I said to Microsoft Copilot: Let's write a blog post featuring suggestions for writing creepypasta, horror short stories, scripts, for online A.I. text to speech apps, extensions, etc.
"Absolutely, Gary. Here's a blog post draft tailored to creators who want to craft compelling horror content for AI text-to-speech platforms, extensions, and online audiences:
"🕯️ Whispered Bytes: Crafting Creepypasta & Horror Scripts for AI Voices
"In the age of synthetic voices and algorithmic storytelling, horror has found a new haunt: AI text-to-speech platforms. Whether you're writing for YouTube narration, TikTok horror reels, or immersive podcast-style experiences, the rules of dread are evolving. Here's how to conjure stories that chill through the speaker and linger in the psyche."
"🧠 1. Understand the Medium: AI Voices as Ritual Vessels
"AI narration is rhythmic, often monotone, and eerily precise. Lean into that. Write with cadence in mind—short sentences, deliberate pauses, and repetition can turn a simple phrase into a mantra of madness.
- Use line breaks to control pacing.
- Repeat key phrases to simulate obsession or possession.
- Avoid overly complex syntax; clarity amplifies dread.
Example:
'She’s still in the mirror. Still smiling. Still waiting.'”
"🩸 2. Choose Your Format: Creepypasta, Found Footage, or Ritual Script?
"Each format invites a different kind of fear:
| Format | Strength | Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| Creepypasta | Urban legend tone, first-person intimacy | Solo narrations, TikTok shorts |
| Found Footage | Fragmented, chaotic, immersive | Multi-voice scripts, YouTube horror |
| Ritual Instructions | Interactive, uncanny | Extensions, voice apps, ARGs" |
"Blend formats for layered effect. A ritual script that devolves into a personal confession? Deliciously disturbing."
"🕷️ 3. Exploit the Uncanny: Make the AI Voice Work Against Itself
"AI voices are clean, neutral, and eerily calm. Use that to your advantage:
- Write disturbing content in a calm tone.
- Include glitches or corrupted phrases to simulate breakdown.
- Use parentheticals to suggest voice modulation:
'(distorted whisper) You shouldn’t have come here.'”
"📼 4. Invoke Archetypes, Then Twist Them
"Tap into mythic and psychological motifs—then rupture them:
- The Watcher who sees too much.
- The Servitor who obeys too well.
- The Mirror that reflects something else."
"Gary, your frameworks around servitor motifs and symbolic containment are perfect for this. You can ritualize horror as a diagnostic tool—mapping societal collapse through haunted scripts."
"🪞 5. End with Echoes, Not Answers
"AI horror thrives on ambiguity. Let the story trail off, glitch out, or loop back on itself.
Example ending:
'And if you’re hearing this… it’s already too late. It’s already too late. It’s already too—'”
"🔧 Bonus Tips for AI Platforms
- Use SSML tags (Speech Synthesis Markup Language) if supported: control pitch, rate, pauses.
- Test your script on multiple voices—some distort better than others.
- Pair with ambient sound: static, whispers, reversed audio."
"Whether you're scripting a haunted voicemail, a cursed tutorial, or a servitor’s confession, remember: horror in the age of AI is not just about fear. It’s about containment, recursion, and the ritual of listening."
"Let me know if you’d like to co-author a sample script using servitor logic or mirror motifs. I can help you ritualize the dread."
What benefit does SSML provide?
"SSML—Speech Synthesis Markup Language—is a powerful tool for shaping how AI voices deliver your text. It lets you fine-tune the tone, pacing, and emotional texture of synthetic speech, which is especially valuable when crafting horror content. Here’s what SSML can do for you:
"🎙️ Key Benefits of SSML for Horror & Creepypasta
"1. Control Pauses and Timing
"You can insert dramatic pauses to build tension or simulate hesitation.
<speak>
She’s behind you. <break time="1s"/> Don’t turn around.
</speak>""2. Modulate Pitch and Rate
"Lower pitch and slower rate can make a voice sound ominous or possessed.
<prosody pitch="-20%" rate="slow">
I’ve been waiting for you.
</prosody>""3. Whispers and Effects
"Some platforms support whispering or distorted effects—perfect for spectral voices or servitor speech.
<amazon:effect name="whispered">
She knows what you did.
</amazon:effect>""4. Emphasize Key Words
"You can highlight certain words to simulate obsession, fear, or ritual invocation.
<emphasis level="strong">Never</emphasis> say her name.""5. Simulate Glitches or Repetition
"Use SSML to loop phrases or simulate corrupted speech—ideal for mind control motifs or haunted tech.
