With each new detail and new account, posters helped in building a mythos around the character that because of its viral scope and myriad of conflicting details and accounts did not retain a ‘canon’ version and this process happened fast.
Following this initial appearance, the slenderman character was then picked up by other users, who either fit him into their own narratives or wrote short accounts of alleged encounters with the character, sculpting as they did some of the features recognised today. Alongside the images, Knudson provided small snippets of out of context text purported to be witness accounts that give hints about the scenes depicted and their relation to the anomalous figure of the Slender man.īy attaching short snippets of text with his images Knudson transformed the lone image into the first Slenderman story, albeit in an nonlinear and fragmentary form. At first glance the images seem normal but the figure’s anomalous size and featureless face once noticed give the pictures an eerie and unsettling feeling.
Knudson’s effort, posted on Jshowed groups of teenagers and children with the now familiar figure of Slenderman standing in the background. Knudson was responding to a call on Something Awful, for posters to contribute digitally altered photographs that would then serve as the basis for new mythologies or stories. Slenderman in his original form was created by Eric Knudson under the alias Victor Surge. These latter features, namely incitement to violence or suicide became more prevelant and commonly associated with the character in a case of art imitatinbg life after real life violent events or cases of attempted suicide were linked to the character Originsĭespite some media outlets adding to the aura of the Slenderman mythos by claiming that the figure’s origins are unclear, in fact the character’s origin is easily traceable. The character has also been said to cause illness (particularly a cough know as ‘slender sickness) and to induce those who encouter him to suicide. Another common trope that the Slenderman exerts an influence upon the victims making them the perpetrators of crimes or violent actions. Much like his appearance however, though the details alter some elements seem to remain as constants, such as the character appearing by woods or forests, enticing children away from their parents and friends never to be seen again. Whilst there are a wide variety of Slenderman stories out there, much of the character’s effectiveness comes from the fact that there is no single definitive version, the initial posts that introduced the character being only fragmentary quotes linked to an image rather than an actual short story or complete narrative. The character commonly inhabits liminal spaces, such as the entrance to woods and forest or areas of abandoned ground on the outskirts of more populated areas. Slenderman is often said to be able to extend or stretch his limbs, particularly his arms at will, and either has tentacles protruding, just visible from his back or has tentacle-like appendages in place of his arms. He loomed in the distance, like the shadow of some horrible dark truth and you knew instantly that you had to look away, that if you didn’t tear your eyes from that blank featureless face then soon the blank would wash over you, become you and you would walk slowly but surely, as if pulled by some magnetic force toward him, toward him though you feared him, though you were scared of his unnatural height, the aching blank whiteness of his face, the arms that seemed to stretch towards you and the slithering tentacles behind. Taller than any man could be, thinner even the willowy branches that extended ever upward from the trees. When you looked again ‘he’ was still there. Seen the fingers of their branches clawing up toward the sky and beside them, the figure.Īt first you’d thought you must be mistaken, that your eyes in the hazy blur of twilight were playing tricks on you, but no. Turning just for a moment, you had glanced back toward the treeline. As the sunlight began to fade you and your two friends left the playground behind and trudged reluctantly home, knowing that you would be forced to pick up the games and conversations the next day.
Though it was autumn the day had seemed long and the brief walk toward home short.
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