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String Theory



Estimated reading time — 6 minutes

Have you ever had an experience that suggested someone else was in your house, and just thought “I don’t wanna know” and left it? Sometimes, fear of the unknown just seems like the preferable option than facing a real, concrete danger. Normally it’s nothing, though. One time, the beeper function of my wireless housephone went off, when I was the only one home. It could only be called from the living room. Another time, I swear someone took some change from my desk. They’re all probably just slightly disconcerting tricks of the memory.

But what would you do when something truly suggestive happens? Would you run, or just ignore it, like I did?

Last Monday was a normal day. I got up, brushed my teeth, changed into school clothes… All little parts of my morning ritual. It seemed like it would be another totally un-noteworthy day, until I saw the strings.

There were three or four thick twine strings in my room. They criss-crossed between the walls around my bed, one attached to the door. No way would I have missed them before; I should have tripped over them. They were tied to pins in the walls, which had also not existed before ten seconds ago.

Nobody could have been in my room while I was in it, let alone set this up. It was early, and my brain wasn’t processing correctly. I simply discredited the sight, untied the strings and left for school, leaving them balled up on my desk.

It didn’t get any better later. Outside my house there were hundreds of them, tied between houses, around cars, across streets… This had to be some super elaborate prank. One of those hidden camera shows, or a comedy improv blog. They had gotten everyone else to play along too; passer-bys were tangled in them, tying them to objects they were walking towards and away from, as if they had been and were continuing to follow the course laid out for them.

I nervously continued my journey to school. On the bus, every except me was tied to the door. At school, groups of friends were tied to each other; teachers were tied to their desks and boards. Oddly enough, at this point all I could wonder was why I had been left out.

When my friend Lucy sat beside me in first period, she simply plonked her bag down on my lap and rested her chin in her hand, looking right past me to the window outside.

“Hey Lucy.”

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No response.

“Come on, I didn’t expect you to be in on this too. “

She sighed and started taking books from her bag. All the books were tied to her hands. I grinned, and yanked one of the strings off a book. She didn’t seem to notice, instead simply disregarding the book completely, letting it drop to the floor without a moment’s hesitation.

“Um.” I leaned down, picking up her book and placing it back on her desk. She took no notice.

“Well, if that’s how we’re gonna play it.” I smiled, trying to look playful, but really just trying to hide my nervousness. I bundled all the strings attached to her together with one hand, then pulled them all free.
She blinked, turning to stare at me.

“Holy crap, Martin. You’re like a ninja or something.”

“I’ve been sitting here for maybe ten minutes.” I smiled again, relieved my friend had finally “noticed” me.

“Where did all these strings come from??” She gasped, seemingly noticing for the first time.
“I assumed you were all fucking with me…”

She stood up, backing into a corner. No one else in the class noticed.

“They weren’t here just a minute ago! Do you see them too??” Her tone made it clear she was genuinely scared.

“No. Didn’t you-. “ I was interrupted by my teacher slamming the door behind her. Everyone except me and Lucy murmured a good morning, and still, no one seemed to pay either of us any notice.
“People have been ignoring me all day.” I said to Lucy, before turning to our teacher. “Hey! Dumb bitch! You can’t teach for shit!”

No reaction.

“I’m getting away from all this shit.” Lucy pulled a few strings aside and left the class. I followed, and surprise-surprise, no one else noticed.

We wandered the corridors, leaving and entering classes as we saw fit. Whenever we untied a chair or book from someone else, it was like it suddenly didn’t matter to them. It didn’t exist

I showed her the street outside; there were more strings than when I came in this morning. Twice as many. We carefully picked our way through the tangle, making our way to a nearby coffee shop. Not particularly grand, I know. But what would you do in our situation? As I said, fear of the unknown sometimes seems like the safer option. On a few occasions, I suggested we untie a few more people. Lucy was opposed to it, remembering how terrified she’d been.

In the coffee shop, we grabbed a couple of sandwiches and drinks from the fridge. We found a table, untied all strings attached to the chairs, and sat down. We both ate in silence, both of us too scared, both of us distracting ourselves by watching the strangers in the shop, oblivious to the strings.
After twenty minutes, Lucy spoke up. “Now she’s gonna take that sandwich.” She said, pointing at a woman across the shop. Sure enough, she walked to the fridge and took the plastic wrapped sandwich she was tied to. “She pays for it and leaves.” She did so, according to the prophecies of the strings. “That guy doesn’t intend to pay.” I watched as a man took his coffee and ran out of the store, the two servers just looking too exasperated to go after him.

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“This is horrible.” She whimpered. “Let’s go. Please.”

Outside wasn’t much better. Everyone just followed the strings’ instructions, going about their daily lives. Lucy announced she was going home to sleep this off, and I agreed to walk her home. She only lived ten minutes away.

Away from the busier part of town there were fewer strings. It was nicer; we could pretend it wasn’t happening.

