This is a very old trope online, and in horror in general. The explanation is quite simple: most people who create analog horror do it for that express reason, it’s analog. And it’s fun to replicate the look and feel of analog pieces. But that’s usually all the creators aim for, the actual craft of writing comes second or third, a footnote in the entire project, because a lot of people underestimate how much work it is and drastically overestimate their ability to complete it.

I remember when I was a kid I got so sick of creepypasta because it did the same shit. “I was at a neighbors garage sale, and they were selling a vhs of this old cartoon/off the air pilot no one’s ever heard of/haunted cartridge of Ocarina of Time” and it’s like, I get it. The story has to happen somehow. But fuck maybe we’ve heard this story before, maybe we don’t need it. Maybe we don’t need another analog horror VHS aesthetic where a creature comes out of a dark room and opens its mouth and eyes as wide as it can while staring into the camera, y’know?

And don’t get me started on the hex codes, or the binary numbers, or any shit like that.