With the exception of going fast, Sonic the Hedgehog is best known for two things: eating chili dogs and a positive, can-do attitude. It's probably that second element that makes the blue blur such a prime candidate for stories of scary paranormal events, and the contradiction between the bright and cheery aesthetic normally associated with the series and the dark, disturbing world of horror is likely what has made "Sonic.exe" one of the most famous video game creepypastas on the internet.
For anyone not in the know, a creepypasta is the name given to scary, often gruesome stories with paranormal elements to them that are user-generated and then copied and pasted around the internet as modern day urban legends. Other famous examples include the Minecraft Herobrine creepypasta, but no other video game creepypasta seems to have taken on a life of its own quite like Sonic.exe.
The Sonic.exe creepypasta tells the story of a Sonic the Hedgehog fan who receives a weird, glitchy version of a Sonic game from their friend along with a note telling them not to play it. The flawed hero of the story plays the game anyway and is tormented by a demonic Sonic in and outside of the game. Now, in a post that at first glance is unrelated to the story, the official Sonic Twitter account has shared an image of classic Sonic Game Gear titles that asks fans to pick their favorite three. The post's caption says, "Giving some love to the Game Gear era--wait a second..." before trailing off with an extremely glitchy looking "is that." A closer inspection of the bottom right hand corner of the image reveals the game to which the caption refers.
There, tucked under the classic Tails' Skypatrol and the original Sonic the Hedgehog for Game Gear, is a scary looking cartridge that looks like it's likely Sonic.exe. The white of Sonic's eyes are dead black on the cartridge's front sticker and his pupils are glowing red, both elements from the famous creepypasta. Needless to say, with its promise of horrifying events following the player into the real world if played, Sonic.exe is not the game fans are hoping to see for Sonic the Hedgehog's 30th anniversary.
Of course, the whole post is just a little bit of fun for those who know about the story. Creepypastas are often mined for Hollywood movie ideas these days, and as they become more and more mainstream, companies like Sega will likely continue to explore and share creepypastas based on characters they own.
As for the game that might actually be coming for Sonic the Hedgehog's 30th anniversary, current rumors point towards a remaster of 2010's Sonic Colors, though this has yet to be verified. Regardless, the world can rest easy as long as Sega leaves Sonic R and its Tails Doll alone.