Talk:Slender Man/Archive 1

Redirect target

I think this should redirect to the Creepypasta/Slender Man section because it is more relevant there and provides a better context than a redirect to Fakelore does. If we have consensus can the link be updated? - M0rphzone (talk) 06:29, 18 October 2012 (UTC)

Multiple articles

Can someone just give Slender Man a wikipedia page already? We have enough information on the guy. --98.92.20.68 (talk) 00:27, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

No, we don't. Even the section on it in this article does not have enough citations. I'd even go as far as contending that the subject is not WP:NOTABLE. --Melab±1 ☎ 21:03, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Time to change the protection setting

hi;

it's been months & the original "problem" has been resolved. i think it's time to "unprotect" this, at least such that established users can edit. whether "protection" was the appropriate decision here in the first place, is debatable; but there is no longer any reason to continue that condition.

"protected" (admins-only editing) is NOT the default setting for pages on wikipedia, & it should not become one "by default" :p Lx 121 (talk) 08:56, 5 January 2013 (UTC)

Development and spread as Internet meme

This article needs to cover the development and spread of the character as an Internet meme. Also, what is the topic of the development section? Is it supposed to describe the original development or additional developments of the character after the initial creation? If the content is going to be grouped under a single heading, then it will also need to include the development as an Internet meme. - M0rphzone (talk) 04:52, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Internet memes are hard to track with reliable sources. By the time a meme is noticed by a reliable source, it has evolved so far beyond what they know that the source no longer reflects it. I could show you a whole bunch of unreliable sources though.Serendi^podous 08:19, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

I've added a sentence that briefly covers it. Finding sources for this is really tedious. Serendi^podous 05:21, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

Internet Meme Not The Creation

The so called creator of slender man is a fake. Slender man was around way before 2009. I originally heard the story of slender man in 1991 by a best friend. Told me the story of a very tall 7 foot plus slender man with very long arms and legs, dressed in all black suit with president Lincoln type top hat. He could move with and thru the shadows and would come at night and take children and even babies from their cribs. I have many witnesses and even have older Hispanic relatives who speak of the tale of the slender man dating back even further to the 60's. But this so called 2009 creator put a patent on the idea that's bull. As I stated I first heard the story almost 20 years before this guy thought of it. I think maybe he has been influenced by slender man but not created him. Do the research the truth is out there!!!!!!!

This article makes it seem Slender Man was an Internet invention. The figure was around long before the Internet. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.102.204.254 (talk) 21:43, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Yes, I came here because of the same thing. I see all these news reports mentioning Eric Knudsen and him creating "Slenderman" in 2009 but I heard of this idea, including this exact same name, long before this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.32.225.25 (talk) 07:09, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

Fictional?

"a fictional character"? Should be an "urban legend" or for internet. 186.95.72.251 (talk) 14:33, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

I would prefer fakelore, but the term was contested. Perhaps pseudo-folklore would be more neutral. Serendi^podous 14:37, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

What's wrong with this categorization? Being a fictional character describes the Slender Man quite well. It's not just an urban legend (which is a more accurate and appropriate descriptive than fakelore), nor is it a mere meme. - M0rphzone (talk) 03:31, 18 April 2013 (UTC)

Urban legend is not an appropriate description for this at all. Urban legends have no discernible origins; they may be true, they may be hoaxes, but the issue is that people *believe* them. No one believes in Slender Man, and its origins can be very precisely pinpointed. Serendi^podous 04:01, 18 April 2013 (UTC)

"No one believes in Slender Man." Careful, you're assuming things that may not be true. How can you know whether one believes in the Slender Man or not. You can never be certain (or say) that everyone doesn't believe in [xxx], because there is always at least a minority that truly believes in it. In this case, even though the Slender Man can be traced back to an edited image with a story created as part of the "meme", it is still told as if were real, and in a similar manner as an urban legend. As long as the character and meme is maintained as an urban legend, in and outside of canon, it can be described as such, can it not? - M0rphzone (talk) 05:43, 18 April 2013 (UTC)

even though the Slender Man can be traced back to an edited image with a story created as part of the "meme", it is still told as if were real, and in a similar manner as an urban legend. . In other words, fakelore. Serendi^podous 14:00, 18 April 2013 (UTC)

The problem with that definition is that folklore is supposed to be "the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group." This Slender Man meme is not about any traditions of a subculture or group but rather a fake "urban legend"/story/fictional character imagined by some guy and portrayed as if it (i.e., the Slender Man character and what he/it does) were real. Fakelore isn't even an accurate description, so I don't understand why you continue to push it when doing so is improper usage and labeling, not to mention OR. - M0rphzone (talk) 02:39, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

The Slender Man is essentially a reworking of a cradle-robbing fairy; creatures like him have existed in folklore for hundreds of years. But that's beside the point. I agreed with you that using the term fakelore was OR; that's why I didn't bother to change it back. But labelling this an urban legend is OR as well. We've agreed it is a fictional character, why go further than that? Serendi^podous 04:00, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

Beats me, why don't you ask the IP who suggested it? Bad idea isn't it? Therefore, to answer the IP, unless numerous reliable sources explicitly state that the Slender Man is a form of "fakelore" or "urban legend", they will not be labeled as such, and will only be described as a "fictional character", if not just a "meme", which is the lowest level of description. - M0rphzone (talk) 06:13, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

I just found a fantastic source that pretty much undermines both of our positions. But I'm not sure it can be included because its writer is a graduate student rather than a tenured prof. Serendi^podous 05:04, 27 April 2013 (UTC)

Marble Hornets redirect

Searching Marble Hornets automatically redirects to the Slender Man page. I've made an article for the web series itself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_Hornets_%28web_series%29 I think that searching for the title should redirect to that article, and that, in the "Development" section, the link for "List of Internet phenomena->Marble Hornets" should be changed too. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ultimate Hammer Bro (talk • contribs) 11:41, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

Let's wait and see if your article survives deletion. Good luck. Serendi^podous 12:00, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

Use better photo

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/GpG0lg75h1w/maxresdefault.jpg — Preceding unsigned comment added by 179.234.96.251 (talk) 21:38, 14 September 2013 (UTC)

The original was uploaded (supposedly) by the original creator. Unless the original creator uploads that one too, it can't have a free-use rationale. Serendi^podous 21:44, 14 September 2013 (UTC)

Added from the user, TheDarkCharm, Slender Man, which is said to have been emerged from the Something Awful Forums, has actually originated from Germany, who, in German folklore, is referred to "Der Grobmann." It described something as a "fairy" who robbed cradles (Which also connects to the American version of Slender Man). The legends from the German folklore eventually reached its way to America, and here we are, in the present. — Preceding unsigned comment added by TheDarkCharm (talk • contribs) 21:20, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

There's no such figure as Der Grossmann. It was invented on the same Something Awful thread that Slender was created on. There is "Der Schawartz Mann", but he is not related to forests or to the Slender Man. Serendi^podous 21:27, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

List of Slender Man video games

Recently, an anon user asked on the Help Desk for the article List of Slender Man Video Games be deleted. Personally, I'm of the opinion that it should probably just be folded into this article but due to my lack of knowledge about the games and such, I'm hesitant to be bold. The list was created about a month ago by an editor without much experience here at WP. So, I'd like someone more familiar with the topic to maybe take a look at the list and see what needs to be done. Thanks, Dismas|^(talk) 10:40, 13 October 2013 (UTC)

