Restless Figures: Animated Horror Stories as Hypertext

Abstract

Aarseth argues that cybertexts such as hypertexts and adventure games “centers attention on the consumer, or user, of the text, as a more integrated figure than even reader-response theorists would claim” (1). She uses the word “ergodic” to describe the active process and points out that in cybertext, the reader uses “nontrivial effort” “to allow the reader to traverse the text” (Aarseth 1). This paper will argue that online horror stories such as Brian Coldrick’s Behind You and the “Ghost in Masung Tunnel” are a form of ergodic hypertexts. Landow argues in Hypertext 3.0 that hypertexts are noted for their focus on the reader’s interaction with the text and multiple pathways within the text that the readers must navigate (3-4). Interactions include animated illustrations and different spacing, forcing the reader to scroll faster and faster to move forward. Unlike jump scares, which are intended to be sudden but obvious, these animated panels or illustrations are often subtle. Readers are again forced to wait as they scan the page for changes, when the horrors are revealed. Brian Coldrick’s work in Behind You, provides a mixture of very short stories, often not even a full sentence, with a moving image. This combination provides a gap where the reader must watch the animation and tie it back to the text to create their own readings. The visuals and text combine to create a unique experience with the additional component of movement, which still images cannot provide. Other stories such as “Ghost in Masung Tunnel” uses aesthetics of scrolling as a way to combine the “act of doing” to engage readers through online formats.

Bonnie Cross

Tenure Track Professor of English

My research interests include neuroscience and literature, digital humanities, and digital media.