How to use the glitch text generator
- Type your text in the box. Short text works best: one to three words.
- Pick a preset to start: Mild, Medium or Chaos.
- Fine-tune it with the three sliders for marks above, through and below the letters.
- Not happy with the pattern? Press new random to scatter the marks differently at the same strength.
- Copy the result and paste it where you need it.
What each slider does
- Above: stacks marks on top of each letter. Push it up and the text grows tall spikes that can reach into the line above.
- Through: lays marks across the middle of each letter, like scratches or static. Even a little makes words harder to read, so keep it low if people need to read the text.
- Below: hangs marks under the letters, which looks like dripping or melting. It spills into the line below rather than the line above.
Presets as a starting point
The presets make this Zalgo text generator quick to use. Mild adds a light flicker that still reads easily. Medium gives a clear "corrupted file" look. Chaos turns everything up for towering, unreadable text. A good recipe for creepy but readable: start from Mild, keep "through" very low, add a little "above" and a bit more "below" for a dripping effect.
How Zalgo text works
Some Unicode characters are not letters at all. They are combining marks: accents, lines and squiggles that attach to the character before them. Your phone already uses them. The é in "café" can be stored as a plain e followed by a combining accent.
Normally a letter carries one or two marks. But Unicode sets no hard limit on how many can be stacked, and most apps simply draw each one on top of the last. Add a dozen or more marks to every letter and they tower above and below the line, run into neighbouring text and make the word look like a broken screen. That is Zalgo text.
The name comes from an old internet horror meme about a creature called Zalgo that corrupts everything it touches. The messy text became its calling card, and the name stuck. Today "glitch text", "glitch font", "Zalgo text", "creepy text" and "corrupted text" all describe the same trick.
| Strength | Example | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Mild | Ḡ̯l̦̓i͕̐t͓̓c̟͋h̩̐ | Names and captions that still need to be read |
| Medium | G̹̅̍̕ͅl̶͇̭͕ͥ̈́͆͛ǐ̜̺͆͂̑͜ť̬̩̐͌̕c̰̲͕ͮ̑̽̀h̑̐ͦ̌͏͙͓̺ | Spooky messages, edits and titles |
| Chaos | G̴̜̠̺͇͇̣̻̓̌͌̐̈́͒ͮ̽l̡̛̥͚͍̻̹̲̋ͥ͑̉ͯͥ̑ͣi̢͇̦̹͖͔͈͇̞ͪ̈́͋̄ͧ͆͢ͅt͚̪̩̭̤͈̜̬ͯ͌͆̎̓͒̒̕͟c̶͙̪͔̪̲̜̠̤͙͉̈͗̃̈̾͆ͯ͐́͡ḥ͙̖̠̞͖̮̭͖̹ͣͬ͑̓͂͋̃̊̉͟ | One-word jump scares and memes |
| One wavy mark per letter | G̴l̴i̴t̴c̴h̴ | A neat, subtle "bad signal" look |
| One slash per letter | G̸l̸i̸t̸c̸h̸ | A scratched, damaged look |
The last two rows use a single mark per letter, so they stay tidy. For a clean line through words instead, see the strikethrough text generator.
Where glitch text works, and where it breaks
Because Zalgo is made of real characters, it pastes into almost anything. Whether it stays there and looks right is another story.
- Chats and comments: it usually shows as intended, but tall stacks can overlap the messages above and below. Some apps cut off marks at the edge of the message bubble.
- Names and usernames: usernames reject it. Display names often limit or strip combining marks, so a Chaos name may come out plain or be refused.
- Games: many name fields block these marks or show them as boxes. Test in chat before you spend anything on a rename.
- Character limits: every mark counts as a character. A single word at Chaos strength can turn into dozens or even hundreds of characters, so you can hit limits fast.
- Moderation: some platforms and many Discord servers automatically remove Zalgo, because it can flood a chat.
Readable glitch vs total chaos
Glitch text works best as an accent, not as a whole message. A few habits help:
- Glitch one word and leave the rest of the sentence plain. "The file is c̹̅̍̕ͅo̶͇̭͕ͥ̈́͆͛ř̜̺͆͂̑͜ř̬̩̐͌̕ṵ̲͕ͮ̑̽̀p̑̐ͦ̌͏͙͓̺t̯̬̩ͭ̓̿͠ę̼̫̠́̅̈́d̛̟̰͕ͥ̔̆" lands harder than a fully glitched paragraph.
