History CondemnedByHistory / WebOriginal

** ''Literature/JeffTheKiller'' was one of the most popular creepypastas ever written, inspiring loads of imitators, spin-offs, and sequels. However, most of the imitators were negatively received for being poorly written StrictlyFormula stories of young people being put through [[DeusAngstMachina ludicrous amounts of trauma]], suffering some kind of BodyHorror, and turning into supernatural serial killers. This led to a critical reappraisal of the original story, leading to it being ridiculed for its [[RougeAnglesOfSatin typos]], failed attempts at [[NightmareRetardant scares]] or [[{{Narm}} drama]] and wildly unrealistic characters, with an attempted "rewrite" just making it look even worse. These days, if asked about ''Jeff the Killer'', most Internet denizens will greet it with either a snort of derision or a short lecture about the poor imitators it inspired in its wake. Since the late 2010s and especially the early 2020s, interest in the creepypasta has started again, but solely due to efforts to find the origin of the infamous image associated with it; a common refrain among many is that the image and its mysterious origin are way more interesting than the story itself.
** First created on the Website/SomethingAwful forums in 2009, [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos Slender Man]] was an early innovator of the creepypasta. Viral sensations like ''WebVideo/MarbleHornets'', and ''VideoGame/{{Slender}}'' spread him across the internet like wildfire, with further fan art, cosplay, and web shows cropping up in the early 2010s. This rapid rise would lead to rapid overexposure, quickly causing Slender Man to become seen as a cliche of the genre. Slender Man's fate would ultimately be sealed in May 2014 after two adolescent girls in Wisconsin who [[CannotTellFictionFromReality believed that Slender Man was real]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slender_Man_stabbing stabbed one of their friends]] as an attempted HumanSacrifice to Slender Man. The [[MediaScaremongering negative publicity]] from this and other such incidents -- another stabbing in UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}, an arson in UsefulNotes/{{Florida}}, and an epidemic of suicide attempts on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation -- caused Slender Man's popularity to rapidly decline, [[OvershadowedByControversy irrevocably tainted by the real-life incidents around him]]. A [[Film/SlenderMan 2018 movie based on Slender Man]] was widely panned as in poor taste due to the incidents, with [[https://fox6now.com/2018/08/08/marcus-theatres-we-have-decided-not-to-play-slender-man-movie-in-milwaukee-and-waukesha-counties/ some theaters]] outright refusing to show the film. Those who did see the movie would give it overwhelmingly negative reviews, with The Verge's Carli Velocci calling it [[https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/30/17793760/slender-man-movie-creepypasta-fandom-community-stabbing "a nail in the coffin of a dying fandom"]]. Once a popular boogeyman and a hit with horror fans, Slender Man is [[FleetingDemographic no longer taken seriously]] by a huge chunk of its fanbase, with the overexposure and bad reputation of the character all but assuring its consignment to permanent obscurity.

Nowadays, the only truly successful shows that survive with this style are the aforementioned AVGN[[note]]Largely due to the GrandfatherClause, Creator/JamesRolfe's tendency to stay out of Internet drama, the formula often being changed around to work with the original style on top of being [[ShownTheirWork more informative and extensively researched]] -- with some videos even focusing on good games where he points out both their flaws and strengths -- and Rolfe being as respectful as can be to both fans and the creators of the content he reviews when not in character[[/note]], [[WebVideo/TheAngryJoeShow Angry Joe]][[note]]Mainly because he regularly does positive reviews as well and his criticisms are more often than not actual criticisms instead of anger for the sake of anger[[/note]], WebVideo/JonTron[[note]]Who reduced his use of the style in favor of [[DenserAndWackier more surreal, zany humor]] over time[[/note]], and on the French scene, WebVideo/JoueurDuGrenier[[note]]Who increased his production values for the comedy segments, as well as focusing more on the history behind the games he reviews[[/note]]. Even Creator/DougWalker himself, despite being the [[TropeCodifier main inspiration]] and source of criticism for the genre, significantly toned down the anger in his Nostalgia Critic persona when the show was UnCancelled and incorporated comedy skits and media analysis, as well as discussing more well-received works that he has a more favorable opinion of. Most of the critics known for the genre have either retired from reviewing, suffered from declining viewership for sticking with the old formula, or have transitioned into a more professional -- or at the very least, less overly angry -- style; with some, like WebVideo/QuintonReviews and Creator/LindsayEllis, going so far as to [[CreatorBacklash publicly disavow their older videos]] they made when the trend was in full swing.

