The Rake

"I have experienced the greatest terror. I have experienced the greatest terror. I have experienced the greatest terror. I see his eyes when I close mine. They are hollow. Black. They saw me and pierced me. His wet hand. I will not sleep."

- A journal entry from 1880 detailing the Rake.

"As I prepare to take my life, I feel it necessary to assuage any guilt or pain I have introduced through this act. It is not the fault of anyone other than him. For once I awoke and felt his presence. And once I awoke and saw his form. Once again I awoke and heard his voice, and looked into his eyes. I cannot sleep without fear of what I might next awake to experience. I cannot ever wake. Goodbye."

- 1964 suicide note.

The Rake is an internet meme and urban legend, originating in the Creepypasta story of the same name. It is popularly viewed as a disturbing, humanoid creature living in the northeastern United States.

It is reported to stalk people for years, learning all it can about them, and even threatening them with information on their family, friends, and personal lives. It is fiercely territorial, and though it usually only attacks when provoked, it has attacked out of malice many times.

Origin
The Rake's legend originates from the website 4chan. In 2005, an anonymous user posted a thread where he uploaded many ideas of new monsters to the website. One, in particular, stood out, resulting in the user creating a new post regarding more ideas about the creature.

In the new post, the user just described the photography in his own words. Eventually, the photo got its name "The Rake". The story and mythos went through many changes and alterations in the beginning. One of the earliest stories about the Rake was posted on Something Awful website. On July 20th, 2006, it became the first story in a series named "Horror Theater", but theories exist if the text was original or was it taken from another website.

Pre-1600s
According to mythology, stories of the Rake seemingly began in the early 12th century. However, most material documentation or reports have been mysteriously lost or destroyed over the years.

1691
The first recorded incident of the Rake was documented in a mariner's log dated in 1691, who traveled to the Northern United States from England who attacked the mariner in his sleep and allegedly demanded they leave, which the mariner and his crew complied.

1880
A Spanish journal entry dated from 1880 came from an individual traumatized by the constant stalking from the Rake and was unable to sleep or relax due to being in constant fear and panic. It is unknown what happened to the author.

1964
A suicide note was written before a man took his life in 1964 detailed a similar experience to the author of the journal in 1880, as constant stalking and attacks from the Rake caused the author to live in constant paranoia and fear. However, this one resulted in the victim taking his life, leaving behind two empty envelopes addressed to William and Rose, and one loose personal letter with no envelope reading: "Dearest Linnie, I have prayed for you. He spoke your name.".

2003
During the summer of 2003, the Rake was allegedly captured on camera and sparked media interest until the creature was mysteriously blacklisted from publication, and all of the records from the event were mysteriously destroyed. Later that year, a team of researchers and investigators began collecting evidence of the Rake and archiving it, which included the aforementioned reports and the following account.

2006
An eyewitness account in 2006 came from a woman who told about her tragic encounter with the Rake. Her husband woke in the early morning, woke her up, and pointed out a humanoid creature seated at the foot of their bed. The Rake scurried up to the woman's husband and stared at him, then turned around and headed for their children's rooms.

The woman and her husband chased after it, only to find it hunched over the body of their daughter (named Clara), covered in blood and having seriously injured the child. The Rake escaped and the woman's husband got the dying girl into the car. He drove to a hospital, but ran the car into a lake on the way there, killing both himself and Clara in the accident.

The woman and her son stayed in a hotel for a while after the event then returned home. when they did, the woman began researching the creature and discovered all she could about it, and set up audio monitors in case she could hear it. Eventually, she heard it speaking on the audio device, though she refused to share what it said. She claims that, while she has not directly seen the Rake since the incident, she knows that it has been in her room while she sleeps.

As of the time of the incident, the aforementioned investigative team gathered over a dozen material documents and reports of the Rake's existence. which they plan to publish in a book.

Rake
The Rake appears as the main antagonist in the horror video game of the same name. In the game, investigator and hunter Gordon Davis attempt to capture footage and evidence of the Rake and potentially even the Rake itself.

However, the task proves harder than expected, as the Rake has its own plans for the hunter and leads him into darkness and insanity. This version is portrayed as much more feral, but still intelligent and crafty, able to lure and trap its hunter.

The game also includes a multiplayer mode with two or more unnamed hunters in the same roles.

Slenderverse


In these series, it is usually portrayed as a servant/minion to Slender Man and/or HABIT. The Rake appears as an antagonist in several Slenderverse series, including but not limited to:


 * EverymanHYBRID
 * WhisperedFaith
 * Theyarecomingback09
 * KeratinGarden
 * TrialofLeaves
 * SlenderHaunting
 * Stan Frederick
 * Afraid At Home (Part 2)/Stargazer
 * 5zer02

Trivia

 * The Rake appeared as one of the main antagonists in "The Rake vs Dogman", where it fought the infamous Michigan Dogman.
 * The Rake has gained a following of people that believe the Creepypasta may be based on true events or at least inspired by real-life accounts of humanoid cryptids.
 * Though it is described as humanoid, the Rake is assumed to have other forms, and is, in fact, a dark form with vast and frightening abilities and powers.
 * The Rake has been confirmed to have been inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.