12-Year-Olds Accused Of Stabbing A Friend To Meet 'Slenderman'

[seeker/reader]

Is slenderman a shadow person or djinn? Strange/awful story below. I believe in one of the earlier accounts that I read about this incident, one of the girls said that slenderman came to her in her dreams.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/03/slenderman-stabbing_n_5439667.html

A police criminal complaint filed against two 12-year-old girls who allegedly stabbed their 12-year-old friend 19 times this past weekend offers dark reading about the vicious attack and the girls' alleged motive -- to prove the existence of a fictional creature named "Slenderman."

"Many people do not believe Slenderman is real [and we] wanted to prove the skeptics wrong," one of the girls said, according to the complaint filed by the Waukesha Police Department in southeastern Wisconsin.

On Monday, the two suspects were charged as adults in Waukesha County Circuit Court with attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Their victim, another 12-year-old from Waukesha, is hospitalized in stable condition.

The suspects in the case are identified in court documents as Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier. The Huffington Post is naming the suspects because they are charged as adults and their names have been made public.

The complaint alleges that Weier told police she learned about Slenderman on a website called CreepyPasta and then introduced Geyser to the site.

According to James McCann, co-founder of A Paranormal Group, Slenderman appears in crowd-sourced fiction about a demon-oriented character who stalks, traumatizes and abducts children. "It's believed to reach his realm level, you have to kill somebody," McCann said.

At least one of the girls said that she believed she would need to "physically kill someone" in order to "become proxies of Slenderman," the criminal complaint alleges.

The two girls allegedly started plotting the murder earlier this year. For reasons not yet clear, they selected the 12-year-old victim, who has not yet been identified.

Law enforcement authorities say that Geyser and Weier set their plan in motion on Friday, when the three girls spent the night at Geyser's house. The criminal complaint alleges that initially Geyser and Weier intended to kill the girl the following morning, at a bathroom in a nearby park. Weier allegedly told police she knew the bathroom floor had a drain that the blood could run down.

On Saturday morning, the girls went to play at David's Park, police said. "As they left for the park [the victim] was walking in front of them and Geyser lifted up the left side of her white jacket and displayed the knife tucked in her waistband," the complaint alleges. "Weier stated she gave Geyser a look with wide eyes and, when asked what that meant Weier stated, 'I thought, dear god, this was really happening.'"

When the girls reached the park restroom, Geyser gave the knife to Weier so that she could hold the victim down, but then Geyser had a brief "nervous breakdown," the criminal complaint alleges.

The girls eventually went back outside and decided to play hide-and-seek. That game quickly turned into a fight for the victim's survival, when Weier allegedly ordered her to lie face-down and a brief struggle ensued, police said.

The complaint alleges that Weier told police that Geyser was initially hesitant to stab the victim and said, "I'm not going to until you tell me to." Weier allegedly replied, "Go ballistic, go crazy ... Now."

According to the complaint, Weier said that Geyser then tackled the victim and started to stab her.

The victim, despite her injuries, managed to get up and scream, "I hate you." She attempted to walk to a nearby street, but Weier allegedly grabbed her and pulled her back. Weier told police she asked the victim to lie down and be quiet and told her she would get help, even though she did not intend to do so, police said. Weier told police she hoped the victim would die so that Weier would see Slenderman, the complaint alleges.

The two girls then backed away from the victim and began what would have been a very long walk to the Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin, where they allegedly believed Slenderman lived in a mansion.

The victim, who sustained numerous stab wounds to her torso, legs and arms, managed to crawl out of the woods. A passing bicyclist spotted her and called 911, police said.
The complaint states that the victim told authorities she had been stabbed by her best friend, Morgan Geyser. The two suspects were arrested shortly thereafter, while walking near Interstate 94, police said.

Questioned by police, Weier allegedly said, "The bad part of me wanted her to die, the good part of me wanted her to live."