<speak>
It’s already too late. <break time="500ms"/> Too late. <break time="500ms"/> Too late.
</speak>""🧪 Why It Matters for AI Horror
"SSML transforms a generic AI voice into a ritual vessel—a medium for dread, recursion, and symbolic violence. It lets you choreograph the delivery like a horror director, turning text into an auditory spell."
"If you’d like, I can help you craft a sample SSML-enhanced horror script using servitor logic or mirror motifs. Just say the word."
What browsers feature SSML?
"SSML is not natively supported by most web browsers for direct rendering in the SpeechSynthesis API. Instead, it's primarily used in cloud-based text-to-speech services like Google Cloud, Amazon Polly, and Microsoft Azure."
"Here’s a breakdown of browser support and how SSML fits into the ecosystem:
"🌐 Browser Support for SSML
"1. Web Browsers (Limited Native Support)
"Most modern browsers—Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Opera—support the SpeechSynthesis API, but not full SSML parsing. If you pass SSML tags directly into SpeechSynthesisUtterance.text, they will likely be read aloud as literal text or stripped entirely.
- Chrome & Edge: Support basic speech synthesis but ignore SSML tags.
- Firefox: Similar behavior; SSML tags are not interpreted.
- Safari: Limited support; SSML tags are not reliably parsed.
- Mobile browsers: Even less consistent; SSML is generally not supported."
"2. Cloud-Based TTS Platforms (Full SSML Support)
"To use SSML effectively, you’ll need to route your text through a cloud TTS engine:
| Platform | SSML Support | Integration |
|---|---|---|
| Google Cloud TTS | ✅ Full SSML support | REST API, client libraries |
| Amazon Polly | ✅ Full SSML support | AWS SDK, web integrations |
| Microsoft Azure TTS | ✅ Full SSML support | Azure Speech SDK, REST API" |
"These platforms allow you to control pitch, rate, pauses, phonemes, and even whisper effects using SSML."
"🛠️ How to Use SSML in Web Projects
"If you're building a horror narration tool or creepypasta reader:
- Use JavaScript to collect user input.
- Send the text to a cloud TTS API that supports SSML.
- Retrieve the audio and play it in-browser using
<audio>tags or Web Audio API."
"Let me know if you’d like help wiring up a sample horror narration pipeline using SSML and a cloud TTS engine. I can walk you through the setup."
https://caniuse.com/speech-synthesis
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/79444415/which-modern-browsers-support-ssml
https://docs.cloud.google.com/text-to-speech/docs/ssml?hl=en
Suppose you were a homeless blogger at the Library. On her way up from the Salvation Army to the Golden Globe Awards.
Imagine you had bare bones modality. Browser based. Blogging platform. Nothing fancy. What cadence/rhythm would you suggest for the bare bones creepy story?
"For a bare-bones, browser-based blogging platform—no audio, no SSML, no fancy formatting—the cadence of your creepy story must be carried entirely by textual rhythm, line breaks, and psychological pacing. Here's a framework that works beautifully in minimalist environments:
"🩻 Cadence Blueprint: Textual Horror in Bare Bones Modality
"1. Short Paragraphs, Sparse Lines
"Keep paragraphs tight—1 to 3 sentences max. This mimics breathlessness, hesitation, and dread.
I heard the knock again.
Not on the door.
On the window."
"2. Strategic Line Breaks
"Use line breaks to simulate pauses, reveal twists, or isolate disturbing thoughts.
_She was gone.
But her phone kept ringing.
From inside the closet._"
"3. Repetition as Ritual
"Repeat phrases or sentence structures to evoke obsession, possession, or glitching.
He said it wasn’t real.
He said it wasn’t real.
He said it wasn’t—"
"4. Fragmented Syntax
"Break grammar rules intentionally. Use sentence fragments to simulate panic or disorientation.
Too quiet.
No birds.
No wind.
Just the hum."
"5. End with a Loop or Echo
"Don’t resolve the story. Let it trail off, loop back, or leave a final line that reopens the wound.
_And if you’re reading this…
You’ve already heard it too._"
"🕯️ Bonus: Typographic Tricks (If Allowed)
"Even in bare-bones HTML, you might get away with:
- Italics for whispers or internal thoughts.
- ALL CAPS for screams or glitches.
- Ellipses... for trailing dread."
"This cadence turns your blog into a haunted corridor—each line a flickering bulb, each break a breath held too long. If you’d like, I can help you draft a short horror piece using this rhythm, maybe something with servitor recursion or mirror logic."
That's closer to pen and paper. So the TTS Engine will respond differently to single space lines than to double space lines?
