Why I think Slenderman is a popular horror icon right now.
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Actually, I've always thought business suits were common for humanoid abominations because they're typically associated with the ultra-mundane, and since horror monsters are by definition quite not that, the dichotomy creates an unsettling quality.
The facelessness thing has been around since the earliest mythologies AFAIK, it's simply creepy because of the uncanny valley.
Finally the tentacles are just... well, tentacles. Tentacles are creepy.
I really don't think it goes any deeper than that.
I've also watched most of the first season of marble hornets.
The facelessness thing has been around since the earliest mythologies AFAIK, it's simply creepy because of the uncanny valley.
Finally the tentacles are just... well, tentacles. Tentacles are creepy.
I really don't think it goes any deeper than that.
I can't make quite that claim, though I have become well-versed in the fad history because of Littlekuriboh's parody of it xP, which was long before the game,KefkaCultist said:
I've also watched most of the first season of marble hornets.
That's one option of course, but the whole corporations are much more commonly hated and demonized rather than something to be afraid of.
Slenderman, at least at the most basic level, is just a modern take of the "bogeyman" story, but presented in this "found footage" style. The elements of the story are all similar to classic scary/cautionary stories: kidnapping children, the use of "the woods" as a place of danger.
Anyway now it's my turn to look way too much into it:
Slenderman represents adulthood, or rather our fear of "boring grown-ups." The fact that he is an internet meme means that he has his origins amongst the geek and nerd subculture, a group that seen by general society as people who still cling on to "childish" things like videogames and cartoons.
The Slenderman, with his business suit and his abnormal height that still towers over us after we have passed puberty give him that same imposing adult like stature. The fact that he preys on children is this symbolic of him targeting our childhood and by extension the hobbies that we haven't given up.
^That's^ just using the basic information though. I'm not really deep into the mythos as to have read every major Slenderblog and video series, which seem to be interconnected and heading towards some kind of conclusion.
Slenderman, at least at the most basic level, is just a modern take of the "bogeyman" story, but presented in this "found footage" style. The elements of the story are all similar to classic scary/cautionary stories: kidnapping children, the use of "the woods" as a place of danger.
Anyway now it's my turn to look way too much into it:
Slenderman represents adulthood, or rather our fear of "boring grown-ups." The fact that he is an internet meme means that he has his origins amongst the geek and nerd subculture, a group that seen by general society as people who still cling on to "childish" things like videogames and cartoons.
The Slenderman, with his business suit and his abnormal height that still towers over us after we have passed puberty give him that same imposing adult like stature. The fact that he preys on children is this symbolic of him targeting our childhood and by extension the hobbies that we haven't given up.
^That's^ just using the basic information though. I'm not really deep into the mythos as to have read every major Slenderblog and video series, which seem to be interconnected and heading towards some kind of conclusion.
I'll tell you an alternate reason as to why Slender Man is popular.
Big Youtubers like PewDiePie made asinine scare-cam and screaming videos of Slender, which became big hits with younger folk.
This made Slender Man more, for lack of a better term, mainstream. I, for one, had never heard of him before his recent boom in popularity.
But SM being some kind of symbolism for big corporations?
Yeah, I sincerely doubt that, he's just some dude who stalks you in the dark, and that's what's (allegedly) scary about him.
Big Youtubers like PewDiePie made asinine scare-cam and screaming videos of Slender, which became big hits with younger folk.
This made Slender Man more, for lack of a better term, mainstream. I, for one, had never heard of him before his recent boom in popularity.
But SM being some kind of symbolism for big corporations?
Yeah, I sincerely doubt that, he's just some dude who stalks you in the dark, and that's what's (allegedly) scary about him.
Reads OP's post.
I shall defend to the last of my life points your right to post whatever you want on the internet.
But I shall not agree to what you posted.
You can't say Slender is a representation of X. The only person who has the right to is the creator of him.
I'll just leave this here. I've had enough internet for the day.
I shall defend to the last of my life points your right to post whatever you want on the internet.
But I shall not agree to what you posted.
You can't say Slender is a representation of X. The only person who has the right to is the creator of him.
I'll just leave this here. I've had enough internet for the day.
I think Slender Man is creepy for similar reasons as why this person's avatar is creepy.[footnote]Weeping Angel, just in case he changes it and this post makes no sense.[/footnote] He's more of a psychological horror than a physical one as he seems to only move when you're not looking at him and killing/kidnapping/displacing you as soon as you do. Sort of like a Weeping Angel's touch.lacktheknack said:
That's my take on ol' Slendy anyway.
There's lots of stuff about Slender that I've read that makes the whole "phenomenon" makes sense. I think it was Rock, Paper, Shotgun who said this of the SCP wiki: "choosing to believe in make-believe." (Or something like that.)
