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[threads]

[Dray]

Oh snap! But I thought that that was a human within a rabbit within a human costume!

[Mira]

Tulpa

[Snippet]

Trygon: Your Horse is amazing! o.o

[SticktheFigure]

I choose to reject the idea of Tulpas. Not to say I don't play along however.

[Mr.Beyond]

EDIT: Oh. So I don't sound vague, I reply to this.

[Cedocore]

[tyciol]

I have not seen him, but I can not help but wonder if he exists. The thing is, even if people have presented it as fiction... doing so does not invalidate possibility.

If there was a slender man in the shadows, what better way to make people disregard those who have seen him but to present it as fiction?

Perhaps he has influenced people to write it for him. Perhaps he promised to leave them alone. Perhaps he inspired someone's dreams. Perhaps someone wrote it as fiction so they could convince them-self that whatever terrifying events they were experiencing were only a concoction of the imagination rather than their observation.

With so many hands, perhaps the slender man learned how to use a computer, perhaps stole a lap top from one of his child victims in this modern age.

I find it seriously worrying that due to this presentation we are laughing off people who may be giving an honest testimonial.

[morscata12]

SlenderMan is a monster that sees with cameras, can stretch himself to any shape, can bend time, manipulates people, and can use forests to teleport. These details were pulled together by talented writers to make a compelling tale - if the tale wasn't compelling, this thread wouldn't exist.

One of the elements that makes Marble Hornets so compelling is the inspiration for the horror-aspects of the story. Rather than target high-level fears, the Marble Hornets guys have touched upon the base fears/instincts that most/all people have. It's why Marble Hornets is universally terrifying; SlenderMan embodies a collection of human fear. He is a stand-in for that set of base fears.

Since those fears are low-level in the mind, they don't necessary have a source. Actually, they are a way for us to react to things we don't understand (and don't want to understand). Fear of the dark, fear of the unknown, fear of losing oneself - these base fears are all fear of the unknown. Since the source is literally "unknown", it is easy to create a stand-in for those fears. In the Marble Hornets story, SlenderMan acts as the cause of all "unknown" fears.

If you define SlenderMan as the character, then obviously he doesn't exist. Writers pulled together story-telling elements and invented facts to make up this fictional character.

However, we don't define SlenderMan as a physical monster. Rather, we define SlenderMan as a mental indicator that our base fears exist. Since it is difficult to consider "the unknown", we can more easily grasp the concept with an stand-in of the unknown. Essentially, we use the idea of SlenderMan to consider our fears.

This consideration of fear can take place in many ways. One way would be to write a story starring the stand-in for the unknown: SlenderMan. Elements of his characterization from existing stories will inevitably make it into the new story - though this is simply to make it easier to use the stand-in (if the stand-in is too vague, using a stand-in would be pointless). These stories are then used to either explore or defeat the various fears of the author.

One side effect of new stories using existing characterization is that is unifies the stories, giving the appearance that the character could actually exist. Seeing so many collaborating stories could convince people that the character is real, though knowing why these things happen should help ease that concern.

This is not a new phenomenon. Aliens have acted as this "unknown" stand-in for decades. The most popular example I can think of are the Reptilians - their shared characterization spawned shortly after the V miniseries. People would watch the show and then use its characters to understand thoughts they could not put into words.

Does knowing the origin of these shared characterizations invalidate these stories? No. It would be thoughtless to disregard the tales of Reptilians as merely V fan fiction, just as it would be thoughtless to disregard SlenderMan stories as Marble Hornets fan fiction. Though they can be categorized as fan fiction, the reason for the stories is cathartic for the author (and for the readers), so we can't discount them.

[SticktheFigure]

So my idea that an giant ice cream man follows me everywhere is totally a legit thought?

Fuck yea

[Grim Joker]

Slenderman was created on SomethingAwful, I severely doubt he really exists. Unless it's a Freddy Kruger/The Tutorial type scenario, in which our belief of him makes him exist. In which case, we're fucked.

[Cinderblock]

It just occurred to me:
Since so many believe in "god," why isn't he around?

[Seraphic Adonis]

[SticktheFigure]

Just like believing in the stego doesn't make him real.
The stego: http://www.facebook.com/notes/the-stego/the-stego-and-how-to-stay-on-his-good-side-a-guide-for-the-masses/209328969440

[morscata12]

Hah, I had forgotten why I was avoiding posting here before Season 2 starts. Hopefully the trolls will scatter once some new content surfaces.