When we turned onto Lucy’s street, she stopped, her mouth falling open.

“What now?” I broke the silence, my voice sounding surprisingly small.

”Look.” She pointed outside one of her neighbours houses.

I saw it clearly, and I’ll take my memory of that moment ‘til the day I die. A little dark imp, maybe three feet tall, walking along with its knuckles on the ground, almost like a monkey. It had two bulbous yellow eyes taking up about half its face, and no mouth or any other facial features. It was holding a hammer and a ball of twine, which it was letting out behind it.

It walked quickly and quietly from the front door of the house to the mailbox. It stopped, hammered a nail into the side of the box, and tied it’s string around it. It turned to face us, and stopped when it spotted us.

My bottom fell out even further than it had already been, but it just stared with a look of surprise and curiosity. You could almost say it was the more frightened one. Suddenly, it beckoned to us with its tiny hand.

I looked at Lucy, she hadn’t moved. I looked back at the imp, which stared at me.
I halved the distance between us, and then halved it again. This wasn’t fear of the unknown anymore; it was fear of this little guy. Didn’t seem like anything to be scared of. When I was a meter away from it, it extended its hand.

“Uh. Hi.” I shook it. It nodded in approval, blinking its massive yellow eyes up at me.

“So you’re the ones in charge of the strings?” It nodded eagerly. I called Lucy over, but she stayed where she was.

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“There are more of you?” Another nod. I wanted to ask it so many questions, about what it was and where it came from, but it seemed for now I was stuck with only yes or no questions.

“Do we even have free will?”

It just looked at me, almost sadly. I immediately felt sick to my stomach, and couldn’t bear looking at the little monster anymore. I grabbed Lucy, who had been listening to our exchange, and now sat on the curb with her head in her hands.

“Come on.”

We entered her house, and I made her a cup of tea. When I found her in the living room, she had untied her dog and was curled up with it, crying. I set the tea down and sat beside her.

“I’m so scared.” She whispered after a good ten minutes of sobbing. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

“I’m going to sleep” She mumbled suddenly, and was under within the minute. Sleep was starting to sound pretty good all of a sudden, my eyelids suddenly felt like they were being weighed down.

I collapsed to the rug, and the last thing I heard before I fell asleep was the scurrying of several sets of little feet nearby.

I felt much better the next day, as if the whole affair had been a dream. I’d probably have believed that if I hadn’t been awoken by Lucy’s mother that morning, wondering what I was doing sleeping over without permission or something.

Over breakfast, Lucy asked me why I looked so pale and nervous. I turned to her and smiled, mumbling something to her about feeling sick.

But the truth was, I was scared because I couldn’t see any strings, and was wondering whether my actions were truly my own.


Credited to Tesla.

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Copyright Statement: Unless explicitly stated, all stories published on Creepypasta.com are the property of (and under copyright to) their respective authors, and may not be narrated or performed under any circumstance.

424 thoughts on “String Theory”

  1. Fear the Greatwhite

    Grest story, I would love to narrate it for my YouTube channel “Fear the Greatwhite” crediting you of course. Either way it’s a really cool story! Thanks!

  2. Fear the Greatwhite

    If you wouldn’t mind, I would love to narrate this for a future video on my YouTube channel. Either way it’s a great story, thanks!

  3. Wow!! This one was very good….Am I typing because I want to or am I typing because of the strings? Are we all being controlled?

  4. Hello! I’m Riah, and I’m a sophomore in high school. I really love this story, its one of my favorites. I was wondering if me and my friend could make it a short film for our local film festival? We would credit you of course; I just feel like its such a great story to adapt!
    Thank you so much! It’s fine if you don’t want us to.
    – Riah

  5. one thing is not clear, well few others but this one bothers me, hundreds, thousands of people and so as many strings, how did people walk about without getting tangled up?

  6. That actually makes me wonder about my own life. Like when I do something impulsive, and feel I cant control it, it will always remind me of this pasta *clapping*

  7. 11th Doctor's Purple Coat

    OOOOHHHHH!!!! That was incredible! I almost felt like I was reading the story idea for a Doctor Who episode! It’s people like this who should write for shows like that. Fantastic idea!!!!

  8. This makes me wonder who controls the chain of command. Everything is tied in string by the imps who have no free-will which in doing so will in-doctrine the future actions of the source to perform a predicted action, but the question comes to mind as to whom is the entity in control of the whole operation.

  9. A poorly written “R.L. Stine” short story that moved far too quickly, and threw in a few ridiculous moments that made absolutely no sense.

    “She only lived ten minutes away.” – lines like this make it apparent that you don’t know how to write at all.

    Lots of build up only to be let down by a really sloppy, thrown together middle.

    The punch line was good but unfortunately the rest of it didn’t live up to this.

  10. I like how you left unexplained how he was able to see the strings. Really I did, I assume he became unstuck from the strings somehow, and that gave him the ability to manipulate them too.

