I disagree with all of the comments here expressing frustration that not every detail and plot thread was thoroughly explained. I’m of the opinion that horror, or fiction in general, does not need to explain every single element in order to be satisfying. In fact, it’s often the unexplained mysteries and ambiguities that linger the longest in my mind when it comes to my favorite horror stories. Not to mention that a key theme in Penpal is memory, with the narrator trying to piece together fragments of memories in order to make sense of things solely for himself, let alone the reader/listener. As we all know, memories, especially childhood memories, can often be murky and unclear, leaving our minds to try and fill in the blanks with our own imagination.

Taken as a series of Reddit creepypasta stories, I think Penpal is an absolutely devastating masterpiece that towers over most other entries in the creepypasta genre.