CRYPTIDS 101: The Rake

Origins:

 Created from user-generated, paranormal stories intended to scare readers (aka: CreepyPasta),  the Rake is a monster depicted as an unusually tall, hairless, pale, humanoid that generally crouches or crawls on all fours.

Creepypasta is a portmanteau of the words creepy and copypasta; the term was coined on the imageboard 4chan around 2007. Copypasta denotes viral, copied and pasted text; this term was coined on 4chan around 2006.

The Rake began as an online collaboration, as many creepypasta characters do, when one user posted on 4chan’s /b/ board inviting others to contribute details for physical attributes and habits to help make a new monster.

Rake cryptid in a Florida swamp

By 2013 creature details and Photoshopped images were being tracked in a blog post form.  Here is the snapshot of the post itself...

"Here’s what we’ve got so far: Humanoid, about six feet tall when standing, but usually crouches and walks on all fours. It has very pale skin. The face is blank. As in, no nose, no mouth. However, it has three solid green eyes, one in the middle of its forehead, and the other two on either side of its head, towards the back. Usually seen in front yards in suburban areas. Usually just watches the observer, but will stand up and attack if approached. When it attacks, a mouth opens up, as if a hinged skull that opens at the chin. Reveals many tiny, but dull teeth."

The name 'Rake' was used due to the idea that the creature drags it's claws along the ground as it moves.

Part of the 2006 origin story hoax would state 2003 as the beginning of witness sightings. The origins would be further embellished with nearly 2 dozen fictitious accounts in order to throw off readers.  These included a suicide note from 1964, a journal entry translated from Spanish dated 1880, and a mariner’s log from 1691.

The most popular account of a Rake encounter involved a woman waking to find the monster sitting at the edge of her bed. The Rake's favorite goal is to creep into bedrooms, induce nightmares, and observe the dreamers for a time before killing them.

Rake vs. Reality:

The problem with the Rake being a hoax is now people are claiming to see the rake in all seriousness.  In one witness account it crept into a dorm room and began to choke a student in their sleep.  It only stopped because a roommate's scream scared it away.

It was most likely a popular trend to claim you witnessed a Rake, but there has been increasing incidents of Rakes being involved in sleep paralysis episodes.  Many experts claim this is just pop culture horror trends entering into our subconscious.  The Rake in essence is becoming the new Boogieman or Old Hag Syndrome, much like the Hat Man.

Either way it seems to have a real terrifying hold on some victims and if they are to believed, the 4chan hoax has manifested into some peoples nightmares and waking reality.

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