Geyser allegedly confirmed to police much of what Weier told them, but claimed Weier was the first to stab the victim, the complaint says. Asked by police what she was attempting to do when she stabbed the victim, Geyser allegedly said, "I may as well just say it: Kill her."

Geyser ultimately said she was sorry for what happened, according to police, but added, "It was weird that I didn't feel remorse."

During the girls' initial court appearance on Monday, Geyser's lawyer, Donna Kuchler, told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that her family "is very horrified at what has happened."

Weier's attorney, Joseph Smith Jr., declined to comment, the Associated Press reported. "I would say these girls had big imaginations and believed [in Slenderman] too much," McCann said. "[It] reminds me of the Salem witch trials -- it all started with a story [and] then got out of hand."

[seeker/reader]

I see that Jackovesk posted an interview from Coast to Coast here http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?69239-WARNING..--The-Black-Eyed-Children-are---BACK--&p=806383&viewfull=1#post806383 that talks about slenderman in connection with the djinn and shadow people.

[Zaya]

I read this story yesterday and was horrified and did not understand how Slenderman was incorporated into it. This article is much clearer than the one I saw, so thanks for that.

If this is not proof that our world is sick right now, I don't know what is. It is so disturbing. 12 year old girls? And they made a plan that took a YEAR to make happen? That is quite malevolent for kids. So dark.

[seeker/reader]

Yes it is very disturbing.

One of the girls said in order to become a "proxy" of slenderman they needed to kill someone.

Maybe once they become "proxies" they then turn into one of these fabled "black eyed kids".

[MorningFox]

So they didn't actually see or hear a being talking to them. No case of anything paranormal here, just a couple of troubled kids with bizarre beliefs...

[Zaya]

Interesting... Could be. I wonder if they may already be possessed by something/someone. The most chilling part was then the Geyser girl said "It was weird how I didn't feel remorse."

[seeker/reader]

So they didn't actually see or hear a being talking to them. No case of anything paranormal here, just a couple of troubled kids with bizarre beliefs...

One of the girls said that slenderman came to her in her dreams.

[Axman]

Uh oh the big bad scary internet is where they went to start this nonsense so I would think it a reason to clamp down on the net.

The Axman

[Strat]

Uh oh the big bad scary internet is where they went to start this nonsense so I would think it a reason to clamp down on the net.


Hit the nail on the head. If it wasn't for google Slenderman would be a lonely fellow/thing.

For the sake of sheer open mindedness I'll admit, Slenderman is possible, but I don't believe it's real.

[Matt P]

Interesting... Could be. I wonder if they may already be possessed by something/someone. The most chilling part was then the Geyser girl said "It was weird how I didn't feel remorse."

This is what I found significant, too. A budding psychopath.
Like Axman says, sounds like a perfect opportunity to justify tightening the grip on the net. Makes one wonder, is this just another hoax?

My biggest question from reading this is, if it's real: Where the **bleep** are these girls' parents?!?

Matt

[Zaya]

Interesting... Could be. I wonder if they may already be possessed by something/someone. The most chilling part was then the Geyser girl said "It was weird how I didn't feel remorse."

This is what I found significant, too. A budding psychopath.
Like Axman says, sounds like a perfect opportunity to justify tightening the grip on the net. Makes one wonder, is this just another hoax?

My biggest question from reading this is, if it's real: Where the **bleep** are these girls' parents?!?

Matt

I agree... where are the parents? Literally the only mention of them in the article is a third party comment from one of their lawyers saying the parents are "horrified". And that is all she wrote...

However, I do not think it is likely that this is a false flag to "tighten up the internet" thing even though that seems like somethingtptb would do. The reason I don't think it is: the girl didn't die in this case. She is ok, and is going to survive. Typically, in a false flag event, they use the deaths to incite immediate guttural reactions that bypass logic. That is the goal, to use our emotions against us and make us pick heart over head.

[Sidney]

First, find patsy. Second, split their personality into two. Third, take full control. Fourth, remote control the "event". Fifth, shut down big bad scary damaging paranormal website.

