After the release of the first trailer for A24’s upcoming Backrooms, fans would love to see even more “creepypasta” stories adapted for the big screen. Backrooms is adapted from a series of videos released from January 2022 onward by YouTuber and visual effects artist Kane Parsons, himself taking inspiration from the fictional location, “The Backrooms,” an extradimensional liminal space of seemingly endless rooms. Parsons has become A24’s youngest director by adapting his creepypasta scenario for the big screen, and more could follow.
There have already been several movie adaptations of notable creepypasta stories, including 2023’s Dream Scenario, 2018’s The Rake, 2013’s Living Dark: The Story of Ted the Caver, and 2018’s Slender Man. However, it’s rare that these adaptations garner the same kind of excitement that surrounds Backrooms. Backrooms promises to be something special, and the inevitable success of the upcoming A24 adaptation could open the door for more high-quality and well-produced creepypasta movie adaptations.
Abandoned By Disney Would Be a New Perspective On the Disneyland Experience
Similarly to how Backrooms will follow Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Clark as he ventures into the titular liminal space and explores its mysteries, the “Abandoned by Disney” creepypasta follows a protagonist who investigates an abandoned Disneyland resort, Mowgli’s Palace. Written by Christopher Howard Wolf, aka Slimebeast, in 2012, “Abandoned by Disney” sees the protagonist find graffiti-covered walls, enter a “mascots” room, find a room with empty freezers and meat hooks, and hear strange, whispered voices.
Eventually, the protagonist picks up the head of a Donald Duck costume, only to find a human skull inside, and comes across a terrifying version of Mickey Mouse with inverted colors. After the success of the likes of Five Nights at Freddy’s and Winnie the Pooh, “Abandoned by Disney” would be an excellent foundation for a new horror movie. Abandoned sites have offered rich material for many horror movies in the past, but “Abandoned by Disney” could be the scariest yet by tainting our favorite childhood characters.
Username:666 Is Horror Movie Gold
Created by PiroPito, aka nana825763, in February 2008, “Username:666” involves a fictional scenario where the protagonist tries to visit the user “666” on YouTube, but refreshing the page takes them to a hellish, distorted version of the site. “Username:666” is generally regarded as one of the internet’s first urban legends, so it would be great to see it paid homage to. Interestingly, there may even be real-world implications of this story, as the actual “666” channel on YouTube has mysteriously been banned.
At the end of the creepypasta video, a hand emerges from the YouTube video player and grabs the protagonist, forming the foundation for a terrifying movie adaptation. Audiences have seen evil spirits and monstrous creatures released from screens in horror movies many times over the years, including in The Ring, Unfriended, Cam, and more. “Username:666” is a simple story, but one that could be sinister and terrifying enough to form the perfect horror flick.
The Expressionless Could Introduce the Next Great Movie Monster
The idea of the “Expressionless” first appeared on the Creepypasta Tumblr in June 2012. Set at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in June 1972, the story involves the appearance of a woman whose face had no distinguishing features and was referred to as something close to a mannequin. She has short, dark hair, no eyebrows, is smeared in make-up, and has elongated teeth that are so long she can’t close her mouth. This expressionless woman could be the next major horror movie antagonist.
In the original story, the woman has a kitten clamped in her jaw when she arrives at the hospital, but the doctors’ attempts to sedate her are unsuccessful. She ultimately massacres and cannibalizes everyone inside, leaving only one survivor, which could form the foundation for a horrifying new monster movie. Reminiscent of the Scarlet Witch’s rampage in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the “Expressionless” could deliver some of the horror genre’s most brutal and gut-wrenching moments.
The SCP Foundation Has Massive Franchise Potential
Although not a single specific creepypasta story, the introduction of the SCP Foundation in a movie franchise or TV series could open the door for many of these mysterious and twisted tales to be explored. The SCP Foundation — sometimes Special Containment Procedures, other times Secure, Contain, Protect — is a fictional secret organization that is responsible for finding, capturing, and containing paranormal, supernatural, and other mysterious phenomena, known as anomalies.
This organization formed the basis for a collaborative writing environment, allowing many users to add their own urban legend ideas to build the lore surrounding the SCP Foundation. This organization has huge franchise potential, as it could be introduced as a kind of paranormal police force hunting and studying many different creepypasta anomalies in a variety of projects. It’s a wonder the SCP Foundation hasn’t already been adapted for film, but Backrooms could create the perfect opportunity.
Jeff the Killer Is More Relevant Now Than Ever
The creepypasta world’s very own Joker, Jeff the Killer, is an adolescent serial killer who became disfigured after being set on fire during an altercation with a group of bullies. The original concept was created by Jeff Case in 2011, who started posting on DeviantArt under the username “Sesseur.” Since then, Jeff the Killer has gained an immense cult following and has become one of the most notable and widespread creepypastas, setting him up perfectly for a live-action adaptation on the big screen.
The idea of an isolated, bullied, and introverted teenager being pushed to the extreme to become a killer is incredibly relevant nowadays, where societal pressures have been pushing many young boys to do similar. This has most recently been explored brilliantly in Netflix’s hit Adolescence miniseries. While “Jeff the Killer” is far more twisted, sadistic, and brutal than Owen Cooper’s Jamie Miller, the similarities are obvious, so it would be great to see Jeff the Killer become the subject of his own live-action adaptation.
The Russian Sleep Experiment Is One of the Most Well-Known Creepypastas
The “Russian Sleep Experiment” is one of the most well-known creepypasta stories and is simultaneously one of the most haunting. Originally posted by Creepypasta Wiki user OrangeSoda in August 2010, the “Russian Sleep Experiment” follows the story of five Soviet-era test subjects who are exposed to an experimental sleep-inhibiting stimulant, to disastrous effects. The story is told from the perspective of a scientist at the facility where the subjects are kept awake for 15 days — the lack of sleep transforming them into grotesque monsters.
An Irish movie adaptation of this story, The Sleep Experiment, was released in 2022, but didn’t receive the widespread notoriety or popularity of the original story or, indeed, that is predicted for Backrooms. More novels, short stories, short films, and another movie adaptation have all followed, making the “Russian Sleep Experiment” perhaps the most-shared creepypasta story. After Backrooms, this could be the most terrifying and twisted story set for a bona fide movie adaptation.
Polybius Could Be the Perfect Stranger Things Successor
One of the things audiences loved about Netflix’s Stranger Things series was the show’s nostalgic tone, thanks to its 1980s setting. Now that the Duffer brothers are done with the show, another ’80s-set story could be adapted to replace it, and the “Polybius” creepypasta story would be a fantastic candidate. The urban legend centers on the titular fictional arcade game that appeared in Portland, Oregon, in 1981. With supposedly psychoactive and abstract gameplay, children who played Polybius experienced amnesia, hallucinations, and seizures.
Despite its adverse effects, Polybius was so addictive that players kept returning to it until they were driven insane or wound up dead. In the story, “Men in black” supposedly recorded data on players before removing the machines, and all of this adds up to one of the most persistent urban legends. Polybius has been referenced many times over the years, including in The Simpsons, Paper Girls, Loki, and more, but it’s high time for an outright movie adaptation of this dark and nostalgic creepypasta.
- Release Date
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May 29, 2026
- Director
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Kane Parsons
- Writers
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Roberto Patino