The documentary based on him cometh, that is. Based on the crime he inspired. You remember. The two middle schoolers who tried to murder their classmate by stabbing her 19 times in an effort to curry favor from Slenderman, a supernatural entity who doesn’t exist. (Or does he?) The victim survived, the two juvenile murderer wannabes got the de rigueur legal smackdown, and now HBO has crafted a documentary chronicling the case that is getting positive buzz. It will debut on Tuesday, January 17.
During the media coverage of the case, it was suggested by professionals that the two girls who wanted to kill their friend for Slenderman had mental defects. I’d say that’s a big ol’ “Duh!” But hold up just a sec. We know that Internet “creepy pasta” is the continuation of human folklore, which has always been with us and has always been dangerously potent. It taps into something beneath the surface of the human psyche, that benighted realm where the worst kinds of horrors dwell. Sure, we know Slenderman is just something some dude made up. But what if, like happened with Freddy in WES CRAVEN’S NEW NIGHTMARE, you have this otherworldly, hostile entity that chooses to take on the form of some figure from pop culture, some IT-like transdimensional bigbad seeking an entrée into our world for the purpose of accomplishing nastiness—like motivating disturbed little girls into murdering their friends? Yes, the most likely explanation is that the kids were just crazy. But it’s a fascinating theory, innit?
Kind of like the old sci-fi trope about an idea taking on a life of its own, right?
Right.