THE SLENDERMAN

ORIGIN: Internet

The Slenderman is a modern urban legend that originated in 2009 on the forum Something Awful, created by Eric Knudsen (also known as "Victor Surge"). 

Though not rooted in any ancient folklore like many urban legends, Slenderman quickly became a cultural phenomenon and a well known one at that. 

He is described as a very very tall, thin figure in a black suit much like The Smiling Man but with a featureless, pale face and slim elongated limbs.

Slenderman is said to stalk, abduct, and psychologically torment his victims— and favorite victims: children. 

He is often said to stay standing very still, completely motionless, in the background of photographs or hiding near forests and any abandoned areas. 

Just seeing him is said to cause severe and rather extreme signs of paranoia, anxiety, and hallucinations.

Along with all these, whoever has an encounter with him ends up experiencing blackouts or memory loss.

Slenderman has no clear motive or origin story, and that is what makes him all the more terrifying. 

The legend spread very rapidly through creepypasta websites, fan art, and YouTube series like Marble Hornets, digging itself deeply into online horror culture.

Even now, a live action horror movie was created in the 2020s titled: Slendermen.

Slenderman's mythos took an even darker turn in 2014, when two 12-year-old girls in Wisconsin, USA, attempted to murder a classmate, claiming they were acting on behalf of Slenderman, that he ordered them to do it.