I think you see where I am going with this.

That is my first instinctual impression of this story.

OR, these girls vivid imaginations got away from them, and they became murderers at 12. I would have to know alot more about their backgrounds to make a firm assessment. Regardless, the victim is still alive, so many more details will come out later, thank God for that.

Post Edit: After viewing the creepypasta website, I have concluded that the website is most likely not something that would require being shut down by anyone. It is just a bunch of scary stories.
But I am wondering if either or both of those girls had been on any pharmaceuticals.

[Tyy1907]

Exactly, nice try you fuqtards. Programming probably broke up and the mission didn't get completed. Tried as adults? Whoa whoa easy, it was the internets fault.

[DeDukshyn]

So they didn't actually see or hear a being talking to them. No case of anything paranormal here, just a couple of troubled kids with bizarre beliefs...

Video games have incredible influence on developing minds ...

[GuyFox]

"At least one of the girls said that she believed she would need to "physically kill someone" in order to "become proxies of Slenderman," the criminal complaint alleges.
The two girls allegedly started plotting the murder earlier this year. For reasons not yet clear, they selected the 12-year-old victim, who has not yet been identified."

THAT's EVIL, pure and simple, with no excuses.
And terribly tragic too

¤=[Post Update]=¤



So they didn't actually see or hear a being talking to them. No case of anything paranormal here, just a couple of troubled kids with bizarre beliefs...
Video games have incredible influence on developing minds ...

Don't ban them, but charge them a $10 or $20 "knock-on effect tax" - to put them out of business

"I am wondering if either or both of those girls had been on any pharmaceuticals."

Sue the Drug companies, perhaps?
They have much to answer for

[Sidney]

Not feeling remorse is symptomatic of a psychopath. They feel nothing.

[Cardillac]

I still don't understand why the concept of mind-controlled people is a fallacy for most; mind-controlled people are not those on the streets on major avenues in major cities (like shouting from the roof-tops of a skyscraper "I'm weird") but those living in "provinces," previously living a calm, nice normal life (like ask the neighbors) who suddenly break out and commit dastardly deeds; the neighbors are always flabbergasted (well, duh-UH!) because the neighbors and the general populace just don't quite understand yet that EVIL has been planted in the undercurrent of our daily lives-

Larry

[AutumnW]

There is psychopathy here, plus a blurring of the lines between fantasy and reality. I had a very clear dream this morning where I did something inexplicable and very wrong. I felt guilty and freaked out in the dream and it lingered for a time after I woke up. So if people are capable of remorse (am sure most are) in a dream, these girls don't get a pass for becoming entranced by 'slender man' an online fictional
character, regardless of whether he had become 'real' to them, or not. Moral values should transcend the mundane and extend into other realms.

[East Sun]

Ask the cia how they did it back in the day....
mine control is done a lot today with 'suitable case for treatment' victims--school shootings come to mind......

[Roisin]

My Thoughts on The Slender Man.....

I still can't bring myself to investigate, in-depth, this Slender Man news story, not only because it's so heart-wrenching but as for the Slender Man narrative itself and its accompanying media, I'm strongly sensing that it has evolved into a thought-form...

This is the danger of the internet and it's only the beginning of just one of many, many more thought-forms that will manifest beyond the realms of the imagination and into our physical plane via whatever conjuring practices that thousands of others are using to manifest it in some way.

On the other hand, there are shape-shifting intelligences out there that may be mimicking this thought-form for their own nefarious and evil ends. This means that they could be showing up as the Slender Man in dreams, for example. At least that's how it starts.

The Tibetan Buddhists know all about thought-forms which they call Tulpas.

I think The Slender Man meme is a thought-form that has taken on a life of its own... and it's very satanic.

