Glossary
What the terms around glitch text actually mean.
- Zalgo text
Text with many Unicode combining marks stacked on it to look corrupted or cursed, named after a mid-2000s internet horror meme.
- Unicode combining characters
Unicode code points that attach to the character before them instead of standing alone — the mechanism behind accents, and behind glitch/zalgo text.
- Cursed text
The gaming/meme-culture name for glitch or zalgo text, most often used for Discord, Roblox and Minecraft usernames and chat.
- Corrupted text
The glitch-art framing of the same effect as zalgo/cursed text — Unicode combining marks stacked to look like broken or corrupted data.
- Creepy text
The horror/aesthetic framing of the same effect, weighted toward marks below the letter so text looks like it's dripping or melting.
These four terms cover most of the confusion, but the short version is that glitch, zalgo, cursed and corrupted text are the same Unicode technique under four community names. For the mechanism behind all of them, see how it works; for longer background, the guides; and to generate some, the glitch text generator.