Slender: The Arrival, Slender: The Eight Pages and Slenderman's Shadow are mentioned in this article already; the others aren't really notable enough for inclusion. Serendi^podous 10:48, 13 October 2013 (UTC)

Also, the lone source provided (Giant Bomb) isn't quite the most reliable of sources per WP:VG/S. ZappaOMati 23:09, 16 October 2013 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 20 May 2014

Jordan Cartwright is the guy who made up the slender man due to his tall like figure and pale skin. Colonelcoke98 (talk) 11:48, 20 May 2014 (UTC)

Got a source? I'm not finding any. Supernerd11 _{Firemind ^_^ Pokedex} 12:12, 20 May 2014 (UTC)

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. — {{U|Technical 13}} ^{(t • e • c)} 12:27, 20 May 2014 (UTC)

Waukesha Stabbing and names of minors

Ref: http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/Waukesha-police-investigate-after-12-year-old-stabbed-261384231.html Slender man is being associated with a stabbing of a 12 year old girl by two other 12 year old girls in Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA. I feel it's newsworthy, but I don't know how to put it into this article decently (if that word applies). Does anyone feel they can try that? Petronivs (talk) 00:08, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

That's some screwed up stuff right there. Added it. Serendi^podous 00:56, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

This link should be attached as a reference;a http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/waukesha-police-2-12-year-old-girls-plotted-for-months-to-kill-friend-b99282655z1-261534171.html

PLEASE REMOVE THE NAMES OF THE ALLEGED ATTACKERS IN THE STABBING! "The Associated Press isn't naming either girl who is charged because at least one of their attorneys plans to pursue moving her case into juvenile court, where proceedings are secret." http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_25885103/slender-man-stabbing-girls-12-accused-attacking-friend GreatRewards (talk) 16:14, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Fair enough, though it's unlikely to protect them, since their names are already published in news sites. Serendi^podous 16:41, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

I think their names should be included in the article. They are both charged as adults and many reliable sources are reporting their names, including: Reuters, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, USA Today, CNN and The Daily Mail. Rreagan007 (talk) 05:54, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

I agree on not including their names, just as a 'common decency' thing. If people want to find out more details, including names, they can follow the references or do a google search, since by now it's all over news sites internationally. This article isn't about the murder itself; it's about Slender Man. Petronivs (talk) 13:37, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

A 'common decency' thing? That's not a good enough justification for keeping the names out of the article because Wikipedia is not censored. Rreagan007 (talk) 15:11, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

You did read the text of my comment, right? I am not advocating censorship, but pointing out that the girls' names are not relevant in and of themselves. The fact of the stabbing is very relevant since it is related to Slender Man, but including personal details is rather gauche, especially for 12 year old girls. Petronivs (talk) 15:21, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Giving their names is just as relevant as giving the name of anyone charged with murder. And again, how gauche you think it is to give their names is what is completely irrelevant according to Wikipedia's core policy against censorship. Rreagan007 (talk) 15:31, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Why are the perpetrators said to be stabbing their "friend"? I would suppose that the word "friend" denotes a positive interaction between people. I suggest that the word "peer" be used instead as I believe it is more fitting between persons with situational and circumstantial relationships to one another that are not necessarily growing from each other. 2 cents — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sintaax (talk • contribs) 21:23, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

As far as I can tell, the girl was their friend. The three even had a sleepover together the night before the incident. Serendi^podous 21:53, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

WP:BLPCRIME says " For people who are relatively unknown, editors must give serious consideration to not including material in any article suggesting that the person has committed, or is accused of committing, a crime unless a conviction is secured.[6]" When the accused are 12 years old, and they are otherwise unknown, and have not been convicted of a crime, it does not seem appropriate to include their names. It would be preferable to just identify them as "two 12 year old girls" at this time. "NO CENSORSHIP!" does not trump the policy WP:BLP. Edison (talk) 20:22, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

I agree 100% with Edison, and have removed the names of the accused children. Our BLP policy is clear on this. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia not a newspaper, and our standards on such matters are higher. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 20:36, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

There is also the issue that one of the minors has been declared not competent to stand trial and the second is probably headed down that same path. According to recent news a psychologist has suggest the second girl also may not be competent to stand trial.[1] I see no need in naming names in an article about Slender man and agree with the above statements regarding WP:BLP and WP:BLPCRIME. --Dual Freq (talk) 21:06, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

Agree. The names are trivial on this page. They would be important in an article about the stabbings, but until the case becomes noteworthy enough for the creation of a separate article, they should not be named here.--Auric talk 21:25, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

NPOV tag

Anyone who has these issues with the article can take it up with me. I am by far the main contributor to this article, and its creator. I don't really know what to say in my defence, except that I have contributed to more than 25 featured articles and am very familiar with the Wikipedia house style. I am also decidedly not a "Slenderman fanboy"; I only got into this because the admins' overreaction to Slender-warriors using this site as a creative writing platform interfered with an article on my watchlist. If the POV seems slightly skewed, that is mainly due to the lack of reliable sources on this topic. Serendi^podous 10:18, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

You wrote false info about this. Slenderman, the name, may have been an Internet creation, but the figure was around long before the Internet. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.102.204.254 (talk) 21:45, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

The backstory of the Slender Man was invented on the same thread the Slender Man was created on. You can check it. We have a link to the thread. Serendi^podous 22:37, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Link To Wayback Machine Version of Original Forum Thread

Someone who's able might want to replace the dead link in the "External links" section with this:

https://web.archive.org/web/20120120074129/http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3150591&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=3 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.249.137.197 (talk) 16:57, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks. I was wondering if that was temporary or permanent. Serendi^podous 17:22, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 4 June 2014

Edit and remake false info to make true and to publish the real story behind the slenderman/operator,please note he is used in ancient legend from the Egyptians and Mayans so the internet didn't exist then...need to fix for true info Ze.doctor (talk) 13:05, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. The template is not a way to request permission, it is merely a way to request that another editor make a specific change. Thanks, Older and ... well older (talk) 13:33, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

^Takes a deep breath^ From one human being to another, across the cyberspatial void: please understand; the Slender Man is NOT REAL. He is a work of fiction. If you want proof, here's his creator's DeviantART page. You can ask him. Now, please, I'm begging you, until this has sunk in, stay away from sharp implements. And friends. Serendi^podous 13:46, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 4 June 2014

Slender Man is a Creepy Pasta character whom is also related to Marble Hornets — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jeff the Killer Number 1 (talk • contribs) 16:04, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. NFLisAwesome 16:07, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Challenging a primary source

I am challenging a primary source per WP:No original research#Reliable sources. Under that WP:Policy any editor (that's me) can challenge the use of a primary source at any time.

The source in question http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nl671 is used to support the following sentence "Aleks Krotoski, a commentator for BBC Radio 4, called the Slender Man "the first great myth of the web"."

Now first off, this source is talking about itself. To emphasize "Aleks Krotoski", one would need a secondary source that makes the statement that it is notable that she said it.

