Words You Must Never Search
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About
Words you must never search, also known as "Keywords you must never Google," is a list of search engine keywords that are directly associated with shock sites and other undesirable media.
Origin
The indexing of "words you must never search" (Japanese: 検索してはいけない言葉), or "keywords you must never Google" (Japanese: ググってはいけない言葉) on the Japanese web began as a compilation of individual threads discussing all sorts of NSFW content and shock sites on the anonymous text board community 2channel. While discussions of shock sites, gory media and computer viruses have occasionally taken place on 2channel's /news4vip/[1] board since late 2007, the first prototype list of "words you must never search" was started on 2channel's /occult/[2] (paranormal & spiritual phenomenon) board in January 2008 and continued to be updated until 2012.
Spread
These keywords compiled in /occult/ board threads had been increasing its online presence by affiliated blogs; blogs which summarize 2channel's threads to generate money via Amazon affiliate program or Google Adsense. Additionally, these keywords have been compiled in Naver matome pages[3] and videos on YouTube[4] and the Japanese video sharing service Nico Nico Douga[5] where several videos have been watched over a million times. There is also a wiki dedicated to compiling these keywords[6]. Several online encyclopedic articles have been created about these keywords.[7][8] Japanese internet users often share these blog posts and videos on social networking services, mainly Twitter, and are sometimes simply spread word-of-mouth.
In the Media
In the Japanese mass media, the "Words you must never search" fad is treated like an urban legend. It has sometimes been included in articles about scary rumors by gossip magazines. Several books and magazines dedicated to these keywords have been occasionally released since 2009 (shown below).
Categorization and Trauma Levels
Note: The following rule was created to avoid directly linking the content to the keywords when introducing them. Because of this, users often note what category the content falls under and how traumatic it could be, as well as including a brief description of what it is.
List of Categories
Note: This table is a translated rendition of the original tables provided in Japanese.
The Seven Levels of Trauma
Note: This table shows how traumatic the content is rated on a scale of 1 to 7, with 7 being the most severe (Original Japanese Table).
Notable Examples
The List
| Keyword (Romanized) |
English Translation | Category | Lv. | Search Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2girls1cup | - | Gore | 5 | 2 Girls 1 Cup |
| 愛の妖精ぷりんてぃん (Ai No Yousei Printyn) |
Printyn The Angel Of Love | Denpa | 1 | Very spiritual web page by a Japanese old lady |
| 赤い部屋 完全版 (Akai Heya Kanzenban) |
Red Room Complete Edition | Jump scares | 4 | A parody site of the famous interactive Flash animation adaptation of the urban legend “Red Room” (赤い部屋)[9] |
| アナゴさん (Anago-San) |
- | lolz | 1 | Vast amounts of voice samples of Anago-san from the Japanese TV anime Sazae-san. |
| あたしはもうお嫁にいけません (Atashi Wa Mou Oyome Ni Ikemasen) |
I Can’t Marry Anymore | Mind Crasher | 3 | Title of a traumatic illustration by a Japanese illustrator Yuko Tachibana |
| Brian Peppers | - | Deformities | 2 | Brian Peppers |
| チャージマン研! (Chājiman KEN!) |
Chargeman Ken! | lolz | 1 | Chargeman Ken! |
| チェチェンの首切り (Chechen no Kubikiri) |
Chechen Guillotines | Gore | 5 | A snuff film of Chechen soldiers killing a Russian captive |
| クレイジーゴースト | Crazy Ghost | Jump scares | 4 | Scary pictures of a lady well-used in old jump scare flash videos. She's also known as the Red-Eyed Lady |
| ディルレヴァンガー (Dirlewanger) |
Dirlewanger | Gore | 4 | Username of a cat killer, filed as a Japan Animal Cruelty Case in 2002[10] |
| 恵方巻き (Ehō Maki) |
Fortune Roll | Mind Crasher | 3 | Hissu Amoto San / Airmoto |
| exe ファイル 捨てたい (Exe File Sutetai) |
Remove Exe Files | Computer Damage | 4 | Malware that will leak your personal information |
| グリーン姉さん (Green Neesan) |
Sister Green | Gore | 4 | Photo of a decomposing corpse |
| ハッピーセット スポンジボブ | Happy Set Spongebob | lolz | 1 | Insane Set |
| ハラハラ | Harahara | Mind Crasher | 2 | Hissu Amoto San / Airmoto |
| 蓮コラ (Hasukora) |
Lotus Collages | Gore | 4 | Photoshopped photos of people (esp. women) with lotus pod holes on their bodies |
