It’s impossible to read the news now without hearing about viruses. As one
pandemic runs its course, there are menacing headlines about others possibly cropping up.
But as you browse the internet, you may come across people talking about something called
“X-Virus”. Is this a new and deadly plague making its way over from unknown quarters?
No, X-Virus isn’t a virus at all - but it may be no less terrifying.
No one knows where X-Virus came from, but he introduced himself to us in a
short story that began circulating around the internet. But the strange thing is,
X-Virus doesn’t seem creepy at first - he’s a little boy. One who had a rough life and maybe,
just maybe, will finally find the friend he needs. Sounds cheery enough, right?
Why has X-Virus captured the attention of creepypasta fans everywhere?
And could he have ties to one of the most notorious monsters in internet history?
X-Virus wants you to know his story - he started out as a boy named Cody, and he
describes himself as an unwanted kid. He never knew his father, who likely abandoned the family,
but at least he had his mother, right? Wrong! His mother was a career criminal, and was hardly fit
for raising a child. She would go out to commit crimes - the young Cody never described what they
were - and left Cody alone. He would sit at home, waiting for her to come back - sometimes days,
but eventually even for weeks at a time alone. Cody never had any friends, and being alone
was a way of life for him - until one day, there was a knock on the door. It was a social worker.
Would things start looking up for Cody?
It was clear to the social worker that Cody’s mother wasn’t fit to take care of him,
and so he went into the custody of the state. They took Cody to a group home, where he hoped
he would be able to start fresh, far away from his traumatic upbringing. He even looked forward
to making some friends. But it wasn’t to be. From the moment Cody arrived at the orphanage,
everything went wrong. He was ostracized by the other kids, and felt intimidated by them.
He was too scared to talk to anyone, so he just sat on a chair and stared at them. It was just
like being in his old home - although he was surrounded by people now, he was still alone.
Then, one day, he was told to pack by the people at the orphanage. Where was he going now?
For once, it didn’t seem like bad news! Cody was going to be adopted! He was surprised,
as parents usually favored younger kids and he was already thirteen years old. He thought of
himself as a weirdo, and couldn’t believe a set of parents wanted him. But the adoption papers
were signed, and he was taken away to meet his new family. And when he approached his new home,
he couldn’t believe his eyes. It was a mansion, the biggest home he had ever seen!
But all wasn’t as it seemed inside Cody’s new home.
Cody was given his own room, much nicer than he had ever had, but once more he was living
all alone. Then, one day, he was introduced to the man who adopted him. He was a scientist,
the head of a major laboratory specializing in microbiology. He studied the behavior of
dangerous viruses, and his job kept him very busy. He wouldn’t be spending much time at home,
and Cody immediately worried that he would be left alone just like he had been with
his mother. Cody would do anything to keep that from happening again,
so he tried to win his new father’s favor. He expressed interest in the scientist’s work,
and volunteered to help him with his work in the lab. Soon, Cody’s adoptive father began opening
up to him, explaining to the curious boy what his work was about and how dangerous a virus could be.
Cody was about to find out first-hand.
Cody had a chance at a normal life, going to school with other kids, but his social troubles
continued. He never fit in, and preferred to spend his time in his adoptive father’s lab.
He started keeping a work journal, where he kept his personal sketches and formulas.
The years went on, and by the time Cody was 17 he was an expert in viruses.
But his father kept a close eye on him and never let him experiment on his own,
only allowing him to assist in planned tests. But Cody was getting more and more curious.
He decided it was time to start his own experiments.
Cody had designed his own custom viruses and compounds, and he wanted to know what they
would do when injected into a living being. So he started gathering test subjects, mostly rats
and other small animals. He would inject them, and they would die soon after - confirming how
dangerous the viruses he used were. But it was how they died that intrigued Cody most.
In the moment before death, they would let out a horrible high-pitched noise,
almost like their lungs were about to explode. Cody wondered what caused this.
He wondered what noise a human would make if it happened to them.
Cody started thinking about how he could find out. He didn’t have any friends at
school - when he talked to kids about his work with viruses, they were disturbed and stopped
talking with him. He knew he would have to act alone, so Cody waited until his father
was away. He took a lethal virus and filled up a syringe with it. He was going hunting,
but he knew he couldn’t let himself be seen. He needed to disguise himself.
And so Cody disappeared...and something new and terrible was born.
He dressed in a black jacket and jeans, and took his old baseball bat out of the basement.
