Experiencing the legend: a scholarly study of Slender Man

I've got some good news for you, Scholar! Someone compiled a 192-page PDF file of everything that the original 2009 Slender Man mythos had to offer. There is so much info on the original stories and photos (even some that I haven't seen/read before) all compiled into the file. This really is a good source of info. Here's the Mediafire page for it:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ayru5dep5q7cc9k

sethlapod555 wrote:

I've got some good news for you, Scholar! Someone compiled a 192-page PDF file of everything that the original 2009 Slender Man mythos had to offer. There is so much info on the original stories and photos (even some that I haven't seen/read before) all compiled into the file. This really is a good source of info. Here's the Mediafire page for it:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ayru5dep5q7cc9k

Wow, that's a handy thing to have. Thanks very much for the link!

sethlapod555 wrote:

I've got some good news for you, Scholar! Someone compiled a 192-page PDF file of everything that the original 2009 Slender Man mythos had to offer. There is so much info on the original stories and photos (even some that I haven't seen/read before) all compiled into the file. This really is a good source of info. Here's the Mediafire page for it:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ayru5dep5q7cc9k

Oh, looks Slendy I want to read!

The Angry Scholar wrote:

sethlapod555 wrote:

I've got some good news for you, Scholar! Someone compiled a 192-page PDF file of everything that the original 2009 Slender Man mythos had to offer. There is so much info on the original stories and photos (even some that I haven't seen/read before) all compiled into the file. This really is a good source of info. Here's the Mediafire page for it:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ayru5dep5q7cc9k

Wow, that's a handy thing to have. Thanks very much for the link!

It is very handy. And you're welcome! I'm currently reading through it; so many stories and characteristics of the Slender Man that we never see anymore in current stories. I'm currently 25 pages in.

sethlapod555 wrote:

It is very handy. And you're welcome! I'm currently reading through it; so many stories and characteristics of the Slender Man that we never see anymore in current stories. I'm currently 25 pages in.

Wait, so there are things that are no longer really a part of the mythos? It's changed that much?

Well, not necessarily "no longer", they just aren't used or seen as much. There are stories in the original mythos about the Slender Man grinning, speaking with a voice that is like "nails on a chalkboard", making different faces to children, among other things/characteristics of the Slender Man and his behavior that are rarely used in recent stories.

sethlapod555 wrote:

Well, not necessarily "no longer", they just aren't used or seen as much. There are stories in the original mythos about the Slender Man grinning, speaking with a voice that is like "nails on a chalkboard", making different faces to children, among other things/characteristics of the Slender Man and his behavior that are rarely used in recent stories.

I see. Would you say that a more standardized version of Slender Man has emerged over time?

Oh yes, in many ways, but not completely. A basic look/behavior of the Slender Man has definitely formed over the last 4 years, but some branch off from that. One well-known series named The Angel's Game (YouTube name theoriginalaliendude) branches off from the basic look/behaviors. For one, they've made the Slender Man appear with a black undershirt and red tie rather than a black suit jacket and white shirt and black tie, and they've also had him wear some sort of business hat. They also had him have more human behaviors such as walking, hand-to-hand fighting and axe wielding, among other things.

The only thing that doesn't seem too standardized is the Slender Man's backstory in the current stories in vlogs and blogs. The backstories vary with most every story, including such things as Nazis, Egypt, different dimensions outside our own, Native Americans, Nephilims, etc.

sethlapod, this is really interesting stuff.

In folklore we talk a lot about the ideas of tradition and variation (i.e., stability and change). Legends and myths and folk tales exist in many different versions, and understanding the reasons for the changes over time and space was a big focus for earlier generations of folklorists. These things are definitely in play as far as Slender Man is concerned.

Do you think your appreciation of Slender Man would change if the whole thing was produced by some film company (for example), and there was no real opportunity for participation (in the form of forums, ARGs, etc)?

I believe the magic lies behind the creativity behind amateur filmmaking/storywriting kids and adults that have a big imagination and a lot of time on their hands. That's what makes the Slender Man mythos beautiful. It's not all about movie magic, big budgets, or professional filmmakers. It's about the community, it's about creativity in smaller numbers that make it all one big collective mythos.

So to answer your question, yes, my appreciation for the Slender Man mythos would be altered if it was done by film companies rather these broke kids with big minds.

Do you feel that some versions of the mythos--Marble Hornets, the video games, etc.--do a better job than others? And if so, what do you think makes them better?

Yes, there are different Slender Man stories, be it a vlog, blog, or ARG hybrid, that use the mythos in a lot more resourceful and plentiful way.

What I would say makes them better is the way that they use their knowledge of the mythos. Many vlogs that I have seen use a method to the Slender Man where the Slender Man shows up, there's distortion, and the protagonist(s) runs away. The thing they don't know is that the distortion isn't essential. Many of the early Marble Hornets entries didn't include distortion, neither did the original Slender Man photos in the Something Awful forums. Basically, what makes a good Slender Man story is how they use their knowledge of the Slender Man mythos and how well they can replicate key elements.

How about "The Arrival"? That seems to make heavy use of the distortion effect. I know people were saying that "8 Pages" wasn't well-liked by fans. Is "Arrival" any better, in terms of how it handles the mythos?

It wasn't necessarily the game that made the fans upset, but rather the fans that came from the game acting like they knew everything about the Slender Man from simply the game.

Though, The Arrival did incorporate tons of mythos elements that came from even early-mythos stories and forward, on account that it was written by the crew of Marble Hornets.

Ah, I think I understand. It had to do with claims to authority about the mythos itself.

Edit (5/17/2013): I really want to thank everyone who responded to my questions. You've all been a tremendous help, and I greatly appreciate your time and patience.

I'm nearly finished with the first draft of my article. If it's successfully published, I'll post a link here on the forums so anyone interested can take a look.

Thanks again!

Edit (11/28/13): Hello again! I wanted to let everyone know that my article has been published. If you're interested, you can view it here: http://semioticreview.com/index.php/thematic-issues/issue-monsters/22-the-sort-of-story-that-has-you-covering-your-mirrors-the-case-of-slender-man

Thanks again for all your help!