#Ghoulvember ‘Slenderman’ by Annonymous

About the book…

One man’s search for the truth about one of the most intriguing urban legends ever—the modern bogeyman, Slender Man—leads him down a dark, dangerous path in this creepy supernatural fantasy reminiscent of Night Film, House of Leaves, and Illuminae, that will make you question where the line between legend and fact begins

A young man is desperate to find his missing friend . . . desperate enough to resort to the darkest means. But just how much is he willing to pay the Slender Man in order to save her?

Told through a variety of narrative devices, including photos, journal entries, e-mails, articles, and other artifacts, this unique spine-tingling story is a brilliant and terrifying look at one of the most fascinating—and diabolical—mythical figures in modern times.

Published in 2018 by Harper Voyager, ‘Slenderman’ is available in hardcover, e-book and audiobook formats.

The book is a quick read, I think I blasted it in about 2 hours and part of the reason is because it is told in an epistolary fashion so there are pages with very little text on them.

Comprised of Whatsap messages. texts, interviews, Reddit threads and diary entries, this is the tale of an exclusive prep school which finds itself missing a pupil, and the ensuing fallout.

The school is mostly concerned about it’s reputation.

The pupils are falling over themselves to theorise what could have happened to the most popular girl in her year.

The newspapers are circling for tasty bits of gossip.

And Matt, the main narrative voice?

Well he is trying to explore his creative side with fantasy writing and somehow, the line between reality and fiction becomes blurred. Or does it?

His Creepy Pasta is a little too close to the bone, and the people reading it, and Matt’s therapist are not entirely sure which side of the line between sanity and insanity he is on.

Days and nights bleed into each other as snippets of information swirl around Lauren and Matt’s friendship and the police take notice of the noticeboards and texts which really was an interesting perspective on what it, after all, a criminal investiagtion.

I thought it was a neat novel, I liked it, it trod a fine line between overdoing it, and buying into the Slender Man urban legend. And the notion that opening yourself up to ideas, and the darkness taking the shape of what is occupying the modern consciousness was really interesting.

It can be viewed as a cautionary tale; the need for validation and reflected glory, even under the most sordid of excuses, is seen through a social media lens and it did really make me consider just how teens are placing their values in the hands of ‘influencers’.

About the author…