We are often frightened by the horrors of big cities. The darkness lurking in city slums, in dark basements, attics and underground utility tunnels. Maniacs and murderers, brownies and modern versions of sorcerers and shamans. But what about the darkness beyond the city? In the depths of the dark forests, where no one will hear your calls for help. And no one will have time to come to the rescue, even if you call (and often mobile phones do not work at all in some remote areas). That's where Slenderman lives. Where you can’t get away from him, you can only hide and hope to somehow outwit your pursuer. It is impossible to fight him. And this is exactly the fear that you don’t need to face. Don't look - not even because you're afraid of it. Just because you want to live.
Network horror
Initially, Slender appeared as an “Internet legend” - a modernized version of “urban legends”, usually born in the tales of students and simply young residents of big cities. Well, with the development of the World Wide Web, it is quite logical that a good part of modern folklore has moved to the Internet, moreover, now very interesting new stories are emerging here. As for Slender, it is known that he was invented by Eric Knudsen, a visitor to the Something Awful forum, in 2009. Moreover, the character was originally created precisely as a kind of “stylization” of well-known and popular urban legends. However, Slender turned out to be an unusually tenacious guy: having burst into the vastness of the World Wide Web, he turned into a real Internet meme, and now he is becoming a cosplay character, stories are written about him, videos are made (both scary and quite funny) and even computer games are created .
Slenderman was brought to life by the Create Paranormal Images competition, held on Something Awful. The competition involved creating supernatural and even scary things from ordinary photographs using a graphic editor - in essence, a competition for the skill of photomontage. The first two black-and-white photographs of Slenderman, taken by Erik Knudsen and posted on the forum, showed the character chasing several children. According to legend, the photographs were found in the Stirling city library, which suffered a fire, but these photographs survived. They were made in 1983, on the day of the disappearance of 14 children. Moreover, the photographer, Mary Thomas, went missing in 1986. Who would have thought that, based on just two black and white photos, an entire horror universe would emerge in the style of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” or “Friday the 13th,” with a very stylish and memorable central villain?
Slender immediately attracted the attention of visitors to the Something Awful forum, and the appearance of a photo with him caused an unprecedented stir. So its creator continued to post new materials about the “disappearing children case.” Children's drawings, a police report, and new photographs were added - the character became more voluminous, and visitors were greeted with interest by new facts about Slenderman. And after the publication of new materials, the character finally broke out of the forum that gave birth to him and began to rapidly gain popularity on the World Wide Web.
Even now, stories and tales are written about Slevder, in which various versions of the history of its origin are expressed and rather terrible events are described. Some fans, who are well aware that the Thin Man is a fiction, still believe in the possibility of his existence. There are even testimonies of people who allegedly encountered Slenderman in dark forests.
Who are you, Mr. Slender?
Slenderman’s appearance can hardly be called ordinary, despite the fact that there are noticeable attempts to convey the “ordinariness” of the character. So, this villain wears a formal suit, tie, jacket and trousers - it seems like most ordinary people. What is unusual is the appearance of the character himself. This is a very tall, skinny creature with long arms and legs that can bend almost arbitrarily. It has pale skin, it is also often depicted as “faceless”, and sometimes certain “appendages” of unknown purpose grow from Slenderman’s back (in some stories he is also armed with long claws on his fingers). The Thin Man hunts people. He usually does not kill, but kidnaps people, most often children (although murders are also known to be committed by Slender). Usually, those who were taken by the Thin Man are never found again. Because what he does with them is still a mystery.
Nothing is known about the origin of Slender. Despite the large number of hypotheses that are expressed in various projects dedicated to this character, it is worth knowing that not a single hypothesis is official - and there is no official version. Where he came from and what he needs is unknown, this makes him even more interesting.
Slender is very persistent. Like Jason Voorhees, he pursues his chosen victim for a long time, without being distracted or swerving - and usually he does not walk or run, but moves using teleportation over short distances. And it is impossible to fight him, he cannot be taken with any weapon known to people. All that the one whom Slender has chosen as a victim can do is run and hope to escape persecution. Some even succeeded. And sometimes missing people, presumably abducted earlier by Stender, were found impaled on trees in the forest. It is quite possible that they died this way as a result of trying to get away from Slender - for example, people tripped, fell and were pierced by tree branches.
