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.
Children and young people with excitement and enthusiasm retell fantastic stories about all sorts of extraordinary entities, most of which are the fruit of someone’s imagination. Internet memes don't last long. They are created for entertainment. The Thin Man (Slender Man) has a different fate. They believe in him and try to contact him. He gained unprecedented popularity. Due to the fact that the story of Slenderman is of such interest, we invite you to get to know it better.
What makes this character stand out?
Surely the story of Slenderman would not have caused so much talk if many real events had not been associated with it. The fact is that this image turned out to be “alive” and inspires confidence. In the USA, this has driven some people to real crimes. Thus, teenagers who were impressed by the story of Slenderman attacked loved ones, trying to commit murder. It was sometimes simply risky to be around children who firmly believed in the reality of the character. Young men and girls, impressed by the “exploits” of the Thin Man, changed their views on good and evil. Well, think for yourself: can an ordinary person in his right mind injure another? However, the history of Slenderman pushed them towards exactly this behavior. The hero, invented several years ago, became a real being in their imagination. They relied on his support and took their example from him. Nowadays the Thin Man only has more fans. Real stories mixed with fiction. What is true in them and what could not be is difficult to figure out. Especially if a person is more attached to the computer virtual world than to the real one.
How did Slenderman come about?
The history of the appearance of the image is actually simple. There is a forum called Something Awful. In 2009, its leaders decided to organize a competition. Readers were invited to use their imagination and come up with a creature that could take pride of place in urban folklore. A certain Victor Surge, a user of this system, turned out to be the most gifted inventor of terrible images. He came up with this character. And thanks to this, he won the competition. That’s the whole answer to the question “how did Slenderman appear.” The story is actually quite ordinary. It was created for entertainment. However, the new hero attracted the public's attention. Photos of it being painted for the first time went viral on the Internet. They caused a surge of enthusiasm among Victor’s competitors and other audiences. Everyone wanted to take part in the birth of a new hero.
The character acquires details
Scary stories about Slenderman began to appear like a hurricane. Its creator endowed this creature with supernatural powers. Thus, he wrote that the photographers who took the pictures (which he posted online) disappeared under unclear circumstances. Since the birth of Slenderman brought his creator triumph, he continued to work on his “biography”. It all started with a couple of pictures. He then posted a fabricated police report about the “real events” on the forum. Then drawings appeared depicting this character, allegedly made by child witnesses. The birth of Slenderman was completed in just a few days. The image left the alma mater of his native forum and began to roam the Internet, gaining a lot of fans and followers.
What is our hero like?
But it was not enough to just come up with an image. The story of the appearance of Slenderman could not be accepted by the public without exciting and terrifying details. So, the Thin Man has no face. This is due to a special legend telling about his incredible suffering. The author also needed to endow the hero with such traits that would make the blood run cold. He did an excellent job with this task. Scary stories about Slenderman really touch the soul. This character is known to be very thin. His weapons are his arms, which he can stretch very far. It is stated that they, like tentacles, can reach anyone whom the Thin Man wishes to punish. Through his limbs he influences his unfortunate victim. She falls into a state of trance, nevertheless experiencing a strange and unnatural attraction to the owner of the tentacles.
Make you believe in the Thin Man
Another task of the creator was to give “life” to his hero. It was necessary to come up with something that would attract readers to it. Naturally, the real story of Slenderman is too simple. Who wants to believe in a fictional character. Therefore, it was decided to tell the public about how someone met this character. Thus, the idea was presented that Slenderman could become an assistant in personal affairs. This prospect interested the teenagers. Everyone knows that at this age there are many purely psychological problems. How to refuse a magical entity that can fulfill any request? This is exactly how Slenderman is perceived by fans. The history of the origin of the image in this case fades into the background. After all, I really want to believe that this character will help. Everyone wants a miracle! And fear only spurs this faith and is its catalyst.
