The myth of Slenderman

[Kyriakos]

This thread is meant as one where this particular urban legend can be discussed or reflected upon.

Slenderman, which is a term alluding to the supposed existence of some creature that is tall, thin, and have some other particular features, is the name used for a mythical being which is presented as appearing to a number of people throughout history, with very negative outcome for those who witness him.

I happened to read some articles about this myth or urban legend, and noticed a number of the fundamental pieces that comprise this legend.

-Slenderman is argued to have first appeared in the medieval era, in Germany. Originally the name attributed to him was "Der Ritter" (the knight), which later on devolved to the more rural "Der Grosseman" (the tall man). Another theory is that he was first seen in a wall-drawing in ancient Egypt. This dyadic theory of the genesis of the Slenderman myth is not based on anything more than the projection of the suspicions of its creators, proponents, or enthusiasts, onto some medieval german drawings on the one hand, and on the other on some egyptian image.

-Slenderman is supposed to have in general the form of an anthropoid, but with two important differences. First he has no distinctive features on his face, either due to the utter lack of any visible organs there, or because that face is in constant, rapid movement, resulting in an always blurry image of that part of his body. Secondly he has very long legs, and arms which are not only exceedingly long as well, but form branches, and are quite similar to parts of trees.

-Slenderman appears in his modern manifestation as a being that is not entirely indifferent to the norms of fashion, since he always wears a nice suit and tie.

-The recent circulation of the computer game "Slender", which is very much influenced by the myth of the Slenderman, added some more features to the being, and effectively made it a sort of bloodthirstly alien serial-killer, whereas the original urban myth presented more ambiguous motives for Slenderman's appearences to humans.

In conclusion i am of the view that the myth of Slenderman resulted from an attempt to make a hybrid of the various theories of alien beings existing on earth, and the more literary-based urban legend creations. This, however, seems to have allienated those who are more interested in examining such legends as purely artistic expressions.

I leave you with a nice painting of the Slenderman, which in my view is quite atmospheric and reminds one a bit of the "White People", that short story by Arthur Machen

 

[trader/warrior]

Slenderman was made during a photoshop contest about making up supernatural beings on the SomethingAwful forums, wasn't it? I think it seems a bit too artificial to be an interesting myth. Very Creepypasta-ish, but still one of the more interesting examples of modern internet phenomena and memes.

 

[Kyriakos]

Yes, i have read that account too. Been a while since i read anything from that site, in fact someone in these forums had mentioned a story from it so i clicked on the link

It is indeed a bit too artificial, and the youtube videos make it even worse. I still like the painting of it i posted though, so some decent art came out of the urban legend too...

 

[Kyriakos]

A minor bump to note the thread was just moved here (i expected the mod moving it to mention that)

Maybe more people in this subforum know about the urban legend of Slenderman and can take part in a discussion.

 

[Angst]

I like the slenderman myth, but have invested too much into it in order to really find it interesting anymore. Personally. :/

The whole sociality about the mythos however is interesting. Everyone knows it's artificial, but still people arrange spooks.

 

[Angst]

This is excellent though.


Link to video.

 

[Kyriakos]

The ending was funny (the slender dance moves). The rest was not that good though

Spoiler :

 

[NetGear]

Slender man is Watson.

 

[Joecoolyo]

I never understood why internet jokes get taken seriously.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Somehow I get reminded of an obnoxious Internet video personality. And poor use of the Steam Workshop.

 

[Kyriakos]

I never understood why internet jokes get taken seriously.

While i doubt anyone (at least here) takes the Slenderman mythos as anything other than an urban legend with no actual basis in reality, sometimes such mythoi can produce something of interest, like art regarding them

It does seem that most of the Slenderman art is not that good, but some is interesting.

 

[Aleksey_aka_al]

This Slenderman looks like Hitman.

 

[Lord Baal]

I had never heard of Slenderman until Cracked did an article about it a month or so ago. I found it interesting that despite the absolute perfect documentation on where the myth is from and its evolution, idiots still seem to think Slenderman exists. This made me weep for the future of the human race.

As an aside, it's incredible how often I jump upon seeing my refridgerator since reading that article. I may know intellectually that there's no such thing as Slenderman, but someone needs to report that to my spine, because it enjoys turning cold and contracting painfully when I go to the bathroom at 3AM.

 

[GoodGame]

Slenderman was made during a photoshop contest about making up supernatural beings on the SomethingAwful forums, wasn't it? I think it seems a bit too artificial to be an interesting myth. Very Creepypasta-ish, but still one of the more interesting examples of modern internet phenomena and memes.

It's well documented that the above is is the case.

To argue more than that is to argue the archetype basis of it, like trying to argue for proto-languages.

 

[Kyriakos]

^Yes.

However the archetype behind it is arguably the most interesting issue with this urban legend. Arachnoid creatures, or rather a hybrid, an anthropoarachnoid so to speak, does seem to carry some connotation related to fear as a deep emotional state.

 

[Lord Baal]

^Yes.

However the archetype behind it is arguably the most interesting issue with this urban legend. Arachnoid creatures, or rather a hybrid, an anthropoarachnoid so to speak, does seem to carry some connotation related to fear as a deep emotional state.

I think the fear stems from the lack of facial features, myself.

 

[Kyriakos]

I think the fear stems from the lack of facial features, myself.

Surely that plays a significant role too. In a way both can be linked though, despite the fact that spiders have features on their head, humans do not often think of those features so in a way spiders remain faceless too (granted this is mostly as a symbol of anonymous entity and lurking danger, but there is some connection between the two).

That said, personally i find that the Slenderman could have done without two largely distinct special characteristics, the blank (or always moving rapidly, thus blurry) face, and the arachnoid limbs. Most of the time in creating some fictional being it is better to just focus on one defining aspect so as to maximize the focus of the audience, at least in my view.
But it may be mostly my own dislike for such creations, given that by far the most boring mythical creature for me in Greek mythology is the Chimera. Although the actual form of the Chimera seems way too strange, at least the term got its meaning exactly after that, and now means something so strange that it simply could never have existed

 

[bhsup]

Clearly the winner of the somethingawful contest made an inadvertent and possibly unknowing, subconscious psychic link the Uber Ethereal and saw an image of thin man.

 

[Kyriakos]

Actually the above manages to look even worse than the Slenderman...

 

[DroopyTofu]

Reminds me of these guys...