Note:
this article is about the main being focused on in the mythos. For the
unrelated being based on him from MarbleHornets, see The Operator
Slender Man
Typical early Slenderman photo
Names
Slender Man, Him, The Operator, Der Ritter, Der Großmann, Bundle, The
Tall Man, The Thin Man, Der Schlanker Mann, Fear Dubh, Schlankwald,
Tree Man, Slendy, Slenderman, The Pale One, The White King, Master, Mr.
Slender, Black King
The Slender Man (See other names
to the right) is a creature or being with various nebulously defined
characteristics and abilities. Slender Man was first mentioned in
Something Awful Forum's "Create Paranormal Images". Slender Man
generally appears (in modern times) as a tall man in a black or grey
suit, red or black tie, and white shirt, with no eyes, mouth, or clearly
defined facial features. It has no hair, and generally has
normal-looking bare hands. Slenderman typically is depicted in imagery
and literature as between 6 and 15 feet tall, depending on the
situation, and in video as around 6-7 feet tall. Because of its inexact
nature, and differences between series, no one has yet determined what
it is. Currently, the two leading theories as to what the Slenderman may be are the Tulpa Effect and Quantum Theory.
The internet popularity of Slenderman has spawned a massive amount of
interconnected ARGs, collectively known as the Slenderman Mythos.
In almost every description Slenderman's basic attributes will vary
greatly, however several basic traits are typical of his behavior. He is
shown to behave in a very passive aggressive manner, stalking targets
for years at a time, torturing his target mentally for various unknown
reasons. He is rarely ever shown in a benevolent light and is typically
shown as a malevolent force. This behavioral pattern has an uncertain
reasoning behind it, and exactly why he behaves in such a way has yet to
be fully ascertained.
The most important factor about Slenderman is the mystery. He
lives unlike any human being despite having a similar appearance to one.
It is uncertain if he is social, or even understands human languages or
behaviors, nor why it is humans appear to be his main target. His
targets will typically behave in off ways as if possessed (Proxy), but
whether their psychosis is causing them to speak for him or for
themselves isn't entirely certain either.
Slenderman's appearance is variable as the years go on, but as of to
date the most recent appearance is that of an abnormally tall human with
long arms and no face whom is wearing a business suit. Again it is
uncertain if his suit is real cloth or some form of skin molded into
such an appearance. If it is the former, this would imply an intelligent
being attempting to try to blend in. If it is the latter, it shows a
being whom is extremely adaptive and evolves to match his environment
and stick out less (or more).
Slenderman's appearance provokes a wide range of responses, the most
common being fear. This is partially due to his extremely towering size
over a full grown adult, which mimics the childhood fear of adult humans
bigger than the child. His behavior also factors into it. Finally, the
main fact is he is completely unable to be described in human terms.
While a description in words can be given, human language lacks the
ability to truly define the entity until such a time as when humans can
interact with him (if at all possible). This problem stems from the fact
that he operates in a plane of existence further from humans. This is
believed to be fourth dimensional space which gives him powers a human
cannot understand due to humans living in three dimensions of space and
being unable to comprehend the fourth dimension at this time.
In total two major types of Slender Man descriptions exist. The
original versions depict him as not only malevolent, but extremely
dangerous. He will do odd things such as removing organs and placing
them in bags, impaling targets on trees, and aggressively stalking
targets after a period of time. A contemporary depiction shows Slender
Man as being extremely passive aggressive, often letting a person slowly
delve into madness at their situation until being unable to cope. If
invited to anger, he will typically charge a target down until caught
and vanish with them to unknown locations. This version also shows an
odd response to electronic equipment and causes massive problems with
audio, surveillance, camera, and other various electronic devices with
displays or audio. Sometimes an individual can determine if he is near
simply by how certain electronics react such as radios, televisions, or
cameras. How powerful this effect is seems to vary, and can either be
due to Slender Man's own state of aggression, or other outside factors
either inside or beyond Slender Man's control.
Main page: Abilities of the Slender Man Slender Man's original abilities
included invisibility to select people, adult humans, or anyone without
use of a camera, the ability to change height and body shape, the
ability to shape its arms into tentacles, and the ability to sprout
tentacle-like appendages from its back and shoulders to be used as
additional arms or legs (or simply to instil fear into its prey). Many
stories seem to indicate that it can control a person's mind, which
became the basis for the Proxies in the video ARG, a trend that would later spread to Slenderblogs. Slender Man also had connections to children, with many of the original stories revolving around disappearing children or featured Slender Man being sighted in photos with children. An example of the Slender Man's Impressive height.
