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Pen Pal

333 statements
64 feature instances
1 referencing feature instances

Pen Pal	type	TVTItem
Pen Pal	label	Pen Pal
Pen Pal	page	PenPal
Pen Pal	comment	Penpal started as a series of short stories by Dathan Auerbach about the childhood of one young man (unnamed in the stories, called "Dathan" out-of-universe) that were posted as an online horror story on Reddit. It quickly drew popularity from its readers and soon there were illustrations, audio recordings, and short films made of it. Then it was revised and expanded to be turned into a full length book.The story of Penpal follows a young man who, in an attempt to understand his childhood, investigates seemingly unrelated, strange, horrifying, and soul-crushingly tragic events that occurred over the course of his life. Beginning from his early days in kindergarten and persisting well into his teen years, he discovers that these incidents are actually connected as a single frightening tale that have molded his entire life and affected everyone around him. Ever played in the woods a little too long after dark? Ever had the feeling that you were being watched, and by someone with less than noble intentions? Do you remember the first friend you ever made and how strong that bond was? Well, then Pen Pal has something for you, and it is a journey you won't soon forget. Though, you might just try, anyway. Also, make sure to bring a box of tissues.The book is divided into six chapters, Footsteps, Balloons, Boxes, Maps, Screens, and Friends.The original Creepypasta can be found here.The book is available here.You can listen to an online dramatic reading here, by Mr. Creepypasta of The Midnight Society.
Pen Pal	fetched	2024-02-13T16:15:44Z
Pen Pal	parsed	2024-02-13T16:15:44Z
Pen Pal	processingComment	Dropped link to LoveInterest: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
Pen Pal	processingComment	Dropped link to SurvivorsGuilt: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
Pen Pal	processingComment	Dropped link to Yandere: Not a Feature - ITEM
Pen Pal	processingUnknown	LoveInterest
Pen Pal	processingUnknown	SurvivorsGuilt
Pen Pal	isPartOf	DBTropes
Pen Pal / int_19a5d773	type	They Look Just Like Everyone Else!
Pen Pal / int_19a5d773	comment	They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: The stalker. It is specifically stated that he looks like a normal guy rather than some kind of psychopathic lunatic as one might expect him to. The only description we get of him is that he's larger than Josh's dad, who is stated to be pretty big himself.
Pen Pal / int_19a5d773	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_19a5d773	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_19a5d773
Pen Pal / int_19df659c	type	Gone Horribly Wrong
Pen Pal / int_19df659c	comment	Gone Horribly Wrong: All this pain and misery thanks to a simple kindergarten project.
Pen Pal / int_19df659c	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_19df659c	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_19df659c
Pen Pal / int_1c445e86	type	Poor Communication Kills
Pen Pal / int_1c445e86	comment	Poor Communication Kills: There isn't a single tragedy that occurs in the story that couldn't have been averted if Dathan's mother had just told him what was going on.
Pen Pal / int_1c445e86	featureApplicability	-1.0
Pen Pal / int_1c445e86	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_1c445e86
Pen Pal / int_1dfbbf31	type	Heterosexual Life-Partners
Pen Pal / int_1dfbbf31	comment	Heterosexual Life-Partners: Josh and Dantan.
Pen Pal / int_1dfbbf31	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_1dfbbf31	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_1dfbbf31
Pen Pal / int_22cf536c	type	Chekhov's Gun
Pen Pal / int_22cf536c	comment	Chekhov's Gun: Josh and Dathan are said to be strikingly similar, to the point where Dathan's mother says that the only way she can tell the two of them apart is by their hair. So when the stalker can't have Dathan, he settles for Josh, dying his hair to match Dathan's and dressing him in Dathan's old clothes.