Also, I say that without a secondary source that has analyzed the various opinions about internet memes and which ones are candidates for "first great myths of the web", no such statement can be made. Abductive (reasoning) 16:22, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Regardless of the merits or lack thereof of your case, what you did was wrong. You thoughtlessly removed a reference that had multiple citations within the article, leaving them damaged. If you'd taken the time to check and see what damage your edit would cause, I might have had more time for your case. Serendi^podous 16:27, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

A bot comes by and fixes those. Abductive (reasoning) 16:47, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

So that's an excuse for leaving a sizeable portion of the article unreferenced? Look, as far as your complaint goes, you're probably right, but at this point I'm too angry to be objective. Someone else can debate the issue you raised. Serendi^podous 17:04, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

A reliable source on Proxies

would be nice. After all, the girls were trying to become proxies, so it would help if we could explain what they are. Serendi^podous 01:50, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

The closest would probably be this http://theslenderman.wikia.com/wiki/Proxy --Streona (talk) 09:41, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Unfortunately, we can't use a wiki as a source. Serendi^podous 09:43, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Slanderman Suits

One of the popular videos about Slanderman is "Slanderman Suits" which was used in the half an hour report about Slanderman on BCC Radio 4 which is revered to in this article 4 times. This BBC report helped popularize slender man in England. By using this footage I believe that BBC gave importance to this video. Also I think the story is interesting given it is quite popular (6 million views) and the legitimacy of the audio tape in the video has been discussed quite somewhat on the web. I've reinstated an edited section which was previously removed. Note that it is merely a description of the video. Unfortunately there are no highly reliable sources (besides some blogs) that have written in detail about the contents of the video. I think that the description of the video is not controversial and does not really need a source. Despite that there has no reliable source writing very detailed about the content of the video, I think that the description is very verifiable by just accessing the video. Kind regards, Timelezz (talk) 12:38, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

It may be quoted in the report, but it is not referred to, so the report cannot be used as a source to demonstrate notability. There are countless accounts of the Slender Man on Youtube, let alone the Internet as a whole, so any specific one needs some pretty hefty secondary attribution (as, say, Marble Hornets has) to justify its inclusion. Serendi^podous 12:59, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

I agree it needs good justification. Note that the video is viewed more than any single video of the Marble Hornets series. Checking the views, it seems the most viewed serious art work about Slenderman (at least on Youtube). I just did find that today International Business Times mentions this documentary "Slender Suits"[2] (however incorrectly noting that "Slender Suits" used material of BCC radio 4 while it is in fact the other way around). Perhaps I'll find more later on. Kind regards, Timelezz (talk) 13:31, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Did you mean "Slenderman"? There is no such "Slanderman".--Auric talk 23:30, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Supernatural Thin Man episode

Should this article have a 'Television and Other Media' Section discussing the recent supernatural episode (obviously evoking slender man) and perhaps move the discussion of media rights and the third owner to that? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.80.78.63 (talk) 22:33, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 6 June 2014

Slender Man is NOT real!! So take this dumb mistake from these girls as a lesson and a warning not hatred toward the Slender Man and his creator! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jeff the Killer Number 1 (talk • contribs) 14:37, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Add category

Please add Category:Crime and children to the article. 67.100.127.214 (talk) 20:35, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

The Slender Man is a fictional character, not a crime. Serendi^podous 20:38, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Not done: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the {{edit semi-protected}} template. I'm actually leaning towards adding a sub-category for this to Crime and children... I'm just not quite sure where to go with it. This is a fictional character that portrays crimes against children. Anyways, create a consensus for what such a sub-category might be, and I'd be happy to implement it as long as it is accurate. — {{U|Technical 13}} ^{(e • t • c)} 20:47, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 10 June 2014

there is a lot of grammar that is incorrect I will like to fix that Helloimsmart (talk) 23:49, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

Examples? Serendi^podous 00:00, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

Not done: this is not the right page to request additional user rights. You may reopen this request with the specific changes to be made and someone will add them for you, or if you have an account, you can wait until you are autoconfirmed and edit the page yourself. — {{U|Technical 13}} ^{(e • t • c)} 00:15, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

Origin section

This section is disjointed and confusing, particularly the "quote". I walk away really not understanding the formation. If someone familiar with the details could improve this, I and other readers would find this beneficial. Two kinds of pork (talk) 03:14, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

Yeah, the quote is disjointed and doesn't make much sense; but it's a quote- they can't be changed. What about the context of the quote do you feel needs clarifying? Serendi^podous 09:29, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

Remove the quote, or add ellipses to improve context?Two kinds of pork (talk) 14:06, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

How would an ellipsis do anything? The quotes are complete. Serendi^podous 15:06, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

"Slenderman" vs. "Slender Man"

Hi there. No matter which book/game/video I watch, it's always "Slenderman". Even Eric Knudsen uses "Slenderman". A short research of mine brought up an score of 147 : 2 for "Slenderman" and even the Name "Slender" is used mor often than "Slender Man". So my cardinal prize question is: why does Wikipedia use a version that is as good as never in use??? Regards;--Nephiliskos (talk) 11:39, 19 June 2014 (UTC)

"The Slender Man" is the term Knudsen used in the original SomethingAwful forum thread. Since that's pretty much the closest we have to an authoritative source, I go with that. Serendi^podous 11:45, 19 June 2014 (UTC)

That may be. But at least the article should mention, that "Slenderman" is today used much more often. Because that's fact. Regards;--Nephiliskos (talk) 11:49, 19 June 2014 (UTC)

I don't see how we could find a source to back that statement up. Serendi^podous 11:53, 19 June 2014 (UTC)

(e/c) We usually title articles after the common name of a topic, looking to usage in reliable sources. It appears most of the reliable sources in the article, e.g., the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Boston Globe and Time, use Slender Man and not Slenderman. On the flip side, a raw and targeted Google search (which is only useful to an extent but may show broad trends) – this versus this – shows they are not greatly different in amount of usage, so it appears the better title is the current title. Since Slenderman redirects here, anyone searching under that name will nevertheless land on what they were looking for.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 12:00, 19 June 2014 (UTC)

Copyright on the name = impossible

The article claims that there is a copyright on the name "Slender Man" -- this is outright impossible. Names cannot be copyrighted, period. Names fall under trademark law, an entirely different thing. I didn't listen to the podcast (TLDL), but if he actually claims this he's confused or being misleading. DreamGuy (talk) 02:37, 4 September 2014 (UTC)

Well that's what he said. Well, technically it's what the narrator said, but I'm assuming, since he was interviewing him, that it was with his tacit agreement. Maybe you could call him and tell him. Serendi^podous 07:00, 4 September 2014 (UTC)

WP:OR on my part here, but tess2.uspto.gov search shows several items for a search of "Slender Man". Owner of those marks is listed as "It Is No Dream Entertainment LLC". Google "It Is No Dream Entertainment" Eric Knudsen and you get a lawsuit vs. Spencer Gifts.[3] Maybe the TLDR; article misspoke on copyright vs. trademark. No idea if the trademarks are valid or enforceable, but no idea that they are not enforceable. Apparently they think they have a case since they went to court over something. --Dual Freq (talk) 02:25, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