---- another thought ---
Could be that some who are practitioners in the black magickal arts may have had a hand in the creation of this thought-form too.
In my view, which is based on my years of active participation in paranormal and magick forums, there are those who engage in the practice of black magick who have the capability to wreak havoc in those forums, in various ways.
This also follows for those sites based on The Slender Man and everything else related to it.

[enfoldedblue]

I found this story quite disturbing when I read it. But when I investigated a little further I found it was stranger than it appeared on the surface. I had never heard of slenderman and at first thought it was just a character invented for a kids website...but when I began to read up on the character I felt there was something more sinister at work. What really struck me was the following quote. And the reason it struck me is that I remembered a member here giving a powerful example of how the reality of schizophrenics may be more 'real' than we suspect....the quote from that discussion is below.


is often thought as well that he enjoys stalking people who become overly paranoid about his existence, purposefully giving them glimpses of himself in order to further frighten them. For this reason, it seems like Slenderman very much enjoys psychologically torturing his victims.

He also often appears to float or drift around rather than walk, which suggest the possibility of him being an ethereal being rather than a creature or a man. This would also explain why he is able to remain mobile in spite of his poorly proportioned body.

.....

His main intentions appear to be kidnapping children, as when he is seen near them in photographs, they usually disappear shortly afterwards. The Slender Man has also inspired many stories such as those of Marble Hornets.
http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/The_Slender_Man


She was always tormented by someone out to get her, so we moved all the time, every year, and sometimes more. She was in and out of the State Mental Hospital for attempted suicides. They did shock treatments on her. Fast forward....there became a story to her tormentor. She called him "the long legged son of a bitch" and he had a little boy who over the years became a big boy. This long legged SOB would follow her everywhere and always had a pistol and would shoot it at her. he also would have a means of injecting poison gas into her apartment. so even after I was grown and gone he continued to torment her. And she continued to move. That in itself lends to many stories. My sister and I had very different approaches to dealing with her "fantasies" if in-fact that was what they were. She would argue with her and say "You know that is not true" which made her the enemy. And I would humor her, try to divert her attention or play along with it in an effort to direct the story to less trauma for her. About 15 years ago, my life was a mess and I used to go see this psychic woman about every 6 months. She was really good. She gave me hope and that is just what I needed back then. One time she asked about my mother, she asked if she had passed on, I said no, and she said that she has one foot in both worlds. Then she said she sees her sitting at a table having an argument with a very tall man. Well I almost fell out of my chair! That kinda confirmed what I always thought. That the "veil" was very thin for her, for whatever reason, and she was privy to a lower astral dimension that I could not see. Perhaps this place she was open to was full of tricksters, of dis-carnate entities....archons?...who knows. But it was more real than the rest of us knew. http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?66309-Do-you-think-schizophrenic-people-are-mentally-ill...../page2

[Pam]

So they didn't actually see or hear a being talking to them. No case of anything paranormal here, just a couple of troubled kids with bizarre beliefs...

Video games have incredible influence on developing minds ...

And so do psychoactive drugs. Anyone want to make a bet that at least one of these girls was prescribed something for ADD or depression or any of the other diagnoses used by big pharma to get kids on drugs?

[Zaya]

This "Slenderman" thing is really heating up... maybe you were right, Axman. I may have spoken too soon... Oddly enough, though, no one has died yet from this. I still wonder if this may be something darker than simply reigning in the internet...

NOW they are linking the vegas false flag shooting to Slenderman (and The Joker, which is interesting in regards to the Aurora shooting on July 12, 2012).

We are now apparently up to THREE CRIMES OF VIOLENCE being related to Slenderman. Read below....

From: http://abcnews.go.com/US/slender-man-now-linked-violent-acts/story?id=24058562


A fictional horror creature popularized by Internet memes is now linked to three violent crimes.

A week after two 12-year-old Wisconsin girls allegedly stabbed their friend 19 times to honor Slender Man, more real-life connections to the spooky character are emerging.

A man accused of killing two cops and a civilian before committing suicide with his wife in Las Vegas on Sunday often dressed up in costume as Slender Man, a neighbor told KTNV.

