The Urban Legend Of The Slenderman

The stories of legends and mythical creatures date back to ancient times when people had no scientific knowledge to scrutinize and understand the world around them. There are legends such as gods, fairies, Ragnarok, apocalypse, and similar stories that have been passed on from generation to generation. The ancient people used these legends to explain mysterious phenomena around them, such as lightning and rainbows. For example, lightning was described as the wrath of Zeus, and the rainbow was thought to be the bridge to Asgard. With the development of societies and science, these mysteries started to be defined in the language of science, and fear of such legends became less common among the average person. In modern technocratic society, these legends have become connected to the urban environment and, as a reflection of the most profound sections of the human mind, have been eventually described as urban legends. This paper discusses the urban legend of the Slenderman, a creation of the internet in the year 2009.

Slenderman is a production of this century which shows up and causes devastation. A portion of the irregularities related to Slenderman’s essence is his murder in strange ways or convincing others to kill. Slenderman is viewed as a dull god in the cutting-edge digital media age, filling the void space between the news and the obscure. According to the creator of Slenderman, Knudsen alias Victor Surge, Slenderman was born as the previous generation’s boogeymen. Knudsen utilized the impact of motion pictures and other alarming subjects to make a character who can’t be grasped and, at last, cause unease and dread in the community. Slenderman appreciates murders, so he urges others to do it for his benefit; however, he does not slaughter his casualties specifically. Strangely, the spots he frequents are altogether gone now on account of the news scope of the killings and anarchy. Henceforth, the kids are not permitted to meander alone or play in deserted spots. His reality is a confirmation of the scary draw of these spots.

Since the creation of Slenderman, his legend has grown oddly very popular among fans in the forums and video series of fiction and content. The discussions and the video posts vary in quality, ranging from footage showing Slenderman in action, video games around the mythos, as well as stories of Slenderman encouraging people to murder their victims. One of the video games involves the legend of strolling through backwoods that are covered by steel. The target of the diversion is to discover eight bits of paper appended to the trees close by. As the player finds the papers, the surroundings change to a steady pounding of buzzing crockets and rusting of photo-realistic trees. Slenderman, who is afoot tall, appears, but instead of killing the victim, the player disappears in a cloud of electronic snow.

There are also web series, such as the famous Marble Hornets, that are stated to have found footage of a man who is being haunted by Slenderman (Biggs, 2014). The footage consists of an ordinary b-roll of woods and country roads. Then, often, Slenderman would appear by fuzzing out the screen or sometimes pushing one of the characters into very violent coughing. In the end, there isn’t a single demonic scream but rather a dread that is endless and nameless as well. However, Slenderman has lately become a figure that has taken on a life of its own. He has developed into a sort of goblin used by those who believe his existence to scare themselves and a focal point for madness. Various instances have been mentioned where the victims commit suicide or murder to please their imaginary friend, Slenderman.

In one instance, two girls, both aged 12 years, nearly killed a third girl by stabbing her to death. The two girls named this plot “Stabby, stab, stab” claimed that the death of the girl was a planned sacrifice to the Slenderman. The two believed that Slenderman would appear to them on the off chance that they murdered in his name. They likewise thought that he had debilitated them and their families and that he could read their minds. Similarly, on the commemoration of Slenderman’s creation, a teen was accounted for to have assaulted her mom. The teen was believed to have a mental illness with an obsession with the character. The absence of any evidence points to mental illness as the cause of the attack in both cases. Slenderman, therefore, has become a focal point that forces girls to act out violently.

There are various urban legends, and Slenderman is just one of the many myths that have been created throughout the existence of human beings. Slenderman, therefore, is just an example of a creepy spectre that lives in the big cities and the surrounding forests. The character could also become the embodiment of the unspoken fears that layer our collective minds. The story of Slenderman is still ongoing, and its ends cannot be guessed by anyone. He has become the new villain, a new scapegoat as well as a new evil spirit. Likewise, he won’t be the remnant of a dying breed; be that as it may, he is the principal unadulterated result of the web, an evil digital presence frequenting websites and, once in a while, spilling over into the real world. However, it is important to note that Knudsen is not developing the character of Slenderman (Biggs, 2014).

References

Biggs, J. (2014, Jun 30). The Story of Slenderman, The Internet’s Own Monster. Retrieved from Techcrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/30/the-story-of-slenderman-the-internets-own-monster/