Pen Pal / int_22cf536c	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_22cf536c	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_22cf536c
Pen Pal / int_23473ae7	type	Adaptation Expansion
Pen Pal / int_23473ae7	comment	Adaptation Expansion: The book adds some information on to the original version. A lot of it is just lengthening of parts already in the story, but some information is added and/or changed, too. For example: Dathan's friend Chris (the one whose house he stays at on the night of his ill-fated trip to the movies to see Veronica) is given a bit of backstory. The part where Dathan and Josh find the pool float while looking for Boxes plays out differently. Instead of Dathan kicking the float which startles a rat that scares Josh, Josh is scared when a group of spiders who've made their home on the float begin crawling on him. A part is added where Dathan details his first time meeting Mrs. Maggie, and also gives a lot of new information about her and her late husband Tom. The actual significance of the pool float is explained too. In the original, there's no reason given for it being present in the woods; the book reveals that it was a present from Mrs. Maggie to Josh and Dathan that was later stolen by the stalker. This actually creates a minor Plot Hole, because it is never explained why Dathan doesn't seem to recognize it when he ends up in the woods, even though that happened around the same time, or why he and Josh still don't recognize it when they go into the woods later to look for Boxes. It is explained why Josh's family has a different phone number by the time Dathan meets Veronica: after Josh goes missing, his family receives prank calls from people pretending to know where he is. They have the number transferred to a friend to act as a buffer, because they don't want to deal with that but also don't want to just change it.
Pen Pal / int_23473ae7	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_23473ae7	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_23473ae7
Pen Pal / int_267ce120	type	Dirty Old Man
Pen Pal / int_267ce120	comment	Dirty Old Man: The stalker. A pedophile with an extreme "romantic" obsession on a young child.
Pen Pal / int_267ce120	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_267ce120	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_267ce120
Pen Pal / int_269e82c1	type	Death of a Child
Pen Pal / int_269e82c1	comment	Death of a Child: Josh's fate.
Pen Pal / int_269e82c1	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_269e82c1	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_269e82c1
Pen Pal / int_28cd01ca	type	Disappeared Dad
Pen Pal / int_28cd01ca	comment	Disappeared Dad: Dathan's dad is not in the picture, and is never mentioned in either the original story, or the expanded novel version. A lot of people believed that the stalker would turn out to be him. It doesn't. Also, Dathan responded to a comment in-character on Reddit stating that his parents never got married, but he still kept in contact with his dad regularly. So he's mostly just "disappeared" in the sense that he never shows up in the story.
Pen Pal / int_28cd01ca	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_28cd01ca	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_28cd01ca
Pen Pal / int_2d4fa515	type	Ax-Crazy
Pen Pal / int_2d4fa515	comment	Ax-Crazy: The stalker is not only a creepy pervert who likes to torment young kids but also a dangerous homicidal lunatic since he viciously kills anyone close to Dathan simply out of jelousy.
Pen Pal / int_2d4fa515	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_2d4fa515	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_2d4fa515
Pen Pal / int_2e8441c9	type	The Bad Guy Wins
Pen Pal / int_2e8441c9	comment	The Bad Guy Wins: The stalker terrorizes the narrator for years, killing several of his loved ones, and at the end, he dies blissfully with Josh-dressed-as-the-narrator.
Pen Pal / int_2e8441c9	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_2e8441c9	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_2e8441c9
Pen Pal / int_34c6ed8	type	Don't Go in the Woods
Pen Pal / int_34c6ed8	comment	Don't Go in the Woods: The first story has our protagonist wake up in the woods, not knowing how he got there. Future sojourns into the woods spell danger for anyone involved.
Pen Pal / int_34c6ed8	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_34c6ed8	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_34c6ed8
Pen Pal / int_372027ea	type	Stalker Shrine
Pen Pal / int_372027ea	comment	Stalker Shrine: At the end of "Boxes", Dathan and Josh find out the stalker has broken into his old abandoned house after they moved and took his childhood clothes (that he left behind packed in boxes) and hung them back up in the closet and pasted numerous photos he took of Dathan on the walls.
Pen Pal / int_372027ea	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_372027ea	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_372027ea
Pen Pal / int_3f45aa4b	type	Epistolary Novel
Pen Pal / int_3f45aa4b	comment	Epistolary Novel: The story is told in the first person by the main character writing down the results of his investigation into his past.
Pen Pal / int_3f45aa4b	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_3f45aa4b	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_3f45aa4b
Pen Pal / int_437820dc	type	Villainous Crush
Pen Pal / int_437820dc	comment	Villainous Crush: The stalker has this for Dathan. Him being an adult and Dathan a young child makes everything more nightmarish.
Pen Pal / int_437820dc	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_437820dc	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_437820dc
Pen Pal / int_479d4e5a	type	Would Hurt a Child
Pen Pal / int_479d4e5a	comment	Would Hurt a Child: The stalker is a psychopathic pedophile who loves to stalk very young children whom he feels attracted to. At the end, having failed to get Dathan, he kidnaps Josh as a replacement and manipulates his own father to bury them both alive. It's also disturbingly implied that before that the stalker probably molested Josh.
