20 Scary Mario Creepypastas That’ll Ruin Your Childhood

Horror expert Sydney Bermudez shares some of the most disturbing creepypastas about Mario and Luigi

Co-authored by Sydney Bermudez and Raven Minyard, BA

Last Updated: April 7, 2026 Fact Checked

If you’re a fan of video game creepypasta, you’ve probably heard of Ben Drowned and Sonic.exe, but did you know there are also a ton of stories inspired by the Super Mario Bros.? And often, the heroic, happy-go-lucky plumber is replaced by something far more sinister… For this article, we partnered with a horror expert to help us explore some of the strangest and spookiest Mario creepypastas out there. Turn off your Nintendo, because these are sure to keep you up at night.

What are the best Mario creepypastas?

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An illustration of several creepy depictions of Mario in various creepypasta.

Horror expert Sydney Bermudez says many popular Mario creepypastas involve corrupted or haunted versions of the games, like “Every Copy of Mario 64 is Personalized.” In others, characters appear as disturbing, distorted versions of themselves. Well-known stories include “MARIO,” “Burning Hatred,” and “Mario ‘85.”

1

MARIO

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In “MARIO,” an unnamed narrator discovers a game hack called “MARIO” and decides to download it. Upon opening the game, he finds a .txt file that reads “find me find me find me find me find me.” He decides to ignore it, but as he plays the game, he comes to realize that’s only the first of the bizarre messages he’ll encounter.

Meet the wikiHow Expert

Sydney Bermudez is a horror and urban legends expert that explores paranormal cases, internet mysteries, and psychological horror. She shares content on TikTok and Instagram to over 400k followers.

2

Mario Dream Team

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In “Mario Dream Team,” Mario becomes trapped inside Luigi’s mind after Luigi is killed. As Mario frantically tries to escape and save his brother, he encounters many disturbing scenes while being hunted by hundreds of distorted, rotting clones of Luigi.^{[1]
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3

Wario Apparition

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“Wario Apparition” is a Super Mario 64 creepypasta in which a giant, disembodied Wario head floats in the hallway to Dire, Dire Docks, saying, “You want fun? Wario [will] show you fun!” That may not sound too scary, but you’d better turn your console off quickly if you see him, as rumor has it you’ll experience negative psychological symptoms if you don’t.^{[2]
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4

Mario ‘85 (MX)

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“Mario ‘85” is a creepypasta in which a boy named Lucas is trapped as Luigi in the video game Mario ‘85 and is tortured by a creature known as MX. According to the story’s lore, MX is a conscious being of pure energy that was created during the Big Bang. It uses humanity’s interest in video games to take the form of Mario and lure unsuspecting victims into the game.^{[3]
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5

Every Copy of Mario 64 is Personalized

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Bermudez says this creepypasta, which plays on the idea of the game changing in unsettling ways, is one of the most popular ones out there.^{[4]
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Sydney Bermudez
Horror Expert

Expert Interview} “Every Copy of Mario 64 is Personalized” is actually a whole category of Super Mario 64 creepypastas that claims the game is programmed with an experimental “personalization AI” that creates new characters, courses, and other content depending on who is playing the game. The AI supposedly adapts to each player’s desires and studies their reactions.
- According to Bermudez, “[These] stories are popular because they twist nostalgic games into something creepy.”^{[5]
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6

Super Mario World 666

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“Super Mario World 666” follows a protagonist named William, who buys a copy of Super Mario World, only for the home screen text to read “Super Mario World 666.” Mario has pitch-black eyes with glowing red irises, and after level 1, the characters are transported to a level named “HELL.” It soon becomes clear that Mario is no longer the happy plumber we’ve all come to love. Instead, he’s something much more sinister.^{[6]
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7

Burning Hatred/I Hate You

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Bermudez says this popular creepypasta involves Luigi and a corrupted version of Mario.^{[7]
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Sydney Bermudez
Horror Expert

Expert Interview} In “Burning Hatred/I Hate You,” the protagonist discovers an alternate ending to Super Mario World. After clearing a level, a whirlpool appears and carries Mario to a new, unnamed level in which he faces off against Luigi, who is secretly working with Bowser. Things get even more disturbing after Mario defeats Luigi.^{[8]
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8

The Mario Murders

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“The Mario Murders” follows Riley Lambert, a serial killer who notoriously wears a Mario suit. He grew up isolated and entitled and was obsessed with the Mario games. In college, he develops an obsession with and begins to stalk a woman named Mia, who resembles Princess Peach. After being beaten by Mia’s boyfriend, Riley becomes permanently disfigured and withdraws from society. Years later, Riley returns to get his revenge on Mia, her boyfriend, and the boyfriend’s fraternity brothers.^{[9]
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9

Super Mario 64 – Damned

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“Super Mario 64 – Damned” follows an unnamed protagonist who buys a copy of Super Mario 64 with his girlfriend, despite being warned that the game has been returned several times for being “evil.” The game begins to glitch almost immediately and starts emitting strange screeching sounds. The narrator then notices figures hanging from the castle’s tower, and things only get more disturbing from there.

