Journal Essay: Slender Man
The first part of this journal essay explores the initial viral spread of the legend, Slender Man. The mystery in the range of the Slender Man façade can be traced back to 2009. The article, according to Maosendz focuses on the international sensation that is of the legend. In 2014, two girls in sixth-grade were arrested for trying to murder their playmate, Morgan Geyser, on her birthday. According to the girls, Bella and Annisa, they wanted to please or appease the Slender Man so he could allow the girls to go live with them in his mansion in the woods. The stunning revelation that the Slender Man legend had stirred up was more discerning given that young girls of impressionable minds were being lured into the tale (Mar). The primary audience target for the story was children. The chains of stories linking girls to the Slender Man have been emerging ever since.
Mosendz describes that it all began with an online user known as Victor Surge, who created impressionable and impressive images where children were seen standing next to a tall, shadowy, faceless figure with tentacle arms. The idea, according to the creator, was to present a horrific scenario that would make children scream in terror (Creepypasta). As a result, the creator continued with creation revolving around Slender Man, including the production of fake photography and news clippings. Accordingly, the captioning took especially with the influence it had on children. Consequently, the Slender Man became an internet sensation with news clips, book-length stories, gossip posts, and conversations online about the terrifying image (Peter 333). Therefore, the level of impact of the Slender Man legend has been extra-ordinary, providing more sensational stories through different avenues, including internet memes and chat groups about the legend.. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
From the research, the legend has had success beyond the internet. The aspect can be observed in two ways. It has influenced the imaginative perception of children and has created a new phase of belief. The first aspect on imaginative knowledge has been indicated in numerous reports regarding children and their conceived standpoint about the Slender Man. the article published under Mar in the Guardian about the urban legend, and it has inspired young girls to have reliable and wild imaginations about the potential of meeting the Slender Man and what gifts and privileges the children obtain. For example, according to Mar, two sixth-grade friends were attracted to the illusion of the Slender Man living in the woods. The presumption may be gauged from the additional suggestion that the prevalent images about the legend often focus on dark, mysterious grounds (Creepypasta). The Slender Man photos published by the rhetor showcase how children would either smile and hold the hand of the Slender Man or were being summoned by the Slender Man. For such illustration, they provide a vivid explanation of why children, and especially, became easily lured into the mythical story.
The consequences of such beliefs are that children have become aware of their faith in the Slender Man. Information provided about the two sixth-grade girls is that they began believing in the Slender Man as an actual ‘deity’ compared to their Christian background. The effect, as such, can be described as psychological and cognitive. About the murder case, the two proxies for the Slender Man began genuinely believing in the legend, and they opted to start their cult (Mar; Peter 335). From the movie presented under Hollywood, the two girls quickly became impressionable. They often relieved the ritual as seen in the film and, at one point, wanted to kill their friend as a means of appeasing the Slender Man. Therefore, the influence of the legend has gone beyond the online fascination into real-life fantasy.
In my opinion, I am terrified and worried at the same time about the legend. The reason is based on the mythical aspect of the legend. About the appearance of the creature, Creepypasta describes the creature as being a man with extraordinarily long arms that are slender similar to the legs. He appears to be either 8 to 10 feet long and has long black tentacles that protrude from his back. The enthusiasm that is presented about the Slender Man is horrifying. The ability to have such gruesome or unfathomable imagination is quite disturbing to the rational mind. For instance, how could someone create a creature that is terrifying than a regular clown or a mythical creature like Big Foot? On top of that, the creator indicated that the creature’s lives in an undisclosed location, and nothing is known about his eating habits apart from the fact that he consumes children.
On the other hand, my feelings towards the creature gravitate towards worry. The reason I worry about is that, based on the research on this assignment, there has been more chaos than good about the legend. For the two young girls to the subjective belief that the legend is real and go further and try and kill their friends is a worrying trend. The presumed actions of the Slender Man easily distort the difference between reality and fantasy in children, and this can be a disturbing trend if the legend’s popularity continues.
