Summary
- Minecraft's Herobrine is a well-known urban legend, depicted as a player with white eyes in a Steve skin, often stalking the player.
- The myth of Herobrine dates back to 2010, with sightings in ancient live streams and even a 2014 ARG called OldRoot.
- Fans have embraced Herobrine, incorporating him into stories, mods, and even official Minecraft images and products over the years.
From the Aether dimension to the meaning behind discs 11 and 13, Minecraft's fanbase have created quite a bit of folklore for the game over the years. However, no tall tale or playground rumor has surpassed Herobrine, Minecraft's most infamous urban legend, in popularity.
For those not in the loop, Minecraft's Herobrine is said to be a living entity within the game, another sentient force in a world that exists unbeknownst to the player. While some depictions of him may give him some extra traits, he is always described as a player with the Steve skin, save for eyes that are pure white. Stalking the player from a distance is the behavior most attributed to Herobrine, though many works (such as CaptainSparklez' Fallen Kingdom series) have used him as an antagonist, one said to be the ringleader behind Minecraft's hostile mobs.
Minecraft Player Recreates Mississippi in the Game
An impressive scale recreation of a real-life US state is impressing both Minecraft fans and residents of Mississippi with its scale and accuracy.
The Story Behind Herobrine, Minecraft's Original Creepypasta
First Sightings of Herobrine
Herobrine first surfaced when Minecraft was young, all the way back in 2010 when the game was still in alpha. An anonymous post on 4chan described an encounter with the entity, one that connected him to a fictitious dead brother of Minecraft creator Markus 'Notch' Persson. Attached to the post was an image depicting Herobrine peering out from the fog, stalking the narrator. Herobrine's presentation here, surprisingly, goes pretty much unchanged in future stories, with his iconic white-eyed look extant from minute one. His being Notch's brother hasn't been entirely dropped from narratives that present the two as Minecraft gods, but unfiction stories about him have largely moved past this idea.
Following this, other Herobrine sightings entered circulation, notably in the form of multiple ancient live streams. The most well-known of these is one by the streamer Copeland, where he goes through his house only to turn a corner and find Herobrine staring back at him. Recreations replaced this stream in popular consciousness, as the original was thought to be lost media; fortunately, Copeland's old Herobrine stream was recently unearthed.
OldRoot ARG
There's one piece of Herobrine folklore that often goes unmentioned, partially because the entity himself doesn't truly feature in it. OldRoot was a 2014 ARG made by horror creator Alex Bale, one filled with hazy images, spectrograms, codes, and other unfiction trappings. OldRoot was never solved, but many of its images featured a looming Steve skin with blank eyes, looking remarkably like Herobrine. However, according to some analyses, the skin has no eyes as opposed to white eyes, with the white eyes being an effect caused by image manipulation. Nonetheless, this unique addition to Minecraft horror certainly had an influence on the creep factor of Herobrine.
The Legacy Of Herobrine
Fans have really run with Herobrine since his inception, writing him into stories and adding him to Minecraft mods for years (with the 2010 plugin 'iLoveYou' being the earliest known example). This was especially fervent during Minecraft's original heyday prior to 2016, with much of his additional folklore being added here. Rumors of birch trees being stripped of leaves, underwater sand pyramids, random redstone torches, and ritual sites made of gold and netherrack have become inextricably linked to Herobrine.
Mojang has also been very receptive to the Herobrine myth, with the character making many cameos in official images over the years. He's made his way into promotional images, statue prizes, and even LEGO instruction manuals. 'Removed Herobrine' has been featured in Minecraft's changelogs since 2011, though this briefly stopped after 1.16.2 before continuing again from 1.20 onward. Minecraft's 15th anniversary map also featured a reference to the original Herobrine image, in the form of an identical copy of the hill from that picture.
Minecraft
- Released
- November 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
Minecraft is a game made up of blocks, creatures, and community. You can survive the night or build a work of art – the choice is all yours. But if the thought of exploring a vast new world all on your own feels overwhelming, then fear not!
Minecraft has no set goal and can be played however you’d like! This is why it’s sometimes called a “sandbox game” – there are lots of things for you to do, and lots of ways that you can play. If you like being creative, then you can use the blocks to build things from your imagination. If you’re feeling brave, you can explore the world and face daring challenges. Blocks can be broken, crafted, placed to reshape the landscape, or used to build fantastical creations.
Creatures can be battled or befriended, depending on how you play. The world of Minecraft allows for epic adventures, quiet meditations, and everything in between. You can even share your creations with other players, or play in community worlds!
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Mojang
- Publisher(s)
- Mojang
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical or Horizontal
- Platform(s)
- 3DS, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
- How Long To Beat
- 129 Hours
- File Size Xbox Series
- 1.42 GB (August 2024)
- Metascore
- 93
