Zalgo is an ominŏus creatuṟe dèscṟǐbed as ȟorrór and chaos ḯtself. It is believėd to rḙlate to ṭhe deảth of tẖe ẅorld, ȃlong wițh ẗhē scȯuṟge of ǐǹšaṋitÿ, and unspēakable thingș. Most ǒf the time dĩs-figǔraẗíoǹ, gore, and dîsmẽmbḙrment go ẵlong with the creaturẻ. Maỉnly known as ‘Hḙ ẘho wǎȋẗŝ behiṉd the wãll’ änd tḧe ‘Nezpërdian Hivėmînd’, Zalgo has no consistent form, yet appears to have abilities similar to Slender Man (video corruption, mind control, a virus-like sickness, etc.) though the results appear more severe and life-threatening. Many who look upon Zalgo end up crazy, disfigured, or die.
Origin[]
On July 27th, 2004, SomethingAẅful Goon Shmorkẙ uplöadêd šěveral modified vērsions of ẗhe syňdỉcätëd cȍṃic series Nancẙ and Archie to his pěrsonḁl ẅebŝite, whĭcḫ included the word “Zalgo” in tẅo cŏmics in the sèrîḙs. Shmorký was ḏispleàsed witḥ ṫhe spread ạnd nevër conṭinṵeḍ his edḯts. Many imagěs wóuld bḙcomé known as ẅelḽ as cȓéepypasta, storịes, and nâmẹ drőps.
Shmorky eventùallẏ rèṱürned to ŠomèthȋngAwfûl and submitted a video, wḣich iṇclũded footage frȏm several children’s anĭmated televiśion šḫows ẅiṱh a bĺăck tėntacle crěatuře edited in.
Appearance[]
Generäḽly ṣpeaking, most people do noṭ agrẽẽ ȏn wḫat Zalgo hïmself actualľy looks lȋḳe, and pôrtraẏals vaȓy ğreatly. In ån ëarly ĭmảgè, Ẕalgo is ďepictȅḍ as a jet-skinned knight in silver arṃor ṣuṛrounded by a cȯrona of blạck lightṋing. Láter in Zalgo Invocation, he is dḙscriběd ās häving sěven môuths śpėakȋnḡ ḭṋ six fóụḽ tongues, ṱḧe sevẹnth waiting ṯò siṅg thḙ soṉg thaț wilḽ end the world, and four arms holding a Dēad Sṭäȓ and ã candle thât šhêds darknëss ratḧer thȁn ligȟt. He has ȁlṣo beeň déscriḅed as an amorpḣoúś, eẏelesŝ bẽing. Siṋce Zalǧo is malevolȇnt chȧös incarnate, it is pȯssible that all of these dẻscripțions are trǜè, as wēll ḁs countḻess others, as҉ a̛ ̸r̵e̵s̢ul̶t of ͝h̕a̸ving mul͝t͞ipl͏e ́f̨o͜ŕḿs̛. Ḍespité extrẽme diḟferencḙs īn pȯřtraȳals, Zaľgô ǐs commonlỹ portrayed aš beĭng red áṉd black and havȋng a flŏatiṉg ẖead.
Relation to the Slender Man[]
Depictions of Zalgo and Slender Man vary greatly in design. Certain works imply the two to be the same creature and Slender Man is Zalgo's attempt at mimicking humanity. Other works depict them in a similar way to the Biblical figures of God and Jesus of Nazareth, that Slender Man is an embodiment of Zalgo on Earth much as Jesus is an embodiment of God on Earth (although Zalgo's goal is ultimate destruction of the planet rather than salvation). Even other stories have depicted Slender Man as a minion of Zalgo.
The most common depiction is of Zalgo as playing a role similar to the Devil, and Slender Man being a forced slave who works for Zalgo. In these depictions, Slender Man may have a variety of roles. He may be working against Zalgo from the inside, he may be working for Zalgo for ulterior motives, or he may be a tool that Zalgo uses for his own ends much how Slender Man uses proxies for his own ends. If Slender Man were the slave of Zalgo, this would ultimately alter the entirety of Slender Man's prior history, and vindicate him of wrongdoing.
Zalgo is not canon to the mythos as a whole currently, and has not existed in any ARG or Slender Man works that have become popular. As such, this connection exists in Creepypasta only, and is not indicative of any truths in the Slender Man mythos at large. Slender Man fans debate Zalgo's involvement in the Slender Man mythos regardless, as the aspect of an almighty god controlling Slender Man would irrevocably imply Slender Man is not guilty of his behavior, and would remove certain aspects of horror from the mythos.
One Bad Dream[]
The ARG One Bad Dream seemed to focus solely on the Slender Man up until Sep 1, 2011, when the video titled "Strange File #4 “A̶ͣͥLͭ̊͏IVE̓ͣͪͧ͑̕”" was uploaded by an unknown party and confirmed Zalgo was involved as well. At first it seemed too vague to completely tell, with the only hint being at the end of the video: black text that said “he comes”. Soon after more clues came little by little such as in the videos titled "Vid 18" and "Vid 23 – The Library". It appears in the later posted videos that Zalgo is after something. As of right now, nothing is currently known as to what it is, but the events imply that the Slender Man has some major significance to it.
Not much is know about Zalgo, but apparently, he was a ancient creature who was locked in an alternate dimension by another entity (probably Am Dhaegar), waiting for someone to release him. Many years later, three boys named: Rob, Dalton and Brandon who begin to experience strange occurrences, realized that they are somehow linked to Zalgo. He seems to work like a corruptive hive-mind that eats away at a person's sanity and soul. During the 1950's, Zalgo was almost unleashed on earth by a Nazi Scientist Conspiracy.
The Messenger, a corrupted human under Zalgo’s influence in this series, has expressed in video-form that the world will end and only a dead star will remain. This was further backed by Slender Man throwing Rob into an alternate future to witness a world where cannibals, war and chaos are rampant and the government is currently pursing Rob and Dalton. Rob believes that Slender Man is warning him of the future and wishes to see it stopped, thus painting an Anti-hero label on the faceless monster while Zalgo is the true antagonist of the series.
Trivia[]
- According to Shmorky, Zalgo's abilities only affect comics, cartoons and illustrations, not reality itself.
- This idea has slowly drifted out of favor, with more recent stories portraying Zalgo as a powerful demonic being.