creepypasta research/ my experience/ theory/ and others

Slender Man in Mythology and Culture

Europe in general

Faeries

Modern Faeries tend to be portrayed as happy little winged people who grant wishes to good little children along with a name change to "Fairy" instead of the original "Faerie." Traditional Folklore Faeries were much more complicated than that. Some Faeries are benevolent and kind, but some can be cruel. While some faeries are mischievous and funny, some can be harsh and murderous. Faeries vary greatly in size and some were portrayed with wings, some were unflying giants with thick monstrous limbs, some ethereal spirits and yet others were water dwelling and lithe.

Some Faeries have been known:

To kidnap childrenTo appear different to different peopleTo have many names (keeping their true name secret)To disguise themselves and other things using faerie glamor (E.G. Kelpies disguise as horses)To eat people in some cases (E.G. Kelpies)To cause disease to those they encounterTo be able to change their form at willTo put people in a trance or put a person completely under their controlHave odd features (such as oversized or non-existent facial features such as noses or mouths, or lack of emotion)Don't always have wings (and do not require them for flight)To be visible only to certain peopleTo seemingly teleportTrick humans into trusting them before leading them into some sort of trapTo punish humans who get too nosy and meddle in faerie's bussiness (sometimes going to extremes)

We already talked about German legends and mythology, but there are a few more

Hans Baldung's Painting

Hans Baldung was a Renaissance artist who died in 1545. One of his famous paintings, Three Ages of Woman and Death, portrays a skeletal figure holding an hour glass. Something Aweful fan fiction created a myth that in 2003, when undergoing x-ray analysis for insurance reasons, it was discovered that the painting was altered early on to remove several extra limbs of the skeletal figure that were originally painted into the picture. There is no evidence the painting was ever x-rayed.

Eastern Europe

Russia

In Russia, folklore existing at least since the early 20 century seems to place a "tall, slender man" in the role of a "corrector", who would hunt those who existed through strange means- for instance, those who were born without a father.

North America

Bundle

Bundle is a North American/European myth dealing with a boogeyman-type entity. Bundle is a sort of monster with generic traits that are generally inconsistent. Bundle Stories are tales or stories written about BundleThhe SCP Foundation. claims that Bundle (designated as SCP-582) is a real "shadowy humanoid" that propagates through people's awareness of it, like a Tulpa. Simply writing about it, through a Bundle Story, makes it appear in that situation.

Swamp Legends

In North America, some legends claim that there are "giant spiders" in the swamps that grab victims with their legs and drag them into the depths of the water.

Ghost Stories of the American South

The book "Ghost Stories of the American South" by W.K. McNeil details the story of a tall, skinny, tree-like man who abducts a child from a family in the American South. The story was collected from a 72-year-old man in Berea, Kentucky, in 1963, meaning that the story could date back to the early 20th century.

Taíno

The Taíno culture, a civilization of pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Carribean, legends often speak of the hupia, or op'a, a nocturnal humanoid without a face that stalks, paralyzes its victims, and drives them insane. The hupia was considered the spirit of the dead in the Taíno religion.