Slenderman

Slenderman

Two 12-year-old Wisconsin girls who have been charged with stabbing and nearly killing a friend told investigators that they planned the slaying to curry favor with a fictional character whom they read about on a horror fiction website. Here’s a look at the character, called Slenderman, and the website police say the girls had been reading for months:

WHO IS SLENDERMAN?

Slenderman is a paranormal being who lurks near forests and absorbs, kills or carries off his victims. In some accounts, he targets children. He looks like a long-limbed, lean man in a black suit, but he has no face. In some accounts, he has tentacles protruding from his back.

Eric Knudsen of Florida created the character in response to a call for submissions from the online forum SomethingAwful, said Shira Chess, an assistant professor at the University of Georgia who has researched Slenderman’s origins. Knudsen posted the first photos along with a fictional news story under the username Victor Surge on June 10, 2009.

Other writers, artists and programmers later created additional stories, movies and video games featuring Slenderman. Websites show what appear to be photographs of the character, lending it an air of authenticity.

Knudsen released a statement through spokeswoman Sue Procko on Wednesday saying, “I am deeply saddened by the tragedy in Wisconsin, and my heart goes out to the families of those affected by this terrible act.”

WHAT IS CREEPY PASTA?

The girls told police that they read about Slenderman on the website creepypasta.wikia.com. The site defines a creepypasta as “a short story posted on the Internet that is designed to unnerve and shock the reader.”

Creepypasta administrator David Morales said Wednesday the site clearly states the stories there are fiction, and its rules bar use by anyone under 13.

“We are not teaching children to believe in a fictional monster, nor are we teaching them to be violent,” Morales wrote in an email.

“Overall, the community has deep condolences to the family of the victim and all those who were involved,” Morales wrote.

WHO RUNS THIS WEBSITE?

Creepypasta.wikia.com is part of a larger site, wikia.com, which includes 2,700 wikis devoted to fan fiction. A wiki allows groups of users to add, delete, edit and share information. An administrator posted on creepypasta.wikia.com Tuesday to say that all stories on the site are fiction and not meant to advocate or endorse killing or other violence.

SHOULD CHILDREN BE READING THIS?

Creepypasta sites aren’t aimed at children, but they attract thousands of readers younger than 18.

Joanne Cantor, a retired University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who studied the effect of media on children, recommended parents talk to their children about how to determine whether things they see on the Internet are real.

Source: Associated Press