And a Cincinnati mom told WLWT she thinks her daughter may have been inspired by Slender Man when she attacked her with a knife in their kitchen, wearing a hood and white mask.

Why Did 12-Year-Olds Stab Friend for Slender Man?

Girls Charged in Slender Man Stabbing Expressed Regret: Police

A key to Slender Man’s appeal may be that he is faceless and Andrew Peck, a University of Wisconsin lecturer who studies Slender Man and other folklore, likened the amorphous Slender Man to the villain of so many campfire horror stories – a man with a hook hand.

“It can really be what you want it to be,” said Peck. “You can personalize the character and make it your own. He can be a lot of things, that’s what I think makes it so successful. That he’s mysterious and unknowable.”

But Peck wouldn’t read too much into someone dressing in costume as Slender Man. Part of the character’s legend is that he mysteriously appears in the background of people’s photos.

“The notion of dressing up as Slender Man –- maybe for Halloween –- that’s actually a fairly popular activity, done as a joke,” Peck said. “In folklore we call it ostension, taking this legend that exists online and doing it in real life. What was very popular last Halloween and the year before was to dress up as Slender Man and photobomb. I have a few of these images snapped around Chicago, people who just thought it was funny.”

Slender Man is also more common than some people realize, Peck said.

“I wouldn’t say it’s as popular as LOLcats, but it’s fairly well known,” he said, citing another famous meme. “It was born on somethingawful.com, it was on Reddit, it was on 4Chan, it was on CreepyPasta. It’s very widespread.”

It’s not clear why Slender Man has been linked to more crime, especially considering that the character himself is not outwardly violent.

“He doesn’t actively murder. It’s generally more mysterious than that,” Peck said. “The big thing is that he’s otherworldly, mysterious. It’s just odd that people are doing this in Slender Man’s name when part of the legend is that he’s just beyond us.”

[Zaya]

Update for more information on the other two links to Slenderman acts of Violence:

Link to story about a 13 year old trying to stab her mother at home: http://nypost.com/2014/06/09/2nd-teen-stabbing-attack-linked-to-slender-man-meme/

Link to story about the neighbors of the Vegas shooters coming out to say that the male shooter dressed up as slenderman and the joker: http://lasvegas.cbslocal.com/2014/06/09/neighbor-gunman-dressed-up-as-slenderman-joker/

Some quotes:


An Ohio girl, under the apparent influence of the fictional Internet horror meme, attacked her mother last week with a kitchen knife, authorities said.
“I came home one night from work, and she was in the kitchen waiting for me, and she was wearing a mask, a white mask,” the suburban Cincinnati mother told a local television station. “She was someone else during the attack.”
The mother suffered multiple minor injuries, including a puncture wound on her back. The girl, 13, is facing charges as a juvenile.


Investigators are looking into whether the husband and wife who shot and killed two Las Vegas police officers over the weekend had been at Cliven Bundy’s Nevada ranch during a standoff earlier this year, police said Monday.
Assistant Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the two suspects, Jerad Miller and his wife, Amanda, had ideology that was along the lines of “militia and white supremacists” and that law enforcement was the “oppressor.”


Neighbor Krista Koch told KTNV-TV that Jerad Miller would dress up as Slenderman and Joker from “Batman,” while Amanda Miller would dress up as the character Harley Quinn.


Jerad Miller left a threatening Facebook post Saturday, which would be his last.
“The dawn of a new day. May all of our coming sacrifices be worth it,” he said on Facebook.

[Roisin]

Slender Man Is Real: From Cultural Conversation to Paranormal Topic

by Aaron Sagers

Posted: 06/10/2014 5:11 pm EDT Updated: 06/10/2014 5:59 pm EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-sagers/slender-man-is-real-from-_b_5481349.html


Slender Man is real. The product of a creative mind, cross-pollinated across the Internet, he is a fictional creation. But when two young girls tried to kill their friend as an offering to him last week, followed by two more attacks referencing him, he became a large enough part of our cultural conversation to make him reality.