Pen Pal / int_479d4e5a	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_479d4e5a	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_479d4e5a
Pen Pal / int_4e3d253b	type	Downer Ending
Pen Pal / int_4e3d253b	comment	Downer Ending: Dathan learns about how his childhood basically ruined the lives of the people around him, specifically his friend Josh, who was taken by the stalker because of their similar appearance and was buried alive with him by his own father, as well as the stalker killing his pet cat, his kind old neighbor from his old neighborhood, and Josh's sister who was Dathan's potential girlfriend. The story also implies that Josh's family will never recover from the loss of their children and Dathan's relationship with his mother becomes strained by the fact she kept the events from him for so many years.
Pen Pal / int_4e3d253b	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_4e3d253b	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_4e3d253b
Pen Pal / int_4e7c4536	type	Wham Line
Pen Pal / int_4e7c4536	comment	Wham Line: "I think I've been sleep-walking." This is said by Josh in "Friends" at Dathan's birthday party. This is both a Call-Back to the first installment, and a harbinger for Josh's kidnapping.
Pen Pal / int_4e7c4536	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_4e7c4536	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_4e7c4536
Pen Pal / int_4f362a27	type	Implied Rape
Pen Pal / int_4f362a27	comment	Implied Rape: It can be assumed that Josh endured sexual abuse in the near 3 years between his kidnapping and death, as the stand-in for the stalker's object of affection. Dathan even says near the end that he "tries to pretend he doesn't know" what the stalker must have done with his friend during those years of captivity.
Pen Pal / int_4f362a27	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_4f362a27	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_4f362a27
Pen Pal / int_4ff0627a	type	Suspect Existence Failure
Pen Pal / int_4ff0627a	comment	It was almost implied that Mrs. Maggie might have been the stalker based on her senility and confusing Dathan and Josh for her sons. The boys also point out how despite her friendliness, she always gave a creepy vibe and Dathan's mom always told him to never go into her house whenever she invites him in. Her innocence is made clear when the stalker murders her to get closer to Dathan.
Pen Pal / int_4ff0627a	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_4ff0627a	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_4ff0627a
Pen Pal / int_504a1991	type	Body Horror
Pen Pal / int_504a1991	comment	Body Horror: Veronica after the stalker hits her with his car. Dathan can't even tell if she's laying on her back or stomach.
Pen Pal / int_504a1991	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_504a1991	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_504a1991
Pen Pal / int_50b9b3d0	type	Crazy Jealous Guy
Pen Pal / int_50b9b3d0	comment	Crazy Jealous Guy: The stalker. He goes after several of Dathan's loved ones, including his potential girlfriend and even his cat, for no other reason than that they are close to him.
Pen Pal / int_50b9b3d0	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_50b9b3d0	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_50b9b3d0
Pen Pal / int_62434fe2	type	Sanity Slippage
Pen Pal / int_62434fe2	comment	Sanity Slippage: Josh's mom goes through this after Veronica dies. It forces her to quit her job and causes her to wander around the neighborhood at night looking for her missing/dead kids.
Pen Pal / int_62434fe2	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_62434fe2	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_62434fe2
Pen Pal / int_631c7c38	type	Silent Antagonist
Pen Pal / int_631c7c38	comment	Silent Antagonist: Since the stalker is never seen in person except at the end he has therefore no dialogues. However he utters a single "Hello" when Dathan is lost in the wood and spoke to Josh's father when he manipulates him into burying him alive with his son. However the dialogue it's not heard.
Pen Pal / int_631c7c38	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_631c7c38	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_631c7c38
Pen Pal / int_6331ba26	type	Plot Hole
Pen Pal / int_6331ba26	comment	A part is added where Dathan details his first time meeting Mrs. Maggie, and also gives a lot of new information about her and her late husband Tom. The actual significance of the pool float is explained too. In the original, there's no reason given for it being present in the woods; the book reveals that it was a present from Mrs. Maggie to Josh and Dathan that was later stolen by the stalker. This actually creates a minor Plot Hole, because it is never explained why Dathan doesn't seem to recognize it when he ends up in the woods, even though that happened around the same time, or why he and Josh still don't recognize it when they go into the woods later to look for Boxes.
