The sound comes from The Maze, also known as the Scary Maze Game, a Flash prank that spread widely in the mid 2000s through email forwards and early video sites. Players guided a dot through a narrow maze before a face from The Exorcist flashed on screen with the scream at full volume. Clips of victims jumping and shouting helped it survive long after Flash faded, and it became a staple scream meme that creators still reuse for jumpscares, pranks and exaggerated horror reactions online.