Slenderman

Slenderman, or Slender Man, is a fictional character created by Eric Knudsen on an internet forum in June 2009. Described as unnaturally tall, slim, and wearing a suit, Slenderman is alleged to have supernatural powers that he uses to murder people and manipulate others into committing horrible acts. The Slenderman mythos evolved in underground online forums before spreading across mainstream internet culture and becoming somewhat of an urban legend. The origins of the varying characteristics Slenderman possesses are difficult to trace due to the collective nature of his creation. The Slenderman character has inspired video games, web series, films, internet memes, and fan art. His legend also has allegedly motivated several real-life violent acts, which has led to a greater awareness of the Slenderman character among the general population.

Background

The internet myth of Slenderman first appeared in the online forums of Something Awful, a humor website frequented by fans of science, fantasy games, and pornography, among other interests. Some of the more fantasy-oriented forums regularly involve prank posts featuring photos altered through the graphic-editing program Photoshop. A new thread was created on the forum on June 8, 2009, asking users to submit images of paranormal phenomena created through Photoshop. Multiple users posted images created to appear as though the paranormal had been caught on camera. Two specific images struck users as particularly creepy. A forum user named Eric Knudsen, who went by the pseudonym Victor Surge, submitted two old-looking photos of children being followed by an extremely tall, thin man dressed in a black suit. His arms were long and tentacle-like, and he did not have a face or hair. The user included a small paragraph of text describing the horrific thoughts of the children, who were under the influence of the tall man's presence. The user dated the photo to 1983, listing the photographer as unknown and presumed dead.

Knudsen continued posting more Photoshopped photos to the forum over the next few weeks. He also posted doctored newspaper clippings and children's drawings to add to the myth, which became known as Slenderman. Other users interacted with these posts to further enhance the Slenderman myth, posting their own photos and stories about the creature. Soon, Slenderman was being described as an ancient entity with roots dating back to Brazilian cave paintings and ancient Egyptian imagery. The thread became solely devoted to building the myth of Slenderman, and by June the thread ran nearly two hundred pages in length.

The growing mythos of Slenderman was a collaborative creation, so locating the precise origin of some of his more prominent characteristics is often inaccessible. By some accounts, Slenderman has multiple tentacle-like arms; by others, he has just two extra-long arms. Slenderman's mode of attack also varies. In some user descriptions, Slenderman kills his victims on his own and has a penchant for disemboweling and bagging their organs. In other stories, Slenderman has the power to compel people to kill each other.

Overview

The Slenderman myth eventually grew so large that it entered into mainstream internet culture. The story spread to other internet forums, such as 4chan and Reddit. It inspired the popular YouTube horror series Marble Hornets, which follows an investigation into the making of a mysterious student film haunted by Slenderman. Slenderman was featured in several independently made video games, and his image appeared in an endless array of internet memes and fan art. The myth's influence earned the Slenderman character its own entry on Wikipedia.

By 2011, Slenderman mythology had permeated internet culture so deeply that many new viewers were unaware of its fictional basis, effectively turning the creature into an urban legend. News publications published features on the creature's origins, noting how difficult it was to determine the root of many of its characteristics. Some accounts had the shadowy figure living in the woods and feeding on children. Others found him lurking in people's basements, outside their homes, and along dimly lit streets late at night. In many depictions, he is faceless with pale white skin. Some stories claim his face appears different to each person who sees it. In most versions of the legend, Slenderman wears a dark suit and tie. He is described as capable of inflicting a "Slender sickness," which gives his victims extreme paranoia, nosebleeds, and nightmares, before he eventually murders them.

The Slenderman legend greatly appealed to teenage internet users, particularly after it began appearing on Creepypasta, a website dedicated to collecting the multitude of paranormal and scary internet memes and stories published across the internet. The site also accepts direct submissions from users, and many of the short stories shared on the site are presented as if they are real events. The format led to a number of misunderstandings among the more impressionable readers of the site, particularly youngsters who were unaware of the character's fictional beginnings. The character made national headlines in 2014 following a violent incident committed by two adolescent girls in the name of Slenderman.

On May 13, 2014, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, police apprehended two twelve-year-old girls after they lured their classmate into the woods and stabbed her nineteen times. After questioning the girls, police learned they had committed the attempted murder to please Slenderman. The girls had read about Slenderman online on the Creepypasta website and believed that he was real. They told police Slenderman was stalking them and had threatened to hurt their families if they did not kill their classmate.

The growing awareness surrounding the Slenderman myth motivated several movie studios to adapt the legend into film. In 2015, a film adaptation of the Marble Hornets web series was released as Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story. The character served as the direct inspiration for the 2018 film Slender Man, which follows the terrifying events four teens experience after performing a ritual meant to summon Slender Man.

Bibliography

Biggs, John. "The Story of Slenderman, the Internet's Own Monster." TechCrunch, 30 June 2014, techcrunch.com/2014/06/30/the-story-of-slenderman-the-internets-own-monster/. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

Cosgrove, Jaclyn. "The Story behind 'Slender Man' and How Fear of This Fictional Character Nearly Ended in Murder." Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2017, www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-slenderman-sentencing-20171222-htmlstory.html. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

Dewey, Cailtin. "The Complete History of 'Slender Man,' the Meme That Compelled Two Girls to Stab a Friend." Washington Post, 27 July 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/06/03/the-complete-terrifying-history-of-slender-man-the-internet-meme-that-compelled-two-12-year-olds-to-stab-their-friend/?utm‗term=.5d040e06c309. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

Dewey, Cailtin. "Who Is Slender Man?" Boston Globe, 3 June 2014, www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/06/03/who-slender-man/7LHDT69RcChSIaHg8CUUsJ/story.html. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

Gonzales, Dave. "The Real Origin of Slender Man, the Internet's Worst Nightmare." Thrillist, 11 Jan. 2017, www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/slender-man-slenderman-real-story-sightings-videos-pictures-murders. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

Parkinson, Justin. "The Origins of Slender Man." BBC, 11 June 2014, www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27776894. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

Stampler, Laura. "The Origins of Slender Man, the Meme That Allegedly Drove 12-Year-Olds to Kill." 3 June 2014, Time, time.com/2817725/slender-man-killing/. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.

Venable, Nick. "YouTube Horror Series Marble Hornets Will Bring Slenderman to Theaters." Cinema Blend, www.cinemablend.com/new/YouTube-Horror-Series-Marble-Hornets-Bring-Slenderman-Theaters-36004.html. Accessed 15 Jan. 2018.