Creepypasta: Satellite Images

Internet’s gonna get you

Today I am writing to discuss the creepypasta Satellite Images.

I thoroughly enjoyed this creepypasta gives me Hitchcock vibes while also playing into our fear of technology, both things I’ve always enjoyed in my horror. This pasta also gives me very strong nostalgia for when my friends and I would tell each other stories in our teenage years, quite probably due to how it ends.

Summary

The story begins with the narrator explaining that they were in a car accident in the because of this they don’t leave the house very often. They go on to state that they have just learned how to use Google Maps, and this gives them a sense of being outside without actually going outside.

They start notice something peculiar, that being the same person in multiple locations. They first notice a woman in Tokyo and then the next day when they login they find her again in Paris. Though they do admit that as people’s faces are blurred on Google Maps it’s impossible to be sure it’s the same person.

The login again the next day, this time exploring a rundown area of Berlin and find what they think is the same woman again. They suspect that Google is playing a prank on its users, but a quick bit of research dissuade stuff this theory. They get a friend to check they confirm that they can see the lady in Berlin, but they did not see her in Paris or Tokyo. They doublecheck the Tokyo and Paris locations themselves and note that the woman is still at the locations however she has moved in the picture.

The travel now to Brussels, and pick a street at random, firstly don’t notice she is not on the pavement, but a more careful look quickly locates on a balcony. They change locations to Sydney and find her leaning against a wall, they change again to London they find her on a bus. They hopscotch all over the world finding her in Venice, Zürich and Hong Kong. Each time she is in the first random location the narrator picks each time she is staring at the camera.

The narrator starts to panic, not sure what to do. The type in the name of their own town and zoom in on a random street, a little way away from her house and there the woman is again. Again, she is staring directly at the camera. Driven by some morbid fascination they type in the name of their own apartment complex and this time they failed find the woman. However, their relief is short lived as there is a knock at the door. They have a camera setup at their front door when they check it reveals that the woman is there.

My thoughts

I really enjoyed this creepypasta, it gave me Rear Window vibes, most likely due to the badly injured protagonist and the watching of the world around them, seeing things they weren’t meant to see.

I very much enjoyed the fact that nothing is explained, we do not know who this woman is, we do not know what she’s doing, we do not know her intentions, or if she’s even human. Is she some kind of creature? Or is she an AI? Her appearance in the real world at the end of the story indicates that she at least has a material form doesn’t live solely in computers, but then does that mean she is literally everywhere?

I have always been a big fan of less is more, especially in horror, I find that when things are over explained, especially regarding things are supposed to be frightening, then this lessens the fear. This story was impactful because of what we don’t know. It ended in the perfect place, we have no idea what’s happening or what will happen to the narrator and that’s where the tension lies, that’s where the fear is, in the not knowing.

I also like the fact that this story plays on the fear of new technology, whilst in my own life I am a massive fan of technological advancement, it is made the world a much better place in my personal opinion, I will admit to thoroughly enjoying stories about the dangers of technology. Black Mirror is a wonderful series if you also enjoy these types of stories. But again, this is made even more impactful because we simply don’t know what’s actually happening, has the technology created a new creature for us to be afraid of, or has it revealed an ancient one?

Overall, I really enjoyed this creepypasta, I would love to see it continued but fear that if it did then it would be less impactful, as I said above it ended in the perfect place.