As more stories came forth, however, the use of tentacles and
tentacle-like appendages became less common, and the invisibility was
limited or eliminated depending on the storyteller.
EMH, TT, ML, and DH all contain some sort of video and/or audio distortion, indicating that Slender Man
has some sort of effect on modern digital instruments. This does not
appear in any of the original accounts- however these mostly make use of
photographs and video of primarily lower-tech varieties. EMH Has applied this distortion to be the effect of Sigma Radiation, a radiation given off by Slender Man and The Rake. Sigma Radiation is also contagious, as it entered Evan's blood-stream when his arm is brutally maimed by The Rake
EMH and ML also make use of "Slender Walking", a term created to describe Slenderman's apparent teleportation, appearing, and disappearing at will. EMH
independently indicates the use of selective invisibility to groups or
individuals through head tilting, and also spacetime
warping/teleportation between locations. Similar abilities were seen in
early Slenderman accounts. EMH also hints at the affecting of mental health or control of it.
See page: Slender Man in Mythology and Culture
For any Non canon abilities and descriptions, please see Unconfirmed Slenderman Assumptions
Slenderman has no exactly defined or specified history, however
contributors have placed early sightings of Slenderman-like beings in
early 1600s Germany and before, where it took the dress of a knight or
royal figure. Germanic fairy tales and mythology also makes use of the
creatures to be used as cautionary tales for children.
Photographs from the early 1900s were the next confirmed reports,
where imagery of Slenderman can be found in classical black and white
and sepia imagery. Reports from this time indicate sightings in America,
the UK, and Russia, as well as reports of child disappearances.
By the mid-1900s, some rare run-ins occurred in the war zones in
Germany, apparently Slenderman's native land. Soldiers were the primary
targets here. In America and Canada, reports of missing skiers and
children appeared, coming from forested areas of the nations.
After a spree of building burnings from unknown causes, several
deaths and a few surviving witnesses, it could be gathered that the
Slenderman had the following traits:
Slenderman will find interest in a victim for reasons unknown
It would then contact the victim, if it is a child, presenting itself as friendly
The adults he stalks have a common trait: they have all been
through a terrible tragedy in their life, even if the tragedy was made
by Slenderman directly
If an adult, it would stalk the victim for long amounts of time
causing what is known as "Slender sickness" causing massive paranoia,
nose bleeds, nightmares, hallucinations appearing to only the sick
person, and many other dangerous symptoms.
Eventually, it would abduct the victim into nearby forest, where they would be killed.
In 'messy' cases, it may remove evidence of its existence by causing fire of their home, place of work, or school
Death of the victim originally occurred through an odd means- the
victim would be impaled on branches of very tall trees while still
alive, and bleed to death. The organs would be individually removed,
then placed in plastic bags. They would then be replaced into the body
in their original positions, plus the plastic bags. The victims' corpses
do not show any sign of a struggle. As time has gone on, this practice
has seemingly been abandoned.
In the late 1990s, technology shed more light on the creature
through the use of commonplace cameras and camcorders. Slenderman was
recorded and photographed stalking potential victims many times.
In the late 2000s to early 2010s, several individuals recorded
ongoing stalking and attack scenarios of themselves and their friends.
These video accounts are codenamed Marble Hornets, EverymanHYBRID, DarkHarvest00, MLAndersen0, and TribeTwelve. As well as certain Rivn videos.
The new foray into Slender Man's powers, abilities, and attacks
have shown drastic difference from his original behaviors. The original
desire to impale targets on trees, his rather aggressive attitude, and
attacking mainly children have been altered. It appears he seems to
enjoy targeting humans who have seen him in childhood and following them
for years. He appears to do so in such a way that the target is unaware
of his presence for potentially months, years, or even decades, and
typically won't be aware at any point in time until it is far too late.
His behavior is extremely passive aggressive, where he stalks,
follows, and torments an individual by repeatedly showing his presence.
He will typically do so in invasive ways, such as appearing inside
someone's house, outside their home, on roads they travel, at their
place of work when they are alone, or while the target is sleeping. This
will create a general unease of the target, as the invasion of an
entity in their own safety zone will begin sparking incredible paranoia.
Most often he won't attack the target for extended periods, instead
just following the target and tormenting them. This period can last
anywhere from several minutes to years.
The behavior of taking organs out or impaling targets have been long
forgotten. If his new modus operandi is to be believed, the target is
taken away with no traces whatsoever. The target will never be found,
nor are any traces. Thus his new method of killing targets is unknown,
as no victim is ever found. The victim will typically Slender Man at the bottom of the stairs in EMH
disappear
by him/herself, thus these attacks are unrecorded and unknown. What
little camera footage has been found shows incredible distortion on them
in typical cases, making it nearly impossible to understand exactly
what he has done. To date it is unknown where his victims go, or what he
does with them after this.