Among the abilities of the Thin Man are “lengthening” one’s own limbs at will, teleportation over short distances, the ability to erase human memory (many of those who encountered it subsequently forget about it), as well as strong capabilities in the field of telepathy. Slender Man also senses when someone is looking at him, and anyone who looks at him or even thinks about him too often thereby attracts the attention of the Thin Man. Slender loves to look into the windows of houses, and it does not matter on what floor these windows are located.
By the way, Eric Knudsen claims that Slender and the original story about him were invented by Eric himself, from beginning to end. However, in the folklore of some countries there are descriptions of monsters similar to Slenderman who also kidnap children. In addition, a certain similarity can be traced with the character of the Stephen King story “The Man in the Black Suit” and with the Tall Man, the main antagonist of the Phantasm series of horror films. However, these characters still do not have enough in common to allow us to talk about plagiarism.
Nightmare show
The rise in popularity of the character continued with the appearance of the web series “Marble Hornets”, which also tells about the world of Slender. The show, which aired on YouTube on June 20, 2009, quickly gained popularity and acquired a huge number of fans. To date, there are already more than 90 episodes of the series about the Thin Man. But it seems that the project has now been completed - the last episodes date back to mid-2014.
As you might guess, the series was filmed in a pseudo-documentary style and showed us the adventures of ordinary people who encountered Slenderman. It is based on the film “Marble Hornets”, which schoolboy Alex Krali filmed to get a test at his educational institution. However, filming was quickly stopped - according to Krali, “it became impossible to work.” While looking through Alex's notes, his friend Jay begins to notice some very strange phenomena on them. After Jay begins his investigation, he encounters a strange and dangerous creature - Slenderman (in the series he is also called the “Operator”). In addition, in “Marble Hornets” it is stated that when the Thin Man appears, video cameras begin to behave very strangely, and sometimes even refuse to work in their usual mode, rather working in the style of a “photo camera”.
The series frightens with classic moves: sharp scary sounds, the appearance of Slender as a vague silhouette, scenes of violence in which the main characters fight each other (it was in the series that the concept of “proxy” was introduced - this term refers to people who have become weak-willed servants of Slender) . Hot on the heels of “Marble Hornets,” other series appeared, copying the style of the first web show. They were also filmed in the style of web diaries, and some of them offered different versions of the origin of Slender Man.
“Marble Hornets” looks quite interesting both thanks to the main antagonist and thanks to the interesting atmosphere. The entire series is posted in English on YouTube; in addition, there is already a Russian version with a “single-voice” translation. True, at the moment only fifty episodes have been translated - about half of the web series.
In addition to “Marble Hornets,” there are several other web series about Slender. There are also short films, and the first full-length film about the Thin Man has already been announced.
Survival Horror
Probably, Slender is one of the very few Internet memes that were able to make their way into the world of computer games. In 2012, Parsec Productions studio released the project Slender: The Eight Pages, intended for free distribution on the Internet.
The main character of this game is the girl Kate, who had to escape into the forest after Slenderman appeared in her house. The game, like Marble Hornets, is stylized as amateur filming: Kate has a video camera with which she films what is happening to her. The forest is surrounded by a fence, but inside the play space Kate walks quite freely, studying the objects she encounters along the way. As she travels, the girl collects notes left by kidnapped children and avoids meeting with Slenderman, whom it is better not to look at, because he senses it and notices the victim.
The second project about Slender - the game Slender: The Arrival - was released in 2014. Released by the same studio and a sequel to Slender: The Eight Pages, The Arrival is already a commercial project for which players have to pay. In return, they receive new “bonuses”, such as significantly improved graphics and a rather interesting story.
The game is both a prequel and a continuation of the previous project. We again see the house where the girl Kate lived from Slender: The Eight Pages. We learn that Slender has previously attacked the inhabitants of this house, who lived there even before Kate bought the house. But this time the main character is the girl Lauren, who comes to the house in search of her friend Kate (the latter, as we remember, ran away from Slender into the forest in the first game). In style, the game is very similar to the previous one: Laurel is also armed with a video camera and also collects Notes of missing children. But besides her and Slenderman, there are many other characters here, and the Thin Man is far from the only villain. In general, the game has a completely recognizable atmosphere, an interesting soundtrack, but the story campaign is too short. It also introduces some new elements to the world of Slender - we learn, in particular, that this character likes to “play” with his victims, as well as a little about the past of Slender and the future of some of those he catches. I must say, the future is completely bleak.
