?! 

               Summary: So, this guy's (Tom) in class, listening to his teacher drone on about...windmills, when out of the corner of his eye, he sees a photograph on the grass outside. So it's a picture of this girl, apparently the most beautiful he's ever seen. She is standing giving a peace sign (people still do that?). He goes to everyone, asking if they know this girl. No one recognizes her, and he gets sad. At night, he hears tapping on his window, along with giggling. The next day, he continues in his search for the mystery girl. But once again, nothing. That night, more taps come rapping on his chamber...window. This time, he walks out and follows the giggles, only to get mowed down by a truck. The driver gets out and sees a kid holding a photograph of a girl holding up three fingers. 

             Reaction: Damn. That's a pretty good twist. That's how a creepypasta should end! A twist ending that comes out of nowhere, yet fits into the story so well, that it makes you re-read the whole story, just to see how it fits in. It sticks with you, and that's what makes this story so potent. That's what kept me up at night. I could blink, and see those three fingers, mocking me. The three fingered anti sleep technique. There is no defense from that. 

            Analysis: Really, this pasta is only good for its twist. It's obvious as you read, that the whole thing was written around it. As I sit here, all I can remember about the pasta was the twist. I couldn't even remember the protagonist's name. I think it was Todd. But that ending. That ending. The stuff of heaven. Or hell. Whatever you want to call it. 

             Verdict:  For the actual writing, I'll give it a...2/5. Kinda lame, like eating raw store brand pasta. But, that twist ending is so good, I'll give it a 4/5.