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How Slender Man Became a Legend | How Slender Man Became a Legend |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Ask those who know best about what makes this legend so frightening and you’re likely to hear some version of this response: Slender Man is scary not because of what you know about him but because of what you don’t know. | Ask those who know best about what makes this legend so frightening and you’re likely to hear some version of this response: Slender Man is scary not because of what you know about him but because of what you don’t know. |
“He’s ambiguous,” said Vincent J. Caffarello, a creator of a web series focused on him, “EverymanHYBRID.” | “He’s ambiguous,” said Vincent J. Caffarello, a creator of a web series focused on him, “EverymanHYBRID.” |
“It’s like the trifecta of unknowables,” said Adam Rosner, the creator of “TribeTwelve,” another web series. “Unknown, uncanny and unintelligible.” | “It’s like the trifecta of unknowables,” said Adam Rosner, the creator of “TribeTwelve,” another web series. “Unknown, uncanny and unintelligible.” |
“The mystery which surrounds him is what rattles my soul,” said the actor Doug Jones, who portrayed him in a 2015 film. | “The mystery which surrounds him is what rattles my soul,” said the actor Doug Jones, who portrayed him in a 2015 film. |
The character is a blank canvas for our fears but also for online storytelling. Now the namesake of a new horror film, Slender Man started to take shape in an online forum nearly a decade ago, at a time when daily life was shifting to social media and the border between the online world and the real one was starting to blur. Here’s a look at Slender Man’s evolution. | The character is a blank canvas for our fears but also for online storytelling. Now the namesake of a new horror film, Slender Man started to take shape in an online forum nearly a decade ago, at a time when daily life was shifting to social media and the border between the online world and the real one was starting to blur. Here’s a look at Slender Man’s evolution. |
June 10, 2009 | |
In a forum of the comedy website Something Awful, a user known as Victor Surge (real name: Eric Knudsen) posts a pair of doctored images and explains they were supposedly found in the library of a small town. | In a forum of the comedy website Something Awful, a user known as Victor Surge (real name: Eric Knudsen) posts a pair of doctored images and explains they were supposedly found in the library of a small town. |
In the images, a tall, dark figure is standing behind unaware children. Through discussions, and more photoshopped images and stories, other forum visitors solidified the features of the character known as Slender Man: his facelessness was nearly constant, he typically wore a black suit and he sometimes had tentacles growing out of his back. There was some consensus that he abducted children, and that deaths, commonly involving mutilation, would follow. | In the images, a tall, dark figure is standing behind unaware children. Through discussions, and more photoshopped images and stories, other forum visitors solidified the features of the character known as Slender Man: his facelessness was nearly constant, he typically wore a black suit and he sometimes had tentacles growing out of his back. There was some consensus that he abducted children, and that deaths, commonly involving mutilation, would follow. |
He completely dominated the discussion. | He completely dominated the discussion. |
Almost immediately, users began digitally inserting the character into history: they created Slender Man in hieroglyphs and faux 16th-century German woodcuts. | Almost immediately, users began digitally inserting the character into history: they created Slender Man in hieroglyphs and faux 16th-century German woodcuts. |
They cooked up newspaper articles about him. | They cooked up newspaper articles about him. |
At the time, Mr. Caffarello said, it seemed like “people were trying to find the best way to use the internet to tell a story.” | At the time, Mr. Caffarello said, it seemed like “people were trying to find the best way to use the internet to tell a story.” |
June 20, 2009 | |
After reading the Something Awful thread, a film student at the University of Alabama, Troy Wagner, and his friend, Joseph DeLage, create the first Slender Man web series: “Marble Hornets.” | After reading the Something Awful thread, a film student at the University of Alabama, Troy Wagner, and his friend, Joseph DeLage, create the first Slender Man web series: “Marble Hornets.” |
Shot with a cheap home video camera around their state and published on YouTube, it begins with a film student abandoning a project for reasons unknown. As his friend goes through raw footage, it becomes evident that Slender Man was stalking the filmmaker. | Shot with a cheap home video camera around their state and published on YouTube, it begins with a film student abandoning a project for reasons unknown. As his friend goes through raw footage, it becomes evident that Slender Man was stalking the filmmaker. |
The simplicity of the character was perfect for low-budget, homemade interpretations. “It was the fact that it was vague,” Mr. Wagner said recently. “I think that’s why people jumped on it.” | The simplicity of the character was perfect for low-budget, homemade interpretations. “It was the fact that it was vague,” Mr. Wagner said recently. “I think that’s why people jumped on it.” |
“Marble Hornets” was a cult hit, gaining fans far beyond internet forums. That November, the film critic Roger Ebert tweeted about it. | “Marble Hornets” was a cult hit, gaining fans far beyond internet forums. That November, the film critic Roger Ebert tweeted about it. |
2010-13 | |
In the year after Slender Man was introduced; there were more web series (many with alternate reality game elements), an untold number of stories, blogs, poems and drawings, and discussions on other websites including Unfiction, geared to gamers; CreepyPasta Wiki (horror fans) and 4Chan (everything from conspiracy theorists to cat lovers). | In the year after Slender Man was introduced; there were more web series (many with alternate reality game elements), an untold number of stories, blogs, poems and drawings, and discussions on other websites including Unfiction, geared to gamers; CreepyPasta Wiki (horror fans) and 4Chan (everything from conspiracy theorists to cat lovers). |