When I was younger, there was a series of abductions that happened around our neighborhood. For a time, my parents were very protective of my siblings and I. The consequence of this is that my parents became too overprotective even when we grew up. For instance, every time we would go to school, my parents always ensured an adult was accompanying us. Otherwise, there was no need to go to school and ‘endanger our lives.’ At my current age, I now understand why my parents were always overprotective. The inability to know what is happening in your child’s life can be an overwhelming and unbelievable feeling. The result is that one is still willing to take the extra precaution to know their environment or not talk to the stranger. However, the memory of knowing that most of the children in our neighborhood went missing always created a sense of an abduction creature that was only taking children. The fascination with the creature became a familiar tale in our community. At one point, we always made stories around the figure that forever took children and never came back. The idea, perhaps, was still to scare children from not going out at night or walking alone. Sure enough, this story worked since we never wanted to leave the house after six in the evening and never go to school unaccompanied by an adult.
For this reason, I presume that my personality growing up has always been forgiving, trusting, and a critical thinker. The inability to not talking conspiracy theories, including the Slender Man not too serious is an aspect I do not take lightly. As stated above, growing up, my parents always provided us with concrete reasons as to why we should never go out alone or unaccompanied. Such criteria of living have always been with me ever since. To date, I am still afraid of what I will find in the dark or while walking at night alone. The aspect of my critical thinking personality allows me to question the relevance of such stories, such as the legend of the Slender Man. critical thinking, for instance, will enable me to inquire on whether such stories are being told are actual reality or not. The reason I think of the former is that sometimes stories are told imaginatively to educate us. In the case of the Slender Man, I could believe that the legend can allow children to be wary of adults, especially men. The legend portrays them as being evil and always taking advantage of children.
Nevertheless, this was not the perception provided in the story. Furthermore, my personality allows me to be forgiving and trusting. I trust in people that I know and who have a more intellectual and rational thinking capacity. The ability to reason logically and rationally eliminates the need to question a lot about a person. Similarly, this allows me to be forgiving. I could say that this is the most treasured personality traits that have allowed me to see both good and evil in people and situations.
My first personal opinion about legends such as the Slender Man and others online is that they are influential and cause the right amount of caution among people. As stated above, my perspective about the Slender Man is that the probability of warning children about adult men who prey on them could have been the first impression. However, because children are impressionable, this may have resulted in another dimension of thought and comprehension. Therefore, the online legends did a great job of convincing its audiences about the possibility of its existence. The ability to do this, as described by Rowney, is that children are taking the legends more seriously in reality than they do in imagination. For instance, the gruesome attempted murder by two-sixth-grade girls shows how impressionable children are with the corresponding legend of the Slender Man. The downside to such online legends is that they have caused more havoc than good, which may be determinant on how well children are not actualizing the fantasies as seen in the murder story.
Additionally, it has caused moral panic across the globe. The perception that children, who are the target audience for these legends, is that they will limit how well they would differentiate between good and evil. Throughout the assignment, I have observed that children have simple and impressionable imaginations and minds. The inability to distinguish between what is real and what is fake becomes increasingly difficult as children continue to regard the legends as accurate. In the end, as seen in the stories, the children will eventually perpetuate the stories into real life.
In summary, the Legend of Slender Man has caused more negativity than positive, and probably, this is what legends are meant to do. Nonetheless, in my opinion, there is a need to be cautious about such online legends and how quickly they are spreading. The impact on children has been devastating enough.
Work Cited
Rowney, J. “Who is Slender Man? Ture Story Behind the Internet Meme That Spurred Two Girls to Murder in Real-life.” Mirror. 2018. Accessed https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/slender-man-real-true-story-12045038
Mar, Alex. “Into the Woods: How Online Urban Legend Slender Man Inspired Children to Kill.” The Guardian. 2017. Accessed https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/07/slender-man-into-the-woods-how-an-online-bogeyman-inspired-children-to-kill
Mosendz, P. “How Slender Man Evolved from an Internet Forum to a Tragic Urban Legend.” The Atlantic. Accessed https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/a-brief-history-of-slenderman/372109/
Creepypasta. “The Slender Man.” Creepypasta Wiki. Accessed 11th March 2020 https://creepypasta.fandom.com/wiki/The_Slender_Man
Peck, Andrew. “Tall, dark, and loathsome: The emergence of a legend cycle in the digital age.” The Journal of American Folklore 128.509 (2015): 333-348.