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[jamie6]

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[Arison]

I actually started watching Marble Hornets before I knew what Slender Man was. They both got mentioned on Halloween in a chat with some friends and by chance I ended up looking up Marble Hornets first. At first I thought it was going to be some kind of government conspiracy series, what with Slender Man's suit. Even with the first entry, I thought Slender Man had been posted outside Alex's house to watch him and that he was talking on a cellphone when he noticed Alex looking out the window; thus the first head turn.

Then after a few entries I googled Slender Man himself.

The first time there was audio distortion in an entry, I freaked out because it was so unexpected and watched the rest of the entry with the volume way turned down. In Entry #26 when the video jumps and everyone knows what that signifies at that point, I screamed. It was more of an "oh shit they just did it this is going to be intense" than a terror-filled scream, though.

For me, Marble Hornets also has a lot of imagery that freaks me out. These guys from Princess Mononoke? Freak me out. This part in Lady Gaga's Alejandro video? Totally freaks me out. Especially as a still image I don't know why I just did that to myself. But in any case, Marble Hornets uses a lot of imagery like that, especially in Entry ###### and the broken/scattered segment of Entry #26. And I realise it's a bit of a unique case for me, but that's some of what truly makes the series effective for me. This is actually the Slender Man image that freaks me out the most, because it has aspects of that.

Other reasons have been stated before; MH's Slenderman falls into the Uncanny Valley, rather than just being a horrible graffic monster. The stalking, the uncertaintiy. That being said, I did really enjoy Just Another Fool, but never kept up with any of the other blogs or journals. Which is a shame and I will one day rectify it, but someone is just as legitimate in preferring Marble Hornets over one of the blogs and someone who prefers one of the blogs over Marble Hornets. Some people also prefer to watch things than read things.

[moosekaw]

i clicked on entry 1 in hopes of finding something trollable
looks like ive been punished for my sins of trolling

[Dray]

You don't fuck with the people who put monsters outside your window, boy, that's just the laws of the internet!

[fezzik]

several have mentioned this already, but for me there are two aspects: the ARGish nature of the game, especially early on, dragged me in. That was essential for me personally because I'm usually not a horror fan. But what kept me around was what MH *doesn't* show. One of my favorites is the one with Brian in the car, when about two-thirds of the way through he moves his head and reveals Slendy in the distance. The first time through I actually missed it and I got quite confused. The second time through I saw it, and I almost crapped my pants. There is nothing intrinsically scary about a tall thing standing in an alleyway, but it scared me because there is no logical reason for that thing to be there. And because there is no sanity, we have no idea how to predict it or what it will do. It could be right behind me right now. It could want to eat my brain. Or it could have tasty chocolates. Who the f*ck knows?

I find the prospect of going slowly insane far more terrifying than, say, being disemboweled.

For me, the Mask and TTA work because they contribute to the mystery. What's the deal? Who are they? Why are they so cryptic? Are they friends? Why haven't they just killed Jay? It wouldn't be hard. Are they saving him for something even worse?

I love it.

[distilled]

This was the first ARG/Chaotic fiction I ever came across and it led me here, so I really have a connection to it. I really enjoy coming on to UnFiction and chatting about the puzzles and the story so although the series may not be quite the pinnacle of horror, it holds a lot of sentimental value.

Although, in some ways I prefer the story of MH to EMH. A LOT of bad stuff has happened in EMH and they seem to be a bit meh about it all, I mean, when the Rake-esque thing is in Jeff bros room hes just like "ah well, I'll sleep in the next room". WTF? I'd be about 10 miles away by that point!

At least in MH they gfto!

[BritishHobo]

[distilled]

[iFaux]

Comparing EHM's Slender Man to MH's Slender Man when it comes to terrifying-ness is like comparing Cat In The Hat to any Lovecraft book.

EMH's Slender Man is far from terrifying, and if anything, almost silly. The only thing slightly scary in EMH is the Rake.

And there's also a reason as to why other blogs, videos, etc have been able to create an almost scary atmosphere would be because MarbleHornets basically set the standard - most things are outright borrowed from MarbleHornets, including the distortion. Saying that the distortion isn't possible without video editing is just saying that you have far from an open mind. MarbleHornets' Slender Man has me almost terrified of the dark. Good job, guys . I can't even think about walking outside by myself in the dark anymore..*shutters*

[Dray]

Gotta say that, if nothing else, the body acting of the Rake from EMH was pretty damned cool. Had me jumping in my chair, which is a different kind of scare from what I get from Slendy pop-ups in MH. They both have their merits!

BritishHobo, I agree with you on most counts, though. :3 Part of what made stumbling on MH cool was that it was the first of its kind that I'd seen. Saw Slendy on the Knowyourmeme site, clicked a link to a link to a series of videos, got more and more creeped out. Now that I know about Slendy etc. the newer blogs and vlogs are just... I don't know, it's not as "oh shi--!" because you can guess what they're going to do, and it's probably going to be like MH.