Nothing is known yet about whether “Slender 3” will ever appear in the gaming world. Also, nothing is known about a possible full-length film - but if it ever appears, we would still like to see a good expensive horror, and not another stylization of an amateur video. Slender has an excellent video heritage, even if it develops independently, but cinema is still a slightly different art.
As we see, even simple online folklore can be quite viable. Erik Knudsen created an original universe, an interesting villain and a powerful brand, without Kicksiarter or other similar services. All he needed was to simply make the correct montage of several photographs and ultimately offer the public exactly what they might like. This is how a new interesting villain was born - Slender. We still hope that the creator will not abandon his brainchild and Slenderman will definitely appear in many other new works of art.
It used to be that in the villages, young children and youths listened to stories about brownies, anchutkas and shishigs. Today's teenagers living in big cities now have their own new “horror stories.” One of the most striking and popular characters in such modern “scary stories” is Slenderman - a product of urban folklore and a child of the Internet. Who is Slenderman, and does he exist?
Slenderman - who is he?
Slenderman, aka Thin, aka Skinny Man or Operator, is a fictional character, the hero of numerous creepypastas (scary stories distributed on the Internet), as well as several computer games and short films.
According to fans of Slenderman, he looks very strange. A thin person is extremely thin and tall. He has long arms that bend in the most unnatural way. Sometimes scary black tentacles or suction cups grow from Slenderman’s back.
But what especially frightens people is Slenderman’s face, or it would be more correct to say his complete absence - Slenderman is completely faceless. The Thin Man dresses like an employee of a funeral home - he always wears a completely black suit and a snow-white shirt. Slenderman can teleport, he is an excellent telepath, he can manipulate human consciousness and has several other paranormal abilities.
Does Slenderman exist in reality?
Slenderman is a fictional creature. The story of Slenderman is the clearest example of pseudo-folklore. At its core, it is the first detailed, full-fledged urban legend artificially created on the Internet. The Thin Man is the product of long-term collective creativity of numerous network users. During this time, the image of Slenderman became so convincing and acquired so many vivid details that many people began to sincerely believe in his existence. The uniqueness of the Thin Man lies in the fact that some of his fans, even knowing the entire history of the creation of the legend of Slenderman, still believe in his reality in their hearts.
Many people open the door to the Slender Man fandom with their feet, having previously dressed it in a heavy boot called “Creepypasta”, and sometimes also donned a bulletproof vest called “Eyewitness Accounts”. But we’re not like that, right? We know about the existence of the doorknob and calmly pull it, shyly peeking out from behind the jamb. Today we will look at this fandom from its most subtle facets, namely, how it all began. From urban legends, strange sounds at night and children disappearing from their cradle at night. Second-rate fan or official video games don't matter here, just as concepts like "proxy" or the like don't matter. The primary source is a series of creepy photographs and newspaper reports. Well, if we talk about the main purpose of the article, then we can consider it to be an analysis of the question that appears in the place of the title. I hope this topic has not yet been discussed so specifically, but has only been touched upon from the outside, otherwise the whole point of my work has gone down the drain. I think we can start. 1. Plans for the future. Several of my friends who know Slenderman (not by sight, that is, his absence, but only familiar with the fandom) believe that the Faceless Monster has started something large-scale in the future in order to recoup all the years of his more than quiet life. And this makes you think! After all, nowhere is it openly said that he kills his victims: perhaps this is a skillfully woven hallucination or hypnosis. And, as we know, the aura around Slender makes people close to him more susceptible to this kind of illusion. Complex human psychology also plays a huge role here - people, being in a state of shock, often begin to rave and expose real facts as mystical myths. But still - spontaneous hallucination or targeted hypnosis? The second is more likely - after all, if you believe the creator of Faceless, and later his successors who shaped the legend, Slenderman has powerful telepathic abilities... But I think that this hypothesis is practically not applicable in practice. What can Slender do? I think he is quite happy with his current position. It’s quite profitable, don’t you think: wandering around the territory of a mighty forest and absorbing lost people, after playing an exciting “game” with them. 2. Ear-throat. Good name, isn't it? I explain my choice of this version