Slender Man Is Coming: Creepypasta and Contemporary Legends on the Internet

by Trevor J. Blank, Lynne S. McNeill

The essays in this volume explore the menacing figure of Slender Man--the blank-faced, long-limbed bogeyman born of a 2009 Photoshop contest who has appeared in countless horror stories circulated on- and offline among children and young people. Slender Man is arguably the best-known example in circulation of "creepypasta," a genre derived from "copypasta," which in turn derived from the phrase "copy/paste."
 
As narrative texts are copied across online forums, they undergo modification, annotation, and reinterpretation by new posters in a folkloric process of repetition and variation. Though by definition legends deal largely with belief and possibility, the crowdsourced mythos behind creepypasta and Slender Man suggests a distinct awareness of fabrication. Slender Man is therefore a new kind of one intentionally created as a fiction but with the look and feel of legend.
 
Slender Man Is Coming offers an unprecedented folkloristic take on Slender Man, analyzing him within the framework of contemporary legend studies, "creepypastas," folk belief, and children's culture. This first folkloric examination of the phenomenon of Slender Man is a must-read for anyone interested in folklore, horror, urban legends, new media, or digital cultures.
 
Contributors : Timothy H. Evans, Andrea Kitta, Mikel J. Koven, Paul Manning, Andrew Peck, Jeffrey A. Tolbert, Elizabeth Tucker

Genres: Folklore, Nonfiction, Horror

197 pages, Paperback

Published September 22, 2018

Reviews

[Paul Cowdell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not going to comment at any length here, as I'll be reviewing this in a folklore journal in due course, and the folklorists who are this book's target audience can read my comments there. (They should already have realised that this is essential reading for anybody working on legends, of course).

But I will just say that this isn't just for folklorists. It should also be looked at by anybody wanting an informed view on the relationship between online narratives and violence IRL - no, the Internet didn't make them do it, but here's lots of thinking about how the relationship actually works. This makes it pretty much essential for lots of other people, too.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little non-fiction exploration of the Slender Man mythos packs a LOT of information into its 177 pages. It features nine essays that delve into the success of the modern folk lore that grew up around a Creepy Pasta meme. Well-researched and filled with citations and some photos, Slender Man is Coming: Creepypasta and Contemporary Legends on the Internet researches how Slender Man moved from the realm of modern legend and became a part of many young peoples' beliefs - and how those beliefs caused mischief, lawbreaking, self-harm, and attempted murder.

I do wish the typeface was larger and better spaced, however.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know, nothing revolutionary but I was so fucking excited to read it and I had a good time.

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first heard of the Folklore podcast, I decided to start from the first episode, which turned out to be on Slender Man. Intrigued, I googled the Contemporary Legends journal mentioned in the episode and found this book that was based on the journey/

Slender Man Is Coming is a collection of essays on the folkloresque figure of Slender Man, written by folklorists. The essays explore the concept of the folkloresque, ostensive practice, who believes in the figure, and much more. I appreciated that the collection included one critical essay by Mikel J. Koven, who seemed more sceptical of the importance of Slender Man in youth culture.

For me, the most helpful part of the book was how it explained folklore concepts through the case of Slender Man. Some terms I learnt include:

- Ostension: the practice of adding out a legend
- Reverse ostension: the process by which a narrative is formed through collective action
- Triviality barrier: when adults regard children and teenager’s self-directed activities as trivial
- Seven Rhetorics of Play: Ancient concepts: fate, power, community, identity, frivolity; more recent concepts: progress, self, imaginary
- Folkloresque: popular culture that resembles folklore

Of course, the entertaining part of the book was about Slender Man. Before this, the only non-fiction book about Slender Man that I had heard of was by Kathleen Hale (whom I’m still not reading), which means that I never really had the chance to explore this figure in a way that wasn’t via fiction. So I really enjoyed reading about how all these folklorists interpreted the figure of Slender Man and what they thought it meant about Internet/Youth culture.

And despite me not knowing much about the study of folklore, I found this book easy to follow. Most of the terms are defined as they appear and I thought the chapters tended to build on one another (it also helps that they reference one another) so I never really felt out of my depth.

This is a very niche book but I think one that will appeal to readers who are interested in folklore and/or internet culture. I’d definitely want to read more from the authors who contributed essays and learn more about folklore from them!

This review was first posted at Eustea Reads

[lizzy bat · Rating 5 out of 5]

admittedly, i did not get to finish this book. the community college class i was taking was about to end, so i had to return it to the college library.

i had the greatest time reading this. you don’t even know how excited i was to get my hands on a copy! i’ve been interested in internet history & sociology (with a focus on creepypasta/the slenderverse) for years. it didn’t occur to me till last year to actually try seeking out scholarly works related to the subject. digital folklore spoke to me immediately. parts of this book are literally rants i’ve been on in my head, just in academic language.

if you asked me to speak about the “telephone game”-esque dispersion of character backstories among 10-16 year olds online in 2015…i would never shut the hell up. getting me started on anything related to the 2015 creepypasta fandom, really, will cause me to put even the most patient person to sleep

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightful to encounter THEN WHO WAS PHONE in an academic monograph, but I’m too much of a historian for this.

[Hana Jabr · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars