The Slenderman

Chapter 7

Not knowing what to search for, I started out searching only for faceless men. That didn't get me very far. I ended up getting linked to more porn sites than anything else. As the night went on, my searches got more and more elaborate. At one point, I even searched, "legends on faceless man-creatures that appear in images and hypnotize people." Finally, at three in the morning, I found what I was looking for. I came across a website titled "The Slender Man". What I read sent me into a deeper despair than I was already in.

   

    The website said this: The Slender Man is an ancient creature. His presence was first recorded in what is now present day Germany in 4 a.d., though it's believed that this was not his first appearance. He has been noticed all over the world.

    The Slender Man is a tall figure, usually 8 ft tall or more. He is described on many occasions to have six tentacles on his back. He is very pale and has no facial features. He is always seen wearing a black suit and either a black or red tie. He has the abilities to teleport and turn invisible, and his presence is known to interfere with electronics, these including cameras, televisions, radios, and numerous others.

    The Slender Man is a dangerous creature. When seen by a person, that person goes missing with a few days after experiencing traumatic, confusing events. These events are known as Slender sickness and they begin almost immediately. It's said that these events increase at night and during sightings. It starts as headaches and nausea. As time passes, it escalates to hallucinations and self-isolation from society. The victim begins to create notes referring to the Slender Man and blanks out at points throughout the days, waking up in strange places.

    After a span of one week to a month, the victim will disappear. In the first ten centuries, the Slender Man was an aggressive killer. After the victim disappeared for a few days, they would be found hanging on a burnt tree, internal organs having been removed, bagged, and placed back in their proper position with the bag. Around the eleventh century, he became more passive. The victims stopped appearing and just went missing, never too be seen again. If things get too messy when he attacks, the Slender Man will obliterate the evidence, burning homes, schools, and numerous other locations to destroy any evidence of his presence.

    There is no particular age range that the Slender Man tends to focus on. If he hunts children, he appears as friendly before killing them. It is unknown if anyone who has seen the Slender Man has survived. The only theory is to stay inside, around people as often during the day as possible. Information on survival beyond that is unknown.

         I stared blankly at the screen for a long time. I didn't know what to think at this point. What were Leslie and I supposed to do? How were we supposed to beat an unbeatable enemy? This website basically said we were dead no matter what. And I didn't imagine many people gave up any more easily than I was willing to. So, what was I to tell Leslie? Was I supposed to tell her that there was nothing we could do, that it was only a matter of time before the Slender Man killed us? Surely there was another way. Surely there was some way to beat him. But how?

    I began to do more searches on the Slender Man. I was able to search more in depth now that I knew what to call him. I found a lot if websites and videos. I even found a few homemade movies. But none of these told me any more than I already knew. Did everyone give in to this sickness, this creature? Surely there was another way.

    I decided to meet up with Leslie again. We had to figure out something to do, and the website did say that victims seemed to survive longer if they managed to stay with other people. I woke my parents up to ask if she could stay over for the rest of the week. They weren't very happy that I woke them up or that I was asking if she could stay so long, but since we weren't doing much else that week, they begrudgingly agreed. After I got approval, I told Leslie to come over immediately and I'd explain everything.