The Viral Minecraft Story That Turned Out To Be Completely Fake

Mojang's Minecraft easily takes the honor of being celebrated as one of the games that defined the last decade.

The blocky sandbox world that the game's huge community flocks to is full of mind-blowing creations. Plus its survival-based mode lends itself well to a whole other audience that'd rather fight for their lives instead of developing impressive structures. Both crowds flocked to the beloved world building simulator and helped it become the best-selling game of all time.

With such a undeniable mainstream presence, it's unsurprising to see Minecraft at the center of a pretty wild rumor. There's a viral story with a connection to the game that gives off serious creepypasta vibes and caused plenty of fans to debate about its validity. But it turns out that this urban legend still hasn't been confirmed to this very day, which more or less pushes it right into hoax territory.

If you've never heard about the spooky details surrounding a being called Herobrine, allow us to make you aware of who (or what) it is.

Herobrine reportedly takes the form of a hostile mob that looks just like Minecraft's default avatar, Steve.

The only difference is that this spine-chilling version of Steve supposedly sports dead eyes. The rumors surrounding its presence paint it as some sort of spirit, with some saying it's in-game version of the deceased brother of Notch (Minecraft's creator). Herobrine has also been alluded to as some sort of demon or harbinger of doom. Its special abilities are many, such as being able to take control of animals, spawn undead mobs, and having the power to alter the world around him.

Herobrine still has a healthy community of players that are out to prove its validity. But actual proof of its existence still hasn't been found (and no, all those YouTube vids that tell you how to find it are far from legit). 

All in all, the Herobrine hoax is nothing more than a viral tale that's been spun into a long-running rumor that seemingly won't go away.