Get to know Slendie! 7 Facts you may not know about your favorite Creepypasta, Slenderman!

Most every horror fan worth their salt is at least a little familiar with the internet legend of The Slenderman. But how well do you really know our favorite dapper ghoul? There’s a lot more the the well-dressed creeper than an indie video game. Check it out!

1. The origin of the entity called Slenderman as we know him (it?) starts on an internet forum called Something Awful back in June of 2009. They held a photoshop contest where people were challenged to edit pictures to show something paranormal. One person, Eric Knudsen aka Victor Surge, submitted a couple of pictures of children, showing a strange figure in the background. The mythos he created a mythos through accompanying text, supposedly from witnesses, speaking of an otherworldly entity which snatched children.
2. A Slenderman-like entity has existed in Germanic legends for hundreds of years. 
   The Black Forest of Germany is infamously haunted, making many lists for the most haunted forests in the world. Legends of the forest include ghostly monks, a werewolf, and a child-snatching entity known as Der Grosmann (The Grossman or The Tall Man). Legends of The Tall Man go all the way back to the 16th century and tell the story of a fairy of the forest who would stalk naughty children until they confessed to their parents.
3. The Slender Man was the inspiration for a brutal attack known as The Slenderman Stabbing.
   
   On May 31 in 2014, two 12 year old girls in Waukesha, Wisconsin lured a 3rd girl into the woods and stabbed her 19 times. The victim managed to crawl to safety and, though she was described as “one millimeter from death” has since recovered. When questioned why they committed the crime, the two perpetrators claimed they did it for Slenderman. They claimed that Slenderman lived in the woods and that they could go to live with him in his mansion and prevent him from harming their families by killing for him. One of the perpetrators has since been diagnosed as schizophrenic and the other has been claimed to have been manipulated by the first, claiming that she believed if she did not kill for Slenderman, then she herself would be killed by the entity.
4. There is a popular Youtube series about the entity.

Known as “Marble Hornets” is a long running Youtube series filmed in found footage style in which The Slenderman is the primary antagonist. The series follows the main character, Jay, as he tries to uncover the mystery of Slenderman after the disappearance of his friend. The series runs through a total of 132 episodes across several seasons.

5. Despite the character’s widespread appeal in various projects, Slenderman is not actually public domain.

Technically speaking, Slenderman is not public domain. As the creator of the character, Knudsen still owns it. And while he has allowed several people to utilize Slenderman, he has also stopped others, such as a Kickstarter for a Slenderman movie. Knudsen has since sold the media rights for Slenderman to little known production company Mythology Entertainment and a film is slated for release in 2017.

6. Some sources claim that the upcoming sixth season of American Horror Story will about Slenderman

If true, AHS would have to buy the TV rights from Mythology (which would be distinct from the film rights and would not necessarily impede their slated film). Things are certainly not carved in stone, however. While one source makes this claim to US Weekly, another has told EW it is false.

7. Slenderman has a stylish cousin.

A humorous fan-addition to the legend, Slenderman is said to have a stylish brother named Trenderman. He was created as a parody after a person noticed that a store mannequin resembled Slenderman in stylish clothes instead of a suit. He is portrayed as a drama queen and hates people who wear crocs.