    I’m kind of curious why you made the workers Imps though.

  11. A great little story, and very stimulating to the mind, but the name is misleading. String theory is entirely different! Check out Brian Green’s “The Elegant Universe” to find out more about the ins and outs of string theory– you will also find mention of it in Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” and any of the works for general audiences by Leonard Suskind.

  12. Btw, since there is already a “favorites” button, i believe this should have as many favorites because String Theory is definitely a tasty pasta – totally absurd and very creepy!

  13. The string theory tells us that the government aka the imps will control our actions without us knowing it and by simply noticing that one thing out of place you can start a new life or world order for a day. Only to be fooled back into this old world order. That’s why this false free will exists to make us not see the strings and disregard stuff for our own doings.

  14. In case anyone noticed. This pasta is telling us about the life. The government aka the imps control our lives and all that free will shit is only a way of making us disregard being in their control. And their are those few who can get past the facts and by simply untieing one person can start a new life or world order for a day until they fall asleep and are tricked back into the old world where the government takes control of heir life for the rest of their life. ( unless they’re untied again)

  15. So… I just came back to this. I didn’t even realize this website was still around. I’m amazed to say the least – I wrote this three years ago and I DEFINITELY think my writing has improved since I wrote this. Looking back, there are many things I would change about the story. I agree with most of the criticism.

    Maybe this reaction will spur me to try writing again. Though I doubt I’ll achieve another 9.2 rating. :P

  16. I may sound like a noob on creepypasta, (wich I am not) but can someone explain this story to me? Thank You!

  17. Wow I can’t believe I just read this Creepypasta it’s amazing! This has got to be be my absolute favorite I’m surprised its not the most popular creepypasta there is or ever will be but holy shit I’m kind of scared now like I have an entirely different idea of life now! I’d give this a 1000000/10 if I could!

  18. This actually makes me think about it a little. However, it’s not really “creepy”pasta. Interesting enough, points are still deducted. It’s just not scary. 4/10

  19. So wait… That means there’s string attached to my iPad going from it to me… And from me to my headphones…. And from me to my bed… And to my lamp, and desk, and paper, and pencil, and bus, and seat… TOO MANY STRINGS FOR ONE LITTLE IMP…

  20. A Most excellent pasta. My props goes to its creator and writer. Its original, yet very creepy. I give it 8 skulls.

  21. A funny twist would be if at the end, when “Martin” is about to go to sleep, he looks down and sees a string from his hand to his willy.

  22. I feel as though this should be higher up the top rated, this is actually creepy to think about because it could be real, and it is more of the masses rather then a small town, or village on the outsirts of nowhere. I must say I will be looking for strings every now and again haha.

  23. creepypasta fan

    That is odd imps don’t look like monkey’s they look like fairies and in some cases nymphs so whatever that was was no imp, might I suggest a string monsters. LOL

  24. Made me think about whether or not killing ponies was right, and then I ate a cupcake after I realized I was just being sane.

  25. Wasn’t scared til the end just completely and utterly creeped out. I think that the point was to make us realize that we can’t see the fucking strings.

  26. I have mixed feelings about this pasta. The concept is superbly delicious and makes me want more.
    However, the substance left me feeling unsatisfied.
    I think the feelings of fear towards the end could have been described better. The ‘free will’ question could also have been detailed a lot more.

    I wish this story could be filled in a bit more, expanded on and get more inside the main character’s head because it is a truly brilliant idea and it could have been so much more creepy.

    Praise, regardless, because it IS an excellent idea for a creepy story.

  27. if living things need these “strings” to make them do tasks, i wonder who sets up all the goblin-thing’s strings…

  28. For a second there I thought this pasta was going to be about Quantum Mechanics/Physics…but I was wrong…its still loosely correlated with them I suppose. All in all a tasty pasta would refinance eat again.

  29. I didn’t like it much. Good idea, bad way to plot it out. Actions are too unnatural. And it’s too big of a jump from it going from small things you don’t notice much happening around your house to strings tied everywhere. And what made him notice the strings in the first place? Too much suckiness to make for a good read.

  30. I didn’t really find it very scary, just “WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?”. It didn’t really answer any questions, just left them. It’d be really cool if you did a follow up!

  31. Whoop, there it is! Love these stories that leave you thinking about “existence” as a whole, not necessarily just your own. Loved it

    1. Although, I wonder why the narrator recalls this experience so dreadfully – “Would you run, or just ignore it, like I did?” The creatures attaching the strings are apparently benevolent. Why (where) would you run?

  32. OMG! I was at my bus stop and one of the other kids brought string and it was everywhere! And i was like no no no… He got it tangled o everyone except me because i was running away from him…

  33. I kept thinking the imp reminded me of the demon from soul eater idk why is that where you got the idea at by any chance?

