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Willkommen zu Der Dunkel



Estimated reading time — 2 minutes

I’m trapped in a nightmare.

It’s dark all around me. Even though there’s a lamp shining next to me, I’m still suffocating in the complete darkness. I’ve never felt so isolated in my life, yet I know…

I know that I’m not alone.

Outside, the sun is high in the sky. It’s taunting me. Mocking me. I see it shining in the heavens, but somehow it’s still dark here. I can see so very little, no more than five feet in front of me. It’s as much of a curse as it is a blessing. Lights glow, but don’t illuminate anything. I can just barely discern the movement of something traveling on four legs from my peripheral vision.

I don’t know where to run. No sense of location is left in me. I’m utterly lost. A feeling of complete helplessness engulfs me. I wish I’d never woken up this wretched morning.

Trapped in oblivion. It’s repeated over and over in my head. I hear claws scrape against the pavement not far away. I’ve been wandering outside for god only knows how long now, practically welcoming my death. My only hope at this point is that whatever is stalking me makes quick work of my demise.

It appears I’ve stumbled into a dead end. Footsteps echo behind me. As I turn around, all I can make out is two luminescent glowing red eyes. I thought I couldn’t be any more afraid than I already was. My heart is beating so fast that my body feels hot.

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Closer. It’s getting closer and closer, snarling at me, bearing what I’m sure are its teeth. Something is dripping from its maw. Finally it steps before me and I know my hell is soon to end.

The beast lurches forward and holds me in a god like vice. Cold blood runs from my neck, cooling my overheated body. The pain is indescribable, but I’m sure it’ll all be over soon. I clench my eyes shut as tight as I can, my teeth grind as I try to ignore the sounds of my flesh being torn from my body.

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Suddenly I spring forward, my eyes still closed. Only a fragment of the pain remains, and I feel a familiar fabric in my gripping fists. It’s my blanket. Finally I can open my eyes. It’s still night outside, but I’m so joyful that the experience was all in my mind. I pull the switch on my bedside lamp, eager to bathe in light once again.

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My heart sinks. The lamp glows, but my room is still dark.

I’m trapped in a nightmare.


Credited to Poizn.

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87 thoughts on “Willkommen zu Der Dunkel”

  1. I liked how the beginning was the end and vice versa. For me, it wasn’t necessarily the demon dog that creeped me out, but the suffocating darkness in spite of the light and the thought that the horror might never end.

  2. Ok. The box that your moms’ fridge came in is a fun place to play. When it fell over, you should have just crawled out! Do I always have to be the brains of this operation?!

  3. lolol, I\’m afraid that you really are wrong, as everyone has been trying to tell you. The correct way would be to say \"Willkommen in der Dunkelheit\".

    Anyway, why use German when you can use French?

    Bienvenue à l\’obscurité!

  4. And thus it degenerated into a mindless arguement over whether or not the title was appropiate. Good story otherwise.

    Fürchten Sie die Finsternis

    -Schlachten

  5. Pretty good, but I noticed something lame.. After it has been established that it’s an animal, there’s the comment ‘Footsteps echo behind me.’ Meh.

  6. CarolynBoBarolyn

    I don’t leave many messages, but I love reading pastas, and this is one of the best. It’s not so creepy, just more “Fuck, I hate that!”

    One of my favorites. Definitely a cliche subject, but you represented it in a great way.

  7. > It’s German and it means “Welcome to the dark”.

    No, it’s gibberish and means “I am trying to use a language I don’t actually know.” :-P

    (That aside, why even use a language that has no relevance to the story at all?)

  8. I like the idea behind this pasta, although it’s generally sound practise to avoid having the title in a different language; I could see no connection between the pasta itself and Germany or the German language, and so it came off as an attempt to be “artsy.”

    Furthermore, the language in the story seemed a bit overwrought… not to mention that I really don’t think anyone sits up immediately when waking, even from a nightmare.

    Overall: nice idea, questionable execution, bitchy commenters. Damn, you guys.

