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[[File:Symbol Proxy.png|thumb|The "Slender Man symbol" introduced by ''Marble Hornets'']]
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Because the Slender Man's fictional "mythology" has evolved without an official "canon" for reference, his appearance, motives, habits, and abilities are not fixed but change depending on the storyteller.<ref name="shirachess">{{cite web |title=Who is Slender Man? |first=Caitlin |last=Dewey |website=[[The Boston Globe]] |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/06/03/who-slender-man/7LHDT69RcChSIaHg8CUUsJ/story.html |date=June 3, 2014 |access-date=2014-06-04 |archive-date=2014-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606033346/http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/06/03/who-slender-man/7LHDT69RcChSIaHg8CUUsJ/story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He is most commonly described as very tall and thin with unnaturally long, [[tentacle]]-like arms (or mere tentacles),<ref name="creep" /> which he can extend to intimidate or capture prey. In most stories, his face is white and featureless, but occasionally his face appears differently to anyone who sees it.<ref name="shirachess" /> He appears to be wearing a dark suit and tie. The Slender Man is often associated with the forest and/or abandoned locations and has the ability to [[Teleportation|teleport]].<ref name="bbc" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Tall, skinny, scary—and all in your head |first=Kristin |last=Tillotson |website=startribune.com |date=April 27, 2011 |url=http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/120717934.html?refer=y |access-date=2013-02-23 |archive-date=2013-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054245/http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/120717934.html?refer=y |url-status=live }}</ref> Proximity to the Slender Man is often said to trigger a "Slender sickness"; a rapid onset of [[paranoia]], nightmares and delusions accompanied by [[nosebleed]]s.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Origins of Slender Man, the Meme That Allegedly Drove 12-Year-Olds to Kill |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |first=Laura |last=Stampler |url=
Early stories featured him targeting children or young adults. Some featured young adults driven insane or influenced to act on his behalf. Others included the idea that investigating the Slender Man will draw his attention.<ref name="shirachess2" /> The web series ''Marble Hornets'' established the idea of proxies, who were humans who fall under the Slender Man's influence. Initially depicted as simply violently insane, they came to be portrayed as puppets of the Slender Man. ''Marble Hornets'' also introduced the idea that the Slender Man could interfere with video and audio recordings, as well as the "Slender Man symbol", ⦻, which became a common trope of Slender fiction.<ref name="shirachess2" /> [[Graphic violence]] and [[list of body horror media|body horror]] are uncommon in the Slender Man mythos, with many narratives choosing to leave the fate of his victims obscure.<ref name="shirachess2" /> Shira Chess notes that "It is important to note that few of the retellings identify exactly what kind of monster the Slender Man might be, and what his specific intentions are- these points all remain mysteriously and usefully vague."<ref name="shirachess" />
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==History==
===Origin===
[[File:H. P. Lovecraft in DeLand Florida, June 1934.png|thumb|upright|The writings of [[H. P. Lovecraft]] influenced the creation of the Slender Man.]]
The Slender Man was created on June 10, 2009, on a thread in the [[Something Awful]] [[Internet forum]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/06/03/the-complete-terrifying-history-of-slender-man-the-internet-meme-that-compelled-two-12-year-olds-to-stab-their-friend/|title=The complete history of 'Slender Man,' the meme that compelled two girls to stab a friend|last1=Dewey|first1=Caitlin|date=2014-06-03|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2017-06-21|last2=Dewey|first2=Caitlin|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=2017-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817123023/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/06/03/the-complete-terrifying-history-of-slender-man-the-internet-meme-that-compelled-two-12-year-olds-to-stab-their-friend/|url-status=live}}</ref>
The quote under the first photograph read:
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}}</ref><ref name="Marble Hornets ARG">{{cite web |last=Peters |first=Lucia |title=Creepy Things That Seem Real But Aren't: The Marble Hornets Project |url=http://crushable.com/entertainment/creepy-things-that-seem-real-but-arent-the-marble-hornets-project/ |website=Crushable |access-date=2012-10-09 |date=May 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130120040603/http://crushable.com/entertainment/creepy-things-that-seem-real-but-arent-the-marble-hornets-project/ |archive-date=January 20, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As of 2013, ''Marble Hornets'' had over 250,000 subscribers around the world and had received 55 million views.<ref name="variety" /> Other Slender Man-themed YouTube serials followed, including ''EverymanHYBRID'' and ''TribeTwelve''.<ref name="Contemporary Legends" />