  34. Not bad, but after he asked “Do we even have free will?” my only response was "wtf? where did that came from". As strings seem more like ‘attention’ effect, not something affecting actions or decisions. If only way for person to see strings and other people without strings is to not have any attached, it means main character never had them. Also, since he steadly saw more and more of them, it meant process of "stringing" was only begining.
    So for me ending flopped terribly, but overall nice read bringing some interesting images(city all strung up)

  35. The scare is very simple, yet deeply rooted. The ending is even more terrifying with the experience receding than it would have been if the strings were still visible. Very subtle, so that the idea will stick with you much longer than a simple bump-in-the-night post. Excellent work.

  36. Anonymous Pasta Fan

    Ok, I’ve only read half. I’m posting this now with my prediction that it is a spider. I will come back in a sec to post whether I was right or not.

  37. What makes it creepy, to me, is the fact that the people that are attached to the strings don’t know about it, so how would we know if we were, or weren’t?

  38. im going to be the noob and say
    what did the ending mean?
    i got the whole story up untill the ending line.
    some one PLEASE explain – would be appreciated.

    good pasta! 8/10 :)

    1. In the coffee shop, Martin and Lucy realized that everyone seemed to be following the strings and that their actions could be predicted after some practice based on how/where the strings were tied.
      So at the end, Martin realizes that if he can no longer see the strings, he must be tied to them and his actions must therefore be controlled by the strings.

  39. I love this pasta! By far my favorite.Great story line and really gives you a chill down the spine. Am I really writing this or was it the forced upon me by a different being?

  40. I must say i truly enjoyed this pasta. It is nice to know that there are a few creative minds willing to throw some interesting story our way. Nom om om num

  41. If you can give me an actual name and evidence that it was written/published by someone else earlier than 3 years ago, cool. If not, I’ll go with the fact that googling parts of this story just brings up, well, this story and Tesla as the original author.

    I suspect that either you’re confused, or 7th grade wasn’t that long ago for you and your teacher happened to be a Creepypasta fan =X

  42. This is exceptional. Any of us would go mad if we could see our path through life before we “chose” it. I think it might have been stronger without the imps but perhaps I’m missing something.

    A provocative read.

  43. Really strange things have been happening to me recenty here is wat happened

    AUGUST 8:
    My milk in my fridge has moved 6 centermetres since i placed it yesterday O:

    AUGUST 9:
    My cousin mick has died after saying he saw a slenderman but thats not the point. The real thing is MY MILK WAS GONE 0:

    August 10: i have signs that a slenderman is going to kill me but thats still not the point. MY MILK WAS IN MY BAG O:

    August 11:
    I figured out whats going on now… It all adds up MY MILK IS HAUNTED

  44. this made me think. very hard and very long. this is the only pasta that effected me in such a way. Very good show sir

  45. Creepy. One of the things that freaks me out most is the thought that I’m not in control of my own actions. Great pasta.

  46. No strings attached.....

    This was a very awesome pasta a little stringy though…. lol :) (I cant help it these imps write my jokes….help me……….)

  47. New Techno Leader

    i really like this one, sometime now when i’m doing something i imagin that little imp pulling my strings, lol

  48. Very different from others I’ve read. Actually good punctuation and spelling/ grammar which i enjoyed very much. Maybe a sequel, or follow up?

  49. Really good story, not really creepy at all, the first paragraph really amped my heart-beat, the rest of it was just…interesting. Seems like it could easily be a low-budget series of comics. All in all its very original and a fairly good pasta

    7.5/10

  50. This story was well-written, and really caught my attention. I was a little confused, however, when Lucy somehow knew what those two people would do. I laughed a few times and got goosebumps at the end. It was definitely worth the read!
    I just noticed the strings tying me to this pasta…

  51. Chris Fiera(pen name)

    Interesting, I love stories that are creepy but at the same time don’t traumatize me: :P

    8/10 unique and curious

  52. Beside a few grammar errors, pretty good. Very original story, could very easily be extended into a full novel very easily, and I would love to read it.

  53. This would actually make a pretty good story. Like, story-story. Not just a short. Physical manifestations of fate aren’t too cliche, and I find them fun to read when the concept is done well.

    tl;dr: cool story bro

  54. Delicious pasta. Not creepy in the slightest, but a very interesting read, especially for a Determinist like myself.

  55. Not too scary, but an excellent read. If I must criticise, it was a bit anticlimactic overall (ending particularly), but I don’t know what I would have done differently. If you had gone for something too grandiose (eg. a bunch of strings leading off a bridge, some sort of inhuman determination to follow the strings with injuries, etc.) it would have lost it’s beautiful feel. An excellent pasta, and greatly satisfying. If anything, I just wish there was more.

  56. I understood what it meant but I thought it was shit with all due respect. I had to skip a good chunk cause it got too repetitive and boring.

  57. All I could think was
    MASTER
    MASTER
    MASTER OF PUPPETS IS PULLING YOUR STRINGS
    I love that Metallica (Kill Em All to Master of Puppets, and St. Anger to current) Justice to ReLoad sucked balls

  58. The strings are an unnervingly appropriate metaphor for everyday life. Although found myself relating to the pasta more than being scared by it. All in all it was great read and well worth the time.

