Let’s face it, while Jeff the Killer has one of the most memorable pictures on the internet, Homicidal Liu is barely a footnote in Creeypasta history. If it wasn’t for his younger brother’s unforgettable creepy face and contentious place in the Creepypasta-verse, Liu would never have come to exist. But that’s the glory (and to be fair, misery) of these stories, they grew as exponentially as the community let them. The fictional murderous brothers have been swirling around the internet for more than a decade, and yet, their history is still hotly debated.
Where did Homicidal Liu come from?
The 2010s were far from the lawless days of the early internet, but they did shepherd one of the more collaborative trends the web has ever seen. The early days of Tumblr ushered in the copy-paste style of storytelling, one where a singular user could define a concept, only to have it repurposed a dozen times over by hundreds of different readers. These stories often landed in spooky territory, which influenced the name to change from “Copypastas” to “Creepypastas,” and one of the very first instances of these stories was Jeff the Killer.
While Jeff the Killer has his own convoluted and contested history, his origin story laid the groundwork for Homicidal Liu’s. The most widely recognized version of the character, Liu Woods, was popularized after Jeff the Killer: Origin Story hit the web in 2011. Former YouTube personality Sesseur has the oldest claim to Jeff the Killer’s creation, and though his channel can no longer be viewed, he posted a “real-life” version of Liu on his Deviantart account. However, the image didn’t appear until 2016, nearly five years after both Jeff and Liu went viral.
It’s widely accepted that the popularized version of Homicidal Liu was created by Deviantart user Vampirenote13. After being deeply disappointed by the Origin Story – which was so poorly written it was banned from the Creepypasta fan community and later replaced – she was inspired to make Homicidal Liu.
According to her extensive conversations on Deviantart, the Alternate Universe (AU), Liu was created for a roleplay group on Tumblr and spawned a now-defunct “Ask Blog” where fans could ask “Liu” questions. On the blog, she posted reference images for her character and his scarred face, green eyes, and tragic backstory catapulted him into the heart of angst-riddled teens nationwide. After the story was translated into Spanish, it rose in popularity, cementing Liu as one of the OG Creepypasta stories.
Homicidal Liu is often depicted as two different people. Liu Woods, a mild-mannered and kind young man with green eyes and brown hair, and Sully, his psychotic murder machine alter-ego with black hair and eyes. There is plenty of debate within the fandom about Liu’s motivations. Some fans believe that Liu is just as maniacal as his brother and murders on a whim, others blame his mania on his split personality. While Vampirenote13’s story is the most widely accepted origin story, in typical Creepypasta style it’s merged with various retellings over the years. It’s widely accepted in the fandom that Liu used rosary beads to fend off Jeff’s attacks, though there isn’t a singular source for the lore.
What is Liu’s origin story?
While Jeff the Killer: Origin Story never specified Liu’s age, his protectiveness, and sacrificial nature led many to assume he is the elder of the two. Throughout the story, Liu does what he can to protect his brother. When Jeff stabs the local bullies during a fistfight gone awry, Liu lies to protect him and takes his place in Juvenile Detention. After Jeff’s face is badly burned, Liu is quick to reassure him about his appearance. Liu is fast asleep when Jeff starts his slasher rampage, and though he feels something isn’t right as his parents are killed downstairs, he never rises from his bed. The story ends with a blood-spattered Jeff telling Liu to “Go. Back. To. Sleep,” and plenty of readers accept his death – even if they didn’t care for it – until Vampirenotes13’s continuation.
Homicidal Liu’s origin story, which can be found on his Ask Blog, details what happened after Jeff’s tale ends. Liu wakes up during the attack and though he fights, he isn’t strong enough to keep his younger brother from disemboweling him. He later wakes up in the hospital, unsure of exactly what happened. A nurse comes to check on him, and as she tells him he’s lucky to be alive, she makes the unfortunate mistake of calling Jeff a demon and a psycho, among other derogatory things.
Like his brother before him, Liu loses himself to a murderous rage upon hearing the slurs. Before he knows what is happening, the nurse is dead and he’s the one with blood on his hands. As he flees the scene of the crime, he catches a glimpse of his reflection. Thanks to his brother’s handiwork, he is covered in fresh crisscrossing scars, and several pieces of his skin are permanently discolored. While Liu can’t bring himself to blame his brother, his protective second personality Sully is more than willing to. Though Sully claims to be around 7 years old – he was “born” the night Liu was attacked – he acts much older. He is petulant, hates Jeff, and is most likely the reason Liu has taken to murder.
