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[[File:Тонкий человек.jpg|thumb|An artistic depiction of the Slender Man]]

{{from wikipedia}}

The '''Slender Man''' (also spelled '''Slenderman''') is a [[fiction]]al [[supernatural]] character that originated as a [[creepypasta]] [[Internet meme]] created by [[Something Awful]] forums user Eric Knudsen (also known as "Victor Surge") in 2009.<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|last=Dewey|first=Caitlin|date=2014-06-03|work=The Washington Post|access-date=2017-06-21|last2=Dewey|first2=Caitlin|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> He is depicted as a thin, unnaturally tall humanoid with a featureless head and face and wearing a black suit.

Stories of the Slender Man commonly feature him stalking, abducting or traumatizing people, particularly children.<ref name="Contemporary Legends"/> The Slender Man is not confined to a single narrative but appears in many disparate works of fiction, typically composed online.<ref name="creep" /><ref>{{Cite news|first=Devan|last=Sagliani|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/columns/darkdreams/11906-Slender-Man-Birth-of-an-Urban-Legend|title=Slender Man: Birth of an Urban Legend|magazine=The Escapist|date=14 July 2014|access-date=21 June 2017}}</ref> Fiction relating to the Slender Man encompasses many media, including literature, art and video series such as ''[[Marble Hornets]]'', wherein he is known as '''The Operator'''. Outside of online fiction, the Slender Man has become an internet icon and has influenced popular culture, having been referenced in the video game ''[[Minecraft]]'' with the [[Enderman]] character and generated video games of his own, such as ''[[Slender: The Eight Pages]]'' and ''[[Slender: The Arrival]]''. He has also appeared in a [[Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story|film adaptation of ''Marble Hornets'']], where he was portrayed by [[Doug Jones (actor)|Doug Jones]], and a Hollywood [[Slender Man (film)|eponymous film]], where he was portrayed by [[Javier Botet]].

Beginning in 2014, a moral panic occurred over the Slender Man after readers of his fiction were connected to several violent acts, particularly a [[Slender Man stabbing|near-fatal stabbing of a 12-year-old girl]] in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

==History==
===Origin===
{{multiple image|image1=H. P. Lovecraft, June 1934.jpg|width1=200|image2=|width2=188|footer=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 web|url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/nation/slender-man-how-a-myth-was-born/2182945|title=Slender Man: How a myth was born|website=Tampa Bay Times|language=en-us|access-date=2017-06-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/slenderman-wisc-stabbing-article-1.1815135|title=What is Slenderman, and what does it have to do with the Wisc. stabbing?|work=NY Daily News|access-date=2017-06-21|language=en}}</ref> The thread was a [[Photoshop contest]] in which users were challenged to "create paranormal images."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=Cathay|title=Beware the Slender Man: Intellectual Property and Internet Folklore|journal=Florida Law Review|date=6 March 2017|volume=70|issue=1|page=10|doi=10.2139/ssrn.3005668|language=en|url=https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1408&context=flr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=User: Gerogerigegege|title=Create Paranormal Images - The Something Awful Forums|url=https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3150591|website=forums.somethingawful.com|language=en|date=30 April 2009}}</ref> Forum poster Eric Knudsen, under the pseudonym "Victor Surge",<ref name=copy/> contributed two black-and-white images of groups of children to which he added a tall, thin, spectral figure wearing a black suit.<ref name=taylor/><ref name=dane>{{cite web| title=Why Slenderman Works: The Internet Meme That Proves Our Need To Believe |first=Patrick |last=Dane |url=http://whatculture.com/history/why-slenderman-works-the-internet-meme-that-proves-our-need-to-believe |date=October 31, 2012 |accessdate=2013-02-20}}</ref> Although previous entries had consisted solely of photographs, Surge supplemented his submission with snatches of text&mdash;supposedly from witnesses&mdash;describing the abductions of the groups of children and giving the character the name "The Slender Man":

The quote under the first photograph read:

{{quotation|We didn't want to go, we didn't want to kill them, but its persistent silence and outstretched arms horrified and comforted us at the same time…|1983, photographer unknown, presumed dead.<ref name=dane/>}}

The quote under the second photograph read:
{{quotation|One of two recovered photographs from the [[Stirling City, California|Stirling City]] Library blaze. Notable for being taken the day which fourteen children vanished and for what is referred to as “The Slender Man”. Deformities cited as film defects by officials. Fire at library occurred one week later. Actual photograph confiscated as evidence.|1986, photographer: Mary Thomas, missing since June 13th, 1986.<ref name=dane/>}}

These additions effectively transformed the photographs into a work of fiction. Subsequent posters expanded upon the character, adding their own visual or textual contributions.<ref name=taylor>{{cite journal |title=Open-Sourcing Horror: The Slender Man, Marble Hornets, and genre negotiations |journal=Information, Communication & Society |volume=15 |issue=3 |year= 2012 |doi=10.1080/1369118X.2011.642889 |first=Shira |last=Chess |pages= 374–393}}</ref><ref name=dane/>