** ''Fanfic/SonicEXE'' used to be a well-respected game Creepypasta that centered around TheMostDangerousVideoGame. But after critics tore it apart and made people realize its flaws, including its {{plot hole}}s, glaring writing flaws and an [[DesignatedHero unsympathetic, idiotic "protagonist"]], the pasta was lampooned so hard it got moved onto a wiki dedicated to bad Creepypastas, [[FleetingDemographic with most of the fanbase outgrowing it]]. This led JC-The-Hyena, the pasta's author, writing [[https://c0rps3.deviantart.com/art/The-Original-Sonic-EXE-Rant-EDIT-READ-DESCRIP-508262184 an angry response to the Creepypasta Wiki's deletion of the story]] so overwrought with PurpleProse that JC only [[DiggingYourselfDeeper drew further attention]] to both the story and himself. This ended up resulting in even more mockery and criticism, not helped by the sequel and 2017 remake underperforming due to taking the original story's problems to extremes. As the final nail in the coffin, it was discovered in the summer of 2021 that JC had been doing sexual roleplays with underage users and abusing his former girlfriend into doing the same thing. This led to many in the fandom disowning JC, and his creation fell under new ownership. While there does still exist a significant following for the general idea of Sonic.exe, especially among [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids kids]] or [[NostalgiaFilter adults who encountered it as kids]] through the fan-related projects and video games, [[FanworkOnlyFans it is almost entirely divorced from the actual original story]], something all fans consider today to be at all well-written or scary.

* The ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' episode that pitted Music/JustinBieber against Music/RebeccaBlack, while never the most celebrated episode of the show, was once seen as a hilarious TakeThat to two of the most infamously hated singers of TheNewTens. However, time would not be kind to the episode for multiple reasons. For starters, ''Death Battle'''s fights [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness have come a long way since Season 1]]; even episodes where the match or combatants are PlayedForLaughs have far more dynamic fights and generally treat the participants more respectfully (or at least sympathetically), with Creator/ChuckNorris fighting Advertising/SegataSanshiro in Season 2 being seen and cited as an example of a joke battle done right, along with such fights as Randy Savage vs Kool Aid Man and [[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants Spongebob]] vs ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' Aquaman. Both Bieber and Black would go on to be more respected adult singers, making the depiction of them as vapid, overhyped teenagers seem not only unnecessarily mean-spirited, but [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece severely outdated]]. Finally, attacks against child stars have been increasingly frowned upon thanks to widespread reports of them getting exploited by executives and what harassment can do to their psyche (with Rebecca Black being one such victim). This episode has since been seen as contributing to such harassment by listing real-life fears of them as "weaknesses". The episode's ending, where [[spoiler: both singers die in a car crash, along with shoehorning in the deaths of Music/TheJonasBrothers and Music/MileyCyrus]], is now seen as [[KarmicOverkill needlessly cruel]], compounded by [[spoiler:[[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing Wiz and Boomstick celebrating their demise]]]]. These factors have caused the episode's reputation to plummet, to the point where [[CreatorBacklash even the creators of the show would like to forget about this episode]].

