Jeff the Killer (lost unedited image of Creepypasta character; date unknown)
A later touched-up version of the "Jeff the Killer" photoshop; used by Killerjeff in his Creepypasta story of the character.
Status: Lost
Jeff the Killer is a Creepypasta character portrayed as a noseless and pale-faced man without eyelids and black loops around his eyes. This character became famous with its image, used as an internet screamer, and over time grew into a widespread Creepypasta. The image is a composite of someone's unedited face of which is unknown, but believed to have once existed on the Internet.
Origins
There are two known widespread versions of the early Jeff the Killer image. The earlier variant uses different eyes and a non-distorted smile compared to the second and more famous edit. Both variants could be seen on numerous Japanese imageboards throughout the mid-2000s before becoming popularized by killerjeff on Newgrounds.
The first known appearances of the earlier picture began with a Japanese media sharing site called "fileman.n1e.jp" by an anonymous user on July 24th, 2005.[1] It was accompanied by the caption "夏の夜の恐怖・・・" (roughly translating to "The fear of summer nights...") and the description "整形前の某有名人・・・" (meaning "A certain celebrity before plastic surgery...").[1] Some of the comments mention seeing the image on other sites, suggesting that there were previous posts.
The image later appeared on other imageboard and forum sites such as gazo05.chbox.jp,[2] gamushara.net,[3] blog.livedoor.jp/warata2ki,[4] pya.cc,[5] and more, along with hundreds of reposts on 2channel (now under the URL of 5ch.net), mainly with the purpose of scaring people.
The first repost on a non-Japanese website was on speedguide.net, dating to October 23rd, 2005.[6] Although the picture was unarchived, the image's name "prettyFace.jpg" aligned with the same image name posted to gamushara. The user behind the post was contacted, confirming the image he posted was the early Jeff variant, and later made a blog post about his experience with the image.[7] Ever since there were no found reposts of the first variation of the image on a western site in that time period.
The second variant of the image that later went on to be used in the Jeff the Killer creepypasta first appeared again on the media sharing site pya.cc by user "omegavolt" on November 16th, 2005.[8]
Theories
On an anonymous imageboard site known as 4chan, some users speculate the still image is a screenshot of a girl's video call from Livestream website, Stickam.[9][10] The story follows the girl who appeared to be unattractive and was autistic.[11] A snapshot of her Livestream mysteriously floated around 4chan's random board, /b/. In the post's captions, the original poster (OP) impersonates the girl asking if they were pretty or requesting to make the photo look more beautiful.[12][13] Eventually, many responders participated in tampering with the picture by progressively making it more repulsive. The OP proceeded to complain about the photoshops as more were made. As a result, the poster left the board.[14]
Another rumor scattered that an additional photo was either attached to her Stickam page or shared privately. It was a photograph of her standing next to a family member, wearing a sweatshirt. One of the first notices of this was on a paranormal post of /x/.[15]
Mr. Mulholland, the person who posted the early variant on pya.cc, claimed it arose from a Japanese video of a middle-aged woman.[16] Considering the photoshops emerged from Japan, and Japan's stickam site did not release until 2006, these claims are dubious at best.
Spread
Posted in November of 2007, a YouTube video entitled NNN臨時放送 featured the later edit around the fourth minute and eleven-second mark.
In August 2008, an internet user named "Killerjeff" posted the image on the Newgrounds forums. In the post, he stated it was a picture of himself.[17]
In October 2008, "Killerjeff" uploaded a video presentation of a Creepypasta based on the character. The video gained popularity beyond 700,000 views over time and got deleted due to copyright claims.
In 2011, a story made by "Killerjeff's" brother, "GamerFuelTV," was submitted to the Creepypasta Wiki.[18]
Debunked Rumor
On April 20th, 2008, the image was commonly believable to originate from a user's sister who committed suicide. On 4chan's random board, /b/, the OP attaches a picture in the post claiming it got taken the final hours before her alleged suicide. Rumor has it she got made fun of on the forums because of her appearance and internet users went on to photoshop the photo. Consequently, she passed away the next day, leaving OP shocked.
During an investigation of the early Jeff the Killer image findings, some users stumbled upon a MySpace account presenting the woman's photo labelled "Katy Robinson." An early version of the image measures back to early 2005 on a Christian parody site, "TrueChristian.com."[19] The woman's actual name is Heather, and she is still alive. Heather insists she has nothing to do with the "Jeff the Killer" images or the bizarre 4chan rumor.
The whereabouts of the images are still unclear, and thus, the origin is still an underlying mystery.
Gallery
Images
An early edit of the infamous "Jeff the Killer" photoshop. Original author unknown.
A screencap of a thread featuring the "Katy Robinson" photo, discussing her alleged cause of death. Debunked years later.
Videos
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Archived Japanese webpage where the first known appearance of the earlier image came from. Retrieved 30 Apr '22
- ↑ Archived Japanese thread displaying the early Jeff image. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Archived Japanese thread where the early Jeff image was posted. Retrieved 2 Jul '22
- ↑ Archived Japanese thread where the early Jeff image was posted. Retrieved 2 Jul '22
- ↑ Archived Japanese thread displaying the early Jeff image. Retrieved 2 Jul '22
- ↑ Archived English thread where the Jeff image (unarchived) and others were posted. Retrieved 2 Jul '22
- ↑ Blog entry of Dr. Jellyfoot detailing his proven encounter with the image in 2005. Retrieved 2 Jul '22
- ↑ Archived Japanese webpage where the final Jeff the Killer image was first uploaded onto. Retrieved 30 Apr '22
- ↑ Archived 4chan thread about the Jeff image came from. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Second archived 4chan post on the Jeff image's origin. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Third archived 4chan post on the Jeff image's origin. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Fourth archived 4chan post on the Jeff image's origin. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Fifth archived 4chan post on the Jeff image's origin. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Sixth archived 4chan post on the Jeff image's origin. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Seventh archived 4chan post on the Jeff image's origin. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Mr. Mulholland's response to the image origins on Twitter. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Sesseur's Newgrounds post featuring the image. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Archived Creepypasta Wiki page on the Jeff the Killer story. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Archived Christian parody website featuring the earliest post of the Katy Robinson image. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ r/OriginalJTKImage Reddit post claiming Jeff's eyes came from an image of a Mr. Potatohead toy. Retrieved 14 Nov '21
- ↑ Second r/OriginalJTKImage Reddit post backing up the claim. Retrieved 14 Nov '21