Slender is scary because we choose to believe he's real, basically, even when we know he's fake. He is essentially the boogie man - every culture's and society's boogie man - rolled up into one package, and he's appealing because he's so vague, lacks such definition, that our brains can, for moments at a time, allow ourselves to be completely terrified because we believe him to be real. The simplicity of his design lets us see what we want to see in him. Like all good horror icons, he is terrifying because we can imagine him ourselves, we can essentially give him life through our willingness to partake in the mythos.
Also he has fucking tentacles growing out of his back awww shiiit
Slender is scary because we choose to believe he's real, basically, even when we know he's fake. He is essentially the boogie man - every culture's and society's boogie man - rolled up into one package, and he's appealing because he's so vague, lacks such definition, that our brains can, for moments at a time, allow ourselves to be completely terrified because we believe him to be real. The simplicity of his design lets us see what we want to see in him. Like all good horror icons, he is terrifying because we can imagine him ourselves, we can essentially give him life through our willingness to partake in the mythos.
Also he has fucking tentacles growing out of his back awww shiiit
It was big because it was initially pretty creepy, then the game was made and it rode the crest of the popularity wave that Amnesia created.
Yyyyyeah, no.Friendly Lich said:
The current, popular image of Slenderman is the result of dumb kids and lazy/terrible artists.
The original Slenderman?
http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/23000000/Slender-Man-Original-Manips-urban-legends-23022765-500-642.jpg
The whole "scary" factor was from the fact that nothing concrete was known or could be discerned from the picture and it's backstory.
Slenderman is (or should I say WAS) another incarnation of our fear of the unknown. It was really good at getting people to scare themselves with their own imaginations, hence it's popularity.
Then some dumb kid(s) somewhere broke the FIRST rule of good horror: Never show the monster. Because once you can see the monster, you can "see the zipper", so to speak.
And THEN a lot of other dumb kids bandwagoned onto the image depicted by the first set of dumb kids, and now slenderman goes from amorphous, mythic figure to Skinny Faceless Guy in a Suit.
So yeah, I'd say you were reading WAY too far in to it and started seeing connections that weren't there. Remember, the lame and dumb answer is usually the correct one. Occams Razor or some shit.
Some people really overthink things don't they?
Do they think it makes them look smart?
There are plenty of creepier things at SCP.
Do they think it makes them look smart?
There are plenty of creepier things at SCP.
My 2 cents on why he's popular right now.
*Fairly current meme.
*Game doesn't cost anything. Nor does the other, or that other one.
*Adults will cosplay it twice this year.
*LittleKuriboh put him in a cartoon, gave him a first name & a voice, & then did a LetsPlay.
*It reminds 11 million people of Endermen.
*Fairly current meme.
*Game doesn't cost anything. Nor does the other, or that other one.
*Adults will cosplay it twice this year.
*LittleKuriboh put him in a cartoon, gave him a first name & a voice, & then did a LetsPlay.
*It reminds 11 million people of Endermen.
Slenderman is a tall, uncanny-valley humanoid with incomprehensible motivations. He seems to go after children, and people who try to learn about it.
That's the scary part. Regular horror villains tend to be straightforward (serial killers, zombies, vampires...), whereas good 'ol Slendy was more of a cosmic horror, an unknowable thing who's attempts to appear human only made him more alien.
And yeah, Slender was awesome in theory, but relied too much on jumpscares, and showed the monster too much. As much as I love PewDiePie, this is all kind of his fault. I don't blame Parsec.
That's the scary part. Regular horror villains tend to be straightforward (serial killers, zombies, vampires...), whereas good 'ol Slendy was more of a cosmic horror, an unknowable thing who's attempts to appear human only made him more alien.
And yeah, Slender was awesome in theory, but relied too much on jumpscares, and showed the monster too much. As much as I love PewDiePie, this is all kind of his fault. I don't blame Parsec.
I dunno, Pyramid Head still scares the shit outta me mainly because of his appearance, movements and implacable man style unstoppability...add in the fact that he's a psychological construct so you can't physically escape from him. I always thought Slenderman was meant to be scary for the same reasons.Syzygy23 said:
Please don't bring back the memories of SCP 173. Or 087, or 093. Thing about the SCP's are that there are really awesome ones and really horrifying ones. From blinking death Doctor Who statues to never ending pizza boxes. As a collective, though, they are more interesting than Slenderman.Blunderboy said:
On topic, Slenderman has always been one of my worst fears. It's the thought of once you notice him, and he takes notice of you, you're dead. You can ran, he can teleport. You can look at him, and he mindfucks you. HE NEVER STOPS. That's what scares me. The lack of a face to hide his expression, leaving his entire reasoning behind the stalking and attacks just empty guesses with no actual facts. Mostly it's just the paranoia that gets to me. The feeling of being watched, the cracking of the floor as the night cools the house; that gets to me.
Half of that is because of the Marble Hornets series. Watching that is nightmare fuel.
