Suited Up for Your Funeral: The Faceless Monster of the Forest
- etickle1
- Mar 29, 2021
- 3 min read
The suited man of the woods. Venture too far, steal his notes, and you might just wind up dead. One of the internet’s greatest monster phenomena is none other than the infamous Slenderman. But that begs the question. Where did he come from? The true origins of Slenderman are a true testament to how dark and influencing the internet can be.
The story of Slenderman came to the forefront in 2009, when a comedy forum website uploaded a contest for storytellers and monster lovers alike. The purpose of this contest was to create a modern monster in order to terrify the masses. One such entry stood out above the rest. That one being the one uploaded by username Victor Surge. This entry included two photoshopped images of young children with a mysterious, faceless figure lurking behind them in the forest. Supposedly, the children as well as the photographer went missing shortly after this photo was taken. This whole story was fictional, considering the context in which the photo was made, but it took the internet by storm.
After the post was created hundreds upon hundreds of images and stories were made using the Slenderman. Some even went so far as to create video games using the character (and characters like it). Anyone with access to the internet knew who Slenderman was. There was a time when all major gaming YouTube Channels, such as Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, Pewdiepie and Smosh Games, each had at least one video pertaining to the game that was made if not more. It was actually these videos that introduced me to Slenderman. Afterwards I had entered into a Creepypasta hole of other horrific monsters and scary stories. I’ve always been a fan of the darker side of things, but it was this creature that really sold me on my love for the genre as a whole.
As much as the character of Slenderman holds a special place in my heart and as innocent as it may seem on a screen, there was an instance where Slenderman took his horror outside of the digital world. In the late spring of 2014, three sixth grade girls were out doing what any normal young girl would do. Play in the park, gossip, pretending to be princesses and trolls in a fantasy world. It all seems so innocent, right? The warm spring breeze and harmless play? Hide and Seek sounded innocent enough to the youngest of the three. Until she was stabbed 19 times within the forest that she hid in. The culprits? The friends she had been playing with for hours before. One of the two had brought a large kitchen knife from home and showed it to the other. The other didn’t say a word. Afterall, this had taken months of planning to make sure they got it right. The victim was held down by her arms and stabbed repeatedly in the chest, arms, and legs. Her cries for help went unanswered for 5 hours, when police finally arrived on the scene and took her “friends” into custody.
Unlike other stories I’ve told here, this one does have a happy ending. The victim was rushed to the hospital and survived. They were able to save her just in time, and her “friends” were taken to court and tried as adults. Why did they stab their friend? “To summon Slenderman”, they told the court. They wanted to prove that he was not just a myth, not just a scary story, but that he was without a shadow of a doubt real.
The story of the Slenderman slowly died down after this instance. Did the internet just want to forget that this ever happened? Did the majority of people not want to risk their own children attempting such things in order to gain the respect of Slenderman? There was a bit of a resurgence with the creation of the 2018 film Slender Man, though it was not well received by audiences. Earning a whole 8% on the popular movie rating website Rotten Tomatoes. If you’re looking for a laugh, the movie might be worth it. I’ve included the trailer below for anyone curious enough about it. But for now, Slenderman has slowly died off in the eyes of the internet.. for now.
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