The legend of Slenderman

The most famous internet monster that has ever existed, yet it is also the most mysterious. It’s a tall, slender humanoid creature standing between 7-10 feet tall with pale white skin and no facial features wearing a black suit and sometimes depicted with tentacles on its back. The Urban legend took rise in the early 2010s after a strange series of photos were released to the public containing the creature around children. These pictures shook the internet and it quickly became a massive sensation as it was titled the first “creepypasta.” The urban legend dictates that the Slenderman is a monster that haunts and takes children into the woods to his own realm. The legends gained even more fame after multiple games came out featuring the creepypasta.

On May 31st, 2014 in Wisconsin two 12 year old girls attempted to sacrifice their friend to the slenderman. They stabbed her dozens of times but she fortunately survived. The two girls were arrested and thrown in jail where they are still serving their sentences. This incident showed the obsession that the public has taken to the legend, and has since been looked down upon. Eventually in 2018 a movie based off of the legend came out, thus marking the most recent and possibly the last true mark the legend had on this generation.

Unfortunately, the whole thing is a massive hoax. The slenderman was created in 2009 by Eric Knudsen, who uploaded the pictures in an online horror contest. The slenderman’s rise of fame was all due to the internet’s equal rise during this time, and the paranoia behind it.

Although the real slender man might not be real, there are accounts that predate Knudsen’s creation. The most famous of which took place at Cannock Chase woods in England. The forest was already famous for its wild stories such as UFOs, werewolves, black eyed kids, demons, ghosts, little green men, and the famous pig-man. In 2001, a man named Mike Johnson was hiking through the woods until he stumbled upon a “Tall slender creature.” it had long arms, pale skin, and no face. This wasn’t the first sighting either. The same creatures have been reported in that area for decades, maybe even centuries.

So what is with this strange creature? Is he real? Is he fake? Most agree that he isn’t real, just a figment of human creativity, a modern mythological beast if you will. And yet there are those who’ve seen such creatures, the tall and slender beings that stalk you in the woods like a hunter stalking its prey. So perhaps its real, and perhaps it isn’t, all it takes is a brave soul to find out.