as the most plausible (and at the same time creepy). You see, as I already mentioned, Slender is faceless. Not in the sense of dullness and belonging to the “crowd” (which, in fact, at all not so), but in the most direct way - in place of his face there is only a pale emptiness, laying on a cloth pulled over his head or simply skin covering a bare skull. in some side versions, when eating a victim from scratch, a mouth is also formed that looks like a black hole, surrounded by scraps of tissue and two rows of flawless sharp fangs. Everyone knows that Slenderman is faceless, yes... This fact has become his feature along with his elongated limbs (to which are often added black tentacles protruding from his back) and a stylish business suit (not forgetting the red tie). So what is the point of the hypothesis? Slender's face lacks something very necessary. Who has eyes, ears, lips and nose? Right: kids have them. Perhaps for Slenderman the senses mean a little more than just means of perception - and it is because of them that he steals poor human children, trying to make up for what was taken from him. 3. Recharge. This version is the most common, and, what can I say, the most plausible. Most likely, people are a source of special nutritional essence for Slenderman, or simply " pieces of meat". In some truly mystical way (like himself, perhaps) he absorbs or eats kidnapped children. It is unknown whether he does this for pleasure or simply to obtain the energy he needs for activity and life (if this existence can be called that) . I think, according to a completely understandable scheme, by starving, he weakens, which means he needs to kill regularly and receive a certain amount of the necessary substances in order to balance on the verge of the beginning of exhaustion and satiety. That, I think, is all. Thank you for reading.
Who is Slender - this question has been occupying many Internet users lately. One way or another, many have heard about this eerie creature, but few know what exactly it is. Skeptics are sure that this is just a harmless character of online folklore. But there are those who believe that he really exists.
Slenderman is usually described as a very tall, pale-skinned man with long limbs that can bend in unexpected places or even take the form of tentacles. He has no face, his head is smooth and bald on all sides, sometimes black holes appear on it where the nose and eyes should be. Slenderman is usually dressed in a black mourning suit with a white shirt. He appears out of nowhere, can be found in the forest or in an abandoned building, and his intentions are always unclear. It is believed that he kidnaps people, and no one knows what happens to them afterwards, he can read thoughts and control the will of those around him, but you can still escape from him.
How did Slenderman appear?
This character first appeared in photographs taken by Erik Knudsen. He was chasing a group of children on it. The author of the pictures himself told a terrible story about how the guys were under the influence of hypnosis; they didn’t want to go, but rather they went straight into the hands of the Thin Man. Later, on the forum where the photographer published his works, other stories about Slender appeared, accompanied by evidence in the form of photographs, police reports, children's drawings, interviews with eyewitnesses, etc. After some time, documentary videos with this character were also posted. Currently, on the Internet you can find a lot of materials indicating that Slender exists.
How to summon Slender?
If you want to see Slenderman in real life, then you can perform a ritual to summon him. For this:
Slenderman (“Skinny Man” translated into Russian) is one of the most famous characters of “scary” Internet folklore. Presumably, it was invented in 2009 by a certain Erik Knudsen, who published two black and white photographs depicting children being pursued by a mysterious creature on the Something Awful forum. The photographs seemed very realistic to Internet regulars and quickly attracted the attention of the virtual public.
The character was so loved by Internet users that he quickly turned into the hero of numerous stories, video games, TV series and films. However, here’s what’s interesting and strange: although the fictionality of Slenderman is not seriously hidden by anyone, there are many individuals who claim to have encountered this monster in person, or simply firmly believe in its reality. People study this urban legend, go on expeditions in search of the monster and find, as they claim, evidence of the existence of the Skinny Man in the form of photographs and videos.
Slenderman's appearance is very unusual. He appears to be a very tall man with disproportionately long limbs that can bend at any angle. The entity's head is completely covered with pale skin - hair, ears, eyes, nose and mouth are completely absent. The skinny man is always dressed in a funeral suit with a black jacket and tie and a white shirt. It is believed that countless black tentacles sometimes emerge from the monster’s back, capable of becoming infinitely long. With the help of them, the entity allegedly catches its victims.
What is Slenderman capable of?