Two 12-year-old girls in Wisconsin stabbed another girl 19 times to become "proxies" of Slender Man. A Cincinnati mother believes a Slender Man obsession is what led to her 13-year-old daughter attacking her. And a neighbor said the man who, along with his wife, killed two police officers and a civilian in Las Vegas on Sunday used to dress as Slender Man.

Much like violent video games, rock music, comic books and horror movies before him, Slender Man is on track to becoming the devil du jour, the newest "won't someone think of the children?" scapegoat.

Anyone who has been to a Halloween party in the last few years can tell you Slender Man costumes aren't unheard of, but this particular scapegoat is different. Especially because these attacks involve, not violent behavior supposedly stirred up by a medium, but by a literal monster. Also, this monster "lives" on the Internet, which some think of as an entirely scary place where bad things happen. So Slender Man is a Bogeyman from Bogeyman Land.

Still, while I don't know of a Slender Man story where he encourages sacrifices (which is not to say it doesn't exist on the big wide Web), there is more to this creature than just being an online creation. In fact, a contingent of the paranormal community believes this creature actually exists - either as a manifestation of our collective thoughts, or that he has been always been present in our world.

Appearing as a very tall, thin man with white, featureless face and tentacles spreading from his back, and always wearing a black suit, Slender Man was created by Eric Knudsen (posting as Victor Surge) and made his debut SomethingAwful.com in 2009. This past January, Knudsen told WNYC's "On The Media" he wanted to create "a creature that causes general unease and terror," and the being does indeed represent a mysterious danger whose intentions are unclear.

Though not exactly a fringe character on the Internet in the five years since he debuted in response to Something Awful's "create paranormal images" challenge - and subsequently became a topic for a lot of stories, Photoshop images, videos and so on -- Slender Man only became a household name last week.

Yet the concept behind Slender Man taps into something very old and familiar.

Modern myths and paranormal theories are rife with beings clad in black, and many times in black suits. Slender Man shares his DNA with folkloric beings like the Grim Reaper -- the personification of death -- ghostly monks, shadow people, Hat Man, Men In Black. These creatures have at times been thought of as harmless or even considered helpful guides, but much more often they represent a vague malevolence. They are seen out of the corner of the eye, darting around, or looming over someone as they sleep, and have been considered both supernatural and extraterrestrial.

Even within popular culture, we've seen a lot of dark, creeping creatures with odd features similar to Slender Man. (Cenobites from Hellraiser; Observers in Fringe; Strangers in Dark City; The Silence from Doctor Who; etc.)

Speaking of pop, I began Paranormal Pop Culture in June 2009. My purpose was to "explore the entertainment of the unexplained." I am not a ghost hunter or paranormal theorist, or even much of a believer. But from an academic standpoint, I am fascinated by how our legends and beliefs influence, and are altered by, popular culture. Slender Man is a pretty perfect example of that -- and the coincidence that he was created the same month of my launch is not lost on me.

But in the five years since I launched the site, and began speaking at events about various elements involving the crossroads of paranormal and entertainment, I've received numerous accounts from people claiming to have encountered Slender Man. Many of these stories supposedly took place before Knudsen first introduced his monster on Something Awful, and most of the "experiencers" claimed they had never heard of a "slender man" before.

Granted, I am incredibly skeptical. These stories could be the products of over-active imaginations or created by people desperate to feel special and receive some attention. Maybe they were mistaken in what they saw, were experiencing pareidolia, or had even become aware of Slender Man in some way and used that image to fill in mental blanks from their past. They could have been outright charlatans and liars as well - though I tend to doubt this applied to most.

One thing I definitely believe to be true is that, after a decade of paranormal programming and reality TV, ghosts have lost some of their entertainment value. If specters, and even demons, have become mundane, then a new kind of entity will become more popular. Just like vampires and then zombies, paranormal pop culture will look to a new extreme as another begins to seem pedestrian.