  9. I asked my German friend.

    Darkest: Hey dude…
    DarkestMirrored: Whats this translate into, and, if it’s incorrect, how do you properly say it?
    Willkommen zu Der Dunkel
    Lynneth L, d, Serpentas: welcome to the dark
    it’s also wrong grammar
    should be ‘Willkommen zu dem Dunkel’

  10. Hello.

    What a great lot of fools.

    Especially for such unbecoming behavior over so uninspiring a tale.

    Over such paltry things humans will approach violence to assert superiority, yet over the greatest of matters you become worthlessly subservient.

    A great lot of fools.

    Mr. Welldones last blog post..On Curiosity

  11. So, can this shitstorm be over now?

    When I originally posted this on the creepypasta forums, I did state that the gender of Dunkel was only a guess, and that I would’ve appreciated a correction if one need be made. Unfortunately, this story went broadly unnoticed (Most of mine seem to, despite generally good reviews by those who read them) and I received no correction. I didn’t expect this to get on the main site (In fact, this story was written and posted months ago) otherwise I would’ve tried a little bit more to get a correct title.

    Let’s call this over, and agree on one thing. Ganado is a dick. =D

  12. “German is used because every word sounds like your yelling bloody murder at someone and plan to rip off their head.”

    I officially pity all those poor German writers who have wasted away their lives writing down all their yells of bloody murder.

  13. Dammit lolol, I am 24 years old, I live in Germany and work as a journalist. I love my native language. I have been learning English for… I guess 8 years now. And you should believe me that “Willkommen zu der Dunkel” is simply wrong, there’s no room for any type of discussion.

    You are right that “zu” and “in” are _sometimes_ replaceable, but not always. And the fact is also, that the problem with the title is not about “in” or “zu”, but with “Dunkel”. First, it’s “das Dunkel”, not “der Dunkel”. Additionally, no German speaker would ever (ever!!) say “Willkommen zu/in das Dunkel”. Even a “Willkommen zu/in dem Dunkel” (which would be correct German) would let Germans staring at you, because it is -as I said ovar ninethousand times before- wrong.

    It’s “Willkommen in der Dunkelheit” or “Willkommen zur Dunkelheit”. Nothing else. I promise.

    Und um dir zu beweisen, dass ich der deutschen Sprache mit Sicherheit mächtiger bin, als du es je sein wirst, schreibe ich jetzt einen vollkommen korrekten Satz in meiner Muttersprache, eben jenen hier. Deutsch ist eine schwere Sprache, darüber muss man nicht diskutieren, aber wenn ich dich darüber aufkläre, was du falsch machst, dann solltest du zumindest in der Lage sein, diese Kritik auch als nützlich zu empfinden.

    Disregard that, i suck cocks. :)

  14. @Chandra: After checking the Gender, I see that you are correct in saying that Das dunkel is neuter, but zu is still just as acceptable a preposition as in.

    @ aSak: Both of them are correct. I’m not telling you that the one you prefer is wrong, I’m telling you that the phrase poizn used is correct, even though he had some Gender issues with the translation. I know I’m right because when my school had a bunch of German kids over for a German extange program, there were posters all over the place with the phrase “Wilkommen zum SPVH” as well as “Wilkommen in SPVH”. They’re both correct but you’re wrong in the sence that you think his phrase was incorrect.

    @Grey: That’s some fail logic because I’m German to. It’s like saying your baby knows French because its Mother was French.

  15. justthesweetweather

    Wow so much turmoil over this title, can we calm down chidluns?

    Anyways, not a bad pasta at all, it’s extremely well-written compared to other and the end has that “ice water flooding your chest” kind of feeling.
    Good job. :]

  16. German is used because every word sounds like your yelling bloody murder at someone and plan to rip off their head.

    Also, “Welcome to the Dark” sounds totally correct to me.

  17. @lolol:
    “Willkommen zum Deutschland” is just as wrong (“Welcome to the Germany”…”Willkommen in Deutschland”). Even when the dark is a place, like here, Willkommen zu Der Dunkel is wrong. “Zu” is the wrong preposition for Willkommen, and even if, Dunkel is neuter, das Dunkel, Willkommen im Dunklen would be correct.
    I think Geman tends to be used in “creepy” English stories sometimes because it may allude to romantic (as in 19th century romantic, i.e. Shelley’s Frankenstein)…I recall an X-Files episode called “Die Hand, die verletzt” and another called “Unruhe”.