  59. So when the guy says, “But the truth was, I was scared because I couldn’t see any strings, and was wondering whether my actions were truly my own” does he mean to say that he’s nervous to know if he willingly had sex with the girl or if he did it himself.

    other than that, great story!!

  60. WOW! Sort of a Rod Serling-ish ending. I give this pasta 8 Red strings out of 9 due to it being hard to understand some dialogue.

  61. Would have been better if the last sentence was just “I was frightened because I couldn’t see any strings”. The other part is just explaining the implication, which ruined it a bit. Overall a good read and nice idea, although not ‘creepy’ as such.

  62. Definitely makes you think. I love this, my new favorite. 10/10, regardless of the imp’s “cuteness”…I never pictured him cute…just really short with ugly skin and great big bolging eyes, and in a red outfit. There may well be some “imps” controlling our actions. And an ultimate master puppet at the top of the pyramid. Our lives just seem so mechanical sometimes. I want moaaaar, Tesla. =)

    Lol. I always like when people are like “But who was ?”

  63. i cant help but to imagine somthing like kingdome hears and the little creatures like little heartless sectretly taking over lives instead of hearts lol

  64. i wasn\’t as impressed. not bad writing, not bad story, but not the mindfuck that i expected. not even despair, though that\’s probably because i\’m used to the idea that we\’re just a bunch of impulses and instincts. so basically, transferring that to little imps isn\’t that odd or frightening.

  65. This is really really good.
    It makes me wonder if i’m attatched to these strings, and if I have yet to be untied.
    Very creative. It makes you think.

  66. I just couldn’t get past the similarities between it and Insomnia by Stephen King. The whole concept of small men/things controlling an unseen world and the only time people can access it is when they are unseen by others, it was too much the same for me.

  67. Just sayin’,

    I liked this one a lot. As a person who prefers to lurk rather than actually comment on stories, it takes a lot to drag me out.

    Now that doesn’t mean I didn’t expect the ending. I watch a lot of JJ Abrams (including LOST), meaning that I have gotten to be pretty good at picking out what’s ‘important’ to the storyline and what isn’t. That being said, when he got to school, that’s when I had most of the story figured out. I figured, ok, kid’s been dislodged from these ropes and can see them but in the end he’s gonna be tied back up just like the rest.

    Called it.

    Doesn’t mean it wasn’t good.

    9/10, lost a point for the adorable imp that was supposed to be scary.

  68. VERY REFRESHING READ. AMAZING STORYTELLING. CHILLING IN ITS SIMPLICITY AND SPINE-TINGLING IN ITS RELATION TO THE REAL WORLD.

  69. Excellent pasta!
    The writing wasn’t too good, which worked wonderfully because it was a school aged boy.
    Reminded me of Invasion of the Body Snatchers when all you are thinking is ‘Don’t fall asleep!!!’

    10/10

  70. I read this when it was first posted, and I didn’t like it, but rereading it, this pasta was pretty rad. Definitely original, but I thought the writing could be different. Not better, just different in style, to fit the story. Lucy seemed kind of pointless, I think it would be creepier if he was alone in the whole thing, Anyway, great ending and awesome concept, but the lackluster writing made it less enjoyable. 7/10

  71. “My bottom fell out even further than it had already been”
    I don’t get this part.

    But still, nice pasta even if it wasn’t really creepy.

  72. This pasta had a very original idea. I mean, the whole plot itself is excellent, but it was executed terribly. There was absolutely no interesting sentence syntax, no use of diction, nothing… that would stand out. Your characters lacked any characteristics and qualities, and many areas of this don’t add up. I think you should keep the idea, but throw out everything else.

  73. It was really cool that the imp wasn’t exactly ‘evil,’ it was like it was just doin’ it’s job. Very nice! I love this one!

  74. Wow. That was pretty fucking amazing. I love stories like this. its kind of like a myth. Ya know like what the romans and greeks made up to explain nature? This. But this is so much better.

  75. Seriously, stop the hating, you obviously can not to a hell of a lot better. It was great, btw, thanks :)

  76. it kinda sucked…. the beginning is mysterious, which i like, but the ending, its colorless, so to speak, it needs more umph…. not my favorite pasta….

  77. it kinda sucked…. the beginning is mysterious, which i like, but the ending, its colorless, so to speak, it needs more umph

  78. Been lurking around here for a while. :D

    This one is really good. Frightening, makes you think about the world around you. :)

    Kind of makes me think of I have string tied to ME.

  79. excuse me…but i think most of the people who replied are crazy. this story makes no sense. what. so. ever. its not scary nor interesting. i wasted 7 minutes of my life reading it and about 4 trying to figure out what the hell was going on….this may be a dissapointment from your other stories

  80. I was really impressed with this pasta. It brings elements usually left unexplored by most pastas. Delicious, 9/10.

  81. Well written, and a good idea, but the main character’s actions are ridiculous. Walk outside, see loads of strings tied to everything. Better get to class!