Pen Pal / int_6331ba26	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_6331ba26	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_6331ba26
Pen Pal / int_643618e5	type	Replacement Goldfish
Pen Pal / int_643618e5	comment	Replacement Goldfish: The stalker kidnaps Josh and pretends that Josh is the narrator for an unknown amount of time. He even makes Josh dye his hair and wear the narrator's clothes.
Pen Pal / int_643618e5	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_643618e5	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_643618e5
Pen Pal / int_6a42ef	type	Cynicism Catalyst
Pen Pal / int_6a42ef	comment	Cynicism Catalyst: By the end, Dathan is left embittered, cynical, and guilty about the whole ordeal and how many lives were ruined because they were close to him. He wants to believe that Josh is in a better place, but he knows it's just a dream. He reflects on how there will never be any justice or vengeance for what happened 10 years ago and decides that the world is a cruel place, made even crueler by man.
Pen Pal / int_6a42ef	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_6a42ef	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_6a42ef
Pen Pal / int_6d7cd3e	type	Dead Person Impersonation
Pen Pal / int_6d7cd3e	comment	Dead Person Impersonation: The stalker steals Veronica's phone when she dies in the hospital and begins a brief text message relationship with Dathan while claiming to be her. He doesn't find out who he's really talking to until his mother tells him that the real Veronica died weeks ago.
Pen Pal / int_6d7cd3e	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_6d7cd3e	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_6d7cd3e
Pen Pal / int_773df0d8	type	Friendship Trinket
Pen Pal / int_773df0d8	comment	Friendship Trinket: The map that Josh keeps in his pocket for the years he is held captive.
Pen Pal / int_773df0d8	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_773df0d8	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_773df0d8
Pen Pal / int_7fbb2a3	type	Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!
Pen Pal / int_7fbb2a3	comment	Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Nice job not telling Dathan about the stalker or getting more involved with the police, Dathan's mom!
Pen Pal / int_7fbb2a3	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_7fbb2a3	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_7fbb2a3
Pen Pal / int_88cee6e2	type	Abhorrent Admirer
Pen Pal / int_88cee6e2	comment	Abhorrent Admirer: The stalker towards Dathan. While we never see him in face to judge him as unattractive until the end at least his obsessive personality surely makes him monstrous.
Pen Pal / int_88cee6e2	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_88cee6e2	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_88cee6e2
Pen Pal / int_8a817c2a	type	Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil
Pen Pal / int_8a817c2a	comment	Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: While it's never confirmed it's deducible that the stalker before killing himself along with Josh probably abused him sexually first.
Pen Pal / int_8a817c2a	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_8a817c2a	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_8a817c2a
Pen Pal / int_8b68d9a7	type	Stalker with a Crush
Pen Pal / int_8b68d9a7	comment	Stalker with a Crush: Of the most horrifying variety. The unseen main antagonist of the story is an obsessed pedophile that began stalking Dathan when the boy was five. It started with a kindergarten project to release balloons with a letter and picture of the child who sent it. The purpose was for whoever received the balloons to take pictures of the area they live in and mail them back. Dathan's came to him. Instead of following the instructions in the letter, the stalker instead tracked it to the source and began stalking Dathan for about ten years and killed anyone who got too close to the boy. The victims included a sweet old woman who always watched over Dathan, the family cat, his best friend, and later, Dathan's potential girlfriend. While the reason for his actions may seem to be For the Evulz, Dathan's mother states that, upon looking at his dead body, he looked like an ordinary man in love. This arguably makes him even more terrifying, since he must have thought that he was truly being romantic while stalking Dathan and killing anyone whom he thought got in the way of their "love". There's sick, and then there's FUBAR.
Pen Pal / int_8b68d9a7	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_8b68d9a7	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_8b68d9a7
Pen Pal / int_8b6e8d7	type	Anachronic Order
Pen Pal / int_8b6e8d7	comment	Anachronic Order: The chapters aren't organized by sequential date, but rather come as revelations as the narrator remembers more, or asks his mother for information.
