Ask-TheTallOne

The Slender Man (See other names to the right) is a creature or being with various nebulously defined characteristics and abilities. Slender Man was first mentioned in Something Awful Forum's "Create Paranormal Images". Slender Man generally appears (in modern times) as a tall man in a black or grey suit, red or black tie, and white shirt, with no eyes, mouth, or clearly defined facial features. It has no hair, and generally has normal-looking bare hands. Slenderman typically is depicted in imagery and literature as between 6 and 15 feet tall, depending on the situation, and in video as around 6-7 feet tall. Because of its inexact nature, and differences between series, no one has yet determined what it is. Currently, the two leading theories as to what the Slenderman may be are the Tulpa Effect and Quantum Theory. The internet popularity of Slenderman has spawned a massive amount of interconnected ARGs, collectively known as the Slenderman Mythos.

In almost every description Slenderman's basic attributes will vary greatly, however several basic traits are typical of his behavior. He is shown to behave in a very passive aggressive manner, stalking targets for years at a time, torturing his target mentally for various unknown reasons. He is rarely ever shown in a benevolent light and is typically shown as a malevolent force. This behavioral pattern has an uncertain reasoning behind it, and exactly why he behaves in such a way has yet to be fully ascertained.

The most important factor about Slenderman is the mystery. He lives unlike any human being despite having a similar appearance to one. It is uncertain if he is social, or even understands human languages or behaviors, nor why it is humans appear to be his main target. His targets will typically behave in off ways as if possessed (Proxy), but whether their psychosis is causing them to speak for him or for themselves isn't entirely certain either.

Slenderman's appearance is variable as the years go on, but as of to date the most recent appearance is that of an abnormally tall human with long arms and no face whom is wearing a business suit. Again it is uncertain if his suit is real cloth or some form of skin molded into such an appearance. If it is the former, this would imply an intelligent being attempting to try to blend in. If it is the latter, it shows a being whom is extremely adaptive and evolves to match his environment and stick out less (or more).

Slenderman's appearance provokes a wide range of responses, the most common being fear. This is partially due to his extremely towering size over a full grown adult, which mimics the childhood fear of adult humans bigger than the child. His behavior also factors into it. Finally, the main fact is he is completely unable to be described in human terms. While a description in words can be given, human language lacks the ability to truly define the entity until such a time as when humans can interact with him (if at all possible). This problem stems from the fact that he operates in a plane of existence further from humans. This is believed to be fourth dimensional space which gives him powers a human cannot understand due to humans living in three dimensions of space and being unable to comprehend the fourth dimension at this time.

In total two major types of Slender Man descriptions exist. The original versions depict him as not only malevolent, but extremely dangerous. He will do odd things such as removing organs and placing them in bags, impaling targets on trees, and aggressively stalking targets after a period of time. A contemporary depiction shows Slender Man as being extremely passive aggressive, often letting a person slowly delve into madness at their situation until being unable to cope. If invited to anger, he will typically charge a target down until caught and vanish with them to unknown locations. This version also shows an odd response to electronic equipment and causes massive problems with audio, surveillance, camera, and other various electronic devices with displays or audio. Sometimes an individual can determine if he is near simply by how certain electronics react such as radios, televisions, or cameras. How powerful this effect is seems to vary, and can either be due to Slender Man's own state of aggression, or other outside factors either inside or beyond Slender Man's control.

Slenderman has no exactly defined or specified history, however contributors have placed early sightings of Slenderman-like beings in early 1600s Germany and before, where it took the dress of a knight or royal figure. Germanic fairy tales and mythology also makes use of the creatures to be used as cautionary tales for children.

Photographs from the early 1900s were the next confirmed reports, where imagery of Slenderman can be found in classical black and white and sepia imagery. Reports from this time indicate sightings in America, the UK, and Russia, as well as reports of child disappearances.

By the mid-1900s, some rare run-ins occurred in the war zones in Germany, apparently Slenderman's native land. Soldiers were the primary targets here. In America and Canada, reports of missing skiers and children appeared, coming from forested areas of the nations.

After a spree of building burnings from unknown causes, several deaths and a few surviving witnesses, it could be gathered that the Slenderman had the following traits:

Slenderman will find interest in a victim for reasons unknown
It would then contact the victim, if it is a child, presenting itself as friendly
The adults he stalks have a common trait: they have all been through a terrible tragedy in their life, even if the tragedy was made by Slenderman directly
If an adult, it would stalk the victim for long amounts of time causing what is known as "Slender sickness" causing massive paranoia, nose bleeds, nightmares, hallucinations appearing to only the sick person, and many other dangerous symptoms.
Eventually, it would abduct the victim into nearby forest, where they would be killed.
In 'messy' cases, it may remove evidence of its existence by causing fire of their home, place of work, or school

Death of the victim originally occurred through an odd means- the victim would be impaled on branches of very tall trees while still alive, and bleed to death. The organs would be individually removed, then placed in plastic bags. They would then be replaced into the body in their original positions, plus the plastic bags. The victims' corpses do not show any sign of a struggle. As time has gone on, this practice has seemingly been abandoned.

In the late 1990s, technology shed more light on the creature through the use of commonplace cameras and camcorders. Slenderman was recorded and photographed stalking potential victims many times.

In the late 2000s to early 2010s, several individuals recorded ongoing stalking and attack scenarios of themselves and their friends. These video accounts are codenamed Marble Hornets, EverymanHYBRID, DarkHarvest00, MLAndersen0, and TribeTwelve. As well as certain Rivn videos.

The new foray into Slender Man's powers, abilities, and attacks have shown drastic difference from his original behaviors. The original desire to impale targets on trees, his rather aggressive attitude, and attacking mainly children have been altered. It appears he seems to enjoy targeting humans who have seen him in childhood and following them for years. He appears to do so in such a way that the target is unaware of his presence for potentially months, years, or even decades, and typically won't be aware at any point in time until it is far too late.

His behavior is extremely passive aggressive, where he stalks, follows, and torments an individual by repeatedly showing his presence. He will typically do so in invasive ways, such as appearing inside someone's house, outside their home, on roads they travel, at their place of work when they are alone, or while the target is sleeping. This will create a general unease of the target, as the invasion of an entity in their own safety zone will begin sparking incredible paranoia. Most often he won't attack the target for extended periods, instead just following the target and tormenting them. This period can last anywhere from several minutes to years.