And what happens when the pictures are no longer photoshops? One terrifying answer to this question emerged in May of in Waukesha, Wisconsin, when two 12 year-old girls allegedly enticed a third 12 year-old girl to follow them into the woods a location which figures prominently in the Slenderman mythology. After doing so, they allegedly stabbed her 19 times in an attempt to prove their worth as Slenderman proxies.
The victim survived, having crawled to a nearby roadside where she was discovered by a passing cyclist. She has since recovered. It is this act, and the origins of the delusions of the two perpetrators, that is the subject of the HBO documentary.
Part of the Slenderman mythology is the Slender Sickness , a fictional illness that affects those who have been in the presence of the monster. Its symptoms include coughing fits, memory loss and, ironically, irrational acts of violence.
Portsmouth Climate Festival — Portsmouth, Portsmouth. It was like … air. If convicted of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, each girl could receive a sentence of up to 45 years in state prison. On September 4, , a year-old girl from Port Richey, Florida, allegedly set her house on fire in what may have been a Slenderman-related incident. It would be safe to say there is a connection to that. In June , a Hamilton County, Ohio, mom was allegedly attacked in the kitchen by her year-old daughter.
The alleged attacker reportedly said she attacked her mother to please Slenderman , per a criminal complaint obtained by CBS News Crimesider. Chrome Safari Continue. Be the first to know. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
But all those could of course be coincidental. Fans of the character can hold strong views about the way it should be used. Other users didn't like that idea. It was too obvious. It lacked subtlety. It was more like an X-Files story than a proper myth. There is a sort of consensus about Slender Man. People collectively take on some bits and reject others. Many of the fan stories have ended up on the Creepypasta website, where paranormal stories are shared, delivered as if they are true, rather in the fashion of campfire tales.
But mainstream media attention for the phenomenon has been scant up until now. There was a brief spike of interest in the summer of , according to Google Trends, possibly related to a video game. But the latest flurry of stories centre on a number of alleged violent crimes with links to the character. HP Lovecraft: The man who haunted horror fans.
It was reported last week that two year-old girls in Wisconsin had allegedly stabbed their friend 19 times in an effort to show their dedication to Slender Man. They apparently learned about the character on Creepypasta. Meanwhile, a mother who was stabbed by her daughter in a second incident in Ohio has also blamed an obsession with Slender Man.
Creator Eric Knudsen has already said he is "deeply saddened" by what happened in Wisconsin. The operator of Creepypasta issued a statement, extending condolences to the families involved but adding it was not "the fault of Slenderman or horror writing in general that this happened".
Clearly there are people who are trying to blame this figure. It's becoming a moral panic, with people suggesting Slender Man is inspiring people to murder. It's definitely a mistake to target Slender Man or any of these creations.
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