Learn how Zalgo text creates eerie crawling effects through Unicode combining characters.
Zalgo text is one of the most recognizable glitch text effects on the internet, with those symbols that appear to "crawl out" of characters leaving a lasting impression. This unique visual effect is entirely based on Unicode's combining character system.
What Are Combining Characters?
The Unicode standard includes a special class of characters called "Combining Characters." These symbols were originally designed to add diacritical marks or other decorative marks to base characters, such as é (e + acute accent) in French or ñ (n + tilde) in Spanish.
Normally, a base character is paired with only one or two combining characters. However, Unicode doesn't strictly limit the number of combining characters that can be stacked, which makes creating Zalgo text possible.
How Zalgo Effects Work
Zalgo generators achieve their effect by randomly adding numerous combining characters above, through, and below each normal character. These symbols include:
- Upper symbols: Various dots, circles, accents, etc., appearing above characters
- Middle symbols: Horizontal lines, slashes, and other marks passing through characters
- Lower symbols: Various decorative symbols appearing below characters
When dozens of such symbols are stacked on the same character, it produces that signature "crawling" effect, making the text look as if it's been corrupted by some supernatural force.
Intensity Control
Zalgo generators typically allow users to adjust the effect's intensity. Higher intensity adds more combining characters, making the text appear more chaotic. Moderate intensity can maintain readability while adding mystery, whereas extremely high intensity creates an almost completely distorted visual effect.
Use Cases
Due to its unique visual impact, Zalgo text is commonly used for:
- Horror or suspense-themed content
- Game character names
- Artistic creation and design
- Personalized expression on social media
Note that excessive use of Zalgo text may affect readability, and some platforms may impose restrictions on such characters.