Show Notes
The Ghost Story You Heard Was Stolen
In this episode, we uncover the true origins of internet horror, the community that built it, and the legal battle over stolen stories. Discover how a simple pact on Reddit led to a new form of horror and why the Copyright Act of 1976 became central to a dispute that silenced millions.
Event: r/nosleep shutdown Date: February 24th Community Size: Fourteen million subscribers Legal Basis: Copyright Act of 1976 Platform: Reddit
- r/nosleep opened on March 24, 2010, with a rule that everything posted was true. - The community grew to nearly fourteen million subscribers over fourteen years. - Stories like "The Spire in the Woods" and "Penpal" originated there. - YouTube channels with millions of subscribers read these stories without author permission. - Copyright attaches to a creative work the moment it is fixed in a tangible medium, like a Reddit post.
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