An excellent new review from
Robert Goerman of my recently published book, "The Slenderman Mystreries."
The Slenderman Mysteries: An Internet Urban Legend Comes to Life
by Nick Redfern
Publisher: New Page Books (February 19, 2018)
Paperback: 288 pages
Reviewed by Robert A. Goerman
http://robertgoerman.wixsite.com/paranormal
Well, soak me in gasoline and hand me a lighter... I must confess to
originally never giving all this "Slenderman" business a second thought.
Nick Redfern changes all that. The Slenderman Mysteries: An Internet
Urban Legend Comes to Life leaves readers feeling like helpless bugs
trapped in a violently shaken jar.
Eric Knudsen has an epiphany.
Prompted by a Photoshop contest to manipulate ordinary photos into scary
paranormal images, he "creates" The Slender Man (now known simply as
Slenderman) during a "boring" afternoon at work. Knudsen admits to
throwing together the two original images in about fifteen minutes and
that "it was pretty spontaneous." The black-and-white photographs depict
a very tall and emaciated "man" in a black suit. His arms and legs are
way too long and spiderlike. He has no hair or face. Tentacles protrude
from his back. He is lurking behind a group of children. Using the
pseudonym of "Victor Surge," Knudsen downloads the doctored photos,
accompanied by some tantalizing text, to the Something Awful (SA)
website forum and The Slender Man is born on June 10, 2009. Wednesday's
child is full of woe.
In an interview, Knudsen adds, "You’ve seen him, now you can’t unsee him."
As I independently research each aspect while reading Nick Redfern's
book, I am amazed and alarmed as to how effortlessly Knudsen's
nightmarish contagion is crafted and the efficient incubation period of
the psycho-virus. "Slendermania" spreads like wildfire. Redfern writes
that "None of this occurred in weeks or even months. It all happened
within days."
It gets weirder.
On the night of November 6,
2009, George Noory, host of the hugely popular paranormally themed
talk-show Coast to Coast AM, takes a number of calls from people who
claim to have personally encountered an entity resembling Slenderman.
Some claim the Slenderman invades their dreams. Others see the
Slenderman in the real world.
My colleague, the Reverend Robin
Swope, has many narratives concerning encounters with Slenderman. Many
of these predate the invention of the mythos. These are detailed in his
2012 book Slenderman: From Fiction to Fact.
What is happening here?
Who or what is the Slenderman? Is he a mind-created Tulpa or
thought-form that can stride out of our darkest imaginations and into
reality if enough people believe in him? Is Eric Knudsen a creator or
conduit? Is the Internet awake and tormenting us with equivalents of our
very own online nightmares? Is he summoned by Chaos Magic? Is
Slenderman the "reborn face of an ancient evil?" There are far more
questions and theories and synchronicities than answers.
On May
31, 2014, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, both twelve, lure their
friend, fellow sixth-grader Payton “Bella” Leutner, into the woods near
their Waukesha, Wisconsin suburb. What happens next becomes
international news. Geyser and Weier stab Leutner nineteen times and
then leave her to die, hoping that her death will make them worthy of
becoming servants or "proxies" of Slenderman. Their victim survives the
attack and Geyser and Weier are arrested, tried, and sentenced.
Slenderman becomes a household word. The horrific tragedy now haunts
every attempt to research this topic.
I do not envy Nick Redfern
on this endeavor. The Slenderman Mysteries: An Internet Urban Legend
Comes to Life covers a lot of territory. Interviews are conducted with
the likes of Jenny Coleman, Mike Huberty, Allison Jornlin, Tea Krulos,
Olav Phillips, Kimberly Rackley, Robin Swope, and Ian Vincent.
Whenever I examine any reported encounter with the paranormal, I attempt
to ascertain the temperature of the witness. In a COLD encounter, the
witness is minding their own business, with nary a thought about the
unknown and unexplained. During WARM encounters, the witness has a
temporary involvement with the paranormal spurred by mild curiosity or
social pressure. They may be playing with a Ouija board or participating
in an amateur hunt for ghosts or cryptids. HOT encounters involve
individuals who are in active pursuit of the paranormal.
One of
my favorite cases in The Slenderman Mysteries: An Internet Urban Legend
Comes to Life is very HOT. "Lacy," a trainee flight attendant from Erie,
Pennsylvania becomes overwhelmingly obsessed with the the saga of the
Slenderman, reading all that she could about the subject. One book that
she reads is Slenderman: From Fiction to Fact.
Lacy always keeps
her laptop computer on a coffee table in her living room. On three
occasions in 2016, her device, which was in sleep-mode, wakes up. The
first time it briefly displays an image looking like a cross between a
man and a long-legged bug. The second time it clearly displays
Slenderman's non-face. On the final occasion, a voice announces: "We are
friends." Lacy immediately drops her research into the Slenderman,
deletes all her files on the subject, and burns her copy of Reverend
Swope's book in a metal container in her mother's yard. Slenderman did
not return.
There is a history of paranormal phenomena emanating
from telephones, radios, and televisions. Haunted computers seems to be
the next phase.
There is also a history of "psychic backlash."
Sometimes, when a person becomes too deeply immersed in paranormal
investigation and research, the phenomena appears to realize that it is
being watched and responds. Usually, not in a positive manner. John Keel
and others, warn us, time and time again, about the dangers of
contemplating supernatural entities.
Be careful what you wish for.
We may want to prepare ourselves for a new wave of "Slendermania."
Slender Man is an upcoming supernatural horror film directed by Sylvain
White and written by David Birke. The film stars Joey King, Julia
Goldani Telles, Jaz Sinclair, Annalise Basso and Talitha Bateman. The
monster is portrayed by Javier Botet. A brief summary reads: "Slender
Man tells the story of a tall, thin, horrifying figure with unnaturally
long arms and a featureless face, who is reputed to be responsible for
the haunting and disappearance of countless children and teens." It will
be released by Screen Gems on August 24, 2018.
Nick Redfern's book will be a great place to start.