In 2012, the Slender Man was adapted into a video game titled ''[[Slender: The Eight Pages]]''; and the official website crashed after too many people tried to download the game.<ref>{{Cite web |last=C |first=Luiz H. |date=2023-03-06 |title='Slender: The Arrival' – Revisiting the Playable Jump Scare Machine Ten Years Later |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3752375/slender-the-arrival-revisiting-the-playable-jump-scare-machine-ten-years-later/ |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=[[Bloody Disgusting]] |language=en-US |archive-date=May 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527142332/https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3752375/slender-the-arrival-revisiting-the-playable-jump-scare-machine-ten-years-later/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Several popular variants of the game followed, including ''Slenderman's Shadow''<ref name="Shadow">{{cite web |first=Lana |last=Polansky |url=http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/8673/article/slenderman-s-shadow-sanatorium-map-released/ |title=Slenderman's Shadow "Sanatorium" Map Released |website=Gameranx |date=August 20, 2012 |access-date=2012-09-09 |archive-date=2012-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823004756/http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/8673/article/slenderman-s-shadow-sanatorium-map-released |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''Slender Man'' for [[iOS]], which became the second most-popular app download.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Tom |last=Senior |url=http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/07/26/slender-man-source-mod-will-let-you-scare-the-hell-out-of-yourself-for-free-with-friends/ |title=Slender Man Source mod will let you scare the hell out of yourself for free, with friends |magazine=[[PC Gamer]] |date=July 26, 2012 |access-date=2012-09-09 |archive-date=2012-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120909044909/http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/07/26/slender-man-source-mod-will-let-you-scare-the-hell-out-of-yourself-for-free-with-friends/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The sequel to ''Slender: The Eight Pages'', ''[[Slender: The Arrival]]'', was released in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jeffrey |last=Matulef |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-11-pre-orders-for-slender-the-arrival-are-half-off-come-with-instant-beta-access |title=Pre-orders for Slender: The Arrival are half-off, come with instant beta access |website=[[Eurogamer]] |date=February 11, 2013 |access-date=2013-04-03 |archive-date=2013-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518004932/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-11-pre-orders-for-slender-the-arrival-are-half-off-come-with-instant-beta-access |url-status=live }}</ref> Several [[independent film]]s about the Slender Man have been released or are in development, including ''Entity''<ref>{{cite web |title=First Trailer & Poster For The Jadallah Brothers' Horror Movie ENTITY! |first=Jeanne |last=Standal |website=FilmoFilia |url=https://www.filmofilia.com/first-trailer-poster-for-the-jadallah-brothers-horror-movie-entity-129637/ |date=December 22, 2012 |access-date=2013-02-20 |archive-date=2013-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130411005602/http://www.filmofilia.com/first-trailer-poster-for-the-jadallah-brothers-horror-movie-entity-129637/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''The Slender Man'', released free online after a $10,000 [[Kickstarter]] campaign.<ref>{{cite web |title=Slender Man Movie Producer Steven Belcher Wants to Create True Terror with the Faceless Figure |first=Danny |last=Gallagher |website=[[GameTrailers]] |url=http://www.gametrailers.com/side-mission/33230/slender-man-movies-steven-belcher-says-his-kickstarter-project-wont-just-be-a-found-footage-film |date=October 12, 2012 |access-date=2013-02-20 |archive-date=2013-02-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209020958/http://www.gametrailers.com/side-mission/33230/slender-man-movies-steven-belcher-says-his-kickstarter-project-wont-just-be-a-found-footage-film |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2013, it was announced that ''Marble Hornets'' would become a feature film.<ref name="variety">{{cite news |title='Marble Hornets' flying to bigscreen |first=Dave |last=McNary |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url=https://
===Waukesha stabbing===
