The slender man...

[Admiral Squish]

Oh, god. I watched the Marble Hornets videos about a month ago. I haven't slept fitfully since. I couldn't even get past video #19. Tonight, I discovered the Something Awful forums and started looking through the 'create paranormal images' thread to see his origins, hoping that would assuage the maddening paranoia that happens whenever I see a darkened room or a room with an open window. It did not work.

Does anyone have any suggestions to helping me shake this terror? Lately, I've been merely tiring myself out, only sleeping ever other day so that when I do sleep, I'm tired enough to actually fall asleep, rather than lie in bed for six hours.

[Recaiden]

Oh, god. I watched the Marble Hornets videos about a month ago. I haven't slept fitfully since. I couldn't even get past video #19. Tonight, I discovered the Something Awful forums and started looking through the 'create paranormal images' thread to see his origins, hoping that would assuage the maddening paranoia that happens whenever I see a darkened room or a room with an open window. It did not work.

Does anyone have any suggestions to helping me shake this terror? Lately, I've been merely tiring myself out, only sleeping ever other day so that when I do sleep, I'm tired enough to actually fall asleep, rather than lie in bed for six hours.

I recommend reminding yourself that it's not real, and covering the windows in the room where you sleep. Perhaps purchase a nightlight if the dark in which he is hiding disturbs you.

[Cobalt]

It wore off for me, eventually. Still scares the soul out of me, but time heals all wounds.

Not very quickly, mind. But still. It only took a year.



Try just doing as many other things completely unrelated to the Slender Man as possible, and mayhaps he will leave you in peices.

Or try reading/watching really bad imitations of Marble Hornets that are trying to play it straight but fail hilariously. If you go looking, you'll find them fast enough.

Really, the only reason I haven't been driven insane is because I have that masochistic urge to be frightened. But only during daylight.

Which is why I own curtains. And mirrors. And guns.

[SurlySeraph]

Imagine Slenderman wearing pink shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. Then use MS paint to draw a Hawaiian shirt and pink shorts onto a picture of Slenderman.

[TheLaughingMan]

Slendy only wants friends, you guys. He just goes about it wrong.

[RabbitHoleLost]

Slender Man still kind of keeps me up some nights.
Really, though, I'm a wimp. I love scary stories and scary movies, but I always end up terrified at night, wishing there was someone with me to keep all the scary things away

Anyways, in the height of my fear, I wrote fiction about him. And then my best friend and I ended up putting him in our notebook comics, deciding all he really wanted was hugs...but all the other notebook characters rejected him.
Except ded mowse.
But ded mowse is dead anyways, so it doesn't matter.
Often times, ded mowse is dead BECAUSE of Slender Man.
"Everything I touch dies v.v"

And that is the long rambly story of how I started to sleep again at night.

[The Antagonist]

Watched those vids with my boyfriend at some late hour in the evening... T'was an odd evening...

Paranoia is normal. Don't worry; the fear will probably go away soon. If he does exist, he won't be able to get you or anything.

...It still doesn't hurt to put up cameras and keep the lights on...

[Cobalt]

And that is the long rambly story of how I started to sleep again at night.

I just stopped looking out the window. Then started reading ARG blogs where trolls jumped in with OOC comments at the height.

It peeves me.

[Mauve Shirt]

I was completely underwhelmed by those videos. My sister says my inability to be scared by them indicates I have no soul.
Just sleep with the lights on.

[Cealocanth]

One of the best ways to conquer fears is to experience them head on and violently. In this case, having someone jump out of the shadows dressed as the slender man when you least expect it should do the trick. Possibly say some lines from the movie.

Then again, this works on the same way that ripping band-aids off violently and quickly hurts less in the long run, or how sticking your hand into a pit of spitting cobras will cure your fear of snakes.

[NeoRetribution]

Unfortunately, I have zero knowledge of what exactly it is that this thread is pointing to, but I use soft music when I need to sleep. Specifically, the music does not have spoken words and often incorporates natural sounds such as rain, ocean waves, wind, or bird song. The instruments are often piano, flute, or acoustic guitar. Also, some people sleep more soundly with a fan blowing air across their skin and I use that occasionally.

If all else fails, fill your eyes and mind with something else completely unrelated. Non-violent imagery such as a nature film might help, though I understand that most any film could perform this function as long as it was either comedic, or inspiring.

But your mind is your own. You can kick out what you wish to leave you.