Wherever the stories were told, authors put their own stamp on the character. Mr. Koval, Mr. Caffarello and Evan Jennings brought humor to “EverymanHYBRID,” which began as a satirical fitness show in their native New Jersey. | Wherever the stories were told, authors put their own stamp on the character. Mr. Koval, Mr. Caffarello and Evan Jennings brought humor to “EverymanHYBRID,” which began as a satirical fitness show in their native New Jersey. |
Mr. Rosner, after studying YouTube tutorials, added heightened visual effects (like tentacles) to “TribeTwelve.” initially set in Florida. | Mr. Rosner, after studying YouTube tutorials, added heightened visual effects (like tentacles) to “TribeTwelve.” initially set in Florida. |
“Tulpa Effect,” a web series initially set in Oakland, took a more psychological approach. “What I was mostly trying to bring to the table was this idea of watching a romantic relationship break down under the stresses of something that’s horrific,” said Marissa Botelho, a creator. | “Tulpa Effect,” a web series initially set in Oakland, took a more psychological approach. “What I was mostly trying to bring to the table was this idea of watching a romantic relationship break down under the stresses of something that’s horrific,” said Marissa Botelho, a creator. |
A bare-bones video game called “Slender” (later renamed “Slender: The Eight Pages” and expanded in a 2013 follow-up game) is released by a developer named Mark J. Hadley. Players walk around a dark forest collecting scattered pages. Every so often, they have a run-in with Slender Man. | A bare-bones video game called “Slender” (later renamed “Slender: The Eight Pages” and expanded in a 2013 follow-up game) is released by a developer named Mark J. Hadley. Players walk around a dark forest collecting scattered pages. Every so often, they have a run-in with Slender Man. |
Felix Kjellberg, the YouTube star known as PewDiePie, posted a video of himself playing it. The game went viral, and led to yet another popular way to experience Slender Man: reaction videos pairing in-game footage with video of the gamer. | Felix Kjellberg, the YouTube star known as PewDiePie, posted a video of himself playing it. The game went viral, and led to yet another popular way to experience Slender Man: reaction videos pairing in-game footage with video of the gamer. |
“Teens React to Slenderman,” a video published that October by Fine Brothers Entertainment (now called FBE), has more than 23 million views. Benny Fine, a founder of FBE, likened the appeal of these videos to “going to movie theaters and seeing scary movies with your friends. Because it’s fun to all be scared together.” | “Teens React to Slenderman,” a video published that October by Fine Brothers Entertainment (now called FBE), has more than 23 million views. Benny Fine, a founder of FBE, likened the appeal of these videos to “going to movie theaters and seeing scary movies with your friends. Because it’s fun to all be scared together.” |
May 2014 | |
Two 12-year-old Wisconsin girls are accused of stabbing a classmate, an act they tell authorities was inspired by Slender Man stories. The girls are sentenced to 40 and 25 years in a psychiatric hospital. | Two 12-year-old Wisconsin girls are accused of stabbing a classmate, an act they tell authorities was inspired by Slender Man stories. The girls are sentenced to 40 and 25 years in a psychiatric hospital. |
Some Slender Man series either went dark or on hiatus following the attack. Though appalled by the crime, many creators feel it was sensationalized — Mr. Rosner said he turned down interview requests because it seemed like “they were looking for a finger to point.” | Some Slender Man series either went dark or on hiatus following the attack. Though appalled by the crime, many creators feel it was sensationalized — Mr. Rosner said he turned down interview requests because it seemed like “they were looking for a finger to point.” |
“I think that the story genuinely blindsided the grown-ups,” said Shira Chess, an assistant professor of entertainment and media studies at the University of Georgia. | “I think that the story genuinely blindsided the grown-ups,” said Shira Chess, an assistant professor of entertainment and media studies at the University of Georgia. |
May 2015 | |
“Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story,” a low-budget feature based on the web series, is released. | “Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story,” a low-budget feature based on the web series, is released. |
Slender Man was played by Mr. Jones, Amphibian Man in “The Shape of Water.” “I’ve played hauntingly quiet characters before, but this one goes beyond quiet with a stillness that is so understated,” Mr. Jones said by email, adding, “I had to trust that sometimes just standing there with a slight tilt of the head was enough to make my human victims come unglued.” | Slender Man was played by Mr. Jones, Amphibian Man in “The Shape of Water.” “I’ve played hauntingly quiet characters before, but this one goes beyond quiet with a stillness that is so understated,” Mr. Jones said by email, adding, “I had to trust that sometimes just standing there with a slight tilt of the head was enough to make my human victims come unglued.” |
August 2018 | August 2018 |
When the trailer for the new film, “Slender Man,” was released earlier this year, YouTube commenters were quick to note the character was a little long in the tooth. | When the trailer for the new film, “Slender Man,” was released earlier this year, YouTube commenters were quick to note the character was a little long in the tooth. |
Sylvain White, the director of the new movie, which was released this month, said in a phone interview that his first exposure to the character came through video games and a niece who once dressed as Slender Man for Halloween. | Sylvain White, the director of the new movie, which was released this month, said in a phone interview that his first exposure to the character came through video games and a niece who once dressed as Slender Man for Halloween. |
One of the goals of the film, the director explained, was to go back to the original forum posts by Eric Knudsen, whom he spoke with, and develop a version of “Slender Man” from there. “I really wanted to stay true to the original idea,” Mr. White said. | One of the goals of the film, the director explained, was to go back to the original forum posts by Eric Knudsen, whom he spoke with, and develop a version of “Slender Man” from there. “I really wanted to stay true to the original idea,” Mr. White said. |
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