'Slender Man' Trailer Turns Meme Into a Nightmare
The "Slender Man" cometh.
The first trailer debuted for the movie based on the creepypasta meme that inspired a real-life attempted murder. The creepy figure became an online urban myth in 2009 after Eric Knudsen posted a Photoshopped image to the Something Awful forum. Five years later, two teen girls in Wisconsin stabbed a classmate as a ritual sacrifice to the ghoul. Other violent acts have been linked to the Slender Man.
The movie turns those tragedies into cinematic horrors. The trailer depicts teen girls lurking in the woods, screaming in hospitals, and stabbing themselves in the face. "He gets in your head, like a virus," one warns.
While there is some disturbing imagery in the trailer, it's unclear if the figure inspires much dread these days. It's been the subject of quite a few entertainment projects, including the 2012 movie "The Tall Man," the 2016 HBO documentary "Beware the Slenderman," and an episode of "Law & Order: SVU."
"Slender Man" opens in theaters May 18.