One of the most powerful new traits Slender Man will typically employ
seems to be some form of inhibiting memory loss. Like Slender Sickness,
this effect can be nearly immediate just on close contact with him,
although it seems to vary as to exactly how powerful. In some cases
individuals will forget the past few minutes, however extended contact
has led people to awakening in locations they are uncertain of due to
running from Slender Man and their brain beginning to write memory and
restore consciousness after a given period of time. In some cases, it is
believed Slender Man himself will deposit a victim in an unknown
location and leave them to awaken after an attack (possibly to continue
stalking them some more). This effect is akin to Slender Sickness, but
is the most powerful effect of the sickness to date.
Victims of extended periods will note excessive damage to their
social, physical, and career life. Typically individuals will show
massive moods swings and constant irritation, not to mention will lose
track of large periods of time, making communication with friends or
holding down steady work difficult, as memory losses could be as long as
several weeks or months until the individual awakens and attempts to
return to their life only to find it ruined. Despite this, Slender Man
will continue his behavior.
Slenderman makes association with several groups, individuals, or creatures.
The least known of these is the unknown organization tracking,
observing, or involved with Slenderman, whose identity or name is yet to
be confirmed. The Organization appears only in early Slenderman written accounts, and makes an (assumed) appearance in only one ARG, DarkHarvest00.
The SCP Foundation, though mostly unrelated, maintains hold of a
creature known as SCP-582, aka "Bundle", whose appearance and nature is
similar to Slenderman. It is possible that Bundle is a local dialect or
local version of Slenderman. SCP is unable to currently permanently
contain Bundle, indicating that because it is not stationary, it could
be the same entity as Slenderman, or at the very least Bundle could be
acting out a story and thus recognized as Slender Man. It is to note,
however, that said entity is also very different from Slenderman.
Slenderman has links to many Proxies, or insane individuals under
its control or influence. The nature of Proxies, their workings, etc,
are yet unknown, however Proxies make appearances in MH as Masky/totheark, EMH as HABIT, and TT as Observer.
Slender Man has also spawned many philosophical and theoretical cults
made up of uninfluenced but aware individuals, such as in DarkHarvest00.
The Rake
is the name given to another mystery creature that is somehow linked or
associated with Slenderman. The Rake has a far shorter history, and
only real appearance of association with Slenderman or a Proxy is
through the video accounts of EMH.
The Enderman creatures introduced into the game Minecraft
during the adventure update take some inspiration from the Slender Man,
but act differently in that they move blocks around with its freakishly
long arms & acts similar to the Weeping Angels from Seasons 3, 5 and 7 of the Doctor Who television series. Endermens' actions may also be based off of SCP-173 of the SCP Foundation series, and their appearance similar to SCP-096,
which also has a slight resemblance to Slender Man. They also have the
ability to teleport and will attack if seen by the player.
Also in the Doctor Who
television series, the season 6 creatures known as The Silence are
visually quite similar to Slender Man, having bald heads, pale skin and
no faces, and wearing suits.
Slender Man also makes a cameo appearance in the music video of
"Equinox" by Skrillex. Its presumed that the young girl in the video is
a Proxy being controlled by Slender Man in order to kill the child molester stalking the young girl.
Slender Man, by definition, violates the square-cube law
as his volume does not necessarily increase in proportion to his body
size, as his spacial occupation is very undetermined and variable
'The Gentlemen' are demons in the fourth season of Buffy. They
are very similar to the Slenderman, possessing a tall, thin, frame,
suits, have bald heads and pale skin.
Slender Man is the focus of the game Slender. A common
misconception amongst individuals who are uneducated about the mythos
suggest it to be the other way around.
One common misconception is that Slender Man operates in a
wavelength of time and space, when in reality the fourth dimension has
nothing to do with time.
It is interesting to note that Slenderman is often attributed
to being male, a stark contrast to a majority of folktales, legends,
myths, and urban tales, which often either depict demonic entities as
either female or feral animals that need not be classified by gender.
Encyclopedia Slenderia contains large amounts of information on Slenderman canon.
The Slender Nation
is a network of various places to discuss Slenderman, including a
partly developed Wiki. They currently are most known for their
interactions with people involved in Slenderman mythos, and in their
development of Core Theory.
Unifiction is undoubtedly the largest discussion zone for the Slenderman mythos' video ARGs. Their Marble Hornets and Slender Man Mythossections of their forums attract thousands of posts every week.
Slender Man
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