The most recent attack

I'm a bit wary about all this. The original stabbing was connected to Slender Man because the stabber flat out said it was. The second connection was made by the mother, though I still find it questionable. Now we're getting connections from wags at the Sheriff's department. At some point a counter-argument would be nice. Serendi^podous 21:12, 5 September 2014 (UTC)

@Serendipodous: Seems that we have a similar confirmation for the most recent attack. Quoting from this, "The girl told authorities she was motivated by a Slender Man website and was also inspired by the two Wisconsin girls who allegedly attempted to stab their friend to death." --Jakob (talk) 12:49, 7 September 2014 (UTC)

Thanks; added. Serendi^podous 13:06, 7 September 2014 (UTC)

The suspect cited the (anime/manga? Not confirmed.) Soul Eater as the impetus to setting the fire after an argument with the mother. She knew about Slender man, but authorities just assumed a connection. So I wouldn't say it was confirmed as inspiration for arson. See link for story and quotes from the police here

"She had visited the website that contains a lot of the Slender Man information and stories," Eddie Daniels of the Pasco Sheriff's Office told ABC News. "It would be safe to say there is a connection to that."

Most sources still seem to quote the police, but a few claim that she confessed the connection. I'm wondering whether to go back to the original police quote for now until things are settled. Serendi^podous 19:14, 7 September 2014 (UTC)

I would agree to wait until confirmation. This article here also discusses what a detective thought about the crime here

The investigation also revealed that the girl frequents the websites creepypasta.com and souleater.com, which are both associated with Slender Man, the fictional internet character who was said to be the motivation behind two 12-year-old Wisconsin girls stabbing and nearly killing a classmate earlier this year.

Detective Daniel Toner did not classify the house fire as a copycat crime, but said the girl was clearly influenced by violent blogs and videos on the websites. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.190.255.249 (talk) 19:25, 7 September 2014 (UTC)

Grammar

Previous entries had consisted solely of photographs; however, Surge supplemented his submission with snatches of text, supposedly from witnesses, describing the abductions of the groups of children, and giving the character the name "The Slender Man":

should be changed to something like →

Although previous entries had consisted solely of photographs, Surge supplemented his submission with snatches of text, supposedly from witnesses, describing the abductions of the groups of children, and giving the character the name "The Slender Man." 69.106.74.220 (talk) 16:31, 7 September 2014 (UTC)

Graffiti picture grammar

The image of the Slenderman graffiti is misspelled "graffito". This needs to be fixed.

Graffito is singular; graffiti is plural. Serendi^podous 00:54, 20 December 2014 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Slender Man/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Kaciemonster (talk · contribs) 15:24, 15 May 2015 (UTC)

Hello! I'll get started on this today. I should have the review up in about 24 hours. :) Kaciemonster (talk) 15:24, 15 May 2015 (UTC)

I just finished looking over the article, and I think that it basically meets good article criteria! I have a couple of notes, but overall there isn't much to complain about. The copyright section was especially interesting. I wonder who the mysterious third party option holder is! Also, I'm curious, do you think there's a case to be made to add the two original Slender Man images to the article based on the WP:NFC policies?

This review is just for the body, I'll post the lede review later today (or tomorrow at the latest) Kaciemonster (talk) 16:44, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

Origin

• The wording of these sentences is a little confusing: "The Slender Man was created on a thread in the Something Awful Internet forum submitted on June 8, 2009, with the goal of editing photographs to contain supernatural entities. On June 10, a forum poster with the user name "Victor Surge" contributed two black and white images of groups of children, to which he added a tall, thin spectral figure wearing a black suit." it might be better worded as, "The Slender Man was created on the Something Awful Internet forum on June 10, 2009 for a photoshop contest whose goal was to edit supernatural entities into photographs. A forum poster with the user name "Victor Surge" contributed two black and white images of groups of children, to which he added a tall, thin, spectral figure wearing a black suit."

• "His intention was, he claimed, 'to formulate something whose motivations can barely be comprehended, and [which triggered] unease and terror in a general population.'" - The quote from the source says, "I used these to formulate something whose motivations can barely be comprehended and causes general unease and terror in a general population." Is there a particular reason why "causes" was changed to "[which triggered]"?

Development

• "As of 2013, Marble Hornets is now one of the most popular Slender Man creations, with over 250,000 subscribers around the world, and 55 million views." - I didn't see anything in the source about Marble Hornets being one of the most popular Slender Man creations. Is it located in a different source? If not, it might be better to rewrite it to say something like, "As of 2013, the Marble Hornets YouTube channel has over 250,000 subscribers and 55 million views."
• "In 2012, the Slender Man was adapted into a video game titled Slender: The Eight Pages; as of August, 2012, the game has been downloaded over 2 million times." - The quote from the source says, "In fact, it’s so good at what it does that in little under a month the game has been downloaded over 2 million times..." 2 million times in a month seems pretty significant; maybe it could be reworded to say something like, "In 2012, the Slender Man was adapted into a video game titled Slender: The Eight Pages; in less than a month, the game was downloaded over 2 million times."

Reasons for success

• This bit, "The success of the Slender Man "legend" has been ascribed to the chaotic, ambiguous nature of the Internet. While nearly everyone involved understands on some level that the Slender Man is not real, the Internet offers up a mess of conflicting perspectives, blurring the boundary between fiction and reality and obscuring the character's origin, thus lending it an air of authenticity." should probably be attributed to the author.

Kaciemonster (talk) 16:44, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

Lede

Ok, I just finished the lede. It's a bit short, but I don't think that's necessarily a problem because it does a really good job covering the Origin and Description sections. There are two things that I think would really improve the lede to make it a true overview of the body. The first is a sentence or two mentioning some of the works that Slender Man appears in... The three that seem the most deserving of a mention to me are Marble Hornets, the Enderman, and Slender: The Arrival. The second thing that I think is important to mention is the Slender Man-related attacks. I also think it would be nice to add maybe one sentence about Slender Man as folklore, but I don't think it's necessary.

The revisions you made to the body look great :) Kaciemonster (talk) 18:48, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

The additions to the lede look good so I'm going to pass it now :) Great job on the article! It was a lot of fun to review. Kaciemonster (talk) 21:35, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

I've had a go at revisions. :-) Serendi^podous 17:09, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

Slender Man - As Folklore

Hi Serendipodous,

I think you've done a wonderful job keeping the Slender Man article in good shape. That said, I want to push back a little bit against some of the reversions you made to my edits on the "As Folklore" section of the article.

In your description of why you reverted my edits, you mentioned that deleting valid material is problematic. I would suggest, however, that the section--as it currently stands--gives prominence to Dr. Chess' work in a way that makes it seem definitive. Indeed, the citation of her work far exceeds that of any other scholar on the page. She should not simply be seen as correct because her information was there first. This ignores the continually developing nature of academic argument and favors quick publication instead of depth or breadth.

Furthermore, validity of the deleted material is indeed an issue. Dr. Chess's work on the topic is quite controversial among academic folklorists. For instance, my own published work would classify the Slender Man as a legend (not a myth). This is a significant distinction. Many of the sub-points I deleted from the paragraph were made by digital folklorists nearly a decade ago, but the current entry makes it seem as though they are new contributions by Dr. Chess. Additionally, the folklore/fakelore distinction has generally fallen out of favor among academic folklorists since the 1970s. Although I could include a few follow-up paragraphs describing Chess's work as controversial and providing arguments against it, I'm leery of substantially lengthening the article to make such points.