Knudsen was inspired to create the Slender Man primarily by [[Something Awful|Zack Parsons]]' "That Insidious Beast", [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[The Mist (novella)|The Mist]]'', reports of [[Shadow person|shadow people]], [[Mothman]] and the [[Mad Gasser of Mattoon]].<ref name=heavy>{{cite news|title=Victor Surge, Slender Man Creator: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know| website= [[Heavy.com]]|url=http://heavy.com/news/2014/06/victor-surge-who-created-slender-man-eric-knudsen/| first= Shannon | last= Walsh|date=April 17, 2015|accessdate=2016-08-05}}</ref>  Other inspirations for the character were [[Tall Man (Phantasm)|the Tall Man]] from the 1979 film ''[[Phantasm (film)|Phantasm]]'',<ref name="shirachess2">{{cite book|first1= Shira| last1= Chess| first2= Eric |last2= Newsom|title=Folklore, Horror Stories, and the Slender Man: The Development of an Internet Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xuGvBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT58|date=27 November 2014|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US|isbn=978-1-137-49113-8|pages=58–59}}</ref> [[H. P. Lovecraft]], the surrealist work of [[William S. Burroughs]], and the [[survival horror]] video games ''[[Silent Hill (video game)|Silent Hill]]'' and ''[[Resident Evil (1996 video game)|Resident Evil]]''.<ref name=rolling>{{cite magazine|last=Lovitt|first=Bryn|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/slender-man-from-horror-meme-to-inspiration-for-murder-w432163|title=Slender Man: From Horror Meme to Inspiration for Murder|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=August 3, 2016|accessdate=August 5, 2016}}</ref> Knudsen's intention was "to formulate something whose motivations can barely be comprehended, and [which caused] unease and terror in a general population."<ref name=vanity>{{cite news|title=American Horror Story and Slender Man: The 5 Most Spine-Tingling Inspirations for Next Season's Potential Monster | work= [[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/01/american-horror-story-slender-man| first= Joanna| last= Robinson|date=January 28, 2016|accessdate=2016-08-11}}</ref> Other pre-existing fictional or legendary creatures which are similar to the Slender Man include: the Gentlemen, black-suited, pale, bald demons from the ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' episode "[[Hush (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Hush]]"; [[Men in black]], many accounts of which grant them an uncanny appearance with an unnatural walk and "oriental" features; and [[Question (comics)|The Question]], a [[DC Comics]] superhero with a blank face, whose secret identity is "Victor Sage", a name similar to Knudsen's alias "Victor Surge".<ref name=shirachess2/>

In her book, ''Folklore, Horror Stories, and the Slender Man: The Development of an Internet Mythology'', Professor Shira Chess of the University of Georgia connected the Slender Man to ancient folklore about [[fairy|fairies]]. Like fairies, Slender Man is otherworldly, with motives that are often difficult to grasp; like fairies, his appearance is vague and often shifts to reflect what the viewer wants or fears to see, and, like fairies, the Slender Man calls the woods and wild places his home and [[Changeling|kidnaps children]].<ref name=shirachess2/>

===Early development===
<!-- Do NOT add material to this article unless it is reliably sourced. -->
The Slender Man soon went [[Viral phenomenon|viral]],<ref>There is some dispute over whether the Slender Man qualifies as a viral phenomenon, since under some definitions, viral phenomena must spread quickly, while the Slender Man initially spread rather slowly. Some therefore prefer the term "spreadable" to viral. See {{cite book| last1= Chess |first1= Shira| last2= Newsom| first2= Eric| year= 2015| title= Folklore, Horror Stories, and the Slender Man: The Development of an Internet Mythology| page= 20}}</ref> spawning numerous works of [[fanart]], [[cosplay]], and online fiction known as "[[creepypasta]]"&mdash;horror stories told in short snatches of easily copyable text that spread from site to site. Divorced from its original creator, the Slender Man became the subject of myriad stories by multiple authors within an overarching mythos.<ref name=creep>{{cite web |title=The definitive guide to creepypasta—the Internet's urban legends |first=Aja |last=Romano |url=http://www.dailydot.com/culture/definitive-guide-creepypasta-slender-man/ |website=[[The Daily Dot]] |date=October 31, 2012 |accessdate=2013-04-22}}</ref>

Many aspects of the Slender Man mythos first appeared on the original Something Awful thread. One of the earliest additions was added by a forum user named "Thoreau-Up", who created a folklore story set in 16th-century Germany involving a character called Der Groẞman, which was implied to be an early reference to the Slender Man.<ref name=shirachess2/>{{rp|36}} The first video series involving the Slender Man evolved from a post on the Something Awful thread by user "ce gars". It tells of a fictional [[film school]] friend named Alex Kralie, who had stumbled upon something troubling while shooting his first feature-length project, ''[[Marble Hornets]]''. The video series, published in [[Found footage (pseudo-documentary)|found footage]] style on [[YouTube]], forms an [[alternate reality game]] describing the filmers' fictional experiences with the Slender Man. The ARG also incorporates a Twitter feed and an alternate YouTube channel created by a user named "totheark".<ref name="Contemporary Legends">
{{cite book
 | title = What Happens Next?
 | edition =
 | first = Gail Arlene |last= De Vos
 | publisher = ABC-CLIO
 | year = 2012
 | isbn = 9781598846348
 | page = 162
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6HJwCRAlpioC&pg=PT162}}</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 |accessdate=2012-10-09 |date=May 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.is/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&nbsp;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]]''; within its first month of release, the game was downloaded over 2 million times.<ref>{{cite web |title=Slender review |first=Gary |last=Marston |website=explosion.com |year=2012 |url=http://www.explosion.com/slender/ |accessdate=2013-04-22 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130416234418/http://www.explosion.com/slender/ |archivedate=2013-04-16 }}</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 |accessdate=2012-09-09}}</ref> and ''Slender Man'' for [[iOS]], which became the second most-popular app download.<ref>{{cite web |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 |website=[[PC Gamer]] |date=July 26, 2012 |accessdate=2012-09-09}}</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 |accessdate=2013-04-03}}</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=http://www.filmofilia.com/first-trailer-poster-for-the-jadallah-brothers-horror-movie-entity-129637/ |date=December 22, 2012 |accessdate=2013-02-20}}</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 |accessdate=2013-02-20}}</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=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118066545/ |date=February 25, 2013 |accessdate=2013-02-26}}</ref>

