A New Direction

Perspective has hit.  Rather than continuing to use this blog solely as a Slenderman analysis blog, I'll likely be posting some short fiction--drabbles and short stories, introductory posts from forum-based roleplays that I was particularly proud of, that sort of thing.  I don't claim quality, just that I, at one point or another, found these pieces to be memorable.

As a peace offering to anyone who might stumble on this looking for further Slender-theories, have a Lovecraftian drabble I found in one of my old short-write text files when I transferred my files over to my new laptop:

I beheld the cyclopean city for but a moment, but though I saw it only in brevity it did amaze me.  The towers crumbled before my very eyes, time’s frustrated animosity toward them finally fulfilled.  A chasm opened beneath the ruins, as the jaws of some long-starved beast seeking to procure sustenance for itself.  When the beast that was the earth had swallowed the last of the city and stood glutted and docile, I made my return to the empty valley.  My soul bowed in deference to whatever power had caused the monstrous collapse and burial, and I made my last venture home from the frozen plateaus of the arctic and away from whatever unscrupulous beings might remain.

Names and Power

In reading the bulk of the old Something Awful Slenderman stories and measuring them up against what I have read of most slenderblogs, I have noticed something that both intrigues and irks me:

There is a sort of taboo against saying Slenderman's name.  The immediately obvious reasoning behind this  is the same reasoning that causes people to be hesitant to talk about him.  Slenderman is, in my opinion, a mind-virus.  He spreads via contagion.  To say his name is to spread it.  This is simply a method of stopping the pathogen from spreading any further--a quarantine, of sorts.  Each mention of his name is another chance for one who is uninvolved to overhear and be infected.

Another immediately obvious reason for the lack of usage is one tied into tradition and superstition:  naming something acknowledges its existence.  To give something a name is to give it power.  The more people who know this name, who spread this name, who speak this name, the more powerful the bearer of the name may become.  The Forgotten Realms setting (by Wizards of the Coast) used this sort of logic to strip a goddess of her power.  By erasing her name from history, they essentially erased her.  By not speaking Slenderman's name, we may be able to erase him (or, that is what these individuals may hope).

It could even be as simple as the reason why one should never say the name of one of the Fair Folk:  if you say their name, they are summoned to you and will whisk you away to the land of the Fae.  There was at least one of the original "transcripts" in which one who had seen Slenderman begged her doctor not to say his name, as it would summon him.

All of these reasons are valid.

Yet I feel that it is better to name the beast than to simply ignore the elephant in the room.

Yes, I know that I could be spreading the contagion.  We are overlooking a key factor here:  fear.  If we avoid using his name, we cause his name to invoke fear when uttered.  The lack of use gives it a different power--not over Slenderman himself, but over those who know the name of Slenderman.  To continue my slightly nerdy comparisons, the disuse and taboo of Slenderman's name is much the same as calling Voldemort "You-Know-Who."  The only difference between the two is that, while it requires one to use Voldemort's name in order for him to pinpoint your position, the minute you think of Slenderman, he knows where you are.  It is completely irrelevant whether or not you use his name, he'll be able to find you anyway.  The only possible escape is lobotomy or amnesia, as he holds no power over those who do not know him (much like The Game, in a way).

So, I will be using his name within this blog.  If you disagree with this, that is fine.  This is simply a heads-up.

Disappearing Notes, and Notes on the Names

After a hiatus in my search of info on the foe, I pulled up my OneNote notebook containing all of my collected information only to find that half of it had been completely removed.

I'm not exactly sure whether it was my computer acting up or otherwise, but it seems a bit suspicious to find that over twenty separate "pages" of notes (coming to around fifty or so printed pages), each of which was saved on a different day and thus could not possibly have just not saved correctly, have just vanished into thin air.  Days, even weeks of research have been lost.  I am very displeased with this development.

I am hardly surprised that there was no response to my last post.  I'm not a Runner, nor am I one who has seen the foe himself.  In lieu of discussing findings, I shall simply share my view of one of the strange language conventions used by those who have seen the Slenderman.

"Hallowed" and Proxies

I find it strange that some Runners use the term "Hallowed" to refer to those who have been turned into servants of the Slenderman.  Were the term "Hollowed" I would not be so confused--the former human has been turned into nothing more than a shell to be manipulated.  The living human has been replaced with something no more than a phantom or a ghost of what they once were.  The human has been hollowed out.  This makes more immediate sense.

"Hallowed" requires more work to discern the meaning of.  Let us begin with the definition of the word "hallowed," as well as its more common uses.  "Hallowed" is most commonly used in place of the word "holy."  It means something is sacred or blessed by God, the opposite of unholy.  This suggests that the proxies are something more than human after being converted, something sacred.  It could also be as simple as the idea that the once-humans are acting in the interests of a higher power (Good and Evil being only the constructs of the human mind, I shall refrain from labeling the Slenderman as either).

The term "Hallowed" also has another, more disturbing consequence when used.  To call someone "Hallowed" is to recognize the divinity of the one who consecrated them.  In using this term, Slenderman is being raised to the level of a divine being.  One would think this would be the last thing Runners would want, and yet I see this term used fairly often.  If you use this term, I implore you to stop.  You are only making him more powerful through its use.

