Previously: “The Willow Creature.”
I’ll be honest: The title of the creepypasta “Lorraine” doesn’t really do the tale justice. True, the title is an accurate reflection of what the story is technically about — a person named Lorraine, and what befalls her — but it doesn’t really get at what the story is actually about. If you’re interested in horror YouTube, and in the oddities of parasocial relationships, and also in the sorts of ritual games we’ve spent a literal decade here at TGIMM chronicling in our Most Dangerous Games series and Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark… well, let’s just say that “Lorraine” is probably going to be up your proverbial alley.
While what happens to the titular Lorraine is definitely fiction, there’s still a lot about the scenario it sets up that rings true: It reflects not just the sides of YouTube that are intentionally dark — the corners of it that focus on horror and ghost stories and urban legends and other creepy thing — but also the sides of it that turn out to be much darker than they at first appear to be. I’m thinking specifically here about Marina Joyce… and also about Gabby Petito.
Marina Joyce, a beauty influence, has twice been the subject of concern amongst her several-million followers — first in 2016, when her on-screen persona went suddenly from bubbly and upbeat to sedate and troubled, and then again in 2019, when she disappeared for 10 days. (She was later located and found to be “safe and well,” according to CNN.) Both times, her considerable fan base raised the alarm — and although some of it may have done more harm than good, pushing conspiracy theories and treating what a real, actual person was going through as if it were solely for their entertainment, it was also instrumental in ensuring her safe recovery.
Gabby Petito’s story, however, ended very differently. Petito was a YouTuber and social media influencer herself, producing content primarily in the “van life” arena — and both her own channel and social media accounts and the involvement of other YouTubers and TikTokkers as the followed the case played a role in uncovering the tragedy that began with her August 2021 disappearance.
“Lorraine” doesn’t directly respond to either of these two real-life people or events; the story predates both of them: It was first uploaded to the Creepypasta Wikia by user The Zog, also known as BedrockPerson, in 2015. That, though, I would argue is evidence that the issues the story addresses deserve even more of our attention: They’ve been around for a while — and, indeed, may have intensified in the meantime.
To be clear, YouTubers and social media influencers don’t owe their audiences unfettered access to their lives, and they’re well within their rights to draw boundaries around what they show online, or to cease producing content entirely, at any time or for any reason.
Sometimes, though, if it seems like things have changed… well, if you’re in a position to do it, a welfare check might be worth calling in.
“Lorraine” is excerpted below; you can find the full story here.
***
I used to be an avid watcher of YouTube. I had subscribed to literally hundreds of channels and watched probably thousands of videos. I especially loved channels that featured spooky content. Short films, disturbing facts, lists, scary story readings — you name it. I was hooked on that stuff, a real horror junkie. There was nothing I liked better than ending a long day of school or work curled up in front of my monitor, headphones cupped around my ears, watching an amateur creepypasta flick or learning about creepy videogame glitches.
One day, while browsing through the site, I happened to click on a certain video in my recommendations. Nothing particularly special about it — I was just kind of going down the line, and that one was up next. I could’ve easily skipped over it or watched it first. Anyway, the video was made by a YouTuber called loonylorraine713. In the video, Lorraine, a youngish woman with frizzy brown hair that hid more than half her face, did a basic outdoor vlog pertaining to some urban legend. She spoke with locals, trekked through daytime woods, and scouted out a small playground at night, all the while sporting a very playful, entertaining attitude very unlike the average horror host. Her editing wasn’t bad either, making the vlog seem more like a story than just a person talking to a camera. At the end, she had this cute outro where she made a sideways peace sign over her left eye and said, “Stay spooky!”
I knew I liked her immediately. I quickly subbed to Lorraine’s channel and started watching all of her videos. She mostly did solo mystery hunting stuff, but there were a few skits in there, a couple Edgar Allan Poe readings, update vlogs, etc. Each one ended with either her or a drawing of her making the peace sign over her eye and saying, “Stay spooky!” I became a big fan of her work, never failing to post a comment on a video or click the Like and Favorite buttons. I even had my phone send me text alerts when she uploaded a new video, I was that hooked. …
… Then things started to get strange.
***
Follow The Ghost In My Machine on Bluesky @GhostMachine13.bsky.social, Twitter @GhostMachine13, and Facebook @TheGhostInMyMachine. And for more games, don’t forget to check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available now from Chronicle Books!
[Photo via Digitalpfade/Pixabay]
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