Marble Hornets/Slender Man

[Arganaut]

Stayed up late studying, thought I might throw this down while I was thinking about it.

Any Slender Fans beside me around here?

[Dervon]

ARG's are fascinating things, and Marble Hornets is amongst the best of 'em. It are fact.

[Farmer_10]

That stuff scared the unholy crap out of me. I became a mild agoraphobic for a week after I read some of the stories. I became scared of the dark again.

[Wittgen]

I enjoyed it. Well, eventually it got pretty dumb. But for a while it was genuinely terrifying, and that's not the easiest thing in the world to pull off.

[Arganaut]

I enjoyed it. Well, eventually it got pretty dumb. But for a while it was genuinely terrifying, and that's not the easiest thing in the world to pull off.

What do you mean precisely? I mean, I still find it pretty terrifying. I mean, sure, some of the blog stuff is starting to get pretty NARMy, but stuff like Marble Hornets is still doing well in my opinion.

[leon89]

I spent a night up watching through this and stayed awake half the next night.

[Wittgen]

Oooh, there's some guy in a mask. Oh no, I'm running towards him and grappling him on the floor. So terrifying.

Yeah, that was dumb, and it killed it for me. It's hard to be scared when you're rolling your eyes.

[AshBellringer]

I find how people react to it more interesting then the thing itself.

It's amazing how a simple premise and idea can lead to a such a massive emotional reaction by a regular human being.
-chuckles- It's the only reason why I go to horror movies. Also the reason why I'm so excited for Dead Island, but I'm digressing.

As such, the Slender Man is a very interesting thing to me, if only to hear people go 'OMG' about it when I explain it or freak out or go 'it's totally real! Shut up for he's gonna get you!"

[Dervon]

They did basically shoot themselves in the leg when it came to chosen topic, since actually putting Slender Man in a video would require some heavy post-production for the arms, height, etc... And as Witt' pointed out, dude in mask just does not cut it after a point. Granted, dude in mask scenes in the guy's bedroom while he was sleeping? Yeah, that was great, and creepy as hell.

[Arganaut]

I think Marble Hornets had to make some kind of transition if it was going to continue beyond the creep factor. Now its more of a thriller/mystery rather than pure horror, although if you ask me some of the elements of horror are still there. Could stand to actually, you know, have the Slender Man interact every now and then, but hey what do I know?

By the way, for those of you absolutely flabergasted by what the hell we're talking about:



Could someone a bit more solid on the mythos than I am give a basic run down?

[AshBellringer]

Gladly.

First you need to know of the first known image of the Slender Man.



If you look in the left corner, by the tree, you'll notice a oddly portioned man. This is one of two recovered photographs from the Stirling City Library blaze. It's notable for being taken the day which fourteen children vanished and for what is referred to as 'The Slender Man'. Deformities on 'The Slender Man', from this point on just called Slender Man, cited as film defects by officials. Fire at the library occurred one week later. The actual photograph confiscated as evidence.

From this moment onwards, and the discovery of this image, and people began to notice more and more that the Slender Man had showed up before, in the past.

He is an enigmatic figure, most often seen as a tall, extremely thin man with long, strange arms, and a face that no two people see the same way (if they see any face at all) wearing a suit. Where he comes from is as much a mystery as what he wants. All that is known is that there is evidence of him existing for far longer than one would expect. Those who see him often wind up missing—or worse—with their mutilated bodies impaled upon a tree, and their organs removed and then replaced systematically.

His presence is associated with paranoia and sometimes a strange sickness, and those who see him are frequently found to be maniacally writing strange messages, and drawing mad scribbles of a dark, faceless figure.

It has been advised -not- to go seeking out more information on the Slender Man... as to avoid attracting... unwanted attention.

There are four main projects seeking out information on the Slender Man. Marble Hornets, Everyman HYBRID, Tribe Twelve and Just Another Fool, are most closely associated with the Slender Man mythos, along with a series of strange stories from people who appear to have seen him, as well as photographs by people who have not been heard from since. Rudimentary internet searches can find all of these, or you could try the TVTropes 'Slender Man Mythos Stories' page.

Spoiler: show

((Or, for those of you who are now -REALLY- freaked out, let me calm your nerves with this:
The Slender Man Mythos is a 'Creepy Pasta', or scare-factor copy-paste that was created by Victor Surge on Something Awful, and quickly mutated into a major Meme and what you see before you today. Don't turn the lights off kids.

You never know what's gonna go bump in the night.))

[Arganaut]

Sooooo... reviving this thread because I downloaded and tried to play Slender. I would recommend it if you're in the mood to be scared. Wouldn't recommend it if you're not. Now, 'scuse me while I turn on all my lights.

[jgkitarel]

Huh, haven't been honestly frightened by the Horror genre since I read some of Stephen King's more classic works. I'm gonna have to check it out.

[Tempest Kitsune]

*Dives out of the thread, gibbering*

[jgkitarel]

Hmm, not bad, not bad at all. Was actually pretty chilling in the earlier stuff. Didn't affect me too much, but it definitely has its effects.

Then again, I've dealt with enough things in the real world that could and, if given a chance, would kill me enough times that fear is something I am very familiar with.

[doc.exe]

I have watched till entry #26. When it comes to the horror genre, it never ceases to amaze me how effective sound edition can lead to such sense of dread and foreboding. This is definitely psychological horror at its finest.

Also it's a bit more believable (to a certain extent at least) than many "found footage" films.

Although, I have to agree with Witt in that from entry #18 onwards, it starts to get very silly (even if it continues being creepy as hell). Although in my case is not the guy with the mask, but the blatant horror cliches.

Spoiler: show

So the guy goes to this house at night searching for his friend. He knows his friend is being stalked by some... thing. He finds the place abandoned an turned into a mess, a bunch of papers with strange drawings, a bullet case (meaning someone shot a gun) and the sink covered in blood.

So what he decides to do on his next visit? Talk to the police? Recruit some people to help him while examining the house? Get a gun so he at least has something to defend himself that doesn't involve close contact with an aggressor? At the very least go there on day time? No, he decides to go alone, armed with only a puny knife, and in the middle of the night. Typical, just typical

In any case, I certainly enjoyed it. I might watch the remaining clips later...

*hears some strange sounds from the window*

:???: ...Probably tomorrow.

[Wittgen]

If you want to see the power of Slender harnessed for humor, check this out. A guy starts playing Slender at about an hour seven minutes. A guy who once got shot while fearlessly disarming a mugger. His boundless terror is utterly hilarious.