There are plenty of alternatives to "Hallowed."  I have already suggested "Hollowed," due to its similarity to the former and the appropriateness of its meaning in context.  Another popular term is "proxy" or "slenderproxy."  This seems to be one of the most appropriate.  These individuals act in Slenderman's stead.  They act as his hands when he does not wish to make an appearance.  I have also heard these individuals called "Agents," but this seems to give them more credit for being organized and businesslike than I believe them to be.

Infection

I am not sure which of the various Slenderbloggers first posed the theory that the creature himself is a mind virus, but I am rather sure that I agree.  My own interaction with the mythos is likely why I believe this to be so.

My first contact with the Slenderman was on 4chan's /x/.  There was nothing but the original explanation (tall, slender suited man who is seen before the disappearances of children), along with a few of the original shopped pictures and a disclaimer that this was something created on the Something Awful forums.  At least, that is how I recall it.  I must confess that my memory has never been too keen on dates, so this could have been any time in the past two years (more likely the end of 2009/beginning of 2010, but I am unsure).  It seems like forever ago.

In any case, I looked over the pasta and moved on, not finding anything of any particular importance about it.  However, during the end of the Spring 2010 semester at my university, I started noticing a peculiar symbol cropping up in odd places.  The symbol was drawn in chalk, usually.  (I assumed that this was done to avoid any fines for graffiti, as the rain would wash it away.)  As time went by, the symbol began to show up in places that the rain couldn't reach--still in chalk, mind you.  Obviously, it was meant to be seen.

I spent many a day wandering past this symbol, wondering what exactly it meant and why it was so widespread.  What was so important about a circle with an "x" through it?  I was curious, but not curious enough to actively pursue an answer.  My classes demanded enough of my attention already, and I did not have any time to spare on what I presumed to either be the drunken scrawl of bored frat boys or some sort of viral marketing campaign (as so much of the chalk "art" on our campus turns out to be).  The markings disappeared--whether due to rain or with human help, I shall never know--and I eventually forgot about it.

Until I decided to start an archive of creepypasta.  I've always been a fan of horror, and short stories that are geared to invoke an emotional reaction are one of my loves.  I thought to myself, since I now have OneNote, I should save my favorite stories for further reference.  Websites can and will go down, and pages can be altered.  I should save that which I enjoy, lest it be gone next time I go to read it.

This is how I ended up rediscovering Slenderman, and inadvertently discovering the meaning behind those symbols I had been finding on campus.  In the short time since my rediscovery, I have developed what might be termed an unhealthy fixation on the mythos and the accounts of those who claim to have encountered our tall, dark, and faceless foe.

I have most definitely been infected by this mind virus, and what I am doing here is only helping to perpetuate its growth.  I do not deny that I am spreading this contagion--quite knowingly, though not without a certain amount of guilt--to whatever unlucky reader chances upon this blog.  I know of two others whom I have infected as of this moment, though one seems completely unconvinced and uninterested (thank goodness).  The one who showed interest is my proverbial partner-in-crime when it comes to odd and possibly paranormal happenings, so I do not fear for her.  We both regard the mythos with a sort of morbid curiosity, wanting to know more, possibly at the cost of our sanity (to say the least).  But I am rambling.  Best I stay on topic, lest I forget my point altogether.

I often wonder what the stages of progression are for this particular virus.  There is first contact, which involves the individual being introduced to the story of Slenderman.  The most common form of first contact these days seems to be the various YouTube channels--Marble Hornets, Tribe Twelve, EverymanHYBRID--but the blogs on the subject are a common medium of transmission as well.  Less common is the spread of the knowledge directly from person to person--whether through some sort of digital means or otherwise.  Interestingly, the person that I told face-to-face showed disbelief in the story, whereas the one I informed via electronic means has retained a sort of general curiosity.  I am tempted to intentionally mention the mythos to others and study the effects of different methods of introduction on general interest and/or involvement in the material, but there are certain ethical issues inherent in that sort of experiment that I would not be entirely comfortable dealing with.

If those who read this would please mention their first contact with the material, that would be appreciated.  I'd like to know how you came into contact with the material, as well as how long it was between your first interaction with the material and the first of any sightings you may have had.  I figure that is about as good of a starting place as any in attempting to understand this virus.  Perhaps we will be able to get some consistent data, or at least a correlation between the time it takes for symptoms to manifest and the severity of the symptoms manifesting.

Introduction

I do not claim to know anything more than what I have observed.
I do not claim to have observed all.
I am simply full of theories--some of which have been presented already by others, and some of which are truly my own.

My theories may not all be valid, and they may not all be logical.  In fact, quite a few of them operate on certain assumptions which may or may not be in the least bit valid.  Nonetheless, they are theories.

I do not participate.  I watch, and I wonder.
I do not sit idly by.  I thirst for knowledge.

I do not claim to be part of that select group of Named Individuals.  I have no Title.  I merely watch.
I do not fear, therefore I am not a target.  Perhaps some day I will fear, once my knowledge of the Foe is complete.  For now, I do not fear.


Cryptic, yes.  Poetic, perhaps.  But it gets my point across.  I am not one who has seen the Foe, and thus I can do no more than guess at his nature.  I observe the struggles of those who have seen him, and I learn from that which they accomplish.  Even failures allow for further theorizing.

This blog will be used for cataloging my theories.  I welcome any discussion of them, as well as any additional information anyone might have.  I do not claim to be Omega, nor could I hope to be his equal.  I am simply curious, and am using this blog as a way to express that curiosity.

That said, happy reading.