| 8月32日 (Hatigatsu Sanjū Ninichi) |
August 32nd | Horror | 1 | Scary glitches in 1998 video game Boku no Natsuyasumi[11] |
| ひとりかくれんぼ (Hitori kakurenbo) |
One-Man Hide and Seek | Horror | 4 | One-Man Hide and Seek / Hide and Seek Alone |
| イケメン トラウマ (Ikemen Torauma) |
Good-looking guy Trauma | Gore | 3 | A scary picture of a boy with a long tongue |
| イキグサレ (Ikigusare) |
Fresh-looking but rotten | Deformities | 2 | Virtual idol group of deformed girls |
| 淫夢 (Inmu) |
Lewd Dream | Abnormal Fetishes | 1 | A midsummer night’s lewd dream |
| 淫乱テディベア (Inran Teddy Bear) |
Nympho Teddy Bear | Abnormal Fetishes | 2 | Gay porn video of a hairy fat man |
| イルカの夢でさようなら (Iruka No Yume De Sayounara) |
Goodbye with a Dolphin’s Dream | Horror | 3 | Interactive horror story that progresses by killing a girl |
| JAL123 | - | Gore | 3 | Pictures of horrific crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123[12] |
| 樹海のおとしもの (Jukai No Otoshimono) |
Lost Items In The Sea Of Trees | Gore | 4 | Pictures of suicides’ belongings left in Aokigahara, known as the suicide forest[13] |
| ジングルベル 逆再生 (Jungle Bell Gyakusaisei) |
Reversed Jingle Bell | Jump scares | 3 | Jump scare Flash movie |
| 暗い日曜日 (Kurai Nichiyoubi) |
Gloomy Sunday | Mind Crasher | 2 | A depressing song known as the 1933 Hungarian suicide song[14] |
| 黒い太陽 731 (Kuroi Taiyō 731) |
Black Sun 731 | Preposterousness | 3 | 1988 Hong Kong-Chinese horror movie that used real corpses called Men Behind the Sun[15] |
| クソみそテクニック | Kusomiso Technique | Abnormal Fetishes | 1 | The original manga title of Yaranaika? |
| 森の妖精 (Mori No Yousei) |
A Fairy Of Forest | Abnormal Fetishes | 1 | Billy Herrington |
| モーターサイクル(モタ男) (Motorcycle (Mota-Otoko)) |
- | Gore | 3 | Photo of a man who lost his face |
| 野崎コンビーフ (Nozaki Conbīfu) |
Nozaki Canned Beef | Horror | 3 | Scary illustrations by a japanese artist |
| 終わらない夏休み (Owaranai Natsuyasumi) |
Never ending Summer Vacation | Horror | 4 | Eroguro novel posted to the web circa 1998 |
| POSO | - | Gore | 5 | Video footage of a religious war that occurred in indonesia from 1998 to 2001[16] |
| 佐川一政 | Issei Sagawa | Gore | 5 | Issei Sagawa[17], a Japanese man who killed and cannibalized a Dutch woman in Paris, 1981 |
| 先行者 (Senkōsha) |
- | lolz | 1 | Senkōsha |
| sm666 | - | Horror | 3 | Username666 (a.k.a. sm666) |
| 騒音おばさんの真実 (Sō on obasan no shinjitsu) |
The Truth of Mrs. Noisy | Fact | 1 | A conspiracy theory in Miyoco / Mrs. Noisy |
| スープおじさん (Soup Ojisan) |
Uncle Soup | Gore | 3 | Photo of a decomposing corpse in a tub |
| タイヤネックレス | Tyre Necklace | Gore | 5 | Pictures of necklacing[18] |
| ウクライナ21 | Ukraine 21 | Gore | 6 | Snuff films of Dnepropetrovsk maniacs[19] (21 stands for the number of victims) |
| ウォーリーを探さないで (Wally Wo Sagasanaide) |
Don’t look for Waldo | Jump scares | 3 | Shocking flash video spoofing “Where’s waldo?” |
| ウェスト夫妻 (West Fusai) |
Mr. & Mrs. West | Gore | 1 | English serial killer Fred West and his wife[20] |
| 検索してはいけない言葉 (Kensaku Shitewa Ikenai Kotoba) |
Words you must not search | - | 7 | Pictures/videos suggested by the whole of the keywords in this series |
Reaction Videos
There are many reaction videos on YouTube and Nico Nico Douga in which users film themselves while searching these keywords upon request. These videos are usually composed of video screenshots of the search results with a commentary from the user.
Search Interest
External References
[1] Kajisoku – 検 索 し て は い け な い 言 葉 / Posted on 10-16-2007 (Thread summary, Japanese)
[2] 2channel – 検索してはいけない言葉inオカ板 / Posted on 01-14-2008 (Thread archive, Japanese)
[3] Naver – 検索してはいけない言葉
[4] YouTube – Search results for 検索してはいけない言葉
[5] niconico Douga – Search results for 検索してはいけない言葉
[6] atwiki – 検索してはいけない言葉
[7] Uncyclopedia – ググってはいけない言葉の一覧 – アンサイクロペディア (Japanese)
[8] Nico Nico Pedia – 検索してはいけない言葉 (Japanese)
[9] Wikipedia – Red Room (animation)
[10] Wikipedia – 2002 Japan animal cruelty case
[11] Wikipedia – Boku no Natsuyasumi
[12] Wikipedia – Japan Airlines Flight 123
[13] Wikipedia – Aokigahara
[14] Wikipedia – Gloomy Sunday
[15] Wikipedia – Men Behind the Sun
[16] Wikipedia – 2005 Indonesian beheadings of Christian girls
[17] Wikipedia – Issei Sagawa
[18] Wikipedia – Necklacing
[19] Wikipedia – Dnepropetrovsk maniacs
Top Comments
Jimmy
Apr 08, 2014 at 03:33PM EDT
Alex Mercer Moderator
Apr 08, 2014 at 06:49AM EDT