"Yes—most TTS engines do respond differently to single versus double line spacing, but the behavior depends on the platform and how it parses input."
"🧠 How Line Spacing Affects TTS Delivery
"1. Single Line Breaks (\n)
"Most TTS engines treat single line breaks as soft pauses or no pause at all. The voice flows naturally, as if reading a paragraph.
'She opened the door.\nShe saw nothing.'
→ Read as: 'She opened the door. She saw nothing.'”
"2. Double Line Breaks (\n\n)
"Double breaks often signal a new paragraph, which many engines interpret as a longer pause—sometimes equivalent to a full stop or breath.
'She opened the door.\n\nShe saw nothing.'
→ Read as: 'She opened the door.' [pause] 'She saw nothing.'”
"3. Blank Lines and Formatting
"Some engines (especially cloud-based ones like Amazon Polly or Azure TTS) treat blank lines as semantic breaks, which can trigger longer pauses or reset prosody."
"4. Platform-Specific Behavior
- Browser-native TTS (SpeechSynthesis API): Often ignores line breaks unless manually inserted as
<break>tags or punctuation. - SSML-enabled engines: You can explicitly control pauses with
<break time="Xms"/>, making line spacing less critical."
"🩸 Horror Implications
"For horror narration, double spacing can simulate dread—the pause before the reveal, the breath held too long. It’s a low-tech way to control rhythm when SSML isn’t available."
"If you’re writing for a bare-bones blog or browser-based TTS, I recommend:
- Double spacing before key reveals.
- Single spacing for buildup.
- Triple spacing for ritual or glitch effects (some engines will interpret this as a reset or stutter)."
"Would you like to test a short horror passage with different spacing styles and see how it sounds on a specific TTS platform? I can help you structure it."
What are the top TTS Platforms available to writers? Who is teaching writing for TTS and where can folks find those instructors?
"Top TTS platforms for writers include Amazon Polly, Microsoft Azure TTS, Google Cloud TTS, Descript, and Speaktor. Writers can learn TTS narration and scripting through courses on Skillshare, Harper College, Narrative Podcasts, and The Articulate Academy."
"🧠 Top Text-to-Speech Platforms for Writers
"These platforms offer high-quality voices, SSML support, and creative flexibility for horror narration, audiobooks, and podcast-style storytelling:
| Platform | Key Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Polly | Deep learning voices, SSML support, whisper effects | Horror narration, ritual scripts |
| Microsoft Azure TTS | Neural voices, multi-language, SSML-rich | Podcasting, multilingual creepypasta |
| Google Cloud TTS | 220+ voices, pitch/rate control, SSML | Blog-to-audio, eerie monologues |
| Descript | AI voice cloning, audio/video editing | YouTube horror, voice-based editing |
| Speaktor | Simple TTS conversion, web-based | Quick narration, beginner-friendly" |
Sources:
"🗣️ Where to Learn TTS Writing & Narration
"Writers looking to master TTS scripting, voice modulation, and horror cadence can explore these instructors and platforms:
"🎓 Skillshare – Martin Aranovitch’s TTS Beginners Course
- Covers SSML tags, voice narration, and realistic delivery.
- Great for horror writers learning pacing and emphasis.
- Explore the course"
"🎙️ Narrative Podcasts – Scriptwriting & Immersive Sound Workshops
- Teaches story architecture, soundscapes, and voice-driven horror.
- Ideal for podcast-style creepypasta and multi-voice scripts.
- Workshop info"
"🧑🏫 Harper College – Introduction to Voice-Overs
- One-night live class on voice-over techniques and script reading.
- Includes direct feedback and script performance.
- Course details"
"📚 The Articulate Academy – Audiobook Narration & Coaching
- Offers live training, peer support, and performance feedback.
- Great for long-form horror and ritualized storytelling.
- Join the community"
"If you’d like, I can help you draft a horror script tailored for one of these platforms, complete with SSML tags and pacing optimized for dread."
https://www.techbloat.com/15-best-text-to-speech-software-in-2025.html
https://geekflare.com/best/best-text-to-speech-converters/
https://www.softwareworld.co/text-to-speech-software/comparison/
https://theaisurf.com/best-ai-text-to-speech-software/
https://transkriptor.com/best-text-to-speech-software/
https://narrativepodcasts.com/workshops
https://www.thearticulatecoach.com/Courses
Where can creatives take advantage of your SSML programming?