  82. Very good!! I found your website on an other site, but I’m glad I checked it out. I love these stories. Keep them coming <<3
    ~Mrs. Robert Cowley

  83. Interesting. I kinda figured it out like half way through though.

    The only problem is, how did his strings come undone? :)

  84. Very tasty pasta. Lately, all of the pastas have sucked nuts. However, this one was…refreshing. Keep it up.

    Oh, it sort of reminded me of Donnie Darko.
    That’s a compliment, take it.

  85. Not a particularly scary pasta, but definitely worth reading. Excellent story.

    Also…
    WHO WAS MAILBOX?

  86. Brad D. Grierson

    Now that one was fun. Very fun. I could vividly picture everything that was going on. Well done.

  87. Re-found the pasta.

    I wonder it there’s an imp wondering around, tying twine to chairs and shit.

    I will name him Rodger.

    Rodger, can I have my free will back? I kind of want to make my own desicions for real, instead of having them made for me and looking like I made them.

    Thanks.

  88. Hi, dont turn around

    I have ofter wondered if my actions were my own, I am the pawn of some great diety or I simply making decisions, niether of these answers suit me though, if the first is true, this diety is evil, or having his own strings, if I am making choices, then why would I exist… this pasta was tasty… i went back for seconds, but it makes me think at the same time… am I in control, if so, thanks for the strings, nothings more usless then a puppet without a master

    light thinks itself the fasters, but wherever its going, darkness gets their first – unknown author

  89. it was retarded
    the main character actually contemplates the concept of freewill while questioning every one of his actions
    and yet there’s supposed to be some mysterious “what if we’re being controlled” element to the story
    essentially the small amount of creep factor comes from the fact that everyone is apparently unaware of the strings attached to them and the fact that their objective is really quite unclear
    but truly
    oblivion =/= lack of brain signal to the rest of the body at will…

    also, i agree with the person who said that the original free will line was reaaaaaally sudden and way too portentous
    it kind of ruined the story early

  90. Wonderful pasta, but… how did his string come off in the first place? I mean, it seems like in order to realize the strings, you have to be untied… so…

    I did enjoy it though. 8.5/10.

  91. Very nice! Not all that creepy, but still fun as hell to read.

    This would make a fantastic short film, by the way. I was picturing it that way the whole time I read it.

  92. Not bad, but it’s the second pasta I’ve read today that kind of borrows it’s theme from a film, in this case “Donnie Darko.” It was the whole determinist, no-free will, people following paths thing. As mentioned by a few people, the ending lacks reader satisfaction. Personally, I would’ve liked to have seen maybe the main guy/girl conducting an experiment by either tying their string back on, or going to sleep so that the Imp might reattach it, then follow where the string leads, ultimately finding out that they kill someone or themselves, or something like that. Keep it up though!

  93. Very, very good, but I think I liked it more before the part with the imps. As stated in the story, people fear the unknown. Mysterious destiny-controlling strings are creepy. Little imps are less so. Perhaps if the imps were faceless shadows or something, I would have liked it better.

  94. Tesla u should really consider being a full on creepy pasta regular story writer. Honestly the best creepy pasta i have ever read,not in creepiness but in it’s own form of story.it was creepy and makes you think…………….Thank u for a truly original story Tesla.I’d love it as a short film as well.

  95. nice, finally a decently written pasta. RAWR time to dig in!
    interesting plot, but the ending was a letdown. sadly, i shat no bricks. 7/10 for effort and grammar!

  96. People are saying this is ripped off Darren Shan? I’ve read a lot of his books but I haven’t seen anything like this. I guess the style is vaguely similar, but OP is a good writer regardless. 10/10!

  97. Summary

    Wake up
    Find strings
    See more strings
    See MOAR strings
    Take strings from Lucy
    Lucy has a PMS moment
    Get coffee
    See an Oompa-Loompa on crack
    Go to sleep
    Wake up
    ODANG WHERE ARE MAI STRINGZ

    The most unpredictable thing of this story was the protagonist’s name being Martin. And even that wasn’t very shocking. Ya gots good grammar, though.

  98. I liked the idea, but not the execution. It feels like it is lacking…something. I would not be surprised to see something like this in a collection of short horror stories, or an episode of Twilight Zone.

  99. This was really good :P This was very well thought-out and something to think about. *Looks around to see if there are any strings around*

    The only thing that really bugged me was the fact that there were imps doing this. I think maybe it should have been something else, something scarier than an imp. I’m not entirely sure what to suggest, but I’m sure a really good horror writer like you could figure something out XD

    But still, this was really good. It’s not really something to give you nightmares, but it’s a chilling thought. I’d give it a nine and-a-half out of ten.