My intention here is not to neuter Chess's contributions to scholarship but to provide a more balanced view of scholarship on the topic. To this end, I abridged Chess's part of the section to a couple sentences that presented a condensed version of the highlights of her research. I then asked Jeff Tolbert to contribute a few sentences (of roughly equal length to Dr. Chess's) doing the same. Finally, I added a few of my own based on the key takeaways from my own peer-reviewed published work. The goal was to provide the reader with similar information while also drawing from a variety of different sources. In light of the rapidly developing conversation surrounding the Slender Man in academic circles, this seemed the most egalitarian way to represent the various modes of scholarship on the topic.

If you'd like to discuss this further, please let me know. I'm going to revert my changes (pending your response), but I'm happy to keep editing the new paragraph (that represents several scholars) until we find a compromise we are both content with.

Ampeck (talk) 18:02, 22 August 2015 (UTC)ampeck

Hey Serendipodous,

There's actually a good deal of scholarly literature on the topic! :) In addition to Chess's article (which is cited here) and her book with Eric Newsom, check out Jeff Tolbert's 2013 article in Semiotic Review (free online via http://www.semioticreview.com/pdf/monsters/tolbert_slenderman.pdf) and my 2015 article from the Journal of American Folklore (requires membership, let me know if you want me to send you a .pdf https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_american_folklore/toc/jaf.128.509.html). Funny thing, my article was actually written before Chess's (2012) came out (Tolbert 2013 cites it), but JAF (which is the highest-impact journal in the field of folklore) has like a two-year wait time for publication. I also know at least a half dozen other folklore scholars with things in the pipeline regarding Slendy.

When I say Chess is controversial, I'm specifically referring to her work on the Slender Man (I really can't speak to her work with games/gaming). The main issue a lot of folklore scholars have with it is that it purports to make an intervention into the study of [digital] folklore without having reviewed or cited a significant body of already-existing literature on the topic. If you read my article of Jeff's, you'll see that significant work has already been done here that Chess has missed. In short, much of what is included in the "as folklore" section of this article disingenuously represents work done on the Slender Man by folklorists. My edits to this section were meant to minimize these omissions.

On the subject of fakelore, your argument seems a bit tautological, as the entire point of the citation is to say it is not fakelore. Indeed, if you go to the fakelore page, the entry (which cites points both Jeff and I make) advocates for seeing the Slender Man as folklore. I feel the edits I made still get to the spirit of this assertion (scholars agree it is folklore) without the baggage of the 'fakelore' citation.

Finally, you wrote that "Over time, this problem will be redressed as newer and more varied sources appear. Wikipedia is not an academic journal, and no article exists in its final state." As such, the information in the article needs to change and grow with associated scholarship. This is exactly what I am trying to do here. The article has outdated information that lacks diversity of opinion. If, say, a student were to stumble upon it, then it would give an inaccurate picture of scholarship regarding the Slender Man as folklore.

Disclosure: I have published work on the Slender Man in peer-reviewed scholarly journals. Since one of those journals is high-impact in the field of folklore, it should likely be cited here along with several other examples of good scholarship (including Tolbert, Newsom, and Chess).

Ampeck (talk) 19:07, 22 August 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ampeck (talk • contribs)

My proposed edits would look like this:

Several scholars have argued that, despite being a fictional work with an identifiable origin point, the Slender Man represents a form of digital folklore. Shira Chess argues that the Slender Man exemplifies the similarities between traditional folklore and the open source ethos of the Internet, and that, unlike those of traditional monsters such as vampires and werewolves, the fact that the Slender Man's mythos can be tracked and signposted offers a powerful insight into how myth and folklore form. Ampeck (talk) 19:33, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

Both the citations you mentioned are in the article, and neither replaced the material you removed. If you want to credit other writers, add sources by other writers. If Chess's material on collectivity, variability and performance, or the discussion of fakelore were first discussed by other writers, cite those other writers. Then you can remove her. Serendi^podous 21:42, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

Again, I'm not looking to remove Chess from the article, but I feel like similar information can be presented more concisely. For instance, the quote from Newell that ends the paragraph is redundant with the points already covered in the previous sentences and is offered without further analysis or comment. The "fakelore" sentence also reiterates points made in the opening sentence of the paragraph. Compare:

Several scholars have argued that, despite being a fictional work with an identifiable origin point, the Slender Man represents a form of digital folklore.

-VERSUS-

[Chess] argues that it is distinct from later concepts like "fakelore", because fakelore originates in mass media such as television or advertising, whereas Slender Man is very much a product of the "folk" of the Internet.

The key difference between these two sentences is the notion that "fakelore originates in mass media such as television or advertising." However, this is a mischaracterization of Dorson's theories of fakelore, which privileged singular, constructed origin but do not necessarily say that origin must be mass media or advertising. (See also: Linda Degh's American Folklore and the Mass Media.) As a result, there is nothing worthwhile said in this second sentence that is not said in the first.

Trimming the paragraph accordingly, we would arrive at something more like:

Several scholars have argued that, despite being a fictional work with an identifiable origin point, the Slender Man represents a form of digital folklore. Shira Chess argues that the Slender Man exemplifies the similarities between traditional folklore and the open source ethos of the Internet, and that, unlike those of traditional monsters such as vampires and werewolves, the fact that the Slender Man's mythos can be tracked and signposted offers a powerful insight into how myth and folklore form.[3] Chess identifies three aspects of the Slender Man mythos that tie it to folklore: collectivity (meaning that it is created by a collective, rather than a single individual), variability (meaning that the story changes depending on the teller), and performance (meaning that the storyteller's narrative changes to reflect the responses of his/her audience).

I'll work on finding additional sources tonight (I'm on my way to dinner), and hopefully have a revised version of this section on the talk page sometime tomorrow. Would you prefer that references to Tolbert's work and my own be integrated with this paragraph or presented as separate paragraphs? Conversely, would you be interested in writing up a passage based on my work in order to avoid a conflict of interest on my part?

Ampeck (talk) 22:54, 22 August 2015 (UTC)

Hey Serendipodous,

I've written an expanded version of the section designed to accommodate both your critique and my own. I've kept fakelore in (but as a link in the first sentence) as well as the entirety of the Chess passage sans the two issues mentioned above. I've then written additional paragraphs that explain both my work and Jeff Tolbert's to the same level of detail as Chess's (each section paragraph is roughly 110-120 words). I've included the revised section below in its entirety. How do you feel about these changes?

Several scholars have argued that, despite being a fictional work with an identifiable origin point, the Slender Man represents a form of digital folklore. Shira Chess argues that the Slender Man exemplifies the similarities between traditional folklore and the open source ethos of the Internet, and that, unlike those of traditional monsters such as vampires and werewolves, the fact that the Slender Man's mythos can be tracked and signposted offers a powerful insight into how myth and folklore form.[3] Chess identifies three aspects of the Slender Man mythos that tie it to folklore: collectivity (meaning that it is created by a collective, rather than a single individual), variability (meaning that the story changes depending on the teller), and performance (meaning that the storyteller's narrative changes to reflect the responses of his/her audience).