Pen Pal / int_8b6e8d7	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_8b6e8d7	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_8b6e8d7
Pen Pal / int_91672d3e	type	Children Are Innocent
Pen Pal / int_91672d3e	comment	Children Are Innocent: Josh and Dathan are honestly just two sweet little kids. Josh may be a bit of a trouble maker, but he's honestly a nice kid. He even tell Dathan he has a surprise for him for his next birthday, only to learn that the present he had planned was the completed map from the "Maps" chapter.
Pen Pal / int_91672d3e	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_91672d3e	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_91672d3e
Pen Pal / int_94c57c5c	type	Abduction Is Love
Pen Pal / int_94c57c5c	comment	Abduction Is Love: The stalker evidently believes this, because it happens twice in the story. The first time is when he kidnaps Dathan while he's asleep and brings him out into the woods. The second is when he takes Josh and holds him captive for years, with a strong implication that he spends the time molesting him, and then has the two of them buried alive. Both times, he leaves a note allegedly from the victim claiming that they're running away.
Pen Pal / int_94c57c5c	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_94c57c5c	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_94c57c5c
Pen Pal / int_95b7c400	type	Faux Affably Evil
Pen Pal / int_95b7c400	comment	Faux Affably Evil: The Stalker's only line of dialogue is a friendly "Hello". For the most part, he plays the part of a smitten man, but heâ€™s lusting after a child.
Pen Pal / int_95b7c400	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_95b7c400	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_95b7c400
Pen Pal / int_95c2a9dd	type	Outliving One's Offspring
Pen Pal / int_95c2a9dd	comment	Outliving One's Offspring: Josh and Veronica's parents.
Pen Pal / int_95c2a9dd	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_95c2a9dd	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_95c2a9dd
Pen Pal / int_9ae0cca6	type	Character Blog
Pen Pal / int_9ae0cca6	comment	Character Blog: The story started as a series of posts written in-character on Reddit. The author would even respond to comments in character, sometimes offering up new information.
Pen Pal / int_9ae0cca6	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_9ae0cca6	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_9ae0cca6
Pen Pal / int_9c5e78d0	type	Kill the Cutie
Pen Pal / int_9c5e78d0	comment	Kill the Cutie: Boxes, Dathan's pet cat, is abducted by the stalker and it is heavily implied that the stalker kills him. Mrs. Maggie, a kind old woman with Alzheimer's that lives next door to Dathan and sometimes gives him and Josh presents, is very brutally murdered by the stalker so he can hide in her house to be closer to his target. Veronica, Josh's older sister and Dathan's potential Love Interest, is horrifically mangled by the stalker's car in such a way that Dathan cannot even tell if she's laying on her back or her stomach.
Pen Pal / int_9c5e78d0	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_9c5e78d0	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_9c5e78d0
Pen Pal / int_9cad69bf	type	Depraved Homosexual
Pen Pal / int_9cad69bf	comment	Depraved Homosexual: The stalker is male and is extremely fixated on the young male narrator. So much that he arrives to kill Dathan's potential girlfriend Veronica, seeing her as someone who could take Dathan away from him. If that wasn't bad enough, he also kidnaps Josh and is implied to rape him over the next two years.
Pen Pal / int_9cad69bf	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_9cad69bf	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_9cad69bf
Pen Pal / int_9d12bbc1	type	Foreshadowing
Pen Pal / int_9d12bbc1	comment	Foreshadowing: When Dathan and Josh end up at the spot with the pool float, Dathan notes a deep hole that wasn't there the last time he found himself there. Years later, the stalker would have Josh and himself buried alive in that very hole.
Pen Pal / int_9d12bbc1	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_9d12bbc1	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_9d12bbc1
Pen Pal / int_9e1b9a0e	type	Camera Fiend
Pen Pal / int_9e1b9a0e	comment	Camera Fiend: The stalker is a villainous (and frightening) example. He takes countless candid photos of Dathan while stalking him (at least fifty), and also takes Josh and Veronica's pictures before kidnapping and killing them respectively.
Pen Pal / int_9e1b9a0e	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_9e1b9a0e	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_9e1b9a0e
Pen Pal / int_a4905771	type	Double-Meaning Title
Pen Pal / int_a4905771	comment	Double-Meaning Title: A couple. "Boxes" is the name of the narrator's cat and also what they find in the abandoned house, full of his clothes. "Screens" refers to movie screens as well as the screen separating the narrator from Veronica in the hospital.
