The Internet’s Latest Obsession: How ‘Pou’ Became a Terrifying Creepypasta Phenomenon

Do you remember Pou? It’s been a little more than a decade since this endearing -to call it somehow- virtual pet triumphed in cell phones around the world. Pou this, Pou that, Pou the other, Pou the other way around… Every self-respecting geek had a little brown, questionably shaped alien waiting hungrily or in need of a bath in the depths of his iPhone.

But time has passed and we are still waiting for his 3D debut. What has become of him? Have we finally managed to kill Pou? With the sudden resurrection of the classic Tamagotchi from the 90s, we may soon be hearing from our favorite alien. But not all of us are ready to endure another eternity of digital care. In today’s article we’re going to take a look back at the life and miracles of this doe-eyed virtual pet and painstakingly investigate how to kill Pou quickly, effectively and forever.

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Killing Pou: the birth of an obsession

Although it may surprise you (or maybe not, considering you are reading this article), Pou’s death is not a topic to be taken lightly. Since the appearance of this virtual pet, its users put aside the care of this doe-eyed alien to focus on plotting the perfect crime. Pou had to disappear. Whatever it took.

There were many attempts. From starvation and illness to boredom, tiredness or death by filth: Pou was still there with his little eyes demanding affection. That’s why Softonic’s Pou graduate department created an experiment to eliminate the pet that was reliably documented in the following video.

Quickly, Pou’s death went from the simple dream of a few to a large-scale objective. The Internet was filled with articles promising a foolproof method to bring Pou to the next world. However, all of them were fake news. Even if they were followed to the letter, the alien refused to stretch its non-existent legs.

But the worst was yet to come. Instead of throwing in the towel, the attempts to eliminate Pou increased exponentially, generating hundreds of articles where the only aim was to see this pawsome mascot suffer. It was the birth of a meme that lasts to this day and also the beginning of something much darker.

From cute mascot to creepypasta king

Over the years, the fixation with murdering Pou did not succumb to oblivion, but evolved into the nightmare of many. But how could that cute little thing scare so many? Quite simply. Thanks to a popular creepypasta that left its younger followers screaming in terror every time they went to the bathroom or saw a potato in the supermarket.

The origin of the Pou creepypasta goes back to a video that apparently offered the definitive tutorial to kill him. In it, a user named Elvaquero.posting explained that if we searched well in the lab we could buy an item called “Killer Poison” for only 199 coins. It was quite a bargain if we finally managed to get rid of that tiresome alien!

The video kept trying to give the concoction to Pou, but he flatly refused to drink it and added an ominous “I’m going to kill you“. When the app was closed, the young man’s wallpaper and all his apps changed to Pou. His gallery was full of lurid photos of the alien and his social networks were full of those same images. But the worst was yet to come. At the end of the video, it was shown how Pou disappeared from the cell phone to kill the young man.

If you want to see the famous cursed video of Pou, you will find it below these lines.

As a result, the reign of the so-called “Cursed Pou” (insert ominous music here) began. And the alien became the undisputed protagonist not only of hundreds of YouTube videos, but also a nightmarish creature that rivaled year after year with the well-known Slenderman. But the Cursed Pou not only reached its potential victims through a video but also through audio tracks hosted on platforms such as SoundCloud or even playlists on Spotify. We can even fight a musical duel with this creature in the successful game Friday Night Funkin’!

There is no doubt that Pou’s popularity was sky-high when he was a simple mascot, but it skyrocketed to unsuspected levels when he showed his dark side. You only have to take a look at the Internet to see how the classic “How to kill Pou” has evolved into “How to stop Pou from killing me“.

Are you trying to kill Pou? Don’t try this

The years go by but killing Pou is still the Holy Grail of Internet users and all those who enjoy removing the ladder from the pool of The Sims. However, we’ve tried a thousand and one stratagems and none of them have worked. To save you some time, let’s make a short list of everything Pou is immune to. Don’t waste your time trying!

1. Starve Pou to death

On our planet, the vast majority of living things need daily nourishment to stay alive. So far, the champion in this field is the Dipnoi, a lungfish that can hibernate for a period of four years.

Pou, however, does not hibernate. It remains alive and active, without any sustenance and with energy to continue protesting and begging for food, indefinitely. For ever and ever. No, you can’t starve Pou to death, because Pou doesn’t really need food to survive, but out of pure gluttony and boredom.

And a horrible diet, will it kill him? Pou doesn’t seem to be too affected either. Yes, maybe he’ll put on a little weight, but even so, after years of feeding him only chips and treats, you won’t be able to give him a heart attack.

2. Sick Pou

With a malicious choice of food needs or carelessness in cleaning, you will make Pou sick, but in no case it will be a terminal illness. Rather a small chronic discomfort, accompanied by an unhealthy obsession with putting the thermometer in his mouth.

Pou can remain ill for weeks and months without perishing, because there is no disease that cannot be instantly cured with mysterious liquids in test tubes.

One thing is clear, Pou does not suffer from epilepsy. Turning the bedroom light on and off for hours at a time does not have the slightest effect on him. No, the disease doesn’t kill him. It only makes him more annoying.

3. Letting Pou die of boredom

It doesn’t matter if he hasn’t eaten or slept for three months, Pou will still enjoy the wonder of watching a ball bounce off the walls as much as he did on the first day.

For other games he will need to rest (or take another mysterious potion), but you won’t break his spirit if you ignore him indefinitely or, even worse, if you force him – and yourself – to play the same game over and over again. No, boredom will not kill Pou.

4. NEVER let Pou sleep

The longest a human being has gone without sleep is 11 days, and sleep deprivation is believed to cause death in humans after a few months. Not for Pou. The alien is tired and sleepy, but he stands upright, staring at you with his big eyes, without this ever causing him to die.

Nor does mental exhaustion dampen his spirit. He is capable of listening and repeating your insults for hours, even if he hasn’t eaten or slept for months. No, Pou will not die from lack of sleep.

5. Turn it into a fashion victim

Fashion victim? sounds promising! Even if Pou has thwarted previous attempts to destroy him, he could die of embarrassment from the catastrophic combinations of accessories and clothes. Well, no. It seems that Pou does not follow fashion, but he himself is the one who creates trends with his outfits.

How to kill Pou once and for all

As you have been able to see, under his harmless and weak appearance is the toughest being in the universe, impossible to kill. I’m sorry, but if you wanted to see your poor Pou die, you’ll have to settle for seeing him in a deplorable state, sick, tired and dirty.

So, it’s clear that you won’t be able to see Pou die with your own eyes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t delete his existence and, technically, kill him. His life is recorded in your phone’s app data. Delete it, and your Pou will no longer exist.

On Android, from the settings, go to Apps, press Pou, and then press Clear data. This will delete all of your pet’s information, returning it to its baby state. Alternatively, you can also completely delete the app, ridding yourself of Pou once and for all.

Love him, hate him or fear him: Pou will always be by your side.

We’re sorry to be so direct with you: Pou is immortal and even if you want to make him disappear, he will always be by your side watching you with his bulging eyes. It’s up to you if you want to be his friend, his enemy or if you have a syncope just seeing his peculiar silhouette. We hope we have been helpful! And remember, if you liked what you read, don’t forget to share it with your friends on social networks. Do it or Pou will come to see you tonight. He who warns is not a traitor.