Slenderman: Monster In The Modern World
While many monstrous creatures have their origins in faraway countries, with legends going back hundreds or thousands of years, Slenderman is a relatively new monster. Its debut was only in the summer of 2009.
Instead of starting as a legend to scare children into doing their chores or minding their manners, Slenderman started as an internet meme. It was used to freak out internet users who hadn’t heard that Slenderman was made up. Even though it started more or less as a joke, people now actually believe in Slenderman. Some people even carry out crimes in his name.
While Slenderman is a new monster, there are many similarities between Slenderman and some of the creatures from centuries ago from many different cultures. There was once a legend of a monster in Germany that vaguely translates to “Tall Man” in English. Like Slenderman, Tall Man would live in the forests and scare children who misbehaved.
Many Slenderman-like creatures roam England. The Japanese Noppera-bō was something like a fearsome and faceless creature that lived in forests as well. The Slenderman character in modern times could very well be based on creatures from old legends like these.
Description of The Slenderman
Slenderman is often a tall and faceless figure. His skin is pure white, and he often tends to wear a suit. Sometimes, Slenderman has tentacle-like appendages that he can use to kidnap children or other people who get in his way. The new myth is that Slenderman makes his home in forests and in other areas where he can easily hide. He hurts people who trespass or who otherwise misbehave in his domain.
This monster is sometimes said to have powers that can make others weak. He is said to make people feel ill once they start getting close to him so that they are easier to attack. Some Slenderman-induced symptoms include nausea, headaches, dizziness, nosebleeds, fatigue, blurry vision, and rampant paranoia. Anyone close to him would feel these symptoms. If he were real, this would be the time to run away and get out of his domain.
Of course, running would be of no use around a real Slenderman was around. He could easily grab his victim with his long tentacle arms or even teleport to get closer to them. You rarely hear from those who come in contact with this creature. Of course, those who did come in contact could easily be hypnotized or even possessed to do Slenderman’s bidding.
Popular Monster
There have even been criminals who have claimed that they were under Slenderman’s control when they committed violent acts. This includes a couple of 12-year-old girls who stabbed their friends almost twenty times, later saying that they were motivated by Slenderman.
This creature is now popular as a monster, a video game character, and even the star in many fan-fictions about the creature. What started as a simple internet meme has now led to a growing monster franchise and unspeakable crimes. Is it possible that even in today’s world, people can become as readily superstitious as their ancestors, who may have been afraid of the Tall Man of Germany or the Noppera-bō of Japan?
If one can create monsters in today’s world, what’s there saying that you cannot create more monsters as time goes on? Monsters seemed to be a thing of the past. They were things that would be a lesson to disobedient children and insane adults.
Now, they are becoming almost as real as they were hundreds of years ago. Will there be a creation of more monsters? What could the next one be?