The stories of legends and mythical creatures date back to the ancient time 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 from generations to generations. The ancient people used these legends to explain mysterious phenomena around them such lightning and rainbow. For example, lightning was described as being the wrath of Zeus and 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 feared among the average person. In the modern technocratic society, these legends became connected to the urban environment and as a reflection of the most profound sections of the human mind 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 was the previous generation’s boogeymen. Knudsen utilized the impact from 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 urges others to do it for his benefit, however curiously 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 within fans in the forums and video series of fiction and content. The discussions and the videos posts vary in quality ranging from footages 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 strolling through a backwoods which is encompassed by steel, the target of the diversion is to discover eight bits of paper appended to the close-by trees. As the player finds the papers, the surrounding changes 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 is stated to have found footage of a man who is being haunted by Slenderman (Biggs, 2014). The footage consists of ordinary b-roll of woods and country roads. Then often, Slenderman would appear through fuzzing out the screen or sometimes push one of the characters into coughing that is very violent. 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 but 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 for the character. The absence of any evidence points to mental illness for 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 of the many myths that have been created throughout the existence of human beings. Slenderman, therefore, is just an example of a creepy specter that lives in the big cities and the surrounding forests. The character could become as well 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, 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 spill over into the real world. However, it is important to note that Knudsen is no developing the character, 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/
