Living Dark: The Story Of Ted The Caver turned one of creepypasta’s most famous stories into a movie. Creepypastas are horror stories that became popular due to the rise of the internet and they usually take the form of urban legends told from first-person accounts. Slender Man is the most iconic creepypasta creation and is a lanky, faceless creature who was photoshopped into various pictures before a lore started building up around him. He later cropped up in games like Slender: The Eight Pages; he also received a poorly reviewed movie in 2018’s Slender Man.
Other famous creepypasta stories include “lost” Simpsons episode “Dead Bart,” “NES Godzilla Creepypasta,” and “Jeff The Killer,” with the latter revolving around a creepy looking serial killer. Despite their popularity, there haven’t been many movies or shows created from these tales. One of the best would be TV series Channel Zero, an anthology horror show where each season used a different creepypasta as inspiration. Season 1 adapted the popular “Candle Cove” story and Channel Zero came to an end after season 4.
One of the eeriest creepypasta’s is 2000’s Ted’s Caving Page - AKA “Ted The Caver” - which finds the title character and his friend “B” opening and exploring a virgin cave system. The story is a real slow burn, with the tension and dread building the more Ted and his friend explore the cave. It ends on an ambiguous note and it’s never confirmed if what Ted is experiencing was real or imagined. What made the tale so effective was the build, with the story unspooling over multiple entries before it turns into Descent-style horror.
The structure of this creepypasta would be hard to translate into a movie, which was proven with 2013’s Living Dark: The Story Of Ted The Caver. This adaptation revolves around two brothers who reunite following the death of their father and finding a nearby, unexplored cave system. Living Dark: The Story Of Ted The Caver features two solid performances from its leads and some good scenes of tension, including a character getting stuck in a very narrow passage.
Sadly, it isn’t nearly as effective as the original tale and Living Dark: The Story Of Ted The Caver’s twist sucked a lot of the psychological tension from the plot. The original story was ambiguous but Living Dark’s explanation for what’s in the cave leaves much to be desired. That said, for a low-budget independent production it features some effective chills. For horror fans who haven’t experienced the original “Ted The Caver,” it’s Angelfire page is still up and is definitely worth the time investment.
Next: Who Is Jeff The Killer? Creepypasta’s Evil Villain Explained