Summon Slenderman
Much has been written about how to meet a Subtle Man. Here each author demonstrates the incredible wonders of his own imagination. Since this hero is a city resident, the methods of summoning him are related to buildings. They say a lift is needed. Slenderman prefers it in his movements. It is necessary to post a picture on a certain floor at night, and special signs on others. The adventure is not for the faint of heart! Therefore, it is worth calling on all your courage to help. It is alleged that the Thin Man is cruel and quick to kill. Although his power defies description. There are no barriers for him. But he only helps those who command his respect. So decide, is it worth getting involved with such a creature? You can also get yourself into trouble.
What attracts the Thin Man?
Slenderman is considered extremely unhappy. This is quite reasonable. It is pity that brings a person closer to others and creates trust. It is believed that he was once a real person. But he faced many trials. As a result, Slenderman distanced himself from his family and friends. He cultivated hatred in himself, for which the dark forces gave him supernatural abilities. That is, in fact, the authors of the legends wanted to humanize their hero a little. They say that he survived betrayal and betrayal. Such a story evokes sympathy among young and old, poor and rich. You want to communicate with such a creature, giving it human support and compassion. After all, if we think from this point of view, then the hero is no longer a murderer. He is just a victim of circumstances arranged by his insidious relatives. So, they claim that there is a real story of Slenderman, and his girlfriend played a fatal role in it.
The terrible events that created the Thin Man
You may ask, what happened to him? It is believed that Slenderman was an ordinary teenager. But his family did not love or accept him. One day he accidentally killed a girl whom he passionately loved. This made his head go blank. His mother and brother did not provide the guy with adequate support. Because of this, he went to wander around the city, looking for his lost loved one. The wanderings became the reason for the teenager acquiring incredible abilities. Everything described is a legend. She evokes genuine sympathy among teenagers experiencing their first timid feeling. It turns out that Slenderman is one of them. It is close to almost every young person. After all, as it turns out, the Subtle Man knows the problems that every reader (viewer) has to struggle with. So try to destroy such an image. It touches not only the imagination, but also the feelings of its admirers. Thus, they prolong his life.
The deep reasons for the popularity of Slenderman
The analysis of the appearance of this image seems very interesting. A thin person is characterized by the absence of a face. This clearly shows the fear of something unknown. People, unfortunately, for the most part do not feel protected. They fear for their lives and those of their loved ones. They are afraid of the unknown. These negative feelings were embodied in an Internet meme. Its popularity and vitality is natural, as it reflects the experiences of many people. They sometimes cannot discuss their internal problems with anyone and do not find sympathy from relatives and friends. And then a character turns up who can protect you from fears and help you cope with problems. Slenderman is a reflection of the inner fears and horrors of the townspeople. This led to its appearance and incredible popularity.
Since you are interested the real story of Slenderman, that's what I'll tell you about him. Slenderman or its other name stick insect (Slender translated from English means Stick). He is long and very thin, and always wears a formal black suit, white shirt and red tie. The most amazing thing is that he has no face. It has the ability to stretch and lengthen its limbs or torso. Most often it appears in forests or near rivers, but sometimes it is seen in cities. He kidnaps children under 16 years old, the most interesting thing is that adults almost never see him, and only children notice him (whom often none of the adults believe). Seeing his face, the victim experiences panic, falls into a daze, and cannot scream or move. Slenderman extends his arms for a hug, and then the victim disappears without a trace. Some say that this is just a myth, a horror story, and some are sure that its existence strashno.com is real and proven. I know this is reality because I met him myself.
Let me start by saying that I am only 13 years old. I will not give my real name, I will remain under a pseudonym Scarlett. I live an ordinary life: friends, school, family - everything is like everyone else. But this meeting changed everything.
The next day I became interested in this Slenderman and began looking for reliable information about him on the Internet. I learned that he has “spider legs” coming out of his back and his hobby is looking into people’s windows. I shuddered and looked out the window - everything was calm, day, the sun was shining. “I should go for a walk,” I thought, took the phone and called my friend. We walked for quite a long time, I came home in the evening, sat down at the computer strashno.com and again looked for information about Selendman. Everything was the same, nothing new, I knew a lot about him.