[Erts]

Cealocanth has a great solution. If I may add, punch "Slender Man" in the face. See what happens.
And the concept behind SurleySeraphs is good. Add comedy to your fears. Lessens them.

Also, try to get a more manageable fear. Watch a film which isn't quite as scary, but just as believable.

Now, this is definitely inappropriate, but also hilarious. Read the entire page, and the fanfic at the bottom. Cthulhu/Slender. Seriously. It's funny. See if it helps.

http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Slender_Man

[golentan]

Do what I do: Remind yourself that slender man is far less scary than some real things out there. Absolute worst case he's class 4, and he's not a particularly nasty one at that. He's actually kind of entertaining. As much as he toys with his prey, he doesn't do anything really imaginative or horrific.

I'd much rather face him than some of the things that haunt my nightmares, and unlike them he's conveniently fictional rather than stalking real people.

[Serpentine]

I haven't slept fitfully since.

So you've been sleeping soundly, eh? Good for you.

[TheLaughingMan]

...It still doesn't hurt to put up cameras and keep the lights on...

But what if the house gets bigger?

[Erts]

Do what I do: Remind yourself that slender man is far less scary than some real things out there. Absolute worst case he's class 4, and he's not a particularly nasty one at that.

Good strategy, but I have to ask, what is this tier system?

To reiterate:

http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Slender_Man

[Tricksy Hobbits]

Watch up to the end of the videos, 26 is a bit less creepy than 19 (that's the one with totheark creeping on J, right?)

But DON'T watch any of the videos on totheark's channel, freaking creepy those are.


And it gets less scary if you look at all the little tricks they use to make the videos that frightening.

[Lord Fullbladder, Master of Goblins]

My prescription is cartoons. This beast or whatever it is you fellows seem to be so terrified of inhabits nought but darkest shadow, does it not? Well then the best medicine must be something rather more light-hearted, wot? Fill your head with nineties' versions of the Man of Steel perhaps, or 80's tomfoolery.

Fill yourself with the prgrams of your youth, dear boy. And let the creature that so haunts your spirit taunt nevermore.

*twirls mustache*

*exit, stage left*

[Tricksy Hobbits]

^ Nope, then he'll just stand behind you and you'll be oo busy watching tv to notice him.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

I've always thought that the creepiest creepers are the ones that just stand off to the side, doing nothing. If you wake up, and there's a figure standing in the corner of your room, not even facing you, and it doesn't even acknowledge you're there, that's creepy.

[golentan]

Good strategy, but I have to ask, what is this tier system?

To reiterate:

http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Slender_Man

Lower numbers = worser [sic], goes 1-12 (0 is something that has already ended the universe, which as far as I know hasn't happened so 0 is a theoretical goal for 1s), 7-12 can be solved by the judicious use of firearms with varying degrees of ease, 4-6 can be killed with proper use of certain techniques (and firearms frequently help, but aren't usually much good on their own), 3 and higher have to be dealt with on a case by case basis. Slender man is definitely 4-6, almost certainly 5, possibly 4 in absolute worst case. Not beyond the realm of possibility for a prepared and cautious mortal to injure or kill, as long as you're careful to keep your head and not play into his traps.

It would be a fun hunt, since part of it would be determining who was hunting who at any given moment...

[Tricksy Hobbits]

I don't think Slendy would be more than 3, he can mess around with people's memory and spatial relationships, and some of his Xanatos Roulettes make him borderline clairvoyant.

And I agree Gwyn, after the initial adrenaline surge, totheark's silent watching was way more scary than his first appearance.

[averagejoe]

I've always thought that the creepiest creepers are the ones that just stand off to the side, doing nothing. If you wake up, and there's a figure standing in the corner of your room, not even facing you, and it doesn't even acknowledge you're there, that's creepy.

I always thought the creepiest ones are the ones who stare at you through windows. It's an odd fear, but stuff through windows tends to top my lists.

I tend to surround myself with sentimental objects. I'm able to convince myself that these things (usually some gift that a friend gave me, one which was particularly meaningful) have a sort of positive influence that can deal with such creatures. Failing that, I just watch this video and thereafter have faith that Christopher Walken will protect me.

