People may have heard about Slender Man from the video games, comic books, and movies created based on his character. Similar to Boogeyman, it is just another type of mythical creature made up by adults to scare off the children. Slender Man is said to be lurking around in a dark forest at night, stalking humans.
But one thing that not many people know, is Slender Man’s originality. Unlike so many other horror creatures that we never know the exact date of emergence and the reason behind it, Slender Man has its own story.
In this video that was posted by Storied on YouTube, it explained everything you need to know about this notorious monster, Slender Man:
As explained in the video, it was said that the first time Slender Man ever made an appearance on the internet was in 2009. On the 10th of June, 2009, Eric Knudsen under the name ‘Victor Surge’ responded to an online forum. It was regarding the challenge of editing ordinary photographs into creepy-looking images. The two images posted by Knudsen shook the internet and it went viral overnight.
Slender Man is described as extraordinarily tall with an oddly proportioned body. He’s very thin with long arms and legs, hence the name ‘slender’. In another version, he is claimed to have tentacles sprouted from his back. This man with no facial features wears a suit and his skin is paper-white pale.
Another reason for the sudden attention on Eric Knudsen’s post is the narrative that came with the images.
“One of two recovered photographs from the Stirling City Library blaze. Notable for being taken the day which fourteen children vanished and for what is referred to as “The Slender Man”. Deformities cited as film defects by officials. Fire at library occurred one week later. Actual photograph confiscated as evidence.”
– 1986, photographer: Mary Thomas, missing since June 13th, 1986.
Slender Man was born from those exact story.
A few days after the internet was introduced to Slender Man, a film project was uploaded to Youtube, under the title ‘Marble Hornets’. It features a story inspired by Slender Man and it was incredibly successful to the extent that it inspired two video games of this mythical creature.
Although Slender Man seems realistic with found footages and claims that it existed for hundreds of years, this creature was just made up by Eric Knudsen where he admitted it himself.
Slender Man’s faceless features feed on people’s fears but it could have been nothing more than a made-up story.
Sources: Youtube, Techcrunch