===Description===
[[File:Symbol Proxy.png|thumb|The "Slender Man symbol" introduced by ''Marble Hornets'']]
<!-- Do NOT add material to this article unless it is reliably sourced. -->

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 |accessdate=2014-06-04}}</ref> He is most commonly described as very tall and thin with unnaturally long, [[tentacle]]-like arms (or merely 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 |accessdate=2013-02-23}}</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 |website=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |first=Laura |last=Stampler |url=http://time.com/2817725/slender-man-killing/ |date=June 3, 2014 |accessdate=2014-06-04}}</ref>

Early stories featured him targeting children or young adults. Some featured young adults driven insane or to act on his behalf, while others did not, and others claim that investigating the Slender Man will draw his attention.<ref name=shirachess2/> The web series ''Marble Hornets'' established the idea of proxies (humans who fall under the Slender Man's influence) though initially they were simply violently insane, rather than 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/>

===Reasons for popularity===
[[File:Slendermdl70.jpg|thumb|Anonymous graffito <!-- "graffito" is singular; "graffiti" is plural --> of the Slender Man drawn on pavement in [[Raleigh, North Carolina]]]]
[[File:MCM 2013 cosplay (8978171869).jpg|180px|thumbnail|Cosplay of the Slender Man in 2013]]
<!-- Do NOT add material to this article unless it is reliably sourced. -->

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 legends, 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" />

Although nearly all users understand that the Slender Man is not real, they suspend that disbelief in order to become more engrossed when telling or listening to stories.<ref name="“The sort of story that has you covering your mirrors”:The Case of Slender Man"/> This adds a sense of authenticity to Slender Man legend performances and blurs the lines between legend and reality, keeping the creature as an object of legend [[dialectic]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ellis |first=Bill |date=2001 |title=Aliens, Ghosts, and Cults: Legends We Live |location=Jackson |publisher=University Press of Mississippi}}</ref> This ambiguity has led some to some confusion over the character's origin and purpose. Only five months after his creation, [[George Noory]]'s ''[[Coast to Coast AM]]'', a radio [[call-in show]] devoted to the paranormal and conspiracy theories, began receiving callers asking about the Slender Man.<ref name=tldr>{{cite web |title=#13 - Managing a Monster - On The Media |website=TLDR |first1=PJ |last1=Vogt |first2=Alex |last2=Goldman |url=http://www.onthemedia.org/story/managing-monster/ |date=January 30, 2014 |accessdate=2014-06-04}}</ref> Two years later, an article in the ''[[Minneapolis Star Tribune]]'' described his origins as "difficult to pinpoint."<ref name=shirachess/> Eric Knudsen has commented that many people, despite understanding that the Slender Man was created on the Something Awful forums, still entertain the possibility that he might be real.<ref name=bbc>{{cite news |title=Digital Human: Tales |work=BBC |year=2012 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nl671|accessdate=2013-02-20}}</ref>

Shira Chess describes the Slender Man as a metaphor for "helplessness, power differentials, and anonymous forces."<ref name=shirachess/> Peck sees parallels between the Slender Man and common anxieties about the digital age, such as feelings of constant connectedness and unknown third-party observation.<ref name="Tall, Dark, and Loathsome: The Emergence of a Legend Cycle in the Digital Age"/> Similarly, Tye Van Horn, a writer for ''The Elm'', has suggested that the Slender Man represents modern [[fear]] of the unknown; in an age [[Information overload|flooded with information]], people have become so unaccustomed to [[ignorance]] that they now fear what they cannot understand.<ref>{{cite web |title=Behind You: The Cultural Relevance of Slender Man |first=Tye |last=Van Horn |url=http://elm.washcoll.edu/index.php/2013/02/behind-you-the-cultural-relevance-of-slender-man/ |date=February 15, 2013 |accessdate=2013-02-20}}</ref> Troy Wagner, the creator of ''Marble Hornets'', ascribes the terror of the Slender Man to its malleability; people can shape it into whatever frightens them most.<ref name=bbc/> Tina Marie Boyer noted that "The Slender man is a prohibitive monster, but the cultural boundaries he guards are not clear. Victims do not know when they have violated or crossed them."<ref name=shirachess2/>