Andrew Peck also considers the Slender Man to be an authentic form of folklore and notes its similarity to emergent forms of offline legend performance. Peck suggests that digital folklore performance extends the dynamics of face-to-face performance in several notable ways, such as by occurring asynchronously, encouraging imitation and personalization while also allowing perfect replication, combining elements of oral, written, and visual communication, and generating shared expectations for performance that enact group identity despite the lack of a physically present group. He concludes that the Slender Man represents a digital legend cycle that combines the generic conventions and emergent qualities of oral and visual performance with the collaborative potential of networked communication.

Jeff Tolbert also accepts the Slender Man as folkloric and suggests it represents a process he calls “reverse ostension.” Ostension in folkloristics is the process of acting out a folk narrative. According to Tolbert, the Slender Man does the opposite by creating a set of folklore-like narratives where none existed before. It is an iconic figure produced through a collective effort and deliberately modeled after an existing and familiar folklore genre. According to Tolbert, this represents two processes in one: it involves the creation of new objects and new disconnected examples of experience, and it involves the combination of these elements into a body of “traditional” narratives, modeled on existing folklore (but not wholly indebted to any specific tradition).

Professor Thomas Pettitt of the University of Southern Denmark has described the Slender Man as being an exemplar of the modern age's closing of the "Gutenberg Parenthesis"; the time period from the invention of the printing press to the spread of the web in which stories and information were codified in discrete media, to a return to the older, more primal forms of storytelling, exemplified by oral tradition and campfire tales, in which the same story can be retold, reinterpreted and recast by different tellers, expanding and evolving with time.

• Tolbert, Jeffrey A. (2013). "The sort of story that has you covering your mirrors":The Case of Slender Man" (PDF). Semiotic Review (2). Retrieved 13 July 2015.
• Peck, Andrew (2015). "Tall, Dark, and Loathsome: The Emergence of a Legend Cycle in the Digital Age". Journal of American Folklore. 128 (509). {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

Ampeck (talk) 00:50, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

Fair enough. I'm OK with that. Serendi^podous 11:22, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

Glad we could come to a consensus. Would you like to do the honors and add it to the main page? 24.240.44.35 (talk) 15:36, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

Hello! I have a suggestion for this section (which, by the way, is really great; as a professional folklorist I immensely appreciate the attention to detail). I would recommend adding a sentence with a few more reliable sources to the end of the "As Folklore" paragraph that reads: "He concludes that the Slender Man represents a digital legend cycle that combines the generic conventions and emergent qualities of oral and visual performance with the collaborative potential of networked communication.

It is important to note that this combination of conventions and qualities of oral and visual performance is a key dimension of what folklorists who study the Internet identify as hybridity, or the hybridization of folk culture, which underscores the texts, contexts, and processes by which individuals interchangeably share knowledge and/or utilize the dynamics of face-to-face and technologically-mediated communication across both oral and virtual expressive platforms-- a central component of everyday life for many individuals in the digital age. Here are some valuable, refereed scholarly sources in support of this proposed addition, which I believe are also very relevant to the overarching discussion of Slender Man as Internet folklore:

Blank, Trevor J. (2015). "Faux Your Entertainment: Amazon.com Product Reviews as a Locus of Digital Performance". Journal of American Folklore. 128 (509): 286–97. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

Blank, Trevor J. (2013). "Hybridizing Folk Culture: Toward a Theory of New Media and Vernacular Discourse". Western Folklore. 72 (2): 105–30. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

Blank, Trevor J. (2012). Folk Culture in the Digital Age: The Emergent Dynamics of Human Interaction. Logan: Utah State University Press.

Howard, Robert Glenn (2010). "Hybrid". In Green, Thomas A. (ed.). Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Forms, Methods, and History. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 682–84.

Howard, Robert Glenn (2008). "Electronic Hybridity: The Persistent Processes of the Vernacular Web". Journal of American Folklore. 121 (480): 192–218. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

Howard, Robert Glenn (2008). "The Vernacular Web of Participatory Media". Critical Studies in Media Communication. 25: 490–512. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

There is also a forthcoming special issue of a peer-reviewed folklore journal dedicated to Slender Man in spring 2016 (which, full disclosure, I am co-editing; I am also deeply invested in the study of Internet folklore as an academic).

I welcome any thoughts, feedback, or conversations on adding a small addition about hybridity, especially as this excellent article continues to expand in scope.

Paul Bunyan's Suspenders (talk) 15:29, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Unless those sources mention the Slender Man, they can't be used. Wikipedia doesn't do essay writing. Serendi^podous 15:35, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Well, I suppose I meant to suggest incorporating the hybridity concept in a similar manner that ostension is discussed in the subsequent paragraph. That is, to bring is some applicable digital folklore sources, and position the description through the frame of the Slender Man discussion (i.e., quickly define hybridity in a sentence, then add a contextualizing sentence and example to show how Slendy is used in hybridized folk culture). Is that too essay writing oriented? My intent is to remain succinct and on point, no more than 1-3 additional sentences. Paul Bunyan's Suspenders (talk) 18:39, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

It's tricky, but I would suggest reading up on Wikipedia's policies on unpublished synthesis before moving on with this conversation. Serendi^podous 20:49, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Will do. Thanks! Paul Bunyan's Suspenders (talk) 21:20, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Edit request on 7 May 2016

Please add (or consider) these: http://theslenderman.wikia.com/wiki/Slender_Man, http://theslenderman.wikia.com/wiki/The_Slender_Man_Wiki — 2601:183:4000:D5BD:416:BA4:CF0D:896D (talk) 01:59, 7 May 2016 (UTC)

Not done Wikia is not a reliable source. Zappa24Mati 02:00, 7 May 2016 (UTC)

Slender Proxies

I feel maybe if you added to the page things on Slenderman Proxies, it would draw in more viewers. If you need help with that feel free to send me a message anytime on my user page: User page:Pastamonster35

Pastamonster35 (talk) 21:03, 7 December 2016 (UTC)

Wikipedia isn't a commercial website, so the number of viewers doesn't matter. Serendi^podous 21:11, 7 December 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 11 February 2017

I recommend we add the Silence to the See Also section. Ender the Editor (talk) 21:44, 11 February 2017 (UTC)

Not done: requests for decreases to the page protection level should be directed to the protecting admin or to Wikipedia:Requests for page protection if the protecting admin is not active or has declined the request. JTP ^{(talk • contribs)} 01:13, 12 February 2017 (UTC)

1900s

change ((1900s)) to ((20th century|1900s)) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:541:4305:C70:D0A6:AD39:2295:6219 (talk • contribs)

Done DRAGON BOOSTER ★ 03:46, 14 April 2017 (UTC)

Film

Shouldn't there be a page about the upcoming film?