- Use Mild for anything that sits on your profile, and save Chaos for a single reply or reaction.
- Leave a blank line above and below heavy glitch text so it doesn't run into other lines.
- Pair it with other dark styles. Gothic Old English letters or a line of upside down text next to one glitched word make a strong horror title.
- Made a mess? Paste it into the unstyle tool to strip the marks and get plain text back.
Glitch text ideas
Glitch text suits anything that should feel digital, hacked or "not quite right". For haunted, meme-style and Halloween looks, the cursed text generator has more ideas.
- Gaming: Ḡ̯A̦̓M͕̐E͓̓ O̩̐V̜̉E̼̾R̘͒, r̹̅̍̕ͅe̶͇̭͕ͥ̈́͆͛š̜̺͆͂̑͜p̬̩̌̐͌̕a̰̲͕ͮ̑̽̀w̑̐ͦ̌͏͙͓̺n̯̬̩ͭ̓̿͠į̼̫̠́̅̈́n̛̟̰͕ͥ̔̆g̨̼͉̻̏̌ͣ, or the title of a horror game night in your group chat.
- Edits and captions: s̹̅̍̕ͅi̶͇̭͕ͥ̈́͆͛ǧ̜̺͆͂̑͜ň̬̩̐͌̕a̰̲͕ͮ̑̽̀l̑̐ͦ̌͏͙͓̺ ĺ̨̼̫̠̅̈́ơ̟̰͕ͥ̔̆s̨̼͉̻̏̌ͣt̛̫̺̤̂̑̏ or l̯̄o̦̓a͕̐d͓̓i̟͋n̩̐g̜̉ under a video with a glitch effect.
- Tech jokes: 4̹̅̍̕ͅ0̶͇̭͕ͥ̈́͆͛4̜̺̌͆͂̑͜ n̰̲͕ͮ̑̽̀ȏ̐ͦ̌͏͙͓̺t̯̬̩ͭ̓̿͠ f̛̟̰͕ͥ̔̆ǫ̼͉̻̏̌ͣư̫̺̤̂̑̏n̷̞̞̩̉̈d̵̯̦̙͑͑͋ͨͅ or s̯̄y̦̓s͕̐t͓̓e̟͋m̩̐ e̼̾r̘͒r̗̍ö͈́r̺̽ for the moment your brain stops working before an exam.
- Stories and puzzles: a corrupted diary entry in a horror story, or a hidden clue in a puzzle hunt.
- Profile accents: one mildly glitched word in a bio, with everything else plain. More edgy styles are collected on the cool fonts page.
Frequently asked questions
What is Zalgo text?
Zalgo text is normal text with many combining marks stacked above, through and below each letter, so it looks glitched or corrupted. It is made of real Unicode characters, which is why you can copy and paste it like any other text.
What do the Mild, Medium and Chaos presets do?
They are quick starting levels so you don't have to set every slider yourself. Mild adds a few marks and stays readable, Medium makes the text clearly glitched, and Chaos piles on marks in every direction. After choosing a preset you can still adjust the sliders by hand.
Why does my glitch text overlap other lines?
Stacked marks are drawn above and below the letter, outside the normal line height, so they spill into nearby lines. Lower the "above" and "below" sliders, or add a blank line before and after the text.
Why was my glitch text removed or cut short?
Some apps limit how many marks a letter can carry, some strip them from names, and some servers use bots that delete Zalgo messages. Heavy glitch text can also hit a character limit and get cut off at the end.
Does glitch text count as more characters?
Yes. Each mark is its own character, so a short word with heavy glitch can be many times longer than it looks. Use Mild if you are writing in a field with a tight limit.
Can I use glitch text in my username or game name?
Usernames almost never allow it. Some display names accept a mild version, but many apps and games strip or block combining marks. Rules change, so test before paying for any name change.
How do I remove Zalgo from text?
Paste the text into our fancy text to normal text converter. It removes the stacked marks and gives you the plain letters back.