Jeff the Killer
The original Jeff the Killer image commonly referred to as JTK2
First appearance	2011 on WikiFandom[citation needed]
Created by	GameFuelTV [citation needed]
Based on	Concept by Sesseur (Jeff Case)[citation needed]
In-universe information
Full name	Jeffrey Woods[citation needed] Jeffrey C. Hodek
Alias	Jeff The Killer
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Occupation	Serial killer
Family	Peter Woods (father)[citation needed] Margaret Woods (mother)[citation needed] Liu Woods (brother)[citation needed]

Jeff the Killer is a web horror character and creepypasta meme. While the initial concept of the character was created by DeviantArt and Newgrounds user "Sesseur", the character gained widespread popularity following the publication of a fan-made creepypasta story in 2011.^{[citation needed]} He is depicted as a sadistic serial killer with ghastly pale skin, no eyelids, long black hair, and a permanent smile-shaped scar. Jeff the Killer quickly became one of the most popular creepypasta characters, inspiring a multitude of fan works and including the emergence of other characters, such as "Homocidal Liu" and "Jane the Killer", that were directly associated with the original story.

The fan-published creepypasta, most frequently attributed as a full work on creepypasta.com from 2012, circulated as a copypasta on multiple internet forums attached to the allegedly real, edited image of the character's face, mainly for use as an internet horror story. Despite being famously linked to the story of Jeff the Killer, the image's origins are still controversial and primarily unknown.

Jeff the Killer's concept was created by Jeff Case from Auburndale, Florida. Case began posting in 2011 on DeviantArt under the username "Sesseur" and in 2006 on Newgrounds under the username "killerjeff", where they described a Bloody Mary-like ritual that supposedly summoned Jeff. In his own story, Jeff, initially named Jeffrey C. Hodek, "accidentally spilled a bucket of acid on his face while trying to clean his bathtub."^[1]

The most notable version of the Jeff the Killer character and story, which emerged in August 2011, was published by Creepypasta Wiki user "GamefuelTV," and written by his brother, Travis. It follows a teenager named Jeff, who moves to a new, affluent neighborhood with his family. The morning after their move, Jeff and his brother Liu are threatened by a group of bullies with knives for their money at the bus stop. The altercation ends with Jeff being nearly arrested for assault after beating and stabbing the bullies, but Liu takes the blame, resulting in his placement in juvenile hall, causing Jeff to become depressed and introverted. His concerned parents force him to attend a birthday party for his neighbor's young son, where he encounters the same bullies from the earlier fight, who are armed with guns. In a violent confrontation, Jeff kills the bullies but is doused with alcohol and bleach and set on fire, suffering severe burns over much of his body, and whitening his skin. After being discharged from the hospital and having his bandages removed, Jeff is entranced by his disfigurement and begins to lose his sanity.

He carves a smile-shaped scar into his face, burns his eyelids, and ultimately kills his family. He becomes a serial killer, targeting victims by sneaking into their homes at night. He is known for whispering the phrase "Go to sleep" before killing his victims.^[2][3]

Jeff the Killer gained popularity primarily through the story published on the Creepypasta Wiki in 2011 by the user “GameFuelTv” (Josh Jordan). This version of the story and its associated imagery are widely recognized as the definitive portrayal of the character. Earlier posts by DeviantArt user “Sesseur” (Jeff Case) are often cited as precursors, but the version by GameFuelTv was the one that truly popularized the character across online horror communities.^{[citation needed]}

The story increased in popularity over time as users expanded and contributed to its lore through online forums and fan fiction. One notable addition was "Jane the Killer", who was introduced as a female counterpart to Jeff the Killer. In the most widely accepted telling of her story, despite another version circulating, with the character's full name as Jane Arkensaw, Jane Richardson was Jeff's neighbor before his transformation into a serial killer, and her family became his victims. She is depicted as a burn victim wearing a black wig and a white mask with blacked-out eyes.

In contrast to Jeff's infamous catchphrase, "Go to sleep," Jane's signature line is, "Don't go to sleep. You won't wake up." While Jane is often portrayed as a sympathetic character seeking vengeance, many versions of the story depict her as killing innocent people as well. Some fans envision a confrontation between Jeff and Jane similar to the slasher film Freddy vs. Jason.^[4]

"Homicidal Liu" is another side story, made by a Tumblr user of the same name, where Jeff's brother Liu survived the stabbing and became a killer himself, due to the influence of a split personality known as "Sully," who narrates the story. The story is what coined Jeff and his family's popular surname, Woods, as the first GameFuelTV story had no surname. A surname was officially introduced later in "Jeff the Killer Part 2," posted in January 2012, the surname "Blalock" that GameFuelTV used, and the story itself received very little attention.

