Is the White Enderman Real in Minecraft?

Download Article

Explore the legend behind Minecraft’s creepiest mob

Co-authored by Amy Bobinger, BA

Last Updated: December 3, 2025

Download Article

What is the White Enderman?

|

Are White Endermen real?

|

Creepypastas and Lore

|

How rare is the White Enderman?

|

Video

Have you ever been exploring remote Minecraft biomes, only to see something slender, white, and just plain strange in the distance? Or maybe you've seen White Endermen in Minecraft creepypastas and you want to know more about them. Either way, we've got you covered. We're sharing everything there is to know about the White Enderman, including what it is, whether it's real, and the lore behind it.

What is a White Enderman in Minecraft?

A White Enderman is a rarely-occurring glitch in Minecraft that distorts the color of a normal black Enderman. The effect is usually caused by haze over the Enderman, but they may also spawn on crowded servers. White Endermen are frequently the subject of fan-made creepypastas.

Section 1 of 4:

What is the White Enderman in Minecraft?

Download Article

The White Enderman is a mob that is rumored to appear in Minecraft. White Endermen are the same size as regular black Endermen. They’re sometimes said to have normal purple eyes, but other times, their eyes are described as green or blue. Some people claim that they have green auras around them.^{[1]
X
Research source}
- This first known appearance of a White Enderman was recorded by YouTuber @RejectedShotgun in September 2011.
- White Endermen are often believed to have originated from the Farlands, and as such, they’re sometimes called Farlands Endermen. However, they may spawn more often in snowy or cold biomes.
- Some people claim that White Endermen have special powers, like the ability to walk on water or to kill players without making eye contact.

Section 2 of 4:

Are White Endermen real?

Download Article

1
Yes, but they’re likely the product of a fog-based glitch. White Endermen are not a naturally occurring mob in vanilla versions of Minecraft. However, a fog or haze effect in some versions of Minecraft (like Beta 1.8) can create a negative color effect. This can sometimes cause an Enderman to appear white from a distance—but as the player gets closer to the Enderman, the color will revert back to normal, so the Enderman will appear black again.
- This is especially likely to happen if your render distance is set to “tiny” since you’ll see the Enderman from farther away.
- The haze color glitch is likely what caused the White Enderman in @RejectedShotgun’s 2011 video.
- The haze color glitch also sometimes affects Spiders.
2
Other glitches may also temporarily generate White Endermen. Using a graphic enhancement mod like Optifine or turning on the “Vibrant Visuals” effect can sometimes trigger a negative color effect in Minecraft, similar to the haze color glitch. This effect may be more likely to occur if there’s a bright light nearby.
- Tapping an Enderman on mobile may cause its colors to temporarily invert, making it look white.^{[2]
  X
  Research source}
- Also, in earlier versions of Minecraft, White Endermen may have spawned on overloaded multiplayer servers with severe lag. This bug is believed to have been patched, but in 2024, YouTuber @ThatChiefGuy posted a video where he and his friends used a lag machine to overload their server, leading to several White Endermen being spawned.
3
White Endermen can be created intentionally via mods or texture packs. If you’re into playing modded Minecraft, you can force White Endermen into your game. Download a White Enderman mod from a source you trust, then transfer it to your mod folder and play it via Minecraft Forge.
- Some mods will spawn White Endermen periodically. For instance, 1 out of every 100 Endermen might be white.
- Others are more in-depth, giving White Endermen the power to infect animals, villagers, and blocks, or even to teleport the player to another world.^{[3]
  X
  Research source}
- You can also download White Endermen Minecraft skins to customize your own character.^{[4]
  X
  Research source}

Section 3 of 4:

White Enderman Creepypastas and Fan-Made Lore

Download Article

White Enderman are a popular subject in Minecraft lore. Even though White Endermen are just the product of a glitch, the Minecraft community has turned them into something so much more. They’ve become the frequent subject of Minecraft creepypastas (fictional scary stories) and lore videos, and a kind of mythos has risen up around them. Here are some of the legends about White Endermen:
- This entry on Minecraft Fandom claims that White Endermen can kill you in Creative mode, have the ability to delete your world after you die, and can walk on water. It also says they won’t stop chasing you once they start.
- According to this legend from YouTuber @Faberistry, a young Enderman turned white while on a quest to the Overworld. He looked at the sun, burning the protective purple glaze off his eyes so they turned green. Then, he fell into the ocean, burning his skin and turning it white.
- In this story posted to Minecraft Creepypasta, players are stalked by two Enderman taller than End City—one black and one white. In a creepy twist, the real-life players mysteriously die at the same time as their Minecraft characters.
- This video from YouTuber @Kunai claims that White Endermen were originally ancient builders who got trapped in the Farlands, eventually turning white as a result of living in the shadows of the Farland’s towering walls.

Section 4 of 4:

How rare is the White Enderman in Minecraft?

Download Article

It’s very rare to see a White Enderman in Minecraft. White Endermen don’t spawn naturally in Minecraft. They’re the result of a glitch, which means to replicate it, you have to find an already-elusive Enderman and view it from just the right render distance, with the right amount of haze or color saturation to cause the colors to shift.
- You can increase the chances of seeing a white Enderman with mods or texture packs.