Ben Drowned began as an internet creepypasta published in 2010 by writer Jadusable, telling the story of a haunted copy of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The drowned figure Ben became one of the best known gaming horror characters online, helped by fake gameplay footage, distorted audio and glitch imagery shared across forums and video sites. Short clips of eerie laughing and reversed game sounds became shorthand for the story. The laugh is still used in horror edits today because it signals corrupted nostalgia without needing any explanation.