I know that this was started on the Something Awful forums, but it's an idea that creeps me right the hell out and seems like it might generate some conversation here.
The Slender Man is a shadow person type creature who is associated with the abduction of children or disasters involving children. He has no discernible face, and long tentacle like arms.
Here is a wikipedia article about this urban myth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slender_manThe Slender Man was used in a film/alternate reality game called "Marble Hornets". The Marble Hornets series can be found on youtube here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MarbleHornets#p/u/41/Wmhfn3mgWUII've only made it to about episode 7 or so myself, but I plan on watching all of them throughout the day.
Also (of course!) here are some Coast to Coast callers that talk about the Slender Man:
I just stumbled onto this subject this morning, but I'm glad I spent the time following it up. This is really genuinely creepy to me. I love the idea of a tulpa, a creature which is brought into reality and sustained by the belief and thoughts of others. In a way this is what Slender Man actually is, an internet meme "come to life" and subsequently has passed over into the perception of people off of the internet. The meme itself has a life of it's own and spreads like a virus.
In this regard there is a connection to Philip Aylesford, a character concocted in the 70's and later supposedly communicated with by seance. In both cases, a meme seemed to have taken on a life of it's own.
http://paranormal.about.com/od/ghosthuntinggeninfo/a/create-a-ghost.htm
