Slender Man has many connections in mythology, folklore, and legend in different civilizations throughout the world, usually with respect to a tall or Slender Man-like creature that stalks its victims at night. Additional attributes that Slender Man shares with historical legendary creatures are its frightening appearance and lack of facial features. Below is a list of some similarities between Slender Man and other mythological creatures.
Europe (in general)[]
Faeries[]
See Faeries
Germany[]
The Erlking[]
See The Erlking
Hans Baldung’s Painting[]
Baulding painting.
Hans Baldung was a Renaissance artist who died in 1545. His most famous painting, Three Ages of Woman and Death, portrays a skeletal figure holding an hour glass. In 2003, when undergoing x-ray analysis for insurance reasons, it was discovered that the painting was altered early on to remove several extra limbs of the skeletal figure that were originally painted into the picture.
Käthe Kollwitz[]
See Käthe Kollwitz
British Isles[]
Fear Dubh[]
Fear Dubh (the Black Man) is a rare Scottish legend concerning a malevolent entity that haunts footpaths and forests at night. In ancient times, it used to be connected to the Christian devil, but most of its characteristics are closer to that of Slender Man. It was used to scare small children to stay indoors and keep pesky children from snooping in the woods without their family.
The Clutchbone[]
The Clutchbone was a seven-foot monster, stories of whom date back as early as the 1800's in Northern England. Described as being black in color with leathery skin, its head consisted of a lit torch within a large, raised collar of material resembling rawhide. The exceptionally violent nature of the Clutchbone included alleged disappearances, destruction by burning and dismemberment of alleged victims. Lastly, violent events featuring the Clutchbone often followed previous sightings of lightning balls created by severe weather conditions leading some to assume that such a creature might arrive into our dimension by way of these natural phenomena.
Eastern Europe[]
Russia[]
In Russia, folklore existing at least since the early 20th century seems to place a “tall, slender man” in the role of a “corrector”, who would hunt those who existed through strange means- for instance, those who were born without a father.
North America[]
Swamp Legends[]
In North America, some legends claim that there are “giant spiders” in the swamps that grab victims with their legs and drag them into the depths of the water.
Ghost Stories of the American South[]
The book "Ghost Stories of the American South" by W.K. McNeil details the story of a tall, skinny, tree-like man who abducts a child from a family in the American South. The story was collected from a 72-year-old man in Berea, Kentucky, in 1963, meaning that the story could date back to the early 20th century.
Taíno[]
The Taíno culture, a civilization of pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Carribean,[1] legends often speak of the hupia, or op'a,[2] a nocturnal humanoid without a face that stalks, paralyzes its victims, and drives them insane.[3] The hupia was considered the spirit of the dead in the Taíno religion.[2][3]
Mujina sightings 1959[]
Asia[]
Japan[]
See Noppera-bō
In Japan, the noppera-bō, also known as zumbera-bō,[4] or nopperabou,[5] is a faceless ghost, or yōkai, whose legendary appearance is described as "deeply terrifying," and which takes delight in terrifying humans.[4] As John Waters notes in Was It For This?:
The Noppera-bō, or faceless ghost, is a legendary creature of Japanese folklore, a kind of hobgoblin known primarily for frightening humans. The Noppera-bō appears at first as an ordinary human being, sometimes impersonating someone familiar to the victim of the scare, before causing his features to disappear, leaving a blank, smooth sheet of skin where the face ought to be. The archetype of the faceless man relates at once to hope and terror.[6]
A similar Japanese yōkai is the ashinaga-tenaga, a spirit with extremely long arms and legs.[7] Another, more obscure, yōkai, known as the Mikoshi-nyudo, also bears a striking resemblance to Slenderman, having a tall and maleable body and killing humans in wooded areas.
China[]
Chinese legend involves a deity known as the hundun, a faceless diety without human senses.[8] Hundun was sometimes described as a wicked humanoid with multiple limbs, the "personification of chaos." However, Hundun died when his friends tried to drill eyes a nose and a mouth into his face.[9]
Ancient Civilization[]
Babylonian[]
Babylonians, such as the Akkadians and Sumerians, believed in a specific demon called the alû, a "half-man, half-devil" creature without a face.[10] The alû creeps into its victim's bedrooms and terrifies them as they sleep.[10] The alû demon was said to cause loss of consciousness, fixation of the eyes in a stare, and loss of speech. These symptoms are now associated with sleep paralysis .[11]
Brazilian Cave Paintings[]
The earliest argued reference to the legend is within the cave paintings found in the Serr da Capivara National Park in the Northeast of Brazil, which are believed to date from as far back as 9000 BC. These paintings show a strangely elongated character leading a child by the hand, but make no reference to the extra appendages.
Egyptian Hieroglyphs[]
Some Egyptian hieroglyphs seem to portray what could be multi-armed men among other, more usual hieroglyphs. This multi-armed creature is known as the Thief of the Gods.
Aztec Priests[]
Some Aztec art appears to depict priests removing hearts of sacrifices with three or more arms. Some Mayan art also depicted Mayan priests as such.
Ceiba Trees[]
In Mayan mythology, Ceiba trees (huge with long branches) are considered sacred. Legends often link the Ceibas with scary tales and demonic creatures. One tale concerns the story of an evil spirit, disguised as a Ceiba, who would lure drunk men to it. The ya’axche’ wíinik (the Ceiba Man) was a Mayan god who lived in the Ceiba tress who would receive sacrifices by ancient Mayans.
Fake Ties[]
See this Discussion on the main wiki.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Taino Indian Culture. Welcome to Peurto Rico. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Poviones-Bishop, Maria. That Bat and the Guava: Life and Death in the Taino Worldview. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hupia. Carribbean Mythology. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Noppera-bō. The Obakemono Project. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ↑ Nopperabou. Scary for Kids. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ↑ Waters, John. Was It For This?: Why Ireland Lost the Plot. p. 89.
- ↑ Tenaga-Ashinaga. The Obakemono Project. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ↑ Hundun. Ferrebeekeeper. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ↑ Cantrell, M. Asher. 11 Scary Evil Monsters From World Religions. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Hurwitz, Siegmund. Lilith the First Eve. p. 39.
- ↑ Finkel, Irving L, et al. Disease in Babylonia. p. 89.