"Void" memes followed meme enthusiasts for a large chunk of 2018, turning innocuous-looking videos into bait-and-switch horror landscapes accompanied by eerie music or high-pitched audio tracks. The meme was reminiscent of good old internet screamers or even the mid-aughts creepypasta trend Zalgo.

Void memes have been having a cultural resurgence lately, so here's a look at the trend's origins.

What Was The First 'Void' Meme?

In May 2017, YouTuber Grymice posted a video titled, "Kanye West Glitch Meme." The clip showed Kanye West being cut off mid-sentence by a datamosh effect, with the screen transitioning to display a red tinted man yelling over a high-pitched audio.

While this was the first instance of the meme in effect, it only came to be dubbed "Void" after a video posted by YouTuber Hibiki Kisaragi, titled, "hey apple. what? ＶＯＩＤ." The clip showed the Annoying Orange meme turning into a "void monster."

How Did The 'Void' Meme Spread?

By July 2018, YouTubers had started collecting and compiling Void memes online, as seen in a July 2018 upload by Peter Gorman.

The Void memes subreddit /r/void_memes was formed in July 2018, and by October of that year, YouTuber Lessons In Meme Culture had posted a video explaining the history of the trend.

What Are 'Void Comics'?

Void Comics are a subgenre of the Void video trend, where Rage Comics, Wojaks and similarly recognizable meme formats devolve into horror imagery. These memes can be traced as far back as February 2018, but did not see widespread popularity until 2020.

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For the full history of void memes, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.