The 'Try Not To Get Scared' meme originates from the early 2010s YouTube horror subculture, where creators compiled creepypastas, urban legends, and supposedly real paranormal footage. These videos typically use dramatic, high-contrast thumbnails featuring monsters, dark hallways, or wide-eyed reaction faces to entice viewers into a 'challenge' format. Over time, the format evolved into a meta-commentary on horror clickbait, often parodying the extreme titles and visual tropes found in scary story narrations. Today, it is used both seriously by horror enthusiasts and ironically by meme makers to highlight anything from genuinely unsettling imagery to absurdly non-threatening content.