Computer prank

A computer prank is a prank related to either the software or the hardware of computers. Some are intended to humiliate, while others are comical, but not humiliating. Some pranks are "screamers," which are described by their name. Screamers are intended to frighten and humiliate victims. Others involve loss of control of the computer software.

Many online pranks take the form of Adobe Flash movies in the spirit of a shock site, designed to scare the viewer; these are known as shock flashes, screamers (which vary in length and contain a scream within the movie near the end), or ambush flashes or sabotage flashes (flash movies that deceive the viewer into interacting or watching intently before scaring them). Although Flash is the most prevalent medium for shock animations, animated GIFs and videos are also used. Recently, screamers have also started to appear on YouTube, although the latter can be spotted when users leave comments on the video.

After grabbing the user's attention, the flash is abruptly interrupted by an unexpected image, usually accompanied by a burst of sound, such as a scream or roar. The picture can range from a crude cartoon to an explicitly gruesome image, in which case the shock comes partially from the content of the picture. In most cases, the shock is caused by the combination of a sudden scream and a frightening picture, which magnifies the fright for the viewer. The video will often gain the viewer's attention (Eg. By challenging the viewer to try and spot something so they will stay and search for it so they can see the screamer, or by playing at a low volume so the viewer listens harder or turns up their volume) so as to shock them even more.

creamers

Kikia

Kikia was the first prank flash to be widely spread and thus provide inspiration for other similar creations. It is an example of a flash prank which requires no input from the viewer, but instead depends on the viewer staying interested long enough for the screamer message to appear. It originated on Taiwan's Kimo webhosting service from a person with the online username "Netspooky." The flash begins with peaceful clips of a cartoon boy sitting on a lawn gazing at the sky, accompanied by Chinese text reading "Hasn't it been a long time... / Haven't looked at the sky closely..." that is accompanied by Utada Hikaru's Japanese song "First Love." The boy then begins walking down a city street lined with buildings, accompanied by more Chinese text reading "Walking on the street... / You see..." Suddenly, the flash switches to a screenshot of the game Fatal Frame - a grayscale photograph of a ghost woman - and a piercing scream, ending with the single word "Kikia".

The Red Room

The Red Room video is not a prank as such; it is simply a horror story, albeit one with an unexpected ending. It is a Flash video, entirely in Japanese, about an urban legend called "the Red Room," a popup window that allegedly will result in the death of the viewer if closed. The protagonist in the video searches on the internet for proof of its existence, only for the results to go horribly awry. The "shock" comes after the movie ends, when the Red Room popup appears on the user's desktop and begins acting as seen in the video.

Urban Legends

The Urban Legends flashes are a popular series distributed on the internet, which show mini documentaries providing evidence of the paranormal. They are another example of flashes that require the reader to concentrate on an analysis of the flash. Most, but not all, of the movies usually stop for 5 seconds, then an image of a ghost appears suddenly, accompanied by a very loud scream. "Urban Legends 3: Ghosts" is considered to be the scariest out of the series. It starts off normally, with a warning, and goes on to show ghost photography, ghost videos, and ITC. The first screamer hints to the viewer that ghosts may be haunting their computer monitor. 10 seconds later, a ghost girl pops up very briefly and is usually unseen. The movie continues with ghost EVP, then ends with a picture of an uncleaned room. The author tells the viewer to "LOOK CLOSER!!!!!" and then a loud scream and another ghost girl pops out from the door.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

This type of prank tries to make the viewer stare at a picture of a kitchen and find 8 flaws. In other words, the idea is to make the viewer very interested. But then, after 30 seconds the video switches to a grayscale image of a face without eyeballs and screams with a high pitch.

The Maze Game

Another popular screamer which achieves a similar effect is The Maze Game, a.k.a. the Scary Maze Game. This prank was created by Jeremy Winterrowd, where users try to navigate a dot through 4 simple mazes with their mouse until the possessed face of Regan MacNeil, the principal character of The Exorcist, appears with a high-pitched scream, during a point when players are concentrating intently at a tricky part of the game. Most versions of this screamer are made with another purpose, such as having Britney Spears strip more the further one is into the game. Some do not end if the dot touches the wall before the end of the game. Also, most versions cannot be completed, regardless of whether or not the user stayed calm when the picture appears. A popular, supposedly candid video entitled "evildadpoorkid" is based on the scary maze game. A young kid is playing the game (presumably at the behest of the person recording the video) when the face pops up, which causes him to hit the screen before running away crying. The video has received mixed reaction from the public, some stating it funny, others stating it cruel and may cause psychological scarring.

Ghost Car

A popular commercial mistaken as a screamer is called Ghost Car, which is usually portrayed as a car commercial (it actually is a commercial for K-fee) containing a ghost. Usually, the viewer is asked to look closely for a strange white mist surrounding the car as it goes behind some trees. The video starts with peaceful music and a white car going down a street towards some trees. Once the car passes the trees, a rotting hag-like zombie pops up and screams. What makes the video appear to be just an ordinary commercial is the fact that it is not flash, and that it has a professional feel to it. However, it actually is a real commercial for the K-fee beverage and has been modified on the internet.

See also

*Shock site
*List of internet phenomena
*Internet meme