Pen Pal / int_a4905771	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_a4905771	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_a4905771
Pen Pal / int_a70223	type	Karma Houdini
Pen Pal / int_a70223	comment	Karma Houdini: The stalker gets almost exactly what he wanted in the end, and explicitly died smiling. Dathan reflects on the injustice and cruelty of the world.
Pen Pal / int_a70223	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_a70223	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_a70223
Pen Pal / int_a8a04f6f	type	And I Must Scream
Pen Pal / int_a8a04f6f	comment	And I Must Scream: Josh. Poor, poor Josh. His relationship with the narrator causes the stalker to turn his focus towards him. The stalker kidnaps Josh, leaving a note on his pillow that states he has "run away" so there won't be an investigation. For two years, the stalker detains Josh doing God knows what to him (the narrator himself states he doesn't allow himself to think about what must have happened), all the while pretending Josh is the narrator; he dyes his hair and forces him to wear the narrator's old clothes. Ultimately, the stalker decides he wants to go out with a bang and ends up paying Josh's own father to unknowingly fill up the hole he is going to place himself and Josh in. When their bodies are found, it's clear that Josh was still alive when he was buried and was being embraced by his kidnapper and torturer. It's no wonder Josh's father basically has a mental breakdown when he finds the scene and realizes that what he thought was some ordinary construction work led to his son's death.
Pen Pal / int_a8a04f6f	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_a8a04f6f	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_a8a04f6f
Pen Pal / int_ac4ac8e5	type	Idiosyncratic Episode Naming
Pen Pal / int_ac4ac8e5	comment	Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each chapter is named after a single plural noun that is relevant to its respective story.
Pen Pal / int_ac4ac8e5	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_ac4ac8e5	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_ac4ac8e5
Pen Pal / int_adfd3165	type	For the Evulz
Pen Pal / int_adfd3165	comment	While the reason for his actions may seem to be For the Evulz, Dathan's mother states that, upon looking at his dead body, he looked like an ordinary man in love. This arguably makes him even more terrifying, since he must have thought that he was truly being romantic while stalking Dathan and killing anyone whom he thought got in the way of their "love". There's sick, and then there's FUBAR.
Pen Pal / int_adfd3165	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_adfd3165	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_adfd3165
Pen Pal / int_b179eb00	type	Tragic Bromance
Pen Pal / int_b179eb00	comment	Tragic Bromance: The story is just as much Joshâ€™s as it is Dathanâ€™s. What began as a friendship formed by two little boys who both had the same lunch box ends with one of them being kidnapped and killed. Dathan even acknowledges that Josh would never have met this fate of he'd simply never befriended him at all.
Pen Pal / int_b179eb00	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_b179eb00	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_b179eb00
Pen Pal / int_b39d5719	type	Sadist
Pen Pal / int_b39d5719	comment	Sadist: Despite his supposed "love" for Dathan, the stalker is not above psychologically tormenting him by using the walkie-talkie he stole from Dathan and Josh to broadcast Boxes' meows to him after kidnapping him. He also goes out of his way to trick Josh's dad into indirectly murdering his own son, apparently as an additional act of cruelty to their family.
Pen Pal / int_b39d5719	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_b39d5719	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_b39d5719
Pen Pal / int_b6844837	type	Evil Is Bigger
Pen Pal / int_b6844837	comment	Evil Is Bigger: The only accurate description we get about the stalker is that he's even bigger than Josh's father, who is a pretty big man himself.
Pen Pal / int_b6844837	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_b6844837	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_b6844837
Pen Pal / int_c3c18143	type	Hope Spot
Pen Pal / int_c3c18143	comment	Hope Spot: When Dathan returns home after failing to find his missing cat, he hears meowing coming from under his bed. The cries are coming from his walkie talkie. His cat never came home. Despite being badly mangled, it initially seems like Veronica will survive her injuries. But she eventually succumbs to them.
Pen Pal / int_c3c18143	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_c3c18143	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_c3c18143
Pen Pal / int_c526eaa4	type	Bond Breaker
Pen Pal / int_c526eaa4	comment	Bond Breaker: The stalker's actions cause Dathan and Josh's friendship to suffer greatly, and puts a lot of strain on his relationship with his mother.
Pen Pal / int_c526eaa4	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_c526eaa4	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_c526eaa4
Pen Pal / int_ca87e3ec	type	No Name Given
Pen Pal / int_ca87e3ec	comment	No Name Given: The protagonist and the stalker's names are never given in-story, although the protagonist is called "Dathan" (after the author) by fans.
