Slender Man

The Slender Man (also known as Slenderman) is a supernatural creature with nebulously defined characteristics and abilities. Slender Man was first mentioned in Something Awful Forum's "Create Paranormal Images". He generally appears (in modern times) as a tall humanoid creature in a black or grey suit, red or black tie, and white shirt. His face is totally white, completely devoid of facial features. He has no hair, and generally has normal-looking bare hands, albeit with fingers longer and bonier than a typical human. Slender Man has been depicted in imagery and literature at anywhere between 6 and 15 feet tall, depending on the situation, though in video he is usually only around 6-7 feet tall. Because of his inexact nature, and differences between accounts, no one has yet determined what, exactly, the Slender Man is. Currently, there are two leading theories as to what the Slender Man may be: the Tulpa Effect and Quantum Theory.

The internet popularity of Slender Man has spawned a massive number of interconnected ARGs, collectively known as the Slender Man Mythos.

Contents

1 Basic Description

2 Abilities

3 Canon History and Information

4 Relationship with Children

5 Frequented Locations

6 Association

7 In universe

8 Out of universe

9 Trivia and Pop Culture

10 Gallery

11 Resources

12 See Also

Basic Description

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LORE - Slenderman Lore in a Minute!-0

In almost every description of the Slender Man, his attributes will vary, sometimes greatly. However, his basic appearance and traits are relatively consistent across different accounts. His appearance has changed over the years, but the most common image – and the most well known in media– is that of an abnormally tall human with long arms and a totally blank face. He is usually portrayed as wearing a business suit, which may be either real cloth, or some form of skin molded to take on the appearance of cloth. If the former, this would imply an intelligent being attempting to try to blend in. If it is the latter, it suggests an extremely adaptive being that evolves to match its environment.

He behaves in what might be seen as a passive-aggressive manner, often stalking targets for years at a time before ever attacking. It’s understood that he tends to torture his targets mentally, over long periods of time, using fear and paranoia to drive them to insanity. No one has ever satisfactorily explained the reasoning behind his tactics or the way he chooses his victims, and his purposes and/or motivations have yet to be fully ascertained. He is rarely, if ever, portrayed in a good or benign light and is generally understood to be a malevolent force.

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Slender Man is a mystery. He looks like a human being, but doesn’t act like one. It is uncertain if he is a social creature, understands human languages or behaviors, or even why humans appear to be his primary targets. It sometimes seems as if he is capable of possessing his targets in some cases. Slender Man's mere appearance provokes fear. This is partially due to his towering height and overall unnerving appearance, and partially due to his behavior, which is almost completely alien. Humans also find it extremely hard to describe The Slender Man: a description in words can be given, but often lack the ability to fully describe the creature. It is believed that Slender Man is from/exists on a fourth dimensional plane, which would account for some of his apparent abilities.

There are two main descriptions of The Slender Man’s behavior. Originally, he was portrayed as being not only malevolent, but also extremely dangerous. He would stalk its targets, impale them on trees, and remove their organs. In comparison, contemporary depictions have turned him into a more passive-aggressive creature. Instead of an active chase, he is more likely to let his prey devolve slowly into madness until they are unable to cope with their situation, often watching from afar as this takes place. If angered, it will charge the aggressor and vanish with its victim to an unknown location. Modern interpretations also show that The Slender Man interacts oddly with electronic equipment and causes massive interference with audio and visual recording devices. Sometimes an individual can determine if The Slender Man is near simply by how certain electronics act. Radios, televisions, and cameras are especially susceptible. How powerful this effect is seems to vary, which could be due either to The Slender Man's state of aggression, or other outside factors that he may or may not be controlling (eg: weather, cell phone signals, etc.)

In almost every contemporary description, The Slender Man is associated with stalking, often for extremely long periods. It is not unusual for a person to be trailed by The Slender Man for hours, days, months, or even years. However, he usually appears when least expected and where the victim is alone and the most comfortable (home, school, work, outdoors, along trusted roads, etc), and often times he also strikes when the target's defenses are down, sometimes to the point where they simply have no will to fight him off any further, making for an easier kill.

One of the most common features of The Slender Man, generally accepted among both fans of the mythos and victims, is that he will target those who reach a certain level of understanding about it. These accounts vary from person to person, but it seems that being a victim of The Slender Man is almost contagious or memetic. One can become his prey by encountering someone he is already chasing. Basic research and even collecting images doesn’t appear to incur its notice, someone has to delve into the mythos in an almost obsessive way. A theory sprouts from this, discussing how he could be able to track several victims at once, due to the apparent number of people invested in the mythos. This theory states that he is a sort of omnipresent being.

Abilities

Main page: Abilities of the Slender Man

An example of the Slender Man's Impressive height.

The Slender Man's original abilities included:

selective invisibility (say, to adults or anyone without a camera)

the ability to change height and body shape

the ability to shape its arms into tentacles

and/or the ability to sprout tentacle-like appendages from its back and shoulders to be used as additional arms or legs (or simply to instill fear)

Many stories seem to indicate that The Slender Man can control a person's mind, which became the basis for the Proxies in the video ARG, a trend that later spread to Slenderblogs. The Slender Man also originally had stronger connections to children, and many of the original stories revolved around disappearing children or featured Slender Man sightings in photos with children. This was often attributed to the innocence and morbid curiosity of children, which could lead them down the path of discovering the creature.

As more stories came forth, however, the use of tentacles and tentacle-like appendages became less common, and the invisibility was limited or eliminated depending on the storyteller. (On the other hand, some stories took the invisibility even further and claimed it was entirely invisible without the use of electronic devices.)

EMH, TT, ML, and DH all contain some sort of video and/or audio distortion, indicating that The Slender Man has an effect on modern digital instruments. This does not appear in any of the original accounts, but these also mainly make use of photographs and lower-tech video. EMH has suggested that this distortion is the effect of Sigma Radiation, a radiation said to be given off by Slender Man and the Rake. Sigma Radiation is also contagious, as it entered Evan's blood-stream when his arm was brutally maimed by The Rake.

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EMH and ML also describe the phenomenon known as "Slender Walking." Slender Walking is a term created to describe Slender Man's apparent teleportation and space-time warping/teleportation between locations. These abilities were seen in early Slender Man accounts, and is one of the most recognizable elements of the mythos. Slender Man’s ability to appear – seemingly from nowhere – in a place where he wasn’t mere seconds before is one of his most terrifying traits, and EMH mentions the effect of this on a person's mental health.

Certain contemporary views see his movement as either extremely limited or impaired, as if he is incapable of moving his body properly. It is rarely seen to actually move, and goes from standing still to rapidly teleporting within the blink of an eye. There is no apparent coherency to his movements or position, and he is capable of teleporting several dozen times to various locations in a few seconds. He does not flee, and can be just as dangerous standing still as when obviously teleporting. He is capable of – and often will – stay within several dozen feet of his target, no matter how they try to escape. It seems to be part of his psychological attack to stay just within visual range without actually attacking – the fact that he is there, no matter what, is often described as worse than actually being attacked, the psychological effects often deteriorating the mind of the victim as a result.

He appears to be able to follow any and all targets regardless of where they go, or where and how they hide. It isn't certain how he does this, but he seems able to keep a perfect trace on its targets, often speculated to be a part of his supposed existence as a potentially omnipresent being.