Tim Burton is conducting a social art experiment over on Twitter, enlisting the aid of the creative masses to create a short story with his Stainboy character by allowing users to submit a sentence that fits with the last entry of the story. Burton laid the groundwork with this (via TheWrap):

“Stainboy, using his obvious expertise, was called in to investigate mysterious glowing goo on the gallery floor.”

Given the eccentric nature of Burton’s storytelling, it goes without saying that he’s willing and able to let the project go to some sinister, zany places. He calls this collective brainstorm the “Cadavre Exquis” or “Exquisite Corpse” technique. 40 contributions have made the cut thus far, but Stainboy’s journey is hardly over. Read it for yourself at Tim Burton’s Cadavre Exquis page.  More after the jump - including the first of the Stainboy flash animation shorts:

Burton will soon be helming Dark Shadows, based on the ghoulish 1966-1971 ABC soap opera of the same name, with his frequent collaborator Johnny Depp set to star as the Dracula-esque Barnabas Collins.

The first of the Stainboy flash animation shorts is embedded below. Stainboy, a glum misfit and superhero-wannabe who handles quirky cases for the Burbank police, has made appearances in Burton’s book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories as well as flash animation shorts online. If you’re a writer and/or Burton fan interested in donating an idea or two to his unique Twitter project, perhaps it will give your imagination a nudge in the right direction.