Further, it is curious how many similar accounts I've learned of from paranormal researchers. David Weatherly relays a few Slender Man stories shared with him in the final chapter of his book Strange Intruders. And "paranormal pastor" Robin Swope devotes an entire book to the phenomenon in Slenderman: From Fiction to Fact.

For those within the paranormal community who believe in him, of which there is a significantly increasing amount, there are typically two main ideas regarding Slender Man's existence.

One is that he has always existed. The suggestion is that either people are paying more attention to the unexplained, and discussing these topics, or that he is only now choosing to reveal himself. If the latter is true, the thought is he may have nefarious plans that are close to fruition.

The other theory is that we created Slender Man by thinking about him. Not entirely unlike Tibetan Tulpas, Slender Man may be a so-called "thoughtform." Through people dedicating energy to him, crafting stories, fleshing out characteristics, and talking about him at length, the theory is we may have collectively given life to the monster and allowed him to enter our realm.

If this sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie, it sort of is. Both the recent flick The Quiet Ones and 2012's The Apparition play on the notion of creating a supernatural force through scientific experiments and the focus of a group. But the films are in turn loosely based on the actual Philip Experiment.

In the 1970s, a group called Toronto Society for Psychical Research (TSPR) set out to create a ghost. The group crafted a fake biography for a 17th century nobleman they named Philip Aylesford, sketched a portrait of him, surrounded themselves with images of castles a noble man from that time might have lived in, and held a séance to summon him.

By visualizing Philip, they'd ask questions and claim they received answers in the form of raps on a table. The team supposedly experienced a mist forming over them, reported the table would move on its own and that Philip could dim lights on command. Eventually the experiment was performed in front of an audience of 50 people and a television crew.

This was not a paranormal home run and it remains contested. None of Philip's "answers" revealed substantial facts about him the team wouldn't have already known. But some believers think the team actually created Philip with their minds. Others say they summoned a real entity who just answered when they were trying to conjure Philip. And many others think the whole thing was fixed and a lot of bad science.

However, this is an especially creepy idea that, if a group of eight could manifest a tapping ghost, countless millions could manifest a Slender Man. Even if we don't bring him to life in a literal, physical sense, we have made him real. After all, we did it with Santa Claus.

The legend of the jolly old elf was collected and combined by several stories and folklore to become the benevolent seasonal visitor who shares top billing with Jesus every Christmas. We have taught children what Santa looks like, who he hangs out with and where he lives (and what his address is, since we send mail to him). Parents use him as a reward for good behavior, a threat for bad, and even take their kids to visit him - though they sometimes explain that the guy at the shopping mall is actually a "helper" dressed like Santa, who reports back to the big man. Paranormal author Jeff Belanger even interviewed Santa and got more details about his history than you could pry out of a particularly private celebrity.

We have made Santa Claus real, but that was done over the course of multiple generations. Meanwhile, Slender Man is getting there in just a few years on a high-speed connection.

Even if your older relatives have never visited sites like 4chan, CreepyPasta, the Reddit thread dedicated to him, or watched/played the Marble Hornets augmented reality game revolving around his legend, you can bet they are going to start asking about Slender Man. He might even become a topic in Washington, D.C. As politicians are wont to do, he may be further invoked as a need for online regulation or some such legislation.

Although I question how much the Las Vegas shooter was involved in Slender Man mythology, it is as necessary to look into with him as it is with the stabbings. But I don't think a fictional creature can force people to head down a violent path. I would rather discuss that under the topic of mental illness and how we're addressing it before blaming a demonic thoughtform.

Still, Slender Man is real. He may not be a physical being, but what began as a creepy story told on the Internet has made the leap into our cultural conversation. Sadly, that makes him real enough.


One wonders if the author of this Huffington Post article read some of the posts here in this thread wrt our views on The Slender Man. :)