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"Freaky Trail Cam Picture", Aka "The Rake"
I'm sure at least some of you saw that I had attributed this photograph as "Freaky Trail Cam Picture" and jumped up screaming "ITS THE RAKE!!!!". Well, you're only about half right.
Yes, its very true that this image is most commonly associated with the story of The Rake. But, as is often with these Classic Creepypastas, the image and the story were originally completely unrelated to one another.
In an odd twist, the story actually comes first this time. "The Rake" was created on 4Chan in late 2005. A thread was created titled "Hey /b/ lets make a new monster". And from there, many ideas were pitched and sifted through until /b/ had created a creature that they liked.
Although the original threads are sadly lost at the moment, snippets and quotes from it exist on various websites. Such as Here.
In this original thread, The Rake design was stated to be vastly different from what would eventually be seen in the Freaky Trail Cam picture.
"Alright, this is for the people who like the three-eyes, no apparent mouth, pale skin one. Here's what we've got so far: Humanoid, about six feet tall when standing, but usually crouches and walks on all fours. It has very pale skin. The face is blank. As in, no nose, no mouth. However, it has three solid green eyes, one in the middle of its forehead, and the other two on either side of its head, towards the back. Usually seen in front yards in suburban areas. Usually just watches the observer, but will stand up and attack if approached. When it attacks, a mouth opens up, as if a hinged skull that opens at the chin. Reveals many tiny, but dull teeth."
About 5 years later, the picture seen here was posted. The first ever appearance of this photo comes from a thread on the ArcheryTalks forum. Seen Here.
I quote directly:
"Don't know what to think about this one fellers.... Went and checked my camera today and this is what it had on it.... The ground directly in front of my tree was completely tore up, the trail cam had been torn off the tree, straps were popped and everything. Camera was laying face down about 10 ft. from the tree it was attached too. Bark was knocked off the tree where the camera had been, like something had knocked it off while trying to twist camera off the tree. This was the only picture I got of "it" as I had it set on a 2 minute timer. The first picture is of "it", and the second is a picture from a lil while ago of the same spot, just for reference. Checking this right at dusk with a 3/4 mile walk out ahead of you will scare a feller..... :mg: When I saw it, my blood ran cold. Still gives me shivers.... What do you guys think??"
Accompanying this post was two images. One of a deer running through the forest, and the other.... Of the strange humanoid creature.
Over time, the two creepypastas became intrinsically linked to one another. The Rake and this unknown creature became fused. The Rake lost its more distinctive features, like its three green eyes and horns. While the Freaky Trail Cam Monster lost whatever name or origin it otherwise might have had.
One more thing to mention, there is a VERY common misconception regarding this image. And that is the idea that this picture was created as promotional material for "Resistance 3". I see this repeated everywhere ad nauseum. And its blatanly false. The developers themselves confirmed they were only joking about having created it mere moments later. But the internet is well known for its selective memory.