Slenderman: From Fiction to Fact

by Robin S. Swope

Has a fictional internet character come to life? Slenderman was created on June 10th 2009. During a contest on the "Something Awful" forum in which people were asked to create a fictional paranormal character to fool investigators. A submission by "Victor Surge" took the forum and soon the Internet by storm. His creation "Slenderman" is a paranormal entity that lurks in the shadows, stalking people from their childhood. Once encountered, it is an unrelenting and unstoppable force of evil that does not rest until you are dead. This shadow entity is dressed in a black suit and is inhumanly tall with oddly long limbs. These limbs eerily extend out and multiply to trap you in its terrifying death embrace. But the oddest thing about this fictional internet character? People are actually having encounters with a real life Slenderman entity. In this new book by Robin Swope you will discover the origin and growth of the Slenderman myth, its historical archetypal imagery and the chilling clues that point to this modern myth is in fact an actual demonic force that has been hunting humans for hundreds of years. Join Rev. Robin Swope, a seminary trained exorcist and minister as he explores the strange story of the malicious child killing entity known as Slenderman.

150 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

Reviews

[Jamie Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slenderman From Fiction to Fact, is a book I would surely recommend to my friends. It explains how an internet meme becomes a real entity that is believed to have been around for centuries. Haunting people from their first encounter until they die, This entity has been told in many stories from many cultures. Author and seminary-exorcist at his church, brings us along this incredible book explaining the myth. From how it was created,to how to defeat it. He also wrote about actual encounters with the Slenderman. These stories may seem fake to you but as crazy as it seems, it has a 50/50% chance of it being real. Find out more inside the book.

[kalakakku · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really weird, but kind of interesting. Please learn how to do proper citations, it will increase your credibility. Not that it really matters on a book like this... But really, there were some interesting takes on the mythos in my opinion.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little distraction.

Poor spelling and typos, this needed an editor really.

It’s a fun bit of sill my fun that doesn’t add much to the Slenderman mythos.

Childish charm and harmless fun - but not really horror.

[Lori June]

Less than a star
Boo hiss
Ridiculous

[Adam Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gangly creature without a face that towers over all that encounter him. A being that the more you think about him the more enraged he becomes. A tall man that will relentlessly follow its victim until the day they die. Has the work of an Internet meme come to life and started stalking people?

Before reading this I didn't know much about Slenderman other than the video game he stars in. I thought that was all there was to the matter, but the wildfire ARG that has sustained the myth extends a lot further; to the point where it is unclear whether the Internet is fuelling the myth or the myth is fuelling the Internet.

I was expecting this book to be a collection of neat stories that add to the mythos, I wasn't expecting it to be the work of an actual exorcist. The being that is Slenderman is a paranoia fuelled nightmare that functions on the same basic premise of The Game; if you think about it you lose. Slenderman is a tulpa (or parapsychodynamis as the author puts it) of the worst variety, the more you know about him the strong he'll become and all the more determined to hurt you. And now the Internet has gone and put a spotlight on him.

The tales in this book are interesting and varied, with the ones that seem far-out and yet strike a cord to the ones that are so subtle that they can't help but seem plausible. I'll admit that demons are probably one of the few things I'm actually afraid of, and the concept of a being that will relentlessly stalk you from out the corner of your eye terrifies me. There were a few times when I had to put this book down to keep myself from freaking out (although it's probably my fault for reading such material before bed).

A great book for those interested in the Slenderman mythos and feel up to the challenge of facing this thing head on.

[Robbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Slenderman; from fact to fiction
Author: Robin S. Swope
lexile: unknown
star rating: five out of five

Right off the bat, I'm going to say; THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. LY TERIFFYING!!!!!!!!!! This book is about the "Slenderman," an internet meme could very possibly be real. The slender man is a abnormally tall man with long limbs and ttentacles coming out of his back. You are most likely to see him in forests and wooded areas. Beware; YOU ARE NOT SAFE AT DAYTIME!!!! This book has everything from true sightings of slenderman, to old myths and legends and stories about him. There are also lots of juicy factoids about the slenderman. But the best part of the book is all the pictures and documents! 100% real!!!!!!!!!!!!!(I think.) The story that creeped me out the most is this one about this little boy who lived in Kansas who mysteriously disappeared from his birthday party.
He was last seen playing in the forest behind his house. They even have a picture of his birthday party WITH THE SLENDERMAN IN IT!!!!!!!!

My favorite part of the book is the story I just told you about the boy disappearing. I mean, it's just so CREEPY. And it also scared me so much that now whenever I go into a forest of wood, I'm always looking behind me a jumping when anything moves.

I would recommend this book to anybody who is researching the slenderman, or anybody who likes to be scared. This is a perfect book for you. And remember; If by any chance you see slenderman as a child, he will find you and kill you. A CRUD HE IS RIGHT BEHIND ME!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH.......*STATIC*

[Kevinjwoods · Rating 4 out of 5]

A summary of the 'truth' behind the meme that has caused so many 'the slenderman made me do it' defences in America recently.
Basically in 2009 on an internet board about hoaxes someone faked up some pictures of a Tall man loosely based on the guy from Phantasm and some old stories and after a while a lot of people started to make up their own stories and suddenly it became an actual thing.
This book gives the background to the story and also includes some eye witness testimony about similar creatures seen over the last few decades indicating that it possibly is simply an update of something from the collective unconscious of monsters that exists in our nightmares.

[Bryan Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm speechless

[Jaden]

ok

[Jessica]

I beleive