The 'Slender Man' Legend - Something Awful Lurks
You could say that i'm a sucker, because I tend to have faith in the integrity of the people who tell me the tales that I already want to believe. If somebody regales me with Exorcist like anecdotes experienced during Ouija board sessions I'll buy it, and if you've seen spectres terrible and beautiful both, I'll take your word.
There have been thousands of sightings of Yeti, Chupacabra, Leprechauns, and the Loch Ness Monster, and if you'd told me that you'd seen any or all of these marvelous things I'd believe you. That is, until I heard the legend of the 'Slender Man'.
The Slender Man
Dressed in a black suit and with no visible face the Slender Man is a terrible apparition with arms that stretch wide to entrap his chosen prey. Towering high the Slender Man hunts children with a voracious appetite, stalking them through parks and play grounds, and has even been known to attack children within their dreams. Due to his attire the Slender Man has been linked to the notorious 'Men in Black', who are thought to be Government agents who harass and threaten UFO witnesses, and who some believe to be Aliens themselves.
The Slender Man is a heinous monstrosity who with tentacled appendages lurks in the dark, sniffing out and spying on small children, waiting to snatch them away. And as with many other monsters and Demons of popular legend the Slender Man frequently turns up in 'real' ghost photos, sightings, and stories. The only problem with this being, that the Slender Man is completely 100% made-up.
You could say that i'm a sucker, because I tend to have faith in the integrity of the people who tell me the tales that I already want to believe. If somebody regales me with Exorcist like anecdotes experienced during Ouija board sessions I'll buy it, and if you've seen spectres terrible and beautiful both, I'll take your word.
There have been thousands of sightings of Yeti, Chupacabra, Leprechauns, and the Loch Ness Monster, and if you'd told me that you'd seen any or all of these marvelous things I'd believe you. That is, until I heard the legend of the 'Slender Man'.
The Slender Man
Dressed in a black suit and with no visible face the Slender Man is a terrible apparition with arms that stretch wide to entrap his chosen prey. Towering high the Slender Man hunts children with a voracious appetite, stalking them through parks and play grounds, and has even been known to attack children within their dreams. Due to his attire the Slender Man has been linked to the notorious 'Men in Black', who are thought to be Government agents who harass and threaten UFO witnesses, and who some believe to be Aliens themselves.
The Slender Man is a heinous monstrosity who with tentacled appendages lurks in the dark, sniffing out and spying on small children, waiting to snatch them away. And as with many other monsters and Demons of popular legend the Slender Man frequently turns up in 'real' ghost photos, sightings, and stories. The only problem with this being, that the Slender Man is completely 100% made-up.
The Birth of the Slender Man
The Slender Man was born within the 'Something Awful' forums in 2009, when a thread was created to challenge members to create fake photo-shopped paranormal photographs. The idea however was not just to create these images, but to also filter them through the internet, in a bid to convince those who sought out such things, that the images created were authentic 'real' ghost/alien photographs. Many excellent images were created by the forums users, but it was one in particular created by 'Victor Surge' that caught the imagination of all who stumbled across its trail, and so began the legend of the Slender Man.
The Slender Man was born within the 'Something Awful' forums in 2009, when a thread was created to challenge members to create fake photo-shopped paranormal photographs. The idea however was not just to create these images, but to also filter them through the internet, in a bid to convince those who sought out such things, that the images created were authentic 'real' ghost/alien photographs. Many excellent images were created by the forums users, but it was one in particular created by 'Victor Surge' that caught the imagination of all who stumbled across its trail, and so began the legend of the Slender Man.
Something Awful Lurks
Despite the Slender Man being a complete fabrication his legend has spread like wild-fire throughout the internet, and since his humble creation within the Something Awful forums the Slender Man myth has grown in strength and scope, and is now widely regarded as a successful 'Internet MEME', a phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the internet, much like an esoteric inside joke, that evolves with time.
Slender Man - The Movie
Not a Hollywood blockbuster but a YouTube sensation of sorts the 'Marble Hornets Project' is a series of video clips that were supposedly recorded by a teenager named 'Alex'. The segments of video taken from Alex's camcorder tapes follow him as he becomes increasingly concerned by the fact that 'something' sinister, is apparently stalking him.
Despite the Slender Man being a complete fabrication his legend has spread like wild-fire throughout the internet, and since his humble creation within the Something Awful forums the Slender Man myth has grown in strength and scope, and is now widely regarded as a successful 'Internet MEME', a phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the internet, much like an esoteric inside joke, that evolves with time.
Slender Man - The Movie
Not a Hollywood blockbuster but a YouTube sensation of sorts the 'Marble Hornets Project' is a series of video clips that were supposedly recorded by a teenager named 'Alex'. The segments of video taken from Alex's camcorder tapes follow him as he becomes increasingly concerned by the fact that 'something' sinister, is apparently stalking him.
Whilst Alex himself has mysteriously vanished, the video clips he left behind him become increasingly disturbing, as the Slender Man peers from distant corners. Now at twenty-two episodes or 'entries' long the Marble Hornets Project' has greatly increased the range of the Slender Man Myths reach, with some unfamiliar with the legends origin taking it at face-value, and they in turn spread the legends grip further still.
Is Slender Man Real?
So the Slender Man myth is smoke and mirrors, a clever concoction, a fictional fairy story, and an invention of the Internet age.
But still some claim to see him.
Could it be that more and more people are coming on board with the intention only of spreading this legend further and wider for fun, or could it be that those fooled, the impressionable and compulsive liars alike tell tall tales in attempts to impress or confuse friends and strangers. Either of these explanations are plausible, and most likely the reason behind any Slender Man sightings.
But perhaps there is a third possibility.
http://mrvoodoo.hubpages.com/hub/The-Slender-Man-Legend-Something-Awful-LurksLike the Tulpa of Tibetan Buddhism, thought-forms brought into existence merely through power of will and strength of mind. Is it possible that if enough people believe in something, that this belief alone could give birth to its form?
So the Slender Man myth is smoke and mirrors, a clever concoction, a fictional fairy story, and an invention of the Internet age.
But still some claim to see him.
Could it be that more and more people are coming on board with the intention only of spreading this legend further and wider for fun, or could it be that those fooled, the impressionable and compulsive liars alike tell tall tales in attempts to impress or confuse friends and strangers. Either of these explanations are plausible, and most likely the reason behind any Slender Man sightings.
But perhaps there is a third possibility.
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