The Classic Creepypasta Collection

The Slender Man

The Slender Man. Ah, what a classic. Alleged to just be a hoax on a forum sight.. or was he?

In almost every description of the Slender Man, his attributes will vary, sometimes greatly. However, his basic appearance and traits are relatively consistent across different accounts. His appearance has changed over the years, but the most common image – and the most well known in media– is that of an abnormally tall human with long arms and a totally blank face. He is usually portrayed as wearing a business suit, which may be either real cloth or some form of skin moulded to take on the appearance of cloth. If the former, this would imply an intelligent being attempting to try to blend in. If it is the latter, it suggests an extremely adaptive being that evolves to match its environment.

He behaves in what might be seen as a passive-aggressive manner, often stalking targets for years at a time before ever attacking. It’s understood that he tends to torture his targets mentally, over long periods of time, using fear and paranoia to drive them to insanity. No one has ever satisfactorily explained the reasoning behind his tactics or the way he chooses his victims, and his purposes and/or motivations have yet to be fully ascertained. He is rarely, if ever, portrayed in a good or benign light and is generally understood to be a malevolent force.

Slender Man is a mystery. He looks like a human being but doesn’t act like one. It is uncertain if he is a social creature, understands human languages or behaviours, or even why humans appear to be his primary targets. It sometimes seems as if he is capable of possessing his targets in some cases. Slender Man's mere appearance provokes fear. This is partially due to his towering height and overall unnerving appearance, and partially due to his behaviour, which is almost completely alien. Humans also find it extremely hard to describe The Slender Man: a description in words can be given but often lack the ability to fully describe the creature. It is believed that Slender Man is from/exists on a fourth dimensional plane, which would account for some of his apparent abilities.

There are two main descriptions of The Slender Man’s behaviour. Originally, he was portrayed as being not only malevolent but also extremely dangerous. He would stalk its targets, impale them on trees, and remove their organs. In comparison, contemporary depictions have turned him into a more passive-aggressive creature. Instead of an active chase, he is more likely to let his prey devolve slowly into madness until they are unable to cope with their situation, often watching from afar as this takes place. If angered, it will charge the aggressor and vanish with its victim to an unknown location. Modern interpretations also show that The Slender Man interacts oddly with electronic equipment and causes massive interference with audio and visual recording devices. Sometimes, an individual can determine if The Slender Man is near simply by how certain electronics act. Radios, televisions, and cameras are especially susceptible. How powerful this effect is seems to vary, which could be due either to The Slender Man's state of aggression, or other outside factors that he may or may not be controlling (eg: weather, cell phone signals, etc.)

In almost every contemporary description, The Slender Man is associated with stalking, often for extremely long periods. It is not unusual for a person to be trailed by The Slender Man for hours, days, months, or even years. However, he usually appears when least expected and where the victim is alone and the most comfortable (home, school, work, outdoors, along trusted roads, etc), and often times he also strikes when the target's defenses are down, sometimes to the point where they simply have no will to fight him off any further, making for an easier kill.

One of the most common features of The Slender Man, generally accepted among both fans of the mythos and victims, is that he will target those who reach a certain level of understanding about it. These accounts vary from person to person, but it seems that being a victim of The Slender Man is almost contagious or memetic. One can become his prey by encountering someone he is already chasing. Basic research and even collecting images doesn’t appear to incur its notice. Someone has to delve into the mythos in an almost obsessive way. A theory sprouts from this, discussing how he could be able to track several victims at once due to the apparent number of people invested in the mythos. This theory states that he is a sort of omnipresent being.