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On September 4, 2014, a 14-year-old girl in [[Port Richey, Florida|Port Richey]], [[Florida]], allegedly set her family's house on fire while her mother and nine-year-old brother were inside. Police reported that the teenager had been reading online stories about Slender Man, as well as [[Atsushi Ōkubo]]'s manga ''[[Soul Eater (manga)|Soul Eater]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Melrose|first=Kevin|title=Teen Claims 'Soul Eater,' Slender Man Led Her to Set Home on Fire|date=8 September 2014|url=http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2014/09/teen-claims-soul-eater-slender-man-led-her-to-set-home-on-fire/|publisher=Comic Book Resources|access-date=7 February 2015|archive-date=7 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207125617/http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2014/09/teen-claims-soul-eater-slender-man-led-her-to-set-home-on-fire/|url-status=live}}</ref> Eddie Daniels of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said the girl "had visited the website that contains a lot of the Slender Man information and stories [...] It would be safe to say there is a connection to that."<ref>{{cite news |url= https://abcnews.go.com/US/teen-inspired-slender-man-set-house-fire-police/story?id=25262814 |title= Teen Inspired by 'Slender Man' Set House on Fire: Police |first= Rheana |last= Murray |publisher= ABC News |date= 2014-09-05 |access-date= 2014-09-05 |archive-date= 2014-09-05 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140905180014/http://abcnews.go.com/US/teen-inspired-slender-man-set-house-fire-police/story?id=25262814 |url-status= live }}</ref>
During an early 2015 epidemic of suicide attempts by young people ages 12 to 24 on the [[Pine Ridge Indian Reservation]], Slender Man was cited as an influence; the [[Oglala Lakota|Oglala Sioux tribe]] president noted that many Native Americans traditionally believe in a "suicide spirit"
A documentary film on the incident called ''[[Beware the Slenderman]]'', directed by [[Irene Taylor Brodsky]], was released by [[HBO Films]] in March 2016, and was broadcast on [[HBO]] on January 23, 2017.<ref>{{cite web|last=DePaol|first=Tommy|title=Slenderman is Coming to HBO in a True-Crime Documentary|url=http://moviepilot.com/posts/3813085|website=MoviePilot.com|access-date=21 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412100618/http://moviepilot.com/posts/3813085|archive-date=12 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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Several scholars have argued that, despite being a fictional work with an identifiable origin point, the Slender Man represents a form of digital folklore. Shira Chess argues that the Slender Man exemplifies the similarities between traditional folklore and the open source ethos of the Internet, and that, unlike those of traditional monsters such as vampires and werewolves, the fact that the Slender Man's mythos can be tracked and signposted offers a powerful insight into how myth and folklore form.<ref name="taylor" /> Chess identifies three aspects of the Slender Man mythos that tie it to folklore: collectivity (meaning that it is created by a collective, rather than a single individual), variability (meaning that the story changes depending on the teller), and performance (meaning that the storyteller's narrative changes to reflect the audience's response).<ref name="shirachess2" />
[[File:Cosplay of Slender Man at MCM
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Media scholar and folklorist Andrew Peck attributes the success of the Slender Man to its highly collaborative nature. Because the character and its motives are shrouded in mystery, users can easily adapt existing Slender Man tropes and imagery to create new stories. This ability for users to tap into the ideas of others while also supplying their own helped inspire the collaborative culture that arose surrounding the Slender Man. Instead of privileging the choices of certain creators as canonical, this collaborative culture informally locates ownership of the creature across the community. In these respects, the Slender Man is similar to campfire stories or [[urban legend]]s, and the character's success comes from enabling both social interaction and personal acts of creative expression.<ref name="Tall, Dark, and Loathsome: The Emergence of a Legend Cycle in the Digital Age" />
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==In popular culture==
In 2011, [[Markus Persson|Markus "Notch" Persson]], creator of the sandbox indie game ''[[Minecraft]]'', added a new hostile [[Mob (video gaming)|mob]] to the game, which he named the "Enderman" when multiple users on [[Reddit]] and [[Google+]] commented on the similarity to the Slender Man.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Endermen are coming for you in Minecraft mob update|author= Jessica Conditt|website=engadget.com|url=https://www.engadget.com/2011-07-30-the-endermen-are-coming-for-you-in-minecraft-mob-update.html|year=2011 |access-date=2013-02-21}}</ref> In 2013, the Slender Man appeared as the antagonist of the [[Lost Girl (season 3)|season 3]] ''[[Lost Girl]]'' episode "SubterrFaenean", in which the Slender Man was said to be the basis for the [[Pied Piper of Hamelin|Pied Piper]] legend.<ref>{{cite news |last=McFarland |first=Kevin |title=Lost Girl: "SubterrFaenean" |url=https://
==See also==
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