Pen Pal / int_ca87e3ec	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_ca87e3ec	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_ca87e3ec
Pen Pal / int_cde51255	type	Antagonist Title
Pen Pal / int_cde51255	comment	Antagonist Title: The titular "penpal" in the story is an insane pedophile who stalks the narrator.
Pen Pal / int_cde51255	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_cde51255	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_cde51255
Pen Pal / int_cdfe12c3	type	Nothing Is Scarier
Pen Pal / int_cdfe12c3	comment	Nothing Is Scarier: See Present Absence below. It makes the stalker a whole lot more frightening. The death of Mrs. Maggie. We don't get any graphic detail of what the stalker did to her, but her remains are carried out of her house by the authorities afterwards in several bags. Whatever the stalker did to Josh in the two years he held him captive. Dathan doesn't even want to hazard a guess.
Pen Pal / int_cdfe12c3	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_cdfe12c3	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_cdfe12c3
Pen Pal / int_d2102da0	type	Bad People Abuse Animals
Pen Pal / int_d2102da0	comment	Bad People Abuse Animals: The stalker kills Dathan's pet cat.
Pen Pal / int_d2102da0	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_d2102da0	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_d2102da0
Pen Pal / int_da4cec2d	type	Would Harm a Senior
Pen Pal / int_da4cec2d	comment	Would Harm a Senior: The stalker murders the elderly Mrs. Maggie at the end of "Maps".
Pen Pal / int_da4cec2d	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_da4cec2d	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_da4cec2d
Pen Pal / int_dbca2c99	type	Red Herring
Pen Pal / int_dbca2c99	comment	Red Herring: At the beginning of Screens, Dathan brings up a kid named Alex who had a crush on Josh's sister Veronica and wants Josh to tell her for him. Aside from asking Veronica if Josh ever actually told her about him, Alex is never mentioned again and served only to segue into the subject of Veronica. It was almost implied that Mrs. Maggie might have been the stalker based on her senility and confusing Dathan and Josh for her sons. The boys also point out how despite her friendliness, she always gave a creepy vibe and Dathan's mom always told him to never go into her house whenever she invites him in. Her innocence is made clear when the stalker murders her to get closer to Dathan.
Pen Pal / int_dbca2c99	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_dbca2c99	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_dbca2c99
Pen Pal / int_dda12cb3	type	Cat Scare
Pen Pal / int_dda12cb3	comment	Cat Scare: Dathan and Josh are chased through the woods while trying to make their map, at one point running in circles and eventually hearing what they think is a stranger coming towards them. It turns out to be a deer.
Pen Pal / int_dda12cb3	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_dda12cb3	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_dda12cb3
Pen Pal / int_e55d8627	type	Present Absence
Pen Pal / int_e55d8627	comment	Present Absence: Dathan's stalker is never seen, described, or even identified. In fact, he only speaks one word in the entire narrative: "Hello".
Pen Pal / int_e55d8627	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_e55d8627	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_e55d8627
Pen Pal / int_e5fd8bc2	type	Hate Sink
Pen Pal / int_e5fd8bc2	comment	Hate Sink: There's absolutely nothing likable about the stalker. He's a creepy pedophile who stalks a five year old kid, kills anyone close to him, including his potential love interest and makes his life miserable with no remorse. It's quite obvious he's not supposed to be seen in a positive light or else.
Pen Pal / int_e5fd8bc2	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_e5fd8bc2	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_e5fd8bc2
Pen Pal / int_ff04e190	type	Inciting Incident
Pen Pal / int_ff04e190	comment	Inciting Incident: Near the end of the narrative, Dathan muses sadly that if he had let his balloon go on that long-ago day in kindergarten a few minutes later or a few minutes earlier than he did, none of the next decade of horror and misery would've happened.
Pen Pal / int_ff04e190	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_ff04e190	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_ff04e190
Pen Pal / int_name	type	ItemName
Pen Pal / int_name	comment
Pen Pal / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Pen Pal / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Pen Pal	hasFeature	Pen Pal / int_name
Pen Pal / int_name	itemName	Pen Pal

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Pen Pal

hasFeature

The Bad Guy Wins / int_cc2d9d0f

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