Slenderman ("Skinny Man" in Russian) is one of the most famous characters in the "scary" Internet folklore. Presumably, it was invented in 2009 by a certain Eric Knudsen, who posted on the Something Awful forum two black and white photographs depicting children pursued by a mysterious creature. The photos seemed very realistic to the regulars of the Internet and quickly caught the attention of the virtual public.
The character was so fond of web users that he quickly became the hero of numerous short stories, video games, TV series and movies. However, here is what is interesting and strange: although no one seriously hides the fiction of Slenderman, there are many individuals who claim to have encountered this monster in person, or simply firmly believe in its reality. People study this urban legend, go on expeditions in search of the monster and find, as they claim, evidence of the existence of the Skinny Man in the form of photo and video materials.
What does Slenderman look like?
Slenderman's appearance is quite unusual. He looks like a very tall man with disproportionately long limbs that can bend at any angle. The entity's head is completely covered with pale skin - hair, ears, eyes, nose and mouth are completely absent. A skinny person is always dressed in a funeral suit with a black jacket and tie and a white shirt. It is believed that countless black tentacles sometimes appear from the monster's back, which can become infinitely long. With the help of them, the entity allegedly catches its victims.
What is Slender Man capable of?
Slenderman is a kidnapper. Most often, he kidnaps children, and those are never found again. Who it is - a ghost, an evil spirit, an alien, a mutant or a fiend of hell - is unknown. The Skinny Man's intentions are completely unclear, and this uncertainty makes him doubly terrifying. A dangerous entity appears in forests, fields, abandoned buildings and other empty places, watching for its victims. If you see him standing in the distance, even if kilometers away from you, you will no longer have the opportunity to escape or resist the monster.
Promotional video:
Slenderman's symbol is a circle crossed out with a diagonal cross. They say that such signs appear near the habitats of a Skinny person, and you can avoid an unenviable fate only by immediately leaving at the sight of such a drawing. Many eyewitnesses report seeing ominous symbols in trees in the forest, on walls in abandoned structures, and on the ground. Of course, it is logical to assume that they are simply drawn by fans of this urban legend, but who can know for sure …
Slenderman is considered to be an excellent telepath. In this regard, he does not need to chase his victims. The monster can manipulate people nearby and force them to go into its trap on their own. Abducted children, as a rule, see nightmares a few days before their disappearance and try to leave the house unconscious. Some of them, who are not followed by their relatives, succeed, and they disappear into the night without a trace.
A skinny person affects electronics, so if in a deserted place far from civilization you have noise in your headphones or interference on the video camera screen, then you should probably get out of there as soon as possible. Photographing or capturing a monster will keep you from escaping. Seeing him with your own eyes is also signing yourself a death warrant. You can walk a stone's throw from the Slenderman disguised as a tree and calmly go home without noticing him. But if you realize that there is something strange in front of you and consider in this figure a thin giant, you will be in trouble.
An evil entity knows how to shorten and lengthen its body and limbs. In terms of movement, the Skinny person seems to be inactive. He can stay for a long time in one place at a considerable distance from people, waiting to be noticed. Slenderman rarely walks or runs, but instantly teleports from one point to another, so it is almost impossible to hide from him. However, many witnesses claim that they managed to safely escape from the monster's possessions after they spotted it or even captured it on camera.
Prototypes and Slenderman-like entities
Perhaps the image of the Skinny Man was borrowed from somewhere. For example, in Slavic mythology there is a thin and long spirit of the pole (from the word "pole"). This unclean force walks at night and looks into people's windows, warms up a corpse near the stove and scares people, and also commits petty mischief. From a distance, the pole often resembles a large dry branch on the roof of a house. However, this spirit is practically harmless to humans.
In Germanic folklore, you can find a character named Grosmann (Tall Man), who is something like an evil fairy, but outwardly he is very similar to Slender Man, except that he has a face with two large round eyes. Grossmann, the Germans frightened the offspring, who went for a walk in the forest without permission. According to myths and legends, the Tall Man lived in the Black Forest and dragged disobedient children into the forest jungle, where he devoured them.
And in Japanese myths, there are nopparapon - tall supernatural creatures whose faces at night turned into smooth purple balls.
Photos and videos of Slenderman
On April 12 of this year, the attention of Internet users was riveted by a picture taken, judging by the timecode, back on January 22, 2009. The photograph shows a teenager looking into a winter forest, where a tall, dark figure with a pale face lurks among the snow-covered trees. Needless to say, many regulars on the World Wide Web immediately pronounced a verdict: the children photographed the Skinny Man.
The story behind this photo is this: Several American children from Minnesota did not go to school and went instead to play in the woods. At some point, one of the truants took out his phone and decided to take a picture of his friend. However, as soon as the photographer pointed the camera at a friend, he noticed a thin giant in dark clothes between the trees and informed his friends in horror. The children immediately rushed away from there, but the photographer managed to shoot a terrible stranger.
The video below, taken late last year, also made a lot of noise. It depicts a British cyclist talking into a traffic camera. The young man leaves a message for someone and leaves, after which a tall, thin figure separates from one of the trees in the background and begins to walk on the ground. It is noteworthy that the sound on the recording at this moment noticeably fills. When the cyclist returns to the camera, the alleged Slenderman is still crossing the field in the background.
A lot of people thought about the following question: could a Skinny person originally invented by someone become real because of a large number of people who believed in his existence? After all, the human mind is capable of not that. Thought, as you know, is material, and the thoughts of many people, directed in one direction, can have a tremendous impact on reality. This is how, say the knowledgeable, world religions were born …