===Waukesha stabbing===
{{Main|Slender Man stabbing}}
On May 31, 2014, two 12-year-old girls in [[Waukesha County, Wisconsin|Waukesha]], [[Wisconsin]] held down and stabbed a 12-year-old classmate 19 times. When questioned later by authorities, they reportedly claimed that they wished to commit a murder as a first step to becoming proxies for the Slender Man, having read about it online.<ref name="Gabler">{{cite news |title=Charges detail Waukesha pre-teens' attempt to kill classmate |first=Ellen |last=Gabler |work=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] |url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/waukesha-police-2-12-year-old-girls-plotted-for-months-to-kill-friend-b99282655z1-261534171.html |date=June 2, 2014 |accessdate=2014-06-04}}</ref> They also stated that they were afraid that Slender Man would kill their families if they did not commit the murder.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/08/slender-man-stabbing.html|title=If These Girls Knew That Slender Man Was a Fantasy, Why Did They Want to Kill Their Friend for Him?| date= 2015-08-25| access-date=2016-06-30}}</ref> After the perpetrators left the scene, the victim crawled out of the woods to a roadway. A passing cyclist alerted authorities, and the victim survived the attack. Both attackers have been diagnosed with mental illnesses<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/slender-man-trial-trying-these-girls-as-adults-is-absurd-w431464| title= Slender Man Trial |first= Bridgette |last= Dunlap |date= July 29, 2016 |website= RollingStone.com |publisher=|access-date=}}</ref> but have also been charged as adults and are each facing up to 65 years in prison.<ref>{{cite news |title=Girls charged in Waukesha stabbing motivated by 'Slenderman' character |first1=Jermont |last1=Terry |first2=James |last2=Kust |work=WTMJ |url=http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/Waukesha-police-investigate-after-12-year-old-stabbed-261384231.html |date=May 31, 2014 |accessdate=2014-06-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140605075206/http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/Waukesha-police-investigate-after-12-year-old-stabbed-261384231.html |archivedate=June 5, 2014 }}</ref> One of the girls reportedly said Slender Man watches her, can read minds, and could teleport.<ref name="Gabler"/>

Experts testified in court that she also said she conversed with [[Lord Voldemort]] and one of the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]. On August 1, 2014, she was found incompetent to stand trial and her prosecution was suspended until her condition improved.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/lawyer-for-girl-in-slenderman-case-wants-mental-reports-on-co-defendant-b99319419z1-269441661.html |title= Judge rules 12-year-old incompetent, for now, in Slender Man trial |last1= Vielmetti| first1= Bruce|last2= Luthern| first2= Ashley |newspaper= Journal Sentinel |location= Milwaukee, Wisconsin |date= 2014-08-01 |accessdate= 2014-08-02 }}</ref> On November 12, 2014, a doctor judged that her condition had improved enough for her to stand trial,<ref>{{cite news|title=Doctor claims girl, 12, 'who repeatedly stabbed classmate to impress Slender Man' has improved enough to stand trial| work= Mail Online|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2831611/Slender-Man-stabbing-suspect-12-returns-court.html |accessdate= 2014-11-14| location= London|date=2014-11-12}}</ref> and on December 19, 2014, the judge ruled that both girls were competent to stand trial.<ref>{{cite web|title= Slender Man Stabbing Case: Wisconsin Girls Accused Of Attempted Homicide Are Mentally Fit To Stand Trial|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/slender-man-stabbing-case-wisconsin-girls-accused-attempted-homicide-are-mentally-fit-1763289| first= Suman| last= Varandani| year= 2014| work= [[International Business Times]]|accessdate=2015-01-05}}</ref> In August 2015, the presiding judge ruled that the girls would be tried as adults.<ref>{{cite news|title=Slender Man case: Young suspects to be tried as adults|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-33857137|accessdate=14 August 2015|date=2015-08-10}}</ref> They were tried separately.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2016/12/12/separate-trials-ordered-slender-man-case/95338628/|title=Separate trials ordered in Slender Man case|newspaper= Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|access-date=December 14, 2016}}</ref> On August 21, 2017, one of the girls, now 15, pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted second-degree homicide, but claimed she was not responsible for her actions on grounds of insanity.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/slenderman-stabbing-suspect-pleads-guilty-to-lesser-charge/|title=Slender Man stabbing suspect pleads guilty to lesser charge|access-date= 2017-08-21| website= cbsnews.com| publisher= CBS}}</ref> Although prosecutors alleged that she knew what she was doing was wrong, the jury determined that she was mentally ill during the attack. She will spend at least three years in a mental hospital.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41292913| work= BBC News|title=Slender Man stabbing: Anissa Weier found mentally ill|date=September 15, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wisn.com/article/anissa-weier-slender-closing-arguments-deliberations-1505483615/12251621|title=Jury in Slender Man case finds Anissa Weier was mentally ill, will not go to prison|work=[[WISN-TV]] 12 ABC News| place= Milwaukee| date=September 16, 2017}}</ref> On December 21, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren sentenced Weier, then 16 years-old, to be hospitalized for 25 years from the date of the crime, which would keep her institutionalized until age 37.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/21/slender-man-case-anissa-weier-sentenced| work=The Guardian|title=Slender Man case: girl who stabbed classmate gets 25-year hospital sentence|accessdate=2017-12-22}}</ref>

