Fanlore:Featured Article Archives/2020: Week 50
My Immortal is a Harry Potter fanfic, originally published on FanFiction.Net by Tara Gilesbie under the username xxxbloodyrists666xxx. Tara was reportedly assisted by her friend and beta, Raven (bloodytearz666). Written in the presumed style of beginning amateur authors who try to pile everything on at once, it is the story of original character Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way, a vampire who attends Harry Potter's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
My Immortal is extremely poorly written, with odd grammar and story elements. It is also representative of trends in internet culture and amateur fanfiction that were common at the time. The main character is generally regarded as a Mary Sue self-insert who is overly preoccupied with the emo style aesthetic. It showcases the "Mall Goth"/emo trend of the early 2000s, and Tara demonstrates the self-serious attitude of young people interested in the culture.
The work includes sex, violence, and mature themes which are handled immaturely and unrealistically. The author seems to have a poor grasp of Harry Potter canon and often references other popular culture, and also reacted strongly to criticism in her author's notes. As a result, My Immortal gained notoriety as the quintessential badfic, and is one of the most infamous works of fanfiction in the world.
The work's quality is so poor and extreme that it is increasingly believed by many to have been written as an intentional badfic, crackfic, or parody. According to this view, all of My Immortal's badly written, odd, and extreme content is intentional lampooning of the kind of fanfiction written by pre-teen and teenage fangirls from an outside perspective. However, this interpretation of the work's true meaning and intentions are speculation without confirmation from the author herself. The actual identity of the fan behind the pseud Tara Gilesbie has also inspired much speculation, encouraged by people periodically coming forward to claim authorship of this work.