Internet Reacts to ‘Slender Man’ Trailer

The idea of “The Slender Man” was born on the internet in 2009 and has since permeated the world of web series, video games and even films. It makes sense then that, with the debut of the first trailer for the upcoming horror film Slender Man, the internet would be full of some pretty strong reactions. Check out a sampling of reactions below.

As you can tell from the reactions above, most social media users thought the film looks like “too little, too late,” in addition to overall feeling pretty generic-looking.

The character was created in 2009 on the Something Awful forums during a challenge where users attempted to take seemingly mundane photos and turn them into something horrific with Photoshop. Eric Knudsen, posting under the name “Victor Surge,” shared photos of children with a faceless, elongated, suited figure lurking in the background, claiming this was “The Slender Man.”

The image caused a strong reaction with users, with many other people contributing their own takes on the presence in a variety of scenarios. It didn’t stop with images, as many users also began elaborating on the creature’s backstory, which often included supernatural elements and missing children.

Slender Man became one of the first examples of the internet collectively developing an all-new urban legend whose mythology would change slightly from one user to the next.

Later in 2009, the web series Marble Hornets featured multiple videos of relatively mundane daily tasks, with sporadic appearances from the Slender Man, becoming one of the first live-action interpretations of the legend.

Sadly, in 2014 two 12-year-old girls had difficulties separating fact from fiction, interpreting the legend of the Slender Man as fact. Fearing for their wellbeing, the girls decided that the only way to assure their safety was to offer a sacrifice to the Slender Man in order to become one of his “proxies.”

The girls lured a friend into a local park bathroom where they stabbed her 19 times and left her to die. Luckily, the girl was able to recuperate while the attackers were sentenced to mental health facilities.

The events of the tragedy were documented for the film Beware the Slenderman, featuring interviews with the family members of the girls involved.

Slender Man will land in theaters on May 18.