In a statement to the media on June 4, 2014, Eric Knudsen said, "I am deeply saddened by the tragedy in Wisconsin and my heart goes out to the families of those affected by this terrible act." He stated he would not be giving interviews on the matter.<ref>{{cite news |title= 'Slender Man' Creator Speaks on Stabbing: 'I Am Deeply Saddened'|first= Keith |last=Wagstaff |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/slender-man-creator-speaks-stabbing-i-am-deeply-saddened-n122781 |website=[[nbc.com]] |date=June 4, 2014 |accessdate=2014-06-04}}</ref>

On September 25, 2017, it was reported that Morgan Geyser, then 15, had agreed to plead guilty to attempting to commit first-degree homicide in an arrangement that would allow her avoid jail time. In terms of the arrangement Geyser would remain at the mental hospital where she had been staying for the past two years for at least a further three years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/slender-man-stabbing/slender-man-suspect-morgan-geyser-will-plead-guilty-stabbing-n805901|title=Slender Man suspect will plead guilty in stabbing|author=|date=|website=nbcnews.com}}</ref> On February 1, 2018, the Associated Press reported that Geyser had been sentenced to 40 years in the Wisconsin mental hospital, the maximum sentence allowed.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=ap |number=959182536705478657 |date=1 February 2018 |title=BREAKING: Judge sentences Wisconsin girl to maximum 40 years in mental hospital in Slender Man stabbing case.}}</ref>

===Moral panic and other incidents===
The stabbing in Waukesha spawned a nationwide moral panic over Slender Man across the United States.<ref name="Velocci2018">{{cite news |last1=Velocci |first1=Carli |title=The failed Slender Man movie was a nail in the coffin of a dying fandom: The rise and fall of Slender Nation, the community that lived for the internet's most notorious Creepypasta |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/30/17793760/slender-man-movie-creepypasta-fandom-community-stabbing |accessdate=May 28, 2019 |work=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media |date=August 30, 2018 |ref=harv}}</ref><ref name="Greene2018">{{cite news |last1=Greene |first1=Jayson |title=Slender Man Is Still Making People Uneasy — But Now for New Reasons |url=https://www.vulture.com/2018/08/is-slender-man-capitalizing-on-a-real-life-tragedy.html |accessdate=May 28, 2019 |work=Vulture |publisher=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |date=August 7, 2018 |ref=harv}}</ref> Parents across the nation became worried about the potential dangers that stories about Slender Man might pose to their children's safety.<ref name="Velocci2018"/><ref name="Greene2018"/> Russell Jack, the police chief of Waukesha, warned that the Slender Man stabbing "should be a wake-up call for all parents" that "the internet is full of dark and wicked things"—a warning which numerous media outlets publicized.<ref name="Velocci2018"/>

After hearing the story, an unidentified woman from [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]], told a [[WLWT]] TV reporter in June 2014 that her 13-year-old daughter had attacked her with a knife, and had written macabre fiction, some involving the Slender Man, who the mother said motivated the attack.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hamilton Co. mom: Daughter's knife attack influenced by Slender Man|url=http://www.wlwt.com/news/hamilton-co-mom-daughters-knife-attack-influenced-by-slender-man/26370588?_escaped_fragment_=WAFFp#!WAFFp|first= Brad| last= Evans|date=June 6, 2014|website= [[WLWT]].com}}</ref>

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|last1=Melrose|first1=Kevin|title=Teen claims 'Soul Eater,' Slender Man led her to set home on fire| url= http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2014/09/teen-claims-soul-eater-slender-man-led-her-to-set-home-on-fire/|publisher=Comic Book Resources| accessdate=7 February 2015}}</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= http://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 |accessdate= 2014-09-05 }}</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"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bort |first1=Cree |title=Sioux Natives Fear Walking Sam |url=https://www.theodysseyonline.com/sioux-natives-fear-walking-sam |website=The Odyssey |publisher=Washington State University |accessdate=24 August 2019 |date=26 May 2015 |quote=He has been described as a seven foot tall man that has no mouth and wanders the land at night, carrying the bodies of Lakota men and women.}}</ref><ref name="tallmanterror"/> similar to the Slender Man.<ref name=NYT050115>{{cite news| first= Julie| last= Bosman| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/02/us/pine-ridge-indian-reservation-struggles-with-suicides-among-young-people.html| title= Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Struggles With Suicides Among Its Young| work= The New York Times| date= May 1, 2015| accessdate= May 5, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Romero |first1=Miguel |title=Slenderman & the Suicide Spirit |url=https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2015/07/slenderman-the-suicide-spirit/ |website=Mysterious Universe |accessdate=24 August 2019 |date=24 July 2015 |quote=So, what seems to be happening here is a cultural ‘remix’ between the older myth of the Tall Man/Suicide Spirit which already existed among Native Americans prior to the rise of the World Wide Web, and the newer, more potent icon of Slenderman introduced to these communities through the pervasiveness of new social networks; all this coupled with the ‘copycat’ contagion effect which arises during a cluster of suicides or mass shootings.}}</ref>  Other Sioux describe the "[[Bigfoot|Big Man]]"{{efn|Which relation may be explored via attributes related by Matthieson<ref name="spiritcrazyhorse"/>, as cited by Redfern<ref name="tallmanterror"/> and Wilson<ref name="bigfoot"/>.}} as a messenger or sign, warning that society is developing in a dangerous direction.<ref name="bigfoot"/>

