TRIGGER WARNING: SELF HARM
The creepypasta legend of the EVIL STICK
The Evilstick was a real, battery-operated toy-wand that was made by an unknown company in China. It was sold at discount stores such as Dollar Generals inside of the kids toys section in the United States and New Zealand. It's packaging stated that the toy was appropriate for children ages 3 and up. The toy includes a button that, when pressed, reveals a random hidden image and causes the toy to emit either a glitter sound effect or a menacing laugh sound effect that was featured in other popular Holloween toys and decor.
The Evilstick was a pink or yellow wand with a flower-shaped tip that had a random picture in the center that lit up under a layer of foil when the toy's button was pressed, and toy's packaging contains bootleg graphics based on art from the anime series Cardcaptor Sakura,[4] and states that the toy can "send out wonderful music".[5][1] The wand's design was a rip-off of the Disney Princess Talking Wand from 2004[13], and Araneid Stick Gramary also shares the same sculpt mold.The first recorded appearance of the toy in stores was in 2008 in New York City, but the Evilstick gained infamy in November of 2014 a mother in Dayton, Ohio, purchased an Evilstick from a dollar store for her child and was surprised to see that it contained what appeared to be an image of a girl cutting her forearm with a knife and drawing blood, with creepy cackling sound effect when the wand's handle was pressed.
The image of the girl cutting herself belongs to French photographer Butcher Ludwig, as part of his Macabre Muses series, although the toy manufacturers modified the image to have enlarged red eyes and a blue background.[12]. It was supposed to portray a vampire cutting her own forearm in order to feed on her own blood. According to Ludwig, the model was about 20 years of age at the time. Other Evilsticks contain different images, including a photograph of a woman as a zombie, although most have non-disturbing images taken from anime and manga.[1] Ludwig stated that his photograph was used for the toy without his permission.[1][8]
The mother stated that the toy was inappropriate for children and that she was "outraged" about it.[6] Other parents were also upset by the toy.[7]
The owner of the store defended the toy, stating that it was the responsibility of parents to examine toys before giving them to children, and that the name "Evilstick" should have given parents pause.[6] The store owner also stated that he personally thought that the imagery was appropriate for children ranging from five to ten years old because "they see that on TV every day".[5] The Dayton dollar store sold out of Evilsticks after it received media coverage, and some were sold on eBay for over $200.[3][5]
In a 2014 New Zealand newspaper article about new discount store toys, it was described as having "a mirror that horribly distorts your features", but the article made no mention of the hidden images contained within the toy.
It makes use of three 1.5-volt batteries.[2] The toy sold at retail for US$1 in the United States[3] and NZ$2 in New Zealand.[2]
The toy can come with pictures other than the one of the girl cutting herself[5], including:
- Fanart of Feena Fam Earthlight, used on one of the innocent “good” versions of the toy that make glitter sounds.[6]
- This image[7] of three angels by Ruth Morehead, possibly used on some of the “good” versions, and featuring a leafy border and unreadable text.
- NSFW fanart of Kouyama Mitsuki from Full Moon is featured on both the hang card and some “good” versions of the actual toy. A censored wallpaper version with a light blue background also exists, although the art on the Evilstick more closely resembles the darker NSFW original.[8]
- Various zombies, including one that closely resembles Tyrant from Resident Evil. Most of these look like concept art for games, the original sources have yet to be found.
- A strange cyborg creature with wires in its head, it appears to be screaming and its neck is bloody. Just like vampire girl, this image also has an edited background. The new background is red, but shading alludes to the original being green. The source of this image is also unknown, but the graphics appear to be from a late 90s video game. higher resolution images also have yet to be discovered.
- An illustration by Aleksi Briclot made for the videogame Cold Fear.[9]
- Artwork of An Evil Resident for the PC videogame The Witcher.[10]
- There is a picture of Sakura Kinomoto and Kero, from the anime Cardcaptor Sakura. Sakura has been edited to look like she is holding the Evilstick[11] , along with having the star on her outfit removed.
- The demo pictures on the card backing use a drawing of Kouyama Mitsuki from Full Moon Wo Sagashite.
There are most likely other images that have not been archived, especially good versions.