  18. @Grey: Then this pasta was obviously not for you. His German was correct, even though there was a chance that it was accidental. Just because you think the phrase “Wilkommen in der dunkel” is the correct phrase doesn’t make it the only phrase. and by the way, I speak it to, and so does lolspool apparently.

    @lolspool: I loled.

  19. @lolol: I do know what language it is in and I do speak the language. It’s just that it doesn’t fit to the story to have a German title and that the title sounds like a four year old has written it.

    @Poizn: Your German is gruesome and hurts my nipples!

  20. CHANGE the fucking title already!

    “Willkommen in der Dunkelheit” oder “Willkommen im Dunkeln” . “Willkommen zu Der Dunkel” contains at least three mistakes and makes this otherwise good story look stupid.

  21. This creepy pasta made my soulless black existence and my icy, shriveled heart an illness of decrepit hatred and sorrow. Woohoo for being emo!

  22. @Grey:

    Ich kann Deutsch sprachen. Ich bin nicht toll, aber ich bin gut. Du kannst deiner selbst ficken gehen. =D

    Also: Lol’d hard at Lamp and Marie.

  23. @aSak (look, you guys made me do 3 comments…asshats): zu and in have interchangable meanings. And besides, he said the phrase with the intention of making the Dark a place. Like when you say “Wilkommen zum Deutschland” except that he’s replacing the word for Germany with Dark. It’s all about similes and metaphores and other English writing terms that I don’t care enough about to explain further. So let me comment to your showing off with some “German” of my own. Du bist fail.

  24. @ GrayGanado: I hate it when people try to look cool by pointing out useless facts about a story like the fact that the title is in a language that isn’t English. It’s German and it means “Welcome to the dark”. See, you learned something today.

  25. I’m sorry but my lack of sympathy makes it almost impossible for me to enjoy a pasta that doesn’t make me the main character. (my self esteem could’ve helped either.) It isn’t you personally, it’s just that the question “How does this pertain to me?” keeps me from thinking this as creepy. The story telling technique and the irony at the end was great, but I personally didn’t get anything out of it. All I can say to a pasta like this is……Sucks to be that guy.

  26. Uhm, this was a good idea, a really good one in fact. It was well written in a simple format, though I think what was missing was the heart in it? You know, like it didn’t really give off the feeling that it was trying to portray.
    More detail, more one word sentences, and description would have done a lot better.

    The attack was brief, so it didn’t give off any feeling whatsoever to the reader.

    But! I love the plot!

  27. I hate it when people want to look cool by using a language they don’t speak nor understand. Especially when the language doesn’t even relate to the story.

  28. I like. :3 It probably would have been scary if the room that I’m in wasn’t bright and CaramellDansen wasn’t playing. But I still twitched a little

  29. Sir Shoop Woopington

    most “good”pastas lately have had good story and whatnot but then fudged the ending
    you didnt make that mistake, wonderful job

  30. It was all right… Kind of common, the writing style, and possibly the concept. It wasn’t very creepy. But it’s more well-written than others.

  31. “Willkommen zu Der Dunkel” isn’t correct. It’s the word-by-word translation of the sentence “Welcome to the dark”, but as a native German speaker I’d prefer to read “Willkommen in der Dunkelheit” (“…to the darkness”) or something like that.

    Also: WHO WAS NIGHTMARE?

    aSaks last blog post..Left 4 Dead – Interview with a Zombie

    1. Thank you for the clarification. When I read the title, my brain decided that phonetically it was close enough, and therefore would be taken with as much seriousness, as “Welcome to the Jungle.”

  32. Nice stuff, it seemed more theatrical than some of the other pastas here, like we were watching it on the silver screen as opposed to being in it.

  33. Excellent work on this pasta, kudos to the writer. I’ve not only had dreams that cycle, which can be creepy enough, but imagine the utter confusion I’ve felt when I had a dream in my dream….in my dream…etc.
    Might be nice to see a pasta about something like that
    (hint,hint)

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