Computer prank

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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 humilate victims. Others involve loss of control of the computer software.

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[edit] Screamers

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 the popular video-sharing network YouTube, altough the later 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 scary picture, which magnifies the fright for the viewer.

[edit] 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..." The boy then begins walking down a city street lined with buildings, accompanied by more Chinese text reading "Walking on the street... / You see..." The first two scenes are accompanied by Utada Hikaru's Japanese song "First Love." 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".

[edit] Subliminal Messages

"Subliminal Messages," also known as "Subliminal Music and Images," has been distributed to many websites since 2002. It requires the reader to analyze pictures, looking for hidden messages in them. After providing two apparently real examples of hidden messages, the animation switches to the text of the Lord's Prayer, and starts playing Cradle of Filth's "Dinner at Deviant Palace" backward very quietly, along with faint noises. The low sound and the small text encourages the viewer to lean in and turn the sound up. In the middle of the song, a loud scream is heard, and five pictures are shown. The first is a picture of a demon face from the movie Dèmoni, this is followed by Pazuzu's face from The Exorcist. The next image is a face from Rotten.com, followed by a picture of a harlequin baby. The last image is a grayscale image of a mummy without wrappings, which fades away, followed by a message, "Never trust flash animations talking about subliminal stuff! Make sure you send this to your friends so they shit their pants like you just did."[1]

[edit] 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.

[edit] The Maze Game

Another popular screamer which achieves a similar effect is "The Maze Game", 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 are not able to complete, regardless of whether or not the user stayed calm when the picture appears.

[edit] 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. On YouTube, after the screamer happens, the ending contains a different message than that of the advert: "Now... Go Change Your Shorts and Get Back to Work!".

[edit] 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.

[edit] Song

"Song" is a screamer on the PSP flash game website psponme.com. When opened, a love song with lyrics starts playing. About halfway through, a piercing scream is heard, along with a picture of Pazuzu from The Exorcist.

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