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|last1=DePaol|first1=Tommy|title=Slenderman Is Coming to HBO In A True-Crime Documentary|url=http://moviepilot.com/posts/3813085|website=MoviePilot.com|accessdate=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>

===After the Waukesha stabbing===
The Waukesha stabbing and the negative media attention it generated irreversibly altered the Slender Man legend and the online community surrounding it.<ref name="Velocci2018"/><ref name="Greene2018"/> What had previously just been a creepy horror meme to most people suddenly acquired a new level of reality that most fans of Slender Man found horrifying.<ref name="Velocci2018"/><ref name="Greene2018"/> Meanwhile, by around the same time, the Slender Man character had lost much of his original popularity.<ref name="Velocci2018"/><ref name="Greene2018"/> Most of the original blogs that had once been devoted to Slender Man either shut down completely or became less popular.<ref name="Velocci2018"/> Slender Man's presence in mainstream popular culture also contributed to a decline in how frightening he seemed to many people.<ref name="Velocci2018"/><ref name="Greene2018"/>

The late 2010s also saw an increase in benevolent portrayals of Slender Man, with many depictions of him from this period portraying him as an [[antihero]] who protects victimized children from bullies, although often by violent means.<ref name="Greene2018"/> In some portrayals of Slender Man from the late 2010s, he has a daughter named Skinny Sally, who is portrayed as a young girl covered in cuts and bruises.<ref name="Greene2018"/> Slender Man sometimes often portrayed carrying Skinny Sally on his shoulders protectively.<ref name="Greene2018"/> Lynn McNeill, assistant professor of folklore at Utah State University, observes that the increase in benevolent portrayals of Slender Man seems to have begun shortly after the stabbing in Waukesha and states that this trend towards a benevolent Slender Man may be a reaction by fans of the character to the violence of the stabbing.<ref name="Greene2018"/>

Despite the decline in popular interest in Slender Man, commercial adaptations of the character continued.<ref name="Velocci2018"/><ref name="Greene2018"/> In 2015, the film adaptation of ''Marble Hornets'', titled ''[[Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story]]'', was released on [[Video on demand|VOD]], where the character was portrayed by [[Doug Jones (actor)|Doug Jones]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Clow|first1=Mitchel|title='Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story' movie review: Tell, don't show|url=http://www.hypable.com/marble-hornets-movie-review/|publisher=Hypable|accessdate=26 September 2015}}</ref> In 2016, [[Sony Pictures]] subsidiary [[Screen Gems]] partnered with Mythology Entertainment to bring a [[Slender Man (film)|Slender Man film]] into theatres, with the title character portrayed by [[Javier Botet]].<ref name=screengems>{{cite news|title='Slender Man,' a Horror Meme, Gets Ready to Step Out of the Shadows |first=Katie |last= Rogers|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|year=2016|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/07/movies/slender-man-a-horror-meme-gets-ready-to-step-out-of-the-shadows.html?_r=0|accessdate=2016-05-07}}</ref>

The film generated considerable controversy soon after it was announced, with many accusing the filmmakers of trying to capitalize off the Waukesha stabbing.<ref name="Greene2018"/> Bill Weier, the father of Anissa Weier, stated, "It's absurd they want to make a movie like this... All we're doing is extending the pain all three of these families have gone through."<ref name="Greene2018"/> The progressive advocacy group [[Care2]] created an online petition, which received over 19,000 signatures, demanding that the film not be released, labelling the film "crass commercialism at its worst" and "a naked cash grab built on the exploitation of a deeply traumatic event and the people who lived it."<ref name="Greene2018"/> Sony representatives insisted that the film was based on the fictional character that had become popular online and not on the Waukesha stabbing.<ref name="Greene2018"/>

Upon its release in August 2018, the film ''Slender Man'' was a [[box-office bomb]]<ref name="Velocci2018"/> and it received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/slender_man/|title=Slender Man (2018)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|accessdate=October 4, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/slender-man|title=Slender Man Reviews |work=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|accessdate=August 16, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Velocci2018"/> David Ehrlich of [[IndieWire]] gave the film a D, writing "a tasteless and inedibly undercooked serving of the Internet's stalest creepypasta, ''Slender Man'' aspires to be for the YouTube era what ''[[The Ring (2002 film)|The Ring]]'' was to the last gasps of the VHS generation. But... there's one fundamental difference that sets the two movies apart: ''The Ring'' is good, and ''Slender Man'' is terrible."<ref>{{cite web|last=Ehrlich|first=David|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/08/slender-man-movie-review-1201992576/|title='Slender Man'Review: A Tasteless and Inedibly Undercooked Serving of Creepypasta|date=August 9, 2018|work=[[IndieWire]]|publisher=[[Penske Business Media]]|accessdate=August 9, 2018}}</ref> Writing for ''[[The Verge]]'', Carli Velocci called the Slender Man movie "a nail in the coffin of a dying fandom".<ref name="Velocci2018"/>