No title, no director, no nothing. We don't even know if it will happen. Serendi^podous 22:28, 10 June 2017 (UTC)

RedLetterMedia and the creation of Slender Man?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgq3k2qCZgg#t=507.46136 --Glitch82 (talk) 17:20, 15 June 2017 (UTC)

Not exactly an unbiased source, is it? Serendi^podous 21:31, 15 June 2017 (UTC)

More bureaucratic nonsense

What kind of nonsense is this? -> "Do not use this space to post suggestions as to which fictional characters, memes or folklore figures you think inspired the Slender Man. The only person who can answer those questions is the man who created him, Eric Knudsen. Unless word comes from him, such speculation is meaningless and falls under WP:NOTFORUM."

This sums up a lot of what is wrong with Wikipedia nowadays. All of these are highly relevant to the creature which is a composite of pre-existing folklore, but apparently some bureaucrat has decided we can't discuss this. The most moronic statement here is "such speculation is meaningless". In other words, we are not allowed to use the talk page of this article to discuss the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.148.108.104 (talk) 16:33, 21 June 2017 (UTC)

If you find a reliable source that mentions a possible origin, then yes we can discuss whether it could be included. But simply posting that "Slenderman came from blah blah blah; why doesn't the article say this?" is wrong. Serendi^podous 17:31, 21 June 2017 (UTC)

More bureaucratic nonsense: the sequel

Hi @Serendipodous:. I'm not going to persist in this case, because it's not worth the time, but regarding your edit summary "this is the sort of thing you do for a disambig page, not a see also section", ask yourself whose rule that is and why (or why not) it needs to apply. The reason for nested organization is that it saves the reader's time by telling them at a glance "why you would click on these see-also links", that is, "what these links are about." I don't care about the particular instance enough to persist within it; my point is asking you to think critically instead of superficially (/bureaucratically) à la "because we've always done it this way". Cheers. Quercus solaris (talk) 23:04, 20 July 2017 (UTC)

You are trying to do something no one else does. And before you do that you have to get consensus. There's no need to subdivide a see also section; anyone curious can just click on the links. Serendi^podous 23:37, 20 July 2017 (UTC)

I'm aware of the consensus aspect as a general rule for WP article format; what I'm pointing out is that it's being misapplied in this case. Regarding "no need", I just stated what the benefit is, regardless of your devaluing of the benefit (the devaluing being, "just make the users step through figuring out the 'why' and 'what' instead of providing it for them up front"). UX. Oh well. I'm not telling you that you can't have your way on this instance. I'm just explaining for anyone else who might read the thread how the argument is incorrect. Here's a thought to think about: When Jimmy Wales et al invented Wikipedia, they were introducing a logical next step and a useful thing despite that no one had ever combined all the existing elements into such a combination before. It was simply using brains. There were people telling them that they shouldn't do this logical and useful thing with limited precedent, and those people were wrong, despite that the explanations of why were lost on many of them. Regards, Quercus solaris (talk) 22:11, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

hi slenderman how are you — Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.154.212.44 (talk) 14:42, 2 November 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 18 February 2018

I would like paragraph 3: "Beginning in 2014, a minor moral panic occurred..." changed to: "Note, in 2014, a horrific near-fatal stabbing occurred by two 12 year old girls, of their own friend, because they believed that The Slender Man was real." Dahlila1245 (talk) 06:39, 18 February 2018 (UTC)

 Not done: Reworded as 'incidental moral panic' instead of 'minor moral panic' Spintendo      09:51, 18 February 2018 (UTC)

Lovecraft

The article lists H.P. Lovecraft as one of the inspirational sources for the Slender Man, but there is no citation. I can't think of any Lovecraft character or story to which the article is referring, and the more general concept of "Lovecraftian" isn't good enough, in my view--at least without some explanation. Urgos (talk) 20:45, 19 February 2018 (UTC)

It is cited. The citation refers to this interview. "I used these to formulate asomething whose motivations can barely be comprehended and causes general unease and terror in a general population." Serendi^podous 20:49, 19 February 2018 (UTC)

Edit Request

The specific teenage mutant ninja turtle that Morgan Geyser communicated with, along with Slenderman, before stabbing her classmate was Raphael. 92.1.64.109 (talk) 14:20, 3 April 2018 (UTC)

Source? --uKER (talk) 14:23, 3 April 2018 (UTC)

Requested move 17 May 2018

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: no consensus to move the page at this time, per the discussion below. Dekimasuよ! 19:21, 23 May 2018 (UTC)

---

Slender Man → Slenderman – The reason by UKER was "Slender Man" throws 300K results vs 7200K for "Slenderman" despite the former being a more generic term. The move needs to be discussed, as many of the sources in the article use the current title with a space and a capital "M" in "Man". GeoffreyT2000 (talk) 02:10, 17 May 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose. "The slender man" was the name chosen by Eric Knudsen. As can be seen in the previous move discussion, the usages, when properly filtered, are about equal. So it seems proper to go with the creator on this. Serendi^podous 06:39, 17 May 2018 (UTC)

• Reliable sources only/overwhelmingly saying "Slender Man": The Times ([4]), Le Monde ([5] [6] [7]), The Washington Post ([8] [9] ...), The Wall Street Journal ([10] [11] ...), The New York Times ([12] [13] ...), Playboy ([14]), National Geographic ([15]), Rolling Stone ([16]), Time ([17] [18] ...)

RS saying "Slenderman": Reuters ([19] [20] ...), Scientific American ([21]), Der Spiegel ([22] [23] ...)

RS saying both "Slender Man" and "Slenderman": BBC ([24] [25] ... / [26] [27] ...)

Oppose it is then. wumbolo ^^^ 11:32, 17 May 2018 (UTC)

• Oppose The majority of reliable sources and the "creator" use the two word name, and it's the title of the upcoming movie. Raw Google searches aren't a reliable sources, and as pointed out above the difference isn't as significant if filtered properly. --tronvillain (talk) 12:26, 17 May 2018 (UTC)
• Oppose per discussion above. :bloodofox: (talk) 16:29, 17 May 2018 (UTC)

---

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Semi-protected edit request on 9 January 2019

{{edit complete protection] — Preceding unsigned comment added by Walterslolo (talk • contribs) 19:17, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

 Not done: requests for increases to the page protection level should be made at Wikipedia:Requests for page protection.--Auric talk 11:04, 24 April 2019 (UTC)

Another potential incident

Aaron Campbell, the convicted, named killer (aged 16) of Alesha MacPhail (aged 6, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-47330774) had searched online for the Slender man and is said to have called out his name whilst playing violent video games (https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8483378/alesha-macphail-sick-teen-raped-murder-slender-man/).

77.100.0.240 (talk) 21:36, 22 February 2019 (UTC)David, 22 Feb 2018

There is no mention of "Slender man" in the BBC article. And "The Sun" is a tabloid, and therefore not a reliable source.

