Myths and urban legends often develop over time as they are formed by a community and changed through retelling the story. The Slender Man (also known as Slenderman or The Operator) has a similar origin, although this character was created by internet culture. If you were chronically online in 2009, you might have witnessed the birth of Slender Man. His mythos and influence have continued growing, spawning video games and movies. There's not a ton of official Slender Man merch, but he's a perfectly spooky Halloween costume idea. Learn more about Slenderman here, and how to assemble a DIY Slender Man costume!
Slender Man: The Mythology
[Source: Blue Isle Studios/Fandom.com]
The Slender Man mythos started on a website called Something Awful in 2009, when they held a contest for the best paranormal pictures created with Photoshop. One of its users, Victor Surge, submitted two black-and-white pictures of children with a mysterious, tall, faceless man in a suit in the background. These images proved to be a huge hit with internet users, and more people have added to the mythology of this mysterious character over time. Slender Man has become a modern internet urban legend, with everyone having their own spin on the character but keeping a few of the fine details the same: an extremely tall man with no face in a suit who stalks his victims.
Now, if you're asking yourself, "Who is this Slender Man?" here is some information about him. This figure is estimated to be between eight to ten feet tall, has the appearance of someone wearing a suit (no one is sure if it is a suit or his own skin), and has a blank, featureless face. His arms can extend and sometimes even turn into tentacles, and additional tentacles have been known to come out of his back. Slender Man is known to stalk his prey until they meet their end. Some say that when he was done stalking, he would remove the organs of the victim, put them in plastic bags, and then place them back into the victim's body. This version of the Slender Man was also known to impale his prey on the tallest tree in the forest.
An anthology of other internet stories dealing with the Slender Man has had people reporting that he has taken more of a psychological approach with his victims. Slenderman would drive the target insane by stalking them and revealing himself during small moments throughout their lives, just enough so they know that he's watching. Then, at some point, after the victim has gone crazy with fear and paranoia, the Slender Man makes his move, and the person disappears. Some have tried to use some sort of video capturing device to catch the Slender Man in the act of stalking them. When he appears on screen, there is a lot of visual and audio distortion to make his image even more disturbing.
DIY Slender Man Costume
| Black Suit Costume | Slender Ghost Mask | White Costume Gloves |
You will need a few things to turn yourself into Slender Man this Halloween. The first would be a basic black suit. The Slender Man is rarely, if ever, seen not wearing his black suit and tie. Then, you'll need to create the blank face of the Slender Man. You can find a featureless mask like this one or use a blank white fabric mask. To finish off the costume, wear white gloves so that you have as little skin showing as possible.
The next time you walk down a forest trail and feel like someone is watching you, you may be right. The Slender Man may just have found his next victim in you! Keep in mind that there is very little you can do to protect yourself so just do what you can to document the experience to help others.
