The Slender Man
A tall, faceless man in a suit was invented for an online contest in 2009, and grew into a legend some children believed was real.
What was reported
In June 2009, Eric Knudsen, posting as 'Victor Surge' on the Something Awful forums, added a tall, thin, faceless figure in a black suit to two photographs of children for a contest to create paranormal images. He called it the Slender Man.
The character spread across the internet in stories, games and videos, gaining a backstory as people added to it. In 2014, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, two 12-year-old girls attacked a classmate, saying they wanted to please the Slender Man; she was badly hurt but survived.
Explanations offered
The Slender Man is fiction, created and grown online, and shows how a modern legend can form in plain view. The Waukesha case led to wide discussion of children, the internet and mental health; both girls were later placed in psychiatric care.
- When
- Created online in June 2009
- Where
- Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA
- Witnesses
- Internet readers, and the people of Waukesha
- Status
- Fiction
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