‘Webfishing’ Has an Urban Legend: How ‘Grincher’ Instills Fear Into the Hearts of Many

Let’s set the scene, shall we? You pop open Webfishing, seated at the lake in your private lobby. Set your invitations to “Friends Only.” You see that someone has joined your lobby. Is it your fishing buddy that you’ve been waiting for? No, it’s someone else. Someone by the name… Grincher. They say nothing, you try to boot them, and they won’t leave. It’s like the world’s worst cryptid, except this one can corrupt your saved data.

A Quick Update Regarding Things — A Mistake on My End

I need to take a moment to eat some crow regarding this whole situation. I was reached out to by one of the original members that was posted on this article, whose name has now been redacted.

Two people on the original tweet that I had based this article on reached out to me regarding the contents within. After speaking with the group, and learning that they had just been caught in the crossfire, I would like to offer my apology for including them here in the first place.

I also spoke to ‘Grincher’ themself. Regarding the “save corruption” issue:

“Also, I should mention that it’s literally impossible for me to do that, because there’s a limitation on how many people I can connect to at a time through Steam’s p2p. Even if I wanted to I couldn’t spy on all the users in EVERY lobby, that’s too many people for me to do it.”

Another member had mentioned the following information:

“but yeah as we said, Grincher cannot corrupt any saves and that is all a huge playground rumour”

So, after getting a chance to speak with them? Most of this is unfounded. I take full responsibility for taking something at face value and running with it. I appreciate those who reached out to clear things up and take full responsibility for my mistake.

Just an fyi. I’ve spoken to yonestar. We’re both confused on how their username was used to join the lobby but they’re cool peeps pls don’t report them 🖤 b11` is apparently harmless as well. https://t.co/MUMaqKJ0Tg

— Lyssa VT🖤✨ (@MerciLysss) November 25, 2024

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Here is the original article, for the sake of context.

Honestly? Heck the Grincher, Yo.

Griefers love to ruin things for everybody, even in a peaceful place like Webfishing. The idea of your saved data being corrupted by someone named Grincher is terrible enough. But there are even more creeps you need to keep your eyes peeled for.

The worst part of this whole thing? Even if you try to kick ‘Grincher’ from your lobby? He can’t be removed. The only thing you can do is exit the game fully to avoid anything happening to your saved data. I would strongly suggest Alt+F4’ing out of the game if he appears just as a preventive measure.

While ‘Grincher’ may be terrifying enough as an Urban Legend, ‘Air Traffic Controller’ is even more horrifying. They’ll join your lobby, and start doxxing you by mentioning the closest airport to your location. For those that are streaming, this could be something terrifying; but the fact that someone can get our locations so easily is even more disturbing.

What Do People Get out of Griefing in Games Like ‘Webfishing’?

It’s like screaming out into the void. What does someone like ‘Grincher’ get from griefing in an otherwise peaceful game like Webfishing? Why would someone go out of their way to ruin a game like this for countless other players? And doxxing people for no reason by giving away the location of airports near them? Who does that kind of stuff?

At this point, a quick scroll through the lobbies will show a few “heck the Grincher” rooms, if not featuring more risque language. Many people are aware of what this person can do to their games. Many more aren’t, and that’s why I’m hoping to spread awareness about this situation.

As someone who has encountered the Grincher but didn’t feel their wraith, it’s honestly creepy. Having someone join a private lobby, only to not say a word before leaving feels bad. You don’t know what they’re doing in the background, and I would suggest you don’t find out.