[Drakevarg]

Lower numbers = worser [sic], goes 1-12 (0 is something that has already ended the universe, which as far as I know hasn't happened so 0 is a theoretical goal for 1s), 7-12 can be solved by the judicious use of firearms with varying degrees of ease, 4-6 can be killed with proper use of certain techniques (and firearms frequently help, but aren't usually much good on their own), 3 and higher have to be dealt with on a case by case basis. Slender man is definitely 4-6, almost certainly 5, possibly 4 in absolute worst case. Not beyond the realm of possibility for a prepared and cautious mortal to injure or kill, as long as you're careful to keep your head and not play into his traps.

It would be a fun hunt, since part of it would be determining who was hunting who at any given moment...

Clearly Slender Man is a different entity in your head. To me at least, Slender Man is a giant ball of crazy that you can't effect, let alone defeat. There are no happy endings with Slender Man, just a slow decline into insanity.

I don't think Slendy would be more than 3, he can mess around with people's memory and spatial relationships, and some of his Xanatos Roulettes make him borderline clairvoyant.

Slendy makes plans? I thought he just dicked with people's perception of reality because he could.

[Jacklu]

Ooh... those were good. =3 The Marble Hornets vids, that is. My way of dealing with scary crap that gets in my head is with my muse. I like to write and, more precisely, narrate scenes. So I just wrote up a bunch of fanfic in which I, the protagonist, confronted [scary fictional thing here] and whooped its butt in a variety of ways. Stuff like this is all in your head, so the best way to deal with it is to train your mind to not be afraid of fictional threats.

[golentan]

If slender man was a 3, he'd be far more dangerous. It wouldn't be possible to exist within quite a large radius: instant death to all things. Even benevolent threes just warp reality too much for things based on normal physical laws to function. He's at the low end of 4 if he's that high at all.

And nothing is unkillable. It's just that some things are very, very hard to kill. A properly trained human being, kitted out and prepared, has about a 2-4% chance of injuring or killing a level 5 before dying. Not good, I'll grant you, and that assumes a level of preparedness not found in any group I know of. But it's a shot.

Just remember your fairy legends. They're there for a reason. Cold iron (by which I actually mean things capable of carrying a magnetic charge) hurts them. Usually. They always play by certain rules: learn them and you buy yourself time if nothing else. Give it nothing, and take nothing of its, or it can influence you. Mantras are helpful for making decisions within its sphere of influence. Confront it directly when you have a chance no matter how scared you are: running is a sign of weakness, like with most predators. It's all a game to such creatures. Keep it from having fun, and put it on the defensive, and if nothing else you may be able to make it seek other prey.

Or you may just piss it off or convince it you're exciting enough to up the ante, but at least it's a shot.

[Drakevarg]

And nothing is unkillable.

Come back and tell me that after you've successfully murdered the color blue.

[averagejoe]

Come back and tell me that after you've successfully murdered the color blue.

Not too hard. You just have to change a few physical constants.

Of course, there will almost certainly be some *ahem* collateral damage.

[Drakevarg]

Not too hard. You just have to change a few physical constants.

Of course, there will almost certainly be some *ahem* collateral damage.

Care to elaborate?

[Callos_DeTerran]

If slender man was a 3, he'd be far more dangerous. It wouldn't be possible to exist within quite a large radius: instant death to all things. Even benevolent threes just warp reality too much for things based on normal physical laws to function. He's at the low end of 4 if he's that high at all.

And nothing is unkillable. It's just that some things are very, very hard to kill. A properly trained human being, kitted out and prepared, has about a 2-4% chance of injuring or killing a level 5 before dying. Not good, I'll grant you, and that assumes a level of preparedness not found in any group I know of. But it's a shot.

Just remember your fairy legends. They're there for a reason. Cold iron (by which I actually mean things capable of carrying a magnetic charge) hurts them. Usually. They always play by certain rules: learn them and you buy yourself time if nothing else. Give it nothing, and take nothing of its, or it can influence you. Mantras are helpful for making decisions within its sphere of influence. Confront it directly when you have a chance no matter how scared you are: running is a sign of weakness, like with most predators. It's all a game to such creatures. Keep it from having fun, and put it on the defensive, and if nothing else you may be able to make it seek other prey.

Or you may just piss it off or convince it you're exciting enough to up the ante, but at least it's a shot.

O.o I have no idea where you come up with this stuff, but it should be in a monster hunting book or something. As for Slendy's 'weaknesses'...Too my knowledge none are ever shown. He's just always there. Watching. Or not. But he's there...crap. x.x I was just reminded I live by a bunch of tall as hell trees and all the weird noises that come from it at night.

Thanks Squish.