Killing In the Name of… Slender Man

In Waukesha, WI on May 31, 2014, Payton Leutner was led into the woods by two girls, stabbed nineteen times by her best friend, and left to die. All three girls were 12 years old. What could have possibly motivated Payton’s friends to try murder her?

Slender Man. Slender Man is a fictional person who resembles a tall, thin man dressed in a suit, and sometimes having tentacles. Eric Knudsen created Slender Man for a 2009 photoshop contest, in which the winner was chosen for having the scariest image or images.

Knudsen photoshopped his creation, Slender Man, into two photos beating unsettling captions. Below are the original photoshopped images of Slender Man created by Eric Knudsen with their respective captions.

“we didn’t want to go, we didn’t want to kill them, but its persistent silence and outstretched arms horrified and comforted us at the same time…”

1983, photographer unknown, presumed dead.
https://www.scpr.org/blogs/newmedia/2014/06/05/16774/slender-man-the-origins-of-an-internet-meme-cited/

One of two recovered photographs from the Stirling City Library blaze. Notable for being taken the day which fourteen children vanished and for what is referred to as “The Slender Man”. Deformities cited as film defects by officials. Fire at library occurred one week later. Actual photograph confiscated as evidence.

1986, photographer: Mary Thomas, missing since June 13th, 1986.
https://www.scpr.org/blogs/newmedia/2014/06/05/16774/slender-man-the-origins-of-an-internet-meme-cited/

The pictures were so creepy, people began building on Knudsen’s work by writing stories, creating more images, and sharing them with others. Even a video game and movie were made. Thus, Slender Man became less of a clever submission and more of a paranormal entity rooted in pop culture.

Morgan Geyser became friends with Payton Leutner after she joined her at an empty table at lunch during school. Leutner felt bad for Geyser because she was sitting by herself. Soon thereafter, they became best friends.

Later, Anissa Weier, who also attended the same school, befriended Geyser and the three would hangout together. Leutner was not fond of Weier, but hung out with her because she was Geyser’s friend.

*Payton Leutner, Morgan Geyser, and Anissa Weier pictured, respectively*. https://wkow.com/2019/10/23/watch-friday-slender-man-stabbing-survivor-on-abcs-20-20/

The story behind Payton Leutner’s stabbing began with Geyer’s and Weier’s belief that Slender Man was real, after discovering him online via the website Creepypasta. They were among the few who believed in his existence. They wanted to prove to disbelievers he was real.

The two girls feared Slender Man was going to hurt their families. They thought if they killed someone for him, they would become his servants or “proxies.” As servants, their families would be safe and the two would live in his mansion, which was believed by them to be in Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

The pair decided to take the life of whom was closest to them, Leutner. They did not want to kill her, but deemed it as “necessary.”

With their victim chosen, they began to plan the attack. Geyser and Weier would discuss their intentions in public using code words, such as “cracker” for knife and “itch” for the killing.

It was decided to kill Leutner at Geyser’s upcoming birthday party, in which the three girls would be alone. Afterwards, Geyser and Weier would retreat into the forest to join Slender Man in his mansion. The stabbing was premeditated, largely discussed in depth between them.