Slenderman… where do we even begin? At this point, he needs no introduction. Anyone who sees an image, a video, or even a simple drawing will recognize him immediately. His popularity spawned games, fan art, cosplay, and of course creepypasta… until two 12-year-olds stabbed a third girl 19 times, believing Slenderman was real. That's more than enough for a documentary, and that brings us to Beware The Slenderman, coming soon to HBO.
The Origins of Slenderman
His story began on June 10, 2009, when user "Victor Surge" (real name Eric Knudsen) on the Something Awful forums posted the first material about Slenderman, as part of a contest to alter images with Photoshop to make them "paranormal". Text entries, new images, comments, and a whole series of additions turned Slenderman (or Slender Man, as most prefer) into a horror character in his own right. His popularity reached such a level that he was adapted into a video game called "Slender: The Eight Pages", which spread like a virus on YouTube, with thousands of videos showing terrified people trying to escape the pale figure in a black suit. However, there are times when reality exceeds fiction, and in the specific case of Slenderman, the result was tragic...
A Real-Life Nightmare
On May 31, 2014, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, two 12-year-old girls tricked a third (all schoolmates) into taking her to the woods and stabbing her, with the goal of impressing Slenderman, proving he was real, and becoming his "followers". The victim received a total of 19 wounds, one of them coming less than a millimeter from her heart, but she still managed to get out of the woods, seek help, and survive the six-hour surgery she needed. Her two "friends" are still being tried in court, and the panic caused by the news immediately triggered the development of a documentary called Beware The Slenderman, which will air on HBO.
The Documentary
When exactly? Its premiere screening took place at this year's SXSW Film Festival, but the formal debut will be on January 23, exclusively for subscribers of the service. It was directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky, known for her work on Hear and Now, and The Final Inch, the first documentary sponsored by Google.org, which was also nominated for an Oscar. Those who had early access to the documentary have said it's very good material, so we'll be waiting.
For more information, visit the official site.