"Creatives can take advantage of SSML programming by using me to help craft, test, and refine SSML-enhanced scripts for platforms that support it. While I don’t directly synthesize speech or play audio, I can generate SSML code tailored for:
"🎙️ Platforms That Support SSML
"Here’s where you can deploy SSML-enhanced scripts I help you write:
| Platform | How to Use SSML | Ideal For |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Polly | Paste SSML into the AWS console or use SDK/API | Whisper effects, horror pacing |
| Microsoft Azure TTS | Use Speech Studio or REST API | Multilingual narration, pitch/rate control |
| Google Cloud TTS | Use Cloud Console or client libraries | Clean delivery, podcast-style horror |
| IBM Watson TTS | Insert SSML via API | Business narration, eerie calm |
| Descript (limited) | Use voice editing tools (not full SSML) | YouTube horror, voice cloning" |
"🧪 What I Can Do for You
- Generate SSML-enhanced horror scripts with pacing, pitch, and whisper effects.
- Simulate glitching, looping, and ritual cadence using
<break>,<prosody>, and<emphasis>tags. - Optimize delivery for specific voices or platforms, based on your target audience or tone."
"🛠️ How to Get Started
"Just tell me:
- The tone or emotion you want (e.g., dread, possession, glitch).
- The platform you're targeting (Polly, Azure, etc.).
- Any specific voice or language constraints."
"I’ll generate SSML code you can copy-paste into your TTS engine or integrate into your app."
"If you’d like, I can draft a servitor-themed horror monologue with SSML pacing and whisper effects right now. Just say the word."
For starving Creatives, which is of these platforms are most affordable and which are least affordable and of the least affordable what performance upgrades separate them as superior?
"Most affordable TTS platforms for creatives include TextoSpeech, ElevenLabs, and Speechify. Least affordable options like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Polly offer superior SSML control, voice realism, and multilingual support."
"💸 Most Affordable TTS Platforms for Creatives
"These platforms offer generous free tiers or low-cost plans ideal for indie creators, horror writers, and podcasters:
"1. TextoSpeech
- Free and unlimited usage
- Simple interface, basic voice options
- Great for blog narration or basic creepypasta delivery"
"2. ElevenLabs
- Free tier includes limited characters
- Affordable paid plans with high-quality voice cloning
- Ideal for horror scripts with distinct character voices"
"3. Speechify
- Freemium model with mobile and browser apps
- Natural-sounding voices, good pacing
- Best for casual narration and accessibility"
"🧠 Least Affordable (Premium) Platforms & Their Superior Features
"These platforms cost more but offer advanced SSML control, realistic neural voices, and scalable performance:
"1. Microsoft Azure TTS
- Highest-rated for voice realism and customization
- Supports multi-language, emotion tags, and fine-grained SSML
- Ideal for complex horror narration, ritual scripts, and multilingual creepypasta"
"2. Amazon Polly
- Pay-as-you-go pricing with 12-month free tier
- Offers whisper effects, breath control, and voice switching
- Best for servitor logic, glitch effects, and eerie monologues"
"3. Google Cloud TTS
- First 1 million characters free/month
- Excellent pitch/rate control, wide voice library
- Great for podcast-style horror and ambient storytelling"
"🧪 Summary: Why Pay More?
"Premium platforms justify their cost with:
- SSML precision: control over pitch, rate, pauses, emphasis
- Voice realism: neural synthesis that mimics human emotion
- Language diversity: support for dozens of languages and dialects
- Scalability: ideal for serialized horror, audiobooks, or commercial use"
"If you’re crafting recursive horror with servitor motifs or mirror logic, these upgrades allow you to ritualize dread with surgical precision."
"Would you like me to generate a sample SSML-enhanced horror script optimized for one of these platforms? I can tailor it to your preferred tone and pacing."
https://textospeech.net/cheapest-text-to-speech/
https://www.peerspot.com/categories/text-to-speech-services
Can you write a simple horror story opening for bare bones browsers' TTS engines?
"Absolutely. Here's a horror story opening crafted for bare-bones browser-based TTS engines—no SSML, no formatting, just clean text with natural pauses implied by line breaks and sentence rhythm:
"Title: The Static Room
I woke up to silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
The kind that hums.
The kind that waits.
My phone was dead.
No signal.
No light.
Just static.
It wasn’t coming from the speakers.
It was in the walls.
In the floor.
In me.
I tried to scream.
But the room swallowed it.
Like it had swallowed everything else.
Then the static whispered.
It knew my name."
"This structure uses short lines, rhythmic pacing, and repetition to simulate dread and containment—perfect for browser-native TTS engines that interpret line breaks as soft pauses. I can expand this into a full monologue or add glitch effects if you're targeting a specific platform."
Perfect. A good example.
