Void Memes

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About

Void Memes are remix videos that often transform the subject of a video clip into a red-tinted interdimensional monster accompanied by eerie music or high-pitched audio. The glitch horror editing techniques employed in the videos bear many similarities to Internet screamers and Zalgo memes.

Origin

On May 7th, 2017, YouTuber • Grymice • uploaded a video titled "Kanye West Glitch Meme," in which rapper Kanye West is datamoshed mid-sentence before while high-pitched audio can be heard in the background and the screen turns red over a clip of a man yelling (shown below).

On July 26th, YouTuber Hibiki Kisaragi uploaded a video titled "hey apple. what? ＶＯＩＤ," in which the Annoying Orange character transforms into a void monster (shown below).

Spread

On July 30th, 2018, YouTuber Peter Gorman uploaded a compilation of Void Memes (shown below, left). Over the next year, the video accumulated upwards of 57,000 views and 260 comments. On August 1st, a similar Void Memes compilation was uploaded by YouTuber OnlyRein (shown below, right).

On July 30th, 2018, the /r/void_memes^[1] subreddit was launched as a community for submissions and discussions about the remix videos. On September 29th, Twitter user @bigfunny_ tweeted a video of a young women singing before transforming into a monster (shown below). Within one month, the tweet garnered more than 3,000 likes and 1,000 retweets.

pic.twitter.com/G8ZGnmWsBx
— big funny (@bigfunny_) September 29, 2018

On October 16th, the Lessons in Meme Culture YouTube channel uploaded a video about Void Memes, explaining the history behind the remix videos. On October 18th, Redditor bantanium submitted a post asking about the videos to /r/OutOfTheLoop,^[2] to which Redditor SpaceCuntHentai- identified them as "Void Memes."

Void Comics

Void Comics refers to a subgenre of Void Memes which adds the horror element to Rage Comics, Wojak memes and other comic-type memes. Memes within the subgenre usually rely on a shocking element and subverting the viewer's expectations while preserving the light-hearted elements of the underlying format. The format can be considered a spiritual successor to Zalgo, borrowing some of its elements from it.