==Folkloric qualities==
<!-- Do NOT add material to this article unless it is reliably sourced. -->
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 responses of his/her audience).<ref name=shirachess2/>

Andrew Peck also considers the Slender Man to be an authentic form of folklore and notes its similarity to emergent forms of offline legend performance. Peck suggests that digital folklore performance extends the dynamics of face-to-face performance in several notable ways, such as by occurring asynchronously, encouraging imitation and personalization while also allowing perfect replication, combining elements of oral, written, and visual communication, and generating shared expectations for performance that enact group identity despite the lack of a physically present group. He concludes that the Slender Man represents a digital legend cycle that combines the generic conventions and emergent qualities of oral and visual performance with the collaborative potential of networked communication.<ref name="Tall, Dark, and Loathsome: The Emergence of a Legend Cycle in the Digital Age">{{cite journal |last = Peck|first = Andrew |date = 2015 |title = Tall, Dark, and Loathsome: The Emergence of a Legend Cycle in the Digital Age | journal=Journal of American Folklore | volume=128 | issue=509 |pages=333–348|doi=10.5406/jamerfolk.128.509.0333}}</ref>

Jeff Tolbert also accepts the Slender Man as folkloric and suggests it represents a process he calls “reverse ostension.” [[Ostension]] in folkloristics is the process of acting out a folk narrative. According to Tolbert, the Slender Man does the opposite by creating a set of folklore-like narratives where none existed before. It is an iconic figure produced through a collective effort and deliberately modeled after an existing and familiar folklore genre. According to Tolbert, this represents two processes in one: it involves the creation of new objects and new disconnected examples of experience, and it involves the combination of these elements into a body of “traditional” narratives, modeled on existing folklore (but not wholly indebted to any specific tradition).<ref name="“The sort of story that has you covering your mirrors”:The Case of Slender Man">{{cite journal |last = Tolbert |first = Jeffrey A. |date = 2013 |title = The sort of story that has you covering your mirrors":The Case of Slender Man |url = http://www.semioticreview.com/pdf/monsters/tolbert_slenderman.pdf |journal = Semiotic Review |issue = 2 |access-date = 13 July 2015 |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20151010074358/http://www.semioticreview.com/pdf/monsters/tolbert_slenderman.pdf |archivedate = 10 October 2015 }}</ref>

Professor Thomas Pettitt of the [[University of Southern Denmark]] has described the Slender Man as being an exemplar of the modern age's closing of the "[[Secondary orality|Gutenberg Parenthesis]]"; the time period from the invention of the printing press to the spread of the web in which stories and information were codified in discrete media, to a return to the older, more primal forms of storytelling, exemplified by [[oral tradition]] and [[campfire]] tales, in which the same story can be retold, reinterpreted and recast by different tellers, allowing the lore to expand and evolve with time.<ref name=bbc/>

==Copyright==
Despite his folkloric qualities, the Slender Man is not in the [[public domain]]. Several for-profit ventures involving the Slender Man have unequivocally acknowledged Knudsen as the creator of this fictional character, while others were civilly blocked from distribution (including the Kickstarter-funded film) after legal complaints from Knudsen and other sources. Though Knudsen himself has given his personal blessing to a number of Slender Man-related projects, the issue is complicated by the fact that, while he is the character's creator, a third party holds the options to any adaptations into other media, including film and television. The identity of this option holder has not been made public.<ref name=copy>{{cite web |title=How the Internet's creepiest meme mutated from thought experiment to Hollywood blockbuster |first=Miles |last=Klee |website=[[The Daily Dot]] |date=August 21, 2013 |url=http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/slender-man-meme-marble-hornets-movie-origins/ |accessdate=2013-11-18}}</ref> Knudsen himself has argued that his enforcement of [[copyright]] has less to do with money than with artistic integrity: "I just want something amazing to come off it... something that's scary and disturbing and kinda different. I would hate for something to come out and just be kinda conventional."<ref name=tldr/> As of May 2016, the media rights to Slender Man have been sold to production company [[Mythology Entertainment]].<ref name=screengems/>

