Thank you, alex663 from deviantART, for making sure I never sleep again.

For as long as there have been people, there have been spooky stories. Our distant ancestors handed down frightful tales of witches, werewolves, goblins, vampires (the non-sparkly variety) and the undead. What of our time? What creepy creatures will we bequeath to generations not yet born?

Meet the Slenderman.

This photo actually looks pretty norm—HEAVEN HELP US WHAT IS THAT?!

The Slenderman (or Slender Man) first appeared on some Internet forum, eventually becoming the silent, sinister villain of a simple-yet-terrifying indie video game called Slender: The Eight Pages. Slendy’s fame spread. I even mentioned him in what I consider probably the best post on this blog.

The Slenderman is an unnaturally tall, thin man with a black suit and no face. He has shown up in many media, including an ongoing YouTube series called Marble Hornets, in which he has developed a few consistent characteristics.

Besides having some fashion sense, the Slenderman stalks people, drives them insane and occasionally murders them. Cameras and recording equipment glitch whenever the Slenderman is near. His victims experience an ailment dubbed “Slender sickness,” whose symptoms are amnesia, paranoia, aggression and a tendency to wear creepy masks.

Why is Slendy so scary? I think it has something to do with his blank face, spectral appearance and unnatural proportions. He looks almost, but not quite, human. There’s also something creepy in how he silently toys with his victims instead of killing them outright. Is he a man? A spirit? A hallucination?

One thing he is, and that’s creepy.

That said, here are some tips from a player of Slender: The Eight Pages on how to make Slendy not scary.