Finding a jar with rusty nails in it, he nailed them to the bat,
turning it into a deadly weapon. Finally, he put on an old gas mask and a pair of protective
goggles. He was ready to kill, and went to a neighborhood very different from his own.
It was full of old, run-down houses - very much like the one he grew up in. He wasn’t looking for
anyone in particular - any house would do, as long as there was someone alive inside.
He kicked down the door, and the horror was about to begin.
Cody swung like a professional, targeting people one by one in his murder spree.
They weren’t expecting an attack, and no one in the house stood a chance.
Finally, there was only one left - a middle-aged man who Cody tied up.
As soon as the man was trapped, Cody injected him with the virus and watched,
waiting for his darkest questions to be answered. First, the man stayed still, terrified. Then he
started groaning, louder and louder. He sounded like an animal as he moaned, the life leaving
him - until he fell on the floor dead. Cody had his answer, and he knew he couldn’t stop now.
But he had been discovered.
Cody’s adoptive father was waiting for him, angry that his son had snuck out. But Cody
wasn’t worried - his father was a scientist just like him. He would understand, right? Cody opened
up to his father, explaining about his experiments and how he had finally lived his dream of snuffing
out a human life. He was excited - maybe he and his father would work together on more experiments
like this! But his father was horrified! He couldn’t believe what his son had become,
and he looked at Cody with the same look of disgust Cody had seen from
his classmates so many times. He knew what he had to do - call the police.
It was the last move he would ever make.
Cody leaped up and smashed his father’s head with the deadly bat, killing him quickly.
He took his father’s ID badge for the lab and ran. He knew what he was looking for - supplies
that could help him live his passion. He took as many samples of deadly viruses as he could,
along with enough syringes to hold them all. He knew he had to run, but the lure of that dingy old
neighborhood was calling him. He wanted to test out his new wares on some unexpecting victims.
One by one, he paid a visit to different homes and watched as people died horribly.
The police would have heard about this by now, and Cody knew he had to hide.
He went into the woods, where he thought he would be alone. But he wasn’t.
He wasn’t even the only strange boy in these woods. Then one day a figure approached him,
wearing orange glasses and what looked like a muzzle. While Cody carried a bat with nails,
this new boy carried a pair of axes. They viewed each other cautiously, but eventually the new
boy approached Cody. He told Cody he didn’t need to fear him, and introduced himself as
Toby. As Toby asked him his name, Cody knew he had found a friend, even a blood brother,
for the first time. And he also knew it was time for a new name that reflected what he had become.
X-Virus.
Who is Toby, and are there two kid serial killers out there tormenting people with axes,
spiked bats, and deadly viruses? Well, we hope not! But as for who X-Virus’ new friend is, that’s
a complicated question in itself. X-Virus isn’t just a creepypasta - he’s part of a crossover.
Toby, or Ticci-Toby as he’s better known, is one of the most famous creepypastas himself.
Another boy with a dark past who had dealt with abusive parents and trauma from a car crash,
he eventually became a killer himself. He was presumed dead in a fire,
but the truth was more complicated. Because Toby had become a proxy.
A proxy killer for one of the most notorious internet monsters of all time - Slenderman.
A gangly, white-skinned monster wearing a black suit, he’s notorious for stalking
and abducting people and has appeared in hundreds of works of fiction. He
even had a video game and a movie based around him. But he’s all fiction, right?
Well, that depends on how you look at it.
Slenderman is so popular that while the original creature may have been a work of fiction by
Something Awful forums user Eric Knudsen, he’s taken on a life on his own. Photoshopped pictures
tie him to real-life abduction, the mythology is spread to unaware teenagers, and real crimes have
occurred because of his legend. In Wisconsin, two preteen girls attempted to murder their
friend as a sacrifice to Slenderman. The victim, Payton Leutner, survived and both her attackers
were sent to mental institutions. Unlike most creepypastas, Slenderman almost had a body count.
The would-be killers were children - just like X-Virus and Ticci-Toby.
But where did X-Virus come from? That’s a complicated question. Like many creepypastas,
there is no obvious source and most people read X-Virus’ manifesto when it’s reposted
on the internet by random people. The original story can be traced to Spanish-speaking artist
MamaPorcupine, who initially posted it on her Twitter and drew fanart of X-Virus and
Ticci-Toby on Deviantart. But the characters have taken on a life of their own, with hundreds of
stories about them written by other creators and posted around the internet. X-Virus may
have originated as a random scary story, but he spread regardless of his creator’s plans.
Just like a virus.
For more on the most famous creepypasta of all time,
why not watch “How a Meme (Slenderman) Became Real” or check out this video instead.