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Half-Life 2 Stalker Scream is a sound effect of the Stalker NPC loudly screaming from the beta version of the 2004 video game Half-Life 2. The sound effect has been used in memes since August 2022 and has notably been a component of Wega memes, as well as being used in NextBot mods.

Origin

The sound effect, named "go_alert2" in the game's files, appears in the beta version of the 2004 first-person shooter video game Half-Life 2 but not its release version (video shown below).[1] The scream belongs to a Stalker NPC, a mentally and physically altered human used as a servant by the Combine. The sound effect was allegedly created by altering the sound of a metal pot or metal sheet dropped onto the floor.[2]

On August 25th, 2022, YouTube[3] user DuncanProductions posted the earliest found meme that used the sound effect, a Wanna Break From the Ads? edit that garnered over 377,000 views prior to removal. On December 22nd, 2022, Redditor penguino_burrito reuploaded the video in the /r/OKBuddyHalfLife[4] subreddit, where it received over 640 upvotes in two years (shown below).

Spread

In the second half of 2022, the scream saw use as a part of Wega memes in which it was combined with the hue-shifted image of Luigi from the video game franchise Super Mario. For example, on October 2nd, 2022, X[5] user @GP12810 posted a Family Guy Wega meme that used the sound effect. The video (shown below) received over 1,300 reposts and 8,700 likes in two years.

In 2023 and 2024, the sound effects appeared in a variety of memes posted on YouTube, TikTok and X. For example, on October 22nd, 2023, YouTube[6] user Spawnbilleh posted a The Amazing Digital Circus meme that received over 16,000 views in one year (shown below).

On August 28th, 2024, Redditor JustHylie posted a Half-Life shitpost based on the sound effect in the /r/OKbuddyHalfLife[7] subreddit, where it garnered over 1,200 upvotes (shown below). The meme was widely circulated online in the following months.

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