* Creator/NoahAntwiler aka "[[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment The Spoony One]]" first caught the internet's attention with his reviews for games in popular franchises like ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' and ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' during the late 2000s. But after joining Website/ChannelAwesome in 2008, Spoony became one of the site's most popular critics thanks to his [[{{cloudcuckoolander}} eccentric personality]], enthusiastic demeanor, frequent crossover videos, and his wide range of review topics, including board games and tabletop [=RPGs=] like ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. However, he also faced backlash for his reliance on nitpicking and tendency to [[FanHater insult fans of works]] in his videos, frequently seen arguing with anyone who disagreed with his views.\\
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His bad attitude got him in trouble with Channel Awesome in 2012 after joking about raping WebVideo/JesuOtaku, which led Noah to resign from the site shortly afterwards. From there, Spoony's worsening physical and mental health led to him clashing with his fans over the handling of his opinions and content direction, along with his increasingly frequent [[ScheduleSlip hiatuses]]. With his admission to having no plans for a ''Spoony Experiment'' movie [[LyingCreator after crowdfunding for one]] in 2014, what little goodwill Noah still had left vanished. Spoony's former fans now see his critiques as hateful and nitpick-heavy towards their subjects, and his even slower update schedule and focus on livestreamed playthroughs and the occasional LetsPlay (which have themselves earned some controversy) means he's remained in obscurity. By this point, even Spoony's own subreddit describes itself as a place for disillusioned former fans. As such, it's highly unlikely that he'll achieve the same level of success ever again. With even his earlier work being either forgotten or re-examined with a more critical eye, Spoony's rise and fall is now seen as a cautionary tale of a man with promise whose success was undone by being HisOwnWorstEnemy.

* Steve Cutts' earlier animations were acclaimed in the internet thanks to his unique animation styles and short films exploring human nature and society, such as ''WebAnimation/{{MAN}}'' and ''WebAnimation/{{Happiness}}'', which resulted in Music/{{Moby}} hiring Cutts to make a music video for "Are You Lost In The World Like Me?" song from the album ''These Systems Are Failing'', winning a couple of awards in the process. As his audience grew up, however, they became more critical of them for several reasons: Most of his videos showcase the flaws of humanity, but never ever show any sort of redeeming factor for them, going all in for the HumansAreBastards trope, resulting in the supposed examinations of human nature actually being [[{{Anvilicious}} full-blown criticisms about humanity]] and that [[ItCantBeHelped nothing can be done about it]]. Second, some of the "mistakes" humanity has made actually were benefits: For example, a core message in "Are You Lost In The World Like Me?" is that mobile phones are causing people to rely on SocialMediaBeforeReason -- yet these [[BrokenAesop same phones are allowing these same people to view footage of scenes]] that traditional media outlets normally wouldn't display, such as police brutality. The final nail in the coffin is that his animation style for ''MAN'', ''Happiness'' and "Are You Lost In The World Like Me?" have not aged well at all (being clearly made using rigged 2D models animation) with the latter's rubber hose style being seen as a shallow representation. Nowadays, opinions of them are that they were primary made as [[TooBleakStoppedCaring depression porn]] and are not as deep or thought-provoking as people thought they were, with the exception of Cutts' newer animations such as ''A Brief Disagreement'', and that's only because of the [[ArtEvolution higher quality of the animation]] and the fact they tend to focus more on BlackComedy rather than sending a message.