  100. Sir Shoop Whoopington

    Seconds Please!!!
    gave me chills and made we rub my arms to make sure there were no strings. 10/10, easily.

  101. 9/10

    Would be 10, if the author didn’t take me for an idiot and added the line “…and was wondering whether my actions were truly my own.”

    Really, I already knew what was about to happen, and author thinking I wouldn’t know implication of not seeing strings was a small insult.

  102. Damn Cookie beat me. D:<

    Oh, well. I liked it, it was a unique idea that kinda makes you wonder. Where the fuck do our actions come from.

    Great pasta. :’D

  103. Hey guys.

    Thanks for all the praise. And to the people who weren’t happy; hey, you can’t please everyone!

    This wasn’t ripped off of a Darren Shan book (I HAVE read them, and I have NO idea where there are similarities) or mean to read like goosebumps.

    The free will thing and the creepy imp dude were sorta shout outs to Donnie Darko and the Heartless though. I don’t play KH, but dig the heartless design.

    My inspiration is really rare and my stories are super hit-and-miss stuff. Don’t get your hopes up about any new stuff from me! :P

  104. Mmmm. Good pasta there. I’d give it a 8/10. Would be a full 10 if it was a little creepier and the ending wasn’t predictable. Either way, well done. ^^

  105. No one really explained WHY the main character could suddenly see the strings, and why didn’t anyone SEE Lucy and him when they had pulled the strings off? Of course then they were able to decide their own actions, but it doensn’t really make them invisible.

    It wasn’t that scary, kind of random really… as someone already said, this would’ve been a lot scarier if the strings were only attached to people who are alive, and just as we are free from those strings, we can see the world in it’s true form.

  106. I’d say it’s amazing if it weren’t ripped off from a Darren Shan story, but he did the same thing, and much better.

  107. Great job. This was original and interesting. No, not the most terrifying pasta, but damn- I know exactly what that feeling is. The “I’d rather not know if there’s someone else in the house”.. I get that feeling all the time.

  108. kinda funny in its own way, and the perspective of someone being suddendly able to see the “fate” or how you want to call it IS in fact kinda creepy. The part where the protagonist says that he saw the strings in the room right after exiting it and no one could have put them here did creep me out. Even if the final is kind of surprising (ok, i had figured it out before, but i forgot by the time i got to the last line) it could have been better done.
    To me, the worst part in this is that when i read the creature’s description, i immediately trought of an Heartless from Kingdom Hearts (even if i’ve only played it for a little) and this was enough to almost completly pull me away from the story.

  109. CarolynBoBarolyn

    I liked it. It kinda reminded me of Donnie Darko and how he can see the future with the clear tubulue thingies.

  110. Very very intriguing. The notion of a goblin going around pulling the strings of fate, makes you wonder: what strings are pulling his fate?

  111. I liked this one. The ending is thought provoking and I enjoyed reading it. A nice refreshing psychological pasta. :)

  112. Wow, I love you. Lately the stories on this site have been just… blah. This pasta was excellent though, I honestly don’t have any complaints. This is, like, the rebirth of Creepypasta or something..

    K, I might be exagerrating a bit.

    But this story was still marvelous, and my new favorite. Interesting topic, just plain creative and filled with deliciousness. :3

    <3

  113. Really good, could possibly be written in a creepier way, but thats more about style than quality. Brilliant premise and execution regardless.

  114. Creepypasta these days can best be described like someone in their final hours… mostly flatlining, but every now and then you get a spike.

    This was one of those spikes.

    I look forward to more from you, Tesla.

  115. I don’t get why this has been given so much praise, its awfully written, boring and anyone with the slightest amount of intelligence would have seen that ending coming, it was like reading a goosebumps short. Pretty damned awful and I wouldn’t be surprised if all of these praise comments were from the author him or herself.

  116. How do we know there’s not an infinite amount of levels to this string idea. That the imps aren’t on strings controlled by a subset of imps, and those imps controlled by another subset, and so on.

  117. Saw the ending coming. But still, it was a very neat pasta. Original and with so little mistakes that I almost didn’t notice. Much better than what’s been posted lately, really.

    8/10, well done! Om nom nom.

  118. Fart McFartison

    It’s difficult to be frightened by this, though it’s not a terrible story. Like Anony said…why be afraid of something i never know is there and doesn’t even really effect me where i’ll know. also, my big problem was towards the end, who was phone?

  119. I didn’t like it. Maybe if I somehow knew that my actions were not in my control it would be a little more scary. Otherwise it will still feel like that I have a free will. Why should I be scared of something that never makes itself known nor tells me my fate? Sure you can just as easily pass it off as a dream and forget about it but that’s not scary. There’s no consequence and that is where this story fails.

  120. Not very creepy, but I like it nonetheless. It’s different, and though the ending was not a surprise it’s still a well-rounded pasta.

