How would you tackle kids claiming they've seen Slenderman?

[Alex]

I actually don't even know how his name is spelled, whether it's Slenderman or Slender Man or SlenderMan. What I do know is that some children take this fictional internet character very seriously and that two Wisconsin girls around age 12 or 13 actually attempted to kill one of their GIRLFRIENDS by stabbing her something like 18 times because SlenderMan (supposedly) ordered them to kill her.

http://www.newsweek.com/2014/08/22/girl ... 64218.html

I'm concerned because I overheard several children talking about SlenderMan. Some of these kids claimed SlenderMan is REAL and that they've "seen him in their house and outside their bedroom doors" and they otherwise insisted to their friends that SM had been around our locality. The childrens' argument got very heated and I finally couldn't stand it any more since I know two of the children (the brother and sister) suffer from various psychological issues that have them acting out and always trying to be more in the know than other children, etc, etc. I told this sister and brother that SlenderMan is fictional and that it's very dangerous to believe in such a morbid character. Other children joined in w/my statements once I'd interrupted the brother and sister. These other children were also certain SlenderMan is fake but they were shouted down by this brother and sister Dynamic Doofus Duo until I interrupted their conversation.

How would you handle this issue of SlenderMan if you suspected that the SlenderMan mystique was being propagated in your town's schools by disturbed children? I was thinking of writing a letter and requesting that the school host a session w/the police to disabuse kids of their belief in SlenderMan. Yes, the conversation w/these kids was THAT SERIOUS. The brother and sister even had the gall to tell me to butt out of the conversation and that they "can believe what they want to believe". Sorry, kidlets, but when you're terrorizing other children w/your stories and making totally outrageous claims solely to act like Mr. and Ms. Big then the situation is bigger than just YOU TWO. Especially when SlenderMan is being taken so seriously children are acting out and killing on his behalf.

Suggestions please on how to approach this w/the school board. Is a letter describing the children's' conversation and their denial of my denial that he's not real sufficient to ask the school board to take action of some kind to disabuse the kids that SlenderMan is real? Do I have to name names of these students spreading the SlenderMan rumors in order for the school to realize this may become an issue before very much longer if these kids keep up w/their claims of having personal knowledge of SlenderMan?

[orono]

How old are the siblings? I would start by talking with the parents.

[Chisamba]

I think, in fact i know, that kids are always scaring each other with stories of ghosts, there has been a ghost story at just about every barn i have been to. i feel as though slenderman is just another form of ghost or boogy man,

However , it is also true that most kids that have psychotic outbreaks have given off warning signs that most people though were just kids being kids.

I think a simple warning to the school/ family/ should be sufficient because it is most likely the former not the latter

[AirsAboveNC]

What is your relationship to these kids? Is it your business to be involved?

[chantal]

This is an old article. Slenderman has passed in popularity in general. It was a pretty popular video game for a while (that I did not let my kids play).

These kids need psychiatric help in my opinion. And to be taken away from all video games and possibly online access, social media, etc. Are you a teacher who can talk to a counselor?

Wondering how the parents will react because this has gone pretty far for them to think it's real. And the acting out doesn't bode well in my experience with middle school kids. The youngest of my 3 is just finishing middle school and we have a crappy year with his "friends".

[Alex]

I agree that kids have always scared each other w/bogeymen and such... I remember sleeping over in an old wooden New England barn and falling asleep listening to ghost stories only to later have the older brother of my friend come roaring through the hay loft w/a very convincing sibilant sighing. But the remarks of these siblings were really beyond the pale. Telling me I had no business telling them that Slender Man had been invented by a photographer for a photo contest. I even described the techniques the photographer used in his very first photo of Slender Man to achieve the lack of facial features and so on... Nothing I told them had any effect. They just kept saying they had the right to believe what they wanted to believe. Now that is pretty crazy all things considered. Especially given that we live in a state where two 12-year old girls are on trial for attempted murder of a mutual friend in order to impress Slender Man... COME ON, KIDS, USE YOUR NOGGINS!@#$

I mentioned the conversation to the three elementary school principals (without naming names although I said there were siblings involved in spreading the rumor Slender Man was running around town) and suggested that perhaps having the police give an informative meeting on the Slender Man phenomenon would be helpful. Either that or having one of the photographers in town come in and pick apart all the photographic evidence these two siblings claim PROVE that Slender Man is real. They simply have no concept of what Photoshop and a good base photograph can allow a photographer to do. Perhaps a photographer actually showing them the original photograph and then the gradual transformation of the photograph until it arrives at a diaphanous Slender Man visage would help these kids understand what's what. But as things stand, UUUGGGGHHHH... I just discovered a deer tick nymph crawling up my neck after walking the dogs.... Sorry, gotta go hit a scalding hot bath... Watch out for those suckers.

[Woost2]

The murder trial (and thus Slenderman) is still regularly in the news in WI because it keeps being postponed. Saw an article just yesterday.

[Alex]

Yes, Woost. Slender Man is still very much a thing around here. This is the first time I've ever been in the vicinity though when children were having a conversation about Slender Man and, consequently, I was truly shocked kids could still believe in Slender Man after all the news stories about those girls being indicted for attempted murder. The things these two siblings were saying were OUTRAGEOUS. Claiming they'd seen him around their house and outside their bedrooms and elsewhere around our town is simply wacko and their statements were terrifying for the credulous, gullible kids who do sort of believe in Slender Man because of all the faked photos. First, because he's fictional and second, because if you see him, you see him because he intends to kill you. It's kids like these two wackos who start and keep such dangerous absurdities going.

[orono]

The most unusual part of your story is the kids talking about it in front of adults!! Many kids claim to have seen things that do not exist, they're trying to sound 'cool' to their peers.

[Alex]

YEP! They're trying to sound cool. Trouble is, where does coolness stop and something else begin to dominate their psychology? I just didn't like these particular two siblings driving the conversation. They both have issues. They're both somewhat compulsive liars and do all sorts of strange things. The girl told me another boy ripped up his homework and presented me w/a crumpled mass of paper. Yet when I unfolded it, it had her name on it. I pretended not to notice her name and asked her to write her name on another sheet of paper. Voilå, perfect match!#$!$ The fact that they told me to "butt out and let them believe what they want to believe" was very telling. We'll see what the school board says. As I've mentioned, I have no idea just how pervasive the Slender Man obsession is in our schools here.

[FlyingLily]

Honestly I believe you have done everything that is practical in this situation. Anything more (like a school assembly devoted to Slenderman) risks adding fuel to the fire.

It is a good teachable moment for your own children. You can talk about how things get blown up and people form beliefs out of excitement, about how having something scary to talk about can make people go beyond the evidence. And how some people who sound very confident still should not be trusted right off the bat.

[Woost2]

And, the Wisconsin Slender Man girls want out of jail. Claim they aren't dangerous and want to go home.

[Tarlo Farm]

NO!!!!

[chantal]

Oh my gosh, I had no idea this was still a thing there. Those kids need help. See something say something anyone???

Ack!!

[Alex]

Yeah, isn't that just bizarre, Woost? It's like some kids these days think they can just hit re-set and the game board changes back to the beginning.

[greenhorse]

Maybe you could just not allow your kids around these two anymore?

[Woost2]

And the girls are going to be tried as adults. At least for this week. They aren't being IDed because who knows, the whole thing could end up back in juvy.