Slenderman was born on the internet (more specifically, on the
Something Awful forums) as a mythical image of a human-like stalker. It's best known from various internet video series such as Tribetwelve, Everymanhybrid, and the most popular being; Marblehornets (www.youtube.com/marblehornets). It was a very thought provoking concept at its origin and for the creators of Marblehornets, it was a golden opportunity to create something original and help the thought of Slenderman expand. Slenderman is a tall, slim, and faceless male figure in a business suit. He is often portrayed in pictures and video with extended, and sometimes multiple, limbs following people or simply being placed in the background. The foundation of the unnerving concept of Slenderman is somewhat a creepy, dark version of "Where's Waldo," only you do not search for him in masses of people, you find his tall eerie figure blended within the background. His, or rather its, presence causes disturbances in electrical devices as well as in its "prey" as it notably does nothing but simply watches... this is what makes the thought of Slenderman so creepy and yet intriguing. The mystery of this faceless stalker is the fuel to the vehicle that takes the viewers on a creepy, suspenseful journey through various video series and sometimes, like in my case, further on looking into its history and side stories.
Early photos of Slenderman; (playground, crowd of children)
 |
"... and yet there was never
any gore or violent imagery..." |
Now, what the Marblehornets series, and Slenderman in general, has done for me was what other horror movies I've seen really haven't been able to for me in a long time, it made me think. The reasons I have given previously express what I thought about after watching the series, being watched/followed, who or what Slenderman was, and the unknown reason as to why he was there. I've thought about it for so long that it eventually crept in my dreams at least once, the image stuck with me so well and yet there was never any gore or violent imagery in the many series I have seen. What would cause me to think less of the shocking images I've seen in the past than the simple image of Slenderman? Maybe I'm just desensitized, maybe I've seen so much gore and violence that it has become something I don't care too much for in movies. The elegance of this stalker that has become one with the silhouette of a photo or video is what causes me to obsess over it. This, as well as my general interest with the supernatural, is all a journey into what we fear about the unknown.
Because there is this common fear and/or interest of the unknown, Slenderman has developed quite a large following which I include myself in. Whether people love Slenderman or the any of the internet series, there is no doubt that he is growing in popularity. In fact, I used
google insights to see how there is an increasing popularity.
(Google insights graphs the frequency of how many times a particular term is searched over a certain amount of time. It labels the lowest to highest amount of searches for said terms from 0 to 100. Graph of google searches for Slender man). While I'm not sure that this will become much bigger than it is or if it will die off like interest in Charlie Sheen, all I hope for is that there remains a mystery and continues the eerie style of low-budget filming. If Hollywood jumps on this interest, I have my fears of what they can do to the image of Slenderman. It's a conflict of whether or not I want the popularity of Slenderman to keep increasing, change can be unsettling and I have a strong feeling there will be major ones in the near future. However, I do recommend readers give Slenderman a chance and try seeing for themselves why I think he is a new icon in the horror genre. Thank you all for taking the time to read and I hope I turned some newcomers on to at least one of the many Slenderman series.
Most well known series;
MarbleHornets |
TribeTwelve |
EverymanHYBRID
Slenderman was born on the internet (more specifically, on the Something Awful forums) as a mythical image of a human-like stalker. It's best known from various internet video series such as Tribetwelve, Everymanhybrid, and the most popular being; Marblehornets (www.youtube.com/marblehornets). It was a very thought provoking concept at its origin and for the creators of Marblehornets, it was a golden opportunity to create something original and help the thought of Slenderman expand. Slenderman is a tall, slim, and faceless male figure in a business suit. He is often portrayed in pictures and video with extended, and sometimes multiple, limbs following people or simply being placed in the background. The foundation of the unnerving concept of Slenderman is somewhat a creepy, dark version of "Where's Waldo," only you do not search for him in masses of people, you find his tall eerie figure blended within the background. His, or rather its, presence causes disturbances in electrical devices as well as in its "prey" as it notably does nothing but simply watches... this is what makes the thought of Slenderman so creepy and yet intriguing. The mystery of this faceless stalker is the fuel to the vehicle that takes the viewers on a creepy, suspenseful journey through various video series and sometimes, like in my case, further on looking into its history and side stories. Early photos of Slenderman; (playground, crowd of children)
