As the Internet has supplanted campfires and banjo songs as the primary outlet for folk tales, one creature has risen to web prominence as a sort of modern-day Bogeyman equivalent: Slenderman. Created as part of a spooky Photoshop contest in 2009, the character has taken on a life of his own as the subject of numerous short films and Internet horror stories—known as “Creepypasta.” And as often happens with folklore, the lines between fiction and reality aren’t easy for everyone to determine. Such was the case of last month’s horrific stabbing, in which two 12-year-old girls attacked a classmate and claimed they were acting as “proxies” for Slenderman. Now, a Cincinnati mother is saying her teenage’s daughter’s bizarre attack is also linked to a fascination with the character.
“We found things that she had written and she made references to Slender Man. She also made references to killing,” she told WLWT News 5 on Friday. “I came home one night from work and she was in the kitchen waiting for me and she was wearing a mask, a white mask … She had her hood up and had her hands covered with her sleeves and the mask. She was someone else during that attack.” The mother escapes with a few minor scrapes and her daughter is being tried as a juvenile. She has asked to not be identified by the press …
