“Don’t Turn Left at the Crossroads”: The Minecraft Horror ARG Explained

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Minecraft expert Pixlriffs explains this story & why it’s so terrifying

Co-authored by Pixlriffs and Marcus Pruitt, BS

Last Updated: December 8, 2025 Fact Checked

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What does it mean?

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ARG Synopsis

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D3rLord3 & Avery’s Relationship

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Why is it so scary?

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More Scary Minecraft Stories

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Video

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Q&A

There are plenty of Minecraft horror stories, and “Don’t Turn Left at the Crossroads” is one that’s been shocking the internet into a frenzy. Officially known as “Searching For a World That Doesn’t Exist,” this Minecraft horror story explores the horrors of the unknown. In this article, we’ll dig into them too, with the help of Minecraft experts Pixlriffs and Jose Rivera. Read on to learn all about the horror story, from what it really means to why it’s so scary.

“Don’t Turn Left at the Crossroads” Overview

Minecraft expert Pixlriffs says that “Don’t turn left at the crossroads” is a warning from the Minecraft ARG, “Searching For a World That Doesn’t Exist.” It follows a character named Avery who finds a book containing this warning, then gradually realizes he’s not alone in his single-player world.

Section 1 of 5:

What does “Don’t turn left at the crossroads” mean?

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“Don’t turn left at the crossroads” is a warning from a Minecraft ARG. Pixlriffs says that the phrase comes from “an unnamed Minecraft ARG, appearing in the video ‘Searching For a World That Doesn’t Exist’ by the YouTube channel Wifies.”^{[1]
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Pixlriffs
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Expert Interview} As it opens, the main character, Avery, reads a line from a book. The only problem is that they’re the only person in the world, the book appeared in a chest they didn’t make, and it was written by someone they don’t know.
- Pixlriffs explains, “‘Searching For a World That Doesn’t Exist’ is a video in which a Minecraft player acts out a scenario where their world has been invaded by an eldritch entity. The video [references] other videos with secret codes embedded in them to create an atmosphere of discovering a broader mystery outside of the video itself, and uses Minecraft environments to illustrate the player’s descent into a world they cannot understand.”^{[2]
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- According to Rivera, an ARG (alternate reality game) is “a horror narrative staged across social media to mimic found footage through an evolving storyline with hidden messaging.”^{[3]
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- Throughout the ARG, things aren’t as they seem, with underground caves being mined out by an unknown entity, mysterious bases and villages appearing where they shouldn’t, and supernatural experiences plaguing Avery.
Meet the wikiHow Experts

Pixlriffs is a Minecraft expert and YouTube content creator who’s been sharing Minecraft tutorials and Let’s Play series since 2014. He also cohosts the Minecraft-themed podcast The Spawn Chunks.

Jose Rivera, aka Ricky Flicks, is a Minecraft expert and content creator with over 5 years of experience creating content that blends culture, comedy, and commentary across anime, gaming, and pop culture.

Section 2 of 5:

“Searching For a World That Doesn’t Exist” Plot Summary

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The ARG is about a player’s descent into madness. “Searching For a World That Doesn’t Exist” starts with a video of Avery playing a game of Minecraft and discovering a series of caves, builds, and a book that he didn’t write. The book warned Avery not to turn left at the crossroads, which initially came off as cryptic, especially since the phrase “At the crossroads, don’t turn left” is repeated over and over, along with a string of numbers.^{[4]
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- Avery uploaded the video to his YouTube channel, @averylargemayo, and titled it “weird book i did NOT write.”
Avery explains that the laptop he’s playing on was one he got from a storage unit. When he opened the laptop, Minecraft was already installed, and the world in which the ARG takes place was already created. As if this wasn’t already fishy enough, his inventory briefly filled with random blocks before the video ended.^{[5]
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Mysterious flashing items are a code linking to mysterious footage. Taking the first letter of the name of every block and putting them together revealed a string that linked to a Google Drive folder with mysterious footage. The footage shows him exploring mysterious caves until reaching an underground forest with a tunnel. He walks through the tunnel and sets up torches behind him, which are broken by an unknown entity.^{[6]
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- The footage spanned across three videos, revealing random blocks in areas they weren’t supposed to be in, like moss in a regular cave and a tree seemingly created by another player.
- After the torches are broken, mysterious voices guide Avery to a large lake, which he jumps into.
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Avery starts exploring and setting traps. He swims in this lake through underwater tunnels, which lead him to a small air pocket. He keeps hearing the voices and burrows himself into a wall. After the voices subside, he goes back through the tunnels, then turns left as the tunnel continues, getting narrower and narrower until he reaches a pond, which is surrounded by the forest. In the forest, he sets traps to see if he’s being followed.^{[7]
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- He turns around and plugs the hole he came through to see if something is following him. As he continues through the cave, he listens for footsteps behind him (which he hears).
- He also loads a hopper and turns his render distance down to see if the hopper still works when his chunks are turned down, explores the forest, and locates signs that are being placed by the entity.
- He set a trap with dirt and a grass block, as grass blocks turn dirt into grass blocks if the chunks are loaded. Although he had left the area, when he came back, there were two grass blocks, meaning something else was there. (for someone who doesnt know he turned down his render distance, but in newer versions like his there is simulation distance and his was set to 24, that means 24 chunks from him were being loaded, so the trap was sabotaged by himself.)
He navigates through the mazes, setting more traps as he does. But the entity is able to block the tunnels and miss the traps. Eventually, he gets out of the mazes and discovers another line of code. He deciphers the code and types that he has a pickaxe as he mines into the code, but his chat reveals that it’s not Avery at all, it’s actually a player named d3rLord3.^{[8]
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The book and quill reveal that the villagers had tried to summon a king, but warned the reader to turn back and delete the world. D3rLord3 continues to mine and discovers another hallway. He walks down the hall, reaches a cave with crossroads, and goes left. The cave goes black. Then, he turns a corner and discovers two yellow gates that light up the room.^{[9]
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D3rLord3 is met by the King in Yellow, who drives him mad. The King in Yellow’s appearance floods his mind with all the knowledge in the universe (past, present, and future), driving him to madness before he turns back and runs for his life. He ends up back in the room he started mining in, writes a frantic book to Avery telling him not to turn left at the crossroads, leaves the book in a chest, and logs off.
- After logging off, D3rLord3 edits the footage he captured and uploads it to the Google Drive folder that started this madness.
- For a more in-depth exploration of the story, check out the original video by Wifies!

Section 3 of 5:

How D3rLord3 Knew About Avery

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When the King in Yellow exposed D3rLord3 to universal knowledge, D3rLord3 learned about everything in the universe. Literally everything, like who Avery is, how he would go on to discover the laptop, and how he would open up the haunted world. Using this knowledge, he quickly warned Avery about the horrors ahead before logging off, never to be seen again.

Section 4 of 5:

Why is “Don’t Turn Left at the Crossroads” so scary?

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“Don’t Turn Left at the Crossroads” plays on the unknown. “Don’t Turn Left at the Crossroads” is a cosmic horror story, using entities beyond the main character’s comprehension to keep the audience on their toes, uneasy about what could happen next. These entities play on our fear of the unknown and not understanding the threats facing us, which, when contrasted with the easygoing nature of Minecraft, make for a terrifying story.
- Pixlriffs says, “The video makes use of uncanny elements of design, including so-called ‘liminal spaces’ with infinitely repeating environments, along with music and other editing techniques, to create a sense of unease.”^{[10]
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Minecraft’s open world, nostalgic, calm gameplay, and music make for a relaxing sandbox game. According to Rivera, though, each Minecraft ARG “transforms Minecraft’s creative freedom into a psychological labyrinth, proving once again that the real monsters aren’t the ones in the caves, they’re the ones born from our collective imagination.”^{[11]
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Section 5 of 5:

Community Q&A

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Question

What's the world seed and coordinates for the map featured in the video?

Abby Carnegie

Community Answer

The caverns shown in the video appear to be custom-built rather than naturally generated. It's likely the map was constructed by the video's creator, Wifies, which means there isn't a traditional world seed or specific coordinates to provide.

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Question

In the video "Looking for a World That Doesn't Exist," what was behind the blurred screen at the end that traumatized the protagonist so severely?

Frederica Wade

Community Answer

The specific content behind the blurred screen has been kept a secret, but some theories suggest it was the King in Yellow or a portrait of the King in Yellow. Other theories propose that D3rlord was a knight of the King.

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