It was getting dark, night came, I went to bed, but the feeling of fear did not leave me. I lay down and couldn’t sleep for a long time. Suddenly there was a noise in the kitchen. I felt scared and covered my head with a blanket. The noise did not stop, it seemed that someone was sorting through the dishes. Suddenly the noise stopped, but I was still under the blanket, I became very scared. Suddenly I heard someone coming here to my room. I pretended to be asleep and suddenly felt someone’s hand on my waist, my heart started beating like crazy. Something leaned towards me and whispered:
- I know that you are not sleeping.
I was silent, I wanted to scream, but I physically couldn’t do it. It breathed right into my neck, and then whispered again:
- Wake up, I want to talk to you.
I strashno.com took a deep breath and, stuttering, asked:
- O-o-o w-what?
- I don’t know, maybe about the fact that I’ll kill you soon? - He said this with some kind of grin.
- For what? - I became very scared.
“You know too much about me, and this cannot be allowed.”
I cried and through tears and fear I told him:
- I won't tell anyone about you.
“Hmm...” he stood up.
I became very scared, I began to inhale and exhale deeply, because... I didn't have enough air. It was hot and stuffy under the blanket, but I didn’t dare get out.
“Get out from under the blanket, you’re probably stuffy there,” Slender told me.
- No, no, no, I'm afraid of you! - I answered him.
He took the blanket and pulled it off me. I covered my face with my hands and curled up into a ball. He put his hand on my head and strashno.com fear disappeared somewhere
- Why are you so afraid of me?
- I don't know.
He started stroking my head.
- Everyone is afraid of me. Do you understand what it’s like to be eternally alone? — Slenderman removed his hand and bowed his head. I felt sorry for him and still decided to look at him. She opened her eyes - the light coming through the window illuminated only his silhouette and in the darkness he didn’t look so scary.
- You're not like that... probably. I don’t know you at all and people come up with some creepy stories. That you are some kind of terrible creature. They don't know the real you.
“I don’t want everyone to know what I really am.”
“Then don’t let them know,” I forcefully put my hand on his shoulder. He grabbed it and I flinched.
“Please don’t be afraid of me, I’m not that terrible,” he looked strashno.com at me, but nothing was visible in the darkness.
“Okay,” the fear dissipated, but something still remained from it. He hugged me and then left almost immediately.
Now I know that Slenderman exists and what it really is. He showed me that he is not a cruel creature, but on the contrary, he has a kind soul. I hope I meet him again.
P.S. Example video with Slender:
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 the 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 Slender 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.
In my tenth year of life, I asked my father: “Why do people believe in God? Look, he’s sitting there like this in heaven, looking, and many people are building churches in his honor, dedicating their lives to him, why all this?...” Without thinking twice, he answered: “Faith in God, first of all, is needed not by God himself, but by people as help. When a person feels that someone who is protecting you is nearby, feels protection and support, this naturally gives him more confidence and strength..” Since then, when something starts to bother me, I fold my hands in prayer and simply repeat “ Lord have mercy". For several years this action embarrassed me somewhat, but despite the awkwardness, I continued to calm myself in this way for several years. No, I'm not a crazy believer. I don't fast. I don't remember the last time I went to church. And, at worst, I don’t know by heart a single prayer, like “Our Father, who art in heaven...” This call for help eventually became a habit for me after several occasions. The first misfortune hit me like a ton of bricks on my head, my grandmother’s serious illness. I don’t know exactly what it was, but I remember how she, in the literal sense of the word, crawled along the floor to the toilet. It was terrible, and then I cried out for help with tears in my eyes. I began to repeat one single phrase, as if I were crazy, and soon I more or less calmed down. Then it was as if someone whispered in my ear: “Everything will be fine. Just wait, baby, don’t be scared...” After two or three days, the grandmother recovered. Having thanked God, I now understood what kind of support my father spoke to me about then. Then I continued asking God for different things. From getting a great grade to buying a bike. Of course, my wishes were not always fulfilled, and I naturally asked my father about this. “God gives you what you really need. You know, when I was as little as you, there was a granny living next door to us. She had false teeth. And I thought it was so interesting when she pulled it out and put it back in. In general, I asked God for the same jaw. But, when I grew up, I realized that if God had fulfilled my desire, I would still regret such stupidity,” he said. From this mostly stupid and funny story, I understood the whole meaning of the saying “Everything that is not done, everything is done