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Slender Man. You have probably heard of this fictional internet creation at some point in your life. Maybe he was brought to your attention in the documentary Beware the Slenderman on HBO, or the 2018 horror movie Slender Man. Maybe it was the video game by Mark J. Hadley, Slender: The Eight Pages that gained him access into your life.
Regardless of how you heard of this terrifying, faceless man who stalks children, did you know he was the motivation of two 12 year old girls stabbing their middle school classmate?
The 2014 attack on Payton Leutner by her friends Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier in Wakusha, Wisconsin was rooted in their adamant belief in Slender Man.
Slender Man: The Boogeyman of the Internet
Slender Man first appeared online in 2009 on the forum Something Awful as an internet meme. He was created as part of the creepypasta universe. Creepypasta consists of user-generated scary stories, and these became internet urban legends.
In fact, we can pinpoint the exact moment of conception of the character by Eric Knudsen, also known as the username Victor Surge. Knudsen created Slender Man as a part of a photoshop contest. The basis was to create something that looks real, but isn’t. It is with his creation something awful was indeed truly born.
Before the creation of the internet, urban legends were spread by word of mouth. Details may change from person to person, but the plausible nature of the storyline would stay intact. The story of Slender Man is no exception. Morgan and Anissa believed these darkly ominous legends were rooted in truth, and their imaginations intertwined Slender Man within their lives.
Just like many urban legends, there is no single origin story where Slender came from. Instead, the mythology around the faceless being morphs and builds as the lore is passed from person to person. Nevertheless, there are some similarities that have stayed consistent in each telling.
Slender and the Mythos
Slender Man’s features are anthropomorphic, meaning he resembles a human’s basic features with a head, torso, arms and legs. However, he is taller than your average man, and his long limbs are exaggerated. He is pale, bald, and has no facial features. He is also known to wear a dark suit and tie.
The one feature that sets him apart from humanoid are his tentacles. These tentacle-like arms have also been described as appendages that are attached to his back. He can extend these limbs to capture prey, or throw them outward from his body to appear more menacing.
An interesting twist in the narrative is his ability to cause “Slender sickness”. This sickness is characterized by nightmares, delusions, paranoia, nosebleeds and even coughing up blood. The rapid onset of these symptoms is all relative to how close Slender Man is to his victims. The closer in proximity he is to you, the worse these symptoms become.
By the time 12 year old middle school students Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier became friends in 2013, the online world of Slender Man was well established.
Morgan and Anissa: A Friendship Rooted in Fiction
On the surface, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier appeared to be your average 12 year old middle schoolers. Sure, they weren’t in the popular crowd. Morgan in particular marched to the beat of her own drum, but neither appeared to be dangerous. They were just quirky.
The two girls shared many of the same interests as their fellow classmates, yet some set them apart. One of these particular interests is Slender Man.
Morgan’s parents were aware of their daughter’s fascination with the fictional character. However, to her mom and dad he was no different than her interest in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or Voldemort from the Harry Potter series. He was just another mysterious and creepy character that caught their daughter’s active imagination.
Anissa was a little more secretive of the newfound character.
Her parents implemented house rules, such as an open door policy which reduced privacy. They monitored and limited their children’s time online. However, despite keeping a vigilant eye on their children, Slender Man slipped through their parental radar.
When these two girls got together on the school bus or on the playground, their interest in the dark being took center stage. Innocent fascination with the mysterious being slowly began to build, and eventually took a dark turn.
Fiction Bleeds into Reality
The more Morgan and Anissa became engrossed with the mythology of Slender Man, the more they began to believe in him. Morgan’s notebooks at home were filled with rudimentary sketches pertaining to the modern day boogeyman.
It was later discovered after the crime, Morgan suffered from schizophrenia. In retrospect this made sense as many of the indicators had been present. In addition, Morgan’s father also suffered from the disorder. His experiences began when he was a teenager and he was hospitalized at least four times. However, such early on set is incredibly rare in pre-adolescence, and for many reasons the signs were overlooked.
Yet it was Morgan’s disorder that made her susceptible to the dark internet lore, and it was Anissa who fed her a steady stream of encouragement to embrace these stories as reality.
The further each girl fell down the rabbit hole, the deeper they would bring one another into the belief Slender Man was real. Eventually they began to cultivate a fear that the mythical figure was going to kill them and their family if they did not offer him a sacrifice.
Payton Leutner, an Empathetic Soul
Wakusha students Leutner and Geyser had been best friends since the fourth grade. Before officially meeting, 12 year old Payton witnessed her fellow classmate often ate lunch alone. Being the sweet natured little girl she was, Payton extended her friendship to the black sheep of the class. She believed no one should eat lunch alone.
During their years together in grades 4 and 5, the two developed a strong bond. Leutner later spoke about Geyser’s imagination and how she “always kept things fun.” The two girls often spent time together and did activities that were typical of their age group; sleepovers, drawing together, and playing outside.
However, it was in the sixth grade when their friendship began to change. It was at the bus stop this year where Morgan noticed a new addition to their morning group; Anissa Weier. Anissa had just moved to her complex. The two sat on the bus together and soon became friends.
The interests that bonded them were darker than those that brought Payton and Morgan together. The two girls often spoke of Creepypasta.
Payton found these stories “frightening” and “odd”. Slowly she began to distance herself from the two girls in favor of other friends who had more similar interests to her own. However, part of her felt a responsibility to Morgan and their friendship, so she still stayed close.
Despite Payton’s good intentions, she did not realize the splintering of their friend group was deepening. Nor did she see the two were conspiring something dark against her…
To be continued…
