How glitch text works
Unicode has "combining marks": accents and lines that attach to the letter before them, like the accent on é. There is no limit on how many can attach to one letter, so stacking many above, through and below each letter makes text that spills out of its line. That is zalgo, also called cursed or creepy text.
- Glitch slider: sets how many marks go on each letter, from 1 (a light flicker) to 10.
- Melting: marks only below the letters, so the text drips down.
- Rising: marks only above, so the text grows upwards.
The marks are chosen at random per letter, and letters you already typed keep their marks when you add more, so the text does not reshuffle on every key.
Where it works, and where it does not
Glitch text pastes into most chats, comments and bios. Some apps cut the text to a maximum length, and every mark counts as a character, so heavy glitch text runs out of room fast. Some apps and forums also strip or limit combining marks because heavy zalgo can cover other lines of text. If the result looks clipped, lower the strength.
Weird, creepy and demon text
People look for the same effect under many names: weird text, creepy text, scary text, demon text. They are all combining marks at different strengths. For a creepy look that stays readable, keep the slider at 2 or 3 and use Melting, so the marks drip below the words. For demon text, push the slider to 8 or more and use Cursed (zalgo), which stacks marks above, through and below every letter.
Screen readers read every mark or skip the text. Use glitch text for fun, not for anything people must read. To clean it up again, paste it into Fancy to plain.
How these glitch styles are made
Glitch text generator: what Unicode block each style is built from, and which letters stay plain.
| Style | Example | Built from | Letters left plain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slightly cursed | G̙̣͗ḽ̓ͬi̘̺ͭ͊t̼̊̽c͚̯̎̈́h̘̓ t̲͂̚e̞̎̓ẍ̬t̻̘ͮ͌ | A few combining marks on each letter | none |
| Cursed (zalgo) | G͚̪̺̅͌̆̅̍l͓̳͙̓͛̿̆ͨi̟̓t̙͇̜̟ͫc̪̱͔͂̑͂ͨ̄ẖ̭̖̈͑ͅ t̝͔̼͓̏ͨe̟͍̯̬̅̄̃ͭx̱̌ͣ͐̆t͈̘̥̪̤́́̓ͥͣ | Combining marks stacked above, through and below each letter | none |
| Very cursed | G̬͙͉̟͖͙͖̜ͩͤ̑ͣ̌̌̒͢ͅl̷͔̘̲̰̖̭̥̬͔̬͂̿͗̚ḯ͋̄҉̟̝̙͖͕t̮͎̩̪̻͕͈̝̩̪ͪ͂̾ͭͮ͒̆ͭͯ̈ͅc̗̘̭̞̃̐ͨ̐ͧ̿ͅh̐̊̽̉̍͏̯̞̬̯͖̱͚̱ t̷̩̻͓̗̳͓̮ͮ͆ͨ̍ͭͪͪe̊͗͋ͥ͏̖̳̖̲͖x͕̣̘͖̳̗ͫ͝t̟̲̯̼̘͖͕̪̼̯͂ͧ̾̽̋̍ͫ | Many combining marks on each letter | none |
| Melting | G̥͈͍l͙̻͈i̤̟̦t͚̬̜c̗̯̖h̟̝̙ t̺̜̜e̫͉̮x̻͓̠t͎͔͕ | Combining marks below each letter only | none |
| Rising | Gͬ̊͛l̋ͧͬi͒ͤ͐t̿͑̅c̆̒͊hͨͣͩ t͗̊̄è̓͌xͥ̈́́t̒̏̆ | Combining marks above each letter only | none |
| Wavy strike | G̴l̴i̴t̴c̴h̴ t̴e̴x̴t̴ | Combining tilde overlay (U+0334) after each letter | none |
| Slashed | G̸l̸i̸t̸c̸h̸ t̸e̸x̸t̸ | Combining long solidus overlay (U+0338) after each letter | none |
| Strikethrough | G̶l̶i̶t̶c̶h̶ t̶e̶x̶t̶ | Combining long stroke overlay (U+0336) after each letter | none |
Questions
What is zalgo text?
Text with many combining marks stacked on every letter, so it looks corrupted or haunted. It is plain Unicode, so it can be copied and pasted.
How do I make cursed text?
Type here and tap Cursed (zalgo). Move the Glitch slider to change how strong it is.
Why was my glitch text cut off?
Each mark is a character, and many apps limit the number of characters. Lower the strength or use fewer words.
How do I remove zalgo from text?
Paste it into Fancy to plain at the top of the page. It removes the marks and keeps the letters.