for the better.” Okay. The other day, on the Internet, I came across one very interesting thing. The fact is that I, like any self-respecting child, love scary stories. There wasn't a single day off that I didn't spend watching some benign horror movie. This is kind of my obsession. But the point is not only that I just like to get scared, no, the point is that most often I like all kinds of maniacs and monsters. In general, and in general, I sympathize exclusively with negative characters. I'm not a pervert, and I'm not sick. It's just that negative characters are the most colorful in films. Take Jason Voorhees for example. I truly feel sorry for this guy... So that's what I mean. By “interesting thing” I meant Slenderman. I think many people now have at least a small idea about it. If not, then this is, to put it simply, a monster with human (male) proportions, but too elongated and skinny. Hence the name Slender (English: thin, skinny). He is dressed in a black funeral suit and (in my opinion, the most important detail of his image) he has no face. According to rumors, Slenderman was invented in 2009 by a participant in a competition, the rules of which were to make frightening pictures associated with paranormal phenomena from ordinary photographs, through processing and Photoshop. I became interested, I don’t know why, but the image of a “man” without a face in a funeral suit did not leave my head for a long time. I've probably already done everything possible. I downloaded games dedicated to him, watched videos, read all kinds of information, etc. I also watched the video several times, allegedly an excerpt of which was shown on one of the federal channels. I'm not saying that this actually happened, but the genuine fear of the guy in the recording, and some of the rumors about the authenticity of the video, bothered me. Not long ago, when I was walking to the store, a black cat crossed my path. Ignoring this, I continued on my way, but when I returned home, I immediately called my father, as I was interested in the question. “Why do people believe in omens? A black cat crossed my path today, but I didn’t pay attention. Why do superstitious people believe that if a black cat crosses their path, then trouble is certain?” Father replied that when people religiously believe in such signs as, say, if a knife falls - expect guests, or the same black cat crosses the road - expect trouble, this is exactly the same faith as in God. But the father, without completing the idea, said that he needed to work, and he promised that when he arrived, he would explain everything in detail. But I wanted to understand everything myself at least this time. I started thinking, and my train of thought was this. If God’s faith is justified as helping a person, it means that the person really believes that if he asks God for help, he will really receive it. Because of faith, he will have more enthusiasm for achieving his goal and at the same time he will not feel anxiety, discomfort and uncertainty, since he feels support from above. In the end he gets what he wants. Then I decided that the same thing happens with signs. If a person firmly believes in a misfortune that will happen to him, then throughout the day he will pay attention to every trouble that happens to him and blame the poor kitten for everything. He will believe in failure all day long, and consider that the day has gone down the drain for this black cat. I summed it up this way: if you believe in support, you will get support, if you believe in failure, please, as much as you like. When my father came home from work, I told him what conclusion I had come to. I can say that he was very happy and confirmed my words. Delighted by the correct train of thought, I was about to close the topic, but suddenly a thought occurred to me. What if Slender Man can exist for the sole reason that people believe in him? After all, each of us wants to believe in something that actually does not exist. Some kind of miracle. Yes, of course Slenderman cannot be called a miracle. Now, think about why people call queens of spades and other ghosts? Just because it's boring? Maybe. But why summon evil spirits? Why can’t we, say, summon the good fairy? People are trying in every possible way to find adventures for their beautiful butts. Some people dream of a zombie apocalypse, some want to meet UFOs, some believe in ghosts. The main thing in this matter is not to go too far. This is what I mean. Whether you are walking through the forest or eating there, along the road, the forest is dense. As you walk/eat, look out for someone and this is where your imagination begins to play. Slenderman stands before your eyes in your imagination. And even though you cracked, you were a little scared. I was scared of the standing Slenderman you invented. It sounds stupid, of course. I also remembered one detail here. In the allegedly authentic video with Slenderman allegedly appearing there, at 4:55 seconds you can hear the phrase “He exists.” This phrase suggests that we are hardly talking about something real. I don't pretend that anyone will agree with my opinion. And people who deny the existence of Slender cannot say for sure whether he exists or not, just like those who believe in him. But many, at least a little, want He existed?