Nowadays, the only truly successful shows that survive with this style are the aforementioned AVGN[[note]]Largely due to the GrandfatherClause, Creator/JamesRolfe's tendency to stay out of Internet drama, the formula often being changed around to work with the original style on top of being [[ShownTheirWork more informative and extensively researched]] -- with some videos even focusing on good games where he points out both their flaws and strengths -- and Rolfe being as respectful as can be to both fans and the creators of the content he reviews when not in character[[/note]], [[WebVideo/TheAngryJoeShow Angry Joe]][[note]]Mainly because he regularly does positive reviews as well and his criticisms are more often than not actual criticisms instead of anger for the sake of anger[[/note]], WebVideo/JonTron[[note]]Who reduced his use of the style in favor of [[DenserAndWackier more surreal, zany humor]] over time[[/note]], and on the French scene, WebVideo/JoueurDuGrenier[[note]]Who increased his production values for the comedy segments, as well as focusing more on the history behind the games he reviews[[/note]]. Even Creator/DougWalker himself, despite being the main inspiration and source of criticism for the genre, significantly toned down the anger in his Nostalgia Critic persona when the show was UnCancelled and incorporated film re-enactments and surreal comedy, as well as discussing more well-received works that he has a more favorable opinion of. Most of the critics known for the genre have either retired from reviewing, suffered from declining viewership for sticking with the old formula, or have transitioned into a more professional -- or at the very least, less overly angry -- style; with some, like WebVideo/QuintonReviews and Creator/LindsayEllis, going so far as to [[CreatorBacklash publicly disavow their older videos]] they made when the trend was in full swing.

** ''Fanfic/SonicEXE'' used to be a well-respected game Creepypasta that centered around TheMostDangerousVideoGame. But after critics tore it apart and made people realize its flaws, including its {{plot hole}}s, glaring writing flaws and an [[DesignatedHero unsympathetic, idiotic "protagonist"]], the pasta was lampooned so hard it got moved onto a wiki dedicated to bad Creepypastas, [[FleetingDemographic with most of the fanbase outgrowing it]]. This led JC-The-Hyena, the pasta's author, writing [[https://c0rps3.deviantart.com/art/The-Original-Sonic-EXE-Rant-EDIT-READ-DESCRIP-508262184 an angry response to the Creepypasta Wiki's deletion of the story]] so overwrought with PurpleProse that JC only [[DiggingYourselfDeeper drew further attention]] to both the story and himself. This ended up resulting in even more mockery and criticism, not helped by the sequel and 2017 remake underperforming due to taking the original story's problems to extremes. As the final nail in the coffin, it was discovered in the summer of 2021 that JC had been doing sexual roleplays with underage users and abusing his former girlfriend into doing the same thing. This led to many in the fandom disowning JC, and his creation fell under new ownership. While there does still exist a significant following for the general idea of Sonic.exe, especially among [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids kids]] or [[NostalgiaFilter adults who encountered it as kids]] through the fan-related projects and video games, [[FanworkOnlyFans it is almost entirely divorced from the actual original story]], something all fans consider to be not as scary or interesting as it was before.

* Steve Cutts' earlier animations were acclaimed in the internet thanks to his unique animation styles and short films exploring human nature and society, such as ''WebAnimation/{{MAN}}'' and ''WebAnimation/{{Happiness}}'', which resulted in Music/{{Moby}} hiring Cutts to make a music video for "Are You Lost In The World Like Me?" song from the album ''These Systems Are Failing'', winning a couple of awards in the process. As his audience grew up, however, they became more critical of them for several reasons: Most of his videos showcase the flaws of humanity, but never ever show any sort of redeeming factor for them, going all in for the HumansAreBastards trope, resulting in the supposed examinations of human nature actually being [[{{Anvilicious}} full-blown criticisms about humanity]] and that [[ItCantBeHelped nothing can be done about it]]. Second, some of the "mistakes" humanity has made actually were benefits: For one example, a particular message in "Are You Lost In The World Like Me?" is that mobile phones are causing people to rely on SocialMediaBeforeReason -- yet the same phones have allowed them to view more areas in places where traditional media outlets could not, such as police brutality. The final nail in the coffin is that his animation style for ''MAN'', ''Happiness'' and "Are You Lost In The World Like Me?" have not aged well at all, with the latter's rubber hose style being seen as a shallow representation. Nowadays, opinions of them are that they were primary made as [[TooBleakStoppedCaring depression porn]] and not as interesting as it used to be, with the exception of Cutts' newer animations such as ''A Brief Disagreement'', and that's only because they tend to focus more on BlackComedy rather than sending a message.