Slenderman is a kidnapper. Most often, he kidnaps children, and they are never found again. Who this is - a ghost, an evil spirit, an alien, a mutant or a fiend of hell - is unknown. The Skinny Man's intentions are completely unclear, and such uncertainty makes him doubly terrifying. A dangerous entity appears in forests, fields, abandoned buildings and other empty places, lying in wait for its victims. If you notice him standing in the distance, even kilometers away from you, you will no longer have the opportunity to escape or resist the monster.
The symbol of Slenderman is a circle crossed out with a diagonal cross. They say that such signs appear near the habitats of the Skinny Man, and the only way to avoid an unenviable fate is to immediately leave when you see such a drawing. Many eyewitnesses report seeing ominous symbols on trees in the forest, on walls in abandoned structures, and on the ground. Of course, it is logical to assume that they are simply drawn by fans of this urban legend, but who can know for sure...
Slenderman is considered an excellent telepath. In this regard, he does not necessarily have to chase his victims. The monster can manipulate people nearby and force them to walk into its trap on their own. Kidnapped children usually experience nightmares several days before their disappearance and attempt to leave the house in an unconscious state. Some of them, whose relatives do not keep an eye on them, succeed in this, and they disappear into the night without a trace.
A skinny person affects electronics, so if in a deserted place far from civilization you experience noise in your headphones or interference on the screen of your video camera, then you should probably get out of there quickly. If you photograph or film the monster, it will not let you escape. Seeing it with your own eyes is also signing your own death warrant. You can walk two steps away from Slenderman masquerading as a tree and calmly go home without noticing him. But if you realize that there is something strange in front of you and see this figure as a thin giant, you will be in trouble.
The evil entity can shorten and lengthen its body and limbs. In terms of movement, the Skinny Man appears to be inactive. He can stay in one place for a long time at a considerable distance from people, waiting until he is noticed. Slenderman rarely walks or runs, but he instantly teleports from one point to another, so it is almost impossible to hide from him. However, many witnesses claim that they were able to safely escape from the monster's possession after they spotted it or even captured it on camera.
Perhaps the image of the Skinny Man was borrowed from somewhere. For example, in Slavic mythology there is a thin and long spirit pole (from the word “pole”). This evil spirit walks at night and looks into people's windows, warms itself near the stove corpses and scares people, and also commits minor dirty tricks. From a distance, a pole often resembles a large dry branch on the roof of a house. However, this spirit is practically harmless to humans.
In German folklore, you can find a character named Grosmann (Tall Man), who is something of an evil fairy, but in appearance he is very similar to Slender Man, except that he has a face with two large round eyes. In Grosmann, the Germans frightened the children who went for a walk in the forest without permission. According to myths and legends, the Tall Man lived in the Black Forest and dragged naughty children into the wilds of the forest, where he devoured them.
And in Japanese myths there are nopperapons - tall supernatural creatures whose faces turned into smooth purple balls at night.
Photos and videos of Slenderman
On April 12 of this year, the attention of Internet users was captured by a photo taken, judging by the timecode, on January 22, 2009. The photograph shows a teenager looking into a winter forest, where a tall, dark figure with a pale face lurks among the snow-covered trees. Needless to say, many regulars of the World Wide Web immediately issued a verdict: the children took pictures of the Skinny Man.
The story behind this photo is that several American children from Minnesota skipped school and instead went to have fun in the woods. At a certain moment, one of the truants took out his phone and decided to take a photo of his friend. However, as soon as the photographer pointed the camera at his friend, he noticed a thin giant in dark clothes between the trees and told his friends about it in horror. The children immediately rushed away from there, but the photographer managed to photograph the creepy stranger.
The video below, obtained late last year, also caused quite a stir. It shows a British cyclist speaking into a traffic camera. The young man leaves a message for someone and leaves, after which a tall, thin figure separates from one of the trees in the background and begins to walk on the ground. It is noteworthy that the sound on the recording at this moment is noticeably loud. When the cyclist returns to the camera, the supposed Slender Man is still crossing the field in the background.
Many people have thought about the following question: could the Skinny Man, originally invented by someone, become real due to the large number of people who believed in his existence? After all, the human mind is capable of more than that. Thought, as we know, is material, and the thoughts of many people, directed in one direction, can have a colossal impact on reality. This is how, those in the know say, world religions were born...