Due to the immense popularity of the GameFuelTv's story, a trend started among young members of the Creepypasta fandom of making original characters based on Jeff.^{[citation needed]} These original characters often shared many similarities with Jeff, the most notable of which was that the character experiences severe bullying and the naming convention of "-the Killer" after the character's first name. This trend eventually resulted in the creation of "Nina the Killer," another female counterpart to Jeff who acted as a romantic interest rather than a rival. The story follows Nina Hopkins, a young girl who becomes an obsessive fan of Jeff the Killer. Towards the end of the story, Nina is visited by Jeff, who helps her to recreate the incident at the birthday party, covering her in bleach and alcohol and setting her on fire so that she can look similar to him. The story ends with Nina recreating the murder of Jeff's family with her own. This story was later taken down due to harassment towards the character's creator, a user who went by "Alegotic-twelve" because of the story's poor quality.

After the original story and its subsequent sequels (both fan-made and official) faced criticism over their writing, GameFuelTv's story was removed from the Creepypasta Wiki website. A writing contest was held to replace the original story with a new version.^[5] The winner was K. Banning Kellum, and his version is the version of the story on the website currently.^[5]

In late 2015, independent filmmaker Vitaly Podolyak started an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for a film adaptation of the character of Jeff Woods. The film, simply titled Jeff the Killer,^[6][7] was to be directed by Podolyak and written by him and Anna Sas,^[8] and produced by Podolyak's production company Purity Films.^[6][7] The campaign was closed after having reached 402 US Dollars and no further updates were made.^[8]

Jeff the Killer stabbing and shooting
Urbana Urbana (Ohio) Location of Urbana in Champaign County, Ohio
Location	Urbana, Ohio
Date	April 6, 2017; 8 years ago (2017-04-06)
Target	Heidi Taylor
Attack type	Murder by stabbing and shooting
Weapons	Knife Handgun
Deaths	1 (Heidi Taylor; over 60 stab wounds and a gunshot in the forehead)
Perpetrators	Donovan Nicholas
Motive	Alleged that an alternate personality named "Jeff" was responsible for the attack
Charges	Nicholas: Aggravated murder
Criminal information
Criminal status	Nicholas: Released in 2023 after 6 years[9]
Criminal penalty	Nicholas: Life in prison
Verdict	Guilty by aggravated murder

On April 6, 2017, 14-year-old Donovan Nicholas fatally stabbed and shot Heidi Taylor, his father's longtime girlfriend, in their home in Urbana, Ohio. According to an autopsy, Taylor sustained approximately 60 stab wounds before being shot in the forehead.^[10]

During a 911 call made from the scene, Nicholas, speaking in an unsteady voice, claimed that an alternate personality named "Jeff", inspired by Jeff the Killer, had taken control and carried out the attack. Investigators later determined that Nicholas had dressed as Jeff during the murder, wearing black clothing and even slashing his mouth to mimic the character's signature grin. Prosecutors stated that he had ambushed Taylor near the front staircase, calling her downstairs before launching the attack. Despite Taylor's attempts to flee and plead for help, Nicholas ultimately retrieved his father's 9mm handgun from a nightstand and delivered the fatal shot.^[10]

In June 2019, shortly after his 16th birthday, Nicholas was convicted as an adult of aggravated murder and sentenced to life in prison, with eligibility for parole after 28 years. Prosecutors argued that Nicholas, motivated by resentment and preoccupied with violent fantasies, carried out the killing after Taylor confiscated his phone upon discovering he had been sexting an out-of-state girlfriend.^[10]

While Nicholas's attorney, Darrell Heckman, claimed that his client suffered from dissociative identity disorder and required treatment in the juvenile system, Champaign County Prosecutor Kevin Talebi dismissed the alternate personality claim as an excuse, noting that multiple psychological evaluations found Nicholas legally sane. However, two psychologists did acknowledge that he struggled with mental health issues, including depression and self-harm, though the exact diagnosis remained uncertain.^[10]

At his sentencing in July 2019, Nicholas expressed remorse and stated that he wanted treatment. In conversations with family from prison, he reportedly apologized repeatedly for his actions.^[11][12]

On July 9, 2023, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled to vacate Donovan Nicholas's adult court conviction, citing a faulty discretionary decision by the juvenile court that had bound his case over to adult court. This ruling resulted in Nicholas's release.^[9]

• Creepypasta
• List of creepypastas
• Slender Man stabbing

• Sesseur's account on DeviantArt, deviantart.com
• Earliest known mention of the original Jeff the Killer image, pya.cc