10

The Very Hungry Plumber

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“The Very Hungry Plumber” is supposedly a YouTube Poop video from 2013. The video parodies the game Hotel Mario, making sexual comments about Princess Peach and depicting graphic violence and other disturbing scenes that imply Mario is a cannibal.^{[10]
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11

Paradise

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In “Paradise,” the protagonist discovers a knockoff Mario game called Detective Mario, in which the player must help Mario solve cases throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. The narrator recalls a mysterious house that could not be entered, unlike all the other houses in the game. After beating the game, they return to the house and unlock a bizarre scene in which a Toad character accuses Mario of the very thing he’s trying to solve—murder.^{[11]
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12

HATE.

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“HATE.” follows an unnamed narrator who downloads a game called Hotel Mario, but an AI infinitely extends it. After playing the full game, the final cutscene loops before cutting to an AI image of Luigi, who says, “Mario, something doesn’t feel right.” As the narrator continues to play the AI-generated levels of the game, the game gets more and more disturbing. Will it ever end, or is it truly stuck in an infinite loop?^{[12]
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13

Bootleg Mario Web-Game

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“Bootleg Mario Web-Game” follows an unnamed narrator who loves exploring the deep web. He stumbles upon an HTML version of Super Mario Bros. and starts playing the game. The game is really glitchy and suddenly changes into first-person mode. As weird images and text begin to appear, the narrator begins to wonder what, exactly, he downloaded.^{[13]
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14

Turtlejumper

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“Turtlejumper” explains the plot and gameplay of a video game called Turtlejumper, an alternate version of Mario. Instead of playing as Mario, you play as a robot who makes his way through various factories, slowly becoming human as you progress through the levels. It’s only after defeating the final boss that the game becomes disturbing, showing cryptic messages and eerie, depressing images of the workers who created the game.^{[14]
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15

Blood Whistle

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“Blood Whistle” is a Super Mario Bros. 3 creepypasta told through the blog posts of a college student playing a modified version of the game on his computer. Shortly after posting his last entry, the student committed suicide in his dorm room. What disturbing images could he have seen in the game to lead to such a tragedy?^{[15]
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16

Burnt Luigi

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“Burnt Luigi” follows an unnamed narrator who comes across a haunted copy of Super Mario 64 and activates a hidden Easter egg that summons a grotesque, flame-scarred version of Luigi. As cryptic phrases begin appearing on-screen, the player begins to suspect there may be a disturbing consciousness behind the glitch.

17

Mario Prototype: 2014

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In “Mario Prototype: 2014,” Nintendo employee Steven Thomson makes a living by turning bootleg games into real Nintendo games. Things go awry when he realizes a forbidden, unfinished game has gotten into the hands of the public. Instead of returning the game to headquarters, he decides to play it. As he makes his way through the levels, he realizes a strange image of Mario is following him, becoming more and more distorted with each level. But surely it can’t follow him into the real world… right?^{[16]
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18

The Mascot Massacre

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“The Mascot Massacre” is told through the blog posts of a girl named Lacy, whose brother, Giles, was kidnapped by “The Mascot,” a mysterious serial killer who wears various mascot costumes, like Mario and Mickey Mouse. After receiving a disturbing VHS tape from the kidnapper, Lacy sets out to find her brother, not knowing her decision will lead to her own death…^{[17]
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19

The Entity in Red

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In “The Entity in Red,” the narrator is super excited when he gets his hands on a new copy of Mario Clash, one of his favorite childhood video games. However, when he reaches the Bonus Chance, and the game starts glitching. A distorted image of Mario appears, and the narrator immediately feels like he’s in danger. Things take a turn for the worse when Mario’s face is replaced with a single word: “run.”^{[18]
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20

Scared Purple

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In “Scared Purple,” the narrator discovers a free game called Purple Luigi’s Mansion, which is supposed to be a scarier version of Luigi’s Mansion. Everything in the game is tinted purple, and the narrator soon realizes there’s something… off about the characters’ appearances. When the narrator restarts the game after it freezes, a distorted, purple Luigi appears with the text “Why would you do this?” The narrator thinks the game gave his computer a virus, but something even more supernatural might be at play…^{[19]
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- Just getting into creepypasta? Check out our “Scariest Creepypasta” article for some truly terrifying recommendations.