==References in media==
* 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=Notch reveals new mob, dubs them Endermen in reference to Slender Man. |website=igx.com |url=http://www.igxpro.com/2011/07/26/notch-reveals-new-mob-dubs-them-endermen-in-reference-to-slender-man/158567 |year=2011 |accessdate=2013-02-21 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621184458/http://www.igxpro.com/2011/07/26/notch-reveals-new-mob-dubs-them-endermen-in-reference-to-slender-man/158567 |archivedate=2013-06-21 }}</ref> 
* The Slender Man was 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>[http://www.syfy.com/lostgirl/episodes/season/3/episode/2/subterrfaenean Lost Girl: SubterrFaenean] [[Syfy]]. 2014. Accessed 2015-18-02.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=McFarland |first=Kevin |title=Lost Girl: "SubterrFaenean" |url=https://tv.avclub.com/lost-girl-subterrfaenean-1798175544 |newspaper=The A.V. Club |date=2013-01-21 |accessdate=2018-10-07}}</ref>
* In early 2013 a song and animated video called "Sympathy For Slender Man" from the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] late night animated block [[Animation Domination High-Def]] aired in between programs, known as [[ADHD Shorts]].<ref>https://www.webbyawards.com/winners/2014/online-film-video/general-film-categories/animation/sympathy-for-slender-man-song/</ref>
* In the 2014 episode "Pinkie Apple Pie" of ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic]]'', a pony version of the character appears in a brief cameo.<ref>{{cite web|title=Top 20 Pop Culture and Movie References from Season 4|url=http://www.equestriadaily.com/2014/05/top-20-pop-culture-and-movie-references.html|publisher=[[Equestria Daily]]|year=2014|first= Shaun|last= Scotellaro|accessdate=2016-08-23}}</ref> 
* The TV series ''[[Supernatural (U.S. TV series)|Supernatural]]'' parodied Slender Man as "Thinman" in the [[Supernatural (season 9)|Season 9]] episode of the same name.<ref>[http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/supernatural-thinman-201820 Supernatural: "Thinman"] ''[[The A.V. Club]]''. 2014. Accessed 2016-28-01.</ref> 
* In 2016, American [[horror punk]] band [[Haunted Garage]] released an EP entitled ''Slenderman and Other Strange Tales'', featuring a song and accompanying music video based on both the character and the 2014 stabbing case.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://zombiehamster.com/entertainment/news/haunted-garage-listen-ep-free/ |title=Haunted Garage: 'Slenderman and Other Strange Tales' |date=January 13, 2016 |publisher=Zombie Hamster}}</ref> 
* The [[Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 16)|sixteenth season]] of the crime drama TV series ''[[Law & Order: Special Victims Unit]]'' featured an episode, "[[Glasgowman's Wrath]]", inspired by the Slender Man stabbings.<ref>{{cite web|title=Law & Order: SVU bends the conventions of the cop show|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/nov/06/law-order-svu-bends-cop-show-convention| work=[[The Guardian]] |year=2014| first=Jennifer |last= Gerson Uffalussy|accessdate=2016-01-29}}</ref>
* The board game ''[[Kingdom Death: Monster]]'' features an expansion pack based on Slender Man.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kingdom Death: Monster - Slenderman Expansion|url=https://shop.kingdomdeath.com/collections/expansions/products/slenderman-expansion|accessdate=2018-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923085543/https://shop.kingdomdeath.com/collections/expansions/products/slenderman-expansion|archive-date=2018-09-23|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''[[AdventureQuest Worlds]]'' has featured numerous armors and pets that are based on Slender Man.<ref>{{cite web|title=AQ Wiki Thin Guy|url=http://aqwwiki.wikidot.com/thin-guy| work=AQ Wiki |year=|accessdate=2018-08-05}}</ref>
* Slender Man appears in the episode "The Planned Parenthood Show" in ''[[Big Mouth (TV series)|Big Mouth]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hypable.com/big-mouth-best-episode-planned-parenthood-show/|title='Big Mouth' delivers best episode with season 2's 'Planned Parenthood Show'|author=KAREN ROUGHT |editor= BRANDI DELHAGEN| date=8 October 2018|publisher=Hypable|accessdate=22 February 2019}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==See also==
* {{annotated link|Bogeyman}}
* [[Kunekune (urban legend)|Kunekune]] – Another message board monster with wriggly appendages
* [[Pope Lick Monster]] – Another legend of a compulsive being with real consequences
* {{annotated link|Bigfoot}}
* {{annotated link|Urban legend}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="tallmanterror">{{cite web |last1=Redfern |first1=Nick |title=The Terror That is the Tall Man Spirit |url=https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2019/05/the-terror-that-is-the-tall-man-spirit/ |website=Mysterious Universe |accessdate=24 August 2019 |date=30 May 2019 |quote=He says that the Tall Man Spirit / Walking Sam seems to be telling the young people on the reservation to take their lives.}}</ref>
<ref name="bigfoot">{{cite web |title=Bigfoot - Sasquatch Legends |url=http://www.ya-native.com/nativeamerica/Bigfoot-SasquatchLegends.html |website=Ya-Native |publisher=Reamus Wilson |accessdate=24 August 2019 |quote=Ray Owen, son of a Dakota spiritual leader, told a reporter [...] 'We needed a sign to put us back on track, and that's why the Big Man appeared.'}}</ref>
{{refn|name=spiritcrazyhorse|{{cite book |last1=Matthiessen |first1=Peter |title=In the Spirit of Crazy Horse: The Story of Leonard Peltier and the FBI's War on the American Indian Movement |date=March 1, 1992 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0140144567 |quote=He is both spirit and real being, but he can also glide through the forest, like a moose with big antlers, as though the trees weren’t there. |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/inspiritofcrazyh00matt_0 }}.}}
}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal|last1=Curlew|first1=Kyle|title=The legend of the Slender Man: The boogieman of surveillance culture|journal=First Monday|date=2017|volume=22|issue=6|doi=10.5210/fm.v22i6.6901}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Slender Man}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120120074129/http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3150591&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=3 Forum thread in which Slender Man was created], somethingawful.com
* [http://victor-surge.deviantart.com/gallery/ Eric Knudsen's gallery that contains all of his Slender Man images], deviantart.com

[[Category:Slender Man| ]]
[[Category:American folklore]]
[[Category:Supernatural legends]]
[[Category:Creepypasta]]
[[Category:Fictional]]