  121. Haha wow. This is a nice job. I can’t call it creepy but it’s a cool pasta. Nice concept, well written.
    10/10

  122. Wow, I’ve been looking at this site for a while now, and the stories were getting worse and worse, but this is brining it all back haha. LOVED IT.

  123. you shouldnt limit this to a short story man. it is a really cool idea. you could turn it into an actual book

  124. holyyyyyyyyyy fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk that was mind blowing

    :( it left me with some kind of .. sad feeling really .. :(

  125. there were grammatical errors that i didnt like, the little guy didn’t make any fucking sense
    fuck this broski

  126. Wonderfully done. Refreshing in that wasn’t a blatantly horrific tale, but rather a subtle approach to fears over things like fate and control of one’s destiny.

  127. I R DAH MAKAR UV DAH STREENGZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!11!!!!1!!1!11!11ONEONE!ONE111!!!ONEFUCKINGONE!!!11ELEVEN.

    omgwtfhaxlawlmyroflkoptergoezsoisoisoisoisoisoisois

  128. Could have been better; didn’t like the characters.
    And the begining “fear of the unknown” set the beings up to be scarier than imps.

  129. OH DAYUM. That’s some creepy shit. 9/10. Could have been a bit more terrifying if the little imps had been guardians or something. Just something to make it feel less like something a normal person could possibly have the power to subvert.

  130. Beautiful pasta. I’ve been putting off visiting the site for a while, but now I regret it.

    Kudos to Tesla. Great story, nice writing, everything.

  131. I like this a lot! My only complaint was that the line “Do we even have free will” kind of came out of nowhere, almost like a spoiler with no leadup. It might have been better with a more gradual sense of seeing the strings being tugged this way and that.

  132. Interesting concept. The people were completely oblivious to the strings controling their lives. This is especially creepy because of the following statement:
    How do we know whether or not we are attached to strings?

    Fear the Darkness

    -Nex

  133. This is one of the first creepypastas ive read that actually had a semi-satisfying ending.

    VERY VERY DELICIOUS.

  134. That wasn’t very scary, but it’s definitely better than what’s been showing up recently.
    I don’t know: I would be interested in seeing this as a comic or something, but not really as a story in the horror genre.
    I’d say the only surprising thing about this is the string origins. I believed they were attached to dead people…the strings controlling “free will” was a very unique surprise.

  135. There was little to no thrill factor here. That being said, and all negativity aside, I though it was an excellent short. It was the most original pasta that I’ve seen. I wasn’t too pleased with the story development, but (unlike some of the others here) I did enjoy the ending.

  136. That was the best pasta i’ve read in quite some time. I actually grabbed at my wrists afterwards to see if there were strings or sommat.

      1. Haven’t you heard of the ancient Greek tale to the three fates? Every time they cut a string, a life is lost.

        1. That was used in a really awesome book I read recently and cant remember. Anyone? It was about an older bunch of people in a neighborhood and used the greek references and names…

        2. Anonymous:
          That was used in a really awesome book I read recently and cant remember. Anyone? It was about an older bunch of people in a neighborhood and used the greek references and names…

          Stephen King’s Insomnia?

      1. I think what they meant was less detail about the characters and more about the string. Detail is essential though, idk why they would say less.

  137. OOH! Really good pasta! I Loved it! Very truly creepy! I like it! I kept imagining where I live and I don’t think I got the full effect because I’m sure you didn’t write it from the point of view of my room but it was a very good past! OMNOMNOM!! More please!

      1. I really enjoyed this from a philosophical standpoint. Being ‘tied’ to your daily rituals and blocking out everything else. Refreshing and different from other creepypastas.

        Storywise, it was decent. Some things didn’t get explained and I was able to figure out were the story was going early on. Enjoyed the overall theme, though.

      2. Loved it Tesla! Ever read Insomnia from Stephen King? It reminds me of that story and you should check it out if you havent. Very delicious pasta!

      3. Hello! I’m Riah, and I’m a sophomore in high school. I really love this story, its one of my favorites. I was wondering if me and my friend could make it a short film for our local film festival? We would credit you of course; I just feel like its such a great story to adapt!
        Thank you so much! It’s fine if you don’t want us to.
        – Riah

      1. Size doesn’t matter, and if this was real those creatures wouldn’t be any more evil than you and I. They simply follow routine like the rest. They do seem to feel some pity for all the creatures they tie up but (even though this wasn’t explained in the story) we assume this is more like a job: they tie, we follow.

      2. I wonder two things; first, if those creatures are simply doing their job, then surely they have no free will either. Who’s strings do they follow? Also, the only way Lucy was able to comprehend the strings was only when Martin had pulled her strings; so who, or what, pulled Martin’s strings?

        1. I think he might have accidentally pulled his own strings off somehow, and maybe if so then all of the unexplained and unsolved kidnappings weren’t from someone else’s doing. It was from them detaching their strings and the “worker” things never got around to attaching their strings again? Hm.

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