Urban Legends and More

Slender Man

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SENSITIVE CONTENT THAT SOME MAY FIND OFFENSIVE OR DISTURBING.

The Slender Man is a creepypasta story about a strange paranormal creature that abducts children. Slenderman is often described as being an unusually tall man, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and black tie. He has long, thin arms and legs and his face is said to be completely blank and is sometimes shown with tentacles growing out of his back. According to the Slender Man myths, the entity can cause amnesia, bouts of coughing, and paranoid behavior in individuals. He is often depicted hiding in forests.

On May 31, 2014, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States, two 12-year-old girls, Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser, lured their friend Payton Leutner into a forest and stabbed her 19 times in an attempt to appease the fictional character Slender Man. Leutner crawled to a road where she was found, and recovered after six days in the hospital. Weier and Geyser were found not guilty by mental disease or defect and committed to mental health institutions for sentences of 25 years to life and 40 years to life, respectively. After seven years, Weier was granted early release and will be under supervision until age 37.

The stabbing took place in David's Park, a wooded area near Waukesha, Wisconsin, during a game of hide-and-seek on May 31, 2014. The perpetrators, Anissa Weier (born November 10, 2001) and Morgan Geyser (born May 16, 2002), pinned down Payton Isabella Leutner (also known as Bella, a nickname used at the time of the crime) and stabbed her nineteen times in the arms, legs, and torso with a five-inch-long (13 cm) blade. Two wounds were to major organs; one missed a major artery of her heart by less than a millimeter, and another went through her diaphragm, cutting into her liver and stomach. Weier and Geyser told Leutner to lie down while they would find help, but they did not get any upon leaving. Afterwards, Leutner dragged herself to a nearby road where she was found by a cyclist. The cyclist called 911 when he saw her.

Around five hours later, Weier and Geyser were apprehended near Interstate 94 at Steinhafel's furniture store, after walking 4.9 miles (7.9 km). The knife used in the stabbing was in a bag they carried. Their goal was to meet Slenderman at his mansion, called Slender Mansion, in the Nicolet National Forest, roughly a 100 mile hike from their location. During their interviews, Geyser was described as feeling no empathy while Weier was described as feeling guilty for stabbing the victim, but both felt that the attack was needed to appease Slender Man.

Leutner left the hospital seven days after the attack. She returned to school in September 2014.

Following the investigation, Geyser was charged with attempted first-degree homicide, a Class-A felony, and Weier was charged with attempted second-degree homicide, a Class-B felony. Due to the nature of the offenses, both Weier and Geyser were waived out of juvenile court to be tried as adults.

In 2017, Weier pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted second-degree homicide.[16] A jury then found her "not guilty by mental disease or defect." Geyser accepted a plea offer under which she would not go to trial, and would be evaluated by psychiatrists to determine how long she should be placed in a mental hospital. She later pleaded guilty but was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, from which her father also suffers.

Weier was sentenced to 25 years to life, an indeterminate sentence involving at least three years locked confinement and involuntary treatment in a state psychiatric institute, followed by communal supervision until age 37.

Geyser was given the maximum sentence, 40 years to life, an indeterminate sentence involving at least three years locked confinement, in addition to involuntary treatment in a state psychiatric institute until complete resolution of symptoms or until age 53, whichever may happen first; followed by continued communal supervision, periodic reevaluations and/or reinstitution, and further treatment as needed, as required by the sentence imposed. While Geyser will periodically have the opportunity to petition for her release from a mental health facility in the future, she will remain under institutional care for the duration of the sentence. During her trial, Geyser had been committed to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, and was the youngest patient there.

At a court hearing on March 10, 2021, Weier, who was by then 19, submitted a letter to the court stating that she was "sorry and deeply regretful for the agony, pain, and fear I have caused", not just to Leutner, but to "my community as well". Weier stated that, "I hate my actions from May 31, 2014, but through countless hours of therapy, I no longer hate myself for them." On July 1, 2021, Waukesha County Judge Michael Bohren ordered Weier released from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, gave state officials sixty days to draw up a conditional release plan, and required that Weier be assigned state Department of Health Services case managers to track her progress until she is 37 years old, the length of her commitment.

On September 13, 2021, Weier was released with multiple stipulations to include: 24-hour GPS monitoring requiring her to not leave Waukesha County without permission. Weier will also have her Internet usage monitored, and will not be allowed to use any forms of social media. Weier will also be required to take medication, and will be personally escorted to regular counseling sessions by a case worker. She will also be required to live with her father during her probation.

In the aftermath of the stabbing, the Creepypasta Wiki was blocked throughout the Waukesha School District. On the Tuesday following the stabbing, Slender Man creator Eric Knudsen said: "I am deeply saddened by the tragedy in Wisconsin and my heart goes out to the families of those affected by this terrible act."

Sloshedtrain, the administrator of the Creepypasta Wiki, said that the stabbing was an isolated incident that did not accurately represent the creepypasta community. He also stated that the Creepypasta Wiki was a literary website, and that they did not condone murder or satanic rituals.

Members of the creepypasta community held a 24-hour live stream on YouTube June 13-14, 2014, to raise money for the stabbing victim. Joe Jozwowski, an administrator on a creepypasta website, said the purpose of the stream was to show that members of the community cared for the victim, and did not condone real-world violence because they enjoyed fiction that contains violence.

On August 12, Governor Scott Walker issued a proclamation declaring Wednesday, August 13, 2014, "Purple Hearts for Healing Day", and encouraged the people of Wisconsin to wear purple on that day to honor the victim of the stabbing. He also praised the "strength and determination" exhibited by Leutner during her recovery.

The stabbing resulted in extensive debate about the role of the Internet in society and its effect on children. Russell Jack, Waukesha Police Chief, said that the stabbing "should be a wake-up call for all parents", adding that the Internet "is full of information and wonderful sites that teach and entertain", but that it "can also be full of dark and wicked things". John Egelhof, a retired agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, argued that the Internet had become a "black hole" with the ability to expose children to a more sinister world. Egelhof suggested that the best way to avoid future incidents was for parents to keep track of their children's online habits, and to educate them on the differences between right and wrong. Shira Chess, an assistant professor of mass media arts at the University of Georgia, stated that creepypasta was no more dangerous than stories about vampires or zombies.