But just to be sure, I also did a news search, and did find several articles claiming this same connection between the accused murderer and the "Slender man" legend, but each and every one of those publications was also a tabloid. So, not only are there no reliable sources to back up this connection, it's almost certainly just tabloid fodder. CleverTitania (talk) 02:59, 24 February 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 12 April 2019

In 2018 Phoebe Locke published her debut novel "The Tall man", drawing on the legend of The Slender Man. Source: https://www.amazon.com/Tall-Man-Phoebe-Locke/dp/1472249259 ArnarGudm (talk) 13:19, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

Is this notable? Serendi^podous 13:35, 12 April 2019 (UTC)

You can reopen this request if reliable sources show that the book has been influential and that it indeeds draws on the legend of the slender man. So far I could only find personal blogs comparing the two. – Þjarkur (talk) 00:51, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 24 April 2019

The Slender Man (also known as Slenderman) is a Mythical supernatural character 2A02:908:4C15:1100:7122:F1C8:9ABB:3C59 (talk) 07:59, 24 April 2019 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate.--Auric talk 11:02, 24 April 2019 (UTC)

Similar folklore

There are several folklore entities that have a resemblance to elements of Slender Man, which are not yet mentioned in the article:

• Noppera-bō - an obake/yōkai with a blank &/or lack of face
• Hachishaku-sama – 8 foot tall woman who kidnaps children
• Mikoshi-nyūdō/Rokurokubi - abnormally tall because of stretched neck
• Ashinagatenaga - a pair of yōkai, one with elongated arms, the other with elongated legs
• Takaonna - woman with an elongated lower body

These are just from Japanese folklore; there is likely more in other traditions. Should mentions of this be added to the article? -- 208.81.184.11 (talk) 20:57, 30 August 2019 (UTC)

Not unless someone notable has connected them to the Slender Man. Serendi^podous 21:47, 30 August 2019 (UTC)

Tags in the article

There are a couple tags in the Waukesha stabbing section that say clarification is needed. To keep this article within GA criteria, please fix these issues. -NowIsntItTime^{(chats)(doings)} 19:00, 26 December 2019 (UTC)

There's only one, and it doesn't explain why the clarification is needed. Serendi^podous 19:09, 26 December 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 12 April 2020

Please add the original Slenderman story into this post, the post was made in 2010 and has over 12,000 ratings https://www.creepypasta.com/slenderman/ 203.217.170.92 (talk) 23:03, 12 April 2020 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. - QuadColour (talk) 01:00, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 18 May 2020

please delete the part which says that he is in Minecraft, the two are very different.

How did she get in the middle of the ocean and get stranded on such a n 216.197.77.175 (talk) 18:35, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

 Not done: Error 404... (i.e. could not be found) the sentence in the article states "having been referenced in the video game Minecraft with the Enderman"; that does not match up with what you're saying is there. RandomCanadian (talk | contribs) 19:17, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 16 November 2020

Can you let me edit this there are some wrongs Anaconda 365 (talk) 17:25, 16 November 2020 (UTC)

You can request specific changes here on this talk page on the form "Please change X to Y", citing reliable sources. – Thjarkur (talk) 17:31, 16 November 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 2 July 2021

There's been an update on the Slenderman Stabbings perpetrators, namely, Anissa Weier has been ordered for release, while Morgan Geyser's attorneys are currently fighting for her release as well due to a recent diagnosis of Schizophrenia that throws out her Guilty Plea under Insanity. 142.160.225.43 (talk) 14:18, 2 July 2021 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Jack Frost (talk) 16:27, 2 July 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 10 July 2021

"Der Großmann" is written with a small "ß", not a capital ẞ. 2A02:8070:46CA:3600:EC4A:8159:72C8:997F (talk) 23:16, 10 July 2021 (UTC)

 Done   melecie   t 02:48, 11 July 2021 (UTC)

None of the sources cited support the claim that there was a moral panic

Three sources are principally cited as supporting the claim that there was a "nationwide moral panic." I've reviewed these and it seems like this claim is improper original research.

[5]: The MJS article details how two girls were charged for a crime. This source doesn't claim there was a moral panic. No community leaders are quoted condemning slender man. Nobody quoted even suggests the story is the cause.

[49]: The Verge article discusses how the meme grew popular, and then died out. They quote exactly one person, Russell Jack, warning parents after a person was killed. That quote may be indicative of a moral panic, but no expert is cited claiming this, nor does the article state this.

[50]: The Vulture article mentions criticism of the documentary, but that criticism is it being exploitation of a tragedy. The author talks to experts on folklore, and none of their comments are about a moral panic.

The section "Moral Panic and Other Incidents" goes on to list several violent incidents which people had linked to Slender Man. The sources do not claim anything resembling a moral panic is taking place.

Perhaps the sum of the responses to these incidents constitute a moral panic, but this would be original research and these claims should be removed unless a suitable expert source can be found making this claim.

108.18.118.228 (talk) 06:29, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

Second paragraph of After the Waukesha stabbing section

Hello, just wanted to point out that the person in the article got a bit of creepypasta fan lore wrong. As far as I'm aware (and as far as any googling finds) there is no such character as "Skinny Sally who is Slender Man's daughter". I think the interviewee had seen drawings of Sally with Slender Man, who is from her own creepypasta (called "play with me" iirc) and is unrelated to Slender Man entirely. I would argue that the sentences regarding her being drawn with Slender Man don't speak to anything relevant enough to catalogue as it's own offshoot if a more accurate source can't be found, or if it is kept if anything it warrants a mention of how it's usually not Just Sally he's drawn with (ie the entire Slender Mansion phenomena, where most of the Sally and Slender drawings the article talks about originate from). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 152.20.163.211 (talk) 09:45, 6 December 2021 (UTC)

Something Old

There is an uncanny parallel between these stories, and medieval accounts of demonic possession. No ‘moral guardianship’ here. Have any of the people studying this written on that? 2A00:23C7:E287:1901:A986:983D:BEA3:5334 (talk) 14:26, 7 August 2022 (UTC)

If you can find a reliable third party source that mentions that, great. Serendi^podous 11:08, 25 September 2022 (UTC)

Slender Man in Ninja Gaiden '88

The Slender Man will appear as the one of the seven overarching antagonists in Ninja Gaiden '88, an anime-styled comic book limited series that takes place fifteen years after the events of Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (1990) 2001:48F8:300B:3DB:9C78:5D44:C8F6:526D (talk) 05:37, 6 June 2023 (UTC)

How tall Is Slenderman?

When you google "how tall is slenderman" you get the result that he is around 6 to 15 feet tall. However, you're probably looking for a more specific number. Youtuber "MatPat" on his channel "The Game Theorists" (tiktok.com/@gametheoristofficial, twitter.com/TeamTheorist, instagram.com/teamtheorist, The Game Theorists - YouTube)did some calculations for his Slenderman video (Game Theory: The LOST Episode (Slenderman) - YouTube). Using multiple methods, he eventually came to the conclusion that Slenderman is 7-8ft tall, and weighs about 386 pounds. This is the currently the closest thing that we have to his height. Person2023 (talk) 17:21, 29 October 2023 (UTC)

He does not exist and does not have a height. Nevertheless, reliable sources could theoretically give him one. But the people you are naming are not reliable sources. See WP:RS. --Hob Gadling (talk) 17:44, 29 October 2023 (UTC)

He real or fake pls tell me

Reply me 203.215.174.32 (talk) 13:00, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

Read the first line of the article. You're not going to get anything better than that. Serendi^podous 13:38, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

His Name

Is Slender man one word (Slenderman) or two words (Slender Man)? 76.65.45.114 (talk) 20:51, 20 November 2023 (UTC)

Slenderman appears in Slendrina games

He appears in the Slendrina games, so I think it should be included… EverestMachine 4001 (talk) 02:43, 31 December 2023 (UTC)